Tag Archive for: antioxidants

How Dieting Speeds Up Aging

I don’t know about you, but aging “scares” me a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to be getting older (certainly better than the alternative, right?). But I’ve always been happy when people say I don’t look my age. So, I’m all for doing what I can to healthfully slow down the aging process.

 

There are many things that can speed up the aging process. Some of those things include sleep deprivation, stress, and smoking just to name a few. But one thing that you may not realize is that ….

 

DIETING speeds up aging!

 

Many people diet to feel and look younger, but constant yo-yo dieting actually speeds up the aging process.

 

So how does this happen? Let me explain.

 

Stress!

 

Chronic dieting, calorie counting, tracking food, points, weighing and measuring, worrying about “what I ate”, “what I am eating”, and “what I will eat” causes stress!

 

PLUS, the body worry that comes with dieting…oh my, it’s a lot to handle.

 

“How do I look”, “am I the biggest one here”, “I hate my body”, sound familiar?

 

Body worry fuels the dieting cycle and it all causes immense stress on the body. And, stress causes inflammation in the body, which breaks down the body.

 

3 Ways Stress Causes Aging:

 

1. Stress triggers the fight or flight response. What happens in the fight or flight response is initially, epinephrine is released which causes an increase in heart rate, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Blood is being pushed to the muscles and heart and you’re breathing more rapidly, all so you can either fight or flee.

 

Then, with continued stress, cortisol, another stress hormone, is released which increases fat storage, fatty tissue buildup and weight gain, increased appetite, and cravings for sugary and fatty foods.

 

As you stay in a chronically stressed state, it wears your body down over time.

 

The increased epinephrine causes damage to blood vessels and arteries, increasing blood pressure, and increasing risk of heart attack and stroke.

 

The increased cortisol continues to cause the body to store more fat, increasing appetite, and cravings for sugary and fatty foods.

 

It also increases the risk of osteoporosis and weakens the immune system.

 

All these things speed up aging.

 

So, if you are chronically dieting, yo-yo dieting, and spending a large percentage of your day thinking and worrying over food and your body, this is causing a chronic stress situation.

 

2. Stress affects your DNA. Scientists measure the rate at which we age by examining the length of our telomeres, regions found at the end of our chromosomes that naturally diminish as we age.

 

Recent research has found that certain lifestyle factors affect the rate at which our telomeres shorten. I’m speaking specifically about stress. As our level of stress and exposure to cortisol rises, the more quickly our telomeres shorten, aging us prematurely.

 

And guess what raises cortisol? Dieting. The combined effort of counting calories and restricting calorie intake increases your cortisol, which not only makes your body hold onto fat and prevent weight loss, but also causes your body to age more rapidly!

 

3. Stress increases the production of free radicals. Free radicals are created by exposure to things such as smoking, pollution, sun exposure, alcohol, as well as happen naturally. These free radicals cause an inflammatory response in your body.

 

Restrictive eating, a.k.a. dieting, limits your intake of different foods, depending on which diet you are following (because we know diets often contradict each other), which limits the ingestion of antioxidants which are substances that help reduce the free radicals and therefore the inflammation.

 

Chronic dieting, restriction, food fear, food worry, and body worry, all lead to chronic stress which increases inflammation in the body, and thus speeds up aging and risk of chronic health conditions.

 

You ready to stop dieting? Download my free eBook to get started!

 

And join me LIVE today to delve deeper into how dieting speeds up aging. It’s all happening in my Facebook Group.

 

 

 

Digging Into Desserts as an Intuitive Eater

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, I am often asked about the role that dessert plays in our eating plan. Many people who are stuck in the diet mentality see certain foods as off-limits. This is largely due to the many diets they’ve been on that place foods into two categories, healthy foods and “junk foods” (or “good” and “bad”, “legal” and “illegal” etc…you get the idea).

 

When food is labeled as forbidden, it just becomes that much more appealing. When you place limits on how many sweets you can have or when you can have them, you are giving that food power over you. You are treating certain foods like a vice instead of a delightful treat to be savored.

 

Food is not meant to be categorized in such a way. As a matter of fact, I have a pet peeve when people call food “junk food”. Food is not junk and food is not garbage. Food nourishing to our body and soul. Food is neutral and there are ways you can incorporate what you would call “junk foods” into your eating style without demonizing it.

 

In order to build a healthy relationship with food, it is imperative to stop demonizing it, and look at it as a source of nourishment.

 

When working with my intuitive eating clients, I take them on a journey in which, together, we work to rebuild a happy and healthier relationship with food. During this journey, we reframe the way they way they look at desserts and sweets, and refer to these foods as either “fun foods” or “play foods.” They find it enjoyable to incorporate play foods into their eating style once they rebuild that trust within their body. They no longer fear these foods.

 

Chocolate chip cookies, lemon meringue pie, and salty caramel ice cream are not “off limits”. As you learn to enjoy all foods on your intuitive eating journey, you will find that every food has a place in your life, if you so choose.

 

Some sweet treats that can’t be beat:

  • Anything with berries in it. Berries are a great way to sweeten up any meal or snack. They have antioxidants, they protect your cells from free radicals and they are delicious. Check out my favorite ways to add berries into my meals.

 

  • Cookies, in any shape and size. Cookies are great because you can have one or two or five! You decide based on your level of hunger, not based on a pre-determined portion. To learn more about these delicious treats, check out my blog post.

 

  • Nuts – I’m just nuts about nuts. Nuts are packed with nutrients, fiber and healthy fat making them the perfect snack or after dinner dessert. While nuts might have once been an “off limit” food for you, as an intuitive eater you are now embracing them for their healthy fat content. Learn more about the various nuts and how to incorporate them into your menus.

 

  • The perfect parfait. Parfaits are a great after dinner treat, especially when they are homemade and you get to decide what to put in them. For simple instructions on how to make your own click here.

 

In practicing an intuitive eating lifestyle, you will learn how to pay attention to your body’s internal hunger and fullness cues.

 

Quick Tip

When you are eating a food, try and remember how that food is affecting you both mentally and physically.

 

Remember how you felt after eating a quinoa salad and compare that to after you had a giant cheeseburger. When you pay attention to how foods affect you, you will feel more in charge of your eating. You may not crave that BLT as much when you realize how much better you feel when you eat a yogurt for breakfast instead. Don’t get me wrong, there are mornings when a giant stack of pancakes is in order, however as you become more intuitive and skilled at listening to your body, this may not be as common of an occurrence as before.

 

Interested in learning more about intuitive eating? Contact me to learn more about my various intuitive eating programs.

 

Your Turn to Take Action: What is your favorite sweet treat? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

I Eat the Yolk. Do You?

I love eggs. I enjoy them scrambled, in an omelet, hard boiled or in egg salad. But for years before I became an intuitive eater, I would only eat the egg whites. So, my scrambled eggs would be scrambled egg whites, my omelet would be an egg white omelet, I’d eat the hard-boiled egg whites and chuck the yolk, and my egg salad was really egg white salad.

 

Yes, I had demonized the egg yolk – sorry yolk, didn’t mean to do it – I was influenced by diet culture telling me that the yolk was “bad”, it was full of fat and cholesterol, and I needed to throw it out!

 

I even look back on the meal plans I created for my clients who wanted to lose weight (I don’t do this anymore, thank goodness!), and if I was recommending eggs for breakfast, it would always be egg whites.

 

How unfair.

 

Now, as an intuitive eater I no longer fear the yolk.  I eat the entire egg. And, as a RDN and certified intuitive eating counselor, I encourage my clients to eat the entire egg as well (but only if you like eggs of course!)

 

Your food fear is real. You have been told countless times by diet culture that there are “good” foods and “bad” foods and that you are “good” or “bad” based on what you eat. Your entire day is considered “a good day” or “a bad day” based on what you’ve eaten. This list of foods includes what you’d consider snack foods such as chips, cookies and ice cream. But it also includes foods that you would consider meal food such as eggs, dark meat chicken, and white potato.

 

I think about the dozens of eggs I threw out because I substituted egg whites for whole eggs in all my recipes. Granted, sometimes egg whites perform better in recipes if you want a fluffiness to the final product. But more times than not, that’s not the reason I was throwing out the yolks.

 

Just this past Sunday I made a veggie omelet for my husband for lunch. I automatically used 2 whole eggs. And then I made one for myself. What a great feeling cracking the egg and using the entire egg!

 

The final product is so much more satisfying than eating just egg whites. It has what we call staying power!

 

Aside from the satisfaction factor (which happens to be one of the intuitive eating principles), whole eggs are a nutrition powerhouse!

 

Yes, we can talk about nutrition on your intuitive eating journey. Remember, one of my 3 essential ingredients is Nutrition Education (learn more here).

 

Egg Power

Eggs is a source of high-quality protein. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

 

Some of the nutrients found in eggs include:

  • Vitamin B12 – helps with red blood cell formation, manufacturing DNA and nerve cells, and carbohydrate metabolism
  • Folate – helps with red blood cell formation and DNA metabolism
  • Pantothenic acid – aids carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism
  • Zinc – helps in wound healing
  • Iron – essential for oxygen transport
  • Vitamin E – promotes antioxidant activity and cell membrane integrity
  • Chromium – aids in growth and glucose tolerance

There’s More…

 

Eggs are also rich in choline – important for brain function, the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin – necessary for eye health, and vitamin D – a key factor in bone health.

 

As an intuitive eater, you are in charge of your food choices. And you will find that you make food choices that honor your health and your taste buds. What a beautiful balance that is!

 

Need help navigating this balance? Just reach out to me HERE!

 

 

Appreciating the Taste and Goodness of Strawberries

strawberryOne of my 3 essential ingredients I teach to help you break free of dieting and get the body you love is Nutrition Education. I don’t usually write much about nutrition on the ‘Diet Free Radiant Me’ blog because I typically focus on the first 2 essential ingredients (Healthy Mindset and Caring Support) before embarking on Nutrition Education. But I decided to change it up for today (to read more of my nutrition blogs, visit The Nutrition Key with BRG).

 

Summer is just around the corner and with the weather finally warming up, it’s starting to feel more like my favorite time of year. Summer is a great time to enjoy so many of nature’s wonderful fruits like peaches, watermelon, and cherries but the one I look forward to the most is strawberries!

 

I know, strawberries are available the majority of the year nowadays but they taste so much better during the summer months. These little red gems not only taste great but are also wonderful for your health!

 

Little Berry with Big Benefits

 

Strawberries may be small in size (although I saw some really big ones the other day) but they definitely make up for that in nutrient content. Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C; one cup of strawberries actually offers 141% of your daily-recommended level of vitamin C. Vitamin C is one of those vitamins of utmost importance. It aids in boosting your immune system and serves as a key antioxidant.

 

Vitamin C is not the only antioxidant found in strawberries, they contain several other antioxidants, flavonoids, and phytochemicals. These other compounds can help reduce the amount of free radicals in your body, which can possibly help reduce your risk of cancer, inflammation, and heart disease.

 

Did you know that strawberries are also one of the fruits lower in sugar? One cup of strawberries contains about 50 calories and only 7 grams of sugar! No wonder they make a great snack or addition to any meal!

 

Add a Little Color to Your Plate

 

Strawberries make a great addition to any meal! One of my favorite ways to enjoy this berry is in my salads. Typically I chop up whatever veggies I have in my fridge, add some grilled chicken or sliced turkey breast, a spring mix and add sliced fresh strawberries for a touch of sweetness!

 

Another favorite of mine is to add chopped strawberries to plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and some chopped almonds or walnuts. The balance of flavors and textures is the perfect start to any morning or afternoon snack.

 

If you’re feeling adventurous, try a strawberry salsa. Just chop up some fresh strawberries, a jalapeno, a half of a red onion, salt, pepper, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. You now have a great topper for grilled fish or chicken or a great dip!

 

Your turn to take action: Liven up your next meal with some in-season strawberries. Let me know your favorite way to enjoy this summertime fruit!