Dear Jess, I love to eat grapefruit, but don’t want to risk effects on my medications. Do I need to avoid grapefruit completely? If I have medication first thing in the morning, can I eat grapefruit later in the morning? Or, can I eat grapefruit in the morning and then take medication at night? Thanks for your help, Sheridan B.
Dear Sheridan, As innocuous as grapefruit juice sounds, there are, indeed, many drugs that interact with grapefruit juice. Other citrus fruits (but not all citrus fruits) including grapefruit sections, Seville oranges, pummelos and tengelos may cause similar interactions.
In a nutshell, here’s how it works: Read more
It’s not just about dark chocolate anymore. There’s a new thing among chocolate lovers…cacao nibs. I’ve heard it called the new red wine. What, might you ask, is a cacao nib? Well, if you take a cocoa bean, ferment it, dry it, separate it from its husk, and break it into small pieces, you have raw cacao nibs. Basically, they’re the closest thing to pure chocolate that’s available. No sugar, no dairy…just pure chocolate.
Being a chocolate lover myself (because it is good for you, you know), I realized I needed to find out more about these cacao nibs. I made a bee line for my nearest Whole Foods. It was immediately apparent, in talking with a true chocolate connoisseur, that those who are really into chocolate sound like they have discovered the holy grail of this favorite food. They rave about eating them plain, and tasting the many different flavors, leaping into exquisite detail about the complex aroma and taste of these tiny morsels of pure chocolate. I learned that cacao nibs, coming from different parts of the world, have their own unique essence.
Safety first! Stay within your limits. At the beginning level, start slowly and increase weight gradually. The first month of weight training should focus on light (as in not heavy) lifting exercises. Lifting light weights allows for two very important things:
-It allows you to perfect your technique (and technique is everything, remember?). If you can’t do it right with a light weight, if will only get worse (read: less effective and more dangerous!) with a heavier weight. If you can’t maintain proper technique reduce the weight and continue, or stop and rest.
-Starting out with minimal resistance allows your tendons, ligaments and joints to adequately adapt to more intense workloads. Don’t underestimate the importance of allowing time for connective tissue to adjust to your new workload.
Muscular strength and endurance are two of the primary components of “fitness”. Today let’s focus on the benefits of resistance training and important introductory information. In upcoming posts, I will discuss basic guidelines of resistance training, designing a beginning resistance training program, and modifying your program.
These guidelines are intended for those of you who have never tried resistance training. For those of you who have some experience lifting weights, you may find the following guidelines helpful…they may remind you of a few important things you have forgotten along the way. If this information is stuff you already know, well, redundancy is a good thing.
Sprouted legumes have a stunning amount of nutrients compared to their dried/cooked counterparts. By some estimates thiamin levels increase 5-fold, niacin doubles, vitamin E and caratene levels increase, and there is more vitamin C than in a tomato. Enzymes become activated making proteins and starches more digestible and, therefore, less gas-producing (always a good thing). Also, soaking in water neutralizes two “anti-nutrients” present in most seeds/nuts/grains: 1) phytic acid, a substance present in the bran of all grains and seeds that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc, and 2) enzyme inhibitors that can neutralize our own digestive enzymes. You can sprout seeds, nuts, legumes and grains – and it is easier than you might think.
This quick and easy hummus recipe makes a great vegetable dip. Try it with celery stick, cucumber or red pepper slices. I like to spread it on a leaf of chard or any leafy green.
Ingredients:
2 cups sprouted garbanzo beans OR 1-15 ounce can cooked organic garbanzo beans, rinsed
1-2 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/4 cup organic tahini (sesame butter)
1/4 cup extra virgin, organic olive oil Grind in blender.
Sea salt to taste.
Directions: Mix all ingredients in food processor or blender. If mixture is too thick, add more olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
Takes 5-10 minutes.
Dear Jess: I have a very stressful job and was wondering if you have any relaxation techniques that I could practice during the day. I practice yoga and walk at least 30 minutes every day. I have read about different breathing exercises. Do you know a technique that I could use at work? Thanks, Jenny M.
Dear Jenny: You are already on your way…walking on a daily basis and practicing yoga are excellent activities for reducing your body’s reaction to stress as well as for improving your overall health and well-being. So, pat yourself on the back for the actions you are currently taking to make a positive change in your life.
Dear Jess, I have a lot of trouble with intestinal bloating and gas. Having heard about probiotics, I was wondering if these might lessen my discomfort. Do you think this might be helpful? Thank you, Sherry H.
Dear Sherry, While I can’t diagnose the cause of your intestinal discomfort, a trial run with a good probiotic is an appropriate course of action that may very well be beneficial. Some intestinal bacteria cause more gas than others while breaking down the fiber in our food. Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium bifidum are two healthy bacteria residing in our large intestines that don’t produce as much gas. These are the primary two bacteria found in a good probiotic supplement. I recommend a month’s trial of probiotics supplements to see if your problem improves. At the very least, buidling the ratio of good bacteria in your gut will be beneficial to your digestive system as well as your immune system. Please give me a call during my Resource Line hours and we can talk specifically about dosage that is individual to your needs.
Dear Jess, I would like to feed my family more fish. Do you have a recommendation for an inexpensive, tasty fish? Thanks, Karen D.
Dear Karen - Indeed I do!
Fish is an excellent source of high quality, easily digestible protein. Some, but not all, fish are high in omega-3 essential oil – like salmon or sardines. Adding fish to your family’s diet is a healthy choice…if you make the right choice. There are many issues to consider when choosing which fish to consume, including:
1) Mercury and polychlorinated Bbiphenyls (PCBs) levels (as well as other toxins) in the fish. While this is an important issue for all of us, it is an especially important consideration for pregnant or lactating women, women planning to become pregnant and small children.
2) Sustainable harvesting and/or farming practices.
3) Wild versus farm-raised fish.
4) And, of course, coming back to your original concern…cost and taste!
You’ll read a lot here at Live Well about the importance of your diet including organic fruits and vegetables, range-free chickens and eggs, grass-fed beef, and wild salmon. But it is important to look at the bigger picture, in a word, sustainability. Sustainability should be the basis for how we produce, process, and choose our foods. Here are two key issues that we need to be looking at:
1) that we insist that crops and animals are grown and raised in ways that preserve the integrity of our soil and water, and maintain the nutrient value of the ground in and on which our foods are grown, and
2) that we choose local foods avoiding the environmental impact of shipping foods thousands of miles using disappearing and polluting carbon fuels.
Michael Pollan addresses the issue of sustainability in an elegant and compelling way in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
