Nutrition-Food is Fuel!

Since the title of my blog is "Food for Thought", I think it's time to talk nutrition.  I am a proponent of the "anti-inflammatory diet", and by diet I don't mean a program of systematic denial and punishment to will your body into a slender form.  I am referring to adherence to a lifestyle  where food is fuel and you experiment to find the highest quality fuel for your particular body.  
The basic tenets of the anti-inflammatory diet (supported by Drs Andrew Weil/Barry Sears & others) are:

1. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
2. Minimize saturated and trans fats
3. Eat a good source of omegs-3 fatty acids such as fish (wild Alaskan salmon/sardines), fish oil supplements, walnuts
4. Watch your intake of refined carbohydrates (pastas/white rice)
5. Eat plenty of whole grains (brown rice/quinoa/bulgur wheat)
6. Lean, animal protein in small amounts (organic if possible)
7. Minimize dairy (high quality, organic)
8. Avoid refined & processed foods
9. Spice it up! Ginger, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon and other spices can have an anti-inflammatory effect
10. Water is the beverage of choice, along with decaffeinated green tea

The premise is that the origins of many diseases can be traced back to a state of chronic inflammation in the body.  Eliminate this condition-disease will abate.

View Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid: http://bit.ly/15gG2

Next week: recipes!  They will be low in refined sugar, salt, saturated fat.  Don't worry-they will be delicious.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants" Michael Pollan

Is there an expiration date on your dream?

Maria Bartiromo recently interviewed the Dallas Maverick's point guard Jason Kidd, and the remark that got my attention was that he waited seventeen years to be a champion!  Seventeen years of playing professional basketball, consistently training to improve his skill and endurance.  Seventeen years of team work and semi-finals and disappointments.   Seventeen years of believing in himself and knowing that he had the makings of a champion, but needing the timing to be right: the alchemy of teammates, coaches and experience meeting opportunity.

What are your dreams?  Do you say them out loud?  Write them down?  Are you taking action to achieve them?  Jason Kidd said that the success will feel complete once he is wearing his championship ring.

What do you envision that moment to be for you?

Constant Contact: egotism or addiction?

I emerged from yoga class centered and serene.  We had dedicated our practice to the teacher who had the most impact on our lives.  Mine was Barbara Brooks, my high school choral teacher whose love of music inspired me to sing.  Our yoga instructor told us that the word guru means "remover of ignorance"-- that resonated with me during class.
I assumed my fellow yogis had a similar experience, but to my chagrin the first thing I saw people do following our closing chant and "namaste" salutation was check their cellphones (perhaps they were hoping for a message from their guru).  In amazement I wondered if everyone was so important (checking in with children or sick patients aside) that sixty-one minutes without voicemail, email or text messages was all the tolerance they had for being out of touch.  Or is it that we have developed an addiction to being in constant contact with the world?  Perhaps a more healthful behavior would be to be in touch with ourselves.

Pictures on food packaging-do they tell the whole story?

I was at Target and thought I would buy a package of heat & serve brown rice from their "Market Pantry" line. I had purchased this product before, saw the photo of the brown rice on the package & grabbed it. When I got home I noticed yellow globs of fat through the back of the package. I had purchased "Whole 
Grain Blend": brown rice, wild rice, red rice, CANOLA OIL, SUGAR, dried vegetables, SALT, natural smoke flavor, hydrolyzed yeast extract.  It contained 770 mg sodium and 3 gms of sugar I didn't need in a one cup serving.
I also looked for some couscous and could only find "flavored" lines with the three magic ingredients: sugar, salt, fat. The photos on the packaging depict beautiful, healthful couscous. So I went to my corner deli, which happily stocks many health food store brands and found Lundberg Brown Rice Couscous-organic, gluten free, vegan: ingredients- organic roasted brown rice.
Moral of the story-read the nutrition facts & ingredient list.  Buy whole foods, and add your own spices, olive oil, fresh herbs and enjoy the natural flavor.  It's time well spent.

Concierge Physicians: membership has its privileges

A report on CNN this week examined a new "hybrid" model being tested in primary care physician circles.
While maintaining a traditional (6 patients seen per hour) practice for the majority of office hours, a portion of hours would be allotted for a membership ($2,500/year) circle of patients.  For this fee, the patient will be entitled to longer office visits (2-3 patients seen per hour) and limited direct access to the physician via cell phone.
I have a better idea.  For half that investment, you could hire a holistic health coach for six months and spend much more time on a consistent basis with a health professional who is trained to listen.  Someone who will truly partner with you to improve your physical health and emotional well-being.  Someone who has spent much more time learning about nutrition and counseling techniques than physicians traditionally do in medial school.
For the past 18 months I have coached my husband in food selection, portion control, the value of nutrient dense food, as well as encouraging his regular exercise program.  The result: 120 pound weight loss! NO DRUGS/NO SURGERY-just consistent advocacy and accountability.  The impact on his health and wellness: priceless.

What is a health coach?

A holistic health and nutrition coach is a professional trained to help you:

• identify your health and wellness challenges
• formulate a plan to address them
• provide tools to face them
• and add a dash of inspiration and a pinch of accountability to the recipe for your success

Here's to your health! Best, MJ

Welcome to Food for Thought!

Welcome to MJ McConnell's new blog:  Food for Thought!  It's the perfect new venue for her to share wellness news, healthful recipes, and messages designed to inspire you to find balance in your life.  MJ's hope is that this blog becomes a dialogue with all of you, so feel free to comment and add your own thoughts to the forum.  Check back soon for MJ's first post, and in the meantime, here's to your health!