Things that hurt your metabolism

1.     You don’t get good sleep. If you're chronically sleep deprived, don’t be surprised if you gain a few pounds without eating a morsel of extra food. “A lack of sleep can cause several metabolic problems,” says nutritionist Seth Santoro. “It can cause you to burn fewer calories, lack appetite control and experience an increase in cortisol levels, which stores fat.” Lack of sufficient sleep — which experts say is 7 to 9 hours a night for most people — also leads to impaired glucose tolerance, a.k.a. your body's ability to utilize sugar for fuel. “We all have those less-than-adequate nights of sleep,” says nutritionist Lisa Jubilee. “But if it's a regular thing, you're better off lengthening your night's sleep than working out, if fat loss or weight maintenance is your goal.”

2.     You started your day dehydrated. For Jubilee, one of the best and cheapest ways to give your metabolism a jolt is to drink water (she suggests 20 to 32 ounces) shortly after waking. Why? During sleep, your body’s metabolic function slowed, and unless you woke up in the middle of the night to swig some water, it didn’t receive any fluids. Jubilee suggests completely rehydrating before stressing your body with any other food or drink. “My clients who have implemented this report less bloating, more energy and a smaller appetite,” she says. Her motto for getting your inner furnace stoked and ready for the day: “Rehydrate, then caffeinate!” And caffeinate with tea.

3.     You drank too much caffeine. Plenty of studies indicate that caffeine can boost your metabolism in the AM. But nutritionist Amy Shapiro says that guzzling coffee and other caffeinated drinks all day could actually work against you. Caffeine is a natural appetite suppressant. If you’re constantly consuming it, you may not eat much — or realize how hungry you really are — until you get home for dinner. “Not eating enough throughout the day can make your metabolism sluggish,” she says. “By the time you eat dinner, instead of immediately using that food for energy, your body is aggressively storing it as fat, just in case it will be deprived again.”

4.     You sit too much. Ideally, we sleep about eight hours for every 24. Most people spend another seven to ten hours sitting at their desk. That means most of us spend the overwhelming majority of our time sedentary. Our bodies weren't designed for this level of inactivity — most of humans’ evolutionary history involved being active, searching for food and fuel. Jubilee says that one way to burn more calories daily is to stand more and sit less. She cites a British study which found that standing at work burned 50 more calories per hour than sitting. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, consider this: If you stand for just three hours of your day, in one year you’d expend more than 30,000 extra calories — which amounts to about 8 lbs of fat! Another good office habit: Set a phone timer to remind you get up every hour and walk around, even for a few minutes, says Jubilee.

5.     You ate too many calories too late in the day. “Not eating enough calories in a day is an easy way to slow your metabolism,” says Santoro. “It’s a common mistake people make.” When you don’t consume enough calories, your body switches into starvation mode, and your brain tells your body to store fat. This can increase cortisol levels, leading to belly-fat storage, which comes with health risks. “Eating a large dinner, especially too close to bedtime, can be detrimental to your metabolism,” says Shapiro. “It’s likely to throw off your inner clock and make you not hungry in the morning, which can ultimately lead to weight gain.” It’s at this point in the day that people are more likely to have an alcoholic beverage, which can bedevil your metabolism even more. “When a person drinks, acetate is formed,” says Santoro. “The body spends time trying to detoxify itself rather than burn calories.” He adds that drinking alcohol can impair protein synthesis and anabolic (muscle-building) hormones. Shapiro suggests that you prepare for busy or unpredictable days by packing healthy snacks to keep you from overeating or making unhealthful food choices.

6.     You didn’t eat organic. “Hormones dictate how our body utilizes the energy we give it,” says Jubilee. “Between our reproductive, thyroid and growth hormones, appetite, insulin and hunger hormones — leptin and ghrelin — our bodies have to perform a tricky balancing act to keep us lean, energized and viable reproductive beings.” Those tasks have become much more difficult because of the hormone residues we consume via cage-raised foods. If you want to give your metabolism a leg up, Jubilee says, switch to organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised beef, eggs and dairy products, thereby avoiding those nasty hormones at mealtime.

Best ways to improve metabolism

1.     Eat more dairy. A study published in the journal Diabetes found that a dip in calcium levels can trigger the release of calcitriol, a hormone that causes people to store fat. Many experts support the results and say that a calcium deficiency can slow metabolism. Aim for two or three daily servings of low-fat milk, cheese, or yogurt.

2.     Eat organic foods. Canadian researchers found that dieters with the highest levels of organochlorines (found in pesticides) had slower metabolisms than those with lower levels of the pollutant. Other research, like a study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, reports that pesticides can contribute to weight gain.

3.     Build muscle. Your basic metabolic rate accounts for about 70 percent of the calories you burn every day. People who have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest, according to the Mayo Clinic. The available numbers are conflicting (some experts say that every pound of muscle burns an extra 50 calories a day, while other sources say it’s just six calories), but either way, any muscle boost could help.

4. Drink water. Researchers have found that, after drinking about 17 ounces of water, study subjects’ metabolic rates increased by about 30 percent. The effects were quick and relatively long-lasting: The rise occurred within 10 minutes of drinking the water and lasted for up to 40 minutes. Based on their findings, the researchers estimate that increasing your water consumption by 1.5 liters a day could burn an extra 17,400 calories in a year.

5.   Drink grapefruit juice. Researchers at UC Berkeley found that mice on a high-fat diet that drank sweetened grapefruit juice gained less weight than other mice that drank sweetened water. After 100 days, the juice-drinking mice weighed 18.4 percent less than the other mice, and they had better metabolic health (better blood-sugar levels and insulin sensitivity).

Why you should drink green tea

Green tea is one of the healthiest drinks.

It is loaded with antioxidants, such as flavonoids and catechins. Antioxidants prevent cancer associated cells from attacking healthy cells and can decrease cancer risk. It can help protect against many types of cancer and also helps lower cholesterol, increase concentration and memory.

It is also a great addition to add to your diet because green tea increases fat burning and boosts metabolism. Previous studies have shown that drinking four cups of green tea a day have helped people lose more than six pounds over the course of two months. Other health benefits of green tea include improved brain function, increased energy, decreased risk of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer, lowers your risk for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, lowers your risk of infection and improves dental health as it kills bacteria, may lower your risk for Type 2 diabetes, may lower your risk for heart disease, may decrease your risk of dying, and lowers your risk for obesity.

One specific catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), is unique to green tea and is abundant as a result of the minimal processing through which green tea goes.  Lab studies have shown that EGCG and a few other catechins can be more powerful than vitamins C and E in stopping oxidative damage to cells in addition to potentially having the ability to fight other diseases.  Furthermore, it is thought that EGCG plays an important role in inhibiting DNA synthesis and cell replication, both imperative for the survival of cancer cells.  

For these reasons, studies have shown associations between green tea consumption and a reduced risk for hyperlipidemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, Parkinson's and several cancers including skin, breast, lung, colorectal, esophageal, stomach and prostate.

Diet tips to improve urinary incontinence

Limit caffeine intake. Caffeine is found in soft drinks, teas, chocolate, and even decaf coffee. It makes you feel like you have to go, and it also prompts your body to get rid of liquids. Remove or reduce caffeine from your diet. Don't drink coffee past 7 p.m. Whether you prefer coffee, tea, or soda, limit yourself to one or two caffeinated beverages per day.

Limit spicy foods. Eating spicy foods can make your urinary incontinence or overactive bladder worse. Spicy foods irritate the lining of your bladder just like caffeine does.

Watch how much water you drink. If you don't drink enough water, you can get dehydrated. However, if you have incontinence and drink a lot of water, that can cause problems. It is recommended to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day. However, if you drink too little water, your urine can become concentrated which can irritate your bladder. This may make you feel like you have to go. Therefore, ask your doctor how much water you should drink.

Avoid carbonated drinks. Even if you find one that doesn’t have caffeine, this may not be your best choice. The carbon dioxide in the drink can irritate a sensitive bladder, causing you to have the urge to go.

Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol makes you feel like you have to go more often. Alcohol also affects the messages from the brain to the bladder that tell it when to hold urine and when to go. Therefore, alcohol makes it more likely for you to have an accident. While some people choose to limit their alcohol consumption, it is best to completely avoid it when suffering from urinary incontinence.

How to boost energy without caffeine

We are sorry to be the bearers of bad news but the best way to boost your energy is to eat well.  There are no real short cuts to boosting your energy in a consistent and healthy way.  Doubling up on coffee, 5-Hour energy or energy drinks will give you a boost of initial energy but lead to a crash after a few hours.  This caffeine crash can leave you feeling worse and more tired than before.  So try these simple lifestyle changes to increase your energy level without the caffeine:

1.     Drink more water: Even slight dehydration will cause a drop in energy level.  You may be surprised to know that dehydration actually makes your blood thicker, making it harder for your heart to pump oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs.   Ultimately, this will slow you down.

2.     Don’t skip breakfast: Dubbed the most important meal of the day, skipping breakfast can often lead to fatigue throughout the rest of the day. Breakfast is the best way to boost the metabolism after a night of sleep.  Why? Because the body burns food and nutrients even as we sleep, leaving our reserves depleted by morning.  A meal shortly after waking up is important to replenish this depleted energy and energize the body.

3.     Disconnect from your electronics:  One of the most important ways to maximize your energy is to get a good night’s sleep.  The light given off by our electronics – our phones, TVs and tablets - can actually throw off our sleep cycles.  Your body works like this: ‘if it’s bright it’s time to get up, if it’s dark it’s time for sleep.’  Our body treats artificial light the same as it would natural sunlight.  The glow from our tech devices can keep us awake for longer and make it difficult for our bodies to wind down.

4.     Skip the drink before bed:  It’s a common habit many adults enjoy, an alcoholic drink after a long day of work to unwind before bed.  Seems like a great idea, except that alcohol can actually interrupt your sleep at night.  Initially, alcohol will depress your nervous system and produce a tranquilizing effect helping you to fall asleep.  However as it is broken down as you sleep, it gives the body a surge of energy, likely to wake you up at night.

5.     Don’t change your sleep schedule because it’s the weekend: Altering your sleep cycle on the weekends can leave you feeling tired by the time Monday rolls around.  Obviously, it is unrealistic to expect people to get to bed early on the weekends, but trying to stay close to your regular bed times can be helpful.  If you can’t stay near your regular bedtime, sticking to the same wake time is essential for your body to feel regular and stay energetic throughout the day.

10 foods that make you bloated

1.     Watermelon. Contains a high amount of fructose. Many people can't fully absorb fructose, which leads to bloating, gas, and sometimes diarrhea.

2.     Artificial sweeteners. Sweeteners like sorbitol and xylitol absorb very slowly in the small intestine. This can cause gas, bloating, cramping, and sometimes diarrhea.

3.     Muesli bars. A healthy snack bar which include protein isolate. This is derived from soybeans, which causes gas. Look for foods that do not have soy-derived ingredients.

4.     Yogurt. Yogurt contains dairy, which has certain levels of lactose which gets fermented in your body and makes you bloat. Aim for plain Greek yogurt and avoid nonfat and low-fat yogurts as these often have more sugar which will make you feel gassy and bloated.

5.     Grains. Grains like wheat and rye have non-digestible fructan. If you have a gluten intolerance, eating these grains causes an immune reaction which destroys the lining of the small intestine and leads to gas, bloating, diarrhea, and/or constipation.

6.     Beans. Filled with starch which makes you gassy and bloated. Try soaking the dried beans overnight. Hydrating them will break down some of the starch.

7.     Onions. Onions contain a carb called fructan, which is poorly absorbed and causes increased water content in the intestine.

8.  Dairy products: If you have trouble digesting lactose, this can lead to intestinal distress and bloating.

9.     Gum. Sugarless chewing gum often contains sorbitol, a sugar alcohol which causes digestive distress. Look for sorbitol-free gum.

10.  Vegetables. Veggies like brussels sprouts and broccoli all have a carbohydrate called raffinose. Because we don't make the enzyme needed to break down raffinose, it passes through the small intestine undigested. And when food enters the large intestine without being broken down first, it gets fermented by bacteria. This results in gas and bloating. Try roasting them instead. 

Trick yourself to lose weight

1.     Trick your brain into eating smaller portions. Eat on smaller plates. A huge piece of chicken looks a lot larger on a medium sized plate than it does on a large platter. And a small serving of rice is much more appealing in a small bowl than in a large one. You can only fit so much food onto smaller dishes. Just don't use this method as an excuse to go back for seconds.

2.     Always try to eat at a table. Eating on the go, at your work desk, or in front of the television can be harmful to your weight-loss plan. Research shows that focusing on food, with minimal distractions, can help you enjoy flavors and reduce overeating. Eating at the table can also help with portion control: Prepare your meal, and then commit to yourself that you won't go back to the kitchen for seconds.

3.     Eat before going to the grocery store. If you go to the grocery store on an empty stomach, you’re more likely to buy whatever you think would satisfy your hunger at that moment. Research shows that shoppers bought more high-calorie foods in the hours leading up to dinnertime than earlier in the day. So make sure to have a snack that is packed with protein before you go to the grocery store. Or, plan your trip to the grocery store after a meal. And don't go grocery shopping without a list of healthy foods.

4.     Only eat half the portions at a restaurant, pack the rest to go. Restaurant meals are often too big and loaded with calories and sodium. This is hard to do halfway through the meal, so ask for one half to be packed up as soon as it arrives. This leaves you with a reasonably sized plate of food, as well as an additional meal for another time.

5.     Keep healthy food stocked and visible. A recent study shows that thought process is pretty common. The research suggests that people who eat healthy often do so because nutritious foods like fruits and veggies are visible and easy to reach. Therefore, buy a fruit bowl and put some fruit you like in it. Another option is to keep cut up veggies right in front in your fridge. 

Make time for tea time each day

Before you read this article, go make yourself a cup of hot tea.  You’ll be joining over 158 million other Americans who drink tea, hot or cold, on any given day.  It is one of the healthiest beverages people have consumed for the past 5,000 years and is second only to water as the most widely consumed beverage in the world.  Tea is an all-natural, environmentally sound product coming from a renewable source and tea manufacturers often use recycled paper for packaging. 

Tea is naturally sodium, fat, calorie and sugar free. Tea contributes to good health in many ways – it helps maintain proper fluid balance in the body, it contains flavonoids that neutralize free radicals along with other antioxidant properties that appear to be good for heart health and reduce risk of cancer. 

Hot tea does have some advantages over drinking cold tea.  When tea is steeped, the hot water permeates into the tea leaves drawing out the flavonoids found in the leaves which contain powerful antioxidants.  If you allow the tea to cool down, it loses some of that antioxidant content whereas drinking hot tea allows for maximum antioxidant effect.  In addition, hot tea has a stronger aroma and flavor than cold tea.          

Take time each day to have a cup or two of hot tea.  It’s an excellent healthy alternative to other beverage choices such as sugary juice or soft drinks.

Listed below are several varieties of tea each with their own unique health properties to try out:

·      Green Tea – Made from unfermented leaves, green tea contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols that fight free radicals damaging DNA and changing cells.  In traditional Chinese medicine, green tea has been used as a stimulant, a diuretic to get rid of excess fluid in the body, and to improve heart health.  A phytonutrient green tea contains is EGCG making it very effective at fighting cancers by inhibiting growth of cancer cells.  It may also help prevent or slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease. An 8 ounce cup contains 24-45 mg of caffeine.

 ·      Black Tea – This tea is made from aged leaves and stems whereas green tea is made from fresh leaves of the Camellia sinesis plant. One 8 ounce cup provides anywhere from 14-70 mg of caffeine thus possibly affecting mental alertness and thinking.  Black tea also contains powerful polyphenols helping to prevent tooth decay and kidney stones.  The antioxidants in black tea prevent plaque from building up on the teeth leading to an added bonus of fresher breath. 

·      White Tea – Compared to green and black teas, white tea is the least processed and has the highest antioxidant levels.  It has one of the lowest caffeine content at 15-20 mg per 8 ounce cup.  The impressive antioxidant content of white tea performs various health functions ranging from preventing growth of cancer cells, lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, improving bone density, naturally kills off bacteria and viruses, prevents tooth decay and promotes healthy, radiant skin.  It has a flavor ranging from delicate to robust.

 ·      Oolong Tea – This tea was used widely in China 400 years ago.  It is a fermented tea that has combined qualities between green and black teas.  One of the more common features of oolong tea is it being touted as aiding in weight loss.  It contains a polyphenol that is effective in controlling metabolism of fat by activating certain enzymes that boost the functions of fat cells in the body.  However, more studies need to be conducted before that can be determined.  Oolong tea appears to possibly help reduce eczema, protects teeth from decay, strengthens bones, regulates blood sugar and insulin and may reduce cancer risk. Drinking 8 ounces of oolong tea will provide 30 mg of caffeine.

 ·      Peppermint Tea – If you’re looking for a clean, fresh, invigorating taste from a tea, peppermint tea may just be your choice.  This is an herbal tea sometimes called mint tea.  Peppermint tea is caffeine free making it a relaxing tea to try before bedtime without disrupting sleep.  Health benefits it provides include helping to reduce a fever as it contains menthol which can cause sweating to break the fever, can reduce chances of nausea and vomiting, can relieve coughing, bad breath, stress, and helps reduce the pain of cramps, bloating and indigestion.

 ·      Chamomile Tea – This caffeine-free tea is an herb coming from a flowering plant from the daisy family.  For centuries, both the fresh and dried flowers of chamomile have been used to make tea to treat different health conditions.  It contains an essential oil called bisabolol, having anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.  Are you allergic to ragweed, pollen or hay fever?  Chamomile tea may not be for you as it may cause severe symptoms and it can also interfere with blood thinners. Its health benefits include treating insomnia, anxiety, stomach cramps, migraine headaches, and reducing excess gas and bloating in the intestines associated with irritable bowel syndrome. 

 There are many other varieties of tea to try out – have fun discovering which ones you like best and in the process obtain the many health benefits each provides.

Want healthy gut bacteria? Follow the Mediterranean diet

Once again, the Mediterranean Diet continues to shine as an exceptionally healthy way of eating.  A recent 2015 study demonstrated a direct link between the type of food consumed in the Mediterranean Diet and the production of health-promoting short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in our intestinal tract.

When we eat insoluble fiber from plant based foods such as fruits, vegetables and legumes, it is fermented into SCFAs by bacteria living in the intestinal tract. These SCFAs are beneficial as they appear to help reduce heart disease, diabetes and inflammatory diseases. 

The study looked at 153 Italian adults who followed the Mediterranean Diet.  The Mediterranean Diet consists of large amounts of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fish and low amounts of saturated fat, red meat and dairy foods.  The Italians following this way of eating had high levels of SCFAs and those who consumed the most plant based foods, basically vegetarians, had even higher levels of SCFAs than those who ate meat.  Meat eaters can benefit from SCFAs if they keep portion sizes small and consume more plant based foods.   A compound called trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) found in higher levels of individuals who eat beef, eggs, pork, and fish, is linked to heart disease.  The vegetarians and those who follow the Mediterranean Diet have lower levels of TMAO. 

The message learned here is to eat more plant-based foods having them fill up at least one-half of your dinner plate each day and keeping meat portions to a minimum.  Learn more about following the Mediterranean Diet way of eating and how it can boost your health and reduce disease.