Debunking a few diet myths

I once heard you should learn something new everyday. I am certain that keeping one's mind active is key for long term mind health - or at least I hope it is! (LOL) I love researching and learning, no matter what my current passion. Anytime I embark on something new I tend to throw myself into it, fully.
I am very interested in the Cambiati Wellness 28 Day Jumpstart to healthy living program. On their web site I found a video clip, which debunks a few diet myths. I actually learned some VERY important things from this news interview clip with nutritionist Ti Caudron, who is also the cheif  inspiration officer of Cambiati Wellness and took some notes to share with you.
Myth – if you burn more calories than what you eat you will lose weight. That only works for a few people some of the time.
Truth - Muscle builds metabolism and metabolism is what helps you lose weight. When you partake in cardio exercise, you are using muscle as energy, and burning muscle mass. In other words, you are burning your fat burning machinery, aka: burn off your muscle and you burn off your metabolic booster. Ti suggests shorter, intense workouts mixed with resistance exercise.
Myth – A number of small meals each day (every 2-3 hrs) with healthy snacks is the best way to lose weight. (If memory serves correctly Dr. Oz just said something to this effect recently.)
Truth – Per Caudron, everytime you eat a hormone called insulin is released in your body. Insulin helps your body which helps cells use what you eat to create energy, but insulin also stores fat. So if you eat frequently throughout the day, even if it is a healthy green apple or a few almonds, your body is storing fat. The more small meals you eat, the more fat poured into fat stores. Instead, eat a complete and satisfying hormonally balanced meal every 4-6 hours to remain full and satisfied until your next meal. Always stop eating 3 hours before going to bed so your insulin can go down and you can burn more fat while you're sleeping.

Even though I did well with my own healthstyle change – this is where I err’d at the end of 2010. We received a delicious case of fruit from the HS band program – and I was taking an orange or grapefruit with me to work each day to eat between 2-3 p.m. Not that I was hungry, but I felt I was eating something healthy that would make me not eat much for dinner in a couple hours. Having learned how insulin works, I will now starting have a fruit directly after having my salad for lunch, sort of like dessert. This way my body is sending out the insulin “soldiers to collect fat” only once instead of twice. Again, adults eating in between meals releases fat.

If you work out within an hour of waking up, drink some water which will wake your body up. You have glycogen (energy stored in your legs) to get you going, and then your body will pull into your fat stores for fuel during the workout. If you eat something BEFORE going to the gym, again, you are just calling on your body to produce insulin, and in essence store fat.
You can find Ti's list of dieting myths and debunkingness :-) here at this link.

Speaking of insulin, when I typed insulin into the search engine of the Virginia Hopkins web-site Dr. Lee has an article on the newest disease of the millennium – Metabolic Syndrome.
An excerpt from the article reads: “Excess glucose (from sugar and carbohydrates) in the bloodstream, raises insulin levels which increases androgen (male hormone) levels in women. In plain English this means that if you eat excess sugar and carbs you’ll make excess male hormones. This was underscored in a Johns Hopkins study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in September 2004 which showed that women with metabolic syndrome have high androgen levels.” The article is quite interesting. Click on the link and chew on that.

If you have been reading my blog you already know how much I have praised green tea for all its benefits. In this same article I found a list of additional reasons to LOVE green tea- or learn to love it. Put a couple drops of agave nectar in your cup if you need to sweeten it. I find the AB Detox tea to be sweeter then most. In Lee's article, at the bottom, I learned yet something else new - I had no idea green tea can reverse cavities. I am liking that, especially since I question the safety of the flouridated mouth rinses. The credit for list below goes entirely to Lee from the Virginia Hopkins Healthwatch site.
One more thing, KNOW WHAT YOU EAT. Eating food that has hormones (chicken, beef) can make you gain weight. The hormones are GROWTH hormones – to lose weight you need to know your food source and quality. Of course I emailed the company, Fosters, that makes the chicken breast strips I use in my salads. It states hormone free, but I need to also clarify that it is MSG free before I recommend it to my clients, or continue eating it myself (since MSG not only kills brain cells, causes Alzheimers, etc. – but also makes people gain weight). I will keep you posted on their response.

Another day, learned something new - I hope you did too.
To your health!
Rita