I know you have heard of the term "antioxidant." It's been around since the 1990's as one of the ways to help cure or offset diseases and such other health problems. But do you really know what an antioxidant is, anyway? You hear it on the news and it is everywhere from cereal to supplements, lotions to creams, and everything in between. But do you really know and understand what an antioxidant is?
So we are going to have a little science lesson here. Bare with me, because I taught chemistry (and physics) for the last 15 years and I love the opportunity to educate people with what they thought was useless HS science. In our culmination of the BBD (bigger better deal) in trying to make better cars, better food, better everything in our society, we have put out a lot of damaging chemicals into the environment. Some of these chemicals you may have heard of before are called "free radicals." (Free radicals are also naturally occurring but I would like to point out that the human race has done a lot of serious damage too that has really done a number on our environment.) So these free radicals are everywhere: in the air, your food, things we touch. On a cellular and even atomic level, these free radicals are "electron stealers." When they enter your body, they really wreck havoc on many cells that can then malfunction (think down the line eventually become a cancerous cell to tumor to full blown cancer.)
Oh no! What can we do to protect our bodies from these "electron stealers" who damage the DNA in our cells? Da-da-da!!! Enter the antioxidant with his cape flying behind him to save the day. Antioxidants are generous "electron givers." They prevent oxidation, the lose of electrons. (Does anyone remember LEO the lion goes GER? Lose Electron Oxidation, Gain Electrons Reduction?) So antioxidants are able to give the free radicals the extra "healthy" electrons they have and therefore the radicals do not do damage to your body, or so the theory goes. (And this concludes our science lesson for today.)
So antioxidants are superheroes preventing damage from the terrible free radicals. But...well you gotta be in the right place at the right time. Meaning this: if you ate your blueberries back when you were a kid, but seldom ate them as a 45 year old adult, you missed the boat. You gotta keep antioxidants in and around your body so that they are in your system ready to help defeat the radicals. So that means you need to keep antioxidants in your diet regularly. How are Americans stacking up on that front? Terrible for the most part, when current statistics say the 2 out 3 Americans are overweight or obese. We are not eating what we need to eat to be a healthy culture.
How can we fix that? One thing I have done is to drink Shakeology everyday. It has taken me almost a year to retrain myself to have a healthier diet and I am still learning everyday. But I know when I drink my Shakeology, that I put in the antioxidants in place to do their job. This is part of what makes Shakeology unique compared to other "protein drinks" that usually just contain whey powder and couple of filler ingredients. (Do you read your labels?) The ingredients that they contain are just top notch and of the highest quality. They include the following: cacao, coconut flower nectar, acerola cherry, pomegranate, camu-camu, bilberry, goji berry, blueberry, acai, green tea, rose hips, cinnamon, and luo han guo. In addition to fighting free radicals, these super-fruits promote heart health, support joint health, and keep your brain healthy. The key is everyday consistency. If you want the battle free radicals, you need to have antioxidants present at the right place and at the right time.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Thursday, June 5, 2014
It's JUST a Protein Shake...Not really, it's SOO Much More
So let me be completely honest...Shakeology is my first and only protein shake. I have never had them before. I heard about them, in a distant, kinda body builder kinda way. When I stumbled upon Shakeology, I was looking to increase my protein intake. I knew that when I had more protein in my diet, I had more energy. I felt fuller longer. As I was looking into protein options, I knew I did not want to eat meat or nuts or eggs all day to get in protein, which would have been easy and convenient ways for me. So I knew I should try to get more from plant proteins, but I was a newbie. Though I had been eating a lot of natural food for a while, I still was lost in the jungle of which plants had which proteins, and what made a complete protein and which kinds did I need as a pregnant, then nursing mother. And then Shakeology just kinda fell into my lap.
I was COMPLETELY skeptical at first. Shakes? No way. And I don't skip meals. I love food too much. But I decided to watch a Shakeology video that explained where they get their ingredients from, why they select their ingredients and what those ingredients did for you. The most common protein to add to shakes/powders is whey, which comes from milk/milk products and processes. As you know from my other blogs, I have gone dairy free and am very happy I have done so. Luckily, Shakeology was still in the running since it offered vegan versions of its product. But this eliminated the MAJORITY of other products. I know because when I went on the vacation to Missouri last year, I spent an enormous amount of time in the supermarket and at the natural food stores looking for whey/dairy free options and it was SLIM pickens.
So what is in Shakeology for the protein aspect? Whey is in the regular flavors; chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and greenberry (their own special blend that tastes like green tea and raspberry to me.) But the vegan versions of chocolate and tropical strawberry (as well as the regular versions) contain pea protein, flax seed, chia seed, amaranth, quinoa and sacha inchi. Most of these you have heard of and maybe a few you haven't. Pea protein is really derived from peas, but it is not a complete protein. Flax and chia seeds are the new trend of seeds that you may have heard or seen at salad bars or in the supermarket. Flax is a waxy seed that needs to be ground up to release the protein contained inside of it. Chia really is that chia seed from the Chia Pet commercials from a decade or two ago. (I was skeebed out too and then got over it. You will too.) Both of these seeds are awesome at giving you energy and well, they both help you to get regular, if you know what I mean. Most Americans don't know what it means to eliminate regularly and what that should look like because it is a taboo topic. But if you ever want to talk poop, talk to a mom, because she is usually elbow deep in it all day long.
Amaranth is less known but gaining popularity every month now as I see it in the grocery store products for those "healthy food" aisles. I was introduced to amaranth when I has a CSA farm share for two years. Basically it is like a bitter lettuce type like plant. It is absolutely great for you and very versatile, but you need to have a palate that can handle the bitter flavor or add things to it to make it enhance the flavor. I made a dip with it, given to me by the farmers who grew it (I highly recommend CSAs because the farmers really do want to educate you on what you are eating and why it is good for you.) Quinoa is THE NEW FAD protein that is winning over America and currently replacing pasta as it feels and looks like a carb, but it is really a protein. We can thank Dr. Oz for really giving a lot of props to quinoa and you can find it as easy as finding pasta nowadays in the supermarket. The last ingredient is probably the least known ingredient: sacha inchi. It is a plant from the Amazon region of the world, Peru is most likely where you will find it. It has a seed that looks like a star fruit. The protein and oil that is harnessed from this plant is amazing as it contains high amounts of protein (27% for a plant is awesome) and high amounts of omega-3, -6, and -9 acids, which is something we all need to improve in our diets. We tend to get these from fish.
So this is kinda what Beachbody does with Shakeology. These ingredients that they choose are all natural, plant based and are completely nutrient rich and they are from many exotic locations, as I will discuss in upcoming blogs. It is what we are lacking in our American diet. Which is why we are going to other countries, looking for other sources we can get it from. It is no secret that the US has really done on number on our farm lands and that the nutrients in our soil is lacking after decades of over harvesting to produce and profit from. Do the research and you will find that the nutrients we got from fruits and vegetables today do not match the nutrients we got 50 years ago due to the damage we caused to the land.
So back to Shakeology, which the goal is to SIMPLIFY the process for us to get the proper nutrients into our diet. Since I can't fix the system, I will definitely invest my time, my money and my energy into something that works and helps me and my family. So to me, Shakeology is not simply a "protein shake," it is so much more and it is completely worth every penny I spend to drink it every single day.
I was COMPLETELY skeptical at first. Shakes? No way. And I don't skip meals. I love food too much. But I decided to watch a Shakeology video that explained where they get their ingredients from, why they select their ingredients and what those ingredients did for you. The most common protein to add to shakes/powders is whey, which comes from milk/milk products and processes. As you know from my other blogs, I have gone dairy free and am very happy I have done so. Luckily, Shakeology was still in the running since it offered vegan versions of its product. But this eliminated the MAJORITY of other products. I know because when I went on the vacation to Missouri last year, I spent an enormous amount of time in the supermarket and at the natural food stores looking for whey/dairy free options and it was SLIM pickens.
So what is in Shakeology for the protein aspect? Whey is in the regular flavors; chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and greenberry (their own special blend that tastes like green tea and raspberry to me.) But the vegan versions of chocolate and tropical strawberry (as well as the regular versions) contain pea protein, flax seed, chia seed, amaranth, quinoa and sacha inchi. Most of these you have heard of and maybe a few you haven't. Pea protein is really derived from peas, but it is not a complete protein. Flax and chia seeds are the new trend of seeds that you may have heard or seen at salad bars or in the supermarket. Flax is a waxy seed that needs to be ground up to release the protein contained inside of it. Chia really is that chia seed from the Chia Pet commercials from a decade or two ago. (I was skeebed out too and then got over it. You will too.) Both of these seeds are awesome at giving you energy and well, they both help you to get regular, if you know what I mean. Most Americans don't know what it means to eliminate regularly and what that should look like because it is a taboo topic. But if you ever want to talk poop, talk to a mom, because she is usually elbow deep in it all day long.
Amaranth is less known but gaining popularity every month now as I see it in the grocery store products for those "healthy food" aisles. I was introduced to amaranth when I has a CSA farm share for two years. Basically it is like a bitter lettuce type like plant. It is absolutely great for you and very versatile, but you need to have a palate that can handle the bitter flavor or add things to it to make it enhance the flavor. I made a dip with it, given to me by the farmers who grew it (I highly recommend CSAs because the farmers really do want to educate you on what you are eating and why it is good for you.) Quinoa is THE NEW FAD protein that is winning over America and currently replacing pasta as it feels and looks like a carb, but it is really a protein. We can thank Dr. Oz for really giving a lot of props to quinoa and you can find it as easy as finding pasta nowadays in the supermarket. The last ingredient is probably the least known ingredient: sacha inchi. It is a plant from the Amazon region of the world, Peru is most likely where you will find it. It has a seed that looks like a star fruit. The protein and oil that is harnessed from this plant is amazing as it contains high amounts of protein (27% for a plant is awesome) and high amounts of omega-3, -6, and -9 acids, which is something we all need to improve in our diets. We tend to get these from fish.
So this is kinda what Beachbody does with Shakeology. These ingredients that they choose are all natural, plant based and are completely nutrient rich and they are from many exotic locations, as I will discuss in upcoming blogs. It is what we are lacking in our American diet. Which is why we are going to other countries, looking for other sources we can get it from. It is no secret that the US has really done on number on our farm lands and that the nutrients in our soil is lacking after decades of over harvesting to produce and profit from. Do the research and you will find that the nutrients we got from fruits and vegetables today do not match the nutrients we got 50 years ago due to the damage we caused to the land.
So back to Shakeology, which the goal is to SIMPLIFY the process for us to get the proper nutrients into our diet. Since I can't fix the system, I will definitely invest my time, my money and my energy into something that works and helps me and my family. So to me, Shakeology is not simply a "protein shake," it is so much more and it is completely worth every penny I spend to drink it every single day.
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