What do tomato sauce, chocolate chip cookies, soft drinks and most breakfast cereals all have in common? These products all contain sugar. This is why it is so unsurprising that over-consumption of refined sugar has been identified as the main cause of obesity and chronic illnesses such as diabetes. It is likely that in every meal or snack throughout the day where we consume processed foods – we are eating sugar without even realizing it. As of March 2019, South Africa has officially been ranked by the World Health Organisation as the unhealthiest country on the planet. The 10 measures used for this ranking were healthy life expectancy, blood pressure, blood glucose (diabetes risk), obesity, depression, happiness, alcohol use, tobacco use, inactivity (too little exercise), and government spending on healthcare. The statistics show that South Africans, between the ages of 30 and 70 have a 26% probability of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes. The WHO also found that more than 28% of South African adults are obese - the highest obesity rate among sub-Saharan African countries. The most common cause of obesity is a disruption of what we call energy balance. Simply put, the energy balance equation looks like this: Energy in + Energy used = Body Composition Outcome If your energy in (kilojoules/calories consumed through food and drinks) exceeds your energy used (for daily life and exercise) you will be in an energy positive state causing your body to store the excess energy as fat. If this is your normal state through your life – eventually this positive energy state will lead to being overweight or obese. A very easy way to achieve this positive energy balance is through consuming processed foods with added sugar. The American Heart Association suggests that women and children between the ages of 2 and 18 restrict their added sugar intake to a maximum of 25g/day and men to 37.5g/day. To put that amount in perspective lets look at the sugar content of a few of our favourite foods: As you can see from the table above, the not so sweet truth behind your sweet tooth is that often with one meal or drink you will use up most of or max out your healthy daily sugar limit. If we had to tally up how much sugar we eat on average daily between the sugar in your coffee/tea other beverages and added sugar in processed foods I am sure most of us would be exceeding the limit.
But why is exceeding your recommended sugar intake so bad for you? Besides the fact that it can lead to obesity, here are some of the other reasons: 1. High-sugar diets have been associated with an increased risk for heart disease: Heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide. High-sugar diets can lead to obesity, inflammation and high triglyceride, blood sugar and blood pressure levels which are all risk factors for heart disease. It was found that in over 30,000 people those who consumed 17–21% of their kilojoules from added sugar had a 38% greater risk of dying from heart disease, compared to those consuming only 8% of kilojoules from added sugar. 2. Diets high in sugary foods and drinks have been associated with developing acne: Sugary foods quickly spike blood sugar and insulin levels, causing increased androgen secretion, oil production and inflammation, all of which play a role in acne development. A study in 2,300 teens demonstrated that those who frequently consumed added sugar had a 30% greater risk of developing acne. 3. Eating too much sugar increases your risk for developing diabetes: Obesity, which is often caused by consuming too much sugar, is considered the strongest risk factor for diabetes. Prolonged high-sugar consumption causes the body to become resistant to insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels. Insulin resistance causes blood sugar levels to rise and strongly increases your risk of diabetes. Studies have also shown that people who specifically drink sugar-sweetened beverages, including fruit juice, are more likely to develop diabetes. 4. Over-consumption of sugar increases your risk for developing cancer: With the over-consumption of sugar the risk of developing cancer increases. Sugar consumption increases inflammation in the body which promotes cancer growth. Insulin resistance developed through eating too much sugar also increases your risk for developing cancer. Most of us love sweet things and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it is in the best interest for our health that we keep the sweet tooth at bay and bring some awareness to how much sugar we eat every day. Sweets are treats not food! And a treat is only a treat if it is something we seldomly eat!
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What is your relationship with food? Are you guys going steady? Still figuring things out? Going through good and bad phases? On the verge of a big mac breakdown? Is it “complicated” or are you just cruising through unaware? Seriously though, have you ever contemplated the relationship you have with your food and nutrition? If not, maybe it is time to do so or to reassess it at the very least. Humans are complicated biochemical vessels of life and most of the time I write about what the research says about keeping your vessel of life alive in the healthiest ways, but as important as it is to get enough sleep, water and nutrition in your day – one really important factor involved that doesn’t get focussed on that much is the human experience of food. How we think, approach and view food is so important in our daily lives. Without food and water, we will die, there is no doubt about it, so the relationship you have with food is arguably the most important one you will ever have. So really now, what is yours like? Do you think it is good? Is it healthy? Some of you might be thinking at this point that this is a load of nonsense – I mean you don’t fight with your food to put the toilet seat down or to stop nagging you about mowing the lawn, so how is this a “relationship”? Have you ever had the guilt after over indulging, the need to reach for comfort foods when you are sad or the desire to celebrate a life event like your birthday or wedding with incredible meals and treats? If you’ve experienced any of that then like it or not, you do have a relationship with your food. These are all emotional connections we establish with food and create our eating habits around. Eating habits are influenced by so many factors from when we are young like social media and fashion trends. Perhaps after reading last month’s entry about food myths you might know now that not everything that is thrown at us through marketing and social media is true but that it affects us and our food choices regardless. Every time we prepare a meal, go grocery shopping or eat out we make a choice. We buy what we crave, what we think we should eat, what the marketing on the packaging tells us to. There is never a moment where we don’t decide what to eat and how much of it. Even as a baby we reject green mushy vegetables like they are poison. This is why we need to understand what our relationship is with food and how it affects our health. For example, a common food habit is for children to be raised to finish their plate of food and not eat until they are full. This is built around other teaching moments like gratitude for the food provided, not wasting and making sure they get their veggies in. But this small food habit often creates a food culture that promotes obesity as we grow up. When faced with ridiculously large portions of food at restaurants this inherent habit to eat until all the food is gone takes over instead of consciously eating until you are full and taking the rest for home for later. People who have this habit are therefore more likely to overeat and thereby become obese. On the other side of the spectrum, there are habits in the household that have the potential to create under nourished individuals. Children often adopt the same food habits as their parents. Parents who survive on coffee and potato crisps will often create children who will do the same. “Do as I say and not as I do” only lasts so long. Young adults are often the most impressionable where this is concerned. As kids grow up and start to form opinions about their physical appearances, they look to their parents to understand how they should feel about themselves and the foods they eat. Regardless of what your current relationship is with food, what you eat and how you think about it here are three steps we can all benefit from practicing to ensure that we have a healthy food relationship: 1. Eat consciously and mindfully: After a long day we can often find ourselves scoffing down our food to satisfy our hunger instead of savouring the meal and enjoying everything it has to offer. We distract ourselves by watching TV while we eat or scrolling through our Instagram feed at our lunch hour instead of being in the present while we eat and experiencing the meal. This is a small trick that can lead to you craving fewer snacks after eating a meal as you’ve satisfied your emotional need for food along with your physical one. 2. Ask yourself why you want to eat something when you crave it: Sometimes I have a really strong craving for a nice grilled steak – sure, it’s delicious and that’s definitely a good reason for wanting it, but sometimes I think of why I want that particular food. In this case it can often be because I have not been eating enough protein. Sometimes when I feel like I need a chocolate it can be because I haven’t been sleeping enough and I crave that sugar high. In the case of a giant burger or a packet of chips it can often be because I am emotional about something and are in search of comfort food. Asking this simple question of “why do I want that” can greatly improve your relationship with food and your health in general, because it gives you the chance to start listening to your body’s cravings as a form of communication and to make better decisions about what to eat or do in some situations. I know that if I have an emotional craving that the food will not help me – that I need to understand the turmoil I am experiencing and work through it. Cravings are a source of communication for the human body - all we have to do is understand that they are not always about food, so ask yourself about yours next time you have one. 3. Practice gratitude for your food and your body: While this may seem like an obvious one and irrelevant to you because you say grace before you eat and thank you to whoever prepared it or bought it or both, the truth is that gratitude is a practice we should follow with the utmost devotion and care. Teaching children from young ages to appreciate where their food comes from, the work that it takes to produce a single apple or the sacrifice that goes into the chicken McNuggets that they get in their happy meal is something we need to do so that we don’t take what we have for granted. We only have one body in this lifetime (at least until the robots take over and we all become cyborgs) so it is up to us to nurture and love it the way it needs. That means a healthy diet and an active lifestyle – simple as that! What do the Abominable Snowman, Loch Ness monster and Chupacabra all have in common? They are mythical creatures made up by humans to scare other humans into believing they exist. Much like these folklore characters – humans have made up a few food myths. These have resulted from the misinterpretation of scientific research creating the possibility of financial gain through preying on our complicated relationships with food and health. Food myths create these fad diets and booming sales of recipe books and food products in support of this false information. What is real and what is fake? Here are some myths busted:
1. Carbohydrates make you fat and are bad for you: Carbohydrates are our primary fuel source and vital for our survival. Some of our cells can in fact only survive off of glucose as an energy source – a simple sugar that most carbohydrates are made up of. I mean just based on those facts can you see how cutting them out of your diet would be detrimental to your health? None the less, certain fad diets will advocate the removal or limiting of carbohydrate foods in our diets. Most of the time this is backed up by harsh statements like “sugar is addictive and causes cancer” which is enough to make anyone avoid carbs like the plague, right? Wrong!! Yes, junk food and sugary foods can become addictive. Yes, eating too much refined sugar, sweets, cakes and chocolates will increase your risk of developing disease – Hello diabetes, how are you doing? But what this statement neglects to inform people about is that not all carbohydrate foods are created equal. Cake and bread are made up of many of the same ingredients; flour, sugar, salt, raising agent, oil, sometimes some egg. The differences between a whole wheat brown bread and a vanilla sponge cake is the varying ratios of these ingredients used to make them and often the type of flour used. The bread is a healthier carbohydrate source while the cake is less healthy. Having a slice of low GI toast in the morning with your coffee every day is not going to make you fat and turn you into a sugar junkie, but a slice of cake covered in icing and chocolate mousse probably will. 2. You can eat whatever you want as long as you exercise: Some of us are blessed with incredibly fast metabolisms, where we can eat fast food 4 times a week, skip breakfast and still be beach body ready. But its all good because you exercise and you aren’t gaining any weight so why should you bother with eating healthy? Eating healthy is for the rest of the people who don’t do any exercise and are 3 sizes bigger, right? This couldn’t be more wrong. Just because you are less predisposed to weight gain and food sensitivities, or exercise more than those around you doesn’t mean you’re exempt from all the reasons to eat healthily. People are living longer and longer lives these days but even through all the advancements in the medicine and beauty industries there is one stead fast fact that has stood the test of time – eating healthy AND exercising is the biggest contributing factor to longevity! No matter what genetic lottery you may have won! 3. Its not what you eat, it’s how much: This is one of those half truths that is often spouted by diet plan sellers and people promising that with their miracle product you can literally have your cake and eat it too. The sad part is that statements like this prey on our natural human need for rationalisation, it creates that little voice inside your head that chats you into giving into a craving. And while I do believe in and strongly advocate for us to live balanced lives, without depriving ourselves of the treats in our diet. I disagree with the part of this statement that makes you think – “I can eat McDonalds every day, but just as long as that’s all I eat for the day”. Or the “its okay I can eat a chocolate bar for breakfast because I’ll just skip lunch.” The truth is it is both what you eat and how much of it that dictates your healthfulness. You can’t think that eating vegetables only for a meal once a week is enough, just the same as a block of dark chocolate a day won’t turn you into a heffalump. There is no substitute for good, consistent nutrition. 4. Eggs increase your cholesterol: A while back a scientific study concluded that eggs increase your bad cholesterol and recommended that people do not consume more than one egg a day. This was very soon after disregarded by a number of members of the scientific community however, just as any good story – humans will almost always believe the more negative statement given the choice. While it is true that eggs (just as any animal protein source does) contain cholesterol, the impact of eating them on your body’s cholesterol is negligible. In fact your cholesterol levels are impacted by the number of saturated and trans fats you eat – so it is the fried bacon and buttered toast in your breakfast that will increase your cholesterol levels before any egg will. 5. Margarine is healthier than butter: Kilojoule-wise margarine and butter are usually quite close together. The argument used by food companies to sell their marge has always been that it’s processed from plant fats so it is healthier than butter. This is not always true, butter may have cholesterol and saturated fats but some brands of margarine contain trans fats which are even worse for you, so make sure you look for the trans-fat free brands. 6. Fat free, sugar free, reduced salt, gluten-free, cholesterol-free are always better choices: This is one of my most hated food myths as a food scientist and product developer. Consumers latch onto statements like “fat is bad for you”, “sugar is the worst thing you can eat”, “gluten – the source of all your health issues” and immediately think the free from products are healthier and better for them. This is unfortunately not the case, if you think about it – what makes food delicious? Sweet, salt, fat and flavour (which we taste because of the flavour enhancing capabilities of the former ingredients). So put yourself in my shoes, the shoes of “those people that just put chemicals in our food” – how do you make a sugar free sweet product taste sweet? You use artificial sweeteners. How do you make a naturally fatty product like cheese, yoghurt or mayonnaise fat free but still taste the same? You use sugar, modified starches, and fat replacing agents. Oh and, don’t forget all this has to be cost effective too, because no one wants to pay three times the price for fat free sugar free chocolate than for normal chocolate because I mean you stole all the fat and sugar from the product so why would the consumer pay more? Sometimes the better option is the free from one – but not always, compare labels with the original product and see for yourself what the differences are. The best advice anyone can give is to actually rather focus on eating wholesome foods that are the least processed. Don’t believe everything you read on social media, or what the lady at the dentist said or even your best friend. If a product or a person in the health and fitness industry is promising results fast with minimal effort and time – they are probably lying. Your money is better spent on a balanced diet low in processed foods and an exercise regime than it will ever be on supplements and “healthy free-from” foods! BREAKFAST ... The one meal you do not want to skip!Hangry – a colloquialism used (mostly by millennials) to describe the state of being so hungry that it makes you feel frustrated and angry. This is what we often experience when lunch time rolls around and we’ve skipped breakfast. I am sure most of you have heard that it is the most important meal of the day, yet so many of us skip it entirely and land up munching on the first sugary, fatty and energy dense food we can get our hands on. Breakfast is so named because it is literally the meal that breaks the fast, because during the period overnight from when you’ve eaten dinner and including sleep, your body “fasts” or goes without food for about 8-10 hours. Breaking the fast in the morning with a healthy meal is so important for the following reasons: 1. Eating breakfast has been shown to reduce obesity and weight gain: The reason behind this is that skipping breakfast leads to you being ravenous by lunch time which often results in satisfying unhealthy food cravings and overeating due to being so hungry. Breakfast also kickstarts our metabolism preparing it to digest and use food effectively for the day. In a large study on thousands of children and young adults who skipped breakfast had higher body mass indexes (BMI) and waist circumferences than those who ate breakfast on a regular basis – leading to a higher incidence of obesity across this group. In an alternative study subjects who ate a large portion of their daily food intake at breakfast had lower BMIs and generally felt more energetic throughout the day than subjects who skipped breakfast. 2. Breakfast kickstarts your brain: It has been found that children who regularly eat breakfast have higher IQs than those who only eat breakfast now and then. Eating breakfast regularly has been associated with better behaviour in school, increased academic performance and test scores. The same is true for adults, our brains need food to function. A work day can be stressful and overwhelming but it is always worse when you’re hangry on top of it all! 3. Skipping breakfast increases your risk for developing heart disease and diabetes: In fact, a study showed that adults who skip breakfast have as much of a 15 -21% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Cardiac disease risk factors such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, elevated blood fat levels and cholesterol resulting from skipping breakfast increase the likelihood of developing cardiac disease. A study completed over a period of 16 years on 20 000 male subjects in America found that men who skipped breakfast were 27% more likely to develop coronary heart disease. So, make your breakfast a priority and a heart healthy meal at that! 4. Breakfast is a great opportunity to essential nutrients in our diet: By skipping breakfast, we restrict ourselves to having to get all our vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids through lunch and dinner. If you eat three meals a day, skipping breakfast is literally reducing the opportunity for nourishment by one third. Children cannot meet their dietary requirements as growing humans through two meals per day only. Spreading the uptake of nutrients like vitamins and minerals throughout the day is also more beneficial for our bodies as the body can only absorb so much during digestion. A healthy breakfast would be foods rich in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as high in protein and fibre. This means that most of the sugary breakfast cereals, muffins and pastries are out. Try to include some fruit or vegetables in your meal to increase the fibre and micronutrient content of the meal. If you like to have eggs in the morning try to add in some spinach, bell peppers, tomatoes or anything you like with the meal. If you enjoy having oats or other kinds of porridge in the morning add some seeds or nuts as a healthy fat source and some pieces of fruit as well. Or in case you are an avid breakfast skipper and have no idea what you like to eat in the morning here are some ideas: If the reason you skip breakfast in the morning is because you are short on time then try to make your breakfast the night before or set your alarm that 10 minutes earlier in the morning – your body will be more grateful for the food than for the extra few minutes of sleep! Use the suggestions above to guide you when going out to eat breakfast as well – instead of the croissant with jam and cheese, choose the health bread with eggs. You might enjoy the croissant (and please have it now and then because they are delicious!) but the low GI, high protein meal will serve your body and energy levels for the rest of the day well after you’ve forgotten what you ate that morning!
As 2018 draws to a close the excitement for the festive season is building. Some of us are already dreaming about the days spent lazing on the beach (or already there), planning the traditional Christmas feast we have every year, the gifts, decadence and time well spent with family and friends. The end of the year has this sort of power over most of us where almost anything gets the response “I’ll deal with its next year”, the exhaustion from the year catches up to us and as we start to wind down and relax -naturally, things like eating healthy, sleeping well and exercising take a back seat to all the festivities and celebration. But what if there was a way to enjoy the festive season and still stay on track with our lasting lifestyle goals? Of course, balance is so important in life and we all deserve a rest and to enjoy ourselves after this year but being a bit more mindful of our actions during this time might actually reduce how much we’ll have to “sort out” and “deal with” next year when it comes to our mental and physical wellbeing. This is why this month we’ll be giving some tips on how to stay on track during the festive season:
1. Plan some active activities: We are so fortunate to be living in this beautiful country and to have the most wonderful weather over our festive season – why not take advantage of that? Plan to do some hikes in a nature reserve, go swimming, try some mountain biking or challenge yourself with something new like rock climbing. Being in nature and the outdoors can have a very restorative effect on humans. While holidays are about rest, they are also about feeding your soul to feel truly recuperated. What better way to do that than by enjoying the view after a long hike or climb? 2. Balance indulgence with healthy eating: For most of us one of the great things about the festive season is all the wonderful food and meals we get to share with our loved ones. The chocolate brownies, roast lamb, glazed gammon, potatoes and all the things covered in cheese are some of the best things about the holidays! Just because we indulge over the holidays doesn’t mean we should stop being mindful of our eating completely. Try to keep meals (aside from the celebratory feasts) simple, fresh and healthy. On days where you know you will be having a decadent meal – don’t skip the meals before! Sometimes we believe its best to “save ourselves” for the big meal later, but this just makes us ravenous and more likely to overeat by the time we do finally eat. Rather enjoy light healthy foods as meals before the big one to avoid this. This will still allow you to enjoy your meal, and by all means try everything, but just reduce the amount that you eat at that time. 3. Make some substitutions here and there for healthier options: Try to swap out some ingredients and dishes for more healthy alternatives where you can. Incorporate fruit-based desserts like homemade sorbet, fruit salad or even pavlova over the chocolate smothered cakes. Try adding some hidden vegetables to your regularly energy dense dishes. For example, finely chopped broccoli is hardly detectable in a potato bake but adds more nutrition and fibre to the dish. Give the whole grain pastas and other starchy foods a try. Instead of potato crisps try substituting these for vegetable crisps instead (beetroot, butternut or sweet potato). Try lower alcohol beers and beverages rather than your regular choice. Give the darker chocolate varieties a try this year. Substitute wherever you can so you can still enjoy but still make better food choices as you go. 4. Plan just a bit Take a moment to plan your meals as best you can, this will help prevent the fast food and convenience food monkeys from getting a hold of you. Our schedules often differ in the holidays so we tend not to plan our meals as we would regularly, sometimes even just as a result of wanting a break away from cooking and the desire to live spontaneously during the holiday season. However, just taking a moment to plan the meals for the holiday can actually eliminate some stress. If you don’t intend on cooking then rather research some healthy food restaurants and cafes to try over the season so that you don’t land up at the first burger joint you find. Plan your activities as well, committing to activities like a hike with family or friends on a particular day often makes us more likely to follow through with it. You know you won’t be sorry afterwards! 5. Don’t forget about snacking! As our schedule goes out the window over the festivities, we often find our regular meal structure does too. Try your best not to forget about snacking so you don’t get to the over hungry state, keep healthy snacks on hand so that you an maintain your energy and blood sugar levels between all the merriment. If you need some ideas on what to have, refer to the snack wheel from the November blog. 6. Enjoy your meals when you eat them: At first glance this might seem like a very obvious and redundant tip, but really it is one of the most important. Sometimes we get so caught up in eating for sustenance only than for the enjoyment of food. And let’s face it, a decadent old year’s eve braai is for celebration not for meeting our dietary requirements – so try to be mindful and present when you indulge. Savour each bite, taking note of all the meal has to offer. This is where you will find satisfaction in the first helping rather than going back for more time and time again. 7. Eat, forgive and forget: Don’t beat yourself up after a large meal. Be grateful that you enjoyed it and move on! Life is to be enjoyed and lived, so don’t punish yourself after a decadent meal. Enjoy it, move on and return to a more balanced state afterwards. 8. Hydrate before it is too late! The importance of hydration was already discussed this year so I won’t repeat myself but just remind you to drink your water! A lot of us will be spending time in the sun, in a hot kitchen cooking or even just lazing around in this hot weather. Don’t forget to drink your water! Sunstroke and dehydration over this period are very likely and easy to avoid by just simply drinking enough water. 9. Learn to say no: We all have that grandmother who pushes another slice of cake on you or a second or even third helping of food. Or even that friend that insists on one more drink or just another few minutes before you go to bed for the evening. And while sometimes we give in because we do genuinely want to, sometimes its purely just the pressure that pushes you to. Prepare yourself for this to happen and say no when it is not what you want. Just because someone is very convincing doesn’t mean you should give in when you don’t want to. Be content in your own contentment! 10. Rest properly: Yes, the holidays are about enjoying yourself with celebrations and festivities but make sure you make time for quiet where you can. This time of the year is also for resting and rejuvenation before the chaos of the new year starts again. Your body and mind need time out and away. Try your best to schedule “me time” in between, you need it and deserve it! On that note, wishing all the lasting lifestylers a very restful and joyful festive season full of active activities, healthy substitutions and merriment! See you in the New Year! It’s 5:30pm, I’ve been stuck in traffic for the past hour, the last time I ate anything was at 12pm, I have driven past at least 3 fast food joints and my tummy is rumbling – I’m feeling SNACKY and all I want is a salty, crunchy and comforting packet of chips. How many of you have experienced the same thing? Snacking is a great opportunity to cram nutrients into our bodies, keep cravings at bay and tide us over until our next meal but it is often used as an opportunity for emotional eating and a quick hunger fix. Now you all know that I advocate for balance in our lives because living with too many restrictions is just unrealistic, so by all means eat that crunchy golden brown perfectly sliced and fried lightly salted chip once in a while as a treat but not as an everyday snack. I know that if I land up indulging in a snack like this I’ll be spiking my blood sugar and overeating on energy dense food that doesn’t provide my body with the nutrition I need to get through my 6pm dance class. In fact by giving into this craving I am actually missing an opportunity to give my body the pick-me-up it needs to make the most out of my training session that day. Healthy snacking can be a brilliant tool for keeping yourself on track, your energy levels up and making the most out of your day. So what is healthy snacking then? I mean the easy part is the eating, right? Healthy snacking means following these guidelines: 1 SNACK ONLY WHEN YOU ARE ACTUALLY HUNGRY We often use food as a means of comfort, this means we tend to eat when we feel sad or stressed or even bored. It is important to listen to your body’s physical hunger cues over the emotional ones. It may be helpful to try and rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is starving and 1 is full. Anything close to the 6 to 8 mark is when it is a good idea to snack. If you feel confused about whether it is real hunger, try having a glass of water first before snacking as often we misinterpret thirst for hunger. 2 A SNACK IS NOT A MEAL Make sure what you eat is actually snack sized and not a meal – snacking is not an excuse to eat extra meals in the day. As a guideline, try to limit your snacking portions to 600kJ or less. That means 4 Provitas with cottage cheese or a serving of fruit like an apple or a banana, not a full plate of food, a packet of chips or a chocolate bar. 3 MAKE IT EASY TO MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE The easiest way to stay on track is by making healthy choices as easy for yourself as possible. That comes with planning – make sure you have healthy snacks with you so that you are less tempted to stop over in a drive through or buy a treat from the garage. Prepare to be snackish later in the day when you are packing your food for the day because we all know most of us can’t be trusted to make good choices when the hunger monkey is on our back. Also make sure you pack something healthy that you actually enjoy, that way you will be looking forward to your snack and not thinking of all the other delicious and nasty treats you could be having instead. 4 CHOOSE SNACKS THAT ARE HIGH IN FIBRE AND PROTEIN Fibre and protein keep you fullest for the longest so choosing a snack high in these nutrients is the best option. Also if you’re like me and feel snacky before exercising then it’s the best to consume your protein right before training because your muscles need it to build that lean muscle mass we’re all after. Come join Danielle LIVE at our Diversity Dance Workshop on 1 & 2 DecemberAlong with good nutrition, staying active and hydrated, healthy sleep is a pillar in the foundation for health and well-being. Sleep is a restorative process that our bodies use to repair our immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems; which are all vital processes responsible for maintaining our mood, memory, and cognitive function (ability to process and interpret information), and plays a large role in the function of the endocrine (hormone) and immune systems. The circadian rhythm or “body clock”: We all have an internal "body clock" that controls when we are awake and when we’re ready for sleep. This clock typically follows a 24-hour repeating rhythm referred to as the circadian rhythm. This rhythm affects every cell, tissue, and organ in your body and how they work. Two processes interact to control this rhythm. The first is a pressure to sleep that builds with every hour that you are awake with the accumulation of adenosine in the body, a metabolic product that is broken down during sleep. The second process involves your internal body clock’s response to the effects of certain environmental conditions. Light, darkness, and other environmental indicators determine when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy by signalling the production of specific hormones responsible for regulating this rhythm. When it gets dark, your body releases a hormone called melatonin. Melatonin signals your body that it's time to prepare for sleep and helps you feel sleepy. The amount of melatonin in your bloodstream peaks as the evening progresses. Scientists believe this peak in melatonin is an important part of preparing your body for sleep. This is why the exposure to bright artificial light in the late evening can disrupt this process, making it harder to fall asleep. Such bright artificial light includes the light from a TV screen, computer screen, cell phone, tablet or even a very bright alarm clock. For this reason it is best to limit exposure to these types of light after 9pm at night. As the sun rises, your body releases cortisol, a hormone that naturally prepares your body to wake up. Types of sleep: The two basic types of sleep are rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM. Non-REM sleep includes what is commonly known as deep sleep or slow wave sleep. Dreaming typically occurs during REM sleep. Generally, non-REM and REM sleep occur in a regular pattern of 3–5 cycles each night. The patterns and types of sleep also change as people mature. For example, newborn infants spend more time in REM sleep. The amount of non-REM sleep peaks in early childhood and then drops sharply after puberty. Non-REM sleep continues to decline as people age. How much is enough sleep? Your ability to function and feel well while you're awake depends on whether you're getting enough total sleep and enough of each type of sleep. It also depends on whether you're sleeping at a time when your body is prepared and ready to sleep. The amount of sleep we require changes as we age. Generally sleep needs vary from person to person, but the table below shows guideline amounts different age groups. What happens when we don’t sleep enough? If you often lose sleep or choose to sleep less than needed, this sleep deficit accumulates into what is called your sleep debt. That means, if you routinely lose 2 hours of sleep each night, you'll have a sleep debt of 14 hours after a week. Some people nap as a way to deal with sleepiness. Naps may provide a short-term boost in alertness and performance but napping doesn't provide all of the other benefits of night-time sleep – meaning we cannot actually make up for lost sleep. Reasons to prevent sleep debt: 1 Sleep helps your brain work properly. While we sleep our brains are developing new pathways to help us learn and remember information. Plenty of research has shown that a good night's sleep improves learning whether that be learning math, how to play music or how to perfect a new dance routine, the bottom line being that sleep improves our learning and problem-solving skills. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative. 2 Sleep is vital for your physical health For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency has been linked to increased risk of developing heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. 3 Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of hormones For example in the case of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin), your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down when you are sleep deprived making you feel hungrier than when you are well rested. Insulin, the hormone that controls your blood sugar levels, is increased with sleep deficiency as your blood sugar level is raised during these times which can increase your risk for developing diabetes. 4 Sleep supports healthy growth and development Non-REM sleep triggers the body to release the hormone that promotes normal growth in children and teenagers which is also responsible for increasing muscle mass and cellular and tissue repair in adults. 5 Your immune system needs sleep to function Recurring sleep deficiency can change the way in which your immune system responds. Being sleep deficient can reduce our ability to fight common infections. 6 Lack of sleep can result in catastrophe: Lack of sleep may cause what is called microsleep. This refers to brief moments of sleep that occur when you are normally awake. We cannot control or prevent ourselves from entering microsleep as we are often not even aware of it. This is what happens to us when we drive somewhere and forget half the trip or completely forget a section of a lesson taught to us in school. Sleep deprived adults may feel capable of driving, however, studies have shown that sleep deficiency reduces your driving ability as much as, or even more than, being drunk. Sleep deficiency affects people in all lines of work not just drivers, such as doctors and emergency responders, pilots, students, lawyers, mechanics, and assembly line workers. The reduced response time, ability to make decisions and function adequately from lack of sleep can result in fatal accidents. Ways to improve sleep habits:
Rest well Lasting Lifestylers! Come join our DIVERSITY DANCE WORKSHOP to hear Danielle speak about all these topics IN PERSON!This is a great opportunity to bring questions you might have about all the information you have read in the blog posts so far, make it real and share it with the other real people trying to build a healthier lifestyle, just like yourself!If you haven’t had the chance to come up with a new goal for the remainder of 2018, here is one we could all stand to benefit from – drink more water! Most of us do not reach our daily water intake requirements. When our water output is greater than our water input our bodies become dehydrated. The feeling of thirst is elicited by dehydration and as such we should actually actively be drinking enough water so that we don’t feel thirsty. I know this may sound a bit strange and you are probably thinking “but I don’t eat when I am not hungry (all the time) so why should I drink water when I am not thirsty?” here’s why: 1 Our brains often confuse thirst with hunger: This is one of the reasons why drinking enough water assists with weight loss. Sometimes we interpret a message for thirst as being hungry and land up eating when really we are dehydrated. Replacing sugary drinks like ice tea, juices and soft drinks with plain water also reduces your daily energy consumption. 2 Water assists with fluid balance: The human body is made up of roughly 60% water. Water is essential for functions such as digestion, waste elimination and detoxification, circulation, nutrient transport and maintaining normal bodily temperature. This is why we may feel hot and lethargic when dehydrated as these body functions are strained due to a lack of available water to carry them out. 3 Water is vital for proper muscle cell function: Muscle cells rely on water for electrolyte balance which is incredibly important for muscle function specifically during exercise. Without water muscle cells become dehydrated and thereby fatigued. This is why it is suggested that we drink at least 500 millilitres of water about 2 hours before and during exercise (depending on how strenuous the exercise and how much you sweat). 4 Water promotes a healthy skin: When you are dehydrated your skin appears more dry and wrinkled. Drinking enough water helps hydrate the skin which improves its flexibility and appearance. 5 Water is necessary for proper kidney function: Our kidneys are responsible for waste elimination and detoxification of the body. This is made easier by giving our kidneys enough water to dissolve the toxins in. A good way to see if you are drinking enough water is by taking note of your urine – if it is light in colour and practically odourless you should be well hydrated however if the opposite is true then you should probably be drinking more water as your kidneys are working very hard at dissolving a whole lot of toxins in limited water reserves to produce such concentrated waste. This is why drinking enough water reduces your risk of developing kidney stones (solid crystals of mineral and acid salts that must pass through the urinary tract – OUCH!!). 6 Proper hydration is necessary for normal bowel function: When we are dehydrated our intestines draw as much water from the food we eat as they can to replenish our water reserves which results in constipation. The combination of water and dietary fibre is necessary to keep our digestion flowing regularly. The fibre becomes hydrated, increases in volume and fills up the space in our bowels. This is what allows it to act as “nature’s broom” and clear out the gut, promoting healthy digestion. A lot of you might be thinking – this is all great and whatever but you struggle to drink water because its relatively tasteless, so rather than looking to a sugary flavoured water try and make your water interesting by adding some fresh lemon or fruit slices, strawberries and mint. This will mildly flavour the water and also act as natural sources of electrolytes – which are much needed when exercising and sweating! If the issue is that you forget during a busy day to drink water until your body feels like a prune in the Sahara desert then there’s a few things you can try:
...it's not over yet!Spring has finally arrived and the cold winter chill is starting to subside, flowers are blooming and everything is becoming brighter again as we ease into the last few months of this year. This makes it the perfect time to evaluate how far we have come with the goals we set out to achieve in 2018. We started the year off with a discussion about goals and how to go about achieving them. Remember those FAST, Focused Accountable Structured and Timed, goals? (If not give yourself a reminder by reading the January/February 2018 blog). Take a moment to think about what you set out to accomplish this year and how far you have come. If you have done everything you set out to then this is the best time to push yourself harder and create new goals for yourself, and if you haven’t accomplished anything you intended to – don’t fret, there’s no time like the present! It is so easy for us to get lost in the mayhem of daily life and lose overall direction when it comes to our goals. We are all on the rollercoaster of life and learning how to navigate through it, and so sometimes we fall off our intended track and sometimes we underestimate our strength to make it through the journey. This is why we thought it was a great time to re-group and discuss how to get back on track to achieving our goals – or even growing into new ones! STEP ONE: LOOK BACK AND EVALUATE If you decided this year would be the year that you could split flat in all directions, the year you got distinctions in all your subjects or the year you dropped a pants size and changed your lifestyle to be healthier – take some time to evaluate the method (if there was one) used to achieve this. Was it effective? How could you make it better? Was this goal realistic and what can be changed to achieve it now? If you have achieved your goals, what is the next one you would like to conquer? STEP TWO: FORGIVE AND LET GO If we haven’t gotten as far as we would have liked to we can often enter a negative space filled with doubt and fuelled by overly critical thoughts. It is at this point that you need to force yourself out of that space by forgiving yourself. There is no good that comes from that place, if you use your negative thoughts as a means for beating yourself up about it you will be further back than when you started. The most important relationship in your life is the one you have with yourself. It is just as human to fail as it is to succeed, so leave the past behind and focus your mind on what you can change. STEP THREE: HOP ON THE TRAIN TO MOTIVATION STATION The next step is to find a way to motivate yourself again. Everyone is different and we all draw motivation and inspiration from different sources, but here are some ideas of how you can try to spark that fire again:
STEP FOUR: DEVELOP A NEW P.O.A Once you feel re-energized and motivated it is time to develop an action plan. Decide how you’re going to approach your goals or set some new ones. The FAST method we used at the start of the year can be helpful in creating this POA however it is definitely not the only way. Find what works for you! Some people find they work better by using an action reaction plan like the one below: GOAL: To live a healthier lifestyle by eating healthier and exercising more. TIME FRAME: 3 Months START DATE: 18 September 2018 ACTION: Didn’t eat breakfast today because you ran out of time in the morning REACTION: Make sure you pack breakfast ready for you the night before or get up earlier ACTION: Felt too tired to workout today REACTION: Make sure you push yourself in your workout tomorrow ACTION: Ate a big unhealthy meal out to lunch with some friends REACTION: Have a light and fresh dinner consisting of mainly veggies ACTION: Craving an unhealthy treat like:
Achieving your goals successfully can only be done when you are realistic with yourself. You cannot be 100% on track all the time but the key to making a change is to self-correct when you do fall off the wagon. This is why turning negative actions into positive reactions can be so helpful to people. If that doesn’t work for you another option could be to embrace your competitive nature and join a challenge with some friends or family. If you and some friends all decide you would like to get healthier together then you can build a support system centred on healthy eating and exercise. You can all sign up for park runs/workout together and make healthy food choices together. Sometimes we find the task of change too daunting to face alone so going on the journey with friends and family can make you feel less alone and more empowered to reach your goals. If you don't have a support system at the moment who are cheering you on to your successes, come join the El'Shebang family for one class to know what it will be like to be surrounded by a team of like-minded goal-setters! If you are already part of the El'Shebang family... make sure you partner up with a studio buddy, who sees you at least once a week, to check up on your progress! STEP FIVE: CELEBRATE AND ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS Give yourself and others around you the recognition they deserve for achieving their goals. Putting kindness back into the world through paying someone a compliment about the change they have made gives them the fuel to continue succeeding. Giving yourself recognition when you have achieved something you set out to do establishes a good relationship with yourself and a healthy mind set. Thinking positively comes easier when you spread positivity, so through expressing kindness and appreciation when someone else achieves something can often make it easier to do the same towards yourself. To give you a little nudge and do what we can from our side to take away the obstacles standing in your way from getting on track with these goals... we want to invite you to come try out a Pilates and/or a Barre Time class for only R20 for the month of October!
You give us 1 hour of your day, and we will give you the satisfaction of being able to tick of the first step in achieving a goal... STARTING! With the recent blog posts about the macronutrients and the importance of understanding that we really are wat we eat – I have had some general feedback from the readers saying that while they understand the concepts presented in each post, they don’t necessarily know how to take them and apply the knowledge into their everyday lifestyles. In light of this I have selected a few of my favourite healthy recipes to share with you guys to help everyone in learning to apply the lasting lifestyle recommendations to their lives. Anyone that has chatted to me about nutrition and my views on how to go about healthy eating will know that I believe the only way to achieve success with this is by following two simple guidelines; firstly living a balanced lifestyle and secondly making sure that this lifestyle fits into your daily routine. People often fall off the wagon with healthy living because everyday living feels too hectic and overwhelming to continue making healthy food preparation and exercise a priority. And while I have no idea what it is like to be a busy parent I know that failing to plan is planning to fail. I have learned that the best way to stay on track is by making healthy living as easy as I can for myself. One of the ways I do this is by choosing simple recipes (like the recommendations I have made below) that are easy to prepare and keep well if prepared in advance. Every Sunday I plan my meals for the week and head to the grocery store with a list of everything I need – this makes shopping easy, stress free and keeps me from buying unnecessary and often unhealthy foods. Then as I arrive home I make sure that I prepare everything that can be prepared for the week in advance. I peel and freeze vegetables and fruit for smoothies, I will make some hard boiled eggs, chop carrot and celery sticks, and cut cheese slices for easy to grab snacks/ to build lunch boxes. I will roast a variety of vegetables to be easily reheated during the week as a side or to accompany a salad for lunch in the day. I will cook up a whole pot of rice and curry or stew for the week and freeze some for the days when I get home too late to make a full meal. I find that in being prepared and always having a healthy option in the fridge/freezer at home I seldom land up buying take-out or the convenient food options that are often high in bad fats and refined carbohydrates. Some of these recipes are more like concepts to give you creative freedom to change them to your liking and make them fit into your life. They are intended to help illustrate how to go about healthy eating and do not need to be adhered to like a strict diet plan. Freedom and balance is what allows us to stay interested in healthy eating! BREAKFASTScrambled eggs on low GI toast with lightly fried tomatoes: Add some spinach or other chopped up vegetables like bell peppers to your eggs to increase the fibre content and nutrient density of this simple meal. Egg muffins with low GI or rye toast: (click on recipe title above to follow link to full recipe) Make these in advance and freeze some as they can be easily defrosted and reheated in the microwave. Try different vegetable and cheese combos. Increase the protein content by adding some canned shredded tuna or left over roast chicken. Breakfast Smoothies: (click on recipe title above to follow link to full recipe) Remember to be creative and try different combinations you might like. I use a standard recipe of plain yoghurt, water, oats, protein and Herbalife powder as a base for all my smoothies. I love to play around with different fruit combinations and adding flavours like cinnamon and cocoa powder to spice things up. Yoghurt, Oats and Fruit bowl ½ cup low fat plain yoghurt ¼ cup rolled oats ¼ tsp cinnamon 1 tsp goji berries 1 tsp vanilla chia seed mix (Dischem lifestyle food brand) 1 tsp dessicated coconut Light drizzle of honey on top This is one of my favourite combinations because it has the healthy fats from the roasted seeds, antioxidants from the superfood goji berries, complex carbohydrates from the oats and protein from the yoghurt. Prepare it the night before for a delicious pudding-like breaki on the go and play around with flavours and add some fresh fruit. Fully Loaded Oats Bowl ½ cup rolled oats ½ cup milk of your choice 1 cup boiling water ¼ tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla chia seed mix (Dischem lifestyle food brand) 1 tsp dessicated coconut Light drizzle of honey on top Cook your oats to your liking with water, milk and cinnamon. Top with seeds, coconut and honey. Play around with different flavour combinations. Cook your oats with fresh blueberries or top with cut up banana. Oats is a great low gi breakfast option and it’s the perfect canvas for fruit, nuts and seeds. Be creative! LUNCHLow GI Bread with Avocado smash, sliced Chicken Breast, sliced Tomato and Leafy Greens Rye bread, low GI bread and seed loafs are generally your best choices when choosing a sandwich bread as they digest slowly and are packed with fibre and other nutrients that more refined breads lack. Avocado is great on sandwiches as it adds the creaminess you often look for in unhealthy spreads like mayonnaise while providing healthy fats and making us feel full. Healthy nutrient dense bread + vegetables + lean protein = Perfect Sarmie! Upside down salad in a jar (click on recipe title above to follow link to full recipe) Healthy lunch in a jar! What could be better? I love this idea because I love salads, but taking them for lunch never works. There are a ton of wonderful recipes out there for mason jar salads but the concept is so simple you can take it and apply it to your favourite salad combo. Just follow the rule – all ingredients that can be wet at the bottom with the dressing (i.e. protein/legumes) and work your way to the top with the dry ones (i.e. leaves). These keep well if made in advance and all you have to do is tip the jar over onto a plate and BOOM – salad made!! Brown Pasta or Couscous Salad (click on recipe title above to follow link to full recipe) Substitute the couscous for some brown pasta for a change. I love tossing my roast veggies in some basil pesto before adding them to the couscous. I often add a sprinkle of mixed roasted seeds to this salad as they bring an extra crunch and delicious savoury flavour to the dish – plus they are so good for you! I recommend again the Lifestyle brand from Dischem – Roasted Mixed Seeds. DINNERHealthy Cottage Pie (click on recipe title above to follow link to full recipe) The linked video by Ashy Bines is a good show of the concept for this recipe but please make it your own! Every time I make this I use different veggie combinations and it is one of my favourite recipes because you don’t even realize how much and how many different kinds of veggies you can get in with one bite. Sweet potato is also a great low GI alternative to normal white potato mash. It is higher in vitamins, minerals and fibre so it keeps you fuller for longer. I love using frozen vegetable mixes like the McCain stirfry blend because its so easy to just pop it in and fry it up with the mince. Moms – this is a very sneaky way of getting the munchkins to munch their veggies! Just make sure the sauce is well flavoured and they won’t even know about it!! For a vegetarian option – substitute the mince for a mix of canned lentils, rated/ground up carrot done in a food processor and sliced mushrooms. Butternut and Chickpea Curry with Brown Rice (click on recipe title above to follow link to full recipe) This is one of my favourite vegetarian dinner recipes. With the cold winter nights – there is nothing more satisfying than a good hearty meal like a curry or a stew. This recipe is high in fibre, the chickpeas provide enough protein and the flavours are just incredible! I often eat this meal with a dollop of cold plain yoghurt and a salad of chopped up tomato and cucumber on the side for added nutrition and to cool the palate if it gets too hot. Play around with the recipe and find a curry paste that suits your heat levels. If there must be meat added – add some diced chicken breast to the mix. Now... don't just look at the pictures and imagine what it will taste like... Get in the kitchen and try the one that looks the best to you!! :-DDon't forget to leave comments on how your meals came out! Even post a photo of your plate! Or send feedback to [email protected]
Happy cooking! In this overwhelming age of media constantly bombarding us with information most us feel lost within this sea of advice and contradicting statements when it comes to our diet and nutrition. This is particularly true when it comes to the last macronutrient that I would like to discuss with the readers of lasting lifestyle. Fat – a word that can often bring on instant anxiety to most people – whether it is because of the fear of eating it and gaining weight, because it has been viewed in such an unhealthy light or because most just don’t know what to do with it in their diet. Some diets advocate the benefits of high fat and high protein and some advocate for almost no fat at all. So which do we follow? If we turn to the majority of scientific findings surrounding this question the common conclusion is that yes, we need fat – but (as with all our nutrient choices) it must be from the right source and in the right amounts. Just as with our other two macronutrients, carbohydrates and proteins as we have previously discussed, fats are essential to our well-being and can be found in different forms where some are more beneficial to the body than others. So why do we need fat in our diets and what does it do? As I mentioned fat is essential for our survival, in fact it is so important that our bodies have mechanisms of synthesizing fats even without us eating any fats at all. As previously mentioned in the other essential nutrient blogs – both excess carbs and protein are converted into fat and stored in this way as energy. But more specifically here are three reasons why we need it; 1. Fats help to maintain healthy cells, organs and brain Fat plays a protective role for cells as it is an important component of every cell’s membrane or “wall” that protects them against attack. Fat also protects your organs by sparing them from the impact of everyday living and certain fats are also essential to build and maintain a healthy brain, which is about sixty percent fat anyways. 2. Fat = fuel When we carry out simple tasks like sitting in class or cooking dinner fat is the main fuel our body’s burn for energy. This means basically any activity where your heart rate is below 70% fat is the primary source of energy for our bodies. This is specifically why when trying to lose weight one would lower their food intake (kilojoule intake) slightly so as to use up fat stores for the deficit in energy required. 3. Fat is satiating and helps maintain blood sugar levels Fat initiates the release of a hormone that helps you feel satiated or full after a meal. Fat also slows digestion and therefore the rate at which carbohydrates are digested and sugars released into the digestive system – remember the low GI section in the carbohydrate blog? This is where fat can help us increase the quality of our carbohydrate rich foods. Common fats and their properties: Generally fats are either inherently present in foods (e.g. Dairy products like yoghurt) as they are or we add them during cooking in forms of butter or oil for example. There are different forms of these fats that all have different functional and nutritional properties. Saturated fats Saturated fats are those that are solid at room temperature and typically come from animal sources like meat and dairy. Certain plants and their oils are high in saturated fats, such as coconut and palm kernel. Saturated fat raises LDL cholesterol (the bad type), which is a risk factor for the development of heart disease – this is why it is recommended to limit the intake of these fats. Trans fats Trans fats are typically produced by pumping hydrogen gas into liquid unsaturated fat sources to modify them to resemble more solid fats to produce more shelf-stable, easier to use fats that allows manufacturers to replace saturated fat in their products. However these fats have been proven to both increase LDL (bad) cholesterol while simultaneously decreasing HDL (good) cholesterol. This is why they should almost never be consumed. Mono and Polyunsaturated fats These are the more healthy fats found in high-fat, plant-based foods such as avocado, nuts, seeds, olives and fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, and should be consumed in the highest amounts of all fat groups. Omega – 3 and Omega-6 Fats These are polyunsaturated fats that are given special mention as they are essential fats that our bodies cannot produce and must therefore be consumed through the diet. These two types of fats play vital roles in regulating our immune systems. Omega-3 fat plays an essential role in developing our vision and nervous systems. Adequate intake for adults ranges from 12–17 grams per day for omega-6 fats and 1.1–1.6 grams per day for omega-3 fats. In most cases Omega-6 fats are abundant in our diets as they are found in soy and corn fats. However, Omega-3 fats are mostly found in fatty fish which we generally do not consume enough of and therefore need to increase our intake thereof. Good sources of Mono and Polyunsaturated fats: As you’ve just read the most important fats that should make up the greatest portion of our fat intake are the more unsaturated fats. These can be found in foods like avocado, olives, olive oil, nut butters, ground flax seed, salmon, tuna, dark chocolate, chia seeds and eggs. How to apply what has been said about the macronutrients daily: For the past few blogs I have discussed all the macronutrients – fats, carbs and proteins, as well as the importance of nutrition and the impact of what we consume on our well-being and ability as dancers. A good example of a meal that applies all that has been mentioned in the last 4 blogs would be: avocado smashed on low GI seed loaf with chicken fillet slices on top. The low GI bread will sound familiar to you (as this would be a source of complex carbohydrates that digests slowly for sustained energy), the avocado would be rich in the good fats mentioned above and the chicken fillet would be a source of lean complete protein (vital for conserving muscle mass). It is through applying these small bits of knowledge in our daily meal choices that we will really start to reap the benefits of creating a lasting lifestyle! Carbohydrates = Sugars, Starches & Dietary FibreCarbohydrates comprise of the sugar, starch and fibres present in fruits, grains, vegetables and dairy products. Carbohydrates often have a poor reputation in the food and diet industry – where some diets and members of the industry advocate against their consumption. However contradictory to popular misconception, carbohydrates are macronutrients (along with proteins and fats) - meaning they are one of the three sources of energy and nourishment our bodies require. In fact, carbohydrates are our main source of energy. Macronutrients are so named because they are both essential for proper body functioning and required by the body in large amounts. Since we are not self-sufficient plants capable of producing their own food by means of photosynthesis – we must obtain all our macronutrients through what we eat.
The carbohydrate intake for most of us will make up between 45 and 65 percent of our total daily kilojoules consumed. One gram of carbohydrates equates to about 17 kilojoules so the average diet of 8 700kJ per day – (8 700 x 45% - 65%)/17 = 230.3g – 332.6g of carbohydrates should be consumed daily. However, as with everything this is a guideline based on averages. Dancers competing, performing or training for long hours will have higher requirements closer to the upper limit described above as carbohydrates are our main source of energy. Conversely, individuals whose main focus would be weight loss or maintenance would fall closer to the lower limit. The specific weight, height and intensity of training of the person in question will also influence these figures and as such should only be used as a guideline. As mentioned carbohydrates are a source of fuel for the body and in particular for the central nervous system and working muscles, they enable us to metabolise fats and also influence brain functions linked to our moods and memories. Carbohydrates also conserve our muscles through preventing our bodies from breaking down our proteins (muscles) to provide energy. Which if you read the last two blog posts regarding the importance of protein in the diet and the maintenance of a lean body mass – you’ll know that conserving our muscle mass is vital. Carbohydrates are either simple or complex – differing based on the complexity of their chemical structure which directly influences how quickly the sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream and digested. Simple sugars contain just one sugar molecule, such as the monosaccharides fructose (found in fruits) and galactose (found in milk products) or two sugars such as the disaccharides sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (dairy). Complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides) have three or more sugars. In the body, carbs break down into smaller units of sugar, such as glucose and fructose. The small intestine then absorbs these smaller units, which then enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver. The liver converts all of these sugars into glucose, which is carried through the bloodstream — accompanied by insulin — and converted into energy for basic body functioning and physical activity. If the glucose is not immediately needed for energy, the body stores some of it in the liver and skeletal muscles in the form of glycogen, However once these stores are full the body stores the surplus as fat. These are the starchy foods and include beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, potatoes, corn, parsnips, whole-grain breads and cereals. I am sure all of us have experienced the tingling sensations and sudden burst of energy or sugar rush after over indulging in sweet treats filled with sugar followed by the subsequent plummet into a state of exhaustion and lethargy - this is the characteristic digestion path for simple sugars. And I know we have all felt the fullness and long lasting fullness after a meal of brown rice, oats or low GI bread – which follow the complex carbohydrate digestion route, meaning they are digested and absorbed more slowly acting as a sustainable energy source for a longer period of time than simple sugars. Fibre a form of complex carbohydrate is essential to our digestion. Fibre promotes healthy bowel movements and decreases the risk of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. However, unlike sugars and starches, fibre is not absorbed in the small intestine or converted to glucose. Instead, fibre passes into the large intestine relatively intact, where they are converted to hydrogen and carbon dioxide and fatty acids. Sources of fibre include fruits, grains and vegetables, especially legumes. The differentiation between these two groups of carbohydrates is vital for dancers to understand. While you may feel energised after a few sips of a soft drink or some sweets during training you must understand that the energy you are consuming in that form is short-lived, high in kilojoules and low in nutritional value and fibre. Whereas the dancer who consumes a sandwich made on low GI bread will have a slower more sustained source of energy to preserve their muscles, keep their brain functioning optimally and maintain energy levels for a longer period of time while also benefitting from a nutrient rich source of food that promotes a healthy gut by being high in fibre. Lastly I would like to touch on this “low GI” that I keep using as I am sure we are not all familiar with what it actually means. The glycemic index (GI) is a measure used by nutritionists to quantify how quickly and how much a carbohydrate raises blood sugar. This is important when talking about carbohydrates because as I have pointed out – the sources of the carbohydrates we consume is so important. High-glycemic foods that give you those sugar rushes and raise blood sugar rapidly while low-glycemic foods raise bloodsugar levels gradually and to a lower level. Significant research has linked these high-glycemic foods with diabetes, obesity, heart disease and certain cancers. For those of you who read and understood last month’s blog – I am sure this will make a larger impact on you as you now realise that we cannot expect our bodies to give us and more than what we give them. If we deprive our bodies of carbohydrates we impede brain function and cause muscle wasting (bad idea for dancers who rely on them!), if we eat too much simple carbs we will have a short burst of energy and sudden decline, while if we feed our bodies nutrient dense, complex carbohydrates we will reap the rewards of a sustained energy source and well-nourished body! We’ve all heard it and we all know it - WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. But why should we care and what does it really mean? After last month’s lasting lifestyle blog post on protein, I have come to realise that it is important for the readers – parents and dancers alike – to first understand why we should care so much about nutrition and be mindful of what and how much we put into our bodies. “You are what you eat” and “what you put in is what you get out” are some of the most overused clichés by health professionals to explain the simplicity behind weight loss, body composition and understanding nutrition. Just as with any cliché, these have become so well-known because of how true they are. Now of course this doesn’t mean that if you eat an apple you’ll morph into a large green fruit – it simply means that if your diet is high in bad fats, simple sugars and low in fruits, vegetables and lean proteins, your body composition will reflect that. Body composition is a term used to describe the percentages of fat, bone, water and muscle in a person’s body. This is important because there is a wide misconception that weight is the most representative measure of nutrition status – however this is not true as muscle tissue takes up less space in our body than fat tissue, therefore the combination of a person’s weight and their composition is a true reflection of their nutrition status. The image above clearly depicts how muscle is denser than fat and therefore how much we weigh does not explain what ratio of muscle to fat we have but rather the collective weight thereof.
Now I am sure some of you are wondering why you should be concerned about the ratio of fat to muscle you or your child has. Copious amounts of research has clearly shown the benefits of building lean muscle mass and how critical it is for good health and longevity. Here are some reasons why:
2 Lean muscle mass helps fight disease When we get sick our body’s nutritional demands change. In order to recover, your body requires a lot of protein. In such amounts, in fact, that your diet alone cannot provide the amount of protein required to defend against illness and will therefore gain it from your lean body mass. An extreme example of this would be in burn victims where the need for protein is incredibly high due to the needs to rebuild and repair the skin. The demand is so high in such a case that the body needs even more protein than needed during fasting, which is when muscle breakdown occurs as a source for protein in the body. The same conclusion was drawn in studies done on cancer survivors, where in those patients whose overall body protein decreased due to cancer and cancer therapy, the rate of reoccurrence of cancer increased. In both these scenarios the ability to survive these conditions ultimately came down to how much lean body mass each patient had to begin with, and as such how much their bodies were able to sacrifice as a result of this increased demand for protein. In a nutshell, if you have sufficient lean body mass, your body will fight off infection easier because it will have enough protein reserves to meet the demands of the immune system. 3 Lean muscle mass promotes strong, healthy bones Our body’s constantly reabsorb and replace bone tissue on a regular basis. Osteoporosis results when new bone creation doesn't keep up with old bone removal. Greater muscle mass is a consistent predictor of better bone health. Studies have shown that muscle contraction creates a force on the bone stimulating healthy bone remodelling, and that a positive correlation between muscle size and bone density and strength exists. Therefore maintaining a healthy lean body mass allows your bones to stay healthy. The above three points are ample motivation to consume a diet that meets our nutritional requirements thereby supplying the body with the right building blocks necessary to create a desirable body composition. I am sure a lot of you are thinking that because you dance and do other forms of exercise that your lean body mass is maintained through exercise mostly. However, this is untrue as the major contributor to our body composition is what we eat and not how much exercise and training we do. This brings me to my final but vital take home message – there is no way to out train a bad diet. What we eat contributes to our body composition a total of 80% while exercise can only contribute up to 20%. In order to build a strong house the right bricks, concrete, cement and steel need to be used and the same applies to our body. It takes roughly over 1000 burpees to burn off the energy that a slice of cheesecake supplies. That doesn’t mean that we may never indulge. It just means that if we give our bodies too much energy, empty sugars and fats on a frequent basis we will never be able to maintain this vital lean body mass. We need to consume the right building blocks to build a strong body. This may be why you might be working so hard at building your strength in class and not seeing results. All the push ups and crunches in the world cannot build muscle without the right materials and as such why a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, lean protein, fibre and healthy fats is always so well promoted. In conclusion, the power of nutrition and healthy eating is not to be underestimated. You are in control of the food choices you make for yourself, your kids and your family – from now on let us all try to think twice about what, how much and why we consume what we do. Let us give our bodies what they need to be healthy and strong! Every moment of everyday the cells making up our bodies grow, divide and die. Of which all processes are dependent on protein as it is the vital building blocks of our cells. In general most women and dancers do not meet their daily protein requirements. Protein – originating from the Greek protos, meaning “first” – is so appropriately named as it is essential to put meat on our bones and to grow hair, blood, connective tissue, antibodies, as well as make enzymes and hormones that help regulate metabolism, growth and so much more. The Recommended Dietary Allowance or RDA for protein is a 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. However, RDA is the amount of a particular nutrient you require to meet your basic nutritional needs. That means it is the minimum amount you need to keep from withering away and getting sick and as such not the specific amount you should be consuming daily. Protein generally has a bad reputation amongst the average South African and women more specifically. We tend to think that it is only important for “gym botjies” and rugby players – but this is a complete misconception. Consuming enough protein is absolutely necessary whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle, recover from a tough rehearsal, feel more satisfied after a meal or simply maintain a healthy lifestyle. So what is this mighty essential-protein and what happens when you eat it? Just the same as with carbohydrates and fat, protein also provides us with energy. However, in that it provides so many other important functions and cannot be stored, the body relies first on carbohydrates and fat for energy. Protein gets digested into amino acids that are absorbed by the small intestine and distributed throughout the body. Cells take what they need and rearrange amino acids to make new proteins or repair older ones. Since the body cannot store protein any excess amino acids are converted into glucose and stored as glycogen to use as energy reserves, or converted into fatty acids and stored as fat. Getting the right amount of protein is important so the body can perform these functions on a daily basis. However just the same – too much of anything in your diet can have a negative effect, which is why it is necessary to ascertain what your protein requirements are (linked to your goals of course) and follow this guideline. Protein is found in a variety of foods such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, soy and even some grains. Meats, poultry, fish, eggs and soybeans are complete protein sources — meaning they are a source of all the amino acids required by our body. Other protein sources like legumes, some nuts and seeds, grains and leafy greens, do not provide adequate amounts of the essential amino acids on their own - but can when eaten in combination with other foods to create a complete protein source. A good example of this would be a good old peanut butter sandwich on whole grain low GI bread. The wheat flour contains the amino acids that the peanut butter lacks and vice versa – and so put together you have a complete protein source packed with all the amino acids you require. So it is not always necessary to only rely on meat, dairy, eggs, fish and poultry as protein sources. So I understand that I need it – but how much is enough? For most active dancers who dance/exercise daily for at least 1 hour, their daily protein requirement for maintaining lean muscle mass may be calculated by multiplying their body weight by a factor of 1.2-1.4. For dancers or individuals who are also actively exercising and training to build muscle they would apply the same principle however, they would use a factor of 1.4-1.8. The number obtained from this calculation is then the target daily protein intake needed for that person. People who are less active may use a factor of 0.8 – 1.2. So now that I know how much I need – how do I implement protein into my diet? Here are some tips on how to go about increasing your protein intake and getting the best results from doing so. 1. Spread your protein foods throughout your meals throughout the day: The best way to capitalize on your ability to digest, absorb and utilise protein is by distributing it evenly throughout your meals and snacks. You can plan this by taking the total grams of protein you require daily, since we now know how to find that out, and dividing it by the number of meals and snacks you plan on eating. 2. Consume your protein immediately after training: Having a high-protein snack or meal within an hour after training is best as this is when muscles are able to nutrients they can use to repair and grow. 3. Eat your proteins with carbs: this is specifically important to do after completing strenuous aerobic exercise because protein is necessary for muscle repair and carbs are needed to restock energy stores. 4. Eat more high protein plant sources: all of us (and the earth) can benefit from eating more plant-based protein sources. This is because they offer more than just being a source of protein - beans, peas, quinoa and lentils for example are rich in other nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals. 5. Keep it leaner: for those of you that eat meat – try to make the leaner choice. Choose skinless chicken and red meats with very minimal fat, and use 90/10 minced beef, which would be 90% lean meat and only 10% fat. Try your best to have red meats (like burgers and steaks) only once or twice per week as it is typically high in saturated fat. A new year welcomes new beginnings, goals and dreams. But usually by the end of January most of us have failed dismally at achieving these resolutions we set out for ourselves and are left feeling guilty, tired and overwhelmed by this seeming lack of accomplishment. We often find ourselves ready to give up or having even forgotten what it was that we set out to do. And so we plod on having not made any significant changes to our lives, falling back into old routines and deeper in the self-blame hole – where we take this lack of progress as a sign that we are weak of mind or spirit. Have you ever thought that perhaps the reason behind not achieving your goals is actually that the goal itself was not achievable or realistic for you, your life or routine? Most of the time, the goals we set in an effort to “turn over a new leaf” tend to be over ambitious and unrealistic. How many times have you heard yourself or someone you know say - this year I am going to “eat healthy”, “get fitter” or “take more time out for myself”? And how many times have these changes actually materialised? While we might have the right intentions behind setting these wonderful goals, the unfortunate fact is that action must be taken in order for them to become more than just that – a good intention. That is why for this blog entry I have decided to discuss how to set achievable, realistic goals rather than to just jump right in and talk about what your goals should be. There are some key principles that should be taken into consideration before setting (or re-evaluating) any goal – be it personal, work, school or wellness related. Focus: Zone in on what you would like to achieve and be specific! We can often set a very broad spectrum for ourselves with new goals, leading us onto a path with far too many directions to consider. For example – if we had to take the good old “eat healthier” New Year’s resolution –one can quickly see how this goal lacks focus. What does eating healthier mean to you? Eating fewer high sugar, high fat foods and more veggies? Drinking less coffee or eating more whole grains? Or is it all of the above and then some? For some of us in this case it might be achievable to choose one specific area in our diet (or whatever the spectrum of your goal may be) to realistically focus on. Accountability: How many times have we all started a new year off filled with gusto and goal accomplishing gumption, only to realise 30 days later that you have made little or no progress? This is why it is necessary to find a method suitable to your goal and routine that will hold you accountable for your progress or lack thereof. Most of us dancers will start the year off with a list of aspirations for the year such as to improve our flexibility, get stronger or be able to do more pirouettes. A way of holding yourself accountable for keeping up with these goals may be through tracking your progress using photos and videos in a timely manner. Structure: It’s all well and good to have a focused goal and a method to keep you accountable but if either of these principles are not linked to some structure and time frame – today’s goal will always be a tomorrows achievement. Applying structure to your healthy eating goal would be deciding on how to go about it. Tackling one healthy eating change per week could be an example for bringing structure in your aim. Time: There is always time to accomplish something in the future, but the only way that it will be certain that we achieve what we set out to - is if we commit to doing so within a defined time period. Small short term goals under the larger aim can often be the most realistic way to reach the desired outcome. For example, implementing one dietary change per week over a 3 month period may be the route to reach a healthy eating goal. I hope that in using these 4 principles (Focus Accountability Structure and Time - FAST) you will be able to both set realistic goals for yourself and achieve them. May 2018 be the year that all of us part of the El’Shebang family achieve all our goals and dreams! |
AuthorDanielle Gemeliaris has been dancing for half her life and has always been passionate about food, nutrition and the science behind them. The knowledge she gained through her studies, as a dancer and her experience as a health and wellness coach through Herbalife, has made her uniquely qualified to help dancers better understand nutrition and the role it plays in their lives. She hopes to offer the readers of this blog the opportunity to gain a basic working knowledge of nutrition, the role it plays for dancers and learn how to make better more informed food choices in the future. Archives
April 2019
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