Is Peanut Butter Healthy?

I loved getting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my school lunch box—until I became a teenager. That's when peanut butter turned into a guilt-ridden indulgence akin to candy bars, cookies, and cakes: diet disasters to be avoided at all costs. 

Here's why I was wrong:

It helps you lose weight

Calling peanut butter a diet food, with 180 to 210 calories per serving, may seem counter-intuitive. But it has the enviable combination of fiber (2 g per serving) and protein (8 g per serving) that fills you up and keeps you feeling full longer, so you eat less overall. Plus, there's nothing more indulgent than licking peanut butter off a spoon--and indulgence (in moderation) helps dieters fight cravings and stay on track.

It's packed with nutrition

A serving of peanut butter has 3 mg of the powerful antioxidant vitamin E, 49 mg of bone-building magnesium, 208 mg of muscle-friendly potassium, and 0.17 mg of immunity-boosting vitamin B6. Research shows that eating peanuts can decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that consuming 1 ounce of nuts or peanut butter (about 2 tablespoons) at least 5 days a week can lower the risk of developing diabetes by almost 30%.

It's got the good fat

Peanut butter is chock-full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. A recent study found that insulin-resistant adults who ate a diet high in monos had less belly fat than people who ate more carbohydrates or saturated fat. PS: If you're buying reduced-fat peanut butter because you think it's better for your waistline, save your money. The calories are the same (or even a little higher) thanks to the extra ingredients that are added to make up for the missing fat (including more sugar).

How to buy the best

The fat and calorie counts of most brands of peanut butter are similar, but there are other indications of a healthier pick. Here's what to look for:

Sodium: Counts can range from 40 mg to 250 mg per 2-tablespoon serving. (Organic versions tend to have less.) Keep in mind that higher sodium content tends to mask the peanut flavor.

Sugar: Natural brands have 1 to 2 g—about half as much as commercial brands. The sugar content isn't so much a health issue as a question of flavor and use: If you're making a savory dish like satay sauce or combining peanut butter with a sweet ingredient, such as jelly or honey, save a few calories by choosing an unsweetened brand.

For Sauces

Peanut Butter & Co.'s Smooth Operator is the PB you spoon instead of spread, making it ideal for drizzling over fruit or adding peanut flavor without thickness to sauces or soups.

Straight off the spoon

Smucker's Natural or Organic have the best peanut flavor of the mass-market brands. They have a pure taste and the quintessential stickiness.

For lunches

Nothing beats the spreadability of Skippy Natural. With just a couple of swipes of a knife, you get an even layer of peanut butter on your sandwich. If I were stuck on a desert island, the jar I'd treasure is Adams Organic, which has a pure roasted-peanut flavor and a spreadable but thick texture. 

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Know The Difference (Healthy Fats VS Unhealthy Fats)

Those who say all fats are bad for you are, of course, dangerously incorrect. As it turns out, plant-based fats are powerful cancer fighters, and even saturated fats from plant sources are now being shown to offer extraordinary health benefits.

If you want to prevent cancer, or you're currently battling colon cancer, prostate cancer or breast cancer, it is essential to get plant-based fats into your diet on a daily basis. What kind of plant-based fats are we talking about? What are the healthy fats?

Canola oil is what I consider a neutral fat, meaning it's not necessarily a bad fat, but neither is it considered one of the healthier fats. The healthy fats include extra-virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, and fats from plant sources such as nuts, seeds, avocados, and coconuts.

These healthy fats should be consumed with every meal. Failure to include these fats in a meal will result in many of the nutrients consumed during the meal not being absorbed by the body. That's because many nutrients are fat-soluble nutrients. Beta carotene, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E are three such nutrients that require fat in order to be absorbed and used by the human body, but there are many other nutrients that also need fats for human metabolism.

Incidentally, these oils do much more than just fight cancer, they also improve your cardiovascular health and fight weight gain and obesity. The benefits list is a long one.

A fascinating new study published, shows that dietary fat is necessary for the absorption of nutrients from fruits and vegetables. In the study, people who consumed salads with fat-free salad dressing absorbed far less of the helpful phytonutrients and vitamins from spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and carrots than those who consumed their salads with a salad dressing containing fat.

This is interesting research, but not necessarily all that surprising. We've known for a long time that healthy fats are a critical part of a healthy diet, and that avoiding fats actually causes chronic disease. The key is in choosing the right kind of fats for your diet and making sure you don't overdo the fats, because fats have a very high caloric density and can add far more calories to your meal than you might expect.

The fact is we all need fats. Fats helps nutrient absorption, nerve transmission, maintaining cell membrane integrity etc. However, when consumed in excess amount, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Fats are not created equal. Some fats promote our health positively while other increases our risks of heart disease. The key is to replace bad fats with good fats in our diet.

In other words, if you take super food supplements without fat, you're not getting the same benefit as taking the same supplements with a little bit of fat

The total amount of fat you eat, whether high or low isn't really linked with disease. What really matters is the type of fat you eat. 

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6 Reasons To EAT Salmon

Salmon's reputation as a healthy food is largely based on its unusual omega-3 fatty acid content. It is normal for 4 ounces of salmon to contain at least 2 grams of omega-3 fats - more than the average U.S. adult gets from all food over the course of several days. This omega-3 fat comes in two forms: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). However, salmon is also rich in other properties, such as vitamin D and selenium, each of which have their own powerful health benefits.

Intriguing research into the protein and amino acid content of this fish has found that salmon also contains small bioactive protein molecules (called bioactive peptides) that may provide protection for joint cartilage, support with insulin effectiveness, and control of inflammation in the digestive tract. 

One thing to bear in mind, though, is that all of these benefits are derived from the consumption of wild salmon, and the farmed kind is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Here are 6 health benefits of salmon:

Inflammation

Research on fish intake and joint protection has shown that the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon can be converted by the body into three types of compounds that prevent chronic inflammation. What's especially interesting is that it combines these anti-inflammatory benefits with anti-inflammatory relief related not to fat but to protein.

Recent studies show the presence of bioactive peptides in salmon may support healthy joint cartilage and other types of tissue. One bioactive peptide named calcitonin has been of special interest because it is also made in the human body by the thyroid gland, and we know that it helps regulate and stabilize the balance of collagen and minerals in bone and surrounding tissue. Such peptides may combine with salmon's omega-3 molecules to provide powerful anti-inflammatory benefits for joints. The incredibly high content of vitamin D and selenium found in salmon have also been shown to be key agents in preventing unwanted inflammation.

Cognitive Function

Much research has proven docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to be the most important fat found in the brain, and the substantial content of this omega-3 fatty acid in salmon explains the benefits of salmon intake for thinking and the decreased risk of certain brain-related problems. Salmon intake is associated with decreased chances of depression, hostility in some studies of teenagers, and decreased cognitive decline in older people. Some studies have also demonstrated an association between IQ and a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Of particular interest is the recent discovery of what are called protectins. These are special compounds made from DHA which studies have shown play an important role as anti-inflammatory molecules, particularly when produced by nerve tissue. There has been speculation that some of the brain-related value of omega-3 fish intake may be due to conversion of the DHA in these fish to protectins that can aid in preventing excessive inflammation. Vitamin D has also been shown to be a major factor in supporting cognitive function, and salmon abounds in this nutrient.

Cancer Prevention

Vitamin D has been shown to play a crucial role in lowering the risk of several types of cancer, including breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Salmon contains particularly high levels of vitamin D and selenium, which is also associated with prevention of certain types of cancer, including colorectal cancer.

Omega-3 fat is also connected to decreased risk for several types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. Regular omega-3 intake has been proven particularly effective against the blood cell or lymph cell-related cancers such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Eye Health

It is well known that fish oil is good for improving vision. It also helps in avoiding age related macular degeneration. The omega-3 fats found in salmon have been demonstrated to be effective in combating both macular degeneration and chronic dry eye. In the case of macular degeneration, two servings of salmon per week is enough to significantly decrease risk.

Studies on dry eye have begun to focus specifically on the neuroprotectins made from DHA in salmon and other omega-3 fish. These omega-3 derived molecules might aid in preventing chronic dry eye by alleviating inflammation.

Cardiovascular Health

Intake of salmon has been connected to a decreased risk of numerous cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack, stroke, heart arrhythmia and high blood pressure. Consumption of omega-3-containing salmon is also linked with improved metabolic markers for cardiovascular disease. 

The high levels of the antioxidant selenium in salmon have also been shown to be especially important in cardiovascular protection.

Skin and Hair Health

The omega-3s found in salmon lock moisture into skin cells, encouraging the production of strong collagen and elastin fibers, which contribute to more youthful looking skin. Omega-3s have also been known to alleviate skin blemishes and maintain a good luster of the hair.

Omega-3s provide nourishment to hair follicles, helping hair grow healthy and preventing hair loss. A rich supply of proteins is also important for hair growth. The high protein content of salmon helps maintain strong, healthy hair.

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Are Nuts Fattening?

The question ‘are nuts fattening‘ is one I get asked regularly.

In fact, almost every time I suggest that people should have nuts as a snack, I get some opposition. It’s an interesting one that requires us to take a closer look at the facts…

What the studies say

No-one’s going to argue that nuts aren’t high in fat — they are.

But, many people assume you shouldn’t eat them when trying to lose weight. Studies have confirmed, however, that people who eat nuts have a lower body weight than those who don’t.

Since almonds are a pretty popular nut, let’s think about them for a minute.

First study:

• 81 healthy adults 
• Given 60 grams of raw or dry-roasted almonds for 6 months
• Participants were expected to gain 14 lbs
• Instead weight gain was only 1.3 lbs for men, and 0.3 lbs for women

Second study:

• 20 healthy, overweight women
• Given 65 grams of almonds for 10 weeks
• The mathematical theory of “energy consumed minus energy expended equals weight gain” predicted that women should gain 7.5 pounds
• Instead, the participants’ weight did not change at all. In fact, their weights went on average from 155.9 lbs to 154.6 lbs.

So, it seems clear the impact of nut consumption on weight is either negligible, or non-existent. Also remember that in these studies, participants were not on any sort of diet.

Nothing had changed in their lifestyle other than the inclusion of nuts.

This begs the question, what would the effect of nuts be on weight if they were also part of a weight management regimen?

Other studies have shown that replacing carbs with almonds in a weight loss program leads to greater reductions in body weight and BMI, waist circumference and fat mass. Therefore, compelling evidence suggests you can include nuts in your regular or weight loss diet without fearing weight gain.

So, how can this paradoxical phenomenon be explained?

Are nuts healthy? 

3 reasons why nuts aren’t fattening:

1. Nuts have high satiety properties

People who eat nuts report sharp reductions in appetite. This is because nuts have a high fullness index. Studies have shown that when you eat nuts there is a reduction in energy intake. In fact, about 70% of the energy provided by nuts is offset by lower food consumption at subsequent meals.

2. Nuts are not absorbed efficiently

The fat contained in nuts is not efficiently absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. This manifests itself as elevated fecal fat loss. It’s thoughts that up to 20% of the lipid content of whole nuts will be lost in the stool. This is around 10-20% of the energy contained in nuts.

3. Nuts increase metabolism

Regular consumption of nuts increases resting energy expenditure (REE). This is the minimal energy we spend in one day at rest — just doing nothing.

In one study, people who ate 500 calories per day from peanuts for 19 weeks, showed an 11% increment in REE.

To get an idea of what effect a REE increase of this magnitude would have on your weight, let me explain:

• The average woman in the US (30 year-old, 5’ 4’’ tall who weighs 160lbs) has a REE of 1,511 calories per day
• An increase of 11% in her REE means her body burns an extra 166 calories per day
• She can choose to “eat” these additional calories without worrying about gaining weight, or “leave” them and lose weight at a pace of 1.4 lb per month, or 17 lb per year
• And, that is by just including nuts in the diet, with no other lifestyle changes

Conclusion

Well, although nuts are among the most energy dense foods around, studies show little to no impact on body weight.

This is great news, because nuts have so many health benefits. Therefore, excluding them from your diet would be crazy! Next time you feel like indulging, go for whole, raw, unsalted nuts, and don’t feel guilty about it!

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12 Things You Can Do To Live Healthy

The Problem With Most Diet Plans

New fad diets in books and magazines and the Internet are a dime a dozen. Some of them are actually pretty decent, but almost all of them have one single flaw that will make it very difficult for anyone to stick to them.

The flaw? 

They try to get you to change your entire diet at once. That just doesn’t work for most people. I’ve tried lots of diets, and for the first week, I’m extremely enthusiastic and determined. But such a drastic change in diet is hard to sustain, and soon you give in to temptation and then it falls apart. We’ve all been there.

The Power of Small Changes

That it is about is making changes to your diet one small step at a time. Baby steps. The miracle of this is that we adjust to these small changes after a couple weeks, until they seem normal and we don’t feel like we’re depriving ourselves of anything.

Take meat for example. Let’s say you wanted to become a vegetarian, and you cut out all meat from your diet completely. You’d feel very deprived, and you might have a very hard time. Most people wouldn’t last very long — maybe a week or two at most — before caving in and eating meat and feeling guilty.

But let’s say instead that you just started with beef. Well, at dinner tonight, you probably wouldn’t notice much because you could have chicken or fish or turkey or pork — all the stuff you might normally eat. After a few weeks, going without beef would seem normal, and you probably wouldn’t miss it much.

Repeat that process for pork, and soon you’ve cut red meat from your diet (assuming you don’t eat much venison or buffalo or otter or whatnot). Then do chicken — this might be a difficult stage for many — and just eat seafood for awhile. After a few weeks of that, though, you’d get used to it. Next step is dropping seafood, and soon you’re a vegetarian who doesn’t miss meat one bit.

I’m not saying you need to become a vegetarian. I’m saying that small steps, taken a few weeks at a time, makes the process much easier. I’ve done it with meat, with fried foods, with sweets, with eating more fruits and whole grains, and many other food changes, and it’s worked every time.

You get used to it, if you do it a bit at a time.

The 12 things you can do to live healthy

Actually, what follows is just an example. You can use as many steps as you want, making whatever changes you want. This is just a sample of what can be done, to give you some ideas.

The rules:

• Apply these changes, one at a time, until you get used to them. This will probably be 3-4 weeks per step. But in a year’s time, you’ll be eating as healthy as possible.
• Focus as much energy as possible on each change for at least a couple weeks. Don’t deviate if you can. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
• If it seems too difficult, make a smaller step instead. For example, instead of cutting out sweets, just cut out cakes and donuts. Smaller steps make things much easier.
• Always replace bad food with healthy food that you enjoy. What I’ve given are just examples — everyone has different tastes.

OK, so here’s an example of the 12 things you can do to live healthy:

1. Eat fruits for snacks. If you snack on junk food during the day, have some fruits by your side at all times. When you’re feeling hungry for a snack, eat a fruit. One of those bags of small apples is a handy thing — you can’t go wrong with apples.
2. Drink water instead of soda. The only thing I drink (besides an occasional beer) is water. I’m not saying you need to do that, but try to cut out sugary drinks a bit at a time, replacing them with water.
3. Eat whole grain bread. If you eat white bread or bagels or whatever, replace them with whole-grain versions. Be sure to look at the ingredients — it shouldn’t say enriched wheat flour, but whole grain. Also try to avoid breads with high-fructose corn syrup (actually, avoid that ingredient in anything).
4. Add fresh veggies to dinner. If you don’t already, have some steamed greens with dinner. Cut out a less healthy side dish if you usually eat something else.
5. Cut out red meat. You can still eat poultry and seafood for now. You can later cut those out too if you want.
6. Make pizza instead of ordering. Homemade pizza is the best, and if you haven’t made it yet, you should. The simple way is to get a ready-made whole-wheat crust, although making your own tastes even better. Start with the simple version, though, as you don’t want to make things too difficult. For the simple version, just add some gourmet spaghetti sauce (not Ragu), cut up some veggies (I like tomatoes and mushrooms and spinach and olives, but you can use anything, even potatoes). Brush the veggies with some olive oil. You can add grated cheese or soy cheese if you want, though it’s not necessary. Bake till it looks cooked. Mmmm..
7. Nuts instead of chips. If you normally snack on chips, try unsalted peanuts or raw almonds.
8. Soy milk instead of whole milk. Whole milk is fatty (not to mention the suffering done by the cows in modern dairy factories). Soy milk is much healthier. You get used to it after awhile, like all the changes on this list, but if soy milk is a problem at least drink 1% milk.
9. Whole grain cereal. If you eat sugary cereal, try a whole-grain cereal instead.
10. Berries instead of candy. This is a recent change of mine, and it’s actually been much easier than I thought. I used to snack on chocolate candy all the time, but now I try to eat berries to satisfy my sweet cravings and it works!
11. Scrambled tofu instead of fried eggs. Scrambled tofu is a secret vegan wonder.
12. Try some great veggie dinners. There are so many good ones out there if you haven’t tried them.

The key is to persevere, taking baby steps, one step at a time. However slow you are, no matter what, if you're persevering, you'll eventually get there. Good luck!

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5 Tips To Burn Fats

I'm going to share with you 5 practical tips on how to turn your body into a fat-burning machine – information that you can implement on your daily basis, both in and out of the gym or any workout environment. A lot of times they say that 'you are what you eat' so it's actually very important that you know how to work on what you eat first rather than just jumping into the workout schedule and hope everything goes as planned. Instead of quantity specific amounts, I'm going to give you simple ideas that you can almost immediately put it to plan in your everyday life. So let's get started.

Eat Fiber

A high-fiber diet decreases fat and cholesterol absorption in your intestine (preventing fat storage), slows glucose absorption in the bloodstream (meaning more sugar gets burnt as energy, less gets stored as fat), stabilizes insulin levels and delays stomach emptying (both of which decrease your appetite), and makes you full faster (so you eat less). Research has shown that a low-fat, high-fiber diet results in nearly three times more weight loss than a low-fat, low-fiber diet. 

So how do you get your fiber? Here’s how I get mine: 

• 1 fully loaded salad
• 1 bowl of oatmeal
• 2-3 raw fruits every day (fruit bonus: vitamin C in citrus fruit can also help burn fat)

Eat Calcium

Research shows that three or four daily servings of low-fat dairy products can help reduce body fat. Higher levels of calcium stored in the fat cells may help enhance fat breakdown, as well as induce an increase in thermogenesis (the body’s core temperature). The best calcium should come from dairy products like low-fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese (and not from a calcium supplement). Other good sources, especially for those who are lactose intolerant, include dark leafy vegetables, salmon, almonds, and oats (notice the extra fiber bonus).

Eat Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Studies have shown that people who include a large and healthy breakfast in their diet lose significantly greater amounts of fat than those who avoid breakfast. Skipping breakfast will not help you shed extra pounds, but may instead result in muscle loss and metabolism decreases, both of which hinder your fat-burning ability. A great breakfast example is a large glass of water with a bowl of oatmeal, fresh fruit and nuts. Just remember: breakfast can also work against you if it’s not healthy: fried meats, sweet muffins and croissants, sugar loaded cereals, or processed packages do not count as a healthy breakfast!

Eat Frequently

You’ve heard it a million times before: 5-6 small meals a day is better than 3 large meals. I'd like to step that up a bit: as high as 10 times a day or more may be necessary, depending on your energy consumption and needs. Here's an example (from my personal nutrition log): 

1. Banana 7AM
2. Oatmeal w/ raisins 9AM
3. Handful almonds 10:30AM
4. Three turkey slices 12PM
5. One yogurt 1PM
6. Apple 2PM
7. Large salad 4:30PM
8. One protein bar 7:00PM
9. Handful raisins 8:15PM
10. 1 scramble egg with spinach 9PM (bed at 11PM)

The philosophy behind eating frequently is that the physical act of digestion has a metabolic cost, and by continually feeding, you are maintaining a higher metabolic rate. As long as your grazing is healthy, this results in more calories burnt throughout the day. On the flip side, eating too infrequently causes your body go into starvation mode and conserve energy, which results in increased fat storage and lower digestive and overall metabolism.

Eat Water

Your body constantly uses water to create energy, build muscle, and burn fat, and without adequate water, studies have shown that the muscles are less active, the metabolism drops, and your body burns fat less efficiently. This slight decrease in metabolism can add up to over 10 pounds of fat a year! Water also assists in suppressing the appetite and giving you a “full feeling”. So drink several glasses of water each day, drink a glass of water at least 30 minutes before your workout, sip water regularly at the gym, and drink a glass of water after your workout (speeds up recovery too!). Many naturally occurring foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are also high in water content (as well as fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, etc.), so this is another great way to get your H2O.

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