Losing weight is not about dieting or restrictions … it’s about changing the way you think about food, eating and a healthy lifestyle in general.

The first step to doing this is to become aware of your eating patterns. For instance, if you tend to overeat when you're stressed about work, then make adjustments based on this. If you know you tend to overeat when you're overwhelmed, make it a point to keep yourself busy with another activity (even something relaxing like reading or taking a bath) during this time.

Next, focus on making small changes in your lifestyle, not on losing weight. For instance, rather than thinking, "I have to lose 30 pounds," think, "Today I'm going to take a pass on the bread and butter and go for a walk after dinner."

By adding just one or two healthy behaviors to your routine each day, you’re subtly changing your old, weight-sabotaging habits into new healthier ones.

Most importantly, stay positive. Focus on all you have to GAIN from your newfound mindset, rather than all you’re giving up.

Healthy wishes,

Alissa

According to the recent finding from an in vivo study, eating a diet rich in spices reduces the body's negative responses to eating high-fat meals. After a high fat meal, the body will normally have a significant increase in triglyceride and insulin levels. Consuming a spice mixture with a high fat meal decreased and modulated the spike in insulin and plasma triglycerides.

Spices such as tumeric, cinnamon, and clove garlic possess powerful anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.  Add a little to your next dish to reap the antioxidant benefits and to boost the overall flavor of your food!

Source: A High Antioxidant Spice Blend Attenuates Postprandial Insulin and Triglyceride Responses and Increases Some Plasma Measures of Antioxidant Activity in Healthy, Overweight Men

Many patients and consumers are unaware that their prescription medications can cause nutritional deficiencies.

For instance, anti-inflammatories can cause deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C, vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid, selenium and chromium. NSAIDS can cause deficiencies in folic acid. Aspirin causes low levels of vitamin C, calcium, folic acid, iron and vitamin B5.

Cardiovascular drugs, specifically statins, can cause low levels of CoQ10, vitamin B6, zinc and vitamin B1. ACE inhibitors are associated with decreased zinc. Beta blockers also decrease levels of CoQ10.

What are you taking? Learning how to best meet your needs through both dietary sources and nutritional supplementation is extremely important to maintain and achieve optimal health. If you have questions, please contact me to discuss the best options for you.

Yours in health,
Alissa C. Robertson, MS, RD
(802) 999-5684
[email protected]

Omega‑3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Inflammation and Anxiety in Healthy Young Adults

A new study has provided the first evidence that omega‑3 fatty acids of the types found in fish oils may reduce anxiety in healthy people who have not been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Omega‑3 fatty acids also reduced inflammation in the study participants but did not affect depressive symptoms.

In this double-blind study, which was partly supported by NCCAM, researchers from Ohio State University gave 68 healthy young medical students (38 men, 30 women) a fish oil supplement containing omega‑3 fatty acids or an inactive placebo for 12 weeks. On several occasions, either on the day before a major exam or during lower-stress periods, the study participants provided blood samples and completed standard questionnaires that measured symptoms of anxiety and depression. The blood was tested for levels of substances indicating inflammation.

Anxiety symptoms were 20 percent lower and levels of a blood marker of inflammation (lipopolysaccharide-stimulated interleukin‑6 production) were 14 percent lower in the students taking fish oil than in those taking the placebo, but depressive symptoms did not differ between the two groups. The researchers could not assess effects of exam-related stress because the students did not show significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, or inflammation before exams than at other times.

The results of this study suggest that increased intakes of omega‑3 fatty acids could be beneficial for young, healthy people by reducing anxiety symptoms and inflammation, a process that plays a role in many diseases. The lack of an effect on depression is consistent with a recent combined analysis of earlier trials, which concluded that omega‑3 fatty acids may reduce depressive symptoms in clinically depressed people but not in those with less severe depressed moods.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Reference:

• Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Belury MA, Andridge R, et al. Omega‑3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: a randomized controlled trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2011.

Over time, individuals who consume 2 “sweet” beverages per day experience a change in their taste perception. Beverages that were considered to be sweet to the taste will no longer taste sweet enough or eventually will no longer be sweet. In other words, the more frequent and longer one drinks sugary beverages, their sensation of sweetness declines, leading people to consume more of these types of soft drinks.

Excessive sugar consumption in general can lead to insulin resistance and disproportionate weight gain. When individuals consume sugary beverages such as soda (even diet soda), they become desensitized to the sweets. Foods and beverages quickly become bland and need to have sugar or sugar substitutes added.

Do yourself a huge favor and avoid adding sugar and sugar substitutes to foods and beverages. Strive to stick to water and selters most of the time. Enjoy a soda or other sweetened beverage on occasion, but start with water first or include water around the same time you consume the sweetened beverage.


Source: Taste perception and implicit attitude toward sweet related to body mass index and soft drink supplementation