Are you stuck in the seemingly endless cycle of weight loss? Weight loss can feel tricky, especially if you always feel hungry. But here’s something to consider: in the course of one year, for every 100-calorie difference in your diet, your weight will go up or down approximately 10 pounds. If you think about it, …
How Much ProteinTo Eat Patients on low carbohydrate diets are also encouraged to eat more protein. Many ask how much protein they should eat. Now I could give you a formulaic answer by stating you need so many grams per protein per day (click here if you want to read a technical review) but formulas are of …
Good Carbs and Bad Carbs It is important to understand there are some very healthy forms of carbohydrates that you can eat without excessively stimulating your hunger (in future posts look at the lists of low carbohydrate fruits in vegetables that can be incorporated as part of your diet). A mistake that patients of mine …
How Processed Carbohydrates Fuel Your Hunger Part 2 Read More »
The Basic Science of Carbohydrates What are carbohydrates, and how do they increase our hunger and cause us to become overweight? Carbohydrate is the term for a wide range of molecules that are often categorized as starch, sugar or fiber. They are usually derived from plant leaves, roots, seeds or fruit. A few exceptions …
How Processed Carbohydrates Fuel Your Hunger Part 1 Read More »
Not only are eggs the most cost efficient protein to buy, but eggs also have the highest quality of all protein sources. Protein quality is determined by a standard to the amount of essential amino acids in the protein. Within an egg, half of the amount of protein is found in the white, the other …
I recently had the pleasure to travel to the beautiful city of Chicago to visit friends, dine at a few nice restaurants and escape the generally maddening pace of running my medical practice. During our visit we decided to go to Gino’s East to enjoy some of their famous deep dish pizza. Now, many of …
When Deciding What to Eat, Be Sure To Make It ‘Carb Worthy’ Read More »
Do you need to eat carbohydrates to fuel your body? No. Carbohydrates (sugars and starches) are digested in the intestinal tract and transformed into a molecule known as glucose; this is the substance commonly referred to as blood sugar. Glucose is utilized as a energy source primarily for the brain and a small amount for …
Myth: You Need to Eat Carbohydrates To Fuel Your Body Read More »
There are many myths surrounding weight loss. It’s difficult to tell if the bits of advice about weight loss are true or false. One commonly encountered bit of advice is that drinking a glass of water before a meal will help you lose weight. Is this true? Yes, if you drink a lot of water. …
Myth or Fact: Drinking Water Helps You To Lose Weight Read More »
This week there have been many articles circling the web relating to the issue of childhood obesity. The First Lady is pushing her “Let’s Move” campaign towards taking a community approach to changing the way children are living today. The senate is set to discuss limiting the access of junk food in cafeterias and vending …
In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers identified 4 factors tied to reduced disease risk: never smoking, having a body mass index (BMI) lower than 30, performing at least 3.5 hours per week of physical activity, and following a healthy diet. Participants with all 4 factors had a 78% lower …
How To Prevent Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Attacks and Strokes Read More »
Ever since 1953 when a physiologist named Ancel Keys, Ph.D. compared fat intake and deaths from heart disease in seven countries including the U.S., the American medical establishment has clung to an unproven belief that saturated fat was evil. But in 1957, Jacob Yerushalmy, Ph.D. established this research was false and that Keys was guilty of only …
Saturated (Animal) Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease Read More »
A recently published study from the University of North Carolina looking at trends in snacking behavior probably won’t surprise you: Almost all adults (97%) now report snacking at least once a day (up from 71% in the 70s) Adults are snacking more frequently per day. Our snacks contain higher amounts of salt and carbohydrates (dessert foods, salty …
In terms of carbohydrates, an overall reduction of processed, simple carbohydrates in the diet is the best approach for weight loss while maintaining satiety. Specifically, the carbohydrate reduction in the diet should focus on consuming more protein and less bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and corn. Along with that list, a natural reduction of sugars and …
Many patients I see in my practice are taking fish oil supplements and don’t really understand why they are beneficial but just that everyone seems to recommend taking them. Fish and certain plant and nut oils are common natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty acids are special molecules that have a wide array of …
No. In terms of weight loss, breads are arguably one of the worst foods to be consuming. There are grocery aisles with thousands of bread loaves on the shelf, yet very few could even be charactarized as healthy. Many of them contain high amounts of sugars or high fructose corn syrup. There is a large …
What Causes Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome? The last 20 years has seen an epidemic rise in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus in the United States. Extensive research has helped us to understand that the combination of high carbohydrate diets, lack of exercise and increased portion sizes has lead to this problem. Prehistoric humans …
If I Have Insulin Resistance or Metabolic Syndrome, How Can I Make It Go Away? Read More »
Another measure of how processing has altered the nutritional value of foods is the increasing calorie density of food. This can be measured as the number of calories per pound of any given type of food. A shocking example of this is what happens to corn as if goes through modern food processing. One pound …
So where does this unprecedented increase of dietary carbohydrates leave us in the modern era? Modern humans presently consume more carbohydrates in a single day than Stone Age humans consumed in a year, and 20-30% more than we did just a few decades ago. Part of the reason for the significant increase is that carbohydrate-based …
For more than a decade there has been an ongoing debate arguing that organic products are better than non-organic. Both products have their pros and cons, but the biggest concern with consumers is the cost. While your organic red apple may be as red and blemish free as your non-organic red apple, the non-organic is …
Try eating more slowly if you’re looking to shed some pounds. When you eat too fast you can outpace your body’s normal hunger mechanisms that tell you when you are full. The more slowly an individual eats, the more the body is able to release hormones that suppress our hunger. So, eating a moderate …
Just when you thought it was safe to escape the cold and cuddle up with your favorite snacks at the local movie theater, the people at the Center for Science in the Public Interest are popping the lid on movie theater popcorn’s calorie, fat, and salt content. A large popcorn packs the biggest punch, containing …
Don't Be In The Dark When Eating At The Movie Theater Read More »
The holidays can be difficult for those that are taking the low carb approach. Socially involved holidays can be an exception to enjoy your favorite foods. The ham or turkey, green beans, and the acorn squash are the best options for a low calorie and low carb approach, but you can still enjoy your mashed potatoes and gravy on …
For some families, Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without the cranberry sauce. Cranberries are high in vitamin C and have a tiny bit of calcium per 1/3 cup serving. Eaten raw, they are naturally low in carbohydrates and sugars. However, on Turkey day these berries are traditionally served as a sauce or a relish, with sugar as the …
All vegetables are carbohydrates, but you’d be amazed to hear how much lower they are in carbohydrates than grain products. Root vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins, but some rank better than others in terms of calories, fiber and carbohydrate content. Turnip: 1 cup 46 calories 8g carb 2g fiber 5g sugar 1g protein *high in vitamin C, …
Food is an important emotional component in many of our lives. We have incorporated food through the ages for ceremonies involving life, death, religion and family. Because of this, it is important to not feel like the most important meals of your life are being excessively altered by your effort to eat in a more …
A 2004 study that followed mothers of chronically ill children showed that the stress of caregiving actually caused these women to age faster on a cellular level than did the mothers of healthy children who constituted the control group. When cells divide, the protective caps on the ends of the chromosomes, called telomeres, shorten slightly …
Have you ever browsed the grocery isles seen that a product is labeled to be high in vitamin C? Generally it catches your eye and so you think it would be better for you, correct? However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to buy the product just because it is a ‘good source’ of vitamin …
This is my version of an old San Francisco favorite known as New Joe’s Special. This was a favorite of my father’s when he was stationed with the Navy in San Francisco. It’s one of the many dishes my parents have passed onto the kids in our family, and most of us still cook it …
Recipe: New Joe's Special (Low Carb, Easy and Delicious) Read More »
Not necessarily. Juice bottles and cartons are promoting good health by sporting the words ‘immunity’ or ‘super food’ on labels. Many of them are loaded with other vitamins the diet is usually lacking, such as Vitamins A and E. But the diet could also receive these vitamins without the overload of sugar. A ‘pound of …
As many of us have experienced, we can lose 6, 8 or 10 lbs within the first week of almost any weight loss plan. But as we also have experienced, weight lose will slow considerably over time, why is this? The weight dieters’ lose within the first few days is composed of 70% water, 5% …
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