New Year, New Diet?

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It’s early January, and for those of you who have gym memberships, you know that means dealing with a lot more people. A new year spurs New Year’s resolutions, one of the most common of which is to lose weight. Part of that process obviously involves the gym… hence the million-and-one extra people every night getting their treadmill on.

But the other, perhaps more important, aspect of shedding the pounds is diet. Because, unfortunately, no amount of exercise can offset the amount of calories, sugar, and fat I can personally consume in doughnuts. Or cheesecake. Or cookies. Or… well, you get the point.

So what’s the best diet? That really depends on the individual. The key is establishing a lifestyle that is both healthy and sustainable. For me, that means generally eating lots of veggies, fruits, and lean meats while moderating my intake of things like sugar, dairy, and gluten. I don’t completely cut anything out of my diet; rather, I choose to savor those foods by eating them only occasionally.

One of the unexpected bonuses of eating more veggies and less sugar is that I actually eat more food. That’s because the foods I consume are often less calorie dense but more nutrient dense than things like chocolate doughnuts. For those of you who are calorie counters, you likely already know that consuming more vegetables, fruits, and lean meats allows you to eat a lot more food than when consuming sugary treats like soda and candy bars.

  

This year, U.S. News & World Report’s best ranking diets overall (as rated by food and health experts) include the Mediterranean Diet, the Dash Diet, and the Flexitarian Diet. The lowest ranking diets? The Keto Diet and the Dukan Diet, which were rated as too hard to follow and therefore unsustainable. The Weight Watchers diet scored the top slot for Best Commercial Diets and Best Weight-Loss Diets.

Women’s Health Magazine recently shared a fun video that shows what 1,200 calories looks like for three popular diets: paleo, Mediterranean, and vegan. Which one looks the most appealing to you?



Do you follow a particular diet? Or are you more of a diet sampler like me, simply keeping to an overall “healthy eating” lifestyle?

Stress, Diet, and Genetics: A Recipe For Adult Female Acne

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Researchers from Italy may have just uncovered the mystery behind adult female acne. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, acne in women is caused by three main factors: stress, diet, and genetics.  

The study looked at 500 women over the age of 25. Researchers found that these women had a few things in common. For one, they had diets low in fruits and vegetables. Secondly, they had a family history of acne. And thirdly, they reported chronic levels of stress and anxiety.

For Dr. Debra Jaliman, none of this is surprising. Jaliman is an assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She said it’s quite common to see adult women with acne.

“Women tend to get adult acne more often than men. It’s often due to changes in hormone levels and or hormonal imbalances,” Jaliman stated.

But she’s also well aware of the link between acne and diet. Jaliman said that she’s seen plenty of people, both men and women, whose acne is caused by poor eating habits.

“We see that people who have a diet of junk food tend to break out more,” Jaliman explained.

Interestingly enough, the study did not find any connection between acne and dairy. Some dermatologists theorize that the hormones present within dairy cause imbalances in humans that lead to acne. However, the researchers in this study found no evidence to support that claim.

Rather, researchers suspect that high glycemic index foods—such as sugar, white bread, chips, and pastas—are to blame. High GI foods cause blood sugar levels to spike, which can disrupt hormone levels.

So on the bright side, two out of the three factors are completely within one’s control. As for the genetics aspect? Well, mom and dad can take the blame for that one.

Why Sweet Potatoes Are Awesome

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With the holidays coming up, there are going to be lots of recipes to test out. While I advocate for indulging and enjoying food with friends and family, I also want to shine a spotlight on one of nature’s hardiest and most healthful creations: the sweet potato! This tasty tuber offers a lot of health benefits and is home to plenty of nutrients. It’s not pretty to look at, but the sweet potato is a healthy and delicious alternative to the ordinary russet!

They provide the good kind of carbs.

Some carbohydrates are actually good for you because your body has to work to process them. Sweet potatoes’ carbs are lower on the glycemic index so they don’t spike your blood sugar as much as regular potatoes, meaning no sugar crashes and better control for people with diabetes.

They’re high in potassium.

We need more potassium in our lives, guys. It helps the body regulate itself by promoting healthy digestion, nourishes nerves, and gives muscles the strength they need. Additionally, potassium can help offset some of the harm sodium, that ever-prevalent ingredient, does to blood pressure. “A high potassium intake is associated with a 20 percent decreased risk of dying from all causes!” says Mother Nature Network.

Sweet potatoes can fight some kinds of cancer.

Sweet potatoes, which are very high in beta carotene, can help ward off prostate and colon cancers. They contain a fat-soluble pigment the body converts into vitamin A, which can prevent the development of these cancers. Vitamin A can also help keep eyes healthy and prevent deterioration of vision.

They promote bone health.

Because sweet potatoes are also high in manganese, they help keep bones healthy and dense. Getting more manganese in a diet is especially healthy for women, as boosting daily intake can lessen the effects of PMS so that women suffer fewer cramps, mood swings, and discomfort.

Sweet potatoes have a lot of other benefits, too, but one of their most lively is the ways they’re cooked! Try this recipe for classic mashed sweet potatoes, easy maple-baked wedges, or a sweet potato and apple soup. Yum!

Carbohydrates Helped Human Brains Develop

A full paleo diet!
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If you’re a fan of “paleo” diets, you might be in for some bad news: eating starchy foods was part of the reason human brains are so large. Meat-heavy diets have been around for years, but a recent trend has been to tie them to early human evolution, and argue that they are, therefore, better for us. The trend is largely based on science that suggests that eating meat, specifically cooked meat, was the key to developing larger brains, which in turn allowed us to develop language, civilization, and, my personal favorite, the internet.

However, according to a new study, while eating meat may have spurred brain development, eating carbohydrates is what allowed us to keep it going. The brain requires about 60% of the blood glucose that your body produces, and it’s much more efficient to give the brain what it wants by eating carbohydrates. Furthermore, low blood glucose levels during pregnancy and lactation can threaten the health of both mother and child. Starches, which are the principle source of carbohydrates, were readily available to early humans, and the development of cooking made digesting them much easier. And to top it all off, we developed salivary amylase genes to break down those carbohydrates. Our bodies, as they currently exist, evolved to eat both meat and carbohydrates, not one or the other. So why choose?

This new study gives us some important insight into the development of early humans. Since about 800,000 years ago, human brain size has been increasing, though obviously the most significant growth was earlier in the process. But that growth was facilitated by eating carbohydrates, which allowed for earlier brain development in fetuses, which in turn led to larger brains overall. The research also has implications for modern dieters as removing entire food groups from your diet, or even just severely reducing them, can have negative effects on your health. It’s important to think carefully about what we’re putting in our bodies—how it’s going to affect us, both in the short-term and the long-term.

Tuesday Inspiration: Edgar Hernandez

Edgar has lost 165 pounds in a year and a half.

Here’s a story that should inspire you to live healthy: Edgar Hernandez, 18, has lost nearly 200 pounds in two years. At 16 years old, 5’ 7” and 370 pounds, Edgar was diagnosed as pre-diabetic by his doctor—a problem shared by both his parents, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in their forties.

His whole family had a weight problem. Plagued with bullying, depression, extremely low self-esteem, and now, the looming threat of diabetes, Edgar made a decision that would change his life: he took responsibility for his weight problem. Seeing his mother burst into tears at the doctor’s office was the tipping point for what has been an extraordinary journey to a healthy lifestyle.

“It was time to stop blaming others for my choices and make a choice to take responsibility,” he said, according to CNN. He went for a spur-of-the-moment jog, making it just half a mile before he had to stop and throw up, a sure sign that getting healthy would be more like a marathon than a sprint.

He started by walking before and after school, scaling up gradually until he was walking about two miles per day. Next, he added short running intervals, which he added to gradually. Eventually, he was able to run a full mile.

Edgar’s older brother, Mario, was 5’ 7” and weighed 235 pounds. Inspired by Edgar’s dedication, he teamed up with his brother and together the two tackled the next obstacle: food. Together, they swapped the family’s stock of processed, fatty, and sugary foods with fresh produce and chicken breasts. Healthier foods paired with portion control helped the brothers begin shedding the pounds.

By January, just two months after Edgar decided to get healthy, the two began going on runs together. In just over a year and a half, Edgar has gone from not being able to run half a mile to running in a half marathon last month. He now weighs a healthy 180 pounds, while his brother Mario weighs 165.

With his new healthy lifestyle has come another gift: happiness. Edgar has been able to find his way out of depression and now says his favorite activities are running and weightlifting.

Edgar participated in his first 1/2 marathon last month!

“Running is what made me feel happy,” he says. “I had gotten what they call ‘runner’s high’ and now running has become a lifestyle,” he says.

“I wouldn’t even step out my door to get the mail before,” he said. “People don’t see the dark, sad side of me anymore. They see a bright, happy kid.”

So, what’s Edgar’s advice to those who want to live healthier? Don’t hold back. If you say you’re going to run, do it today. Don’t put it off until something serious happens.

You can follow Edgar and his amazing journey on Facebook and Twitter.

Images: "Run With Edgar" Facebook page.

How to Prevent and Relieve Headaches – Naturally

I used to get migraines. A lot. They first started when I was just beginning high school (though I thought they were just headaches back then), and I’d suffer through them a few times each week, popping aspiring like candy to try and dull the pain. It wasn’t until my senior year, when I’dcompletely wrecked my stomach with aspirin, that I found out they were migraines.

I finally got special preventative medicine and “emergency” pills for when I felt a migraine coming on. In order for the preventatives to work, I was supposed to start out with one pill per day. If I got a headache, I was supposed to go up to two per day. If I still was getting migraines, I could go up to three per day. I liked the idea of not getting migraines all the time, but I was frustrated by the fact that, at age 17, I would have to take pills every day. The pills seemed to work fairly well, and I cut the frequency of my migraines down to one every week or two for the next few months.

I couldn’t afford to stay on the medication for more than a summer, though, and in the fall I started college—and the migraines came back. Since I didn’t have prescription medicine, I settled for Excedrin Migraine, which was a 50/50 toss up between working and making me nauseous in addition to the migraine.

These days, I’m lucky enough to have health insurance and can actually afford migraine medicine. I chose not to go the preventative pill route, though, instead opting for just the “emergency” medication. Not taking preventative medication is a personal choice, but one that can sometimes make life more difficult—if I’m not careful, I end up getting far more headaches than I probably would otherwise. But it’s worth it to me to not feel like I’m relying on medication to be well. This is something I can battle on my own.

Instead, I try to prevent and ease my migraines through a variety of natural methods. Some work better than others, but I figure everything is worth a try. Here are some of the things you can do to help prevent or treat migraines naturally:

1. Get enough rest.
2. Eat small, frequent meals.
3. Use a cold compress on your forehead.
4. Take a hot shower.
5. Get a massage.
6. Try acupressure.
7. Drink less alcohol.
8. Drink more water.
9. Maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise.
10. Minimize stress.
11. Moderate caffeine intake. A little is ok, but don’t overdo it.
12. Take breaks from the computer.
13. Don’t get too much sun.
14. Exercise regularly.
15. Don’t stress your jaw – no jaw clenching or excessive gum chewing.
16. Monitor your food triggers and avoid foods that set off migraines.
17. Avoid overstimulation.
18. Ride shotgun to avoid motion sickness (and migraines).
19. Keep a regular schedule.
20. Make sure you’re getting enough vitamins.

Take a look at this article on Yahoo! Shine for more details on any of the above items and why they help with migraines. Do you have any more to add to the list? I once had a doctor recommend rubbing rosemary oil on my temples to stimulate blood flow—and it actually did help a lot.

Stay happy. Stay healthy.