Friday Recipe - Zucchini Noodles! (I know, I know.....we're on a noodle kick right now.)

Friday Recipe - Zucchini Noodles! 

(I know, I know.....we're on a noodle kick right now.)

Last week we talked about how to make spaghetti squash into noodles. Well, this week it's zucchini, and it's just as delicious. Why are we doing so many vegetable noodles? Because they're delicious and healthy and even kids will eat them! Plus, if you have a healthy base, it's easy to continuously make new recipes by throwing different ingredients in.

How to "noodle" zucchini.

What you will need:

- A zucchini

-A zucchini noodle maker, I use Vegetti, but there are others out there.

(If you can noodle zucchini with just a knife, please send me a video, because I would love to see that skill in action.)

1) Optional. You can either leave the skin or peel the zucchini like you would a potato. The outside can be a little tougher (however it's zucchini, so not much), but it also has nutrients that you are cutting out if you take it off. 

2)  Insert zucchini into the noodle maker and rotate.

Tada! You have noodles! And it only took a few minutes!

4) Steam the zucchini noodles for 5-10 minutes depending on how soft or firm you like your noodles. You can use a vegetable steamer, as pictured below, or you can always just put some water in pot and heat the noodles straight in the water. Warning: they do get soggier that way. 

(I know those aren't zucchini noodles.)

3) Add the zucchini and other ingredients into the pan and stir fry for 5 minutes on medium heat.

I normally add in a protein, like chicken, and some extra cooked vegetables, but be creative! Finally, finish with a sauce. Different oils, pasta sauce, or teriyaki/tamari sauce are all good options.

Enjoy!

Thursday Humor - Yummy Avocados

Yummy Avocados!

Avocados are packed full of yummy, healthy fats, with the majority of it being monounsaturated oleic acids. Current research is showing that oleic acids reduce LDLs, raise HDLs, and are associated with a healthy cardiovascular system. And since fat doesn't make you fat, that's sugars job, eat as many as you want!

High Fructose Corn Syrup.....no, it's not just sugar, and here's the science behind it.

High Fructose Corn Syrup......no, it's not just sugar, and here's the science behind it.

Let's first talk sugars. 

Monosaccharides are called simple sugars, and they are the most basic unit of carbohydrates. We know them by names like glucose and fructose. Disaccharides are still considered simple sugars, because they only have two units attached to each other. Polysaccharides are anything more than two units of carbohydrates attached. (Look at the picture below for a visual!)

Normal table sugar is known as sucrose, and it is a disaccharide made up of glucose and fructose in a 50:50 ratio. This is what we're led to believe high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the same as.

Now let's look at HFCS.

The sugars in high fructose corn syrup are extracted in a process resulting in different ratios of glucose to fructose. Normal table sugar is 50:50 glucose:fructose. The most common form of HFCS is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. It is very close to the same ratio as normal table sugar. 

So what's the fuss?

The difference is in the biochemistry!

In nature, glucose and fructose are bound tightly together to make a table sugar molecule. In HFCS, that bond is missing! 

Since there is no chemical bond between them, the normal processes of digestion are not required and the glucose and fructose are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream. The only place fructose can really be metabolized is in the liver, and when the liver is overwhelmed, it tends to immediately start creating fats like triglycerides and cholesterol. 

Without the bond, the fructose is known as "free fructose." Free fructose consumption has been continuously linked to higher rates of obesity, increased belly fat, higher levels of triglycerides, cardiovascular disease, and overwhelmingly fatty liver disease. Studies not done by the corn industry don't share the same view that HFCS is "just" sugar.

Chronic consumption of HFCS caused several problems like cardiac and endothelial injury of aorta by hyperuricemia and induced oxidative stress and inflammation.

Hum Exp Toxicol. 2016 Feb;35(2):194-204. doi: 10.1177/0960327115579431. Epub 2015 Mar 29.

The impact of high fructose on cardiovascular system: Role of α-lipoic acid.

Consuming beverages containing 10%, 17.5%, or 25% Ereq from HFCS produced dose-dependent increases in circulating lipid/lipoprotein risk factors for CVD and uric acid within 2 weeks.

Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Jun;101(6):1144-54. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.114.100461. Epub 2015 Apr 22.

A dose-response study of consuming high-fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages on lipid/lipoprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease in young adults.

When one group of rats was fed sucrose (table sugar) and one group was fed HFCS, the HFCS group was found to have gained significantly more weight even though the rest of the diet remained the same.

“A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain.”

Even though that tiny, missing bond may seem like a small change, it makes a huge difference in how our body metabolizes it. If you're going to be eating sugar, avoid HFCS!

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

Reducing Osteoporosis and Avoiding Falls this Winter

Reducing Osteoporosis and 

Avoiding Falls this Winter

With winter weather hitting, bone health is extremely important. However, most people have a misunderstanding of what is needed for good bone health. We constantly hear, "Calcium, calcium, calcium!" More often than not, though, calcium supplementation has very little impact on bone health and fracture rates. 

50% of women and 20% of men will suffer from osteoporosis in their lifetime! That is a huge number and growing. However, calcium supplementation is at an all time high. Obviously, we are missing something.

The importance of RANKL

Our body has a nice system to keep the amount of bone in check, not too much, not too little. Osteoblasts build up bone, and osteoclasts break down bone. From now on, they will be referred to as the bone builders and the bone breakers. When bone builders are at work, they release something known as RANKL. This activates the bone breakers to also work more. This makes sense, because if we're putting more bone down somewhere, to keep everything even, we also need to take away bone from somewhere.

 However, another thing that causes RANKL to be released is inflammation. Too much inflammatory cells cause more RANKL to be released, activating higher number of bone breakers, and decreasing the amount of bone we have. 

No matter how much calcium we take, if we're inflamed or the amount of RANKL in our body is too high, we're going to break down more bone than we can build. So the two most important things you can do to prevent or treat osteoporosis is reduce the amount of inflammation in your body by decreasing sugar, or taking supplements that are known to reduce RANKL. 

(Dairy and milk are two of the worst things you can eat if you are osteoporotic. Countries with the highest intake of dairy have the highest rates of osteoporosis and fractures. Countries with the lowest intake of dairy have the lowest rates of osteoporosis and fractures.)

Supplements that reduce RANKL

~Alpha Lipoic Acid

~N-acetyl Cysteine

~Berberine

~Milk Thistle

~Green Tea

These are powerful antioxidants that reduce RANKL and decrease bone breaker activity.

Exercise is also key for people that are osteopenic or osteoporotic. While most bone is built in the first 25 years of life, exercise is important because it helps strengthen muscles. Stronger muscles exert more force on bones, keeping them strong. It also allows us to have the strength and reaction time to recover from a slip or imbalance, reducing falls and fractures.

Beware of Medications for Osteoporosis

While medication for osteoporosis can be extremely necessary, patients should not be on this medication for too long. 6 months to 2 years is really the longest any of them should be taken. This is long enough to quickly build bone and begin to address the problem in other ways. If left on these medications for more than 2 years, studies show that they actually increase the brittleness of bones and cause necrosis (death) of bone cells. Make sure to talk to your medical doctor about the risks of long term osteoporosis medications and begin addressing the increased inflammation or RANKL in your body via other means.

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

How to Eat Healthy(er) Over the Holiday Season

How to Eat Healthy(er) Over the Holiday Season

It's that time of year again where a holiday party and a buffet of sweets is around every corner. There's been a myth going around that the average American gains anywhere from 7-15 pounds over the Holiday season. Luckily for most of us, that myth is unfounded, and it is normally only 1-2 pounds. However, studies show that most people don't lose this extra weight by the next year and tend to continue the trend through January. Our brains are still hard-wired to eat sweets and other not-so-good for you foods, and it can take a month to retrain the brain. So now, the average American is gaining 2-4 pounds during the winter season and keeping on about half of it until the next year. After a few years, this really adds up!

Here are a few helpful things you can do to eat healthier this holiday season!

1) Substitute Xylitol into recipes instead of sugar. Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol found in small quantities in many fruits and vegetables. Why should we be using it? While it has the same amount of sweetness as sugar, it has almost zero effect on blood sugar levels and our insulin receptors. Most people in America consume way more sugar than they should and our insulin receptors are constantly being stimulated. Over time, our insulin receptors become less sensitive, and this is the beginning of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Replacing sugar with Xylitol allows our insulin receptors a well needed break and lets our body better self-regulate itself.  Xylitol also has 40% fewer calories than the normal sugar we eat. It is refined, meaning that these are empty calories, but so is the other sugar! Bottom line: Xylitol is not a health food and would be only marginally better than normal sugar if eaten in the same amounts. However, we do not eat it in the same amounts, and so we are not normally over-doing it. Switching to Xylitol for a season will at least give our glucose (sugar) regulating system a chance to normalize.

2) Control your desert intake! I know this seems like a no-brainer, but many people go to parties or events and want to try one of everything. That's no problem! However, don't feel like you need to eat a whole desert. Instead, take only a bite size portion of each desert, and then walk away from the table and don't go back! This way, you get to try everything without going totally overboard. Don't let anyone tell you that you're being wasteful or feel bad for splitting up the deserts. Your health is much more important!

3) Eat a small salad before going to a party.  This will help fill you up a little and not leave your body craving something to eat. Even if you feel like you're still gorging on the deserts, studies show that people who eat a salad beforehand with lots of fiber and protein consume 30-43% less calories once out at the buffet table.

4) Chew! Have you ever started eating a cookie and all of a sudden you're 4 or 5 cookies in and you don't know how you got there? When we're eating sweets, our bodies tend to go into binge mode. Especially over the holiday season, it is important to remember to chew and savor our food. Chewing each bite 20-30 times (yes that much!) is not only extremely beneficial to digestion, but it also allows time for our stomachs to feel satiated and send signals to our brain to stop eating.

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

Thanksgiving Recipes!

Thanksgiving Stuffing!

For most people, Thanksgiving is a time of family, friends, and food! More often than not, many of these recipes don't contain the healthiest of ingredients. However, it's hard to have Thanksgiving without the stuffing. Luckily for you, there are some delicious stuffing recipes out there without all of the bad stuff. Below is one of my favorites!

Ingredients:

•  1 pound ground pork
•  2 cups diced onions
•  2 cups diced bell peppers
•  4 cups (about 1 pound) diced mushrooms
•  2 cups diced apples
•  8 oz fresh cranberries
•  1 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)
•  ~ 2 T duck fat, bacon fat, or coconut oil. 
•  1 T fresh rosemary, minced
•  1 T fresh thyme, minced
•  2-3 leaves fresh sage (or 1/2 t dried)
•  sea salt
•  4 eggs
•  1/4 cup chicken or turkey stock
•  2 T coconut flour

Directions

Prepare all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350°.

1. Melt about 2 teaspoons of your fat of choice in a large cast iron or stainless skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the pork and cook until it just browns, 3-4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Pour off excess liquid from your skillet and add another teaspoon of fat.
3. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions. Saute until golden brown and soft, 6-8 minutes. Add to the bowl with the pork.
4. Add another teaspoon of fat, and saute bell peppers for 4 minutes, stirring often. Add to the bowl with the other ingredients.
5. Throw in yet another teaspoon of fat, turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the mushrooms. Saute for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add to the bowl with the other ingredients.
6. To the large bowl, add the apples, pecans, cranberries, herbs, and a good pinch of salt.
7. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, chicken or turkey stock, and coconut flour. Add a pinch of salt if you’re stock isn’t salted.
8. Pour the liquid into the large bowl and mix.
9. Pour the whole thing into an oven safe casserole and bake for one hour.
10. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating. It will firm up a bit.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

Same Calories, Same Amount of Exercise, Bigger Waistline

Same Calories, Same Amount of Exercise, Bigger Waistline
Why It's Harder to Be Skinnier Today Than 30 Years Ago

Researchers have found that millenials (born in the 1980s - 2000s) weigh more now than their parents did in the 70s and 80s, even if they were eating the same amount of calories and doing the same amount of exercise. BMIs of millenials were up 2.3 points higher in 2006 than someone of the same age in 1988. These studies show that weight loss is no longer as simple as calories in versus calories out. 

So what else is affecting our waistlines adversely?

Most evidence points to endocrine disruptors and excess hormones in our food and envrionment. Endocrine disruptors are things that can interfere with the hormone systems in the body. Examples of hormones include:

~T3 and T4 (thyroid hormones) - Regulate the body's metabolism

~Cortisol -  Helps the body react to stressful situations

~Estrogen - Female hormone (found in both men and women)

~Testosterone - Male hormone (found in both men and women)

~Leptin - Decrease of appetite and increase of metabolism

~Amylin - Helps you feel full and inhibits digestive secretion

The list goes on and there are over 50 different hormones circulating throughout the human body. After reading through the ones above, however, it becomes easy to see how changing the levels of hormones in the body can cause easier weight gain. Many hormones affect metabolism, fat storage, appetite, and digestion. Even if you are exercising a lot and eating very little, if your hormone levels are off, you might still be carrying around more weight than you want to.

Where do endocrine diruptors and excess hormones come from?

In today's world, it is very easy to absorb these things from our food and environment. 


The 5 biggest sources are:

~Meat Products - Hormones are added to meat products to help animals grow faster and eat less.

~Dairy Products - Cows are given hormones in order to produce more milk and to produce it constantly.

~Make-up and Beauty Products - Many endocrine diruptors in the forms of different chemicals are put into make-up, hair care products, and skin care products. This is one of the reasons women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.

~Food and Water Storage Containers - Many of the plastics contain chemical endocrine disruptors, which is why it is a good idea to switch to glass food and water containers.

~Non-Organic Food - Pesticides are huge endocrine disruptors. While they like to say that our body doesn't absorb them, it is easy to find research showing that our fat cells are more full of pesticides than ever before, and rising.



What can you do?

It is very important to buy meat and dairy products that are hormone and antibiotic free. Try to find beauty products that don't contain synthetic chemicals and try to wear and use less stuff on your body. Switch over to glass food and water storage containers. Finally, stop eating pesticides! Organic food is worth it. Not only does organic food contain higher nutrient levels which our bodies need, they contain much less chemicals than their non-organic counterparts. Making a change to even just one of these things will help decrease the effect on your hormone system!



yours in health,
dr samantha boldt