Functional Beverages

The ADA publishes a list of hot topics and I thought this was a good one...

Title of Topic:	Functional Beverages
Date of Release:	February 2008
Claim of Topic:	Functional beverages, which include energy drinks and vitamin waters, are surging in sales. Marketing messages for these beverages imply additional health benefits for a public that is thirsty for healthiness-on-the-go. But just how healthy are functional beverages?

Discussion of Topic

Functional beverages are drinks that have been enhanced with added ingredients to provide specific health benefits beyond general nutrition. These beverages have become so popular they are displacing soft drink sales. Consumers are seeking specific health benefits in their foods and beverages and these functional drinks fit neatly into the "healthiness-on-the-go" market, part of the $25 billion functional food business. Both convenience and health have been identified as important factors when consumers make decisions about purchasing foods and beverages. Functional drinks are promoted with benefits such as heart health, improved immunity and digestion, joint health, satiety, and energy-boosting. They are marketed with "healthy" names and slogans that sell.
Popular ingredients in functional drinks include caffeine, green tea, yerba maté, vitamin C, schizandra, açaí, ginger, cranberry extracts, and ginkgo biloba. According to the package label, one of the biggest selling energy drinks contains taurine, glucoronolactone, caffeine, and B vitamins. Enhanced waters are also surging in popularity, with a number of formulations labeled with catchy names that offer up images of health and tranquility. Soft drinks are even branching into the functional market with vitamin-enriched colas.
Many functional and fortified beverages bear approved claims from the FDA. Others make function/structure claims. Functional foods are regulated by FDA under the authority of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, but they are not specifically defined by law. The FDA is currently reviewing its regulation of functional foods.
Health experts are concerned about functional beverages for many reasons. While some functional drinks may provide hydration, many may not address the major health issues today such as obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Most people do not benefit from low levels of vitamins and minerals found in many functional drinks. Typically functional drinks do not capitalize on recognized short fall nutrients like calcium, potassium, foliate, and vitamin D. In addition, functional drinks are often very costly and many contain significant calorie levels. For example, one popular energy drink contains 130 calories and 34 g carbohydrates in an 8.3-ounce serving - higher than cola. Other products contain ingredients that have not been sufficiently studied for health benefits, safety, and dosage. Caffeine content can be high in these products, as well. In a recent study, it was discovered that the caffeine content of caffeinated energy drinks ranged from 0 mg to 141.1 mg/serving. An average 8-ounce cup of coffee contains 133 mg of caffeine.

Bottom Line

Consumers should read product labels to see what ingredients functional drinks contain. Many ingredients may not be proven to benefit health; however, by reading labels consumers can make wiser beverage choices. If people are concerned with vitamin and mineral supplementation, they may be better off taking a daily supplement that does not exceed 100% of the RDA.

Veggie Burger with Mushrooms

This is one of my weeknight favorites I got from Food Network Magazine.  You'll find these veggie burgers to be delicious, substantial, inexpensive and did I mention delicious?  They also warm up well and I usually have one for lunch the next day.  Another great thing about this recipe is that it is very adaptable to adding different kinds of beans or veggies; I've often used black beans instead. They can be gluten free if you use almond meal or soy flour instead of bread crumbs.

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small red onion, shredded and squeezed dry (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 small carrot, finely diced
• 1 cup plain or whole-wheat breadcrumbs
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire or soy sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups assorted mushrooms, sliced
• 4 English muffins, split and toasted
• Mayonnaise and/or mustard, for garnish
• Baby spinach or arugula, for garnish

Directions

Smash the beans in a bowl with a potato masher or fork until slightly chunky. Add the onion, walnuts, carrot, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, scallions, parsley and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands until combined.

Spread the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs on a plate. Form the bean mixture into 4 patties; lightly coat with the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook until golden and slightly crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the burgers to a plate.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and the remaining 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; season with salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are slightly wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve the burgers on the English muffins with mayonnaise and/or mustard, baby greens and mushrooms.

Flat Belly Foods

Did I get your attention?  I thought so...  So why are we so obsessed with having a flat belly and think there are miracle foods that will flatten it for us?  It is sort of silly for us to think that foods will give us a flat belly.  It is actually the opposite, itis  the elimination of certain foods that may help us not to store belly fat, but eating certain foods will not make you wake up one day with a flat belly. 

Studies have shown that saturated fats are mostly stored in the omentum of the fat pads of the abdomen that cushion the internal organs.  So if we have a diet high in saturated fat we have a tendency to have a higher waist circumference and a larger store of belly fat.  Another aspect of our diet that will encourage fat deposition on the belly is alcohol.  If you drink a lot of alcohol you will have a tendency to store more fat because the liver trys to metabolism the alcohol first since it is a toxin so everything else you eat or drink with the alcohol is pretty much stored away as fat.  The sceond thing that alcohol does is that is causes us to retain more water and fluid in the abdominal region thus bloating us and making our belly look distended.  So you may not drink all week and then on the weekends and have 3-5 drinks in a sitting, this can set you back and continue to get you farther away from your goal of a flat belly.  

So the moral of the story is that there are no magic foods that will melt away belly fat, it is just a diet low in saturated fat, low in alcohol and of course high in exercise.  Everyone has a six pack, you just cannot always see it under the fat.  In order to lose the fat, aerobic exercise will be most effective in reducing overall body fat.  So you cannot just do sit-ups and crunches and have your six pack appear, you have to do cardio in addition to building those six pack muscles.  There is no such thing as spot reducing, it is a overall fat loss in all areas of the body that will assist in the definition of muscle. 

It’s Still All In Your Hands - Portion vs Serving Size

Hey Gang,

How are you doing?  How is your run going?  I hope you are experiencing success out there on the road.  For you newbies, you are noticing that you can go further before you feel that urge to walk, and also that you’re learning that it’s actually better to just keep your feet shuffling and are not giving in to the walk any longer! 

For those that were a little further down the road when you laced up your running shoes, are you adding a mile to your long run day each week?  Are you getting in the groove?  It may still not be easy for you to run, but you should be starting to feel some confidence developing in your body and mind knowing that can do this!

For all of you getting out there and sticking with you commitment to yourself to DO THIS, I am proud of you!  Keep going.  Stick with it.  Each step you complete out there matters.  Keeping taking those steps, ok?

Now, lets talk about the fact that you’ve had all you’ve ever needed to have to feed your body well right there at the end of your arms…your hands!

Portion vs Serving -  Ok, you must have a strong practice of reading labels.  Educate yourself on what you’re putting in your body.  Don’t just open your mouth and consume things thoughtlessly.  Most folks go through life “thought-lessly”, I’m asking you to think about what you’re doing. 

Read that label.  Notice how many “servings” there are in that package.  How many grams of fat are you consuming per serving?  How many of protein and carbs?  How about the sodium content?  Know what you’re consuming and then are you getting as much as you need or does it have too much?

Here are the guidelines I would suggest for you.

The palm of your hand and the thickness of it – PROTEIN portion should be the size of the palm of your hand and the thickness of it.  For women, I’d like to see you average 10 to 15 grams of good clean protein per meal.  For most men, 15 to 25 grams per meal.  I find if I coach folks to consume at those levels, they get the right amount of carbs in.

A cupped hand – FRUIT and VEGETABLES portion – consume 3 to 5 portions per day. Remember that fruits and vegetables are carbs!  I like to see you have vegetables at 2 different times in the day, and fruits at 2 different times during the day as well.  Fresh, frozen, raw, or lightly steamed, variety of colors on veggies.  Fresh or frozen fruit are best.  Stay away from canned as they typically have added sodium or high fructose corn syrup (hfcs) in them.  Have fun with them.  There are so many different fruits and veggies to play with out there.  Make it a goal to try something new on a regular basis.  Keep an open mind.  Be adventurous!  You just might discover something you love and can’t believe you waited this long in your life to discover.  J

A clenched fist – STARCHY CARBS portion – If you’re looking to maintain your current weight/body composition – a clenched fist worth of starchy carbs is a portion.  If you’re looking to remove some fat stores, cut that fist in half.  Starchies include potatoes, sweet potato, yams, ezekial bread, whole wheat and whole grain breads, couscous, quinoa, whole wheat pastas, oatmeal and other cereals (not the sugary ones!).

A golf ball – HEALTHY FATS portion – consume a golf ball size amount of healthy fats each day.  Remember healthy fats will typically be liquid at room temperature.  Do not over heat your oils as they’re fragile and overheating will change their composition converting them to a state that is damaging to our bodies if we consume them.  Avocado being one exception.

Now hold up one hand and look at all five fingers, your thumb representing your first meal of the day.  Here’s an ideal day for fat burning:

Wake up and drink an 8 oz glass of water.  Go work out.

Drink 2 glasses of water and go get in the shower.

About 30 to 60 minutes after your work out ends, eat your first meal of the day.

About every 2 ½ to 3 hours, eat again.

Every meal will have clean choices of carbs and proteins – so something in both hands.

You can have more than one kind of carb at each meal.

Please stop eating at least 2 hours before bedtime.

Holding up your hand looking at those 5 fingers – thumb is first meal, pinkie is 5^th meal…

Carbs and protein at each finger.

Starchy carbs at thumb and middle finger.

Fruits at index and fourth finger.

Veggies at middle and pinkie.

Note that the middle finger has veggies and starchies, so is typically going to be your biggest meal of the day.

I suggest a strong breakfast – if you start things out well, it sets the tone for you entire day and makes your food choices all day long really easy.  A breakfast that is too light will set you up for being hungry all day.  A first meal that is loaded with sugar and nutrient free food will set you up to overeat and crave sugar all day long.  Stop doing that to yourself!

Also note that the last meal of the day is something like grilled salmon a salad and some fresh veggies.

You can add a 6^th meal of the day and I’d suggest a mix of dark berries topped with light vanilla yogurt and some pecans.

Try this and see how you do!

Melly’s Magical Oatmeal

I make mine (use a BIG bowl in the microwave or it will bubble over) 

3/4 c water,

1/2 c of egg whites,

¾ tablespoon of Nopalina – a flaxseed, omega 3 and all kinds of other good stuff powder

take a 1/2 c measuring cup and fill it almost to the top with Bob’s Red Mill oatmeal and finish it off with Bob’s Red Mill Muesli - probably about 1/8c muesli –

I will grab a small handful of kashi cinnamon wheat squares and toss in, or maybe a little bit of Special K with Strawberries

I'll add 1/2 banana sometimes,

I always put a tablespoon of Polaner All Fruit –

Eat in Great Health!

Melanie Nish instructs and kicks booty at Operation Boot Camp Gainseville 

Granola Nut Protein Bar Recipe

A big part of any successful of food plan is preparation.  Make these granola bars that are good on the go - be careful with these though, they're not low-fat so these should be reserved for heavy workout days.     

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups natural peanut butter
• 2 cups honey
• 2-1/4 cups protein powder (whey is best)
• 3 cups uncooked oatmeal
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
  
  
  Preparation: In a double boiler, warm the peanut butter and honey to a smooth consistency. This step can be done in the microwave as well--just heat both ingredients for 70 to 90 seconds. In a mixing bowl, stir together all remaining dry ingredients. Pour in the peanut-butter mixture and stir until completely combined. Spread uniformly into a brownie pan. Slice into 12 to 16 pieces, then wrap each piece in plastic wrap.
  Each Granola Nut Protein Bar costs 25 to 35 cents to make, as opposed to $2.00 and up for store-bought energy bars. On top of that, if you do use organic ingredients, you won't believe the difference!
  
  Nutritional information:
  200 calories per bar 9 grams fat 3 to 4 grams fiber 15 grams protein 26 grams carbohydrates
  These bars are definitely not low-fat (they have four times as much fat as a PowerBar), so you may want to reserve them for when you're working out hard.

Have You Been Putting Diesel Fuel in Your Race Car?

You know, it’s funny to think of it that way, but most Americans do just that to their bodies.  The traditional American diet currently consists of what I call The 5 Major Food Groups  1. White Flour  2.  High Fructose Corn Syrup   3.  Fat   4.  Salt, and of course 5.  Sugar.  Think about it for a moment.  Just about all traditional food that is eaten in our country has several of the above ingredients combined in it.  If I invited you over to my home for dinner and lined up a glass of cooking oil, a bowl of sugar, one of flour, some corn syrup and then gave you a salt shaker, you would think I was crazy, but chances are this is what you’ve been eating!!

This truly equates to diesel fuel for our bodies.  We try to sustain ourselves on this diet of “non-food” and wonder why our valves are sticking, why we have no energy, can’t sleep, are in a bad mood or depressed, have adult onset diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other “dis-eases”, oh and of course, why we’re fat.

Have you ever wondered how to take care of that magnificent body you’re cruising around in?  Are you tired of fueling up with diesel but you’re just not really sure how or where to start to eat clean?

Join me.  Clean eating and fitness are a way of life.  Reach your hand out to me and I’ll walk you to it.  I’ll help you get started and ultimately make the transition to the new, healthier, fitter you.  Eating clean and being fit is not a life of deprivation, it’s not all sacrifice and suffering. It’s actually a lifestyle whose side benefits include feeling great, sleeping hard, looking great with clear complexions, bright eyes and tone skin. There’s a whole new world waiting for you.  A world full of colors, textures, amazing flavors, better fitting clothes (you know, a smaller bootay), looking 10 years younger without visiting your plastic surgeon and most of all, being healthy! 

Most folks seem to be looking for some magic pill to take so they can wake up in a new body.  I haven’t found a magic pill, but I have found the way to succeed.  Now for the big question, are you ready to live life as the greater version of yourself?  If so, come on back.  I’ve got the road map and directions to help you get that race car running on jet fuel!  See you here soon. 

Melanie Nish instructs and kicks booty at Operation Boot Camp Gainseville

Just Eat!

Should I eat carbs, should I only eat low-fat foods, should I eat after 6pm, should I eat only vegetables?  I think we spend so much time worrying about what we should and should not eat that we forget why we are worried about it at all.  There is so much information out there and we all are inundated with new nutrition, fintess and body image stuff on a daily basis.  Who knew eating healthy would be so stressful.  Well, in my opinion there is one thing that works, it is forgetting about all the media, the hype and just trust your instincts.  What I mean is that we all know the things that are healthy and the foods that are not.  We have been taught from a young age that fruits and veggies are good and fried foods should be consumed sparingly.  So why not change the way you look at eating, instead of worrying so much just eat.  That is, just eat the things that you know are going to make you feel healthy.  Fresh stuff, lots of water, home cooked meals these are the things that good eating is made of.  Can we change our thinking enough to just think what the consequences of eating fried food is and choose not to do it?  I think we can and every now and then we can indulge and have that forbidden fruit. 

We have enough stress in our lives why must we be so preoccupied with food.  The answer is because it is something we can control in our lives.  There are a ton of things in our lives that are out of our control so we feel like it is the one thing we can obsess about and it will give us a feeling of control.  If we can give up control and just eat the things we know are healthy, we can feel good about our choices and thus feel in control in a positive way instead of a stressful way. -Lauren Lorenzo

Nutella Smoothie Recipe

If you've never experienced Nutella it is a spread with a hazelnut - chocolate flavor.  Here's a recipe that you can see what you've been missing (and a much healthier option than the Nutella flavored Gelato I ate every day vacationing in Italy.)  This recipe was sent in from a camper in Gainesville.  Enjoy!

1/2 banana

1 cup milk (cow, soy, coconut)

1 tablespoon of Nutella

1/2 cup of egg whites and/or 1 scoop of EAS vanilla whey protein powder

3 shakes (1/8 tsp.) of cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

4 ice cubes

Blend in the blender until it is the desired consistency!