Back Clinic Nutrition Team. Food provides people with the necessary energy and nutrients to be healthy. By eating various foods, including good quality vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products, and lean meats, the body can replenish itself with the essential proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals to function effectively. Nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Healthy eating does not have to be hard.
The key is to eat various foods, including vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. In addition, eat lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and low-fat dairy products and drink lots of water. Limit salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated fats usually come from animals. Look for trans fat on the labels of processed foods, margarine, and shortenings.
Dr. Alex Jimenez offers nutritional examples and describes the importance of balanced nutrition, emphasizing how a proper diet combined with physical activity can help individuals reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases, and promote overall health and wellness.
El Paso, TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez &�Athletic Fitness Trainer Daniel Alvarado take a look at why people trying to lose weight are always hungry.
Why Am I famished � like all of the time?� Is that a question you�re asking a lot lately? That�s because weight loss is a bit more complex than �calories in, calories out.� While that is certainly important, getting your hormones under control is essential to stifle an out of control hunger.
Fortunately, you�re not destined to get a life of counting calories (and feeling starved all the time). Eating well, exercising and moving more during the day are key methods to shed weight. However, you can find several other ways to begin chipping away at those last few pounds, too. Here are a few odd things which make you hungry. And how you can start taking steps to reverse overeating �
I Am�Hungry Because? 3 Odd Causes
1. Salt
Eating salt makes you thirsty? Nope. A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University found that while excessive salt consumption can cause you to be thirsty initially that the body really begins producing and keeping more of its own water. This forces the body to truly use lots of fuel to break down muscle mass, fueling your hunger. This breakthrough finding changes what we all know about salt and hunger and sheds new light on overeating and its dangerous side effects. (1)
Getting your salt intake under control is essential, if you�re appearing to lose weight quickly.
2. Air Conditioning
There a theory that our body is primed by air condition for overeating and weight gain. Individuals look to eat more in chilly temperatures. Why? The body�s trying to remain warm. I get using air conditioning in order to avoid extreme and dangerous heat, but I wouldn�t make air conditioning a habit if you�re attempting to slim down. (2, 3)
3. Particular Drugs
Certain drugs might be fueling your desire. Insulin, some allergy meds, steroids and even some blood pressure meds and anti depressants are proven to activate hunger and weight gain. While you shouldn�t only get from your meds without speaking to your own doctor, fixing leaky gut can go a ways in actually reversing a long listing of other symptoms and also allergies. (Rather than simply covering them up.) Working on bowel repair can start the process of fixing the main cause of several ailments.(4)
How to Get Your Hunger Under Control
It’s possible for you to take several approaches to get reset your food cravings � and finally Why I ‘m keen, involve some solutions on your �?� question. You might want to work with your doctor to ID any hormone imbalances. But regardless of that, here are other things it is possible to do:
Work natural appetite suppressants. These generally include green tea extract, foods that are hot, saffron extract and high-fiber foods.
Find out the way to work with grapefruit essential oil. Just the smell of grapefruit oil excites sympathetic nerves that supply the brown adipose tissue and adrenal glands, which might help stimulate fat loss.
Exercise consistently. Mix it up with other types of exercise and busted training you like.
Eat foods that balance your hormones naturally. Avocados are at the very top of that list.
Final Thoughts�On, �Why Am I Always Hungry?�
There really are several things that are surprising that may be causing you to overeat.
A lot of salt doesn�t make you thirsty, it really activates your body to generate and keep more water, which makes you even hungrier and takes bunch of energy.
Getting enough sleep, eating foods that balance your hormones and selecting appetite-suppressing foods and spices are able to help you avoid overeating.
Straightforward smelling grapefruit essential oil can in fact help boost weight loss and hunger amounts that are reduced.
It�s hard to overcome a bad reputation � even for food! But some edibles once deemed to be health hazards have been vindicated by the ever-evolving science of nutrition.
�With new research emerging on these topics, our recommendations change,� says Kelly Pritchett, national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
It happened with eggs. One of America�s most popular breakfast foods was branded a villain to heart health in the 1970s due to high levels of cholesterol. Now, experts are changing their tune. They�re even singing praise for the egg � yoke and all.
�The 2015 Dietary Guidelines gives the thumbs-up on having one egg per day,� says registered dietician Joy Dubost. �Eggs are an all-natural source of high quality protein and a number of other essential nutrients, all for 70 calories per large egg.�
In a 2013 study, participants who ate an egg breakfast were better able to control their food intake than those who a carbohydrate-heavy cereal breakfast. And don�t go the egg white-only route. The yolk is packed with three grams of protein as well as vitamins D and B12, riboflavin, folate, phosphorous, selenium and choline.
Here are seven other good foods with bad reps:
Whole milk: A 2015 review of 25 studies published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that people who ate full-fat dairy products were no more likely to develop cardiovascular disease or Type 2 diabetes than those who stuck with the low-fat versions. Even more surprising, the full-fat crowd reported less weight gain and obesity. Experts recommend drinking only organic milk from grass-fed cows.
Coconut oil: A high saturated fat content tarnished the reputation of coconut oil, but research reveals that much of it is medium-chain triglycerides, which are healthy fats that boost both immunity and metabolism. A study published in the journal Lipids found that coconut oil reduced abdominal fat. It�s also one of the healthiest oils for cooking because it can withstand high heat without oxidizing better than vegetable oils.
Potatoes: The carb-heavy spud was kicked to the curb due to its high glycemic index, meaning it can spike blood sugar. But pairing potatoes with protein or healthy oils slows down digestion of them. Furthermore, potatoes are low-calorie, very filling and rich in several nutrients, including potassium, fiber and vitamin C. Eat the skin and you�ll also reap powerful antioxidants. Just don�t deep fat fry them or slather a baked tater with gobs of butter, sour cream and bacon bits.
Popcorn: All bets are off if you eat this movie theater munchie bathed in unhealthy oils � or cooked in a microwaveable bag lined with toxic chemicals. But air-popping organic popcorn will deliver a 100-calorie whole grain treat, per three-cup serving, that also delivers three grams of fiber and more healthy phytonutrients than most fruit.
Coffee: Once blamed for stunting growth and contributing to various maladies including heart disease and cancer, coffee is now being hailed as healthy for most folks. In fact, research published in the journal Circulation found that people who downed three to five cups a day were 15 percent less likely to die from any cause than non-coffee drinkers. Credit the anti-aging flavonoids for protecting cells from deterioration. Just don�t go dumping a lot of fattening sugars and creams into your java.
Avocados: It�s hard to believe that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only got around to declaring this superfood to be �healthy� in May 2016. The problem previously was its high fat content, but most of it is the healthy monounsaturated kind. Avocados are not only rich in nutrients but their fats also help you to absorb fat-soluble nutrients from other foods. So go ahead and order the guacamole, but nix the chips!
Beer: The sudsy stuff is a source of B vitamins and minerals, including potassium, magnesium and bone-building silicon. It�s also loaded with antioxidants. �Beer is not just empty calories,� declares Dubost. �In addition to the nutrients, large population studies consistently show that moderate alcohol consumption, including beer, reduces mortality.�
El Paso, TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez discusses clean eating.
When it comes to eating clean, it�s often much easier than you think. Plus,�you rarely�have to alter the essence of your favorite dishes to achieve a cleaner plate. The key to turning them�into �a �clean� dish is to start from the root�the ingredients.
To build a cleaner plate, it first starts in the market where you choose your produce, whole grains, dairy, proteins, and other items. Look for ingredient lists that are short and contain no preservatives, artificial colorings, added sugars, and other processed ingredients.
Make sure you balance your plate by filling at least half with fruits and veggies, choosing whole grains for a fourth of your plate, and lean, clean meat for the remaining fourth.
To Convert A Recipe To Clean Recipe Look At The Ingredients & Substitute
Protein > Choose leaner meat, and limit meat portions such as pork and red meat to 3 ounces and chicken to 4.5 ounces per day. Seafood and plant-based proteins are encouraged. Look for meat that is grass-fed and raised without antibiotics or hormones.
Condiments, dressings and salsas >�Make your own, and nix the added sugars and excess salt.
While this recipe is almost completely clean, the marinade calls for brown sugar. For a cleaner sugar, replace 1� teaspoons of maple syrup for the 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
The need to take a daily run might be something that spreads person-to-person, new research shows.
How much people run can depend to a certain extent on their responses to other people’s running, according to the findings from the analysis of social network data worldwide, The New York Times reported.
The results of the study in the journal Nature Communications also suggest that if you want to improve your running performance, it might be a good idea to become virtual friends with people who are a bit slower.
The researchers concluded that “running can be socially contagious,” said study leader Sinan Aral, professor of management, MIT, The Times reported.
“In general, if you run more, it is likely that you can cause your friends to run more,” Aral said.
For many people, eating healthy means eating organic whenever possible. But choosing only organic foods can take effort and be costly. So when does it make the most sense?
Experts from the University of Texas suggest feeding young children organic foods whenever possible to limit their exposure to pesticides. Adults should make their primary goal to eat healthy in general. In other words, make sure you’re getting enough fruits and vegetables in your diet before worrying about whether they’re organic.
Next, add in organic foods as your budget allows. Some organic fruits and vegetables are only slightly more expensive than non-organic varieties, so focus on them before the more expensive ones. You might also look for foods on which organic has the most impact. Generally, produce that you peel before eating will have less pesticide residue so it makes more sense to spend money on organic cherries than on organic bananas.
However, aside from limiting your exposure to pesticides, there’s little conclusive evidence that organic foods are healthier.
But there are other reasons — from taste to the idea of putting fewer chemicals in the soil — that might influence you to go organic. In the end, it’s often a very personal decision.
People who cycle to work have a substantially lower risk of developing cancer or heart disease or dying prematurely, and governments should do all they can to encourage more active commuting, scientists said on Thursday.
In a study published in the BMJ British medical journal, the researchers found that cycling to work was linked to the most significant health benefits – including a 45 percent lower risk of developing cancer and a 46 percent lower risk of heart disease compared to non-active commuters.
Walking to work was linked to a 27 percent lower risk of developing heart disease and a 36 percent lower risk of dying from it, though it also appeared to have no effect on cancer risk or overall premature death risk, the study showed.
The research involved 264,377 people with an average age of 53 whose data forms part of the UK Biobank – a database of biological information from half a million British adults.
Since the study was observational, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, the researchers said. Its findings could also be affected by some confounding factors, they added, including that the mode and distance of commuting was self-reported, rather than objectively measured.
However, “the findings, if causal, suggest population health may be improved by policies that increase active commuting, particularly cycling”, they said.
These would include creating more cycle lanes, introducing more bike buying or hiring schemes, and providing better access for cyclists on public transport.
Lars Bo Andersen, a professor at the Western Norwegian University of Applied Sciences, who was not directly involved in the research but wrote a commentary on it in the BMJ, said its findings “are a clear call for political action on active commuting”, saying this had the potential to significantly improve public health by reducing rates of chronic disease.
“A shift from cars to more active modes of travel will also decrease traffic in congested city centers and help reduce air pollution, with further benefits for health,” he said.
El Paso, TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez investigates sugar, acidity and inflammation.
A study late last year, which appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, presented a damning declaration hardly surprisingly to anyone remotely tuned in to the sugar debate recently.
Researchers here noted way back in the 1960s, the sugar industry paid three Harvard scientists to publish a study in the New England Journal of Medicine arguing fat (particularly saturated fat) and cholesterol triggered heart disease while largely exculpating sugar.(1)
Repercussions of that sugar-lobbied study resonated over the next few decades � into 2017, in fact � as low fat, cholesterol-free, and calorie counting became mantras for healthy eating.
Sugar? Well, it got a free pass as a �healthy� part of any sensible diet, whatever that meant. Meanwhile, over the ensuing decades we became fatter and sicker. And today, more experts acknowledge sugar became the chief culprit that sabotaged our health and waistlines.
Recent Studies on Sugar
Recent studies show sugar converts to belly fat, paving a nasty path for obesity�� and other problems. (2) One study found just 24 teaspoons of a few sugars, including sugar from �healthy� honey and orange juice, decrease your neutrophils� ability to destroy bacteria, thereby hijacking your immune system.(3) (A 12-ounce glass of OJ has nine teaspoons of sugar! So much for drinking OJ when you get a cold.)
Pick your poison � excess sugar probably messes with it. Consider brain health. One study found sugar triggers buildup of toxic amyloid proteins, directly responsible for dementia.(4) Another showed older adults who consumed excess sugar and other carbohydrates increased their risk for dementia compared with older adults who ate a higher-fat and protein diet.(3)
We�re eating more sugar than ever before. Between 1977-78 and 1994-96, the average American daily consumption of added sugars increased from 235 to 318 calories, an increase of 35 percent. Mostly that was due to soft drinks, the single biggest source of calories. Today, over 10 percent of Americans� daily calories (over 55 grams, in fact) come from sugar-sweetened beverages but also grain-containing foods and fruit or fruit juice, which are essentially sugar. (5)
Today Americans eat an average of 133 pounds of sugar yearly. That doesn�t account for bagels, breads, pasta, and other starchy foods that break down to sugar. According to some experts like Dr. Mark Hyman, altogether the average American eats about apoundof sugar daily!� (6, 7)
Those results, unsurprisingly, have been disastrous. In his new book The Case Against Sugar, Gary Taubes argues over-consuming the sweet stuff has created adverse metabolic and hormonal effects, predisposing us to obesity and preventable chronic diseases including cancer and Alzheimer�s disease (now referred to as Type 3 diabetes).
Anyone following the sugar debate won�t find this breaking news, although Taube�s book presents it in a more mainstream, palatable, arguably jarring light.
But how does sugar lead to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer�s, and pretty much any other disease on the planet? While the path isn�t necessarily linear, we can certainly trace it.
Sugar Wrecks pH Balance
Research shows an alkaline state is healthier for your body, and most tissues and cells maintain an alkaline pH balance.(8) Sugar does the opposite: It imbalances pH and makes you more acidic, increasing your risk for numerous problems including kidney stones, chronic inflammation, and oxidative stress.
The pH of your blood is tightly regulated and usually stays around 7.35 to 7.45. When experts talk about acidic or alkaline foods, they refer to your urine Ph, since blood Ph stays relatively stable. Urine pH provides clues about numerous things include cellular health and nutrient status.
However, excess sugar can lower pH between cells. Excess sugar also creates sodium and potassium imbalances, contributing to that more acidic environment. Combine that with lost calcium�in the urine and decreased sodium bicarbonate (the body�s major buffer) and you�ve got a perfect recipe for metabolic acidosis.(8)
Coupled with fewer higher-alkaline foods like fruits and vegetables, your body becomes more acidic while lowering its main buffer (serum bicarbonate). Metabolic stress ensues in your liver, pancreas, kidneys, and other organs.
Studies show overall people who eat more refined sugar consume fewer fruits and vegetables, creating sodium to potassium imbalances that mess with your body�s buffering system, creating � you guessed it � an even more acidic environment between your cells.(8)
An acidic environment also stresses your body out. Sugar-triggered metabolic acidosis raises your stress hormone cortisol, keeping your body on high alert and cranking out more free radicals that damage mitochondria (your cells� energy plants) while accelerating aging and ramping up fat storage.(9)
Acidity also flips the switch for cytokine production, spiking inflammation and free radical production. An acidic environment also stresses out your liver, kidneys, pancreas, and other organs, ramping up those inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways, damaging cells and sometimes leading to cancer. (10)
Sugar, Chronic Inflammation &�Oxidative Stress
The acidic environment excess sugar creates contributes to two major killers that often occur together: Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
Chronic inflammation plays a role in every disease on the planet. Numerous culprits contribute to chronic inflammation, including insufficient sleep, lack of exercise, and stress.(11, 12)
So does sugar. Excessive amounts can also increase oxidative stress,(13, 14) creating an antioxidant imbalance that leads to metabolic damage.(15) Oxidative stress weakens your antioxidant defense, dampening your body�s ability to clean up this oxidative damage.(16)
Studies also link oxidative stress to obesity(17) and chronic diseases like cancer.(10) That particularly becomes true when you eat a diet low in omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fiber, and antioxidant-rich foods like vegetables.(18)
A Healthier You!
Sugar &�Disease
So, sugar makes your body acidic, which increases chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, spiking obesity and nearly every disease on the planet. Consequently, obesity and disease increase chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, creating a vicious cycle.
What ensues is often catastrophic and sometimes deadly. Insulin resistance, which paves the path for Type 2 diabetes and other problems, might be sugar�s biggest culprit. Many overweight or obese people also have some form of insulin resistance, which becomes a major player for inflammation.(19)
None of this occurs in a vacuum. Metabolic syndrome � an umbrella term that affects 34 million Americans(20) and includes insulin resistance but also high blood sugar levels, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, weight gain, and high uric acid levels � also increases inflammation and oxidative stress.(21)
Taubes, like some other experts and recent studies, pins sugar as the chief driver for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
Many studies particularly blame fructose. Yes, fruit contains fructose, but getting 15 grams of this simple sugar from an apple becomes far different than a soda. For one, that apple comes packaged with nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants that buffer its fructose load. (22, 23)
What�s Wrong With Fructose?
Ironically, fructose doesn�t raise insulin levels but contributes to insulin resistance.(24) It also depletes your main energy �currency� adenosine triphosphate (ATP), damages cells, and creates uric acid buildup (leading to gout and other problems).(25, 26)
There�s more. Fructose increases apolipoprotein B levels, creating �sticky� blood platelets that increase blood clotting, paving the way for stroke and heart attacks.(27) And it raises triglyceride levels while becoming the chief driver of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).(28)
This simple sugar shuts down satiety hormones like leptin, delivering a double whammy of insulin resistance and leptin resistance.(29)
It can even make you less intelligent. A 2012 study at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA showed compared with a control group, rats fed a high-fructose diet performed poorly in tests using mazes designed to observe memory and learning.(22)
Keep in mind sucrose (table sugar) breaks down to fructose and glucose, and even high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contains glucose. Glucose is no angel, but it behaves metabolically different and (at least compared with fructose) overall creates less damage. At the same time, eating large amounts of sugar means you�re simultaneously getting huge amounts of fructose, creating these and other problems.
Dialing Back Your Sugar Quota
Considering certain sugars (like fructose) are more damaging, and naturally occurring sugars create different effects than added sugars, the whole sugar debate can become confusing. And what does �excessive amounts of sugar� even mean?
Opinions differ, but the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than six teaspoons daily for women and nine for men, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends no more than 10 percent (ideally less than five percent) of your calories come from added sugar or sugars like honey, syrups, and fruit juice.(27)
My own recommendations tend to be in-line with those of the World Health Organization, though I�d recommend those sugar calories only ever get into the body in the form of organic raw honey or unrefined maple syrup � if at all!
When you reduce sugar, you help restore acid-base balance and lower inflammation as well as oxidative stress, reducing your risk for obesity and chronic disease. You can�t eliminate sugar (even super-healthy foods like broccoli contain a little sugar), but you can cut back on it. Here are five ways to do that.
Increase healthy foods.
Add before you take away: Edge out sugary foods with more nutrient-rich ones. Studies show focusing on antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables can reverse sugar�s inflammatory response.(30) No, eating three servings of steamed broccoli doesn�t give you leeway to eat chocolate cake, but that broccoli can help minimize sugar�s impact.
Scrutinize labels.
Never mind that the front package boasts �low sugar� or whatever. The only way to really know is by looking at nutrient facts. Keep in mind that roughly four grams equals one teaspoon of sugar. Do your math and multiply accordingly. Learn the many names for sugar that hide on ingredients lists (Jonathan Bailor notes 57!) and realize manufacturers keep serving sizes incredibly small to trick you into thinking you�re eating less sugar than you actually are.
Beware of �healthy� foods and especially drinks.
A green juice or honey-sweetened bottle of green tea can have as much (if not more) sugar than a cola. Just because it gets touted as healthy or you find it in a �healthy� grocery store doesn�t make it healthy.
Remember all carbs break down to sugar.
That bag of potato chips might only contain two grams of sugar per serving, but look at the complete carbohydrate count. Something like 20 grams of carbohydrate from processed foods � meaning foods without fiber, antioxidants, or other nutrients whole foods provide � essentially break down into about five teaspoons of sugar. That�s one Let�s face it: You�ll probably eat several servings of these �trigger� foods. Proceed accordingly.
Eat real food.
Cut through the chase and simplify your eating by avoiding processed foods. Even though some whole foods contain sugar, they come wrapped in fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants that buffer out that sugar load.
Have recent studies made you rethink how much sugar you consume, particularly from sneaky sources? Does sugar rightly deserve to be demonized or are we being overly dramatic making it public enemy number one? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page.
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About Dr. B.J. Hardick
Raised in a holistic family, Dr. B.J. Hardick is the co-author of the best-selling Maximized Living Nutrition Plans, used in natural health clinics worldwide, and a contributing author for its follow-up publication, The Cancer Killers. Dr. Hardick shares his own journey dealing with heavy metal toxicity in Real Detox, his e-Book available on DrHardick.com. An organic food fanatic and green living aficionado, all Dr. Hardick�s passions are anchored in helping others achieve ecologically sound, healthy, and balanced lives. Learn More
Named after the Developer of Chiropractic, Dr. B.J. Hardick is a second-generation chiropractor, a 2001 graduate of Life University, and has spent the majority of his life working in natural health care. Dr. Hardick is in full-time clinical practice in London, Ontario.
Outside of patient hours, Dr. Hardick is known for speaking on his natural health strategies to numerous professional and public audiences every year in the Unites States and Canada. In 2009, he wrote his first book, Maximized Living Nutrition Plans, which has now been used professionally in over 500 health clinics, alongside a follow-up publication to which he was a contributor, The Cancer Killers. Dr. Hardick serves on the advisory board forGreenMedInfo.com, the world�s most widely referenced natural health database.
All Dr. Hardick�s passions are anchored in helping others achieve ecologically sound, healthy, and balanced lives.
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