Why excess weight takes years off your life

Everyone knows that excess weight is not healthy.  Carrying excess weight around puts a strain on your heart and joints but it can also contribute to a load of other more serious illnesses; type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer of the kidneys, colon and liver.  What's more, high blood levels of glucose, commonly found in overweight people,  make them look older than they really are.

A lot of the blame lately is on sugar... Carbs make us fat, however, new information points  to the possibility that it may be the fat itself that is causing all of these problems due to a build-up of a type of cell called senescent cells.

Senescent cells are simply cells that have grown old and have stopped dividing.  Until recently it was thought that when healthy cells become senescent they just sit around doing nothing, however this is not the case.

Judith Campisi, a professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, California, USA, started studying these senescent cells way back in the 90s.  Professor Campisi and her team discovered that when cells become senescent they secrete molecules called cytokines - a molecule that causes chronic inflammation.

"Inflammation causes or is a major contributor to, virtually every age-related diseases we know," she said.

To test this, investigators created mice that lacked the gene for a key protein, making them age prematurely due to an accumulation of senescent cells.  These mice developed cataracts early in life and in middle age they became frail and wrinkled.

The investigators then administered a drug treatment to remove the senescent cells from the mice.  The results were astounding, the mice became stronger and their cataracts cleared up, even their wrinkles disappeared.

Dr. Kirkland, co-author of the study said that one day we may be able to have our senescent cells removed - a bit like changing the oil in a car, but until then the best way to prevent the aging process is to lose any excess weight you may be carrying.

Dr. Kirkland has discovered that the largest amount of senescent cells accumulates in human fat tissue.  As we age, our subcutaneous fat becomes visceral fat, which is the dangerous kind, accumulating around our vital organs.  Visceral fat produces cytokines - those molecules that cause chronic inflammation and are also linked to cancer, and insulin resistance.

Dr. Kirkland believes that senescent cells found in visceral fat may well be the major culprits in systemic inflammation that accompanies aging.

In an amazing experiment in 2008, visceral fat was surgically removed from obese lab rats.  Those rats lived 20% longer than their counterparts who were still obese.

Unfortunately, the same can not be done in humans.  Human visceral fat is completely entwined with our blood vessels and organs, making it too difficult to remove surgically.

So, how do we stay young until a senescent removal procedure is invented?

You have to MOVE!  Constant movement improves and maintains muscle tone.  In fact, exercise is so good for you it can help with your junk food addiction!

Dr. Nathan LeBrasseur, Mayo Clinic, USA, studies metabolism and has just finished an exciting experiment that highlights the powerful effects exercise has on the body.

In the lab, he fed mice a specially designed diet that mimicked the nutritional content of a fast food diet - burger, fries and soda.  The mice had previously been genetically modified so that any senescent cells would bind to a fluorescent marker so that they would glow in the dark.

After a few months of eating the junk food diet, the mice lit up like Christmas trees due to the amount of senescent cells in their bodies.  Unlike their normal diet counterparts.

Some of the junk food mice had been put on an exercise program as well as the special diet.  These mice had developed a lot less senescent cells.  Effectively proving that exercise negates the toxic effects of junk food.

We know that muscle is important for burning calories and in order to have good muscle tone you need to exercise.  However, the benefits of muscle don't stop there.  Professor Mark Febbraio, head of metabolism and inflammation at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia found in 2003 that when you contract muscle it is actually an endocrine (hormonal) organ, and that muscle can communicate with other tissues.

What Prof. Fabbraio discovered was a cytokine (IL-6) which is usually associated with negative consequences such as; age-accelerating inflammation and early death.

Exercise produces large quantities of IL-6, BUT, in this context it is a good thing - it signals the liver to convert fat into fuel - in exercise IL-6 is actually an anti-inflammatory.  IL-6 is found at constantly high levels in obese and elderly people - signaling high levels of inflammation.

Younger and normal weight people have lower levels of IL-6, but when they exercised this level shot up and then dissipated over a few hours - telling other organs such as the liver to switch to exercise mode.

So, where as I would NEVER recommend eating junk food on a regular basis -  if you are going to then make sure you exercise regularly.

Prevention is key.  Eat healthily, move as much as possible and put up a fight against aging!

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

Brain Matters

The brain matters... I think we all have that one pretty clear.  Feeding your body correctly isn't just about being your correct weight, it's also about feeding your BRAIN correctly.

The brain and the digestive tract are very closely linked so making intelligent decisions about what your eat is essential.

The brain only accounts for 2% of human body weight but it uses 20% of the calories consumed every day.  For your brain to function properly it needs a constant supply of glucose and fat but, WHERE you get the glucose and fat from really matters.

As I have said many times before, it's not the calories that matter but the where you get them from that does.  Calories from protein and carbohydrates are not processed by the body in the same way and are used for different functions.

For example; when you eat refined carbohydrates that release glucose quickly, such as: soda, white bread, pasta, sweets, etc., you experience a spike in blood sugar levels that produces a quick burst of physical energy, however, this is followed by a drop in blood sugar that leads to a slump resulting in low energy levels and low productivity.

However, if you eat foods that provide a more sustained energy level such as proteins (meat, fish, poultry and eggs),  healthy fats (avocados, nuts), low glycemic carbohydrates (fruits,vegetables and whole grains) you are providing a more stable and prolonged supply of energy to the brain.  These foods also make you feel fuller for longer.

So, if you want to be more productive, try the following:

BREAKFAST:
Eggs are great brain food.  They contain a B-Vitamin called choline that enhances memory and reaction time.  Choline increases the size of neurons, helping them to fire electrical signals more strongly and rebound faster between firings.

If you prefer a sweeter breakfast try organic yogurt with blueberries.  The yogurt has protein, minerals and probiotics which are essential for gut health.  Blueberries are high in antioxidants that improve memory and motor coordination and counteract oxidative stress.

If you are in a hurry and haven't got time for breakfast, then grab a banana.  Your brain works best with about 25g of glucose circulating in the blood stream - roughly the amount found in a banana!

LUNCH:
Organization is key.  Junk food - although quick and easy and cheap will only do damage.

Go as green as possible.  Dark leafy greens are packed full of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.  Iron, for example, in spinach, etc helps bring more oxygen to the body and brain improving cognitive control.  Spinach is a powerhouse of goodness packed with antioxidants, containing more than 3 times the folate found in an iceberg lettuce - so a spinach salad is a great way to keep going all afternoon.

Avocados - my favorite go to food.  Full of monounsaturated fats which improve blood flow to the brain, add half to your spinach salad and feel the difference.  Add a handful of raw almonds and a drizzle of olive oil and your'll be working up a storm.  Almonds contain phenylalanine, an amino acid that has the ability to cross the blood/brain barrier where it stimulates the brain into generating natural mood-boosting neurotransmitters called dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Enjoy your salad with any meat, fish or poultry of your choice.  I do not recommend mixing carbs with protein as the body does not digest this mix well, so forget potatoes, rice, pasta or bread and fill up on vegetables.

DINNER:
Make dinner light.  A lightly grilled piece of salmon with steamed broccoli will do wonders!

Salmon is packed full of Omega-3s, protein, iron and B-vitamins - you can't go wrong with this amazing brain food.

Broccoli is a major source of vitamin K which enhances cognitive function and enhances brain function.

If you prefer a vegetable dish you can make ratatouille - eggplant or aubergine as it is known in Europe, improves the communication between your braincells and messenger molecules - just remember that this vegetable counts as a carb so don't mix with protein.

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

How on earth do I quit eating junk food?

A friend of mine asked me this question this morning, so I decided to talk about this on my post this week.

The first answer to this question that springs to mind is simply that the Fast Food Industry DOESN'T WANT YOU TO!

However, I believe there is a different answer to that one...

There are strategies...  Mindfulness has a lot to do with it, good habits over bad and of course... willpower (in some cases).

Lots of people say, "I have no willpower!"  Well, that just isn't true.  When you want something badly enough you have all the will power in the world.

What to do when you want to make a major change in your life, be it giving up smoking, junk food or some other unhealthy habit:

Step 1:  Sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and preferably in silence when no one is going to interrupt you.  Ask yourself a series of questions.  The first and most important one is:

Have you ever given up a major habit before, such as smoking?

If you have then you have to believe that if you can give up smoking you can certainly give up junk
food.

Ask your self WHY you want to stop eating junk food?  Do you want to give up to improve your diet?  To lose weight?  To improve your health?  Do you want to be a good example for your children?

Here are some thoughts to consider.  Most people know by now that junk food isn't healthy.  So you would be wise to start looking at junk food for what it is.

Junk food isn't food.  Junk food is processed leftover food stuffs that weren't good enough for "proper" food.  This is churned up and mixed with huge amounts of salt and sugar to make it taste good and last longer on the supermarket shelf or in the restaurant store room.

For example; McDonald's fries have a staggering 14 ingredients!  Yes!  And let's not forget the pink slime scandal which they "say" has been removed from burgers.

There have been "tests" by people who have bought a Happy Meal from McDonald's and left it untouched on a shelf for a year to see what would happen... the results were astounding... the meal looked exactly the same as when bought - just dried out... no mould... no foul smell...

So just think what that must be doing to your body on a regular basis.  Junk food is so unhealthy it can even re-wire your brain, eating junk food on a regular basis can literally kill off your desire to eat a healthy diet.

This is what makes it so difficult to give up.  But all is not lost, you can train your brain to prefer a healthy diet.

You are not in control of your diet.  Food manufacturers are.  The huge food manufacturers are in it for the profits.  They will put anything in their food to get you hooked and keep you coming back for more.  Sugar and Salt are major players as they not only make food more palatable but they also extend it's shelf life in the supermarket.  Sugar and salt get you hooked on the taste and that registers in the brain and the next time you see your favorite packet of cookies in the supermarket your brain will send you a message saying:

Remember those?  Remember how good they were?

And bam!  Next thing you know your at the check out with the packet in your basket.

We are all bombarded on a daily basis with advertisements for processed foods and junk food.  This is why it's far easier to stay off the cigarettes once you quit... there's no advertising for cigarettes.

Step 2: Plan healthy meals.  Plan and cook healthy meals from scratch.  And, when you eat them, think about all the great things that meal is doing for your body and mind.  How the ingredients will help you to be healthy, how they will repair damaged areas, how they will give you energy and feed brain cells.... be CONSCIOUS of what you are putting into your mouth.

Sugar is addictive and produces the same response in the brain as cocaine... Salt, well I don't know about it being addictive but we sure get used to the taste and the amount of salt in foods... Just try cooking dinner one evening and not adding any salt, things will certainly be bland.  However, we aren't born liking salt, it gets introduced to us from about 6 months on and then it just grows and grows...  However, if you reduce the amount of salt in meals gradually, your taste buds will adjust to the new levels of salt and you will need less.

Step 3:  Think before you shop before you eat.  Be mindful of what you are doing.  Plan meals ahead, go to the supermarket with a shopping list and do not stray from that list.  When you sit down to eat, look at the food in front of you and ask yourself; do I WANT to eat this?  Is it GOOD for me?  Will it NOURISH me?  If you can't answer yes to these three questions, then don't eat it.

Step 4:  You can either decide to quit and never go near a fast food restaurant ever again, or you can

decide that that type of meal should be a "treat", something sporadic that is not the norm.  That way it may be easier to abstain knowing that you are allowed to "indulge" every now and again - say once a month.

I have given up several things in life.  I gave up cigarettes, I gave up soft drinks, I gave up sugar in tea and coffee and then aspartame in tea and coffee.  It is possible to give up anything you choose.  However, you have to be convinced that that is what you want to do and what your reasons for doing it are.

To me it is simple.  If your health is or will be compromised by your habits then you need to change them.  To keep your health or even to improve it then willpower is the least of your problems.

Now, YOU have to be convinced.  You will not succeed if you are doing it because your husband, wife, mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend says that is what you should do.  Do it for YOU, so you will live a long and healthy life to enjoy with your loved ones.

Only YOU are in control of what and how much you eat.

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

Closed for the holidays... back next week!

Hi everybody, I have taken a few days off before going to the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism in Lisbon at the weekend.

I will be back with a new post next week!  Enjoy and keep healthy!

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