Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

In This Issue:

Falling Off the Diet Bandwagon? Read This

By James LaValle, R.Ph, ND, CCN

A New York Times article this week confirmed my worst fears – stress is sending Americans to candy stores in droves.¹

While at first glance this little headline, "When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls" seems amusing, from my perspective it unwittingly brings up two important issues in healthcare today: 

1. The simplistic assertion that to manage our weight, all we have to do is control calories in and calories out. 

There are many factors that influence our ability to lose weight and keep it off, and this headline is an example of an important one – stress.  Stress from economic crisis is doing what we see over and over again in patients at LMI — reducing serotonin and inducing carbohydrate cravings. 

So what’s the harm in eating a little candy if you’re stressed?   Nothing if you can stop at "a little," but if you make that stop at the candy bowl too much of a habit, you can quickly undo weight loss and start to increase health risks. 

Stress management is such an important factor for long term weight control, I have made it one of the key components of my approach to weight loss.

What do you do when stress is causing candy cravings — give in?  Not in my book.  You take steps to better manage your body’s response to that stress.  What we do is choose from a variety of supplements that we have found to be very effective in combating stress – Relora for example for carb-related cravings.  If you can enhance Relora’s effect with stress reducing mind-body exercises like Missy discussed in her February 24 article  – all the better.

2. The belief that sugar and sweets are relatively benign foods.  

For example, many diets allow the intake of refined sugars in candies and desserts as long as the overall caloric intake is controlled.  The rationale is that by allowing yourself to eat a small amount of sweets, you won’t feel deprived.  It seems reasonable, but in my experience, this approach will not work for many people for a number of reasons.

One reason is because once some people start eating the sweets they just can’t stop; instead of eating one of those little 100-calorie snack packets, they end up eating the whole box.  

A study published in a journal called Eating Behavior looked at people with low mood who crave sweets, just like we are seeing now with people who are stressed and trying to lift their mood with candy.   The study found that those people who get the biggest mood boost from sweets also have the worst control over their intake of sweets.²  So, it gets to be a vicious cycle. And according to this study, the better the sugar makes you feel, the more likely you are to over eat sweets.

Unfortunately, eating too much sugar is indeed harmful.  For one, studies show it raises triglycerides, blood fats that increase heart disease risk and that are deposited as fat in our fat cells. A very recent study found that while all sugars consumed in excess of our caloric needs are quickly converted to triglycerides, when the proportion was 50% or more of the sugar as fructose, the production of body fat increased significantly — and it even increased the production of fat from foods eaten later at lunch.³

Sugar also depletes chromium4  and magnesium,⁵ two minerals that are needed to properly process glucose.  For example, insulin receptors need 4 molecules of chromium for them to become active; if you don’t have the chromium, the receptors simply don’t work.  In fact, chromium depletion is a hugely under-recognized cause of insulin resistance, in my opinion.

Interestingly, a study from 2004 found that depressed individuals who had the highest level of carbohydrate cravings had significantly reduced carb cravings and improved mood and energy when given 400 mcg and then 600 mcg of chromium.⁶ (Instead of reaching for the candy bowl, try some chromium instead.)

Magnesium is also important for insulin to function properly; a recent study found that magnesium intake was one of only two dietary factors that can significantly increase our production of adiponectin, a hormone that improves insulin receptor function and helps control weight.⁷ (The other factor that increased adiponectin was high intake of non-starchy vegetables, in my opinion another important part of any good weight management program.)

So, the more sweets you eat, the more you deplete the very nutrients that are needed to help your cells metabolize the sugar in them. It is via depletion of minerals that consuming too many sweets could indirectly be leading to insulin resistance.

Here’s my point. You could constantly be regaining weight because you don’t recognize that stress chemistry keeps leading you back to over intake of sugars.  Or perhaps a history of high sugar intake has depleted your chromium and magnesium and contributed to insulin resistance and reduced adiponectin. 

Perhaps you have just never learned how to eat more of those non-starchy vegetables that are so advantageous for your health and weight.   If this sounds like you, maybe it’s time to stop putting your hope in over simplistic approaches to diet and start looking for more comprehensive solutions.  If that is the case I strongly encourage you to consider the approach in my Metabolic Code Diet, which will reduce your stress and help you attain permanent weight loss the healthy way.

References

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/nyregion/24candy.html?th&emc=th.
2. Kampov-Polevoy AB, et al. Eat Behav. 2006 Aug;7(3):181-7.
3. UT Southwestern Medical Center (2008, July 28). Limiting Fructose May Boost Weight Loss, Researcher Reports. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/07/080724064824.htm.
4. Kozlovsky AS, et al. Metabolism. 1986 Jun;35(6):515-18.
5. Paolisso G. et al. Diabetologia. Sep 1990. 33(9):511-14.
6. Docherty JP, et al. J Psychiatr Pract. 2005 Sep;11(5):302-14.
7. Cassidy A, et al. J of Nutr. Feb 2009. 139(2):353-358.

[Ed. Note: James LaValle is the founding Director of the LaValle Metabolic Institute, one of the largest integrative medicine practices in the country.  Dr. LaValle is Executive Editor of THB's The Healing Prescription and the author of The Metabolic Code Diet: Unleashing the Power of Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss and Vitality.  To learn more, click here.]

utting Edge Fitness:

Ropes Gone Wild! No Impact — Pure Adrenaline!

By Missy Hawthorne, RN, CSCS

As a fitness trainer, I am always happy when I have a little free time to train myself for a change. The other day as I walked into Cincinnati Functional Fitness (CFF), a gym where I train clients.  I had about an hour or so before my clients would begin arriving, enough time for a great cardio workout. As I walked towards the treadmill looking forward to running intervals, Scott a fellow trainer and owner of the gym stopped me and said, "I have a new cardio workout that will challenge you like no other." 

He then pointed to the other side of the gym and said, "Go over there and pick up the rope." Anchored to the base of a very heavy piece of equipment was a 40 foot long, 1.5 inch beast of a rope! How would I jump this rope?

Scott then coached me through a series of patterns and combinations of undulating and rotating motions, and I was gasping for air in a matter of minutes without lifting a foot from the ground!  So you don’t jump; with this workout you pick up the ropes and hurl these monsters!

I had just had my first introduction to a new workout called "Ropes Gone Wild!" Developed by personal trainer and entrepreneur Anthony Diluglio, this program pushes your heart and lungs to anaerobic levels by recruiting the muscles of the core and the upper body, sparing the lower body from yes, treadmill torture! So this is a great way to condition at high levels and keep your legs fresh.¹

Voted the best new cardio tool in April’s edition of Men’s Health, this workout is definitely something you have to experience to believe. To begin, there are two types of rope: manila, which is a natural fiber best for outdoors, and nylon (recommended for indoors).  The ropes are 30, 40 and 50 feet in length. The length has nothing to do with the fitness ability of the client. 

You can get quite a workout from any length, but longer ropes challenge your strength and coordination a little more. The diameter of the ropes is 1.5 inches or 2.0 inches, the larger being the more challenging. The ropes are anchored with hardware at the floor edge of a wall that allows the rope to slide through a ring.  The rope is pulled through to the middle, which allows you to grip both ends; or you can simply slide the rope through the handle of a heavy kettle bell (if available).²

Now the fun begins! Gripping the ropes with both hands, standing straight, knees slightly bent and core engaged, you begin moving the ropes in various patterns, keeping your elbows fairly close to the body. The first pattern I did was called a "double wave." As you move the ropes in unison, creating a wave-like pattern, your body becomes part of that wave pattern.

I continued the "double wave" for 30 seconds and then changed to an "alternating wave" followed by a "figure eight." Wow! By 90 seconds into the workout my heart rate was anaerobic and I was completely breathless. After a brief recovery we continued for several more patterns until I was pleasantly exhausted! What a workout! High intensity, no impact, intense core training, maximum heart rate in minimum time — and your legs get a rest — all at the same time!  

If you haven’t already seen ropes at your gym, you probably will soon.  As far as I know, CFF was the first to get them in our area, but I’m looking for them to appear in more and more fitness centers.  And if you do see them, don’t hesitate to try them.  These ropes are a fun and challenging way to add some variety to your workout.  For more information on "Ropes Gone Wild" visit artofstrength.com.

References

1. Westen, K. April 2009. The Best New Fitness Gear. Men’s Health, 90-92
2. www.artofstrength.com.

[Ed. Note: Melissa Hawthorne, RN, BSN, CSCS is the owner of Priority Fitness Personal Training and Wellness.  She is a Master Trainer for the Resist-a-ball Company, ISCA Personal Training, Kick-boxing, and Beamfit.   Melissa serves as a fitness consultant for the LaValle Metabolic Institute.  To learn more, click here.]

Healthy Nutrition:

Lowering Triglycerides: Don’t Be Misguided

By Laura LaValle, RD, LD

While the Corn Refiners Association and the Sugar Association continue to sponsor studies and media campaigns to promote their "safe, natural sweeteners," whether people know it or not, headlines are running concurrently that attest to the dangers of the over- consumption of sugars.

It was just reported that 1 in 3 American adults has elevated triglycerides,¹ a condition that is now known to significantly raise risk for heart disease.  Even children can have high triglycerides, and Heartwire just reported that elevated triglyceride levels in childhood were found to significantly increase the rates of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke in adulthood. 

I chose to write about this today because the preferred way to lower triglycerides by far, is diet and lifestyle.   The diet that is most effective for lowering triglycerides however, is not the one that is typically recommended in conventional medicine today. 

For instance, the current American Heart Association recommendations for lowering triglycerides are to lose weight; to reduce intake of trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and alcohol; to increase intake of omega-3 fats; and  to exercise.  Removing trans fat from the diet and increasing omega-3 via fish oil are both crucial, but in our experience at LMI, these measures will have limited impact if a person’s carbohydrate intake (not fat intake) remains too high. 

Elevated triglycerides are seen frequently in people with diabetes.  Diabetics have elevated triglycerides because when blood glucose is elevated, the liver converts the excesses to fat.  But you don’t have to be diabetic to have high triglycerides. Anytime you take in carbohydrates in amounts that exceed the body’s requirements for energy, you can start to raise triglycerides.

The research is pretty clear — it is carbohydrates that have the biggest impact on triglycerides.  Here’s a quick rundown:

1. Researchers compared the rate of triglyceride production in the liver with high fat/low carb diets and conversely with low fat/high carb diets (the diet that is currently recommended by the AHA) and found that two factors increase triglycerides: hyperinsulinemia and low fat diets.²
2. In human subjects consuming more than 30% of their calories from fat, triglyceride synthesis was greatly reduced.  When fat was replaced with carbohydrates, triglyceride production increased.³
3. Several studies looking at low-carb diets compared to low-fat diets for weight loss have found that low-carb diets led to slightly more weight loss than low-fat diets.   Low-carb diets also led to significant lowering of triglycerides compared to low-fat diets.  In fact, low-fat diets didn’t lower triglycerides at all, and sometimes led to increases in triglycerides.^4-6

I cannot explain why the dietary recommendations aren’t being updated based on these studies.  But I can tell you that in practice we find low sugar and starch diets to be the most effective for lowering triglycerides.

Glucose and fructose are the simple sugars that most affect triglycerides.  Glucose is found in high amounts in starchy foods like potatoes, rice, and grains.  It is also found in high amounts in sugar beets and sugar cane from which granulated sugar is made.  Fructose is highest in fruits and fruit juices.  Corn starch can be dissolved to make corn syrup (which is high in both fructose and glucose) and further broken down with enzymes and lye to create high fructose corn syrup.

As Jim’s article explained, a recent study found that sweetened beverages that had more fructose than glucose had the worst impact on triglyceride production.  This is the combination of sugars that you would find in beverages like soft drinks, sweetened teas, and fruit juices that are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

So, if you have high triglycerides, the first step to take is to eliminate all sweets and sweetened soft drinks, teas, and fruit juice.  Watch for hidden sugars like sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup and HFCS on labels in other foods.  Increasing your activity can be a big help, but if your triglycerides still don’t come down to optimum levels of well under 150 mg/dL, you should also reduce your intake of starchy foods like potatoes, rice, and pasta. 

If your carb restriction has to be severe in order to lower triglycerides, it is an indication that your insulin receptors could use some nutritional support. Chromium, magnesium and alpha-lipoic acid are nutrients that we find to be very effective for lowering insulin and thus triglycerides. 

Alpha-lipoic acid was recently found to lower triglyceride production in mice, and not only that, it went on to reduce atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries.  The researchers noted that these results were obtained with what would be the human equivalent dosage of 2000 mg per day.⁷

References

1. http://www.lipidsonline.org/news/article.cfm?aid=7608.
2. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Jan;77(1):43-50.
3. Proc Nutr Soc. 2002 May;61(2):281-6.
4. NEJM. May 22, 2003. 348(21): 2092-90.
5. JAMA. 2007;297:969-977.
6. Nutrition & Metabolism. 2005, 2:31doi:10.1186/1743-7075-2-31.
7. Circulation. 2008;117:421-428.

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute.   Laura and her husband, Jim LaValle, R.Ph, CCN, ND have developed the powerful and life-changing Metabolic Code Diet – containing step-by-step, easy to follow recommendations for harnessing optimal metabolic energy and turning your body's chemical make up into a fat-burning furnace.  To learn more click here now.]

Healthy Recipes:

Green Beans and Tomatoes Italiano

By Laura LaValle, RD, LD

This quick salad full of B-vitamins is a wonderful way to get a few servings of fiber-rich vegetables into your diet.

Serves: 4
Time to Table: 20 minutes

Healing Nutrient Spotlight
Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C
Good source of iron, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, manganese

Ingredients*
1 pound fresh green beans
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 T. of your favorite Italian or Balsamic salad dressing

*Use organic ingredients for optimal nutrition.

Preparation
Snap or cut off ends of green beans.  Place beans in a medium skillet with a small amount of water and steam until they reach desired tenderness.  Drain beans, then add the remaining ingredients into the skillet with the beans. Toss over low heat for 1-2 minutes to lightly coat the vegetables with the dressing.

Serve immediately or chill and serve over lettuce for a refreshing warm weather salad.

Nutrition
72 calories, 3 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 2 g fat, 6 g sugars, 5 g fiber, 1282 IU vitamin A, .2 mg thiamin, .2 g riboflavin, 1.4 mg niacin, .2 mg vitamin B-6, 61 mcg folate, 35 mg vitamin C, 55 mg calcium, .2 mg copper, 1.7 mg iron, 39 mg magnesium, 441 mg potassium, 111 mg sodium

Recipe adapted from busycooks.about.com.