Alternative Sack Lunches

Possible choices to pack for your young one for school:

• Celery and Almond Butter (or there are a myriad of other butters you can try: Macademia, Pistachio, Cashew; plus you can make your own just run your favorite nut through a food processor and you have a natural butter, maybe add a little sweetener or a raw honey. It's all yummy and better than the traditional peanut butter).
• Roasted Almonds: Another great option with this most nutritious seed is roasted almonds, if your kids are sick of raw almonds, you can season them with anything (make it sweet and put cinnamon or make it hot and put chipotle, or you could use rosemary or sage; the options are limitless). Just place in a pan and drizzle with oil (you could use olive oil or even try coconut) and season to your liking, then place in the oven for a nice toast.
• Apples and pudding: We like to make the proDesert pudding packages, they taste similar to cake batter, but they're a sweet treat that you could make and dip with sliced apples, for a meal that provides the benefits of fruit and has protein for kids' growing muscles!
• Turkey Wrap: use lettuce or you could even try swiss chard (August 13). Layer in the middle with turkey (or whatever kind of meat your kid likes, it could be chicken or ground beef, or even ground bison), tomato, and avocado (or with whatever veggies your kid likes).
• Stuffed Strawberries: for a nice treat every once in a while you can send them with stuffed strawberries. Just take the centers out of the strawberries and with cream cheese mixed with a little bit of sweetener and top with a cocoa almond.
• Trail Mix: This is sooo! simple. Just gather a variety of nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachio, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or even try a seed called sasha inchi, which is a South American seed high in omega three fatty acids), then you can mix in some unsweetened coconut flakes.
• Coconut Soup: In the fall put some of this soup in a canteen. Just mix coconut milk, vegetable stock, protein (soup, salmon, chicken, ground beef) and any vegetables (carrots, cabbage, onions, or peppers for something hotter) in a sauce pan.
• Tomato Soup: roasted tomato soup (recipe on August 14) recipe, that you could pack with some fried chicken (just dust with coconut flour and fry in coconut oil, check recipe on August 14) and celery, or serve with the turkey wrap.
• Stir Fry: get out your wok and throw in a variety of meats (cubed grass meat, chicken, etc.) with any veggies (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, zucchini, asparagus, onions, peppers), maybe even throw in some nuts (cashews or even pine nuts). Cook it all in coconut oil and you're done!
• Fruit compote: the recipe is listed on August 14, but it's simple basically mix any fresh fruit (plums, peaches, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, and blackberries) with some sweetener in a large sauce pan.
• Egg Muffins: if they miss breakfast just throw these in their sack or put it for lunch. You can make up a bunch at a time and they're easy to make and to pack. Simply mix a dozen eggs, cheese, and veggies (try chopped baby bellas, or shredded spinach, our lead trainer enjoys them with bacon and blueberries). There are soo! many options and they're so easy!
• Fried chicken: Mix a little bit of coconut flour with some seasoning (garlic powder, onion powder, Country Bob's seasoning). Lightly dust the chicken (you can use thighs or legs or wings) with the flour. Place in a skillet with coconut oil and cook thoroughly. Place on a napkin to cool and then pack.
• Almond Cookies: if your kids our good pack them some almond cookies. Mix 1/2 cup splenda, stick of butter (organic or grass fed butter is the best option if you can find it), 3/4 cup almond butter, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder.
• Turkey Curry: give your kids an international treat, with curry. Check out the recipe posted on the July 24, once again mix with any vegetables and layer ontop of a bed of cauliflower rice.
• Smoked sausage and cabbage: once again this is another recipe that is so easy to do. Make a large batch and serve intermittenly throughout the week. Recipe on June 26.
• Pizza: for a treat once in awhile try a pizza. There are recipes out there for coconut flour or almond flour pizza crust. Layer with meat and tomato sauce, but be cautious with the cheese (raw cheese is always the best option). I make a pizza with an eggplant crust (May 22).
• Pork and Apples: a nice savory lunch. Simply cook some diced granny smith apples and pecans then serve over a piece of pork.
• Vegetable Chips: slice veggies (raddishes-I've had these and they're good, but you can zucchini as well) really then. Place in a baking pan and drizzle with oil and seasoning.

Featured Food: Broccoli Rabe

I thought that broccoli would be an obvious choice (because you always here about kids not wanting to eat their broccoli), but I decided to go with something most not know about and which still contains the word broccoli. It's pronounced like rob (just a side note). Broccoli rabe actually isn't even related to broccoli, it's a part of the mustard family, so it is kin to cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and mustard (obviously). It's popular in southern Italian (especially Sicily), Chinese, and Portuguese cuisines. It has a nutty, bitter, and pungent taste. Broccoli rabe is a good source of vitamin A and C (great for fighting free radicals), vitamin K and magnesium (bone development and repair), potassium, calcium, iron, and folate (protects against birth defects and heart disease). It's biggest health benefit is it's high concentration of phytochemicals (sulforaphane and indoles). These defend against certain cancers (of special note: stomach, lung, and colon). Indole is important for estrogen metabolism and decrease the risk of hormone dependent cancers; while, sulforaphane neutralizes carcinogenic chemicals and detoxes the body. It's numbers are even better, so fill up! Just one cup has only 9 calories, 1 g carbs, 1 g fiber (so 0 active carbs) and 1 g of protein. It's usually served sauteed with garlic, like you see above.

Exercising for Kids

Growth Hormone

Most of us have heard about human Growth Hormone (hGH, thanks in large part to those like Sylvester Stallone promoting there 'magical' anti aging properties). hGH is a protein hormone secreted by somatotrophs in the pituitary, and is comprised of 190 amino acids. As you can tell from it's name it plays an important role in growth (which is important to kids, who are our topic for the week). It stimulates the liver to secrete IGF-I. This stimulates cartilage cells and results in bone growth. The IGF-I also appears to be key to muscle growth because it stimulates amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in muscle. It maintains blood glucose, as well, by suppressing the insulin's ability to stimulate glucose uptake by peripheral tissues. Release of hGH is controlled by Growth Hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and Ghrelin. Somatostatin (SS) inhibits the release in response to GHRH and other stimulatory factors (such as low blood glucose). Growth Hormone is stimulated by: peptides (GHRH and ghrelin), sex hormones (androgen, especially during puberty, and estrogen), deep sleep, fasting, and vigorous exercise. Growth Hormone levels effect: height in children, increased calcium retention (increase bone mineralization), growth of internal organs, increase protein synthesis, homeostasis maintenance, prevention of hypoglycemia, and stimulates immune function. Increased levels have also been associated with decrease body fat, increased muscle mass, increased bone density, increased energy levels, improved skin tone, and increased sexual function. It's clear that Growth Hormone is essential, so what can be done to maximize levels (without injections)? Production is effected by stress, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Sleep probably being the most important of these (we talked about it Tuesday), I can't emphasize how important sleep is, especially for growing children. For children and adults the most intense period of growth hormone release is just after the onset of deep sleep. The more you sleep the more Growth Hormone you have, whereas the less you sleep the less Growth Hormone you have.Exercise is also a natural stimulate, as is diet (as is important with all aspects of health). Insulin actually inhibits Growth Hormone (another reason not to eat grains, starches and sugars, which spike insulin levels), especially pay attention to what you're ingesting after a workout. Eating something with a higher glycemic index, actually reduces the hGH effect from the workout that you just did. Eat a low glycemic food and lean protein after exercise to maximize Growth Hormone. Also stay hydrated. Dehydration decreases exercise induced hGH response. Key points for muscle and bone growth (and maintenance): SLEEP, exercise, SLEEP, reduction in insulin intake, SLEEP, and diet.

Active Kids

We've already discussed the disgusting statistics of overweight kids in the US, now we'll look at activity levels. Kids nowadays have access to a variety of media entertainment (t.v., computers, iPods, even phones, kids keep getting cell phones younger and younger, so they now spend time texting). Oh yeah we can't forget video games. With all these possible activities, is it likely that kids are going to chose to go outside and do something? I think not. Kids spend an average of 3-51/2 hours with media entertainment, which increases to 6 hours for teens. How are they supposed to be getting their required daily amount of physical activity with all this t.v. time and school? They're not! Less than one third of kids get the minimum amount of physical activity during the week, and this drops to only 17 % on the weekend. They're not getting enough activity in school either, only 10% of schools offer daily physical activity. All these sedentary kids are setting themselves up for health risks. They usual weigh more, have higher blood pressure, and lower levels of 'good' cholesterol. In addition sedentary children are more likely to become sedentary adults. What can be done to counteract these sedentary lifestyles? Sports are always one option. They're a great way to interact with other kids and for a friendly dose of competition, plus there are so many sports that kids can try until they find one that works for them. Activity doesn't have to be organized though it can be as simple as a bike ride or skateboarding (X Games and extreme sports are pretty popular). Try a simple game of tag or make it a family affair and take a hike or go to the a play ultimate frisbee or some slow pitch. There are so many options and it doesn't have to feel like they're working out, it can be play (which we've talked about several times- July 4). The option are limitless! Just get them outside, they'll get vitamin D, plus studies have shown the benefits of being outdoors on mood. So you'll have a happier healthier kid. Limit the t.v. time and get outside with them.

Sleep and School

I've talked about the benefits of adequate sleep before, but proper sleep is even more important for kids. Kids are growing and developing and they need sleep to restore hormones. Their brains are growing until they're about 21 and a lot of their development occurs while sleeping. A lack of sleep can lead to loss of up to 2 years maturation (so basically a 6th grader who is only as mature as a 4th grader). They have a hard time recollecting things they've learned because their neurons lose plasticity, and become incapable of forming new synaptic connections to encode the memory. Their prefontal cortex are affected, which orchestrates thoughts to fulfill a goal, predict outcomes, and perceive consequences. Sleeping restores information learned during the day for efficient long term learning. This basically explains why sleep is more important than that late night cram session (especially I think for college students- constantly pulling all-nighters to study). Staying up and studying for that test is actually digressive from what you want and you don't store the information past that test (you're not retaining the information). For younger kids though the issue tends to be staying up with all the wonderful technological inventions of the last few decades. Kids watch and average of three hours a day, and usually veg out in front of the tv or computer screens before bed. Besides staying up later, the light from the screens actually keeps them up longer and promotes restless sleep. The light delays the drop in core body temperature and melatonin production, so that sleep is harder to come by. Twenty-five percent of kids have some kind of sleep problem (from restlessness to actual disorders); while 40% of adolescents have significant sleep complaints. What are the repercussions of reduced sleep? Sleep deprivation can cause: memory deficits, impaired performance and alertness; while loss of REM (intense sleep cycle) can result in increased irritability (and people wonder why teenagers are so groggy and moody), anxiety and depression, decreased socialization, reduced concentration (which leads to poor school performance), and decreased ability to handle complex tasks and be creative. In addition kids are growing and sleep is vital to growth hormone production and restoration. What can be done? We'll start with the most dramatic: schools could start half an hour later. This gives kids more time to sleep, plus studies show that performance is better in the afternoon (actually over 50% of kids said they aren't fully alert until after 3 PM and 20% of high schoolers sleep in class). One study showed that afternoon reading instruction produced greater reading scores, compared to morning instruction (this is important to note for tests like the SAT and ACT, which tests in the morning, so wouldn't it make sense to test in the afternoon?). Schools that have moved class times have seen better performances and focus, plus the kids tended to eat a better breakfast and were less tense at home. For most though, getting our school system to change class time isn't going to happen soon, so what can you do now to help? For a starter get the electronics out of the bedroom and reduce usage time before bed. Get kids on a regular sleep time. This includes the weekend. Having a regular sleep schedule has shown to produce greater hours of actual sleep time (less restless and able to fall asleep better). Childhood is an important part of development and sleep is vital for this development. Help your kids get more sleep so that they'll have better concentraion and restored hormones!

Back to School Week

I figured that we'd start out back to school look at what they're feeding kids at schools these days. One third of US children are overweight (that's one in three) and the obesity rate has more than tripled the last thirty years. What's worse is obese children are more than 80% likely to become obese adults. Most would blame fast food from a fast paced life and sedentary laziness (from video games and t.v. and a complete lack of physical activity). All of this is part of the problem, but are kids getting better choices at school? I think not, potentially worse, with an array of non-identifiable meats, french fries, and utter lack of vegetables and fruit! School food is an over processed mess that is loaded with fat (the bad kind- polyunsaturated), sodium, and fructose corn syrup. Thirty percent of schools rarely offer (which doesn't even mean they serve it, it's the kids choice whether to grab the broccoli!) vegetables that does not include potatoes. The food is so over processed! A typical grilled cheese (which is still bad- refined flour and dairy) has 30 ingredients, including high fructose corn syrup. Beef and cheese nachos has 24g of fat and almost 1,500 milligrams of salts (seriously?). One slice of pizza and 20 fries contain 801.8 calories and 44.8 grams of "bad" fat (a typical diet is 2,000 calories or less, this is almost half!). Just look at this meal above. First you have the beyond greasy (it would probably take at least 2 napkins to soak up all the polyunsaturated fat) traditional rectangle pizza, with corn (high sugar grain), pretzel and cheese (refined flour, sodium, and abnormally yellow and over processed cheese), and chocolate milk (I don't promote milk period, but flavored milk have an added 4 tsp of sugar, so if you drank two of these it would be like drinking 16 oz. pop. There is fruit there you say, but it's syruped-sugary fruit that spikes your insulin even more than the pizza, corn and pretzel. You have a tray loaded with sugar and refined flour, with a high concentration of carbohydrates and virtually no protein. You almost better off eating fast food! McDonalds and Burger King have more rigorous meat checks and KFC won't even use the chicken that they serve in schools (how sad is that?) Not only is the school bad but the other food sources they have aren't any better. Nine out of ten schools offer a la carte which don't even have to follow government regulations. Kids can load up on popcorn chicken, pretzels and cheese, nacho and cheese, mozzarella sticks, and more.Worst still is the presence of vending machines loaded with pop, candy, and potato chips! What's disgusting is schools don't want to band them because of the funding they provide. So kids are getting fatter at the cost of school funds. Vending machines provide 98% of money for public high schools, 74% of middle schools, and 43% of elementary schools. Still worse is that 75.8% allow advertising of candy, fast food restaurants or soft drinks on school property. Think of those scoreboards with the Pepsi logos (disgusting)!  So if kids choose to eat school food their healthy options are limited. A lunch could be comprised of a pretzel and cheese with a pop and candy bar. What is good about this? The pretzel is refined carbohydrates that will spike insulin (plus all the sodium), then you dip it in over processed cheese (probably with a higher concentration of omega-6). Then you wash it down with cups of sugar to raise your insulin even more and you top it off with a sugary desert (and we wonder why diabetes rates are skyrocketing in kids!). They are getting virtually no protein in this meal (at least not any complete sources of protein), so they have nothing to feed or fuel their growing bodies and growth hormones. This is sick (it literally makes my stomach turn at thinking that this is what are kids are eating). School is supposed to be a place of learning, but really it's counterproductive, when they're being fueled with junk! Malnutrition actually compromises intelligence and academic performance. So pumping them with all this toxic poison is making them do worse in school. The long run is worse. Being overweight puts them at risk later on in life (and now because they're susceptible now to diabetes) for cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, gall bladder disease, liver disease, sleep apnea, and high cholesterol. What to do? Start your kids young! Don't feed them grains, starches, and sugars (how can you crave something that you've never had, eating sugar after not having it for awhile, it is violently sweet and these kinds of food would probably make you sick). Start at home, though, don't have it in the house and teach them the right way to eat. Prepare lunch ahead of time (just like you would prep your own food ahead of time). It takes just a little bit of time to plan and pack meals ahead of time.What to pack? Saturday we'll post some sample menus and examples. If you want to take it further, challenge your school system (whether locally or at higher level like state). The first step is to be aware of the poisonous cafeteria food!

Book Review: Going Against the Grain

I just finished this book last week. I thought that it was very good, and it further supported my beliefs in not consuming grains. I found the opiod effects of grains and the disadvantages of whole wheat to be fascinating. Most people don't view food as a drug, but they don't realize the addicting quality that grains have. Also most assume that they can switch from white or refined flour to whole wheat or whole grain, and that they'll be eating healthier, when really that's just as bad if not worse. Here are my notes of interesting points that I found.
Going Against the Grain

• Refined wheat flour, or white flour is stripped of nutrients and fiber and is quite high in carbs. As result, contributes nutrient deficiencies, tooth decay and many degenerative diseases, especially when it’s eaten in conjunction with refined sugar.
• High intake fructose raises blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, increases free radical production, makes blood cells more prone to clotting, raises insulin levels and promotes development insulin resistance.
• Diets based on low-glycemic carbohydrates improve insulin sensitivity (blood sugar metabolism) blood triglyceride levels, total cholesterol levels, and ratio of “bad” LDL to “good” HDL cholesterol levels
• High glucose reads with and damages proteins in organs and tissues, forming advanced glycation end-products (AGEs); toughen protein and age cells.
• Whole grains: high carb content, antinutrients that impair absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc, and lectins that wreak havoc with intestinal and immune function.
• Ironically some switch refined to whole grain in search healthier option but actually set themselves up for conditions such as bone problems, iron deficiency, anemia, and autoimmune conditions
• Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency world wide and poor bioavailability of iron from grain-based diets has been demonstrated to be main cause of the condition
• Vegetables and fruits (alkaline) need to be eaten with meats and other food (acidic) for calcium balance
• Lectins (glycoprotein- proteins with carbs attached) have a high potential to interfere with the body’s normal hormonal balance, metabolism, and health if they breach the protective barrier of the gut wall and enter the bloodstream- higher in whole grains
• Celiac disease: autoimmune type reaction body react strongly to gluten that it whittle away and flatten lining of small intestine, causing chronic malabsorption of nutrients.
• Found 1 in every 167 healthy children and 1 in every 111 healthy adults- some show not symptoms
• At least 50% population is gluten sensitive
• Digestive enzyme deficiencies, a leaky gut wall, and an overworked liver detoxification system or immune system are all important factors in development of food sensitivities
• Cereal grains (wheat, maize, barley) and dairy products contain opiod substance called exorphins (morphine-like molecules that come from outside environment) theorize that these cause deficiencies serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine
• Eliminating food allergens offer many benefits: it can clear up bloating and water retention, help overcome food cravings and addictions, and boost metabolism and fat burning lipolysis
• Excess omega-6 promote insulin resistance and obesity, growth of some cancers
• Monounsaturated-flavorful, satisfying additions to diet that don’t raise insulin levels and are fantastic for balancing blood sugar levels substituting monounsaturated fats for carbs improves insulin sensitivity
• Dairy products are acidic and therefore upset calcium balance in the body
• Alcohol: nutrient deficiencies because it interferes with absorption of essential nutrients and accelerates their excretion from the body
• Regular use of alcohol use can lead to sluggish liver function, which in turn can contribute to blood sugar problems, elevated blood cholesterol, food allergies, chemical hypersensitivities, skin problems, hormonal imbalances and poor elimination
• More you eat foods in whole-food form, with all their nutrients and fiber intact, the more you will be protected against insulin-relate degenerative diseases
• Natural foods encourages healthy potassium-to-sodium ratio. Processed and preserved, lose potassium and gain sodium and develop a poor ratio= disrupts normal cell function and increases risk high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer
• To make healthiest choices, become a savvy shopper and look beneath the surface: read labels carefully, watch out for troublesome ingredients, and look at grams of carbs and sugars

There was also an interesting list of 13 reasons not to eat wheat, which I'll cover on Sunday