By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD

Egg: a three letter word that invokes almost as much fear into the hearts of Americans as the word F-A-T.

However, it’s finally time to crack the misconception that eggs are bad for our health, because they’re absolutely not.
It’s unfortunate, but many people still think that you cannot eat more than one egg per day. Some even believe more than 3 eggs per week will lead to developing high blood cholesterol levels and fatty arteries. But, this could not be farther from the truth.

So, why do we think this way?

In the 1960’s consumers were first “warned” about eggs as being a major player in the development of heart disease… without any conclusive evidence to back up this claim. News articles overwhelmingly focused on the egg- cholesterol – heart disease link when there was no real proof for this message.

Eggs were so demonized that egg substitute products became all the rage for cooking and baking. In reality, they were no better, and sometimes far worse, than the whole egg itself.

Today, consumers need to understand that eggs are not evil, but in fact are healthy, important components of our diets.

High Protein Quality

First and foremost, eggs an inexpensive source of high quality protein that almost everyone can enjoy in various ways – from scrambled eggs to deviled eggs to green eggs and ham, eggs are a versatile way to quickly and easily get more protein in your diet. And, they’re not just for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner too!

In terms of protein quality, most foods rich in protein are measured in terms of the availability of that protein to effectively promote growth (cell growth), and this term is known as biological value.

Based on the amino acids contained in an egg and its ability to stimulate growth, egg protein is only second to mother’s milk for human nutrition.

On a scale, with 100 representing top efficiency, these are the biological values of proteins in several foods:

Biological Value of Protein Foods

Nutrition Powerhouses

Secondly, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition:

•    Eggs are among the few sources of naturally occurring vitamin D and K, which are known for cancer protection and longevity.

•    Eggs contain the highest source of dietary choline (125mg/egg), which is a nutrient necessary for proper nervous system development and structural integrity of cell membranes; particularly, choline is necessary for brain development in infants to impart lifelong enhancement of memory and attention.

•    They supply 6.3grams of high quality protein, 5 grams of fat primarily consisting of an even balance of saturates and monounsaturates, with less polyunsaturates, and barely no carbohydrates at all; they’re the perfect low carbohydrate food.

•    Some designer eggs contain up to 200 mg of DHA, the essential omega-3 fatty acid needed by all humans for normal development and functioning, and prevention of depression and memory loss.

•    The whole egg contains 166 mcg of lutein and zeaxanthin, two super antioxidants that contribute to eye health and prevent common causes of age-related blindness; research shows that the bioavailability of these nutrients from eggs is higher than other foods with higher contents.

Eggs Do NOT Cause Heart Disease

In November 2010, a paper published by Canadian medical researchers entitled, “Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease”.

The authors stated that: “Patients at risk of cardiovascular disease should limit their intake of cholesterol. Stopping the consumption of egg yolks after a stroke or myocardial infarction would be like quitting smoking after a diagnosis of lung cancer: a necessary action, but late.”

Before this paper, over the past 10 years, numerous studies, both clinical and observational, were published with the findings that there is no connection between egg consumption and heart disease risk, especially in healthy individuals.

For example, Dr Maria-Luz Fernandez and colleagues have been investigating egg nutritional health for more than a decade and have published findings such as:

•    “Revisiting Dietary Cholesterol Recommendations: Does the Evidence Support a Limit of 300 mg/d?”. Overall, no study has yet shown an association between egg intake and risk for heart disease and there is no compelling epidemiological or clinical trial results that show compelling evidence for limiting cholesterol intake to 300 mg/day or restricting egg consumption.

•    “Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs Increases Plasma HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Men Consuming a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet”. Raising HDL cholesterol is often called impossible, but is necessary to protect against plaque build-up in your arteries (HDL carries it away). This study shows that it can be easily increased in overweight men (a population very susceptible to heart disease) by reducing carb intake and using eggs in the diet regularly.

•    ‘Pre-menopausal women, classified as hypo- or hyper-responders, do not alter their LDL/HDL ratio following a high dietary cholesterol challenge”. When 50 pre-menopausal women (another very susceptible heart disease population) were given either an egg a day plus cholesterol from other foods, or a cholesterol-free egg substitute for 30 days, did not experience the development of an ‘atherogenic lipoprotein profile”.  If the women were hyper or hypo-responders to dietary cholesterol was obsolete.

Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs

Overall, dietary cholesterol from eggs does NOT cause heart disease, rather a lifestyle and a diet high in foods that elicit increased inflammation, hyperglycemia and oxidative stress induces increased atherosclerotic build-up and increased risk for heart attack or stroke (among other diseases).

As such, it is wise to follow a diet low in sugar, void of processed foods, artificial chemicals (flavors and colors), preservatives and pesticides and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Replace these things with whole foods, natural, plant-rich diet balanced in protein, carbohydrates and fat to minimize heart disease risk.

Avoiding eggs is not the answer – in fact, including eggs in your wholesome diet will actually benefit you more. Two eggs provide 13 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and plenty of nutrients you barely find in any other foods. This will keep you satisfied, healthy and energized for hours after any meal and will help you choose other healthy foods at the right times.

However, if you choose not to live a healthy lifestyle with whole foods, adequate sleep, plenty of exercise and minimal toxins, and/or you already have heart disease; you may be advised to limit your intake of egg yolks because it may acerbate your current situation.

References:

JD Spence, DJ Jenkins, J Davignon. Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: Not for patients at risk of vascular disease. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 2010; 26 (9): e336-e339
Quereshi AI, et al. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Med Sci Monit. 2007;13(1):CR1-
Kritchevsky SB and Kritchevsky D. Egg consumption and coronary heart disease: an epidemiologic overview.  Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 19, Number 5 (Supplement), Pages 549S-555S. October 2000.
Fernandez M and Calle M. Revisiting Dietary Cholesterol Recommendations: Does the Evidence Support a Limit of 300 mg/d? Curr Athero Rep 2010. 12: 377-183
Ratliff J et al. Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs Increases Plasma HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Men Consuming a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet.  Nutr Res. 2009. 29. 262-268
Herron K et al. Pre-menopausal women, classified as hypo- or hyper-responders, do not alter their LDL/HDL ratio following a high dietary cholesterol challenge. J Am Coll Nutr. 2002. 21(3) 250-8

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I really enjoy preparing egg dishes with vegetables like this one with spinach. I will often prepare a dish as this on Sunday afternoon, let it cool and divide into portions. This is a perfect grab-n-go dish on my way out the door for work and tastes good to me, heated or cold.

A mixed fruit salad is a tasty addition for dinner. Perfect dish for four and the recipe can be doubled to serve larger groups.

Spinach Cheddar Squares Recipe

Photo by: Taste of Home Spinach Cheddar Squares Recipe

• 4 Servings
• Prep: 15 min. Bake: 40 min. + standing

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup 2% shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry ~ I have also used fresh spinach with this recipe.
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
• 1-1/2 cups egg substitute
• 3/4 cup Mootopia Skim fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly into an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with 1/2 cup cheese, spinach and red pepper. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over the top.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: 1 piece equals 219 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 31 mg cholesterol, 596 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 26 g protein.

Spinach Cheddar Squares published in Light & Tasty October 2005, p63

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Slimming Foods

Most of us don’t just want to lose “weight”. We want to lose body fat. This is what really concerns us, cosmetically speaking, at least.
Body fat, referred to by scientists as adipose tissue, is the stuff that can hide shapely, defined muscles from view, make your clothes fit awkwardly (or not at all), put rolls on your belly, and so on. To lose body fat and prevent it from finding you again, you must burn more of it than you store. When you achieve this scientists say you are in negative fat balance, and it can be a very positive thing. Indeed, if you stay in negative fat balance long enough, then you will unquestionably lose body fat.
The supermarket is a great place to go for things that can increase body fat. But it’s also home to some of nature’s most powerful tools for helping you lose it. In this blog I reveal 4 naturally “slimming foods” that can immediately increase your calorie-burning rate, the first and most critical step toward achieving a negative fat balance and fitting into your clothes properly again.

1.   Coffee (caffeine)

While the proportions may shift from moment to moment, your body always burns a mixture of three fuels: carbohydrate, fat and protein. Thus, if you increase your overall calorie-burning rate (a.k.a. metabolic rate), it’s pretty much guaranteed that your fat-burning rate will go up, bringing you that much closer to the negative fat balance territory where real slimming occurs.

Fast-Acting Calorie-Burning Properties

About 75% of the caffeine consumed in the United States comes from coffee, a product that no supermarket can be considered complete without. Caffeine is recognized worldwide for its ability to enhance alertness and performance. However, it also displays fast-acting calorie-burning properties. For instance, a study involving lean and overweight (obese) subjects reported that a single 100-mg dose of caffeine (equivalent to a little over 1 cup of coffee) was enough to raise their calorie-burning rate by up to 4% for 2.5 hours.
While a 4% increase may not seem like a big deal, it can turn into one. The scientists who conducted the study explain, “…if it is assumed that there is no compensatory increase in food intake, the increase [in calorie-burning rate] after caffeine would represent an energy deficit of 75-110 kcal/day. These changes may be small but over several months could accumulate and lead to substantial changes in body weight.”

Effects Persist with Repeated Exposure

But wait. Regular coffee drinkers know all too well that you can become tolerant to its energizing effects over time. Won’t the same thing happen here? Fortunately, evidence suggests that caffeine’s calorie-burning effects persist with repeated exposure. Case in point: The subjects in the above study were all mild to moderate consumers of caffeine, consuming anywhere from 250-500 mg per day, equivalent to ~3-6 cups of coffee. Yet they all enjoyed a calorie-burning boost from the relatively small dose given to them.

2.   Hot Pepper (capsaicin)

The waiter places a delicious meal in front of you that includes a spicy curry sauce. You devour it. For the next 30 minutes your calorie-burning rate is cruises at 10% above baseline, equivalent to burning an additional 129 Calories per day, or 27% of the caloric value of the entire meal. Sounds too good to be true? This fictitious scenario became a reality at Kyoto University in Japan when scientists gave young women a 481-Calorie meal consisting of a yellow curry sauce containing 3 mg of capsaicin. Capsaicin is the compound responsible for the sharp, and for some of us, intolerably painful, sensation produced by eating hot red peppers. It’s also to blame for the beads of sweat that appear on your forehead as you do so.

Thus, it may come as no surprise to learn that deep inside the body capsaicin can increase your calorie-burning rate by stimulating a process known as thermogenesis. Thermogenesis essentially involves the release of calories in the form of heat. Once released, they can no longer be stored as body fat. In addition to increasing thermogenesis, capsaicin has been found to improve meal satiety (i.e. how full you feel after eating), thereby reducing your risk of overeating. In animal studies it has been reported to increase calorie-burning rate and reduce body fat.

Of course, the single most powerful way to increase your calorie-burning rate and get into negative fat balance is to exercise. Here, too, capsaicin may boost your slimming efforts. When scientists gave healthy subjects capsaicin an hour before performing low-intensity exercise (stationary cycling), they burned more fat. The increase was impressive enough that the scientists suggested capsaicin be used as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of elevated blood lipid levels and/or obesity.

3.   Cinnamon

Cinnamon often serves as a flavorful addition to carbohydrate-rich meals. How great is it, then, to learn that it may help “push” more of those carbohydrates into lean muscle and away from fat cells (adipose tissue)?
Most of the carbohydrate calories you eat are eventually converted into glucose (a.k.a. blood sugar). The hormone insulin helps direct glucose into your body’s cells, including muscle cells. The more sensitive your muscle cells are to insulin, the more efficiently they can scoop up glucose and store it for later use, such as providing your muscles with energy during exercise. All other things held constant, this leaves less glucose available for your fat cells, which might otherwise use it to make body fat.

Of the many plants studied to date, cinnamon has been reported to be among the most powerful in terms of its ability to enhance insulin sensitivity and keep blood glucose levels in check. When added to a carbohydrate-rich meal, it reduces the rise in blood glucose normally experienced afterwards. While the effects on insulin sensitivity may take a couple of weeks to manifest, the improvements in blood glucose control appear virtually immediately.

Can it help you lose body fat?

So cinnamon increases insulin sensitivity and improves blood glucose regulation. Great; however, does this mean it can help you lose body fat more quickly? In fact, this ancient spice might help you do more than that. Dr Richard Anderson (Ph.D.) at the US Department of Agriculture has conducted numerous studies on cinnamon.  He says that if cinnamon is consumed long-term, it can enhance lean body mass (this includes muscle) and reduce body fat, something he and his scientific colleagues demonstrated in a study performed in 2006.

4.   Green Tea

White, green and black varieties of tea all contain caffeine (anywhere from ~14-61 mg per 6-8 oz serving). But it’s green tea that seems to get the most attention from scientists when it comes to burning fat. And its fat-burning effects are due to more than its caffeine content.

In one frequently cited study, healthy young men were given a green tea extract three times per day. Their 24-hour calorie-burning rate was 3.5% higher than that of subjects taking a placebo. This was equivalent to burning an additional 200 Calories per day -more than enough to eventually produce substantial weight loss and reductions in body fat.

Burns Calories

Not only did green tea cause the subjects to burn more calories, but a larger proportion of the calories burned were determined by the scientists to have come from fat. That is, green tea was pushing them closer towards negative fat balance territory, if not pushing them right into it. Based on the scientists’ comments (they used the term “remarkable” to describe green tea’s effects), they seemed to be quite impressed. Indeed, green tea’s thermogenic effects in this study were as powerful as much larger doses of caffeine.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Dulloo et al. (1989). Am J Clin Nutr 49:44.
Matsumoto et al. (2000). J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 46(6): 309.
Shin and Moritani (2007). J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 53(2): 124.
Hlebowicz et al. (2007). Am J Clin Nutr 85: 1552.
Solomon and Blannin (2009). Eur J Appl Physiol 105(6): 969.
Ziegenfuss et al. (2006). J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 3:45. Dr. Anderson’s comments were provided during personal communications conducted in March 2010.
Chim et al. (2008). J Anal Toxicol, 32(8): 702.
Dulloo et al. (1999). Am J Clin Nutr 70: 1040.

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SIMILARITIES AMONG PADDLING SPORTS

PADDLING-SPECIFIC EXERCISES

1.     UPPER BODY PULL

– 2-Dumbbell Standing Rows

You can find more pictures of the upper body pull here.

2.     PADDLE DRIVE

3.     TORSO ROTATION

4.     SHOULDER ENDURANCE

• For rowing-specific program ideas: see www.bodyresults.com/s2rowideas.asp & www.bodyresults.com/s2rowpolygon.asp
• For Rotator Cuff training: www.bodyresults.com/e2rotatorcuff.asp

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Back to work after a three day Contemplative Invitation Prayer retreat, I am reminded to share with you the spiritual aspect of health and fitness in my own life. For over five years, I’ve attended various different retreats as part of what I believe to be a whole and healthy lifestyle. Alone or with others, two –three times per year, I am renewed and re-created each time I journey (in silence) into the heart center of my being.

Centered Prayer

A weekly group and twice daily extension to my retreat experience has been to embrace a prayer practice.   As a wife, mother, daughter, small business owner and athlete, I find myself pulled in many directions all the time. I have worked with various spiritual directors and therapists in my life and have sought health with determined purpose.  The Christ Centered Prayer practice is a discipline that helps me in this life.

Make Time

In the beginning, I couldn’t imagine adding one more thing to my busy schedule. The Christ Centered Prayer practice along with Sandy and Carla’s book The Lessons just made sense to me. I began to sit twice daily, if only for a minute and over the past two years the prayer has expanded itself in me. Waking up is hard and hurts at times but the fruits of this practice are leading to me to a less complicated and more content life.

                ~ Lisa Grace Wright

If you are interested in Contemplative Invitation Teaching, contact us at 361-857-5087 or by email at lisa@ypbtrainingstudio.com

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What is it?

The training effect refers to the amount of effort an athlete must exert to receive fitness benefits from an exercise. Kenneth H. Cooper coined the phrase in the 1960s while working for the United States Air Force. The basics of the training effect is that experienced athletes will have to undergo a more strenuous workout to receive the same benefits that a less-experienced athlete would receive from a less-intense workout. References to the training effect are most common in discussions of cardiovascular exercise, but the term also has relevance to weight training.

The concept of the training effect depends upon a few key points. When an athlete performs aerobic exercises, the heart and respiratory muscles become stronger. Also, the athlete’s blood pressure lowers, and the number of blood cells increases. The body becomes more efficient and exercises that would have been very strenuous become easier. The exercise’s ability to improve the athlete’s overall fitness decreases.

Switch It Up

As a result of the training effect, athletes who want to improve their performance cannot do the same workouts. If they do, they will find that, over time, their overall fitness level will start to plateau. To continue to improve their fitness levels, then, athletes must perform increasingly difficult exercises.

When Cooper discovered the training effect in the 1960s, it changed the approach that most athletes took to measuring exercise. Rather than measuring the exercises performed, trainers began to measure traits of the athletes while performing the exercises. The Cooper test was one of the first ways that trainers did this, but trainers have found better ways of measuring aerobic performance since Cooper introduced his test in the 1960s. Measuring an athlete’s maximal oxygen consumption, or VO2 Max, for instance, allows trainers to determine how much aerobic activity an athlete needs to perform in order to improve his or her overall fitness.

Conclusion

While most of the measurements that resulted from Cooper’s research were specific to aerobic exercises, the basic concept of the training effect is relevant to weight training as well. As an athlete performs lifts, they increase their total muscle tissue and increase the efficiency of the nervous system that controls the muscles. Subsequently, the athlete lifts more weight, and the previous workouts will not provide the same benefit it used to. This training effect results in an athlete needing to continually increase either the amount of weight or the number of repetitions in order to continue to increase his or her muscular fitness.

You can find our source here.

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Have I ever told you that one of my favorite sources for meal planning is the Woman’s Day Month of Menus? I noticed this month (March 2011), than many of the dinner suggestions are low fat and include the recipes.

New England Seafood Chowder

Turkey Taco Skillet

Wheatgrass

Other common name(s): couchgrass, wheatgrass diet, agropyron

Scientific/medical name(s): Triticum aestivum (subspecies of the family Poaceae)

Wheatgrass has been promoted to treat a number of conditions including the common cold, coughs, bronchitis, fevers, infections, and inflammation of the mouth and throat. In folk medicine, practitioners used wheatgrass to treat cystitis, gout, rheumatic pain, chronic skin disorders, and constipation. Some proponents equate chlorophyll (the component that makes wheatgrass and other plants green) with hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood, saying that wheatgrass raises the body’s oxygen levels.

The wheatgrass diet was developed by Boston resident Ann Wigmore who is an immigrant from Lithuania. Wigmore believed strongly in the healing power of nature. Wigmore’s notion that fresh wheatgrass had value came from her interpretation of the Bible and observations that dogs and cats eat grass when they feel ill. Wigmore claimed that this diet could cure disease.

The Evidence

Wheatgrass is a natural source of vitamins and minerals. However, available scientific evidence does not support the idea that wheatgrass or the wheatgrass diet can cure or prevent disease. One small early study found that its juice, when used along with standard medical care, seemed to help control symptoms of chronic inflammation of the large intestine, a condition called ulcerative colitis. This 2002 study tested fresh wheatgrass juice against a sham drink in a group of people with ulcerative colitis. All of them received regular medical care, including their usual diet. Next, those who drank about 3 ounces of the juice every day for a month had less pain, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding than those in the group drinking the placebo.

Although there are individual reports that describe tumor shrinkage and extended survival among people with cancer who followed the wheatgrass diet, there are no clinical trials in the available scientific literature that support this claim.

Risks

Wheatgrass is generally considered safe. It may cause nausea, headaches, hives or swelling of your throat. Wheatgrass is usually grown in soil or water and consumed raw, which means it could be contaminated with bacteria or mold. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, don’t use wheatgrass. If you have a wheat or grass allergy, celiac disease or gluten intolerance, check with your doctor before using wheatgrass. Wheatgrass can have a strong grassy taste, making it difficult to tolerate.

Types

Wheatgrass is available in many forms, including tablets, capsules, liquid extracts and tinctures. Wheatgrass is often used for juicing or added to smoothies or tea. In addition, you can even buy the seeds or kits to grow your own wheatgrass at home.

Healthy Diet

The American Cancer Society’s nutrition guidelines recommend eating a balanced diet that includes 5 or more servings a day of vegetables and fruit, choosing whole grains over processed and refined foods and limiting red meats and animal fats. Choosing foods from a variety of fruits, vegetables and other plant sources such as nuts, seeds, whole grain cereals, and beans is healthier than consuming large amounts of one particular food.

Conclusion

Finally, Wheatgrass isn’t a miracle cure.  Wheatgrass also shouldn’t replace either your regular medical care or a healthy diet. Used sensibly and in moderation, wheatgrass may add interest to your diet.

For further reading visit the Mayo Clinic website.

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Ingredients:

• ice
• 8 oz White Rum
• 1/2 Cup Light Coconut Milk
• 1/2 Cup Pineapple Juice
• Blender

Instructions:

Fill blender halfway with ice, add 4 tall shots (about 8 oz) white rum, ½ cup light coconut milk, and ½ cup pineapple juice; blend until smooth. Pour into 4 glasses and garnish each with a pineapple slice. Each drink has only 169 calories-that’s 221 fewer than a classic pina colada.

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