Practical Nutrition: Don't Get Bitten by Halloween Candy

On October 31, do your kids trick or treat, or attend alternative candy-filled activities? Do you greet superheroes, princesses and ghouls with treats, or do you cut out your lights and hide?

Whether or not you celebrate Halloween, you can't escape the extra candy around now. It's everywhere and conveniently packaged in fun-size portions.

Don't be fooled by those little sizes either. They still have calories, which add up quickly if you eat more than one. Find your favorite candy on the chart and see how it stacks up.

Many labels suggest two or three fun-size bars as one serving. One fun-size Snickers bar has 80 calories, 4 fat grams and 10.5 grams of carbohydrate. A regular-size Snickers (2 ounces) has 271 calories, 13.6 grams of fat, 34.5 grams of carbohydrate. Eating three small bars is almost the same as eating one full-size bar.

I took a casual poll among friends to determine the favorite Halloween candy. It turns out there are as many favorites as there are varieties. Many adults prefer some form of chocolate, with peanut-butter cups being popular. Kids like chocolate too, but prefer sugary Skittles, Gummy Worms, SweeTarts and Smarties. All ages like candy corn.

Enjoy your candy this Halloween, but try some of these strategies to help keep it under control. Remember, everything in moderation.

• Buy candy at the last minute, so you won't eat it all before the trick-or-treaters come. Buy candy you don't like, so you won't be tempted in the first place.

• Set a limit of what candy you and your family eat each day. Don't throw away the wrappers so you can keep track of what's eaten.

• Don't buy candy on sale the day after Halloween unless it has a specific purpose. It makes great stocking stuffers, but hide it with the presents so you won't be tempted.

• Donate leftovers to a worthy cause. Know anyone collecting candy for the troops? But don't take it to work. Those who have successfully removed temptation at home may not appreciate the renewed challenge.

• Some people opt to give out healthful treats instead of candy. Consider individual packs of pretzels, raisins, cheese and crackers, sugar-free gum, or healthful granola bars.

• Nonfood items are also gaining popularity. Some treats you may see are temporary tattoos, stickers, pencils, holiday erasers, small plastic toys, plastic jewelry, bubbles or glowsticks. You can even wrap up small amounts of loose change.

I have one friend who gives out full-size candy bars, and has yet to have his house toilet-papered or egged. Double-check your treat choices with a pint-sized expert so you won't get tricked.
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The Chiropractic Rehab Center of Northern Kentucky provides nutrition counseling and offers a Computerized Nutritional Health Scan for only $25!

www.NKYChiropractor.com

Don't Base Your Diet on Nutritional Myths

We’ve all heard certain “facts” about nutrition so many times that we take them at face value, no longer questioning their validity. I’m going to knock a hole in a few of the things we “know” to be true about food.

Let’s start with the food that’s hardest to avoid: sugar. Those who’ve ever attempted the Atkins Diet or simply tried to avoid sugar probably got a rude awakening when they started reading labels. Sugar is hiding everywhere: lunch meat, ketchup, salad dressings. The average person in the U.S. consumes about “128 pounds” a year, or 34 teaspoons a day. Super-size fountain drink, anyone?

But what about sugar causing hyperactivity in kids? Controlled studies prove that’s false. And doesn’t eating sugar put a person at risk for diabetes? No. What causes diabetes is lack of activity, being overweight and a high-calorie diet. Diabetes patients have to cut way down on sugar, but just don’t go there.

Perhaps you’ve heard that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar. Sorry to disappoint, but brown sugar is white granulated sugar with molasses added. The mineral content between the two is insignificant at the end of the day.

Sugar is a refined food that’s been stripped of fiber, water, vitamins and minerals. Avoid foods that list a variant of it as its first three ingredients. This includes dextrose, lactose, sucrose and maltose. Sugar is calories without nutrients, so picture that 128-pound pile and try to make a dent in it.

The “brown vs. white” myth has carried over into the egg department as well. While they may look more natural, brown eggs have no additional nutritional benefits over white. Nor are they higher quality or more flavorful. Hen color determines the eggshell color. White feather hens lay white eggs; red feather hens lay brown eggs.

While we’re on the subject of protein, I’ll dispel a few other myths.

Low-carb diets will cause temporary weight loss but are not a good long-term idea. You may end up ingesting too much cholesterol, which ups the risk of heart disease. Too few fruits and whole grains can lead to a lack of fiber and constipation. Too few carbs can also make a person feel tired, weak or nauseous. Being wobbly at a party can really detract from a girl’s beautiful size 6 cocktail dress.

Another risk of too few carbs is the buildup of ketones in your blood. The kickoff of the Atkins diet is designed to put your body “in ketosis” … but over time, these ketones cause the body to produce a lot of uric acid, a risk factor for joint swelling (gout) and kidney stones. You’ll also notice your new bad breath, and your friends may too.

Ketosis makes the body use fat instead of carbs as an energy source. The weight you lose may well be lean muscle and water. So much better to reduce calories, fat and exercise.

Final myth: cabbage soup and grapefruit burn fat. Nope, sorry, reread the last few paragraphs. You’ll just lose water weight, lean muscle and feel tired and queasy. And that’s the truth!

www.NKYChiropractor.com



Elaine Hastings

10 Tips For Your Fitness During the Fall

I love the Fall weather, I think that it is the best weather from the Four Seasons. Here are some nice tips to take advantage of Fall to improve your health.

1. Take advantage of the weather. Fall can be a treat for the senses: the crisp air, apple picking, pumpkin carving, a gorgeous canopy of fall foliage, and the crunch of leaves underfoot. These months are a great time to exercise outdoors and enjoy cooler temperatures. Walking, hiking and cycling are all awesome in the fall.

2. Think outside the box. Always wanted to learn to tap dance? Attempt to box? Master the jump rope? Ask any schoolchild: Fall is a great time to learn something new.

Many classes at gyms and elsewhere get started in the fall, so look around and see if something intrigues you.

3. Be an active TV watcher. Many people get geared up for fall premieres of their favorite television shows. If you’re going to sit down and watch hours of TV, get moving. Make a date with exercise and TV.

While you watch, you can walk or run in place, do standing lunges, do tricep dips off the couch, or lift weights. During commercials, do push-ups or sit-ups. In a one-hour show, you probably have close to 20 minutes worth of commercial interruption.

4. Integrate exercise into your life. You already know the obvious suggestions: park farther away from your destination; take stairs instead of elevators; take a walk during your lunch break.

5. Rejuvenate yourself. Fall is the time to rejuvenate body, mind and spirit.

6. Remember the 30-day rule. It takes about four weeks for the body to adapt to lifestyle changes. That’s why people who give up on their fitness programs tend to do so within the first 30 days.

7. Strive for the 3 Cs. "Commitment, Convenience, and Consistency “the three Cs”, having all three will lead to a successful fitness program.

8. Deal with darkness. The best way to enjoy fall is to exercise outdoors. But it is getting darker earlier, and staying dark later in the morning, so be smart and safe.

9. Dress in layers. When exercising outside, layer your clothing. Before your body warms up, you may feel chilled, but once the blood gets pumping, you’ll feel overdressed.

These days, there’s no lack of great weather gear. I recommend clothing with wicking, often called “DriFit". This fabric wicks moisture away from your skin so you’re not exercising with wet fabric hanging on you.

10. Find your motivation. People are motivated by different things. It’s important to first discover what your individual goals are, whether it’s losing weight, strengthening and toning, or preparing for a race or event.

www.NKYChiropractor.com
(859) 331-9566

10 Tips For Your Fall Fitness

Here are some nice tips to take advantage of Fall to improve your health.

1. Take advantage of the weather. Fall can be a treat for the senses: the crisp air, apple picking, pumpkin carving, a gorgeous canopy of fall foliage, and the crunch of leaves underfoot. These months are a great time to exercise outdoors and enjoy cooler temperatures.
Walking, hiking and cycling are all awesome in the fall.

2. Think outside the box. Always wanted to learn to tap dance? Attempt to box? Master the jump rope? Ask any schoolchild: Fall is a great time to learn something new.

Many classes at gyms and elsewhere get started in the fall, so look around and see if something intrigues you.

3. Be an active TV watcher. Many people get geared up for fall premieres of their favorite television shows. If you’re going to sit down and watch hours of TV, get moving, make a date with exercise and TV.

While you watch, you can walk or run in place, do standing lunges, do tricep dips off the couch, or lift weights. During commercials, do push-ups or sit-ups. In a one-hour show, you probably have close to 20 minutes worth of commercial interruption.

4. Integrate exercise into your life. You already know the obvious suggestions: park farther away from your destination; take stairs instead of elevators; take a walk during your lunch break.

5. Rejuvenate yourself. Fall is the time to rejuvenate body, mind and spirit.

6. Remember the 30-day rule. “‘It takes about four weeks for the body to adapt to lifestyle changes. That’s why people who give up on their fitness programs tend to do so within the first 30 days.

7. Strive for the 3 C's: commitment, convenience, and consistency “the three Cs”. Having all three will lead to a successful fitness program.

8. Deal with darkness. The best way to enjoy fall is to exercise outdoors. But it is getting darker earlier, and staying dark later in the morning, so be smart and safe.

9. Dress in layers. When exercising outside, layer your clothing. Before your body warms up, you may feel chilled, but once the blood gets pumping, you’ll feel overdressed.

These days, there’s no lack of great weather gear. Freytag and Price recommend clothing with wicking, often called “DriFit.”‘ This fabric wicks moisture away from your skin so you’re not exercising with wet fabric hanging on you.

10. Find your motivation. “People are motivated by different things. It’s important to first discover what your individual goals are, whether it’s losing weight, strengthening and toning, or preparing for a race or event.

www.NKYChiropractor.com
www.CrescentSpringsChiropractic.com

The Last Straw!

The problem with lifestyle-caused diseases is that the damage happens slowly, often without even a hint of a symptom. Instead, like money in a savings account, it grows with compound interest.

We see this all the time. When the symptoms finally show up and we get the call, the most common refrain is, 'But I didn't do anything.' Sure, bending down to pick up the newspaper shouldn't reduce a grown man to tears. But it was the countless years of ignoring the nagging aches and pains that did the damage. Bending over was merely the last straw.

Ironically, the same people who subscribe to the "don't-fix-it-if-it's-not-broken" philosophy will fuss over their lawns, baby their car with fresh oil and filter and religiously replace their smoke detector batteries. So, why is a simple, "Honey, I think you should go in for a checkup" met with a determined and unexplainable resistance?!

www.NKYChiropractor.com

The Flu Scare!!! What Can You Do?

Well, the scare machine was in full gear in 2009. The H1N1 flu virus was a killer pandemic strain that was going to decimate the earth's population in short order. The pharmaceutical companies couldn't make their injectable potions fast enough. It was a real crisis. NOT.

Latest research in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that the swine flu virus actually had a lower risk of serious symptoms compared to the seasonal flu. And yes, that includes children.

Halfway around the world, at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, research on Vitamin D supplementation and the flu was carried out on school children. This was a double blind, placebo controlled study. Children given Vitamin D supplements during the height of the 2009 flu season had a 42% less risk for coming down with the flu than those that did not.

Back at home the CDC is now recommending that everyone above the age of 6 get the new flu shot which combines the H1N1 and a couple of other strains of flu. Keep in mind that the effectiveness of the flu shot on a good year is about 30%. According to the research, Vitamin D supplements reduces the risk of flu by 42%. Why isn't the CDC recommending Vitamin D? You would have to ask them.

Keep this in mind. Vitamin D supplements [D3] are important. It's a real immune booster. But your body makes its own Vitamin D when you go outside and don't slather your skin with sun block. So why not do both? Turn off the TV, game consoles and computers and send the kids outside to play. What a concept! And while they're discovering the outside world, get a little sun yourself!

If you would like to stock up on your Pharmacutical-Grade Vitamin D Supplements (pure and only available through Health Care Professionals - the best vitamins and supplements that you can buy), call our office at (859) 331-9566 (Press Option 1, then Option 5).

www.NKYChiropractor.com


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Increase Your Energy Level With Water

Water is life and our body cell consists of 90% water. It is the most necessary element for survival next to air.

Water is required for the elimination of toxins and waste through the digestive system, lymph system, liver, kidneys, and sweat glands. It also promotes metabolism, provides oxygen to cells, and fills spaces inside/between cells for healthy skin & toned muscle.

Deficiencies in water can result in excess body fat, poor muscle tone, digestive diseases, muscle pain, and water-retention. And being dehydrated can really increase stress, further impacting your health.

The amount of water that your body eliminates each day is somewhere between 1 and 3 liters, the equivalent of four to thirteen 8 oz. glasses of water per day. The US FDA recommends that women drink 11 glasses and men drink 16 glasses of water each day to stay hydrated.

So, how much water do you need to drink? The general recommendation is that you should consume 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight (30ml/kg) per day (that’s ten eight-ounce glasses for a 160 pound person), unless you are athletically active, in which case you should drink 2/3 ounces per pound (13 to 14 glasses a day at 160 lbs of body wieght).

Other Sources

Part of your daily water consumption may also be from foods and juices. A bowl of oatmeal, or a cup of soup, provides 8 oz. of water. A serving of broccoli or spinach, or a cup of rice, provides 5 oz. of water. Many fresh vegetables and fruits contain 3-5 oz. of water. For example, an apple or a pear contain 5 oz.

Other foods are not as hydrating, such as an egg, which provides about an ounce of water, or a slice of pizza, providing only about an ounce. Snacking on chips provides virtually none.

Some people argue that tea, soft drinks and coffee do not count, however this is in itself arguable. Although these contain caffeine, a known diuretic, which cause the body to expel a small amount of moisture, they do still provide additional fluids.

Juices are also ok, but one should keep in mind the amount of fructose concentrated in a glass of juice. The body has a lot of work to do to process the sugar that is concentrated in a glass of juice. When eating a piece of fruit, the liver has time to process the fructose into energy, but when consuming a single glass of juice, which may contain the fructose of up to six pieces of fruit, the liver becomes taxed and turns most of that fructose into fat.

Distilled, purified or reverse-osmosis water is still water. It is the H2O we’re talking about here as a requirement. However, reverse-osmosis water in particular is devoid of essential minerals that we commonly get from water as one primary source. In this case these minerals must be supplemented.

Signs of Dehydration

Two indicators of advancing dehydration are headaches, and dark colored urine. Thirst is a good indicator of the early stages of dehydration, and you should drink if you are thirsty.

Some suggestions have been made that by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated, but your body creates the sensation of thirst when your body is still within normal hydration limits. However if you are actively exercising you should make it a point to stay ahead of the thirst so that the dehydration does not get ahead of you as you are sweating.

So staying hydrated is not as difficult as one might think. An extra glass or two over what you normally consume in food and fluids may be enough.

But you definitely don’t want to drink yourself into being over hydrated. This can cause hyponatremia, a shortage of sodium and other essential minerals in the bloodstream. This is particularly dangerous during exercise, because these minerals are excreted through the sweat glands. And because these minerals are necessary for maintaining brain and heart functions, deficiencies can cause serious problems (see the post in this blog on Essential Minerals).

In selection of your source of water, filtered water is best, to remove chlorine and associated chloroform, and fluoride. A healthy addition to filtered water is VitaEnhanced Water, which can be added by 1 oz. per gallon to provide an alkalized water source, with added benefits of being ionized.

Also, your energy can increase tremendously when you begin to properly hydrate yourself.
Keep hydrated and stay healthy!

www.NKYChiropractor.com
www.AdvancedWellnessStudio.com