​"Super Foods" for Radiant Skin:  Take Caution With Marketing Hype
I've been researching the term "superfoods" and I have once again found human marketing strategy involved in nutrition. There is no scientifically based or regulated definition for superfood, just a consideration of benefit is what we find with the use of this term.  Generally, a food is promoted to superfood status when it offers high levels of desirable nutrients or is linked to the prevention of a disease:

​"Superfood is a marketing term for food assumed to confer health benefits resulting from an exceptional nutrient density. The term is not commonly used by experts, dietitians and nutrition scientists, many of whom dispute that particular foods have the health benefits claimed by their advocates." ~Superfood Wikipedia
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This is an example of why I promote learning about what your body's cells need to live and be healthy.  If I've learned anything in my 56-years about health, it's this:  ​​LEARN PRINCIPLES AND YOU CAN DEVISE YOUR OWN METHODS--IT'S HEALTHY!   The phrase, “you are what you eat” is literally true.  Nutrients from the foods you eat provide the foundation of the structure, function, and integrity of trillions of cells in your body—the engines that keep you alive.  The composition of a living cell points to how nutrients reach the cell and are converted to the energy for your body--that is a bit deeper subject—but listed below are the ingredients of a cell’s structure.
 
Give Your Cells What They Need for Healthy Radiant Skin

Ingredients of a Cell’s Structure: (percentages listed are approximate)
 
Water is a universal solvent-needed to dissolve substances. Water makes up approximately 90-percent of a cell’s weight.  Cells, organs, and tissues use water to help regulate the body's temperature and maintain other bodily functions
 
Protein molecules are made up of chemicals called Amino Acids--they make up about 5-percent of cell’s structure.  Amino acid chains are the building blocks of all protein made inside the human body for its functioning. Protein plays a crucial role in almost all biological processes.
 
Carbohydrates are starches and sugars which are converted to blood sugar called Glucose and are burned for quick energy--they make up roughly 2.5-percent of a cell.
 
Nucleic Acids include DNA (hereditary material) and RNA (molecule with various biological roles).  These control the cells by supplying the codes for making necessary chemicals that help cells replicate and build proteins—they make up about 1.5 percent of a cell.
 
Fats, also called Lipids, are fats, oils, and waxes that make up approximately 1-percent of a cell.  Fats store energy, insulate and protect vital organs, act as messengers that bind to proteins starting chemical reactions that help control growth, immune function, reproduction and other aspects of basic metabolism.
 
Cellular functions also require essential Minerals and Vitamins.  Cells depend upon the action of minerals to activate the enzymes which perform bodily functions.  Vitamins protect cells from damage, guide mineral utilization, regulate cell and tissue growth and help perform specific activities like produce energy.

To keep your body's cells healthy is to keep your skin--your body's largest cellular organ--healthy too!  ​​​
Body organs aren't all internal, skin is our largest external organ—adults carry around 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) and 22 square feet (2 square meters) of it.  Skin, including its several layers, serves in a protective role as part of the human body.  When its health is compromised, skin's ability to work as an effective barrier is impaired.  To maintain the healthiest skin possible from environment, which has an atrophying affect, we must consider our available lines of defense.

What you consume regularly can significantly affect the health and aging of your skin.
One of the top lines of defense for maintaining healthy skin, next to managing what we put on it externally and regulating our sleep and life's stresses, is eating whole natural foods that contain the assortment of nutrients our body cells require and need to keep all of our tissues and organs--including skin--well.  Both men and women focus on the appearance of their skin because generally we want it to look fantastic.  Our society does get stuck on youthful looks, but more importantly healthy is what matters most at any age.  

Food as Skincare
When I say stealth nutrition (the title of this blog of mine), it's about finding ways to be mindful of the nutrients our body cells require and getting them into our daily diets through whole natural foods.  Supplements--vitamins and minerals in pills and powders are not going to supply healthy skin and healthy bodies that are made up of living cells that thrive on nature's unadulterated plant-based food supply.

Minimally processed fruits and vegetables (as close to their whole natural state as possible) contain antioxidants, which are substances that protect cell membranes from the damaging effects of highly reactive molecules called free radicals.  Examples of antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin).

Dermatologists recommend vitamin C for its positive effect on the production of collagen, a protein that helps prevent skin from wrinkling and is often broken down by exposure to the sun and environmental pollution.  The best way to get vitamin C is eating fruits and vegetables and incorporating them into your diet regularly on purpose!  Not only will your body and its cellular life thank you, you'll be rewarded with beautiful radiant skin too.  5-COLORS OF PHYTONUTRIENTS IN FRUITS & VEGETABLES THAT YOUR BODY CELLS CRAVE!

Eating foods that are abundantly rich in skin-supportive nutrients is simple to do.  Here are some suggestions, but there are so many more available.  Do a little research looking for natural foods that are high in vitamin C, vitamin E, Selenium and Biotin.  Don't forget to stay hydrated and drink plenty of filtered water.  Not only does water hydrate the skin, it also flushes toxins out of the body.

Vitamin C (Water soluble)
Papaya, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Tomato, Strawberries, Pineapple, Oranges, Kiwifruit, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower.

Vitamin E (Fat soluble)
Sunflower Seeds, Almonds, Peanuts, Avocados, Broccoli, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Butternut Squash, Wheat Germ Oil.

(Note:  Vitamins fall into two categories: fat soluble and water soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K dissolve in fats and are absorbed along with fats in the diet and can be stored in the body's fatty tissue.  The water-soluble vitamins C and the B-complex vitamins need to dissolve in water before your body can absorb them.  They are carried to the body's tissues but are not stored in the body.  Any vitamin C or B that your body doesn't use as it passes through your system is lost (mostly when you pee).  Therefore, you will need a fresh supply of these vitamins every day.)

Biotin or Vitamin B7 (Water soluble)
Almonds, Cauliflower, Cheeses (Blue, Camembert, Cheddar & American), Eggs, Mushrooms, Sweet Potato, Spinach.  Caution:  Before taking any supplement, realize that biotin can interfere with certain medications--always check with your doctor first.  Biotin can be naturally found in your body.  It is manufactured in your intestines as a part of your digestive function and most people don't have a deficiency.  

Selenium (Essential Trace Mineral)
Bananas, Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Brown Rice, Lentils, Fish, Beans, Eggs, Milk, Mushrooms, Oatmeal, Sunflower Seeds, Spinach.  Caution:  Micro or trace minerals are essential for good health if they come from an organic or plant source. In contrast, if they come from an inorganic or metallic source, such as heavy metals, they are toxic.

(Note:   Essential nutrients are those that your body needs but cannot produce.  Minerals are inorganic substances of natural occurance found in foods.  The two kinds of minerals are: macro minerals and trace minerals.  Macro means "large" in Greek.  Your body needs larger amounts of macro minerals than trace minerals.   The five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium.  All the remaining elements in a human body are called "trace elements" including iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium.)

Filtered Water--Healthy Skin is Hydrated Skin
In the morning, your body and skin are always ready for pure water replenishment because overnight, as you sleep, you lose water through breathing.  Also, the liver, your detoxifying organ does most of its work at night while you are in slumber to clear and release toxins.  If you've ever wondered why you feel so thirsty first thing out of bed in the morning, that's why!  Your body is always in motion, always working, even during your sleep: LAW OF MOTION AND BODY CELLS:  HOW TO HAVE BETTER CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE-FORCE 

It's a healthy practice to drink a cup, or glass, of water in the morning after you arise to refresh your fluid level as you start your day.  Throughout your day, a simple way to monitor your body's hydration, in addition to paying attention to thirst signals, is to monitor the color of your urine.  A properly hydrated body will produce pale colored or near colorless urine.  If you are mildly dehydrated, your urine will be yellow.  When severely dehydrated expect your urine to be concentrated and dark, almost a deep gold color.  In this case, begin to gradually increase your water intake until your urine is nearly colorless.  (Please note that vitamins and supplements you may be taking that contain riboflavin (B2) will turn your urine a bright yellow.)

Most adults need about 2 to 3-quarts of fluid each day as a general guideline.  Because 1-quart equals 32-fluid ounces x 2 to 3 quarts, it's easy to see how 8 to 12 eight-ounce glasses of water a day has become a common recommended intake.  Yet, it can really vary on your individual needs.  You may need more water if the weather is warm and dry, or if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications.

For a general understanding of how much water your body can use in a day:  take your current weight divided by two which equals the amount of water in ounces you may drink, more or less based on your activity.  Again, this is just a gauge you can use to be sure and have access to plenty of clean drinking water throughout your day.  In order to remain hydrated, it's healthier to regularly sip water rather than guzzle it in a large quantity at a time.

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By Judith Garner, Certified Health Coach
Helping people stay healthy inside & out!

Can you relate to this funny? 

"I'm so offended when my body decides to get sick.  Like I gave you a vegetable last week.  How dare you?" ~Anonymous

​What are the healthiest fruits and vegetables?  Answer:  The one's you'll eat!

Not trying to be cute.  This is simply the truth.  The healthiest fruits and vegetables are the ones that any of us will eat!  Why do we need them anyway?  Fruits and vegetables are sources of many nutrients, including potassium, folate (folic acid), vitamins and minerals.  But they also provide dietary fiber.  Animal meats do not contain dietary fiber.  And, a real importance of eating enough fiber--roughage is that it acts like our body's broom in the digestive system absorbing water along the way and easing bowel movements.  That seems like a secret because many people just aren't aware of this! 

Dietary fiber is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes into sugar molecules.  It is a type of carbohydrate that passes through the body undigested and its purpose is to regulate the body's use of sugars, keeping blood sugars balanced and hunger regulated.

People need about 20 to 30 grams of fiber per day but most children and adults in America only get about 15 grams a day.

There are two varieties of fiber:

• Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, can help lower glucose levels as well as help lower blood cholesterol. Foods with soluble fiber include oatmeal, nuts, beans, lentils, apples and blueberries.

 

• Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water, can help food move through your digestive system, promoting regularity and helping prevent constipation. Foods with insoluble fibers include wheat, whole wheat bread, whole grain couscous, brown rice, legumes, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.

When carbohydrates are combined with fiber, it slows the absorption of sugar and regulates insulin response. Fiber makes us feel full, which discourages overeating. The best sources of fiber are whole grain foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and nuts.


Tips for increasing fiber intake:

Pick out some of your favorite fruits and vegetables in each of the 5-colors of fruits and vegetable and incorporate them into your meals intentionally.  Here is an article that has some charts to make selections: 
5- COLORS OF PHYTONUTRIENTS IN FRUITS & VEGETABLES​ THAT YOUR BODY CELLS CRAVE!
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​Here are some other useful tips to try:

• As a general rule, include at least one serving of whole grain in every meal.
• Eat whole fruits, e.g. an apple, banana, orange, pear, etc. instead of drinking fruit juices.
• Replace white flour, rice, bread, and pasta with whole-wheat flour, brown rice and whole grain products.
• Choose breakfast cereals that have a whole grain as their first ingredient--Read labels!
• Snack on raw vegetables between meals.
• Substitute beans or legumes for meat two to three times per week in chili and soups.

By Judith Garner, Certified Health Coach
Helping people stay healthy inside & out!

THE PLATE METHOD is a simple way to guide and manage getting proper nutrients for your body's cellular health with built-in portion control too.  Although it's widely called the "Plate Method", principles of healthy eating are going to be your choice to make when you fill the plate.  No one food contains all the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals needed, so you have to eat a variety of different whole foods-- Here's how:

Mentally divide your plate into 4-quarters.   

Next look at it as you would a clock:
 
Between 12 and 3:  Fill with leafy green vegetables and your favorite salad veggies (minimally use healthy oils-not more than 1 teaspoon, or low carb salad dressings-not more than 1 tablespoon).
 
Between 3 and 6: Fill with your favorite “Rainbow” vegetables (strive for a variety having at least 2 or more out of the 5-colors per day).
 
Between 6 and 9: Fill with whole grains or starchy vegetables
 
Between 9 and 12:  Fill with animal proteins or plant proteins.


THE PORTION SIZES WE GET ACCUSTOMED TO CREATES OUR CONSUMPTION NORMS

We develop our eating habits early in life around “consumption norms” which is not only what we eat, but how much.  Carefully controlled studies of portion sizes have been conducted and indicate that psychologically we are influenced by many external factors as to what normal portion sizes look like, which therefore affects how much we eat, often this pattern becomes unconscious to us.

WHAT CAUSES PORTION DISTORTION?

Plate shapes and package sizes, lighting and layout, color and convenience--these are some of  the hidden persuaders that can contribute to how much food a person eats, here are few other ways:

1. Portions distortion in American restaurants, especially fast food joints, has led to super-sized drink sizes and value meals (more food for less money marketing strategy).  Since the late 1970s this has coincided with an increasing geographic saturation of convenient dining options and these businesses have had to compete with each other for our dollars.  As consumers we’ve gotten conditioned to expecting these portions and if we get less, than we don’t feel we’re getting value—our monies worth.
2. The same portion distortion we see in restaurants can be found with the wide-range of sizes offered in supermarkets.  With the introduction of less expensive generic products and price-leading brands, food companies and more popular brands realized the best way to compete is not with price-wars, but with size-wars.  This has resulted in huge boxes of cereal and large double packs of all kinds of packaged foods—often found in warehouse club stores.  
3. The same super-sizing that has happened with serving sizes in restaurants and package sizes in grocery stores has also been happening in our homes.  As people’s appetites have grown, so has the size of our dinnerware, glasses and flatware that we purchase for our home-use.  The average dinner plate we commonly use today measures 11 or 12 inches across compared to plates measuring 7 to 9 inches in past decades.  Many restaurants are using plates that are around 13 inches in diameter. ​

HOW CAN WE DOWNSIZE OUR CONSUMPTION NORMS?

Environmental factors influence eating because they increase consumption norms and decrease consumption monitoring. For example when we eat while watching TV, or utilizing our smart phones and I-pads, these are distractions that disconnect us from the food and lead to mindless eating and less satiety.  Flat-out decreasing how much we eat by consuming smaller portions is another way, but that’s easier said then done.
 
Willing ourselves to not overeat from large servings, large packages, and large dinnerware will not suffice.   The best approach to re-balancing our eating patterns is to change our environment.  The answer is to eliminate large servings, large packages, and large dinnerware from our lives.
 
This can be done painlessly in small steps.  A shopper can buy smaller sizes.  A restaurant diner can split their orders in two, or order an appetizer instead of an entrée, or get a to-go box for half.  At home, we can create our own single sizes, or use the plate method to control portion sizes and help select, as well as balance eating enough whole-nutritious foods that fuel our body cells.

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By Judith Garner, Certified Health Coach
Helping people stay healthy inside & out!

​Fruits and vegetables get their vibrant colors from naturally occurring ‪phytonutrients and pigments.  There are three main types of pigment: carotenoids, which give orange and yellow vegetables their colors; flavonoids, which provide blue, red and cream colors; and chlorophyll, which makes greens green.

• Phytonutrients are chemicals produced by plants that give them disease-fighting abilities.  Plants use these chemicals for protection from germs, fungi, bugs, and other threats.  These substances are discovered to be beneficial to human ‪health and help prevent various diseases.

 

• There are thousands of different kinds of phytochemicals in any one typical fruit or vegetable.  Tens of thousands of phytochemicals have been identified, and researchers estimate that there are more they haven’t yet discovered.

 

• Studies show phytonutrients can:  Act as antioxidants; stimulate enzymes that remove toxins and carcinogens from our body; strengthen the immune system; keep hormones balanced; act as antibacterial or antiviral agents; cause cancer cells to die; repair DNA damage caused by smoking and other toxic exposures.

For an extensive listing of fruits and veggies in each color range visit:
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/fruit-and-veggie-color-list

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By Judith Garner, Certified Health Coach | Certified Processed-Free America™ Facilitator
Helping people stay healthy inside & out!

Cells in the body can malfunction in several ways generally caused by deficiency or toxicity.  Therefore what we consume and absorb into our bodies, whether it be food or through skin absorption, is critical to health. 

The human body of cells must have both organic nutrients and inorganic chemical compounds to function properly:

• Organic nutrients are nourishing components that occur naturally in food and include amino acids (the body uses amino acids to make human proteins), carbohydrates, essential fatty acids (fats), and vitamins.
• Inorganic chemical compounds such as dietary minerals, water, and oxygen are also nutrients needed by cells. 

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If we become malnourished because the food we are eating does not supply all the nutrients that our body cells consistently require to function properly, then health abnormalities and disease start to develop.  It's like a slow starvation. 

​EATING MINDFULLY:  LIVE FOODS VERSUS DEAD FOODS

Eating for our cells first by making mindful and prudent food choices really helps to avoid over-eating and craving ultra-processed, enriched and synthetically fortified foods.   Looking at fueling the body's cells with the nutrients they require, there is just no comparison between which type of eating is healthiest when analyzing synthetically manufactured-foods versus naturally grown whole-foods.  ("whole-foods" means as close to their natural state as possible and minimally processed.)  Living cells can thrive on live foods but must strive to keep up and ail on dead foods. 

​Many people feel they are eating a healthy diet, yet any type of food that comes in a package, wrapper, can, carton, etc. can contain synthetic chemicals, preservatives, additives and food dyes--all of these are widely used today by food manufacturers giving their food-products addicting flavorings and extended shelf lives.  You may be gaining weight and harming your cellular health unknowingly, if you regularly ingest too much of these types of foods.  Ultra-processed foods can get stripped of natural nutrients during the manufacturing process and are frequently enriched or re-fortified with synthetic vitamins.​

The convenience of preparing packaged microwave foods in just a few minutes or picking up dinner from a nearby fast food restaurant can be appealing when hungry and short on time.  But, regularly consuming an overload of these types of foods and sugary beverages, such as sodas, can overwhelm cells and organs.  Especially the liver, which filters and detoxes everything that comes in and out of the body.  Over time, the body becomes sluggish, malnourished, and physical breakdowns can start to occur affecting our moods and mental health.   ​

Whole natural plant foods contain soluble fiber that slows the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.  And, that's just one of the advantages of eating plant-based which includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts.  This type of food is nutrient rich, and it is the type of food that body cells thrive on most.  Cautiously, now-a-days we do have to consider consuming organically-grown produce and grains versus the standard fare to avoid ingesting dangerous pesticides, vastly sprayed on farm crops, that leave residues in the plants. 

Buying organic can up the cost of the grocery bill since organic foods are generally more expensive. Sadly, that's another reason population of people end up eating so much ultra-processed foods.  They are inexpensive and convenient. Still, there is no comparison between eating naturally grown whole foods versus synthetically manufactured foods!  Article link:​ The Clean Eating Lifestyle

NUTRIENT ROBBERS:  WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR IN PROCESSED-PACKAGED FOODS

Read ingredient labels diligently and watch out for these nutrient robbers that can overwork and starve body cells:

• Preservatives-  To give their food products longer shelf lives, adding preservatives becomes economically valuable to manufacturers and supermarkets  because it gives them more time to sell before the food spoils or reaches its expiration date.  The most common preservatives--and possibly the most dangerous in your body--are hydrogenated oils, or trans fats.  These are oils that have been solidified with hydrogen and then added to food to preserve it.  When you eat processed foods that have been preserved this way, you are eating this fat.  Trans fats (hydrogenated oils) are among the worst kind of fat to consume as your body cannot easily digest them.  Trans fats have been linked not only to obesity, but also to a variety of health issues.   Alternatively, natural whole-foods do not contain trans fats.

 

• Additives-  Two of the biggest causes of food addiction, weight imbalances and disruption to healthy body cells when it comes to food additives are high fructose corn syrup and refined sugars.  Refined sugars are used to enhance the flavor of most all packaged processed-foods and drinks, from soda to ketchup, jellies, syrups, and pretty much any other sweet condiment or sauce that is not organic (having limited synthetic input).  The body cannot break down high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar as effectively as simple-natural sugars (found in real fruit).  Refined sugars are devoid of any fiber or nutrients that body cells require, yet still must be digested and eliminated.  Because this takes cellular energy, other tissues in the body may be robbed of nutrients the cells need in order to metabolize it.  Just two tablespoons (6-teaspoons) of refined sugar can have a destabilizing effect biochemically in the body for hours.  Eating refined sugars at every meal--breakfast, lunch and dinner--is extremely detrimental.  Today, the average American consumes about 17-teaspoons  (71.14 grams) everyday! See more statistics about sugar: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Added-Sugars.pdf

 

• ​Food colorings and artificial dyes- Food manufacturers color foods for a host of reasons.  To make food more attractive, appealing, appetizing; to correct natural variations in color, or provide color to colorless foods; and to offset color loss due to light and air exposures, moisture, temperature extremes, and storage conditions.  They can use natural colorings derived from plants, animals, and other organic materials, or artificial (synthetic) colors made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum (a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt and tar).  Artificial dyes can be mass-produced at a lower cost than that of gathering and processing the materials used to make the natural colorings.  They can be longer-lasting than natural ones also adding shelf life.  Food colorings and dyes may cause allergic reactions in some people and hyperactivity in sensitive children. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an independent, science-based consumer advocacy organization:  Commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, and Red 40, pose risks including hyperactivity in children. Some also pose a risk of cancer (like Red 3) and allergic reactions.  cspinet.org/eating-healthy/ingredients-concern/food-dyes

 

• Enriched Flours-  Almost all bread, pasta and baked goods are made with white flour, or highly processed flours- a derivative of what was once a wheat grain.  When wheat is ground up and processed into white flour, it is no longer the same wheat physically or nutritionally.  Almost all nutrients once contained in wheat are lost in the process of creating white flour.  In 1941, severe nutritional problems prompted our U.S. government to pass legislation requiring certain nutrients be added back into the flour.  Therefore, the flour has to be "enriched" during the processing to add some, but not all the stripped nutrients lost back in synthetically.  Eating this kind of flour is like an anti-nutrient in the body causing lacking nutrients to be leached from body tissues by cells during digestion--similar to what happens when consuming refined sugars.  Lack of ample nutrition can lead to serious health issues.

​Vitamin and mineral deficiencies, low intake of fatty acids and omega-3 (a type of fatty acid) can contribute to altered moods and mimic various mental health issues. ​  ​Scientific research shows that eating healthy foods can drastically improve our moods.  It does so by helping to avoid fluctuations in blood sugar and food allergies that can have a great effect on one's mood. 

“The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in.”  -B.K.S. Iyengar

By Judith Garner, Certified Health Coach
Helping people stay healthy inside & out!
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