Since ancient times, many spiritual practices have included dietary fasting. Today, there are a lot of people claiming that fasting also has a lot of health benefits. And, in fact, research shows that short fasts, lasting anywhere from 20 to 36 hours can in fact reduce some risks for heart disease, diabetes and cancer. I wondered about the benefits of fasting and began researching. One finding in particular caught my interest and I’d like to share it and my thoughts. The National Institute on Aging conducted a study on mice for which, Mark Mattson, Ph.D., chief of the NIA's Laboratory of Neurosciences fed mice nothing every other day. The mice could eat as much as they wanted on the days in between, and they did. They pigged out. They ended up eating very nearly double what normal mice eat in a day. But fasting every other day caused them to live longer and healthier lives. A lot longer and a lot healthier. Mattson said, "We think what happens is going without food imposes a mild stress on the cells, and cells respond by increasing their ability to cope with more severe stress." He said maybe it's similar to what happens when you lift weights: You stress your muscles and they respond by growing stronger. Near the very end of the study, they injected all the mice (those fasting every other day, and those eating a normal diet) with a toxin that damages the cells in the same part of the brain Alzheimer's damages in humans (the hippocampus). Mattson and his team later looked at the brains of the mice and found that those that had been fasting every other day suffered less damage to their brain cells. I read another article that brought up some very good points. It seems likely that at least an occasional state of hunger would have been fairly common throughout our evolution. Our bodies might be adapted to it. Maybe it creates unnatural problems when the body doesn't ever go hungry. Maybe eating three square meals a day, every day, is unnatural. Going without food for several hours does not cause your metabolism to slow down nor does it wreak havoc with your blood sugar. Short fasts actually improve insulin sensitivity and this is pretty big deal. When your cells are sensitive to the effects of insulin, they do a much better job modulating your blood sugar levels after meals and this makes life a lot easier for your poor old pancreas. Loss of insulin sensitivity is a risk factor for both heart disease and diabetes. For the millions of years mammals have been evolving and right up to our invention of agriculture a short ten thousand years ago, mammals often went hungry many times in an individual's lifetime. Surely our bodies have evolved to handle this. Maybe that's why it is totally accepted by most people in the health profession that human beings gain about a pound a year. Maybe that is part of the body's adaptation to the inevitable lean times the eons have adapted us to. An occasional fast might very well be more natural and very good for us. The key here is SHORT FASTS and OCCASIONAL. You want to slow your metabolism down to where you’re not able to maintain a life of very little caloric intake and then end up gaining weight.
The energy or calories in the food we eat comes from three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Macro means large, and these nutrients are needed in large quantities to sustain our growth, metabolism, and other bodily functions.
In order to truly understand the food you’re consuming you should be aware of the caloric expenditure of the food. One gram of Carbohydrate equals 4 calories, one gram of Protein equals 4 calories, one gram of Fat equals 9 calories.
One pound of body fat equals about 3500 calories. So, there is a logic of if you can create a deficit of 3500 calories, you will lose 1 pound of body weight. This is a flawed logic though since our bodies don’t operate in a vacuum. That logic works on paper, but doesn’t take into account that our bodies are working with many a various systems and we are not linear. Be careful when losing weight thought, because when you lose weight, you are also losing lean body mass. That’s when exercise comes in. Exercise will enable you to retain and gain lean muscle mass. You cannot just reduce caloric intake and expect to lose weight. Caloric modification has to be done in a way that will work together with your metabolism and not against it. If you just reduced calories without regard, you may end up slowing your metabolism, keeping weight on, and doing more harm than good. It’s best to pay attention to how and when you consume your calories, and increase ways to burn the calories (energy). Some ways to do this is by eating small portions more frequently. Many times when embarked on properly, a fat reduction plan, which will include exercise, will require more calories instead of less. This is so because as you exercise, you build lean muscle mass and reduce fat mass. Lean muscle mass requires more energy (calories). The more you move (exercise), the more you burn.
Over the years, many a various diet has been suggested and tried. The human body has and continues to be studied to understand it’s process of energy, which mainly comes from the ingestion of food. After all that’s said and done, it is widely agreed that the most effective healthful diet is a 40% carbohydrate-30% Protein-30% Fat diet. This practice is endorsed by The American Dietetic Association and has been followed by Europeans as the Mediterranean Diet.
Here are some steps for eating in proper proportions:
1. Study the labels on food products. They are mandated by law in the United States, many countries in Europe, as well as many other countries of the world. Use them to make wise judgements on the portions of what to ingest with each meal. If you take the time to learn about the foods you eat, what they are made of, you will understand how to gain control of your energy, your weight, your body fat, your metabolism, your sugar levels, your thinking power, your efficiency, your overall wellness!
2. In the beginning, don’t change your diet. Just take the time to write down the items you eat and in the portions you eat them. From the food labels, write down the carbs, protein, fat (and what type of fat!), and calories. I know it’s a pain, but make a chart and keep this food log for a minimum of 2 weeks.
3. Study your food log and then decide what items you can change around, minimize, maximize, replace, allow every now and then…etc. All things in moderation. MODERATION!
4. Since every body is different, there is no one exact caloric consumption level you can set to lose weight. For the most part, you can forget counting the calories. Yes, that’s right, forget counting. Instead, pay attention to the balance of the food choices and the quality of the foods. Pay attention to when your body is hungry. Pay attention to the cravings you get (these tell you the types of foods you may be over or underconsuming…see ‘what do these food cravings mean?’
5. For the most part, eat whole foods. Eat foods that have been minimally processed. Generally, the more the food is to its original natural state, the more nutritious and healthy it is. Remember this at the supermarket.
A good rest has always been called beauty sleep—but how about a lean body sleep?
Research shows that individuals who are not sleep deprived have an increased capacity to lose weight and keep it off. Sleep reduces stress hormones, important for fat loss and in maintaining good metabolism.
Sufficient rest and recuperation effectively reduces our stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol has many functions. It helps the body use sugar (glucose) and fat for energy (metabolism), and it helps the body manage stress. Cortisol levels can be affected by many conditions, such as physical or emotional stress, strenuous activity, infection, or injury. When we are sleep deprived, cortisol levels rise. Cortisol controls our appetite. When cortisol levels are high, it can often make us feel hungry even when we have eaten enough. It also raises blood sugar and insulin levels and results in increased fat deposition around the abdomen. To further complicate the situation, high cortisol can negatively affect our sleep patterns, making it difficult to fall or stay asleep when we finally do go to bed. This increase in stress hormone also has detrimental effects on other aspects of our endocrine system, like thyroid gland function which governs our metabolism.
Normally, cortisol levels are very low at bedtime and at their highest just after waking. This pattern will change if a person works irregular shifts (such as the night shift) and sleeps at different times of the day. Cortisol levels are also affected by pregnancy, physical and emotional stress, illness, hyperthyroidism and obesity. Certain drugs can also increase levels, particularly oral contraceptives (birth control pills), hydrocortisone (the synthetic form of cortisol), and spironolactone. Adults have slightly higher cortisol levels than children do. Hypothyroidism may decrease cortisol levels. Drugs that may decrease levels include some steroid hormones.
Cortisol production regulates your immune system on a 24-hour cycle. This is why many times congestion or your cold or flu symptoms get worse at night. As cortisol levels drop at night, your immune cells become highly active. The immune cells kill large numbers of bacteria and viruses, causing greater mucous production. As a result, you experience more congestion and coughing as your body attempts to get rid of the mucous.
At daybreak, when cortisol levels rise, the activity of the immune cells tapers off. The immune cells then reset and recondition themselves in preparation for the next nightly cycle.
Problems arise when cortisol levels are out of balance-say, when you fly to a different time zone-thereby compromising the cycle of immune function.
While cortisol is an important and helpful part of the body’s response to stress, it’s important that the body’s relaxation response to be activated so the body’s functions can return to normal following a stressful event. Unfortunately, in our current high-stress culture, the body’s stress response is activated so often that the body doesn’t always have a chance to return to normal, resulting in a state of chronic stress.
To keep cortisol levels healthy and under control, you can learn to relax your body with various stress management techniques.
Sleep is a most valuable and restorative resource that is vital to wellbeing and stress management. Unfortunately, stressed and busy people tend to get less sleep than they need. Overthinking and anxiety can make sleep difficult and wake you up at night. Anxiety keeps your mind busy as you imagine threatening scenarios and become preoccupied with finding solutions. That racing of your mind can rob you of sleep by keeping your levels high, making sleep harder to achieve.
Sleeping problems are almost always involved in mental disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, as well as head injury. And symptoms are strongly influenced by the amount of sleep a person gets. Difficulties may arise from the drugs used to control symptoms of a disorder, or from changes in the brain regions and neurotransmitters that control sleep.
You can make lifestyle changes in order to keep your body from reacting to stress in the first place. Involve yourself in things such as yoga, writing in a journal, exercise, listening to music, dancing, guided imagery, sex, breathing exercises, gardening, cleaning, building, and creating art. All of these things are proven to be helpful in relaxing the body and mind. Experiment and find something that works for you, then DO IT on a REGULAR BASIS. It could be as simple as just taking a walk around the neighborhood for a half an hour a day.
Not getting enough sleep is dangerous to your health. Sleeping is essential to keeping our bodies running optimally. Our immune system functions optimally if we go to sleep by 10 p.m. As we sleep, physical repair takes place between approximately 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Our immune system kicks into high gear, eliminating cancer cells, bacteria, viruses, and other harmful agents. Then from about 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., we enter a stage of psychic regeneration. During this time, the brain releases chemicals that enhance our immune system. Throughout the night, we experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep states and non-REM sleep, alternating between light sleep and deep dream states. This is how we process the mental and emotional events of the previous day and refresh our minds for the day ahead. Most people need a minimum of seven or eight hours of sleep to repair and refresh the body and mind. Without sufficient sleep, the immune system suffers because it can’t keep up with its repair work. This creates the opportunity for disease processes to begin. Moreover, if cortisol is elevated at night-say, because you are anxious, these immune functions can become compromised, which ultimately leads to illness and disease.
Cortisol is a hormone which has many functions. It helps the body use sugar (glucose) and fat for energy (metabolism), and it helps the body manage stress. Cortisol regulates the immune system. In normal people, cortisol levels are very low at bedtime and at their highest just after waking. Have you ever wondered why your cold or flu symptoms get worse at night? It's because cortisol production regulates your immune system on a 24-hour cycle. As cortisol levels drop at night, your immune cells become highly active. The immune cells kill large numbers of bacteria and viruses, causing greater mucous production. As a result, you experience more congestion and coughing as your body attempts to get rid of the mucous. At daybreak, when cortisol levels rise, the activity of the immune cells tapers off. The immune cells then reset and recondition themselves in preparation for the next nightly cycle.
Growth hormone released during sleep is also important for fat loss
It is not just lack of sleep that negatively affects body fat percentage and the risk of chronic disease—poor sleep quality does as well. Deep sleep is accompanied by an increased secretion of growth hormone necessary for repairing and rebuilding body tissues like muscle and bone. It also helps to negate the bad effects of cortisol. Growth hormone naturally decreases with age and also with increased abdominal fat, leading to a viscious cycle of fatigue, excess stress hormone and increased abdominal fat.
As you can see, sleep is essential for our bodies to repair and maintain optimum immune function.
How do you get a good beauty sleep?
1. Get enough sleep. Seven to nine hours of sleep per night is optimal for adults. For most persons schedules, aim to get to bed before 10 or 11 pm. Listen to your natural circadian rhythms, as this is the body’s recovery period. Make sleep a priority!
2. Improve the quality of your sleep. Do not exercise too late in the evening—it elevates your stress hormones and raises your body temperature which may make it difficult for you to fall asleep. Be sure to sleep in complete darkness to optimize the release of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone which is essential to healthy sleep patterns and it also helps reduce the negative effects of cortisol.
3. Reduce your stress and adopt methods to manage your stress more effectively. Massage, exercise, acupuncture, meditation—even kissing—all are effective ways to reduce levels of stress. Some herbs have stress reducing qualities. These include herbs like ashwagandha, Siberian ginseng, relora and plant sterols as well as the supplement phosphatidylserine.
4. Regulate blood sugar levels. Eating regularly will avoid swings in blood sugar levels. Stay away from sugar and excess caffeine and follow a healthy eating plan that balances protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Guidelines for a naturally balanced and nutritional eating plan
*Eat within 1 hour of getting up of bed… this kickstarts your metabolism. Remember you’ve just been fasting for the past 6-8 hours of sleep.
*Don't go more than 5 hours without a meal or Snack… We don’t want to teach the body to store food (as fat) because it can’t depend on you to feed it when it needs fuel.
*Always drink about 6-8oz of good quality water 20-30 minutes before a meal or snack. This decreases your hunger and makes sure you drink enough water.
*Remember the basic Rule of Thumb: every time you put food in your mouth it must be in the correct ratio of Protein to Carbohydrate to Fat… The most favorable balance for overall health, satiety and lifestyle based on years of research old and new is the 40-30-30 ratio diet. 40% Carbohydrate, 30% Protein, 30% Fat. Of course quality of the food matters here and that’s where most people get in trouble. (As you learn to pay attention to what you’re putting into your mouth, when one of your meals is not in balance you can adjust in your next meals throughout the day) That Ratio can easily be thought about in portions on a round plate. The Carbohydrate (fruit, grains, veggies) should make up approximately two thirds of your plate, the Protein (lean meat, fish, nuts, tofu) should make up approximately one third of the plate and Fat should be thought of as a sprinkle. Fat is usually a component in proteins and therefore a sprinkling of mono or polyunsaturated fats (olive, canola, sunflower oils, nuts) on a salad or during cooking is usually enough to satisfy nutrition as well as flavor and satiety.
*Have some quality proteins "ready to use" in the fridge; e.g.: sliced turkey, or chicken, tins of Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, soft boiled eggs, low fat cottage cheese, firm Tofu-dip, reduced fat cheese.
*Eat 5-9 portions of vegetables and fruits everyday
*Eat every 3-4 hours on the average.
*Always have a Snack 30 minutes before you exercise.
Every time you eat a meal that leaves you satisfied and with a good mental focus for the next 4 hours – write it down, it works for you, use it again…
If you like desserts , spare 1 part of your Carbohydrates to include some fruit.
If you like Wine , do the same as above…
1glass of wine 120ml. = 1 Carbo.
30ml. distilled spirits = 1 Carbo.
180ml of beer = 1 Carbo.
If you want to add more protein to your meal, simply subtract carbohydrate and fat to keep everything in balance.
The aim is to achieve a precise ratio, keeping the total calories at any one meal to about 500 or less, and 100 or less for snacks.
Remember, within 2-3days you will feel a reduction in food cravings, increased mental focus and energy.
Increase your exercise level. As you become less heavy and feel more energy, you will naturally want to be more active.
This is an eating plan you can stick with for life. Following the guidelines above, eat quality foods. If you get hungry, eat. For best maintenance, plan your meals and snacks ahead of time! Take a few moments of preparation before bed or upon waking.
To understand how your metabolism works, we might compare it with the thermostat on your furnace. If you turn the thermostat up, it uses more fuel, turn it down and it uses less fuel. Your body’s fuel is the calorie. A fast metabolism may be thought of as being set on “high” and uses more calories (fuel), while a slow metabolism, set on low, uses fewer calories. Calories that are not used for energy are stored as fat. If you have a slow metabolism, you use fewer calories for energy which means more will be stored as fat. A fast metabolism uses more calories for energy and little is left over to be stored as fat.
If you are overweight, chances are you have a slow metabolism which means you are using fewer calories for energy and leaving more to be stored as body fat. Thin people eat more calories!! According to studies, thin people eat an estimated average of 600 calories more per day than overweight people. A thin person’s metabolism burns calories at a faster rate, leaving fewer to be stored as fat. On the other hand, the fat individual may eat fewer calories, but having a slower metabolism, will burn the calories slowly and more are left to be stored as fat. For this reason, an excess of body fat must be viewed as a symptom of a slower than normal metabolism. Dieting is an attempt to treat only the symptom and treating symptoms is a no win situation. You cannot treat the symptom, you must treat the cause. The slow metabolism must be increased so that calories will be burned faster, and less body fat will result. Correcting the cause will result in permanent normalization of weight.
If you have a weight problem, dieting will aggravate the problem. In fact, dieting may have actually created the problem to begin with. Cutting back to a low calorie intake will alter your metabolism…the wrong way..it will slow it down. Dieting slows down your metabolism with each subsequent diet. This means you are burning calories at an even slower rate than you were before the diet. In addition, fat producing enzymes will be four or more times more active in their fat storing activities after dieting than before, due to the body’s natural response to food shortage. If you’ve trained your body to accept less caloric intake to function, it responds by listening to you and expecting you to give it less fuel to run, so that when it receives any fuel at all, it hoards it, thinking it may need to salvage it for a ‘rainy day’.
Work with your body, not against it. Let me let you in on a little secret…which shouldn’t be a secret… the more you eat, the more calories you burn. Every time you eat, your metabolism increases. Calories are used to fuel the many process necessary to digest the food. This “heating up” effect after eating, is called the “thermic effect” of food. This thermic effect requires extra calories, which means that some of the calories consumed by the food will be “lost” in production of heat. Since metabolism increases after eating, the body requires the use of calories at a much faster rate than normal throughout the entire digestive process. Therefore, every time you eat, the thermic effect of food and the increase in metabolism will increase your caloric expenditure. If you increase to frequency of eating with appropriate small between meal snacks you will increase your metabolism more frequently as well as the thermic effect. Thereby you will not only “waste” more calories, but will convert fewer of them to fat. Eating more frequently will also help you control your appetite. With less appetite, there is less hunger at mealtimes and you’re less likely to over-eat.
Your body produces less fat and more energy from smaller, frequent feedings. As a result, energy levels usually increase quickly, weight goes down, and the lethargic, “stuffed” feeling associated with eating too much does not occur. Not only the frequency of eating, but the time of day you eat, will influence your body’s fat production. You’ll want to consume more of your daily calories during your most active periods of being awake. Generally, this means during the breakfast and lunch periods, instead of taking on a heavy dinner and then lounging out on the sofa for the rest of the evening. Of course, quality of the food counts!!! Eat “whole foods”. ….meaning, not processed.
Fiber fights fat. High fiber foods like whole grains and vegetables will combine with the fat in a meal, preventing some of its absorption. Fiber also increases food transit time, which means that fiber moves food through the intestines quicker, limiting the amount of absorption time. High fiber foods are usually very filling, but not calorie dense. To aid in weight control, a high fiber food should be eaten with each meal and for snacks.
To increase your metabolism you’ll need to follow a nutrition and exercise plan that will take into consideration your metabolic rate and enable your body to effectively utilize the calories you give it.
The average body can only metabolize approximately 1-2 pounds of fat per week. A greater loss than that usually suggests that lean tissue (which is heavier) is accountable for part of the lost weight. Loss of lean tissue will lower caloric requirement, which in turn may stop weight loss. It is important to take this information into consideration when gauging the amount of weight loss while embarking on a fat loss plan. One pound of fate takes up five times the space of one pound of lean muscle tissue. It is for this reason that inches lost are very dramatic when losing body fat. Soooooo, forget the scale…take out the measuring ruler instead. Notice how your clothes fit rather than notice what the numbers are saying on the scale. Losing lean tissue can be life threatening, especially if the weight loss is sudden and quick. Metabolism augmentation should happen gradually with noticeable increase within four to six weeks.
Most of the time, people do not consider what they had to eat that day when they are feeling down, but it really has an impact. Our food choices are so powerful to the way our bodies and mind function. They regulate our blood sugar levels, which affect our moods. Foods that are made of processed and simple carbohydrates such as candy may help someone feel better in the short term, but actually cause the person to “crash” shortly thereafter. Making wise food decisions, especially when your feeling stressed out, or having an afternoon snack, can make a big difference in how you feel the rest of the day.
To help achieve a good mood from your food, keep the following tips in mind:
Reach for complex carbohydrates when your feeling stressed out or want a snack will help boost serotonin levels and give you a nutritional edge.
Foods that help keep you on the path to a good mood include fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, brown rice, and lentils. Reduce the amount of refined and processed foods you consume, which include crackers, bagels, white breads and pastas, soda, fruit juice, cookies and candy. Such foods will not help to keep your blood levels regulated, which can lead to unfavorable changes in your mood. Try to include some form of protein with each meal or snack, which will keep you feeling better for longer. Ideal choices include low-fat yogurt, seafood, tofu, and eggs. Getting enough Omega-3s in your diet can help keep you in the right frame of mind as well. You can get them through walnuts, fish and ground flaxseed.
Other nutrients that help improve mood include folate and vitamin B12. You can get those from whole grain cereals, wheat germ, broccoli, lentils, oatmeal, shellfish, and fortified soy milk.
Reduce the amount of caffeine you consume, especially if its closer to bedtime. Caffeine can have a huge impact on one’s mood, not to mention also prevent you from getting adequate sleep, which definitely impacts your mood. Too much caffeine can make you irritable and quick tempered.
Beyond diet, getting enough exercise, access to sunlight (15 minutes/day), and relaxation also helps to keep you feeling good mentally.
Spend a week tracking how you feel an hour after each meal and you will be surprised to see the impact that food has on your mood. If you want to stay in a positive frame of mind, start with what you are eating each day.
CATEGORY GCI RATING
PASTA
Fettucine, 6 oz 45
Linguine, 6 oz. 52
Macaroni, 5 oz. 47
Ravioli, meat, 4 large 39
Spaghetti, wheat, 1 cup 37
Spaghetti, white, 1 cup 44
Spiral, durum, 1 cup 43
Tortellini, cheese, 8 oz. 50
Vermicelli, 6 oz. 35
Lasagna, beef 47
SNACKS, DESSERTS, and MISCELLANEOUS
Vanilla wafers, 7cookies 77
Sponge cake, plain, 1 slice 46
Snickers candy bar 55
Pretzels, 1 oz. 83
Potato chips, 14 pieces 54
Popcorn, 2 cups 72
Pop tarts, chocolate, 1 tart 70
M&Ms peanut chocolate candy 33
Granola Bar, chewy, 1 oz. 61
Graham crackers, 4 squares 74
Doritos Corn chips, 1 oz. 72
Oatmeal cookie, 1 55