give thanks

how many times do you find yourself saying that this is the year you will not over-eat during the holidays? only to find that once you sit in front that enormous display of food on the dinner table, you simply can’t resist devouring all of those savory decadent dishes. even those of you are generally disciplined with your eating habits get touched with the glutton fever too. so you eat until you can’t eat another bite and before you know it,you’ve sunken into a stupor, you have absolutely no desire to move or do anything at all. all you’re thinking about is sleep. i’m talking about that hibernating bear type of sleep, and before you can make it to bed your stomach starts orchestrating a symphony of weird noises, gas, followed by flatulence. so i thought with the holiday season upon us, there is no better time to give you the basics when it comes to food combination to help minimize or alleviate the inevitable.

if you’re unable to adhere to the following tips, due to certain family expectations, try to remember that there is a benefit from the following guidelines i am about to lay fourth. avoid drinking while eating, yes drinking includes any and all beverages including alcohol. what’s the holidays without a little  rum eggnog, or wine? i definitely understand that drinking while eating your meal is typical, but even a harmless glass of milk, tea, water or juice will cause your digestive enzymes to weaken. the fact is that during this colossal eating fest your body needs as much digestive fire power as possible, and since everything will be available for a limited time, you don’t want to miss out on auntie’s, mom’s, or grandma’s famous entree. so eat as you will, but avoid the drinking. basically, diminished digestive enzymes will not be strong enough to properly break down food and whatever you eat will end up sitting in your stomach for much longer than it should which will eventually lead to spoilage.

here are some more helpful tips:
don’t consume melons with any other foods
eat fruits alone
don’t eat more than one protein at a time for example, no turkey and shrimp
milk is best taken alone
don’t eat meats and starches together for example turkey with mashed potatoes

in addition, keep in mind the following time frames for digestion (when foods are combined in the manner i’ve previously suggested):
fruits generally take approximately 20-45 minutes to digest on an empty stomach
meat can take up to 4 hours and up
carbohydrates can take 2-3 hours

lastly, for all of my dessert lovers out there, brace yourself, for what i am about to tell you. all of these years you’ve heard that dessert should be eaten at the end of your meal, however this is not the best time to eat it. under normal circumstances it isn’t a good time because it prolongs digestion by several hours.  now considering the feast that awaits you, you can only begin to imagine how many days it will take to digest that food. dessert is weighty and just sits on top of everything else you’ve already eaten. It doesn’t break down right away and actually hinders digestion by causing fermentation and putrefaction which results in rotten food.  now, if you absolutely must have that slice of pie, apple or pumpkin, or chocolate cake, have a slice a few hours before the turkey is ready. this way you can also satisfy your sweet tooth.

by keeping these things in mind you can then create your own action plan to get the best digestion possible, while still enjoying a variety of foods.

so for this holiday season try something new; whether it be the avoidance of drinking during your meal, having dessert first, or simply eating a smaller portion to avoid the sluggish feeling, and see how you feel afterward.   it may very well change the way you approach holiday eating. happy holidays!

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kathleen

vaccines

create

kathleen

jump start

wouldnt you like to have a pep in your step in the morning, instead of feeling sluggish and tired? why not put your best foot forward and start your day off with a nutritious meal? as ive mentioned to you before, eating a heavy breakfast is not the way to go, however having a light, healthy one is.  for those of you, who often skip breakfast, try having a nutritious drink, and im not talking about a glass of oj either.  who says oj is the only nutritious drink that you can have in the morning? how about a tall glass of vegetable juice? although juicing is the best option, if youre unable to do so, you can always buy a bottle of vegetable juice thats made from 100% natural ingredients, no artificial flavors, and definitely no added sugars. since, it is recommended that you have a minimum of four servings of vegetables per day, just by drinking one cup, helps meet half your daily requirement (remember one serving is equivalent to a half of a cup, and if youre a proud owner of one of those super duper mugs, one cup still equals eight ounces. ) finally, if youre trying to cutback on those extra calories, this is a great way to incorporate vegetables into your daily meal plan.

kathleen

mmmm mmmm good

ingredients:
whole corn, corn oil, salt, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), buttermilk solids, whey protein concentrate, whey tomato powder, monosodium glutamate (MSG), romano cheese (part-skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), onion powder, wheat flour, natural and artificial flavor, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, artificial color (including yellow 6 lake, yellow 5 lake, yellow 6, red 40 lake) sugar, garlic powder, disodium phosphate, dextrose, parmesan cheese (part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), spice, citric acid, lactic acid, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate.
contains: milk and wheat ingredients.

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does this look familiar? it should, then again, like most of us, you probably tear into the bag, eat one chip and keep crunching away until the bag is empty. now what if you found out that your favorite snacks and mostly all processed foods are laced with a chemical that harms your entire body? in addition, that the chemical can be the cause of brain damage, obesity, reproductive disorders, eye damage and a slew of other medical conditions?  the saying “you cant have just one,” commonly used for marketing the salty, greasy snacks we love so much, is no exaggeration. we eat toxic food and we eat it in abundance, unaware that our food is filled with something called msg.

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msg stands for monosodium glutamate, and is a neurotoxin that wreaks havoc on the body. this neurotoxin specifically damages the structures of nerve cells. msg is also referred to as an excitotoxin, which is any substance added (generally to food) that over-excites cells to the point of damage. what does all of this actually mean? unfortunately, it means that msg, found in most of our food, is a form of poison that causes a break down of our cellular structure. in addition, our bodies were not made to ingest mass quantities of any poison let alone this one.

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why is msg  in our food to begin with?

msg is a flavor enhancer used by the food industry to increase the perceived taste of any item. msg is created by altering the natural or bound glutamic acid to free glutamic acid. the break down is done through processes called autolyzed, fermented, hydrolyzed, modified, texturized, and then finally the product is refined to a white powder which  is mixed with salt to enhance the flavor of any food. therefore, by simply adding this drug, food manufacturers and restaurants can take mediocre or poor quality foods and create that extra yummy factor. so ultimately, to mask poor quality and taste msg is added.  sadly, while our taste buds appreciate the flavor, our bodies cannot correctly break down the toxin.

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to avoid confusion be aware that there is actually a naturally occurring msg called l-glutamic acid. this msg is an amino acid (building block of protein) and is found in plants and animals, specifically; tomatoes, mushrooms, dairy products wheat, to name a few. this form of msg  is harmless (as long as it isnt consumed in excess). as it is found in nature, the body is well equipped to safely and properly break down natural msg in order to properly utilize it. it is the processed msg that you must avoid.

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msg  is widely used in thousands of products, and since it isnt always listed as monosodium glutamate, detection is not as easy as you may think. for instance, take another look at the above label. on the second line of the list of ingredients, monosodium glutamate is clearly printed, however contained within this same label are other names for msg. thats right, due to public awareness, food producers and restaurants have deliberately renamed msg to more tasty and natural sounding names for their ingredients. i have provided a list of names commonly used by manufactures.

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the following names will always contain msg;

glutamate
monosodium glutamate
monopotassium glutamate
yeast extract
hydrolyzed protein
glutamic acid
calcium caseinate
sodium caseinate
yeast food
hydrolyzed corn gluten
gelatin
textured protein
yeast nutrient
autolyzed yeast
natrium glutamate

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these often contain msg;

carrageenan
natural pork flavoring
bouillon and broth
natural beef flavoring
stock
whey protein concentrate
whey protein
whey protein isolate
flavors
flavorings
natural flavorings
maltodextrin
citric acid
natural chicken flavoring
ultra-pasteurized
barley malt
protease
protease enzymes
anything enzyme modified
enzymes anything
malt extract
malt flavoring
soy protein isolate
soy sauce
soy sauce extract
soy protein
soy protein concentrate
anything protein fortified
anything fermented
seasonings

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so as you see, mere avoidance of the toxin is not easy due to the efforts of manufacturers. the renaming of msg ensures that no one is spared, whether theyre infants, elderly, or vegetarians alike. so please be vigilant when it comes to reading food labels and when in doubt throw it out!

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kathleen