Women’s Health

Archive for the ‘health supplements’ Category

During the holiday season do you spend more time casting longing glances at the dessert buffets and high-calories cocktails than you spend enjoying the company of your loved ones?

If so, you are not alone. A “Prospective Study of Holiday Weight Gain” published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000 suggests that Americans gain an average of about one pound during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

Who could possibly be more susceptible to this weight gain than high-end chefs and food personalities? They live and breath gourmet treats all day, every day as they prepare celebratory dinners, desserts and cocktails for the imbibing, indulging, gourmet-minded masses.

For famous chefs like Jeff Tunks and Michael Psilakis, spending too much time in the kitchen started to add on the pounds. Like many of their comrades, these two chefs have to work to find new ways to beat the bulge while they are cooking, eating and snacking.

So who better to give advice on how to lose weight? Vow to watch your waistline this holiday season and well into the new year as some well-known chefs share their best weight loss tips for you to enjoy!

Take Control

Satiate your cravings before you head out to big events and meals. Take control of what you eat by fixing a low-fat, high-fiber snack before you head out for the evening.

Jeff Tunks, co-owner and executive chef at DC Coast and Ceiba in Washington, D.C., has learned over the course of a remarkable 85-pound weight loss that he needs to eat before he goes to work if he wants to manage the late-night snack attack that can overtake a chef at the end of a long dinner shift.

Step 2Keep Control

Stay in command of your diet by making conscious choices about food throughout the day. Here are some fun, engaging ways to get started:

Organize your kitchen with small plates, dishes, forks and spoons to regulate your portion size.
Eat slowly and chew often. Aim to chew each bite of food 20 times before you swallow.
Dine with chopsticks instead of flatware; the unfamiliar utensils will certainly reduce your eating speed.
Write down what you eat each day in a food journal. It will help you get a handle on exactly how many calories you consume each day.

Step 3No Excuses

Set your weight loss goal, identify possible obstacles, and work out ahead of time how to overcome them. Don’t hide behind excuses and rhetoric. For a long time there was a saying in the restaurant industry: “You can’t trust a skinny chef”. Professionals from Mario Batali and Paula Deen to Michael Psilakis (Bon Appetit’s 2008 Chef of the Year) used the adage to overindulge and disassociate from their health.

Recently the gourmet world has realized that if you don’t want to pack on the pounds, a skinny chef make be the only kind you can trust. The excuse for excess weight was eliminated and now chefs are making a wide-ranging effort to lose weight and cut fat from their dishes so their customers can lose weight as well.

Lay Off the Sugar

Rocco DiSpirito recently told Time Magazine, “If everyone reading your article gave up sugar, they would lose 10 lbs. in a month. It’s nasty, nasty stuff.” Trust the professionals. Sugar is metabolized into fat in your body and over-consumption leads to energy spikes, mood swings and dehydration. It can also be a contributing factor in more serious medical conditions such as diabetes.

Cut down your sugar intake by limiting processed sweets such as pastries, cookies and cakes and by cutting back on alcohol consumption.

Eat Less Meat

Eat leaner cuts of meat and more meat substitute products. Lee Anne Wong, a contestant on the first season of Top Chef, contributes her weight loss after leaving the show to cutting down on red meat and eating more soy products.

Even steak house chefs such as Michael Lomonaco of Porter House New York are beginning to prepare more fish dishes in their restaurants. If you really want to chow on cow, pick the lean cuts: chuck, loin, sirloin and round are usually good bets.

Quick Tips for Dinner Time

Relax while you are getting ready for dinner, knowing that you have these great tools at your disposal to help keep calories to a minimum during your meal:

Start your meal with a vegetable soup - it will help you fill up before the main course. If the soup looks oily, fill a plastic bag with ice and drag the bag across the surface of the soup. The fat and oil will cling to the cold plastic. Genius!

Serve seconds only of vegetable dishes when you are eating a family-style meal. The fiber will fill you up without adding a lot of calories.

Order a coffee, tea or fresh fruit during dessert when you are out to dinner. It lets you feel that you are indulging without ruining your diet.

Easy Swaps

Recognize the calories in everyday foods and start to make conscious decisions to reduce the amount of fat, salt and sugar you ingest. Some easy swaps and substitutions recommended by top chefs:

Nonfat yogurt for sour cream. Ellie Krieger, host of the Food Network’s Healthy Appetite, says this simple switch cuts 4 grams of fat per serving. Mix it into sauces or use it to top off a baked potato. Strain the yogurt through a paper towel for a thicker, creamier texture. And don’t just stop at substituting it for sour cream. Jeremy Emmerson, a private chef based out of New York City, says that he eat nonfat Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts for a healthy, high energy breakfast.

Butter for canola oil. Switch out half or one-quarter of the butter in a dessert for canola oil, high in monosaturated fat and better for your heart. Improve the health benefits even further by cutting out the butter completely and cooking with a mix of canola oil and applesauce, substituting them at a 50/50 split and in the equivalent amount of butter in the recipe.

Skip salt as flavor. Use lemon, vinegar, mint, rosemary, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, curry powders and spice blends when you are cooking instead of loading up dishes with salt and butter. Added bonus: many spices have medicinal benefits.
ehow article

The acai berry (ah-sigh-ee) grows in the Amazon Rainforest on acai palm trees and looks like a purple marble or purple grape. The Acaí berry (fruit) is 90% seed pit and 10% acaí pulp and must be carefully handled before it can be consumed. During the process the acaí berries with water are put into a machine and are agitated against one another. This process separates the acaí pulp from the seed to produce a thick acaí fruit pulp puree.



Acaí berry has a unique tropical fruit flavor and provides a high level nutritional benefits. The acaí berry contains high levels of antioxidants also known as anthocyanins. It also contains Omega Fatty Acids (healthy fats), Amino Acids, Fiber, Iron, along with many other vitamins and minerals (Nutritional Value of the Acai Berry and Acai Berry Juice). An amazonian traditional recipe mixes acaí fruit pulp and natural guarana seed, which gives energy and heighten mental clarity that has caffeine like effects when combined with guarana.

Acai Berry Actives
Natives living in the Amazon river region in Northern Brazil, have had as part of their diet the acai berry for hundreds of years for it’s nutritional value. It’s healing and wellness powers are legendary throughout the area. The popularity of the acai berry is starting to spread from Brazil to the rest of the Americas.

Acai Berry has the following nutritional, health and wellness properties:

* Antioxidant
* Antibacterial
* Anti-inflammatory
* Antimutagenic
* Cardiovascular System

Acai berries contain very high amounts of essential fatty acid & omegas proven to lower LDL & maintain HDL cholesterol levels. They also have a remarkable concentration of antioxidants to help combat free radicals and premature aging. Acai Berry is a source of a particular class of flavonoids called anthocyanins. The ORAC value of Acai Berry is higher than any other edible berry in the world! Acai Berry is also an excellent source of dietary fiber!

Acai is extremely rich in organic vegetable protein which does not generate cholesterol
during its digestion and is easier processed and transported to your muscles than animal protein
(such as in milk or meat). Besides its outstanding content of protein and unsaturated
lipids, acai is also rich in carbohydrates which provide your body with the necessary
energy while working or practicing any kind of sport. That is why acai is served in most gyms,
sport clubs and beaches all over Brazil.

According to medical research studies conducted on the acai berries, and cited
below, their analysis reveals:

An amazingly high concentration levels of antioxidants contributed to combating premature aging.

The proanthocyanidine contents in Acai Berries are 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins (these are the purple colored antioxidants) of red wine per volume. (1)

Although the French have a high fat diet, they have a low incidence of cardio vascular disease compared to the western countries. They contribute this factor to their consumption of red wine. (5)

Acai Berries can help a promote a healthier cardio vascular system and digestive tract, because of its synergy of monounsaturated (these are the healthily) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols.

An excellent source of fiber! There are approximately 2 grams of dietary fiber in our Açaí Energy Mix. Fiber promotes a healthy digestive system. Research studies suggests soluble fibers may help lower blood cholesterol The insoluble fiber may help to reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancers. (5)

Essential amino acid complex along with trace minerals, which are vital for proper muscle contraction and regeneration.

Aside from the energy and fluid replacement, Acai Berries provide a nutrition profile complete with vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (omega 3, 6 and 9).

The fatty acid ratio in Acai resembles that of olive oil. Studies suggest this is a contributing factor to the low incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean populations. (1,5)

Acai Berries contain plant sterols including beta-sitosterol. Today, sterols are being used to treat associated benign prostate dyperplasia. (6) These plant sterols have also been shown to help control cholesterol as well as act as precursors to many important substances produced by the body. (7)

Acai: The Amazon Acai Berry
With 10 times the antioxidants of grapes and twice the antioxidants of blueberries, the Brazilian Acai berry (AH-sci-EE) is considered to have the best nutritional value of any fruit on earth.

Nutritional Chemistry

* Polyphenols: 16 (14 - 212 mg/L)
* Anthocyanidins: Thirty times the amount in red wine.
* Phytosterols
* Monounsaturated (healthy) fats (fatty acid ratio resembling olive oil): including essential omega fatty acids: Oleic (omega 9)
* Polyunsaturated fatty acids: Linoleic (omega 6)
* Alpha-tocopherol: natural Vitamin E
* Trace minerals: copper, iron, calcium, cobalt, chromium and manganese
* Dietary Fiber: 7 grams / 100 grams
* Protein: amino acid profile similar to
* Low glycemic index

Content per 100 grams of Acai:

* Acid: 0.13%
* Brix: 45.90 g
* Protein: 6%
* Fiber: 16.9g
* Niacin: 0.40mg
* Phosphorous: 58mg
* Iran: 11.8mg
* Vitamin B1: 0.36mg
* Vitamin B2: 0.01mg
* Calcium: 9mg
* Vitamin C: 9mg
* ph: 5.21
* Calories: 247

OMEGA FATTY ACIDS;(Omega 9, Omega 6, and Omega 3). These mono-saturated
essential fatty acids help lower LDL (harmful cholesterol) while maintaining HDL (beneficial
cholesterol). This unique ratio resembles the same combination as olive oil. Omega fatty acids combat heart disease by increasing healthy cell development. Omega fatty acids are essential for healthy nervous system development and regeneration. They help rapidly repair and rejuvenate muscles after intense exercise.

AMINO ACIDS; the Acai berry contains an almost perfect essential amino acid complex. This is vital for proper muscle contraction and regeneration, and for endurance, strength, sustained energy and muscle development.

NATURAL VITAMIN E; to protect against aging.

THEOBROMINE; acts as a bronchial dilator to help open air passage ways in the lungs. This increased air capacity helps in oxygen intake, which increases endurance, strength, and athletic performance.

Acai Berry Actives
PHOTOSTEROLS; These complex compounds of plant cell membranes are used to treat symptoms associated with BPH, (benign prostate hyperplasia). Photosterols also help promote a healthy cardiovascular system and contributes to a healthy digestive tract.

ANTI-OXIDANTS; Acai is rich in antocyanins, an essential anti-oxidizer that helps combat premature aging. In fact, acai has 10 –30 times more anthocyanins (purple colored anti-oxidants) that a glass of red wine.

Works Cited
1.Rogez H. Acai: Preparo, ComposiÁao, e Melhormento da ConveraÁao. Belem: EDUFPA; 2000.

2. Seager S, Slabaugh M. Chemistry for Today: General Organic and Biochemistry-4th ed. California.

3. Wardlaw G, Insel P. Perspectives in Nutrition – 2nd ed. Saint Louis: Masby – Year Book, Inc; 1990.

4. Sillberberg S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of matter and Change – 2nd ed. USA: McGraw-Hill; 2000. 1086p.

5. Cook-Fuller C, editor. Annual Editions Nutrition 00/01 – 12th ed. Connecticut: Dushkin/McGraw Hill; 2000.

6. Berges B, et al. Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of beta-sitosterol in patients
with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Lancet 345: 1529–1532, 1995.

7. Pegel K. The importance of sitosterol and sitosterolin in human and animal nutrition.
S African J Science. 93, 263 –268, 1997.

8. Miura T, et al. Effect of guarana on exercise in normal and epinephrine-induced glycogenolytic mice.
Biol Pharm Bull. 1998 Jun;21(6):646-8.

9. Henman AR. Guaran· (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis):
Ecological and social perspectives on an economic plant of the central Amazon basin. J. Ethnopharmacol,
1982 Nov.

10 Duke JA. CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1985, 349

11 Amazon Thunder
Acai Berry Actives