As sugars and starches are eaten, they cause a burst of inflammation throughout the body. As a proponent of anti-inflammatory diet, need I say more.
Tag Archives: diet
Slimming Seasonings and Condiments
Season fish, poultry, vegetables, and even fruit -yes, fruit- liberally with a variety of fresh and dried herbs and spices. Try an apple sprinkled with cinnamon, a pear with a pinch of ginger, or strawberries with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Nothing in the plant world can rival the many medicinal properties of spices, from helping to lower and stabilize blood sugar, offering protection from free radical damage, providing anti-inflammatory benefits and helping to speed up the metabolism.
Anti-Inflammatory Tips For Navigating The Holiday Table
-First, remember to eat your protein first. Eat your turkey before diving into the veggies. This will help to prevent any rises in blood sugar and also help to curb your appetite.
-When it comes to purchasing a turkey, check with your natural food store or co-op or the poultry -section of your supermarket. Look for free range birds that are fed organic vegetarian diets, contain no antibiotics, growth hormones or other undesirable additives.
-Buy organic vegetables and eat the skins – the greatest concentration of nutrients and fiber are in the skin or right beneath the skin. Try to eat vegetables rich in vitamins like c ester and pycnogenol.
-Substitute baked organic whole sweet potatoes for regular potatoes. Bake and serve hot with the skin for high fiber.
-Sprinkle cinnamon on winter squash and sweet potatoes. Cinnamon helps to stabilize blood sugar and adds great flavor.
-Ditto for that holiday slice of pumpkin or apple pie – liberal use of cinnamon will help offset the high glycemic effects of these special occasion treats.
-Make your pie crust flourless – use ground nuts and real butter – stay away from shortening which contains dangerous trans fats.
-Try adding a little finely minced garlic to freshly steamed and mashed turnips and squash – adds delicious flavor and antioxidanthealth benefits.
-Enjoy mixed nuts in the shell as opposed to salted, canned varieties.
-When baking pies, choose raw, unfiltered dark honey in place of cane sugar.
Tomorrow, a list of some great anti-inflammatory foods loaded with antioxidants.
Eat Fiber to Fight Fat
For maximum fiber, eat lots of raw fresh fruits and vegetables. Adding fiber to the diet helps regulate blood sugar levels, which is important in avoiding diabetes, metabolic disorders, and unwanted weight gain. Eat the skins of your fruit and vegetables if they are organic and unwaxed; the greatest fiber and anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory properties are in the skin.
Supplements and Skin Care For That Radiant Glow
Supplements and Skin Care Products
In addition to the complete spectrum of vitamins and minerals recommended by nutrition experts world-wide, (B-complex, Vitamin E, calcium-magnesium, Vitamin C ester, etc.)
Fish for Compliments
Fish is the only natural and significant food source of the healthy Omega 3 fat, EPA and DHA. In addition to eating fish such as salmon and halibut, take plenty of high quality omega 3 fish oil. Luminous, radiant, wrinkle-free skin, improved mental faculties, weight loss, preservation of muscle mass, enhanced absorption of nutrients from foods, and a happy, positive mood are just a few of the benefits accrued by incorporating the omega 3’s into our daily diets.
Back in Circulation
Take alpha lipoic acid supplements because it has the capacity to regulate the production of nitric oxide, which controls blood flow to the skin. When alpha lipoic acid is applied topically, it helps to transform the complexion from dull, pasty, and pale to vibrant and glowing. It will shrink pores, even out skin tone, decrease lines and wrinkles and eliminate puffiness.
Light and Bright
Pycnogenol® also has superior anti-inflammatory properties, making it ideal in promoting youthful, beautiful skin and healthy aging of all organ systems. When taken as a supplement and applied topically, Pycnogenol will significantly brighten skin.
All About Supplements
Nutritional supplements have come a long way from the minimal, “one-a-day” multivitamins of past generations. Now we have highly targeted antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that can do everything from sharpening our brain power, repairing our bodies on a cellular level, increase the burning of body fat, regulate blood sugar and insulin, increase muscle mass, improve mood, restore memory and heighten the libido – all actions which decline with age. Many of these super antioxidants penetrate right into the cell where they combat free radicals and decrease inflammation. Because of this, the right supplements can keep us much younger than our chronological years.
Supplements of high quality can (in addition to the anti-inflammatory diet) create beauty from the inside out. Nutrients that possess anti-oxidant properties act as natural anti-inflammatories. I recommend a variety of nutrients that are designed to work synergistically to enhance the benefits of the anti-inflammatory diet. These nutrients offer anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and fat metabolizing boosting benefits and help prevent and reverse oxidative damage on a cellular level, of critical importance as we age. Unfortunately, the same level of repair cannot be achieved through diet alone.
In addition to the recommended vitamins and minerals, a good beauty supplement should contain powerful anti-oxidants and nutrients such as:
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- Vitamin C Ester
- DMAE (Dimethyl Amino Ethanol)
- Pycnogenol®
- Coenzyme Q-10
- Conjugated Linoleic Acid
- GLA » L-Carnitine Fumerate
- N-Acetyl Carnitine
- Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids
- Carnosine
- Benfotiamine
- Astaxanthin
For a youthful face and body, and a happy positive outlook, the right supplements are indispensible.
Essential Fatty Acids
The omega 3 essential fatty acids are particularly important and the best sources are the aforementioned cold water fish and fish oil capsules, with nuts and seeds as the second best source.
However, omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health. Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9. All are needed to form and maintain the structural and functional integrity of cell membranes, provide fuel for cellular energy and create the hormone-like messenger chemicals, the prostaglandins and the eicosanoids, which regulate many key metabolic functions.
Because the body cannot make these essential fats, we must obtain them from our diets. This is a lot easier said than done. For one thing, many of us consume a low ratio of essential fatty acids compared to our intake of saturated fatty acids, such as those found in full fat dairy products and meat (we all know that saturated fats are pro-inflammatory and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease).
Unfortunately, when most of us do consume essential fatty acids, they tend to be omega-6, which is found in grains and vegetable oils such as corn and safflower. In fact, very few of us are getting the proper ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, which may account for the growing prevalence of serious health conditions like heart attacks, cancer, asthma, lupus, schizophrenia, depression, accelerated aging, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes in our society.
This imbalance upsets the proverbial fat-metabolizing apple cart. An overabundance of omega-6 is inflammatory and interferes with the body’s ability to use omega-3s—a serious situation because of the positive effects of omega-3s we talked about earlier: They inhibit the calories we consume from being stored as body fat, while promoting the burning of body fat we already have. It is believed that human’s evolved with a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. It is now believed that the Western diet is 15:1 or significantly greater with the omega 6 intake far surpassing the omega 3 intake. To prevent disease and to look and feel your best, drastically limit intake of omega 6, eliminate all refined vegetables oils other than extra virgin olive oil and increase your intake of the omega 3’s.
Best Choices for Omega 3 Essential Fatty acids (Linolenic Acid)
- Cold water high fat fish, esp. wild salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, shad, herring and trout
- Flaxseed oil (flaxseed oil has the highest linolenic content of any food), flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds
- Avocado
- Certain dark green leafy vegetables, including kale, spinach, purslane, mustard greens, collards, etc
Best Choices for Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids (Linoleic Acid):
- Flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal,
- hempseed oil, hempseeds,
- grapeseed oil,
- pumpkin seeds,
- Pignolia (pine) nuts,
- pistachio nuts,
- raw sunflower seeds (raw),
- borage oil,
- evening primrose oil,
- black currant seed oil
- Acai
Corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, and cottonseed oils are also sources of linoleic acid, but are refined and may be deficient in nutrients
Best Choices for Omega-9 Essential Fatty Acids (Oleic Acid)
While Omega-9 is not technically classified as an essential fatty acids because our bodies can manufacture it –however foods rich in oleic acid are recommended because oleic acid oleic acid assists in cancer protection, and decreases the risk of heart attacks and arteriosclerosis.
- Olive oil (extra virgin or virgin), olives,
- avocados,
- almonds,
- peanuts,
- sesame oil,
- pecans,
- pistachio nuts,
- cashews,
- hazelnuts,
- macadamia nuts
A special note on nuts and seeds:. Buy organic when possible, in small batches and store in the freezer to protect from rancidity
Amino acids
Amino acids – The building blocks of protein.
Twenty amino acids are needed to build the various proteins used in the growth, repair, and maintenance of body tissues. Eleven of these amino acids can be made by the body itself, while the other nine (called essential amino acids) must come from the diet. The classification of an amino acid as essential or nonessential does not reflect its importance, because all 20 amino acids are necessary for health. Instead, this classification system simply reflects whether or not the body is capable of manufacturing a particular amino acid.
- Amino Acid Cysteine The Wrinkle Cure on page 140, Dr. Perricone recommends 600-1,200 mg of amino acid cysteine a day with Vitamin C.
- The essential amino acids are alpha lipoic acid, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
- The nonessential amino acids are arginine, alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.
Essential Fatty Acids
The omega 3 essential fatty acids are particularly important and the best sources are the cold water fish and fish oil capsules, with nuts and seeds as the second best source.
However, omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health. Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9. All are needed to form and maintain the structural and functional integrity of cell membranes, provide fuel for cellular energy and create the hormone-like messenger chemicals, the prostaglandins and the eicosanoids, which regulate many key metabolic functions.
Because the body cannot make these essential fats, we must obtain them from our diets. This is a lot easier said than done. For one thing, many of us consume a low ratio of essential fatty acids compared to our intake of saturated fatty acids, such as those found in full fat dairy products and meat (we all know that saturated fats are pro-inflammatory and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease).
Unfortunately, when most of us do consume essential fatty acids, they tend to be omega-6, which is found in grains and vegetable oils such as corn and safflower. In fact, very few of us are getting the proper ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, which may account for the growing prevalence of serious health conditions like heart attacks, cancer, asthma, lupus, schizophrenia, depression, accelerated aging, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes in our society.
This imbalance upsets the proverbial fat-metabolizing apple cart. An overabundance of omega-6 is inflammatory and interferes with the body’s ability to use omega-3s—a serious situation because of the positive effects of omega-3s we talked about earlier: They inhibit the calories we consume from being stored as body fat, while promoting the burning of body fat we already have. It is believed that humans evolved with a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. It is now believed that the Western diet is 15:1 or significantly greater with the omega 6 intake far surpassing the omega 3 intake. To prevent disease, make a wrinkle cure, and feel your best, drastically limit intake of omega 6, eliminate all refined vegetables oils other than extra virgin olive oil and increase your intake of the omega 3’s.
Tomorrow we’ll discuss the best food choices to get your Omega 3s and Omega 6s.
The Power of Protein
Protein is the basic material of life. In fact, the word “protein” comes from an ancient Greek root meaning “of first importance.” The body could not grow or function without it. When protein is broken down by digestion the result is 22 known amino acids. Eight are essential (cannot be manufactured by the body) the rest are non-essential (can be manufactured by the body with proper nutrition). Since the human body can only manufacture 14 of the twenty-two amino acids that are essential for life, the remaining eight must be provided through the intake of dietary protein. Yet, the contemporary American diet rarely contains protein in sufficient quantity to maintain and repair cell and skin health.
When the protein supply is depleted, the body is forced to feed upon itself. This causes both tissue and muscle to break down.
Protein is essential to cellular repair. Without adequate protein, our bodies enter into an accelerated aging mode. Our muscles, organs, bones, cartilage, skin, and the antibodies that guard us from disease are all made of protein. Even the enzymes that facilitate all-important chemical reactions in our body—from digestion to building cells—are made of protein. If your cells do not have complete availability of all essential amino acids, cellular repair will not only be incomplete, it will be much slower than it should be.
Remember this key fact: we cannot store protein in our bodies. To keep our face and body firm, toned, lithe, and supple, provide it with a fresh supply of high quality protein every day. That’s three meals a day and two snacks. This protein, combined with skin care products, can help you maintain your youthful glow–skin that is virtually ageless!
Recommended Proteins include:
- Fish – wild Alaskan salmon is the best choice
- Shellfish
- Free range poultry
- Omega 3 organic eggs from free range chickens
- Tofu
- Low fat dairy products, esp. yogurt and kefir
PROTEIN FIRST!
As always, eat your protein first, and enjoy your fruits at the end of the meal to avoid any possible negative effects on blood sugar. An added bonus — protein will help suppress your appetite and keep you from overeating.