5 Pillars for a Healthy Brain

April 19th, 2010 by Mark Nutting in Fitness and Weight Loss

Brain health is an ever growing concern as people age. Alzheimer’s is the second most feared illness in America. What if we could help ward off the effects of this and other brain diseases? What if we could not only battle disease, but could also help increase everyone’s ability – young and old, to learn, reason, and remember things? Well guess what, we can. The science behind brain fitness provides exciting insights into how to maximize our brain health.

Here are the five pillars of brain fitness:

Pillar 1: Nutritional Guidelines

Proper nutritional habits are associated with better brain health (ratings like Guiding Stars can help you make better food choices)

Decrease saturated fat (fats solid at room temperature) and sugar in your diet
Increasing intake of antioxidants (found in beans, berries, apples, nuts, etc) & omega 3 fatty acids (including fatty fish, flaxseed, walnuts. sprouts, kale, etc)

Pillar 2: Stress Management

Reduce cortisol, increase rest/recovery. Cortisol increases with stress. Elevated levels of cortisol interfere with the brain’s energy supply, the function of neurotransmitters, and helps increase free-radicals that damage brain cells. Reducing stress (through exercise, meditation, etc.) can help keep cortisol in check.

Pillar 3: Physical Exercise

As little as 3 hours/week of cardiovascular can stimulate increases in Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF), described as “Miracle Grow” for the brain

Pillar 4: Mental Stimulation

Variety, challenge, novelty are essential to brain function. Just like our bodies responding to physical exercise, our brains respond to the challenge of mental exercise. What kinds of new, different things can you try?

Pillar 5: Social Interaction

Create more opportunities to interact, build friendships. The more friends and daily interactions you have, the better it is for your brain function.

There you have it. The things we can take control of to enhance our brain health and function. Of course, as a Personal Trainer, I like to point out that pillars 2-5 can be found in a fun, friendly health club. So get to it. As the saying goes, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste…

What you get out of exercise over losing weight

April 16th, 2010 by Nicki Hicks in Fitness and Weight Loss

There’s more to exercise than meets the eye. Sure, you lose calories, weight, and look great. You chisel muscles and get lean; but exercise can do more than that.

Looking good leads to feeling good – both reasons lead to higher self esteem. Regular exercise will help you alleviate stress and feel happier.

Exercise helps your body work more efficiently, thereby giving you more energy. We could all do with a littler more energy, couldn’t we?

Not only will you have more energy, but at night you’ll be more tired. That’s right…put those sleeping pills away if you have trouble falling asleep at night. Exercise more, and you’ll find the secret to catching your z’s.

Walking, running, or going to the gym? Regardless, more exercise combats illness and chronic disease.

Spend some quality time with friends or family and go for a walk or a hike. Play with your kids on the jungle gym. All these seemingly fun activities?…code words for exercise…

10 Shop-By-The-Stars Insider Tips

April 12th, 2010 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef

Dried fruit: often considered a healthy snack, most dried fruit is proportionally high in sugar for its nutritional content. Look for 2-3 Guiding Stars on items like dried cherries and dried mixed fruit.
Cereal: Many times your favorite cereal comes in one version that is healthier than another. Examples are cereals with dried fruit like strawberries or nuts added to the original recipe.
Chips: Check the Guiding Stars rating on chips. You’ll be surprised to find that some chips receive two stars, and they’re not the baked ones either!
Convenience Foods: Just because you’re eating healthy doesn’t mean a microwave meal, pre-made entrée, or deli side is out of your reach. Just look for the green Guiding Stars label. They’re everywhere!
Meat: You may notice very few Guiding Stars labels in the meat section. Check the scale label on the package. You’ll find the stars there.
Pasta: Don’t assume whole wheat pasta is your only superior option. Consider enriched pastas as well, which contain ingredients like egg whites and omega-3s for improved nutrient density.
Bread: If your kids don’t like dark breads, look for White Whole Wheat, which has a lighter flavor but the same nutritional benefits of traditional whole wheat. Try it as a substitute for hot dog buns as well, since regular buns—in addition to containing bleached flour–generally contain high fructose corn syrup.
Vegetables: Frozen vegetables often boast a higher nutritional content than their fresh counterparts because they’re picked at the height of freshness and flash frozen within hours. But fresh veggies have the benefit of doubling as snacks and side dishes. So choose a combination to have the most options.
Juice: In general, your best bet to finding the most nutritious juices for you and your family is to look first in the refrigerated juices in the produce section. There, you’ll not only find flash pasteurized and organic options, but you’ll also find smoothies and protein-enhanced options, higher in fiber and overall nutrition. If the higher price turns you off, remember that many of the smoothie-type juices can be diluted with water, stretching your dollar.
Snacks and Treats: Guiding Stars rates all of the treats in the grocery store, and many of your favorites may actually get a star or two. But even if they don’t, focusing just a little extra time on your overall shopping strategy leaves room in the cart for a treat or two. You’ve earned it!

The Lunch Fairy

April 5th, 2010 by Jen McNally in Picky Eaters

Fairies are a big deal at our house. My six-year-old has discovered a seemingly endless series of books about fairies. My very patient husband reenacts the stories with Grace on a regular basis (even though he always has to be the goblin), and she and her younger sister dress up as fairies and perform elaborate musical routines with much spinning and waving of wands. Grace talks about her fairy books on the way to school (and on the way home), and every morning she walks into our bedroom carrying all of them (24 books at last count). Fairies seem to have taken over our lives.

In fact, the fairies even followed us on vacation recently. Over February break, we spent a weekend with friends who are very conscientious about what they feed their daughter. I have always envied this family and their ability to prepare appealing school lunches in which all of the food groups are covered. My friend once summed up their philosophy by stating, “Food is love.” I certainly agree, although I can’t quite seem to get organized enough to show my love as deliciously as they do.

It so happens that our friends’ daughter also loves fairies (although she’s not quite as obsessed with them as our own child). Her mother made lunch for all three girls, and I was astonished to discover that she had made a fairy right there on each child’s plate. The fairy’s wings were pieces of a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich. She had a cucumber face, purple cauliflower hair, a body made of baby carrots, and legs made of almonds.

That’s a fantastic way to put the fairy obsession to good use, and to get two kindergartners and a three-year-old to eat purple cauliflower! I was totally impressed by her creativity, and with the fact that she even had even purchased purple cauliflower, but I was even more impressed by the genuine enthusiasm with which our girls tore into their food. The next morning, I made oatmeal with a dried-cranberry smiley face on top. It wasn’t a purple-haired fairy, but the girls devoured it all the same!

Pumped-Up Pumpkin Bread

March 31st, 2010 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef

Two words often strike fear in the minds of moms: Snacks and Breakfast. Well, there’s Dessert too, because they’re always asking, and we’re always balancing the desire to please with the need to monitor sugar intake, both in terms of nutrition and also our wish to keep the Hyperactivity Gremlins in check. My friend Marilee recently posted her frustrations on Facebook, pleading for ideas for school snacks, and I’m not going to lie, the suggestions were not exactly stellar.

With my big garden and three kids, I’ve always relied on quick breads and cakes—baking powder and/or baking soda-leavened loaves—to use up excess produce from a bumper crop. I’ve done carrot, summer squash and zucchini, winter squash like butternut, and I even have a recipe for beet cake. The nice thing about quick breads is they’re versatile, tasty, they freeze well, and best of all, they’re multi-taskers, operating as breakfast, snacks, and even desserts. They fit the bill perfectly. Unfortunately, most traditional recipes are utterly loaded with sugar and oil.

So with the following recipe I set out to alter one of my favorites, Pumpkin Bread. By reducing the oil and adding unsweetened applesauce, we’re lowering fat and increasing nutrition. Added soy flour bumps the protein up, and flax meal and wheat bran increase the fiber content and micronutrients. Best of all, using white whole wheat flour provides all of the benefits of traditional whole wheat flour with a lighter texture and flavor, so your kids won’t know the difference.

This batter is thick, and while experimenting with it, I went ahead and scooped some into greased muffin tins. They rose beautifully into perfect round-topped muffins. Then I used an ice cream scoop and scooped some onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Guess what? The recipe yielded perfect round-topped cookies (or whoopie pies?!) as well. Needless to say, I’m really pleased with this recipe, and I think you will be too.