Archive for September 2007
Proteins, Fats, and Carbs… Who Wins?
I just stumbled upon a really interesting video conducting an experiment that might answer some of our questions about food. What this experiment shows is how fatty, high protein, and high carbohydrate foods all compare to each other. They use three men that have just about the same body types and the equal food snacking habits. The goal is to see which type of these three foods has the ability to subside hunger cravings the longest. The results are very interesting, yet somewhat expected. The findings of this unique experiment also go hand in hand with The Importance of Breakfast, posted the other day about eating a very balanced breakfast. Starting the day out right will help subside all of those hunger cravings for the rest of the day, and in result give you much more energy as well.
Check it out by clicking here.
Have a good Sunday everyone!
Napping is a Very Powerful Tool
Most people associate nappers with lazy people. You sleep all night and still need a nap in the middle of the day. You must have went to bed too late or are just plain lazy. Studies have actually shown lately that there is a little more to napping than meets the eye. There are numerous benefits.
- Naps improve alertness and stamina.
- Naps can lift productivity and mood.
- They can lower stress.
- They can improve memory and learning.
- Brain activity stays high throughout the day after naps.
The optimum nap time is about 20 minutes but no more. When you sleep for 20 minutes you go through the first 2 cycles of sleep where you really relax and fall in to a slight sleep. Any more than that and you start to fall in to the third cycle of sleep which is a deeper, slow wave sleep. If you start to slip in to this stage of sleep, you may wake up groggy and tired. This is the opposite effect of what you want. So set an alarm clock to get the optimum level of sleep.
When taking a nap, follow these steps:
- Avoid drinking caffeine, sugar, or fatty foods before naps.
- Eat foods with calcium or protein which promote sleep.
- Find a dark place to sleep or use an eye shade.
- Find a quiet place to sleep where you won’t be disturbed.
- Sleep with a blanket to raise body temperature.
- White noise works for some people to help them relax.
- Set an alarm to make sure you don’t fall in to too deep of a sleep.
Power naps are very beneficial. Take advantage of them to improve your life. For more information on the subject and the source of this material, check out this article at Men’s Journal.
-M
The Good In Beer
Well it’s Friday again, so it’s time to bring back the topic of alcohol. Each Friday I think I’ve decided to have a new quirk on the subject since some of us like to “relax” a little more on the weekends. I started with last week’s post, The Hangover Cureall?, pointing out what actually goes on during a hangover, along with a method to try and remedy them.
This week I was thinking about what actual advantages coming from drinking beer in moderation, of course. I did a little research and to my surprise, came up with some interesting points. There have been numerous studies that have proved that drinking beer (normally darker the better) shows very similar advantages that red wine gives to our bodies. We have all heard that drinking a glass of red wine with dinner actually helps make a more efficient heart, now the same with beer can be said. Red wine and beer contain a very similar amount of antioxidants, but a giant 4-5 times more than white wine. Getting rid of those cancer-causing free-radicals has never been so fun!
Another study conducted by the Texas Southwestern Medical Center shows that those who consume a moderate one to two beers a day have a 30-40% lower rate of getting coronary heart disease compared to non-drinkers. Along with this, those moderate drinkers can enjoy knowing that they have a 20% less chance of getting a stroke, which unfortunately is a leading cause of death in America. No matter what beer you prefer: the wheats, pale ales, stouts, ambers, lagers, or even those bitter ones, you’re receiving these great benefits, in moderation of course!
Interesting Beer Facts
- It’s cholesterol and fat-free
- It helps prevent heart disease and aides in circulation of the body
- It’s a depressant, so it relaxes the body and helps rid stress
- Beers are nutritious if consumed in moderation
- It helps you sleep easier
Many believe that by being a very athletic person, beer should be completely cut out from the diet. If beer is consumed in a very moderate manner, each beer can be worked off very easily. Since an average beer consists of about 250 calories in a 8-12 ounce serving, this should not throw off an athlete’s training plan. With this moderation, even those who do not have a rigorous workout schedule would be easily able to burn it off through normal daily routines.
The last two times I have run a half-marathon, I have seen groups of people with shirts that read “I Run For Beer”. Obviously these people have the right idea that running and a moderated beer consumption can go hand in hand. As long as you have a healthy diet and have the ability to limit yourself when a beer comes into the picture, you shouldn’t have a problem. Beer and a being healthy aren’t incompatible!
Power Breakfasts
Continuing with the theme of my previous post, The Importance of Breakfast, I want to bring to light the breakfast recipes that I use to start my day. Since each breakfast and meal provide different benefits, it sometimes proves worth researching how certain types of foods with act with your body.
Recently, I began following a running training schedule that has me covering 40 miles per week on average. Since my long runs are on Sundays, my body doesn’t normally feel the after-effects until a day later; Mondays are recovery days. I found a very simple breakfast recipe that proves to provide a ton of carbs with lean proteins to help aide in the recovery process. The low fats and easy digestion of this meal helps glucose reach the aching muscles much quicker than heavier meals. The addition of the smoothie is the staple, in my mind, and it is very easy on stomachs just starting the day after a tiring weekend. I ate this breakfast this morning, so if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, give it a shot!
Fruit Smoothie and More
- Using a blender, combine 1/2 cup (or whatever consistency you prefer) of orange juice, 1/2-1 of a frozen banana, and about a 1/2 or more of frozen strawberries.
- I also added 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder in the smoothie, just for kicks. The flavor was awesome and was a perfect start to the day.
- 1 slice of toast (wheat preferably) or a bagel with jam or jelly.
- Drink a juice, tea, coffee, or whatever liquid in the morning that gets you going. No sodas or “fake” sugar juices! About 8-10 oz. is a good serving size for these.
This meal provides about 500 calories with 10g of protein (almost 30g with the powder included), 100g of carbohydrates, and about 3.5-4g of fat. This is a very balanced meal that provides enough nutrients and vitamins, so it should hold any appetite over until lunch time. Of course, adding any small healthy snacks before then is never a bad thing!
The Importance of Breakfast
Everyday is a new and unique day, but there is one thing that should be consistent. Just as preparing ourselves for work or school is a daily routine that we have mastered, so should eating a sufficient breakfast. We have all heard since our youth that it is the most important meal of the day, and that is no lie. As we get older we take on much more responsibility and feel pressured with the tasks we have at hand from the time we step out of bed. It’s very simple to have this very important meal overlooked and put off until later in the day. I can definitely relate to this because I have done it through most of high school and college. Many Americans skip breakfast and instead eat small snacks that hold us over until lunchtime, which is when we pig out to our heart’s content. It’s strange that in many cultures, such as in Mexico, breakfast is looked at as being the essential meal of the day. Families gather to eat together before everyone is out of the house doing their own tasks. This is something that is lost in many households today, but is something we should definitely try and change for the better.
Beginning in our youth, not eating breakfast is the most harmful. With the lack of food in the morning, there is a direct link to producing a very low iron level in many young people. With this low iron level, learning and completing tasks throughout the day becomes much more difficult. As these years are the most essential times in life to learn, much of the youth that are not fed properly are not getting the amount of knowledge from their schooling as they should. The intake of essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium, folic acid, and zinc are much higher in breakfast-eaters. These studies and results were published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
In fact, not many of us think that eating breakfast can actually help us lose weight, or simply keep of those pounds. By beginning the day with a meal of about 500-600 calories, we are setting the stage for our stomach for the rest of the day. In the morning meals do not need to be filled with meats, like your other meals might, but rather with fiber-filled foods. Finding a good fiber-rich cereal, granola, or oatmeal can definitely do the trick. These are foods that are able to subside hunger and any snack cravings for hours on end. Actually, they also steer the body away from heart disease, diabetes, and the possibility of a stroke, as well.
Occasionally in this blog I will begin to post a solid, yet very quick and easy breakfast recipes that I use. Those who are not avid cooks and dread waiting for their food to be prepared should not be alarmed; these will be recipes that require no more than 5 minutes of preparation. I am a person that loves meals that are quick and ready for me to eat, so sparing an extra few minutes to cook and eat a healthy breakfast in the morning is definitely something I work to continue, and so should you if you haven’t done so already.
