The NOT so humble McDonald's fry...

What's in a fry?  You'd think that all there is in a fry is potato, the oil from frying and salt - to taste.  At least that's the way you make them at home.

Well McDonald's have found a way to put 14 ingredients into their fries!  Yes, I said 14 vs 3 at home.

The process for making McDonald's fries at their Idaho processing plant is as follows:

First the potatoes are harvested, peeled, cut and blanched.  After that fairly innocuous process they are put through a cutting machine that gives them their long, thin shape.

Once they have been shaped, they are "sauced" with a blend of canola oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural BEEF flavor, hydrolyzed wheat, hydrolyzed milk, citric acid and dimethylpolysiloxane.

Dimethyl what?????  Well, dimethylpolysiloxane is an additive that stops cooking oil from foaming - it is also a form of silicone found in Silly Putty.  According to McDonald's it is added for safety reasons.

Dextrose - a form of sugar - is then added to give the fries their golden color when fried.  Sodium acid pyrophosphate is then added to stop the fries from going grey and salt for flavoring.

They are fried at the plant and then flash frozen before being shipped to the McDonald's outlets.
 Once at the outlets they are fried for a second time in an oil blend similar to the one at the plant with the addition of - another unpronounceable name - tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) which is a petrol based chemical and hydrogenated soybean oil - a manufactured form of trans fat.

A single large serving of McDonald's fries contains 510 calories, 6g of protein, 24g of fat, 67g of carbs and 290 mgms of sodium.

So, these fries are NOT vegetarian/vegan or gluten free - they aren't even dairy free!

Now, you are a little luckier if you live in the UK as the McDonald's fries recipe in the UK does not include hydrogenated soybean oil, canola oil or dimethylpolysiloxane.

So next time you want fries - make them yourself!!!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

What type of eater are you?

Let's face it.  We all find it hard to follow a diet.  What gets people the most is the monotony of a diet - the lack of variation and the constant nagging thought process of "I can't eat that but I really want to!"  Dieting can quite often cause a lot of stress and anxiety.

One thing that is clear to me is that not everyone is suited to the same diet.  Some people find it easy to follow a very restrictive diet while others would rather jump off a cliff before doing without their favorite dish.

However, what we do know is that being overweight or obese is a serious danger to health, so people need specific diets that suit each individual.

A group of experts from the UK have discovered that by studying the TYPE of eater that you are means that a specific diet can be recommended which will be easier to follow and therefore more successful.  This has been turned into a Horizon program for the BBC.

Let me explain:

The experts studied 75 overweight volunteers who took part in a complex screening process first.  The experts found that the volunteers fell into three different categories:

1. EMOTIONAL EATERS:  People who eat for psychological reasons, eating when they are stressed, anxious or depressed.
2. FEASTERS:  These are people who have difficulty stopping once they start.  Scientists believe that this is due to a lower production of the gut hormone GLP-1 which signals the brain that a person is full.
3. CONSTANT CRAVERS: This means a person is hungry all the time and although they may not eat large portions they are constantly eating throughout the day.  The experts believe this is due to more genes that make you feel hungrier.  This increases the likelihood of eating too much and gaining weight.

The experts then devised weight loss plans for each group based on the type of eaters they were.

The EMOTIONAL EATERS were encouraged to join weight loss groups where they would receive the emotional support they needed instead of turning to food.  They were also given Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help them change their emotional responses to emotional problems.

The FEASTERS diet was designed to maximize the production of the GLP-1 hormone that they are lacking, and promoted foods that are digested in that specific part of the gut.  The diet was high in protein and low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates as these are known to encourage production of the vital hormones and increase feelings of fullness.

The CONSTANT CRAVERS were put on the 5:2 diet where their calories were restricted severely for 2 days a week (between 600-800 calories) and they were free to eat a healthy mediterranean style diet for the other 5 days - although neither calories nor carbohydrates were restricted for the 5 free days.

To me, this actually makes a lot of sense.  Tailoring a diet to a persons psychological profile should mean that the person finds dieting a lot easier to handle and will therefore be more successful.

So what type of eater are you?  You can take the test here!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Breathe yourself thin.

Here's an interesting fact:  80% of fat leaves the body through the LUNGS!

You've all heard of triglyceride, which is a type of fat found in the blood of humans.  This type of fat consists of three kinds of atoms: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.  In order to lose unwanted fat, you have to unlock the atoms in triglyceride molecules via a precess called oxidation.

A team of scientists at the University of New South Wales, Australia, have traced every atom's pathway out of the body and have discovered that when 10kg of fat is oxidized, 8.4kg departs the body through the lungs in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2).  The remaining 1.6kg turns into water (H2O).

Their investigations also showed that inhaled oxygen required to carry out this metabolic process weighs nearly three times MORE than the fat being lost.

In order to completely oxidize 10kg of human fat, a person must inhale 29kg of oxygen, producing a total of 28kg of carbon dioxide and 11kg of water.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

Well actually, and here's the bad news, it isn't.  And here's why:

• At rest, a person weighing 11 stone (70kg) exhales around 200ml of CO2 by taking 12 breaths a minute - so say the investigators.  So by breathing out 17,280 times a day, a person will lose at least 200g of carbon, around a third of that loss will happen during sleep.
• Going for a run for 1 hour would help remove a further 40g of carbon from the body, raising the total loss by around 20% to 240g - ONLY.

As you can see it isn't that easy to breathe yourself thin.

According to the study's authors, Ruben Meerman and Andrew Brown;

"The exhaled carbon can only be replaced by eating food or consuming beverages such as milk, fruit juices or sugar-sweetened beverages."

So once you have lost your 240g of carbon you can easily put it all back on with jus a single 100g muffin!

Some investigators, doctors, dietitians, etc., are still firm believers in that to lose weight you have to burn more than you consume.  While this is not untrue, it isn't entirely correct either.

For me, it all depends on WHAT TYPES of foods you eat.  Eating carbohydrates will give you energy but get stored as fat in the body if not used immediately.  When you eat carbs they get turned into glucose which is used by the body for quick energy - when you need to run for a bus, etc.  The body must use up all it's stores of glucose BEFORE it can begin to burn fat for energy.

So, if you are going to the gym, running, etc., in the hope of burning extra fat, then don't eat carbs before working out.  You need to do AT LEAST 40 minutes of high intensity aerobic activity to burn glucose before you start burning fat.  In the absence to glucose, fat will be used for energy instead.

So yes... fat is lost from the body through the lungs... but to breathe yourself thin is not that easy.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

F.I.T for 2015

January... another year begins and all those New Year's resolutions have usually gone down the drain by now.  Just one week into the New Year and most people have already given up on all those good ideas they were going to implement like going to the gym, going on a diet, giving up alcohol for January, getting fit...

We all tend to start off with a lot of enthusiasm but it tends to wane pretty quickly.  It isn't easy to make radical changes and make them stick, those big changes are usually so big that we just can't cope with them.  So what is your aim for 2015?  Is it to get healthy?  Well here's an easy way to do it.

I have told you about my F.I.T Method (Food Intolerance Technology Method) before.  What is so ideal about this method is that it is an all-rounder.  You won't just lose weight, you will get healthy too.

We all have food intolerances which cause imbalances in the body that are manifested in:

• Headaches
• Gas/ bloating
• Constipation/ Diarrhea
• Impossibility to lose weight
• Weight gain
• Feeling full when you've eaten little

Among others.

When food intolerances are treated by a change in diet, all these problems disappear - and then some:

• Migraines are improved - not cured, but less frequency of attacks and less intensity
• Psoriasis improves 
• you sleep better
• you have more energy 
• Digestive problems disappear
• Easy weight loss 

The digestive system is closely linked to the brain - so much so that the digestive system is the only other system in the body that produces neurotransmitters - that's how important your digestive system is.  This is also the reason why you need to look after it.

And it is so easy to look after.  You can detect which foods you are intolerant to by way of a blood test, it is quick and easy.  I sit down with my patients for about an hour before they go and do the blood test and ask them lots of questions about what they eat normally, what their lifestyle is like; if they are active or have a sedentary life, etc so that I can get a complete picture of what their day to day life is like and what they want/ need to achieve... weight loss?  Digestive problems?  General health?

Once I have received the results of the blood test, I team those with the lifestyle information I have and then have another session with the patient.  Each diet is individualized to suit that person.  No two lives are the same neither are the goals so each diet has to be tailored to each individual so that all their necessities are covered.  After all, it isn't just about losing weight, it is about optimal health on all levels.

It is very important to address all the body's needs.  You can't just opt for a diet without exercise or vice versa.  You may remember a post of mine from a long time ago about NASA's take on exercise and how the body needs constant movement.  Movement is a necessity for health and is equally important as a well balanced healthy diet.  The combination of the two is a guarantee for success.

So what do you want for you and your family this New Year?  Health and happiness?  Here is where you can start... at least on the health part where I can help you... the happiness part is up to you!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Weight loss in your... ear!

There are loads of gadgets on the market to monitor your movements and control what you eat... I recently wrote about one that gives you electric shocks to help you acquire healthy habits.  My personal favorite for the moment is the Jawbone UP, but this type of gadget is very personal and everyone has a favorite.

However, in June 2015 a new gadget is coming...  But instead of wearing this one on your wrist or concealing it in your pocket... you wear it in your EAR!

The BitBite is a tiny device made from plastic and aluminum that fits snuggly inside your ear, tracking the rate at which you chew and documenting the foods you eat.

How can something in your ear document the foods you eat?  Well, it's quite simple... you have to talk to it!  Not only will people be sitting in restaurants and taking photos of their food but they will be munching away while squeaking:

"Chicken salad."

"Steak."

"Beans."

I can hear the laughter already!

But as food, exercise and healthy living finally become more and more important, this little gadget might just be on to something.  It has an estimated retail price of $159 when it launches and also offers real-time suggestions about nutrition and health while you eat.

According to it's website, the BitBite works by recording incoming sounds through a microphone and sensors that detect pattern recognition.  Through sound analysis, it can detect what and how much you have eaten, tracking the number of calories as well.  Alternatively, it can document what you eat when you say the food out loud.

As you wear it when you eat (it has a wrist band where you can store it when you aren't eating) it also learns you eating habits to determine whether you could benefit from eating more or less often, and also where and when you eat the most.

It is connected to an app which transfers the data into an automatic diet diary helping you to monitor your eating habits and daily calorie intake.  The BitBite's aim is to improve your nutrition by motivating you to chew more, eat more slowly and eat at regular intervals.

This gadget was founded by Etai Granit, who came up with the idea after he found it difficult to keep a food diary on the advice of his dietitian.

"I tried using all those wearable bands and stickers for counting my bites, but they were incredibly inaccurate, and not very comfortable," he explains, "That's when I thought of creating a user-friendly automated dietary recording system (ADRS).  As it turns out, this device is the most comfortable and produces the most accurate results of all dietary wearables... I finally feel like I have my own personal dietitian with me wherever I go."

Nutrition adviser Dr. David L. Katz, believes the BitBite may well revolutionize how we eat and may even help in fighting the obesity epidemic.

"It provides a novel and empowering way to address healthful eating and weight control," he said, "By focusing on how as opposed to the what of healthful eating, BitBite has the potential to help replace short-term dieting with lasting improvements in eating, lifestyle and health."

There is a huge obesity epidemic which is costing health providers huge amounts of money and there is so much we can do ourselves to avoid the problem, maybe this tiny device will help.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com