Tag: fuel

Plant-based diets are beneficial to your health. They lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and can even help with weight loss. But one nutrient that must come from animal sources is B12. Vegans especially are more likely to be deficient in this critical B vitamin, which can lead to symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, constipation, and vision loss, and mental problems that include memory loss and depression.

What’s B12 anyway?

We humans need B12 to make red blood cells and for maintenance of the nervous system, synthesis of DNA, and for the basic smooth functioning of the body’s systems. Specifically, our nerves are covered in a sheath called myelin; over time a B12 deficiency can cause a breakdown in this covering, which can cause permanent (yes permanent!) damage to the nervous system.
B12 is also crucial to a child’s growth and development. So if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s especially important to ensure that you’re not deficient. Deficiencies can cause anemia, fatigue, neuropathy, stroke, degeneration of the nervous system, and poor resistance to infection.

How do I know if I’m deficient?

Unfortunately, deficiencies are sneaky and can catch up to us with little warning. Strict vegans who don’t eat any animal products are at risk, as are people with digestive disorders like Crohn’s and celiac disease who have difficulty with nutrient absorption. The inability to properly absorb B12 is actually much more common than a dietary deficiency. Those who often take medicines like Zantac and Nexium for stomach acid are also at risk.
You may want to get your levels checked if you fall into any of the categories above or if you’re over the age of 50. The average adult needs 2.4 micrograms daily to avoid deficiency.

What foods contain B12?

Cooked clams are the best source of B12, with 84 mg in 3 ounces. Beef liver, mackerel, crab, salmon, fish eggs, tuna, sardines, grass-fed beef, milk, raw cheese, eggs—as well as bran cereal and tofu that’s fortified with B12—are also good sources.
Although some have claimed that algae like spirulina contain B12, further analysis has shown that this is not the case. Instead, algae actually contain similar B12 compounds that are not absorbable to humans.

A Vegan Deficiency

Vegans are at a real risk of being deficient in B12 because they eat very few food sources that contain the nutrient. In fact, famous vegan cookbook author and television chef Christina Pirello of Christina Cooks spoke candidly about how a B12 deficiency likely partially caused her brain aneurysm in 1998. Pirello, who is also a registered nutritionist, claims that the fact that she had avoided animal products for a decade likely contributed to her serious health scare (along with some hereditary health issues). Today Pirello recommends getting a blood test to check levels and supplementing B12 in your diet if necessary. When you don’t get enough in your diet it usually takes about five years for symptoms of a deficiency to crop up.

Should vegans supplement B12?

As Pirello says, if you think you’re deficient, talk to your doctor about blood tests. But according to the Vegan Society, you can get enough B12 in a vegan diet by eating foods that are fortified with B12—such as tofu, cereal, and plant-based milks—at least three times per day. Yeast extracts like agar, vegemite, and nutritional yeast, which are often used in vegetarian recipes, are also good sources of B12.
But if you do want to supplement, you can take a daily 10 mg supplement or a weekly 2,000 mg supplement. B12 is best absorbed in small amounts, although it is water soluble so you can’t overdo it like you can with fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D. Other herbivorous animals get B12 from bacteria in their own digestive system, but humans aren’t able to do this.
A carefully planned plant-based diet has been shown to have a number of health benefits. But B12 is one vitamin that is difficult to obtain without including any animal products in your diet. In some cases, you may be getting enough in your diet, but your body’s inability to absorb the nutrient may be causing a deficiency. Either way, if you’re feeling some of the sneaky symptoms listed above or you’re in a vulnerable group, consider getting a blood test and then talking to your doctor about supplementation.

“Eat every few hours,” intones a weight loss guru. “Eat six small meals spaced evenly thoroughly the day,” suggests another expert. “Schedule your eating to ensure you lose the most weight possible,” an article on the internet suggests. Although these pieces of advice can work, there can be a downside to eating on a strict schedule. If you are eating five or six times a day on a strict schedule to lose weight and not having success, here are some possible reasons why the strategy could backfire.

Why Is Scheduled Eating Recommended?

The volume of advice on weight loss can be overwhelming. Not every expert recommends scheduled eating, but many do. Scheduled eating does has some advantages:

1. You know when you will eat next.
2. You can easily plan your meals around your work and leisure schedule.
3. Hunger may be minimized because you don’t allow yourself to get hungry.

Does It Always Work?

Scheduled eating doesn’t work for everyone. If it did, that would be the universal recommendation from doctors and weight loss professionals alike.

In fact, there is research and anecdotal evidence that scheduled eating doesn’t always work for weight loss.

For instance, a 2006 article published in the International Journal of Obesity examined the eating habits of young and old people. The researchers found that “In both age groups, eating frequency was positively associated with energy intake, and eating more than three times a day was associated with being overweight or obese.”

Personally, I’ve had some clients who do well with scheduled eating and others who did not.

Who Does It Work For?

Scheduled eating tends to work best for people who function well with set guidelines rather than loose suggestions.

If you are a person who doesn’t like to follow the directions when assembling a piece of equipment or someone who likes to find your own way, you might not respond well to scheduled eating.

If, on the other hand, you find yourself being the most productive and successful when following directions or eating according to prescribed guidelines, scheduled eating can definitely work.

What’s the Problem With Scheduled Eating?

There are two potential problems with scheduled eating.

Potential Problem #1:

If it doesn’t fit your personality you are going to be unhappy. I did not do as well with scheduled eating as some of my clients do. I am a bit of a free spirit when it comes to following directions, and scheduled eating made me crazy. I was always thinking about when the next meal would be and whether it would be okay to eat before the scheduled time or even skip a planned meal. That didn’t help normalize my relationship with food.

Potential Problem #2:

This problem is more detrimental to weight loss. For some people, eating on a schedule means the removal or diminishing of natural hunger cues. Additionally, when you eat on a schedule you might eat more than you really need just because the clock tells you it is time to eat.

For example, if you have a set schedule of eating every 3 hours starting at 8:00 a.m., do you ever learn what foods fill you up? Do you ever learn what times of day you are not as hungry? Do you really learn to eat as you will once you hit weight maintenance?

Maybe or maybe not.

If you find yourself losing weight at a slower rate than you expect based on your food intake and exercise, try going a little longer between one or two of your meals. Determine if you are truly hungry enough to eat again or if you might do better skipping a snack time or pushing lunch back an hour or two.

This can help you keep your calories under control, learn to develop mindful eating skills, and train yourself to eat when you are truly hungry and not just based on the time on a clock.

Nowadays it seems like every fad diet involves fats in one way or another. There are diets that recommend eating a lot of fat, like a ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate protein, low carb diet that forces your body to use ketone bodies for a source of fuel) or a high fat low carb diet (HFLC). Then there are those diets that limit fat intake, such as a low fat diet or a high carb low fat diet (HCLF, common among vegans).
All fats are not created equal. Some fats—such as monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)—have amazing cardiovascular benefits, whereas others—such as trans fatty acids (trans fats)—actually increase cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)

MUFAs decrease serum cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL, “bad”) cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels, and raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL, “good”) cholesterol levels. They lower mortality rates of cardiovascular disease and decrease risks of certain types of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
Sources: Olive oil, olives, canola oil, peanut oil, peanuts, peanut butter, poultry, avocados, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, macadamia nuts

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs)

Omega-6 fatty acids: Omega-6 fatty acids lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels
Sources: Safflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, walnuts, pine nuts, mayonnaise
Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3 fatty acids lower triglycerides and lowers your risk of heart disease by 1) decreasing clot formation, 2) decreasing vasoconstriction, and 3) decreasing inflammation
Sources: Salmon, herring, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, fatty fish, shellfish, nuts, flaxseed, canola oil, and soybean oil

Saturated Fatty Acids (SFAs)

These are mostly found in meat and dairy products (e.g., animal fats, lard, milk fat, butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cream, sour cream). They are also found in palm kernel, coconut, and palm oils. These should be restricted because they have the most potent effect on LDL cholesterol, which rises when increasing levels of SFAs are consumed. Of all the added fats in the diet, the ones that increase cholesterol levels the most are palm kernel, lard, and butter.
No more than 7 percent of our calories should come from SFAs.

Trans-fatty Acids

These are produced in the hydrogenation process, which is used in the food industry to increase the shelf life of foods and to make margarines firmer. Trans-fatty acids should be limited because they raise LDL cholesterol and increase the LDL:HDL cholesterol ratio, thus adversely influencing your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Sources: Most trans-fatty acid intake comes from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, stick margarine, non-dairy creamers, solid shortening, cookies, pastries, doughnuts, and crackers
No more than 1 percent of calories should come from trans-fatty acids.

Dietary Cholesterol

Dietary cholesterol raises total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol but to a lesser extent than SFAs.
Sources: Egg yolks, liver, organ meats, squid, abalone (one egg yolk has ~200 mg cholesterol; meats, fish, poultry, and shellfish 20–30 mg/oz; shrimp 40–50 mg/oz)
Now that you are overwhelmed with all of the different types of fats, their food sources, and health benefits or lack thereof, what’s next?
Take a good look at your diet and analyze what types of fats you are consuming. If you are consuming a lot of processed foods, there’s a good chance you are consuming trans fats, because they are often used to make products shelf stable and have a longer shelf life. If you’ve been told by your doctor to increase your omega-3 intake, you may benefit from increasing the amount of fatty fish, nuts, and flaxseed in your diet.
Not all fats are created equal, and they certainly don’t all have the same health benefits. Consult with your doctor or healthcare provider before embarking on any diet.

When I pulled up to the former paintball building in downtown Newark, New Jersey, in a block encased by brick warehouses and concrete, I hardly felt like I was about to tour a farm. But then, AeroFarms is not exactly your average farm.

Established in 2004 in Ithaca, New York, AeroFarms is as much a tech company as it is an agricultural one; but don’t let that scare you. Although their aeroponic, indoor growing method is decidedly unconventional, their vision for food and farming is all about getting back in touch with our food. “We want to be a force for good in the world,” their values statement reads; and that is precisely what they are.

AeroFarms chose to lay down roots in abandoned warehouse spaces within a city that has long struggled with access to fresh food. In addition to the repurposed paintball facility I toured, they have given new life to an old steel mill and a night club. Although their farm model can fit in virtually anywhere, they intentionally seek locations close to retailers and food distributors in order to decrease food miles and ensure the freshest, highest quality product possible.

But how, you might ask, could a vegetable possibly be fresh when it’s grown inside an inner-city warehouse? Don’t plants need sunlight, open air, and, um, soil to grow?

In fact, they do not.

Plants do need specific types of light, nutrients, and water, but they do not need to come from the sun, soil, rain, or irrigation systems. Those traditional sources are not even the most effective when you get right down to it. By moving their farms indoors, AeroFarms can pinpoint the exact spectrum of light (through LEDs), ratio of minerals, and amount of water that each one of their products requires for optimal growth and nutrition.

Indoor farming also allows them to seriously cut down on the risk of foodborne illnesses, like salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, which have become so ubiquitous in modern agriculture. 

As Alina Zolotareva, dietitian and marketing manager for AeroFarms, explained to me, “Foodborne illnesses from vegetables are mainly a product of the practices needed to sustain large-scale commercial agriculture.” Without soil, contact with neighboring environments, or pesticides of any kind (because there aren’t any pests, period), the majority of food safety risks encountered in the industry are “simply not an issue with our system,” she added.

AeroFarms manages their product from seed to package, with ultimate traceability and an attention to detail that did not go unnoticed during my tour. They source only seeds that are not genetically modified (GMO), which start their lives on fabric made from post-consumer recycled plastic (water bottles). The germinated seeds are then transferred to a “module,” a stackable growing station that will provide it with all of the LED light and targeted nutrition it needs. After harvest, the cloths are sanitized and reused for a new batch of crops.

Not only is the aeroponic technology ideal for urban farming, food safety, and the health of the plants themselves, but it also has some pretty profound implications for the sustainability of the planet. Aeroponics uses 95 percent less water than field-farmed food and 40 percent less than hydroponics. It allows for product yields that are 75 times higher per square foot annually compared with conventional practices. And there are no concerns over land use and soil erosion, which is crucial when we consider the need for nutritious foods for a growing world population. There are no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, or GMOs involved, underscoring that we can feed the world without them.

Oh, and all of the issues we’ve been having with produce shortages as a result of weather issues? Not a problem for an indoor farm. Prices and supply can remain constant, no matter what Mother Nature throws our way.

(If you’re as sold at this point as I was and you live near Newark, find out where and how you can taste some of their fresh greens for yourself.)

Aeroponics. Technology. Indoor farming. It sounds suspicious; I get it. A “pure” farm should involve a bucolic field of crops, vibrantly green under a bright sun—not a cement-floored industrial warehouse where the “farmers” are scientists who wear white jumpsuits and hairnets. Right?

That’s the incredible thing about AeroFarms. They understand that our food environment is going the way of technology, and fast. Rather than push against it, they have found a way to harness it for the betterment of the entire planet.

That’s huge.

“Innovation in the field of agriculture is an imperative—it’s not optional,” Zolotareva wrote to me at the end of our correspondence. “[We] need new ways of farming, fast. AeroFarms doesn’t operate like any other farm, and that’s a good thing.”

Indeed it is.

During ancient times, herbal infusions, otherwise known as teas, were used as homeopathic medicine. Today people continue to drink tea to cure and fight ailments ranging from simple colds to cancer. Tea has become the panacea for making your body healthy. But recent studies have shown that the tea that you’re drinking could actually be making you sick(er), instead of better!
Pretty crazy, right?
Metals found in the environment and in everyday products can find their way into your system and make you really ill. Although your body needs trace amounts of these metals, you can quickly overload on the maximum recommended amount by eating products that are tainted with them.
Recent studies have found that 32 percent of the tea leaves from China exceeded the limit for lead, which is a toxic heavy metal. This lead contamination is a result of China’s massive industrialization efforts. The lead from industrial pollution and car exhaust contaminates the soil and air, which is then absorbed by the plants via the roots or lands on the leaves in the local environment. Tea plants absorb lead from the environment at a higher rate than other plants, and green tea plants are known to be especially effective at absorbing lead from the soil. Green tea was found to have the highest amount of lead, with up to 50 times the maximum permitted level.
By some estimates, Americans drink nearly 10 billion servings of green tea each year, and roughly 80 percent of the green tea is produced in China. Various teas were analyzed by ConsumerLab.com, and they reported that tea from brands like Lipton and Bigelow contained up to 2.5 micrograms of lead per serving compared with no measurable amounts in Teavana brand, which gets its tea leaves from Japan. Most noteworthy was that zero percent of the tea leaves from Japan exceeded the limit.
Experts do believe that the lead in the tea leaves does not leach very well into the tea you end up drinking; it mostly stays in the leaves. This is okay if you soak the leaves and drink the liquid, but if you’re consuming matcha green tea (made from ground-up leaves), it’s especially important that it doesn’t come from China. The best matcha green tea comes from Japan and is steamed rather than roasted or pan-fried. As a result, matcha green tea retains all the nutrient-rich value possible from the tea leaf without additives or contaminants.
Studies also showed that using a paper filter such as a tea bag or K-cup can also reduce the amount of lead in your drink. Interestingly, there was no lead found in any of the decaffeinated teas, so scientists concluded that the process of decaffeination actually removes lead.
All teas are rich in antioxidants, but green tea—especially when brewed from loose leaves—is known for its great abundance of polyphenols, which do wonders for your body! Research has found that drinking at least 2 to 3 cups of green tea daily can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes. It can also help you lose weight and reduce your risk of prostate cancer.
So drinking tea is great for you and you shouldn’t stop! The key is to know the source of the leaves and use a filter or bag when possible. And if you do happen to accidently consume too many heavy metals, know that a healthy diet rich in vitamin C, calcium, and iron can also help to minimize the harmful effects.

It’s a rare day that a woman comes in the gym and says she wants to be a bodybuilder. Most women are out for one thing. They want to lose weight and tone up—not bulk up. So when women join our boot camp program at our gym, they are surprised to hear our speech on the importance of protein.

Protein powder isn’t just for bodybuilders anymore, even though that is what most women think. And since most of them have no desire to grow manly muscles, they walk right past the protein aisle on their way to the fat loss section at their favorite vitamin store—if they only knew what they were missing!

Supplementing your diet with protein powder has more benefits than just building muscle. Boosting your protein can help you get that bikini body you’ve been dreaming about. Here’s why.

1) Protein prevents muscle deterioration during fat loss.

If you want to lighten up, chances are you want to tighten up too. In other words, you don’t just want to be skinny. You want to be fit and trim. A program that boosts fat loss typically involves burning more calories and eating fewer calories. Unfortunately, a low-calorie diet and high-calorie-burning workout routine can result in more than just fat loss if you aren’t careful. It can result in muscle loss too.

Supplementing your diet with protein drinks can help preserve muscle while you lose body fat. As you boost protein and reduce overall calories, you are more likely to hold on to the muscle you have (and even gain some) while melting away the unwanted fat.

Another reason you want to preserve muscle mass is because muscle burns more calories than fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day.

2) Protein suppresses your appetite.

Many of our clients learned firsthand that the days they were the hungriest were the days their protein intake was the lowest. This isn’t just one person’s opinion or personal experience. Research proves a high-protein diet is more filling.

Two different studies from Purdue demonstrate protein’s effectiveness when it comes to appetite. One study group of female participants who took in 30 percent of their calories from lean protein felt more satisfied than another group who ate less protein.

In the other study, researchers found that people’s appetite improved when they increased protein intake by 20–30 grams of protein or 3–4 ounces of lean protein a day. On the flipside, the study showed that diets with inadequate amounts of protein increased the participants’ desire to eat.

In a nutshell, a high-protein diet means a more satisfying diet. A satisfied dieter is a happy dieter.

3) Protein supplements are a convenient way to get good nutrition.

Let’s face it. There is no shortage of convenient carbohydrates and fats. You can go to any convenience store and 90 percent of the items on the shelves will be packed full of fats and carbs. There are just not a lot of high-protein options that are fast and easy.

Trying to get protein from whole foods requires a certain level of food prep. Not everyone has time to stop at a rest area on a road trip and fire up a grill. Although it is important to get the majority of your nutrients from whole food, protein shakes are an easy and effective way to boost protein on the go.

In just a few seconds flat, you can combine your favorite liquid and protein powder in a shaker and get 30 grams of powerful protein without even turning on one stove. There are even ready to drink (RTD) shakes that make it even easier. Give me a woman who wouldn’t appreciate having to cook one less meal or make one less snack.

4) A high-protein diet is lower in calories.

You may be thinking “Bonnie, carbohydrates and protein have the same amount of calories per gram.” Yes. You are correct, they each have 4 calories a gram. But when is the last time you had a mound of shredded chicken the size of a bowl of pasta?

We can consume a lot more calories from carbohydrates than we can consume in protein. Lean protein is so dense and heavy, it is difficult to eat that much of it. But I’m sure you can eat the heck out of some linguini.

Carbohydrates aren’t the only thing that racks up the calories. Fat has more than twice the calories per gram as protein or carbs. Packing 9 calories a gram, you could trade one gram of fat for 2 grams of protein and still get out with fewer calories.

5) Increasing protein can help you sculpt pretty toned muscle.

You may not want to look like a bodybuilder, but you probably don’t want mushy arms and jiggling thighs either. Firming up often requires increasing muscle mass with strength training and increasing protein intake.

Since fat is soft and lumpy and muscles are smooth and firm, increasing muscle improves your appearance. When you increase lean mass, your body gets tight and toned. Your new muscle will fill out loose skin, giving it added support and shape and even smoothing out the appearance of cellulite—not to mention what it does for your self-esteem.

As you get stronger, you will begin to feel more confident and capable of things you might not have even attempted before. This inner strength will help drive you to discover even more physical strength. You will continue to watch your body change and improve even beyond your initial weight loss.

You don’t have to have three shakes a day to benefit from taking protein supplements. One 20–30 gram shake is typically a great place for most people to start. Just remember to reduce overall calories if you want to reduce body fat (so you can see that beautiful muscle you are sculpting), and don’t be afraid to hit the weights. Your body will thank you—and then you will thank me!

How much protein should we eat?

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that for general health the average individual should consume 0.35 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. So a person who weighs 165 pounds should consume 60 grams of protein per day. (Note: This is for general health. If you want to look and feel fit, you want to take your body beyond general health.)

To increase muscle mass, a person who lifts weights regularly or is training for a running or cycling event should eat a range of 0.5–0.8 grams per pound of body weight. So, a 165-pound person who wants to increase muscle mass would increase protein intake to 75 grams to 128 grams a day.

Did you know that over the course of a month you will eat an average of 120 times? Breaking it down further, if you have an average of three food options per meal, you’re up to at least 360 food choices every month. That’s a lot of dealings with food, which can be hard if you are trying to lose weight. One of the common complaints I hear from dieters is this: “I resent I have to think about food so much. Why can’t it just be easy?” If you feel resentful toward food, here’s how to not be mad at food.

I get feeling resentful and mad at food. It plays a significant role in your life and has a tremendous impact on your weight.

I spent a lot of time feeling angry at food during my years of obesity. I felt as though:

• Food made me fat.
• Food was everywhere.
• Food was good.
• Food was bad.
• Food was controlling my life.

It frustrated me that I had to spend so much time thinking about something that caused me so much angst. Friends who were thin didn’t seem to spend nearly the amount of time obsessing over food that I did.

When I was dieting I thought about all the foods I couldn’t or shouldn’t have. When I wasn’t dieting I thought about all the foods I would have. In both cases, I felt angry at food.

Of course, these feelings didn’t help my weight loss efforts. Instead, feeling resentful over the fact that I had to think about and plan the foods I needed to eat in order to get healthy just made me less likely to make good choices.

The Root of the Matter

Being mad at food and resenting the fact you have to be careful with your food choices often has a root cause.

What’s the cause? Feeling sorry for yourself.

• You feel sorry for yourself because you can’t eat like you assume everyone else does.
• You feel sorry for yourself because you have to track your food or avoid certain foods altogether.
• You feel sorry for yourself because you feel deprived.

Turn Your Thinking Around

When you diet, thoughts about your food choices often become all encompassing. The focus of your everyday life seems to revolve around food. You’ve probably had thoughts like this run through your head throughout the day: “What should I have for breakfast, should I bring my lunch or buy it, can I safely go out to dinner, what will people think of me if I have dessert?”

Instead of focusing on food as a bad thing, shift your thinking to treating food in the same way you think about other routine decisions.

For example, do you resent brushing your teeth, taking a shower, doing laundry, or shopping for necessities?

Probably not.

Stop thinking about food as the enemy to a full life and instead think about it as a fun, necessary part of your day. Think about it as an opportunity to learn how to feed your body healthy food that will make you look and feel better.

When I turned my thinking around from resentment to adventure, I stopped feeling mad at food. That shift in my thought process was an important step in weight loss success and in eventual maintenance.

In this world of instant food gratification, there is a rogue movement rising up against King Convenience, and one of the forms it’s taking is a small, unassuming seed. Grains, legumes, and nuts are all actually the seeds of their plants, and the potential for new life is inside of them if they’re allowed to germinate under the right conditions (think: warm and wet). It used to be that this happened accidentally, during a rain shower on a summer day while harvested wheat kernels lay outside awaiting the mill, for example. These days, however, we whisk our wheat, rye, oats, or lentils (to name a few) off to be ground up, dried, or cooked before any of that happens.
A growing number of people are channeling their colonial farmer, though, claiming that we lost something great when we stopped eating what are now called “sprouted” grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts.
And if you thought cooking dried beans or wild rice takes a long time, now we’re talking about soaking them and letting them sprout for days before we eat them.
Why go to all this trouble? Well…

THE PROS

Sprouting generates additional nutrients, including B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, fiber, and essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein). Some of the starch is “eaten up” as well, leaving a higher proportion of protein, vitamins, and minerals. If the seed is allowed to fully sprout a new seedling and grow into a plant, all of that extra nutrition will be used up; but if we stop the process before that plant actually develops, we get to reap those benefits instead.
Some preliminary research even suggests that sprouting generates unique nutrients that could reduce the risk of cancer. Many individuals claim that they cannot tolerate certain grains, legumes, nuts, or seeds, but that they experience no issues with their sprouted versions.

THE CONS

Unfortunately, the research is less convincing. Too many of the studies rely on rodent test subjects or small groups of humans lacking diversity. Their methodologies are further suspect, with too many uncontrolled variables clouding the results. These are fine starting points, but we can’t yet draw definitive conclusions from them.
Some sources claim that even if sprouting improves the nutritional profile of certain foods, it is unlikely to lead to substantial changes in an individual’s overall health. In fact, they say the risks of foodborne illness far outweigh the potential nutritional rewards.
Sprouted foods, you see, are considered pretty high risk. The warm and wet conditions necessary for sprouting are exactly what bacteria (think salmonella, listeria, and E. coli) love. Even in the cleanest environment, the seed itself could be harboring bacteria from its time in the field. There have been more than 30 reported outbreaks linked to raw sprouts in the past 20 years, although most of these relate to actual sprouts and not the sprouted grains and legumes discussed in this article. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says the benefits outweigh the risks for healthy individuals, but the government advises us to avoid them, especially if you’re young, pregnant, or elderly. If nothing else, both agree that sprouted foods should be cooked well before they are eaten.

THE BOTTOM LINE: FIT OR FLOP?

FIT! Every food we eat carries some risk. That’s not an excuse to be reckless, but it’s also not a reason to automatically discredit all sprouting. Products using cooked, sprouted ingredients are both more convenient and less risky than sprinkling raw, homemade sprouted chickpeas over your mid-day Buddha bowl. I often recommend Food for Life (“Ezekiel”) products to clients as a starting point and always caution against buying raw sprouts from stores that don’t seem to sell a lot of them.
Once you’re feeling more comfortable, you can consider sprouting your own, but this is something I admittedly have yet to try myself. Oh My Veggies, Nourished Kitchen, and Vegetarian Times all provide tutorials. Buy your ingredients from trusted sources and keep everything super clean to reduce the risk of contamination.
If even that has you nervous (I get it!), consider the simple act of soaking your grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds in water before you use them, without leaving them out to sprout. Soaking doesn’t provide the same benefits, but it does improve digestibility because plants are not always the easiest for humans to process. Beans are a great example of this, because soaking breaks down oligosaccharides (a fancy name for carbohydrates responsible for beans’ gassy reputation). Soaking also breaks down phytic acid, a form of phosphorous in plants that blocks the absorption of iron, zinc, and calcium.
Will switching to sprouted or soaked foods be the magic bullet that revolutionizes your entire existence? Probably not, but no single thing ever is.
It may be a small step toward improved health, but it’s a step nonetheless, and I say let’s take it.
Cautiously, anyway.

I don’t get the whole juice fasting fad. I believe that fruit is a snack or a nice accompaniment to a meal, not a meal itself. My belly and body think that if you don’t chew it, it won’t satisfy you…proven by the fact that I can drink the apparent equivalent of an orange grove and still want to chew my arm off. Same goes for soup. It seems to me to be more of a hot beverage than an actual meal. 

So I was kind of skeptical (and admittedly a bit curious) when I heard that brothing (drinking the liquid part of soup) was the “new juicing.” Clearly juice has vitamins and minerals and other stuff that’s super-dee-duper good, but what the heck could the juice of chicken noodle soup do for me? Apparently, a whole lot.

Broths (or brodo, in Italian) have been around for centuries, dating back to prehistoric times when our ancestors probably made their soups by dropping fire-heated rocks into the stomachs of whatever animals they managed to kill. They knew it was good for them and so it evolved into a staple in virtually every corner of the world. 

Broth is made by boiling the bones of chickens, turkeys, cows (or the animal of your choice) with veggies and herbs, then straining the solid parts and consuming the liquid. This “juice” contains all of the benefits of the veggies, plus the collagen, gelatin, and amino acids of the bones. Broths contain healing compounds that can do incredible things for the human body like:

• Soothe your belly. The gelatin in bone broth protects and heals the lining of your digestive tract and helps aid in the absorption of nutrients. It also promotes the growth of probiotics (the good bacteria in your stomach).
• Soothe your mind. The amino acid glycine (found in bone broth) has been found to calm nerves and anxiety.
• Improve bone density. The calcium that leaches out of the bones into the stock is in the perfect form to be readily absorbed into your body to help fight osteoporosis and strengthen bones.
• Reduce joint pain and inflammation. The glucosamine in bone broth can actually stimulate the growth of new collagen, repair damaged joints, and reduce pain and inflammation. The gelatin in bones also contains glycine, an amino acid that promotes healthy cartilage and joints.
• Fight colds and flu. Studies show that the yellow fat from chickens holds immune-boosting powers and that eating chicken soup when you have a respiratory infection reduces the number of white blood cells, which contribute to flu and cold symptoms.
• Keep you in optimal health. Bone broth contains minerals from the bones that are not only abundant but easy for your body to assimilate.
• Help you look younger. The collagen and gelatin in bone broth support hair growth, help to keep your nails strong, and smooth out wrinkles, keeping you looking healthy and youthful.
• Help you lose weight. Bone broth is low in calories and low in sugar (unlike juices), which keeps your blood sugar stable, a key to weight loss and feeling full.

If you’re interested in “brodo-ing,” or experimenting with brothing, you can visit some of the cool new brodo places popping up in major cities, or you can make broth yourself. It’s cheap and super easy to make. You can use the carcass of a chicken or beef bones leftover from dinner along with some veggies, or buy meat on sale and strain it. Here’s a fast and easy recipe for chicken broth.

(Recipe from www.tasteofhome.com)

EASY CHICKEN BROTH

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 10 min. Cook: 2-1/2 hours + chilling

MAKES: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 pounds bony chicken pieces
• 2 celery ribs with leaves, cut into chunks
• 2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 8 to 10 whole peppercorns
• 2 quarts cold water

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a soup kettle. Slowly bring to a boil; reduce heat. Skim foam. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

2. Set chicken aside until it is cool enough to handle. Remove meat from the bones. Discard bones; save the meat for another use. Strain broth, discarding vegetables and seasonings. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Skim fat from the surface. Yield: about 6 cups.

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (1 cup) equals 245 calories, 14 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 61 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 21 g protein.