Love To Eat Right

5. EAPNS: No to sunburn - Astaxanthin

2010-08-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

It is a little late in this summer, but I thought this may still interesting for some of you, who choose to spend time in the sun, exercising outside etc. Astaxanthin is an antioxidant, which absorbs/reduces free radicals created by skin exposed to UV rays.

It can also reduce the pain and inflammation occurring with sunburn. The objective of course is to not get sunburned at all. Not to be mistaken, Astaxanthin is not a replacement for sunscreen, but sort of functions as internal sunscreen. I have been trying to find out if there are actual studies with regards to the SPF of Astaxanthin, but couldn't find anything. It reaches its effect after ~2 weeks of taking 4mg a day.

Some cites refer to increased protection against the sun and state the Astaxanthin is 500 times stronger than Vitamin E and 10 times stronger than beta-carotene, which in the past have been recommended to aid exposure to sun.

Astaxanthin

As many of us I am usually a little skeptical, when it comes to supplements, especially if there is so much different information available online, but no profound scientific studies. I am giving it a try and will let you know what my experience is. The antioxidant also shows significant other benefits. Just Google Astaxanthin + benefits and you will be surprised :)!!!

Where to buy:

http://www.astavita.com/astaxanthin.html >>Chris Lieto's main sponsor

The Vitamin Shoppe

For the science geeks amongst you: http://www.cyanotech.com/pdfs/bioastin/batl09.pdf

4. EAPNS: Meatless Monday

2010-08-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative to improve personal health and our environment. It is an interesting read and the website provides recipes.

As an athlete I am supporting the idea, at least from a personal health standpoint. The question remains, what day of the week should be the one without meat? This time of the year I usually have hard and long workout days on the weekend and I seem to struggle to get enough calories in on those days. Since it is a good thing to eat some fatty fish once a week, you could substitute your meat protein with fish on one of your weekend days. The earlier days of the week, or at least Monday is usually an easier workout day for most athletes and therefore seems to work with the initiative. One could argue against that and say you need a good source of protein the day after a hard weekend of training to rebuilt the muscular damages. Lets all remember that meat and fish aren't the only good sources of protein. I have talked about potato and egg as a great source for protein or legumes (lentils, beans....). It is also a good thing to add some vegetables to your meal that are high in antioxidants such as broccoli and fresh tomatoes. Don't forget the complex carbs, such as wheat pasta and off you go with a simple, but healthy and protein rich meal. Yes even the pasta contains some protein.
Recipe:
2 Tomatoes on the vine
Broccoli
1/2 an onion
1 jar of traditional pasta sauce
1 can of beans of your liking
1 lbs of whole wheat pasta

3. EAPNS: Post Workout Nutrition

2010-07-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

The theory behind refueling:

I have been struggling with that subject for a few days now and think I have found the right answers.

They are:

- Window of opportunity: Eat as quickly as you can after your workout. Ideally 10-15 mins after, but no longer than 60 mins.

- Simple Carbs

- Protein

- No fat

It doesn't seem to be very difficult, does it? The part I was struggling with were the simple carbs (sugars). In one of the earlier blogs I was preaching of the importance of complex carbs and how they are used to restore muscle glycogen and how simple carbs will not do the job. For immediate post work out nutrition that whole theory can be thrown out the window. Simple carbs are the way to go, ideally in liquid form. Liquids can be absorbed even quicker!

The reasons why simple carbs are better are twofold. They can be absorbed much quicker then starch and can therefore be transported to the muscles more quickly. In addition simple carbs will increase the low and depleted insulin levels. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the human body and is responsible for delivery of nutrients from the bloodstream into muscle cells. The higher insulin levels also speed up the synthesis of protein, which aids the rebuilding of muscle tissue. The amount of carbohydrates you should take in depends on your body weight and the duration of the workout. It is roughly 0.5 g carbs per pound or 1.2 g per kg. The suggested values per weight range at the figures provided seem to be the average. One site suggested to take in 1.6g/kg immediately after the workout and another drink 1 hour afterwards. .

Protein is generally 50% of the carbs and can therefore range from 0.6g/kg to 0.8g/kg. Sources for carbs can be sports drinks, juices etc or fruit; bananas work well, they contain 25-30g of sugars. As far as fat goes, immediate recovery nutrition doesn't need to contain fat and it is probably better to focus on sugars and protein and get your healthy fats as part of your regular meals.

A few examples of recovery drink of my choice are Walmart's alternative to Slim Fast or Mass XXX from GNC, which contains complex carbs and is better for secondary refueling 1-3 hours after the workout.

Alrighty off to a short run with drils and in the pool for some more drills!!!!

Rediscover Yogurt - Fruit + Yogurt= Perfect Snack

2010-06-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since the last blog, as things have gotten busy and the nice weather draws me outside for training, the time to dedicate to the blog pretty much dissipated. I cannot promise much as far as how much I will be writing over the next few months, since the triathlon season is reaching its peak.
Rediscovered Yogurt:
Ever since I moved to the US about 6 years ago and probably even before then, I pretty much wasn't eating yogurt. Part of it was that I didn't like the flavor of fat free yogurt. I have recently rediscovered yogurt, with a different viewpoint and positive experience of its taste. Instead of normal (mostly fat free) yogurt, a friend pointed out "Greek Strained Yogurt" from Fage. It is very creamy and smooth and has a little bit of a salty flavor to it. It comes in 3 different fat content categories, where I prefer the 2 % option. There are obviously pros and cons to each version, in general I eat yogurt as a snack in between meals or as a dessert and therefore try not to consume too many calories from fat. It is however important, especially for snacks, to add some calories from fat, since a the body needs fat and b the meal/snack will last much longer and you will prevent heisshunger (ravenous appetite). Snacks should generally have similar nutritional contents as meals, just in smaller doses. If you only eat fruit, you are providing you body with a lot of sugar, which will drive up your insulin levels quickly and are also digested very quickly. If you eat fruit and a yogurt that contains some, fat, you are not only adding fat, but your are adding valuable protein. Voila, here goes your complete meal :).

Image Sources:

Left: http://www.fageusa.com/NutritionChecklist.aspx

Right: http://www.mehc.ae/images/temp/fresh_fruit.jpg

2. EAPNS: Carb loading 1: Simple and complex carbohydrates

2010-04-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Endurance athletes talk about carb loading all the time :); everybody has a different approach prior to race day. Carb loading prior to race day can be up to a weeklong routine, or just a few days. I will talk about race prep carb loading in a different blog.

One of the things only few people think about is that carb loading needs to occur all the time, it is one of the most important elements of recovery and continuous training efforts. Carb loading simply means that you are replenishing your sugar depots in your muscles and your liver. Those are the main sources that can store glycogen, there is also some stored in your blood, but those sugars are maintained continuously by calorie intake and insulin production. The energy stored in those depots is recalled, when working out, not only on race day.

What kind of carbs/sugars can be stored in your muscles/liver?

There are essentially 2 types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are small molecules, such as sugar (glucose), fructose (sugar in fruit and fruit juices). lactose (sugar in milk), galactose (monosaccharides) and two sugars bonded together. Simple sugars are easily digestible and are perfect for quick energy replacement during workouts and races. Excess simple sugars are easily converted into fat.

Complex sugars or starch are simple sugars bonded together in a long chain. They are not as easily digestible, but are the source of glucose stored in our muscles and liver. The fact that complex carbs take longer to be digested leads to the effect that they are not as easily converted into body fat.

It is recommended to keep the intake of simple sugars as low as 10% of you daily carbohydrate intake.

How much energy can be stored in muscles and the liver?

Muscles are the main storage of glycogen, one can store anywhere from 200-500 grams of glycogen, which translates into 800-2000 calories. Some athletes have shown storage of up to 2700 calories stored in muscle. Long term training will result in greater storage depots in muscles as well as the amount of muscle mass of course. However, greater muscle mass will also means that your body burns more calories at any given time.

The liver can store 60-120 grams of glycogen, which equals 250–500 calories.

Your body generally uses mostly liver glycogen over night, which means that a good breakfast with supplements can easily replenish liver glycogen. I will write about that subject separately as well.

Image source: http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/images/i-pasta-penne-rigate.jpg

Carbohydrate foods:

Simple Sugars:

- Table Sugar

- Cakes, pastry, biscuits

- Fruit (the calorie content of fruit is generally low and fruits contain fiber, which slows down the digestive, which reduces the amount of excess calories stored in form of body fat)

- Juices

- Soda

- Jam

- Chocolate/Candy

Complex Sugars:

(Food in it’s most natural form i.e. whole wheat etc)

- Bran

- Cornmeal

- Oatmeal

- Whole wheat pasta, regular pasta

- Brown/white Rice

- Potatoes

- Wholemeal breads

- Wholegrain cereals

- Legumes: Peas, Beans Lentils

What have we learned?

Reduce the simple sugars in your daily diet. Carbohydrates are fuel for your body, if carbohydrate stores are low exercise will seem like a real effort! Not only on race day!!

1. Endurance Athlete Performance Nutrition and Supplements Blog: Advanced Cheese

2010-03-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first blog of a series that will specifically talk about Endurance Athlete Performance Nutrition and Supplements (EAPNS). I have been reading a book written by Dr. Feil, which unfortunately is only available in German, most of the information provided will be inspired by the boo. Today’s blog is a little out of sequence, but there was a specific need to extend on my favorite subject “CHEESE”.
It took me a while to find a real good reason to eat cheese; cheese contains Chromium. Thus far I have only found out that there are differences in how much they contain, Edamer and Gouda (95 micro grams/100g) seem to be high on the list, as well as American Cheese. Other sources list all cheeses at 56 micro grams/100g. The daily needs of Chromium for adults are 35 microgram for men and 25 microgram for women, athletes and diabetics tend to have higher daily needs. The reason therefore is that Chromium is an essential nutrient that helps the body use sugar, protein, and fat. Daily intake beyond 200 micrograms can lead to health risks. A blog that specifically talks about Chromium will follow. On a side note wine and beer also contain considerable amounts of Chromium :).

Here are some facts about cheese:

The fat content in the cheese impacts the flavor of the cheese, the community of cheese connoisseurs thinks that the fat content should be between 20-30% for ripened cheeses.

The biological value of protein in cheese is generally not as high as that in milk. Reason being is that the higher valuable whey protein is excluded in the process of cheese making. However, there are some repined cheeses that have up to 15 % whey protein, whereas most other cheeses only have 4-6% whey protein. On the plus side, ripened cheese also has a greater digestibility compared to milk (96-97% vs. 92%). Vitamin A and Calcium are of course valuable and should be considered as something positive when eating cheese.

If you would like to find out more about protein in cheese, here is an interesting article from www.dairyforall.com

3. Recipe: Tuna with Peach Salsa, Eggplant over Cuscus

2010-03-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Cook time: 15 min, prep time 20 min

3-4 entree servings

Ingredients:

1 pound sushi grade tuna

1 large eggplant

1- 1 ½ cups of whole wheat cuscus

Lemon pepper

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Peanut Oil

Italian Seasoning (salt free)

Sea Salt

Peach or Mango Salsa

Red Wine

Directions

Prepare the marinate for the tuna, take 4 table spoons of olive oil, 2 table spoons of balsamic vinegar and add the lemon pepper. Add the tuna, the longer the better, 15 min minimum.

Cut the eggplant in ½”by 1” pieces, gently cook/fry in a frying pan, add the Italian seasoning and some sea salt. Brown the eggplant, be careful that you don’t overcook it. It start falling apart. The eggplant will take the longest from all three main ingredients, depending on how rare you like your tuna.

Heat up 1 ¼ cup of water in the microwave (2 min) and add the cuscus and some sea salt. Stir the cuscus when initially adding it to the water; let sit for 5 min.

Add the peanut oil to a frying pan, turn on high. Be careful the smoke point of peanut oil is lower than some other oils. Add the marinated tuna and cook to your liking.

Serve on a large plate, pour some Peach or Mango Salsa over the eggplant/cuscus.

Ready is a wonderful, easy, relatively quick and healthy dinner. We had a glass of Amos Malbec with it, it turned out really well J!

145 lbs SUGAR

2010-02-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

I went to the coffee shop this afternoon to get myself a Medium Mocha, no whip. I had just finished a 2.45 h ride and needed to get some calories in my system. I walked over to the milk and sugar stand and there was this not-skinny girl topping of her coffee with sugar. She was holding the sugar dispenser over her cup circling around , must have been at least 7-10 s. To say the least, she is well contributing to the 145 lbs of sugar the average American consumes a year. Now lets makes this a little bit more visible, you can build a figure who is roughly 5'6" inches and normally built with that amount of sugar, by the time July 4th comes around, you have eaten half of the poor thing.
Reality is that there are some of us, who eat probably up to 200 lbs of sugar, since others eat considerably less.
For this upcoming week, look at the sugar you take in.

Obesity campaign "Let's move"

2010-02-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Since the US has now officially decided to spend money against childhood obesity, maybe even blogs like this one can get a share of the money. I have previously drawn conclusions based on the size of people i have seen in certain states and their legacy. For instance Wisconsin to me seemed to be one of the states with the highest obesity, part of that was supported by the fact that there are a lot of big people in WI and that they love their cheese. Now that I have looked at the Obesity rate by state (Source WSJ), I have been proven wrong. I am not even sure how to interpret these numbers, it looks like a few southern states are in the highest ranks, which could be explained by the fired foods.
Ultimately the problem seems to be spread around the whole country!!
Solutions:
1. Eating Out:
Don't eat out as much and cook healthy meals at home with only little trans fat.
Pro: You can loose weight by still enjoying the foods you like, by the simple fact that the preparation itself makes it a lot healthier. For kids that will mean that there dinner will include veggies and all the other things that are good for you. Side Note: Have you ever looked at a kids menu? Chicken tenders and fries, or whatever the restaurant calls it. If you can find veggies on a kids menu let me know :).
Cons: We all love to eat out, it is so easy. The US services economy would be in big trouble if only half of the US decided to not eat out anymore.

2. Portion Size:
Reduce the amount of food you eat.
Pro: You can still eat the things you enjoy, but have to cut back on how much you enjoy.
Cons: This means we have to discipline ourselves, which is way to hard. We already have to do that at work and in the rest of our private life.
Side Note: Even the FDA has recognized the issue. I find this rather humerus portion size (Source: New York Times)

Ok, I have to move now, running 10 miles this morning was just not enough :)

Cholesterol lowering foods

2010-02-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

Here we go again, the annual physical came back with too high LDL-Cholesterol. The letter in the mail suggests regular aerobic exercise. For some people that may be the issue, for others it may not be. So what else can be done? Even for already healthy eaters, there are more things that can be done. Soluble fiber is the number 1 of the bad cholesterol lowering foods, now what is that. Fiber 101.
Oatmeal and oat bran is followed by nuts and in third place for LDL lowering foods are fish and omega 3 fatty acids (didn't we just have those a few days ago in another blog???). This information and more can be found under (Source): http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

Food for thought

2010-02-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Food for thought, what does that really mean!! Well, I guess there is more than one meaning. The commonly known one is a catalyst, which makes one think about a subject. The real food for thought is also referred to as brain food. Walnuts not only look like little brains, but they are also known to be a great brain food. They are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids.
Here is some more healthful information:
http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/06/some-food-for-your-thoughts-nuts-part-1/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99

What does Heinz 57 Varieties do for you?

2010-01-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

Friends don't let friends eat Ketchup!!! Where is that saying coming from? A lot of us whether tall, large or small like our ketchup. It just goes well with fries, eggs or other foods. Besides that fact that it tastes good, there are certain health benefits.

Lycopene is one of the good things found in tomatoes, it becomes more bio-available if the tomatoes are cooked. Ketchup on the other hand contains a lot of sugar and salt, which offset the health benefits. A good alternative to ketchup are tomato sauces and other cooked tomato foods (Source:Wikipedia Ketchup-Nutrition).

Image Source: http://www.heinz.com/our-food/products/ketchup.aspx

Limits of our rational minds!

2010-01-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

This was an awesome show on NPR this morning:

Limitis of our rational minds! by NPR/Radioland

Source: istockphoto.com/NPR

Weekly Meals by Annie

2010-01-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a great blog that I heard about through a friend. Annie is taking the time and is publishing a weekly blog that gives you 5 recipes incl. a shopping list. Check it out: http://weeknightmeals.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful weekend.

Steffen

Cravings

2010-01-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

How to overcome food cravings? This is probably something most of you have either directly asked yourself or struggled with before! There are of course several different reasons. I was listening to a show on NPR last night. The guy on the show was talking about the brain and was asking the simple question, why do we not know more about how our brain works. The same is probably true for knowing about cravings. There are some good articles about cravings out there, here one example:
How to reduce food cravings? by Anne Collins

The consensus is that there are several different reasons, but the biggest reason being a blood sugar imbalance. Easy ways of overcoming that is never letting your blood sugar drop too far, by eating snacks in between meals. These snacks can be a fruit or vegetables. I have also had good success with V8 vegetable Juices or V8 Fusion.
One of the other things I have heard is that cravings get more intense, if we discipline ourselves from not eating the craved foods at all (i.e. candy). A recommendation was: instead of cutting out candy for instance entirely from one day to the other, slowly reduce the amount of candy consumed and therefore having a less difficult time to control the craving, but with a sustainable result.

Have a great evening.

Steffen

Caffeine

2010-01-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

Caffeine is known to increase your metabolism (Caffeine and your metabolism), which in effect means that fewer calories get absorbed (see Calorie Balance post). Caffeine is found in a lot of beverages and foods, coffee/tea is one of the ways of caffeine intake, which generally has few to 0 calories. That of course is only true if you don't add milk or cream, or a lot of sugar. Flavors that you can add to your coffee are high and sugar!! Sodas or soft drinks contain a lot of caffeine as well, but they eitehr contain a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners (see blog on sweeteners). Of course there are some side effects of caffeine that most of us experience, such as difficulties to sleep etc.
The recommendation for the day is, drink a cup of coffee after you ate lunch. Only add a little bit of cream, or at least consider milk and don't add any sugar.

The link below lists the caffeine content of drinks, you can also find foods on the same website:

Caffeine Content of Drinks (Source:www.energyfiend.com)

Juices

2010-01-19T02:00:00.000-08:00

Although juices are generally a good source of vitamins and are better than soda, they contain a decent amount of calories. Please look at the packaging of the orange juice of your choice. One of the things that you can do is to either not drink juice today, or try to mix it with 50% of water. This is also what you find in the grocery store under light juice, the companies simply add 50% water and therefore reduce the calories by 50%.

Early Dinner

2010-01-18T13:20:00.001-08:00

Today, try not to eat dinner any later than 7.00 PM. Everybody’s metabolism slows down at the end of the day and the calorie absorption increases the later it gets in the evening.

Beer and Wine

2010-01-16T15:35:00.000-08:00

This blog was inspired by a discussion I had with friends at a Master's Swim team social. We started talking about the different types of beers and eventually ended up talking about the calories of different beers. One has to consider, drinking alcohol in general, not only beer, slows down your metabolism. I knew something about the effect of alcohol and that the liver will be busy instead of actively supporting your metabolism. As always I ended up searching the web and found a really good article:

The REAL Effects of Alcohol On Your Body

What do we learn from that? If you are going to drink alcohol, have the drink you like!! Just don't have as many. One of the things I have successfully done is also not drink Monday through Wednesday or Thursday.

Just to be aware of how many calories beers and a glass of wine has, here are two interesting links:
Beer
Wine

An easy breakfast

2010-01-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

While the pros and cons of eating egg yolks often changes each decade, no one will argue that fresh, chopped veggies are tasty and healthy. So an easy and quick breakfast you can make for yourself after that good morning workout, or before you head off for a busy day at the office:

1) a bit of olive oil in the pan
2) 2 whole eggs (or 4 egg whites only) beat and then added to the pan
3) throw in a few chopped veggies - spinach, green peppers, artichoke, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and any other favorites
4) cook thoroughly on low-medium heat without stirring for a fritatta
- or stir for scrambled style
- or cook halfway and then fold for an omelette
5) add a few of your favorite spices
6) Eat with a slice of whole wheat bread and a nice glass of fruit juice.

Voila! Good, healthy calories in a short time frame. Almost anyone can do it. :)

Don't break down

2010-01-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

I have to apologize, I haven't been writing any blogs the past couple of days. I have a recipe ready, just need to type it it. Has anybody ever been in a situation, when you have been working 14 hour days and still haven't gotten everything done? Ok, enough wining for the day. I still managed to eat healthy and work out, even though it was only for 30 min on the treadmill, while still recovering from a cold.
Motto of the day: Drink lots of water, especially when you are working in a heated environment, continue to eat healthy (remember the energy balance (if you are not able to work out, simply eat less)). Ok, you can have a beer or two at night and sit down and relax.

Happy Wednesday

Calorie Balance

2010-01-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

Losing weight is the New Year's resolution for many of us. How does it work? It is actually very simple, if you want to loose weight, you have to create a negative calorie balance. It essentially means that your calorie intake needs to be less than what you are burning.

Imagine a scale, if you are eating more calories than what your body is burning, your body will store access calories in form of body fat. The objective is to have an even (maintain weight), or negative calorie balance.
Ways to achieve a negative calorie balance:
1. Eat less
Reduce the amount of food you are taking in. There are several helpful tool to do so, often referred to as calorie counters. One of the iPhone apps that I have heard positive reviews for is Tap&Track. Some people like the help from organizations like www.weightwatchers.com. You ultimately need to be comfortable with what you are doing. It may be as simple as following the advice that we are providing on www.LoveToEatRight.com. It is often enough to be aware of what you are eating an knowing how many calories the food contains.
2. Burn more calories
Any kind of physical activity will burn calories, even a 15 min walk in your lunch break does. It starts with easy things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator etc. If you enjoy doing sports even better!! Tomorrows blog will talk about the different types of work outs and the related ways of burning calories.

Most importantly, how do you find out, how many calories you should be taking in per day. Here is a helpful site, which lets you calculate your daily calorie needs.

Olive Oil

2010-01-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Olive Oil is commonly known for its health aspects, unlike animal fats, it is known to lower cholesterol levels as well as blood sugar and blood pressure. It is high in mono saturated fat. You can use Olive Oil for cooking and frying, if you like its flavor. For less flavor, you can use cheaper version of Olive Oil for frying. My favorite salad dressing is balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, salt, little bit of sugar and pepper. If you like, you can add mustard and/or light sour crème. Olive Oil is also good as a base for any marinate. If you’d like to know more about its nutritional facts, please see the following links:

Cooking with Olive Oil

Nutritional Facts

Culinary use (incl. comparison with other fats)

Sleep

2010-01-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

Go to bed early, to be well rested for the week. A decent amount of sleep is necessary to maintain a normal metabolism. There are studies that show that your metabolism is negatively affected if you don’t get enough sleep on a regularly. Sleep is also important for your immune system, especially in the cold weather we have been having!!

Early Dinner

2010-01-04T11:04:00.001-08:00

Today, try not to eat dinner any later than 7.00 PM. Everybody’s metabolism slows down at the end of the day and the calorie absorption increases the later it gets in the evening.