First of all, if you are someone who reads my San Jose chiropractic blogs, you know that as a San Jose Chiropractor I am a passionate advocate of living a healthy lifestyle that, as I’ve written so many times, includes a healthy diet, good hydration, plenty of exercise and, of course, regular chiropractic care!  In addition, I’m sure that if you are someone who is already concerned about your health, you don’t get your diet and nutrition guidelines from watching television. We all know that most TV advertisements that are about food, especially “convenience” food, are meant to sell, sell, sell, whether or not the product is actually good for you. That said, it always nice to take a moment to reflect on just how “unhealthy” TV ads can be. So, I read with great interest an article today in the

Taping 28 days of prime-time TV (as well as Saturday-morning programming) on the four major broadcast networks, researchers identified 800 foods promoted in 3,000 ads. Then, using a nutritional software program, they analyzed the content of the items, comparing the foods’ nutritional values with the government’s food guide pyramid and recommended daily intake values for various nutrients (based on a 2,000 calories per day diet).

Are you ready for this?  Not only would a 2,000-calorie diet made up solely of foods from commercials provide too much cholesterol, saturated fat and salt, and not nearly enough nutrients like iron, calcium or vitamins A, D and E, just one advertised food item by itself would provide, on average, three times a person’s daily recommended servings of sugar and two and half times the daily recommended servings of fat.

The study will be published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

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Nadia Saleh Al-Amoudi of the Department of nutrition and Food Science, at the King Abd Al-Aziz University, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, explains that myrrh is known to have medicinal properties, including antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Read more…

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By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

(healthDay News) — Both a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet such as the popular Atkins program and a low-fat, high-carb diet appear to help people lose pounds over the course of a year.

But as for mood? Only the low-fat diets will result in long-term improvement in mood, according to a study in the Nov. 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

People on both diets consumed roughly the same number of calories.

"Both an energy-reduced, very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and a conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet are equally effective for achieving weight loss in overweight and obese individuals," explained study author Grant D. Brinkworth, a research scientist with the food and nutritional sciences division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Adelaide, Australia.

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The Almost Gourmet Quickie Veggie Wrap

This is my quickie go-to lunch many days. It comes together in just a few short minutes if you have all of your veggies washed and prepped ahead of time. I like to slice my veggies while I am assembling the wrap, but you could certainly slice them in advance if you are crunched for time, or even make the wrap ahead of time, and store it in plastic wrap. It is extremely filling and nutritious. I also adjust the amount of veggies by my hunger level – adding more if I am starving or less if I am not incredibly hungry.

If you want to add more protein, you can absolutely add some chicken/turkey breast, salmon, tuna, etc.

Ingredients

• Half of a gigantic whole wheat tortilla
• 1 tbsp of garlic and chive chevre (goat cheese)
• Cucumbers, sliced in long thin strips
• Red, green, orange, and yellow peppers sliced in long thin strips
• Carrots, sliced in long thin strips
• Beets, sliced in long thin strips
• Green onion, chopped
• Handful of sprouts
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Lay tortilla out on a flat surface.
2. Spread goat cheese evenly across tortilla.
3. Pile on the veggies. I typically organize them from heaviest items on the bottom to lightest on the top, to make it easier to handle.
4. Finish with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
5. Close wrap and secure with a toothpick if needed.
6. Serve.

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Trick-or-Treat-Give Me Something Good to Eat

It’s that time of year again, the beginning of the season for consumption of all things sweet.  Halloween marks the start of the holiday season that extends until the beginning of January.  The tendency to overindulge in sweet treats rises, the sugar rush ensues, and waistlines expand.    Considering the rise in childhood obesity, here are some ideas to curb the sugar rush, and still keep the kids happy and healthy.

For the ghosts and goblins that come knocking: Select dark chocolate options for trick-or-treaters.  Dark chocolate has health benefits such as antioxidants. Give out granola bars, 100% fruit chews, and yogurt or carob covered raisins.  Look for the fun or mini size candy options for the ghouls and goblins; the smaller the better.  Or, avoid candy altogether and hand out coloring books and crayons, glow sticks, or stickers. 

And for your little pumpkins, avoid all unnecessary sugar on the day of Halloween. Omit soda, fruit drinks, certain cereals and other sugary stuff since you know they’ll be eating candy.  Feed them a healthy meal before they go out roaming the neighborhood.  The hungrier they are, the more candy they will eat along the way.  Get them exercising!  Throw in a Thriller mix and have a little zombie dance party.  Also, have them walk from door to door. 

Do you have any tips for healthy treaters? 

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What’s for dinner at your house tonight? How about a meat–free dish? Just by reducing animal protein in your diet, you could lessen your risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes. Many people have found that reducing animal protein consumption can help with low energy and sugar cravings. You can also improve the health of our environment by preserving natural resources like water and fossil fuels.

Join a growing number of people all over the country in the Meatless Monday movement and pledge to eat meat-free once a week.  What will you eat in place of your meat entrée? Try incorporating more vegetables into your meal, which are high in fiber and will make you feel full and satisfied. Beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds are also a great meat alternative. They are high in protein, iron and magnesium and contain little to no saturated fat.

You’ll also reduce your carbon footprint by cutting back on meat just once a week. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, the meat industry generates nearly 1/5 of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide. Our precious water resources are exhausted daily and the demand continues to grow. Approximately 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into a single pound of beef. This total far surpasses the amount of water needed for vegetables and grains.

People are confused about how to start making improvements to their health, let alone make sizable changes to the environment. Start with what you put on your dinner plate. Start today. You don’t have to become a vegetarian to make a difference. Michael Pollan recently stated on the Oprah show: “Even one meatless day a week — a meatless Monday, which is what we do in my household — if everybody in America did that, that would be the equivalent of taking 20 million mid-size sedans off the road.”

Need recipe ideas? Check out Meatless Monday’s recipe page. Just think about the health message you’re starting today and how you can extend it for the rest of the week. Go meatless and the possibilities are endless!

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