Confused about Carbs?  Vegetable Carbohydrates for President, Fruit Carbohydrates for Vice President

 

 

Have you been watching the debates in TV lately?  The issues and side comments intrigue me. So many statistics are thrown around, and sometimes, I wonder, what is the real truth?  Similarly, in the nutrition world, there are many views on which is the best eating plan for maintaining a ideal fat to lean ratio and to lower the risk of chronic disease.  Much of the misunderstanding is in the area of carbohydrates.  I was a roving reporter for a short time last week.  Here are some of my findings:

What is a carbohydrate?  I asked neighbors, high school students, even senior citizens.  Some said “starch” some said “the bad things Atkins hates” Finally, one person said that he thought it was a food group, but was not sure which foods were carbs. I even had one person say “carbohydrates make me irate” An internet search brought me to a car machine shop that was capitalizing on the low carb craze and was having a “low carb-urator” sale.  Arg!  Too much confusion! Again we need to consult the dictionary. “Any one of the many organic substances, almost all of them of plant origin, that are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and serve as a major source of energy in the diet.” In other words as Dr. Sears says,” carbohydrates come from the ground”, “protein moves around” key word, “plant” So carbohydrates are plant source foods: fruit, vegetables, grains, starches and legumes.

 

Carbohydrates are categorized into 2 groups.  Simple and complex is the usual scientific breakdown, but Dr. Sears likes to talk about favorable and unfavorable.  Simple carbohydrates are sometimes called simple sugars such as fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (Table sugar), lactose (milk sugar), and other sugars.  Fruits are one of the richest natural sources of simple carbohydrates.  In other words, sugar that the body would easily absorb.  Complex carbohydrates are also made up of sugars, but the sugar molecules are strung together to form longer, more complex chains. In other words, sugars that requires the body some work to break down.  Complex carbohydrates include foods that contain fiber and starches.  Foods rich in complex carbohydrates include vegetables, whole grains, peas and beans.  Not so scary, now, Huh?  We all know that our grandmother said that fruits and vegetables are our friends.

 

Dr. Sears and Dr. Christian always make the point that there is no "Essential Carbohydrate".  In other words, our body does not need to have carbohydrate to survive like we need certain specific "Essential Fats and Essential Amino Acids".  If that is true, why do we need to eat any Carbohydrates?  There are two good reasons.  The first is that Carbohydrates, especially fruits and vegetables are good sources of Micronutrients such as Vitamins, Minerals, Fiber and Water which are "Essential" for life.  In addition, only plants can make the Omega 6 and Omega 3 fats which are essential for animals. (Remember all that "Eicosanoid Stuff in Dr. Christian's Zone Workshop?")  All the real health benefits which have been shown to occur in populations that eat lots of fruits and vegetables occur primarily due to these micronutrients and not to the caloric value of the carbohydrate.  The second reason is that by eating some carbohydrate we give our bodies molecules of glucose which can be used for energy and we don't need to break down our muscle to create glucose for energy.  Dr. Sears has decided that a 40% carbohydrate intake along with a 30% Protein intake is a perfect combination.  He calls this the P/C ratio and it is .75.  A P/C ratio of .75 has been shown to best control glucose and Insulin levels. In the Zone Workshop, Dr. Christian talks about how important it is to lower insulin levels.  Insulin is a storage hormone.  It takes the glucose in our blood and stores it in our muscles and the liver.  When the muscle and liver are full, 90gm in Liver and 400gm in muscle and other organs, insulin then stores every gram of carboyhydrate as FAT.  We like to measure your insulin level.  If it is over 8uunits/ml then your body is in a constant storage mode and you may have trouble getting your body to use fat as a energy source.  The only 'Drug" that will lower insulin levels is FOOD and a P/C ratio of .75 helps to do that.  Incidentally, the organ that really wants/needs to use glucose as it's main

fuel is the brain.  Most of our other organs would like to use our fat stores, so let's get those insulin levels down and get rid of the fat we want to lose.    This is a slide which puts all the popular diets in perspective as regards the P/C Ratio. 

  The question is, "What Kind?" of carbohydrates should we eat, now that we have answered the question "How Much?"    Like the Star Wars movies, the Jedi Knight, Yoda tells his protégé, “Choose carefully young Luke”.  Choosing carbohydrates is similar in theme.  Our bodies respond differently to different carbohydrates, in other words all carbohydrates are not alike even though they are all called carbohydrates.  What a sentence!!  That's why we distinguish in general between fruits, vegetables and beans and the grains and starches.  Our Hunter gatherer ancestors really only ate the Fruits and Vegetables and some roots.  The grains and starches only came into our diet about 10,000 years ago and we have gone crazy eating them.  Remember the Paper Machet Slide in Dr. Christian's Zone Seminar!   I refer you to last month's article of the month "Cereal Grains, Humanities Double Edged Sword" by Dr. Cordain for a great review of the problems related to large amounts of cereal grain consumption.  Unfortunately, the world has become totally dependent on cereal grains, and these types of carbohydrates are the basis of the worldwide obesity and Type II Diabetes epidemics. 

 

Children like most fruit and only a few vegetables.  No wonder the popularity of the children’s cartoon series” Veggie Tales”.  Each fruit and vegetable is a hero in their own right.  Even if the cucumber character can never find his hairbrush. (Ironic, since cucumbers are high in silica, a mineral that stimulates hair growth, and the cucumber guy is bald)  I have done it again, I have digressed from the main thought, what is a carbohydrate, and if I choose well for my diet, how does it benefit me? Remember that the word  “diet”?  It literally means way of life.

 

If you are an Inside Outside Client, you have received the handout of the carbohydrates which we consider to be most favorable.  We should eat a large amount of the 3%, 6%, and a few 15% glycemic  content carbohydrates, and that we tend to eat too many calories when we “go out of the Zone” and eat 20% glycemic content carbohydrates.  Perhaps some of you remember Dr. Christian’s “Zone” lecture about the food pyramid, and how the USDA Food Pyramid is the same formula used to fatten livestock for the slaughterhouse.  (Money driven eating plan).  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be viewed at H.E.B. as “little piggy goes to market”. So, if we stick to the fruits and vegetables, and stay away from too many grains and starches, we are on safer ground.  No pun intended.

 

To repeat, fruits and vegetables are full of micronutrients which we know are essential for life.   Fiber is also a benefit of fruits and vegetables, which helps in digestion and elimination.  An adequate fiber intake helps in lowering blood cholesterol levels, and reducing the risk of heart disease.  Don't forget also that fruits and vegetables are good sources of water. In addition, there are thousands of compounds, called phytonutrients, maybe not totally essential for life but they are only in plants and have useful roles in our health, mostly undefined.  We are exploring a plant, fruit and berry based product line which would provide us with a daily dose of many of the "Essential" things we need and these phytonutrients.  We will discuss this further next month.    

 

In addition, next month, I will refer to Dr. Sears, and talk about why the really low carb diets don't work.  I usually become suspect of any thing when it is referred to as low or high.  It really gets my attention when it comes to stocks, but that is another subject.   What ever happened to grandma’s philosophy of adequate, and moderate.  It is an election year, shouldn’t we be asking those questions about all parts of our lives? I vote for Vegetables for President and Fruits for Vice President. And I hope a minority wins cabinet appointments grains and legumes. And, remember, every vote counts.

 

Dawn Blem

Certified Nutritional Consultant   Contact Dawn Blem

Amanda's Corner:  "Announcing the SuperSlow® Honor Roll"

Who is going to be the first?

 

Over the past few months we have been recognizing a SuperSlow® Star of the month. Dr. Christian and the staff have selected these Stars because of their hard work and success and to some extent because each of them came to us for different reasons and with different goals.  We consider all our members to be Stars and we will continue to have a Star each month.  Not all of the Stars are going to have really spectacular results in terms of body composition and strength but, nonetheless, we want to recognize special situations which benefit from our program and the reasons that they chose to work with us.

 

We feel it is necessary however, to create a very special category of achievement which we will call the "SuperSlow® Honor Roll". The requirements for membership on the Honor Roll will be much more stringent and will require a lot more work.  It will be something everyone can strive for and there is no time limit to getting on the Honor Roll.  A few may achieve it in a 4 month program, others may take a year or years. 

 

The Requirements Being Considered Include:

1.  Be a SuperSlow® Zone Inside Outside Client and declare that you have set a goal to become a member of the Honor Roll.

2.  Have Pre and Post Digital Pictures taken or provide us with a Pre Picture representative of you before our program.

3.  Achieve Certain Levels of Strength Increases in our 5 basic machines.

4.  Achieve a certain level of body composition based on goals set at the initial consultation.

 

Members who achieve the Honor Roll will be recognized in the Newsletter, receive extra sessions added to their program and a T-Shirt.

 

We would appreciate Members Feedback on the requirements for this Award.   Final requirements are to be announced next month.

Contact Amanda Antonini

Nancy's Marketing Update:  More TV, Express News and Radio

 

 

Cynthia Lee, Anchor Woman of Fox 29 news@nine featured the Inside Outside SuperSlow® and Zone nutrition program on her 9pm evening news on 6 Oct 04.  Clarice Martinez and Dr. Christian were interviewed.     More    

Link to Cynthia Lee Bio.

 

 

 

The 26 Sep 04 Sunday Express News had a Front Page article entitled  "Growth Hormone, Fountain of Youth or ticket to early grave?" written by Michelle Koiden Staff writer for Express News.   

Complete Text of the Article Here.   Bigger Picture Here.

 

On 4 Oct Dr. Christian gave a 30 minute interview to Karen Clauss, Co Host of Magic 105 "the Magic Morning Show"  Dr. Christian focused on the importance of combining a Reduced Calorie diet like the Zone and Concurrent Strength Training like SuperSlow as the best strategy.  It will be aired in November and we will get out an announcement. Check out Karen's Custom Cake Design Service. lecake.com

 Karen Clauss Bio Link

 

Dr. Christian appeared in a free 30 second commercial on The Angelina Show on Monday 4 Oct 04.  He won the commercial time by having his business card drawn at Angelina's Business Networking Luncheon for Entrepreneurs.  She has a terrific show. Read about her, The Networking luncheon and the show at The Angelina Show Website!

 

"The Future of Workingout is Here"  by Bert Gallagher, Editor of City Pages Magazine. The October Edition of the City Pages Magazine featured the first of several first person articles written by Bert Gallagher, the editor of the magazine and his Creative Director Doug Jacobson.  Their first article "The Future of Workingout is Here!" is on their web site Here.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside Outside Wellness Center and Medical Spa to sponsor MySA.com Health Page. On the left  is our Banner Advertisement.

 

It will also appear on the Sports and SA Life Pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amanda's SuperSlow® Technique Corner: The SuperSlow® Compound Row

      The Devil's Cam!! 

 

Do you know which one of our SuperSlow® Machines has recently been renamed as the “Devil’s Cam”?  For those of you who haven’t been in for your workouts lately (and you know who you are!)…it would be the Compound Row Machine.  We’ve renamed this machine because, for most of us, it’s a “devil” to perform.  The reason for the difficulty in performing the exercise is because it is a compound movement that requires three primary muscle groups—the arms, back and the shoulders working in a coordinated way to complete the movement. (A compound movement involves moving more than one joint through a range of motion.)  The Row Machine and the Cam, designed by Ken Hutchins, the Founder of SuperSlow® drops the resistance at the "Top, Upper Turnaround" and then really loads you up again in the last 7 seconds of the negative and the first 7 seconds of the positive portion of the repetition.

 

Some important rules to remember when performing this compound movement:

1)      Be sure that your chest is in “proper alignment”—chest up high and always on the pad throughout the entire rep.

2)      On the third rep, squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold for 3 seconds.

3)      Stabilize your head in a neutral position (no turning head or moving chin up and down as the exercise gets more difficult).

4)      Breath…It makes getting through each rep easier, and don't forget to breathe on the squeeze.

5)      If your hands or forearms start to give out before your back, try the wrist hooks from the pulldown machine.

 

Keep in mind that this hard work is worth it because performing this exercise strengthens our back and this helps us to maintain a healthy, productive life and makes our daily activities much easier to accomplish!  Good Luck with your rowing and be sure to ask your SuperSlow® instructor if you have questions about your form on the Compound Row Machine!!

 

Now let's ROW, ROW, ROW...

 

Amanda Antonini, SuperSlow® Instructor

Contact Amanda Antonini

 

 

Special Surprise Guest: Dr. Doug Mcguff

Dr. Doug McGuff  recently paid a surprise visit to inside Outside Wellness Center.   Dr. Mcguff is a San Antonio Native and graduate of the medical school here.  As a teenager in San Antonio, he worked at a local gym trading janitorial services for a gym membership.  He noticed a copy of Arthur Jones' Nautilus Bulletin #1 in the gym office and asked if he could borrow it.  Evidently, he read it cover to cover that night and was hooked on strength training. He now is an ER doctor in Seneca, South Carolina and opened a SuperSlow Facility 1997.  He has written a book about Strength Training, in particular, basic Concepts about SuperSlow.  It is great background reading for someone who is interested in the "Science" behind what we do.  Here is  an article that Dr. McGuff wrote entitled "Steady State Activity: Travesty".  It was published in "The SuperSlow Exercise Standard in Jan 1998 Edited by Ken Hutchins, the founder of SuperSlow.  Check out his web site, Ultimate Exercise.  He has a number of articles and you can order his book.

                                                           

 

Ashley on Acne   "The Prom Night Nightmare!"

 

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and looked in the mirror and said, “Oh my goodness, where did this pimple come from?”  Then you go on asking yourself if it was something you ate or was it because you didn’t wash your face last night or because of all the stress you have been under?

I’m sure that we have all experienced pimples sometime in our life, whether it be when you where an adolescent or an adult, breakouts are always on the rise.  Acne is a common skin disease that affects 85-100% of people at some time during their lives.  Acne is a condition of the skin that causes blackheads, whiteheads, and eventually may progress to and inflammation stage with papules, pustules, nodules and cysts.  This skin condition appears most often on the face, but can also affect a person’s chest, back, and upper arms.  Acne begins in the hair follicles. Sebaceous glands, which are attached to the hair follicle just below the skin's surface, produce an oil called sebum. Normally, sebum empties onto the skin's surface to lubricate the skin. But when cells that are shed from the follicle lining stick together, they form plugs that prevent the sebum from exiting the pore. Acne lesions form when the dead skin on the surface or from the hair follicle mixes with the body’s oil forming a plug in the pore of a hair gland.  The mixture of oil and cells allows bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) that normally live on the skin to grow in the plugged follicles. These bacteria produce chemicals and enzymes and attract white blood cells that cause inflammation.

Normal Pilosebaceous Unit                        An Early Acne Lesion, The Microcomedo                    

 

The Basic forms of Acne lesions are:

Blackheads (Open Comedomes) or Whiteheads (Closed Comedomes) are blockages of oil glands. The blackheads are more superficial than the whiteheads. Their black color is not dirt, but the oil and skin debris that accumulates in the opening of the oil gland and is visible on the surface.

Papules or Red Pimples and  Pustules  are blockages of oil glands that have been inflamed. Papules are red pimples. Pustules are pimples with a central collection of white pus at their top. 

Cysts or Nodules are blockages of oil glands that have burst open and produced inflammation and pus (abcess) in the surrounding tissue. These lesions have the potential to produce long-term scarring.  Immediate treatment of these lesions can minimize or prevent subsequent side effects.

 

Acne has many different causes.  Hormones are probably one of the main causes and acne lesions are very common in teenagers when hormones are raging.  Hormonal acne in adults is often due to an imbalance of hormones. The fluctuation of hormones during menses accounts for acne flare-ups.  In all of these types of acne, we see increased sebum production.  In addition an increase of progesterone can aggravates acne conditions in genetic vulnerable women.  Increased estrogen generally relieves acne, which is why some physicians will prescribe birth control pills to women.

 

 Stress is another factor affecting acne.  Stress stimulates the adrenal glands and for women this can be a problem because they produce too much of the male hormones in the adrenal glands.   Usually flare-ups occur about 14 days following a stress response. 

 

Nutrition can have an effect on existing acne conditions.  Although there is no scientific evidence to support that nutrition causes acne, maintaining a healthy diet will help build your immune systems to help fight reoccurring breakouts.  Foods high in iodides are something to avoid.  Salts, fast foods, processed foods; excessive dairy, soy sauce, MSG, alcohol, and caffeine are a trigger to existing acne conditions.  Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day.   Please refer to our August Article of the Month "Acne Vulgaris; a Disease of Western Civilization" Virtually no acne found in Hunter Gatherer Cultures for food for thought regarding diet and this problem.

 

There are a lot of things we should and shouldn’t do when trying to get rid of acne.  We always think that by drying out the face we are helping.  Yes in some ways.  What we really need to do is just target the actual spot and not the whole face.  Over drying the skin will cause the sebaceous glands to produce more oil.  Topical therapy is a great way to dry up the breakout.  Salicylic acid or Benzyl peroxide can help to open up the pore and kill the bacteria.  Excessive and abrasive scrubbing and cleansing is another way to stimulate the production of sebum (oil) in the follicle and worsen acne conditions.   Picking and touching is something that we always want to do.  Improper squeezing will rupture the follicle wall and cause the bacteria to spread, causing more breakouts to form around the present breakout.  Touching will irritate the skin and spread bacteria from your fingers and hands.

 

There are three primary goals when dealing with acne; reduce the sebum, kill the bacteria and remove the blockage.  This can be achieved by using the appropriate daily program which includes antibacterial exfoliating agents.  It is always wise to let a professional extract lesions you are tempted to pick.

 

Our Intense Pulsed Light device has a beneficial effect on acne by shrinking the pore and to some extent the ability of the sebaceous gland to produce sebum.

 

Finally, prevention is better than cure.  The main aim of a treatment program is to prevent new lesions on the skin.  Getting rid of existing acne is much more difficult.  Acne sufferers need a great deal of patience.

 

Here are some SkinCeuticals products we have found helpful to prevent new lesions.   These products also help reduce inflammation, redness, new breakouts and oiliness.

Preventing and Treating acne should provide these results.

Decrease Sebum Production

Reduce P. Acnes bacteria

Normalize Skin Exfoliation

Eliminate Inflammation

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