Nutrition Frenzy

Acai Berries

Acai berries…perhaps you’ve heard of them? Remember the hype from pomegranates a couple of years ago? Well, the torch appears to have been passed to the Brazilian berry and the hype has been cranked up a few notches. The Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) blew the whistle last week on web-based acai scams, which they say are fooling consumers with fake blogs, fake endorsements, and fishy science.

According to CSPI there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that acai pills will help shed pounds, flatten tummies, cleanse colons, enhance sexual desire, etc. People appear to be getting scammed here two ways. There’s the lack of science behind these Internet health claims and then there’s the credit card scam-many consumers have had trouble stopping recurrent charges on their credit cards when they cancel their “free” trials. CSPI is reporting that even web sites purporting to warn people about acai-related scams are themselves perpetrating scams, some of which appear to be linked to overseas banks. So be careful out there people, you are probably more likely to lose your money rather than your extra weight.

Let’s get back to the berry: What do we really know about it nutritionally?

Acai juice does contribute antioxidants but less so than Concord grape juice, blueberry juice and black cherry juice, according to a recent analysis* that used 4 different antioxidant potency tests. It contains more antioxidants, however, than cranberry, orange and apple juices.

Beyond that, we don’t really know much more than this. I was trying to find an impartial source for the information on its nutrition content. My computer software program didn’t have anything on it and the USDA database only had some information on the V8 Fusion blend that contains acai berry.

Until more is known and the hype (and price) go down on acai berry juices and food products, you can always pick up a bottle of 100% concord grape juice for a couple of bucks (just saying)… Each 8 ounce serving contains 170 calories, 42 grams carbohydrate, 250 mg potassium, 20% daily value for vitamin C and copious antioxidant-acting polypenols that have been linked to all sorts of good things for your body.

Apricot Smoothie

Compared with their peers who never ate yogurt, people in a study who ate two or more servings daily had almost a 40 percent lower risk of bladder cancer. Talk about an antiager!

Lactic Acid in Action
Cultured milk products like yogurt contain something that other dairy items lack: lactic acid bacteria. Just how the bacteria helps stave off bladder cancer isn’t clear, but the fact that it does have an immune-boosting reputation is one possibility.

Dairy That Really Does Your Body Good
Along with keeping bladder cancer at bay, yogurt has been shown to lower the risk of liver cancer, defend against gum disease, and — when coupled with fiber-rich foods — ease gas and bloating. So keep the yogurt coming with these recipe ideas:
Turn it into a drink.
Have it for dessert.
Plop some on your soup

Try an Apricot Smoothie:

Canned apricot halves blend with yogurt in a tangy and refreshing smoothie.

Ingredients
1 cup canned apricot halves in light syrup
6 ice cubes
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions
1. Blend apricot halves, ice cubes, yogurt and sugar in a blender until frothy.

I incorporate plain yogurt into my recipes an cooking, replacing sour cream and mayonayse. Put it in savory dishes like beef burgundy, salad dressings or sweet dishes like smoothies; add it to mashed potatoes (if you are going to eat mashed potatoes, make them healthier), or mashed cauliflour.

You really can power up your metabolism with the right menu

Eat enough

You need to cut calories to lose weight. But going too low delivers a double whammy to your metabolism. When you eat less than you need for basic biological function (about 1,200 calories for most women), your body throws the brakes on your metabolism. It also begins to break down precious, calorie-burning muscle tissue for energy, says Dan Benardot. “Eat just enough so you’re not hungry — a 150-calorie snack midmorning and midafternoon between three meals (about 430 calories each) will keep your metabolism humming.”

Rev up in the morning

Eating breakfast jump-starts metabolism and keeps energy high all day. It’s no accident that women who skip this meal are 4 1/2 times as likely to be obese.

Drink coffee or tea

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so your daily java jolts can rev your metabolism 5 percent to 8 percent — about 98 to 174 calories a day. A cup of brewed tea can raise your metabolism by 12 percent, according to one Japanese study. Researchers believe the antioxidant catechins in tea provide the boost.

Fight fat with fiber

Research shows that some fiber can rev your fat burn by as much as 30 percent. Studies find that women who eat the most fiber gain the least weight over time. Aim for about 25 g a day — the amount in about three servings each of fruits and vegetables.

Buy the big bottle

German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day (that’s 48 ounces) can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily — enough to shed 5 pounds in a year. The increase may come from the work it takes to heat the water to body temperature.

You don’t have to be a Scrooge with these nutritious and delicious treats

Ah, those holiday temptations … Christmas cookies. Cheese balls. Egg nog. You know you really want to be naughty when standing next to a table filled with such buttery and sweet goodies, but you don’t want to deal with all that post-party guilt.

Relax. In the spirit of spreading good cheer, here are nine temptations you can indulge in to make your season merry and bright.

Cozy up to the nut dish

Once shunned as high-calorie diet wreckers, now we know it’s OK to go a little bit nuts for nuts. They’re nutrient-rich and filled with vitamins B6 and E plus copper, magnesium and zinc — vitamins and minerals that are great for your immune system, as well as your heart, brain and bones.

Tip a glass of holiday cheer

Moderate drinking (defined as no more than two drinks a day for men younger than 65, and one drink a day for women or men older than 65) is linked with lower risk for heart disease, stroke, gallstones and diabetes. However, it’s what’s in the glass that counts.

Resveratrol in red wine offers heart benefits by keeping blood vessels supple and preventing plaque from depositing on artery walls. Resveratrol and other antioxidants in grapes may also keep the platelets in blood from clumping and forming clots.

Treat yourself to some sweets

It may surprise you, but the best way to watch your weight may be to surround yourself with a few temptations. A recent study by Belgium researchers found that having indulgences within arm’s reach can actually help you build willpower and lead to more lasting success with weight control. If you banish all food temptations, you can’t learn self-control.

Indulge in breakfast

Skipping breakfast or another meal so you can load up at the holiday buffet doesn’t work. You’ll simply end up tired, cranky and ravenous. By the time the party rolls around, you’ll scarf down anything and everything in your path.

Your metabolism may slow to compensate for the lack of energy (calories) you’ve supplied, which means your body may downshift and actually burn fewer calories in order to conserve energy. Waiting too long between meals backfires, too. A recent study found that when people who normally ate every four hours waited five hours until they ate again, they consumed an extra 50 calories at the next meal. Going from four hours to six hours between meals tacked on 90 more calories at the next meal. Keep it up for several meals and days and you’ll see the scale creep up.

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Olive oil — the unsaturated fat that’s great for your heart — is making headlines again. But this time it’s for helping something a little lower down: your stomach.

Research suggests that polyphenols in olive oil may inhibit the bacterium that causes most stomach ulcers.

Heard of H. Pylori?
Antibiotics are the treatment gold standard for Helicobacter (H.) pylori, the ulcer-causing bacterium that’s tough enough to survive the acidity of people’s stomachs. But resistant strains of H. pylori are now found worldwide. Fortunately, some researchers are seeking alternative therapies, and in recent studies, the polyphenols in olive oil showed tremendous potential. Not only could they withstand the harsh gastric juices of the stomach, but they also seemed to kill off H. pylori pretty handily — even antibiotic-resistant strains.

Olive Oil Power Boosters
To protect the polyphenols in your olive oil and get the most out of the stuff, store it in a dark bottle away from sunlight, and don’t overheat it.

Get More from Your Olive Oil
No doubt about it. Olive oil has a rep as one of the healthiest fats on the planet. Why? It’s full of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, good fats that increase healthy HDL cholesterol –HDL helps clean out your arteries as it moves through them.

But that’s not all olive oil does. Using it on food may be as good for you as kicking a smoking habit. See, microscopic substances in urine reveal how well your body is defending itself against everyday cancer-causing cell damage. Think of cell-damagers as shrapnel: too much means your body is taking some serious hits. But in studies, men who eat more olive oil have less shrapnel. In fact, the drop is similar to what smokers get when they quit.

There’s nothing easier than drizzling olive oil over veggies or using it as a dip for bread. (Don’t go crazy, though; even good fats need to be served with a light hand.) But when you’re cooking with olive oil, be careful not to overheat it, which is easy to do because it has a relatively low “smoking point.” That’s when it starts to burn, which kills the benefits and ruins the flavor, shifting it from rich and slightly fruity to something more like burnt charcoal. Personally, we don’t cook with the best stuff (extra-virgin olive oil), because it starts to burn so fast, at about 320 degrees Fahrenheit. But virgin olive oil can be heated to about 400 degrees before its goodies start going up in smoke. Or try this trick: Instead of heating olive oil in the pan, just spritz some on veggies, fish, or taters before cooking them.

Struggling to stick to your shape-up plans? Consider working on your soundtrack, too.

Add new artists, rediscover old faves, and do whatever else you need to do to keep your workout music fresh and fun. Research proves that a good soundtrack takes the grind out of exercise.

A Near and Dear Distraction
Music does more than serve as a distraction. Studies show it actually gives you a better cardio workout by helping you go longer and stronger without noticing the extra effort. Listening to good tunes could also have you reaching for heavier dumbbells sooner. That’s what researchers found when they put a group of adults on a 4-week strength-training program. Those who trained with tunes were pumping out significantly more reps by the end of the program, compared with those who hadn’t gotten down. (Thank you, James Brown!)

The Surgery-Free Tummy Tuck

Help your body incinerate that stubborn spare tire by drinking this metabolism booster before your workout.

We’re not talking Red Bull here. We’re talking green tea. In a recent small study, extracts from green tea helped men burn 17 percent more fat during a 30-minute cardio workout.

Burn, Baby, Burn
It’s not clear how green tea boosts metabolism. Researchers suspect that something in the healthy brew makes fat more available as fuel, so you oxidize more of it when you exercise. Proven bonus: Green tea remains an excellent source of heart-healthy antioxidants called catechins.

Lose a pound recently? Great! Then keep it off with this mighty nutrient: vitamin C.

Research shows that your body needs sufficient vitamin C to burn fat — and burning fat is key to keeping excess pounds away. So pop your C supplement, or snack on some C-rich orange sections before your next power walk.

A Critical Compound
People in a study who had low blood concentrations of vitamin C and walked on a treadmill for an hour burned 25 percent less fat than people with adequate C. But a dose of C brought fat-burning levels back up to par. Why? Seems C is essential for creating carnitine, a substance that turns fat into fuel

How Much Is Enough
To keep the pounds you dropped from coming right back, you could start your day with some grapefruit, have an orange after lunch, or fill your dinner plate with C-rich veggies like red bell peppers, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. Here are a few more reasons to C up!

For a stronger heart: Vitamin C makes bad cholesterol less dangerous.

A Good Reason to Add Berries to Your Oatmeal

A side of sliced strawberries with your steel-cut oatmeal may make for one heck of a smart breakfast combo.

That’s because oats are rich in heart-healthy compounds called phenols. And it seems that adding some vitamin C (from the berries) is like adding water to a Chia Pet: It causes the heart-helping powers of the oats to grow.

Working in Synergy
When oat phenols and vitamin C were combined in a study, they worked synergistically to reinforce LDL cholesterol and make it more stable — even better than the oat phenols alone could do.

And you want your LDL to be stable, because that means it?s less likely to break down and stick to the walls of your arteries. You know, that process that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and other nasty business.

Why Steel-Cut Oats?
They take a little longer to make, but they?re worth it. Steel-cut oats — also called coarse-cut oats — are lightly processed. And that means they probably still have most of their good stuff intact (fiber, nutrients, etc.).

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Salad is pretty healthful to start with, to be sure. But not all salads are created equal. (Case in point: iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing. Wimpy!)

So follow these four simple steps for making sure you up the antioxidant ante for all your garden greens:

1. Dress for Success
Dress your salad with an olive oil-based dressing. This good fat helps you absorb the nutrients in the salad. Mix the oil with apple or wine vinegars for extra antioxidants.

2. Herb It Up
Lemon balm and marjoram can increase a salad’s antioxidant capacity by 150–200 percent! You can sprinkle cumin, fresh ginger, and thyme on your salad, too.

3. Vary Your Veggies
Artichokes, beetroot, broccoli, garlic, leeks, radishes, spinach, and onions were the chart-topping antioxidant-rich veggies in a recent study — though they’re not everyone’s favorites.

4. Branch Out . . .
. . . with new leaves. Some colorful red chicory or purple cabbage, for example, will add crunch to your salad — as well as extra antioxidants.

Top 10 Veggies List

Make sure the vegetables you eat the most are the most nutritious veggies you can eat.

If you’re a broccoli lover, you’ve picked a winner. From a list of 10 of the most commonly consumed vegetables in the country, broccoli holds the top spot for having the most phytochemicals — compounds everyone’s urged to consume because they protect against chronic diseases. At the bottom of the list? Cucumbers, described by some people as “water you can eat.”

The 9 runners-up to broccoli were spinach, yellow onions, red peppers, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, lettuce, celery, and cucumbers. Red peppers actually beat out broccoli in terms of having the highest levels of antioxidants. The same researchers also have rated 10 of the most popular fruits. Cranberries — with the most phytochemicals and the most antioxidants — topped that list, followed by apples, red grapes, strawberries, peaches, lemons, pears, bananas, oranges, grapefruit, and pineapple.

Food scientists aren’t ranking veggies just to satisfy their curiosity, by the way. They’re contemplating a bioactivity index (BI) for dietary cancer prevention to help grocery shoppers quickly spot the fruits and veggies that have the biggest health benefits.

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Help your body incinerate that stubborn spare tire by drinking this metabolism booster before your workout.

We’re not talking Red Bull here. We’re talking green tea. In a recent small study, extracts from green tea helped men burn 17 percent more fat during a 30-minute cardio workout.

Burn, Baby, Burn
It’s not clear how green tea boosts metabolism. Researchers suspect that something in the healthy brew makes fat more available as fuel, so you oxidize more of it when you exercise. Proven bonus: Green tea remains an excellent source of heart-healthy antioxidants called catechins.

It Starts with a Workout
Bottom line: Sipping green tea won’t do much for your middle if you don’t work out, too. The only way to shrink a spare tire is by dropping some pounds.

1. Cut Your Cancer Risk
Several polyphenols — the potent antioxidants that green tea is famous for — seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body by discouraging growth and then suppressing the creation of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. Study after study has found that regularly drinking green tea reduces the risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and prostate cancer.

2. Soothe Your Skin
Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton ball in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed blemishes, sunburns, or puffy eyelids. But that’s not all. Green tea has been shown to help block sun-triggered skin cancer, whether you drink it or apply it directly to the skin — which is why you’re seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.

3. Steady Your Blood Pressure
Having healthy blood pressure — meaning below 120/80 — is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup of green tea a day are almost 50% less likely to wind up with hypertension than nondrinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC); they help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

4. Protect Your — or Your Mom’s — Memory
Green tea may also keep the brain from turning fuzzy. Getting-up-there adults who drink at least two cups a day are half as likely to develop cognitive problems as those who drink less. Why? It appears that the tea’s big dose of antioxidants fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves seen in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

5. Stay Young
The younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque buildup in your blood vessels; the sticky stuff increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your RealAge, and saps your energy. How much green tea does this vital job take? About 10 ounces a day, which also deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

6. Lose Weight
Oh yeah, one more thing. Turns out that green tea speeds up your body’s calorie-burning process. In the every-little-bit-counts department, that’s good news!

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Unlock a wealth of health and beauty benefits with Acai (ah-sigh-ee).

This small, deep purple Amazonian berry is being hailed by health and beauty gurus such as Dr. Nicholas Perricone as a premier source of anti-aging antioxidants - more potent than other conventional fruits, such as blueberries and even the mighty pomegranate.

While you won’t find the berry sold at your local grocery store, you can pick up a jar of Sambazon Pure Acai powder at Whole Foods Market.

At only 19 calories a scoop, acai also contains a healthy dose of Omega 3, 6 and 9 plus amino acids and fiber. And, unlike blueberries, grapes or pomegranates, a serving of acai has 0 grams of sugar. Add a scoop to smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt.

Taste? There really is none to speak of, maybe just a hint of chocolate flavor (never a bad thing).

Or, give Sambazon “pulp packs” a try. In the frozen foods section (again, at the glorious Whole Foods), these individually portioned packs are perfect for slipping into a blender. Add milk, and some protein powder, hit blend and voila, a perfect breakfast or post-workout delight.

Do beware that lurking in close vicinity to the 100% acai pulpy packs are Sambazon and other acai products that have been blended with other juices. While these products still contain antioxidants, they have a higher sugar content and less of the coveted acai.

If you are among the truly nutritionally lazy (no shame, no shame) go for Sambazon’s Powercapsule. Your daily dose of the Amazon in an easy to swallow capsule.

People, there is a reason those Brazilians look so damn good in those teeny bikinis. Acai??? Maybe . . . But what I do know, is that Acai can help you look and feel your best, and that makes it one supplement that is truly hot.

Acai, Nicholas Perricone, anti-aging, antioxidants, Sambazon

Tibetan Goji Berries are one of the most nutritionally-rich superfoods on the planet.

An ancient treasure, this little berry has been used for centuries to strengthen the immune system, stimulate release of human growth hormone by the pituitary, build muscle and strength, increase sexual potency and promote longevity.

Why Goji is Glorious:

According to the ORAC Scale, a test used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to measure a food’s anti-oxidant ability to destroy and neutralize free radicals, the Tibetan Goji scores 25,300. To put this score in perspective, on the ORAC scale oranges score 750, spinach: 1260, broccoli: 890. And even if you are into prunes, they still fall far short with a score of only 5770.

More facts about Goji Berries:

–Contain 18 amino acids, including all 8 essentials making it a complete protein source!
–Over 20 trace minerals (like calcium, iron, germanium, phosphorous and zinc)
–More beta carotene than carrots
–More Vitamin C per ounce than oranges
–Low in sugar (about 4g per serving. Substantially less than other dried fruit like raisins
–High Fiber-about 4g per serving
–Tasty! No yuck-factor here. Dried Goji berries are slightly sweet (like a cross between a raisin and a cranberry) and add delectable chewiness to trail mix, yogurt, oatmeal or salad. Gojis also can be blended into your smoothie or protein shake.

Before You Go Goji:

Be sure to buy cold-pressed, air-dried Goji that are raw - meaning they have never been exposed to heat processing and do not contain preservatives.

The Goji Controversy:
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Goji Berries, superfoods, human growth hormone, sexual potency