The Caveman & Your Health

Besides learning how to save a bunch of money on our car insurance, is there anything else we can learn from the caveman today?

I say yes. And what you find out may surprise you. Along with my own thoughts, I will be quoting from Dr. Shari Lieberman's book "Dare to Loose: 4 Simple Steps to a Better Body."

LESSON #1: DIETS ARE BAD. Think back to the hunter/gatherer days. Our ancestors lived off the earth which meant that during the winter months food was scarce. They had to make sure they saved enough from the warm months to last through the winter and when that was dwindling well......they scrounged for what they could and were a bit more hungry than usual. Our bodies are designed to store fat in times of drought. This is why people can actually end up gaining weight while on diets. They think that by eating salads and slim fast for a month they are going to be bikini-ready but in reality they are sending their body into starvation mode and becoming a fat-storage machine. By eating more frequent, smaller meals you can rev up your metabolism and repair the damage done by diets in the past.

LESSON #2: SUPPLEMENTS ARE GOOD. Most people tend to think that if they are eating a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and foods low in fat and sugar that they are fine and don't need supplements. The cavemen did just fine without supplements so why should we be bothered with them. Well I hate to break it to you but we are living in the 21st Century. Our nutrient depleted soil is not the same soil our forefathers worked.

Dr. Shari explains it a little more scientifically. "Our soil is depleted of selenium in most parts of the country and many times has barely adequate levels of other minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and calcium (but it can have plenty of harmful heavy metals such as cadmium).......Fruits and vegetables are often harvested before they reach peak ripeness, which is usually equated with peak nutrition. They are often grown and trucked thousands of miles.....stored for long periods of time before they reach the market. Each moment between harvesting and arriving at our dinner tables robs product of vital nutrients." She goes on to talk about today's lifestyle. "To make matters worse, stress and environmental pollution in our air, water, and soil increase our needs for vitamins and minerals....there is compelling evidence that augmenting our intake of vitamins and minerals may lower the risk for many diseases and conditions in in some cases lessen their effects and even reverse their course."

LESSON #3: STRESS CAN BE BOTH. Cortisol can make us miserable and greatly affect our health. Notice how much "easier" it is to get sick during stressful times. Dr Shari says "75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related complains or disorders." Think about it: Stress can either push you to do things in times of crisis or can cripple you and leave you incapable to handle even little things. Imagine a caveman trying to spear a wild animal. The cortisol is released and is then used up in the act of focusing on and killing the beast. But today we aren't out on the Great Plains spearing wild buffalo. We let deadlines, responsibilities, and sudden crisis release waves of cortisol and then fail to flush it out of our system. This is why exercise is so crucial. Unfortunately, in a world where everything is designed to save time and be convenient (from fast food to electronic devices), exercise is the last thing left that we actually have to do for ourselves. No one can exercise for you.

So take a lesson from the caveman: Eat, supplement, and be merry.

Classic Meals.......new and improved!

I was inspired by the new cooking show "Cook Yourself Thin" to post a blog with some healthy alternatives to your favorite meals. The show's premise is to take people's favorite meals and cut the calories in half by switching out unhealthy ingredients with healthier ones. It is a fantastic and engaging show that I highly recommend. Most women profiled on the show dropped 2 dress sizes after eating the alternative meals for 6 weeks.

Our first meal featured above is the classic Italian dinner: Salad, bread, pasta, and dessert. For our salad we have romaine tossed with tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. The bread is a very hearty whole grain bread toasted with a tiny bit of butter and garlic powder on top. The pasta is Dreamfields pasta which is a low-glycemic pasta. Most pasta leaves you feeling wanting more and yet stuffed to the brim. This pasta has been formulated to have more complex carbs that fill you up faster and keep you satisfied longer. Plus it tastes a lot better than whole wheat pasta. The sauce is an all natural Ragu sauce with no high fructose corn syrup and I've sprinkled a tiny bit of parmesan cheese on top. And for dessert we have Breyers all natural Smooth & Dreamy vanilla ice cream covered with pomogranate seeds. It is a super palatte cleanser loaded with antioxidants.

Our next meal is the classic American Burger meal. We start with a whole wheat bun from Trader Joe's, add slices of avocado, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, 2 slices of soy cheese, Trader Joe's reduced fat mayo, Heinz's organic Ketchup, a little bit of mustard, and a delicious Dr. Praeger's California-style veggie burger (also found at TJ's). We have the obvious carrot sticks and then TJ's Baked Cheese Crunchies (essentially Cheetos). 33 crunchies is 1 serving which, if you pay attention to serving sizes when you shop, is amazingly high. For dessert we have 2 organic cookies (essentially Oreos) from Whole Foods.

Our final meal is soup and sandwich variety of American cuisine. The same veggie burger combo although this time with a Helen's Kitchen Tofu Steak (found at Trader Joe's). We have TJ's tomato and roasted red pepper soup and sweet potato fries that I cut and cooked myself. Sweet potatoes are nutrient-packed and a great low-glycemic alternative to regular potatoes. And for dessert we have a milkshake that I blended myself. I took Breyer's all natural Smooth & Dreamy vanilla ice cream, organic "Oreos" from Whole Foods, and a few drops of essential Peppermint oil and........voila! We have a healthier alternative to a fast food Mint Oreo shake. And it took about 2 minutes to gather the ingredients and dump them in the blender.

Watch "Cook Yourself Thin," read my blog, start experimenting in the kitchen, and see how much better you'll feel.

Why YOU should be shopping at Trader Joe's

After paying top dollar for groceries at places like Whole Foods and Jewel Osco, I decided I needed a change or I would be eating myself out of house and home. And so my new favorite grocery store is.......Trader Joe's. You may not have one in your area (check at http://www.traderjoes.com/locations.asp), but if you do here are my top 5 reasons why you should shop there.

(1) It's like shopping at a smaller, cheaper Whole Foods. They have healthier alternatives that don't sacrifice great taste and actually end up being cheaper than your average grocery store. For example, they have a healthier version of a bag of Cheetos for $1.95. And they taste great!

(2) You might cut your grocery bill in half. I did!

(3) The employees are very friendly and anxious (yet not over-anxious) to help you find what you need.

(4) Every time you shop there, you get to sign up for a weekly raffle that could win you free groceries.

(5) It's just a positive, fun, shopping experience. Employees wearing Hawaiian shirts, oldies playing over the loudspeakers, people singing along as they shop, free samples, and a more relaxed clientele. I can't help but smile when I'm shopping at Trader Joe's.

If you make the switch, let me know what you think. Happy shopping!