A Spicy Recipe Rub - Help for Inflammation

A few weeks ago I was discussing the anti-inflammatory diet. Since a big component in this diet and food plan includes adding in specific spices I thought I’d share a great recipe I came across on EatingWell.com.  It’s a “rub” which can be used on most protein sources; it contains very few calories and has all the great benefits of fighting inflammation regardless of your own diet plan! So here it is:

ACTIVE/TOTAL PREP TIME: 5 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

• 6 Tablespoons curry powder
• 3 Tablespoons coarse salt
• 4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 Tablespoon dried mint
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

Combine curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper, cumin, coriander, mint, turmeric and ginger in a small bowl. "Rub" on your favorite protein source and cook as desired. Note: not for those of you who prefer milder tastes although you could easily eliminate the red pepper and still get some great benefits.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per teaspoon: 5 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 211 mg sodium; 19 mg potassium.

To fight any kind of inflammation (heart disease, diabetes, obesity, lupus, etc.) utilize ND's IF factor on any food you do a search on. Go here and check out what the label can tell you.

 

A "New" Diet Plan? - 2

Tuesday I mentioned a diet plan that some of you might be interested in trying called the Inflammation Free Diet by Monica Reinagel. Here are the simple nuts and bolts of how it works simplified:

 A “Quick and Dirty Guide” to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Enjoy often:

• leafy greens and other colorful vegetables
• lentils
• berries
• citrus fruits
• “hot” spices like garlic, ginger, chili peppers, and curry
• Fish (with the exception of farm-raised salmon)
• Olive oil

Eat in moderation:

• Whole grain cereals and breads
• Beans
• Tropical fruits
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds
• Lean cuts of red meat
• Low-fat dairy

Limit or avoid:

• Organ meats
• Veal
• High fat dairy products
• Farmed salmon
• Butter
• Margarine and shortening
• Corn and white potatoes
• Refined flours and sugar
• Fatty and fried foods

If you have some general questions go to: http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2008/05/lots-of-questio.html or for more complete information get Monica’s book. Her plan is really more about balancing foods to reduce overall inflammation within your body. Use ND's IF Ratings to do this.

A "New" Diet Plan? - 1

This diet may not be new to some but I would guess that the majority of people who are overweight have not looked into this plan of eating.  Most people have heard of inflammation and its link to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and it could definitely be making it harder for you to lose weight too. 

This diet is about leptin which is a hormone which helps regulate appetite. Monica Reinagel, MS and Nutrition Data’s own chief nutritionist, author of  the Nutrition Data blog and The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, states that:  “Normally, leptin helps guard against weight gain by down-shifting your appetite and up-shifting your metabolism.  And as Dr. Galland argues in The Fat-Resistance Diet, systemic inflammation creates “leptin resistance,” which makes it even harder to lose weight than it already is.” Inflammation is the big factor in all this.

So if you’ve tried every other diet without results you might want to consider this unique healthy plan. And, it's not just for weight loss. It can definitely benefit anyone who suffers with any kind of ongoing inflammation and pain in their body. Check out Monica’s book above (and her blogs on the topic) and or use the IF Ratings  tool for over 10,000 foods  conveniently available here at Nutrition Data that help you control inflammation just by  controlling specific food choices in your food plan. 

Saturday I’ll review the plan in its nutshell form.

Healthy and Filling Foods for Weight Loss

The other day I discussed “diet foods” and how they really aren’t always the healthiest foods because so many of them are highly processed. Today I want to mention a few of ND’s tools that can help you pick healthier foods for weight loss.

Since you are eating less you want to make all your calories count more nutritionally. ND has a tool called the Nutritional Target Map. This map appears in every ND food analysis (including a\your Total Consumption Report). It reviews food in relation to its ability to support your nutritional needs. If a food is lacking in nutrients you are being short-changed in nutrients that support your overall health. It may also negatively affect how you feel physically and emotionally while losing weight. 

If you were to look at the map you will see that the closer a food is to the right edge of the map, the more essential nutrients per calorie it contains. For a more nutritious diet, select foods that fall on the right half of the map.

Also, the closer a food is to the top edge of the map, the more likely it is to fill you up with fewer calories. If you want to restrict your caloric intake without feeling hungry  (and who wants to be?), choose foods from the top half of the map.

Making "Better Choices"

Many dieters get confused when it comes to making good choices to lose weight. This can happen with any food plan. The best foods should be ones that taste good, be satisfying and filling, and give you the nutrition your body needs while losing weight and cutting calories. Nutrition Data has a great tool, called Better Choices which can help you figure out all this in a very simple way. Go here for the specific how to on this very topic involving what I just mentioned above.

You may even want to check out Nutrition Data’s actual diet plan, Better Choices. The beauty of this plan is unique. Typical diets focus on a single macronutrient (fats, carbs, or protein) which is limiting and you may be missing out on essential nutrients. Better Choices food plan bases your choices on twenty-eight important different nutrients to help you assess what foods support your individualized goals. And even if you don't use this as your actual food plan you can still certainly utilize it in any other plan you do decide to use for weight loss. It will make your plan healthier and more satisfying.

What's a Healthy Weight?

What’s a healthy weight for you? The first consideration should be based on health which is what the BMI is all about. Most doctors use this as the gold standard to determine this question. It’s not perfect but it certainly can give a person a good direction. It should not be utilized for someone who has been working out a lot and who is already very muscular.  BMI is simply a height to weight ratio and would not take into account the difference between muscle weight and fat weight.

Once the BMI is quantified there are a few other factors you might also want to consider. One is generally how healthy you are. When some people lose too much weight they seem to get sick more often. Some people don’t have enough energy at too low of a weight.

Another point has to do with how easily you maintain a specific weight. If it’s just too much of a struggle to maintain a specific weight then it’s probably too low. If you are 45 and over maybe it’s just not realistic to be at your high school weight!

Another factor might be how you look and feel in your clothes. Are you happy with how you look? Do you feel confident?

So start with the BMI and then consider the other factors here. Readers, what other factors do you think should be considered when defining a healthy weight?

Tracking Your Food

Over the past few days I have shared with you how cutting calories is the best way to lose weight and that monitoring portion sizes is the best way to do this. To be sure that you are cutting calories, and staying within your weight loss calorie range, you should track what you eat.

Elaine and I both have blogged in the past about keeping a food diary. Studies have also shown that keeping a food diary results in twice as much weight loss as compared to those who do not keep a food diary.

"How do I lose Weight?"

Recently a few more people have been writing in to Nutrition Data still asking how to lose weight. If you have missed earlier blogs on losing weight, these last few weeks I have targeted some very basic but important aspects to make sure you choose both the correct weight loss plan and mindset to help you be successful. And don't forget exercise! Steve can certainly walk you through that part whether you are just a beginner or a seasoned pro. Certainly, the wrong plan, a sloppy attitude, and being so sore after beginning exercise that you can't move, derails your weight loss efforts quickly.

The importance of carefully thought out goal setting is also paramount to your success. I have outlined very precisely how to do this using the Mayo Clinic’s SMART Goals. It's amazing how vague a person can be when setting up a goal, yet it has to be precise otherwise you won't know where you are going. It's like going on a trip but not having a real destination! Being overwhelmed with too much to change at once can make you quit easily too. SMART goals can help you pare down big goals into more manageable chunks.

It may also be a challenge to plan, cook, and prepare your meals. Dana can help you in that category, regardless of what plan you are on.

If you are still struggling to learn how to use a specific tool from Nutrition Data have Monica walk you through them step by step. This should help you out as well. For even more great information press on Nutrition Data's "Tools" and "Topics" on the Diet and Weight Loss home page. And don't forget to track your food to for some accountability.

The Challenge of Hunger

Earlier this week I started discussing some essential core steps that you need to take to lose weight. These also fight hunger. It bears repeating once again how important it is that you absolutely have to know (and track) how many calories you need to create the calorie deficit in order to lose weight! Just as essential but often neglected is adopting the correct macronutrient (fats, carbs, and protein) balance of your food.  But sometimes you still might get hungry, especially when you are first initiating a new food plan with less calories. While you literally won't "starve to death" no one enjoys being hungry and being hungry can really set you up for succumbing to temptations and over eating. So what’s a dieter to do?

I totally encourage you to utilize Nutrition Data’s Fullness Factor. (Monica explains this extensively here.) Ours is the only site with this special feature for every food you look up, including recipes and meal plans. (It's on the Nutritional Target Map after you look up your chosen food.) There’s really no need to be hungry ever again! And don’t forget to always include a bit of lean protein or healthy fat with every meal/snack. This helps stabilize blood sugar and keeps you from getting hungry as well. Why be hungry when you don't have to be?

Finding the Right Weight Loss Plan

Yesterday I suggested you start thinking about how you were going to start your weight loss plan for the new year ahead. The first step is to determine a healthy weight for yourself. ND has some great tools to assist you with this. One really important thing you need is to determine a weight which you are healthy at. Most doctors and professionals use the BMI as a starting point. It takes into account your age, gender, and size. If you are already an avid exerciser and have good muscle tone despite your weight it will not be truly accurate. If this is the case have your body fat percentage professionally done through under water weighing which has been considered one of the best ways to determine body fat. When this is done it usually also determines how much you should weigh and how many calories you should consume to lose weight.

You also need to determine the amount of calories that you need to lose weight. To lose one pound of fat a week you need to create a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day, ideally through eating less and exercise. ND’s Daily Needs Calculator can help you determine the correct amount of calories you need to do that. Obviously if you have too many calories you will not lose weight. If you have too few calories you may end up not losing because you may create starvation physiology meaning that your body's metabolism shuts down considerably and your body adapts to the lower calorie range to preserve itself.

According to Nutrition Data, “Accurate determination of the calories you burn can only be accomplished by individual physiological testing. However, ND’s calculator provides a reasonable estimate of your needs.  ND’s Calories Burned Calculator uses the most recent set of metabolic equations and physical activity coefficients developed by the Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (IOM).”