Leave kale in large leaves, after marinating the leaves will appear smaller. Place kale and avocados in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt over top of kale and then with clean fingers massage avocado and salt into the kale. Kale should be shiny but still a bit firm. Let sit for about ½ hour or until the leaves start to look as if they are wilting. When ready to serve, add the bell peppers and lightly pour dressing over salad. You will need about half as much as you think you will need so use sparingly. Meanwhile, grill chicken breasts in frying pan or Panini grill just until heated through. Cut into cubes. Toss salad and place in bowl, garnishing with chicken pieces and any other vegetables. Serve with side of balsamic vinegar.

During the holiday season we tend to overindulge in our passion for good food. Instead of focusing so much on the food, we should put our focus on family and friends. We should concentrate on being happy. When we are happy we find we do not need to fulfill ourselves through eating.

Happy people do not dwell in the regrets of past or the concerns of the future. If we are happy and living in the moment, we can resist overindulgence. Try to deal with unforgiveness issues with your loved ones before you break bread with them. When you are dealing with unforgiveness (link to story on forgiveness), guilt and regret, you tend to eat more to compensate. When you are thankful and you are enjoying the positive vibrations of those around you, then you can enjoy the people and the food, in that order of importance.

Here are some tips from Dr. “J” on how to enjoy the sumptuous foods of the season with healthy restraints.

DONT’S

Don’t indulge your sweet tooth: The most devastating thing you can do to your metabolism is to eat desserts. Sweets, or concentrated sugars in deserts, are full of sugars and have a high glycemic index — a measurement of how much certain foods raise your blood sugar. Once you’ve eaten anything high in sugar, for the next six hours everything you eat will go directly into storage. This is a result of the high blood sugar your body will have to produce resulting in insulin production, which is designed to remove the sugar from your blood by putting it in storage. Let’s say for instance that you’ve just had a wonderfully healthy salmon and vegetable dinner and decide to have a rich dessert afterwards. That desert will send your glycemic index up and cause that entire meal to go into storage, thus doing your body no immediate good.

Fizzling out: Soda should be avoided for a number of reasons. Studies show that carbonated drinks dilate the stomach. So it takes a larger meal to satisfy you the next time you eat. Studies have also proven that people who drink water with their meals eat less than soda drinkers. Phosphoric acid and carbonic acid, which are found in sodas, promote osteoporosis. Thirty percent of women in the United States still have osteopenia or low bone density, which can lead to easy bone fractures. It makes no difference whether you drink diet or regular soda. You cannot fool the body. The body was designed to associate a taste with an end product. Other words, when the tongue tastes sweet the body is expecting the calories. So when the calories don’t come, the body craves more the next time you feed it.

Drop that zero: Beer and alcohol are empty calories. Two glasses of wine is approximately 500 calories. You will have to run three miles an hour for 45 minutes to burn those calories off, hence the beer belly. Having that second drink also drives up your blood pressure and you should not drive after that second drink anyway. Only have one drink at a party. The toxic affects of alcohol on the liver can be felt sooner in women than men.

Missed meals: Skipping meals in anticipation of consuming a larger meal later will slow your metabolism. Your body will go into storage mode. Then further insult your metabolism, you will actually eat more food for dinner to compensate for the hunger. The body was designed to eat four to five smaller portions of food a day to maintain steady metabolism

DO’S

Soy to the world: Drink soy milk instead of cow’s milk. Cow’s milk contains the protein casein, which is difficult to digest. It also is the wrong protein for adults to consume. Casein prevents the absorption of other nutrients your body needs during the day. Cow’s milk is also allergenic. The fat content in cow’s milk is much higher than soy milk. Studies also show that one-third of the U.S. population is lactose intolerant.

Snack time: Fruits and vegetables such as peaches, plums, apricots and apples are wonderful for the body. They are rich in antioxidants and have a lot of fiber, so they fill you up. They don’t have a lot of sugar, which will cause your body to go into storage mode. Fruits that are high in antioxidants include blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. These berries are great for shakes, and by adding a protein powder you will lower the glycemic index of the shake. These shakes with the protein powder are also good for diabetics. It is better to eat raw fruits than consume them in juice forms. Raw fruits are higher in antioxidants while fruit juices are high in fructose. Fruit juices are high in fructose, which also has a high glycemic index. A little known fact is that once you juice something you must consume it in eight minutes because it will be oxidized quickly. This oxidation greatly diminishes the antioxidant value. An example of this is you will notice when you cut an apple in slices it starts to turn brown after it has been left out. By nature, all fruits should be consumed immediately once cut open.

High spirits: In well documented studies, one glass of red wine has a high overall value to cardiovascular health. It is high in flavinoids, which protects against damage to blood vessels, and antioxidants, which help prevent damage to heart arteries and other tissues.

Still waters: Drink LOTS of water. Every metabolic reaction in the body occurs in water. Water is the most important nutrient in your diet.

Going organic: Try to consume organic foods as opposed to inorganic foods. Organic foods such as fruits and vegetables are ripened naturally and have less exposure to toxins and pesticides.

Omega code: Omega 3 fatty acids are an integral part of cardiovascular and neurological functions. You can find Omega 3 fatty acids in almonds, walnut oil, walnuts and flax seed oil. You can also get Omega 3s from two servings of fish per week. Any more than that puts you at risk of consuming too much mercury and other toxins. Pharmaceutical grade fish oil is one of the best sources of this supplement because it is free from mercury and is quickly absorbed in the system. If you are taking this supplement in capsule form, it is important to not consume more than 2 grams a day to be within the daily requirement.

Pradip Jamnadas, MD, MBBS, FACC, FSCAI, FCCP, FACP Is an interventional cardiologist in Orlando, FL with a diverse patient base of more than 42,000 people. He lectures around the world on how your self awareness can add years to your life.

1. How does the body’s metabolism function?

The foods that we eat are broken down in the intestinal track then transported by the blood stream to the various organs and tissues. The chemical reaction that breaks the food down and converts it to the energy or fatty acid needs of the body. This whole system is called metabolism.

2. What are the conditions that slow the bodies metabolism?
Aging is a factor due to the loss of muscle tissue. We know that muscle such as the heart, legs diaphragm, lungs and the gastro-intestinal track require a tremendous amount of energy. Eating too little food can slow down your metabolism. Excessive sugar consumption with low protein intake can also negatively affect your metabolism. Finally a disfunctioning thyroid can also slow down your metabolism.

3. How does one observe their metabolism to see if it is slow or fast?

One way this can be determined is if you are maintaining the same amount of calories and you lose weight or gain weight. This will gage if your metabolism has gone up or down. Changes in weight and body composition can also determine if your metabolism is fast or slow. If you gain inches but still maintain the same weight, this maybe an indication that you are losing body muscle therefore your metabolism has slowed down.
4. How does one figure out which diet is best for them?

The best way is to sit down with a nutritionist or registered dietician to figure out what your body needs. The dietician could help you figure out which foods give you the most energy. Not every person reacts the same way to every food. You may find that eating a certain way or certain time of day will give you more energy. If you notice that you have become more fatigued or have more issues concentrating, maybe something has changed in your diet. Keeping a food log will help you determine if you may be missing fruit and vegetables from you diet or maybe you need to increase your protein consumption. This will also tell you if you are not eating frequently enough which helps keep your body fueled for your daily activities.
5. How many meals should one consume in a day?

You should consume at least three meals and one to three snacks. Every four hours people should be putting something into their mouth. Usually people have a big lag in time between lunch and dinner. Most people avoid eating a snack at this time and then they overeat at dinner eating a large dinner or eating later into the evening may cause problems with sleep and will also cause weight gain.

6. What nutrients actually help the body to burn fat?

Protein foods help burn fat. This is one of the reasons that the Akins diet has been so successful. However in that diet you are not getting some other essential nutrients your body needs to be at its best. Studies have shown the CLA which stands for Conjugated Linoelic Acid helps you burn abdominal body fat. L-Carnitine is a compound that is necessary to transport fatty acids, which is the breakdown component of fat, within the cells so they can be used for fuel. Green tea extract has also been shown to have positive effects on fat.

7. Explain the importance of protein in our diet.

Our bodies are all protein, as an example muscle hair, nails, bones, immune system cells, DNA are all made up of protein. This all points to the importance of protein. You should have a protein intake at breakfast, lunch and dinner. For people who are exercising, within the first hour of exercise you should have some intake of protein. protein shake would be good at this time. Also make sure you get enough of good healthy fat Pumpkin seeds, raw almonds, sunflower seeds and pistachios are also good for giving your body the good fat. It needs to survive.
8. What food combinations should we avoid? (Soda, processed foods, and why)

Soda changes your body pH. Without optimal pH our body can die. When you consume soda the body needs to create an acid environment to increase the acidity, minerals are pulled from your bones to create a good pH in the body. Soda intake can lead to bone loss.

Artificial sweeteners are also not well tolerated by our body. Processed foods deliver no health benefits. Those clients who eat the frozen meals all the time end up complaining about hunger and they are not satisfied because as human beings we are meant to have a variety of tastes and different foods and these foods all tend to taste alike. They also can deplete your body of nutrients because they have additives and coloring agents which some bodies do not tolerate. You could be sensitive to these additives and they can cause a variety of symptoms, like a stuffy nose or headaches. The additive MSG is in many processed foods. This additive has been known to cause headaches.

9. What vitamin supplements should one use as a teen, 20′s, 30′s and beyond?

Teenagers should take a good multivitamin. Women at an early age need to be taking in calcium For females it is important to address calcium needs because until age 35 is when we maintain bone health and in the teen years we maximize bone density. That is why it is important to take in foods high in calcium.

High calcium foods include dairy produces and green leafy vegetables. Teens should also avoid soda and artificial sweetener because this takes the calcium out of your bones. b complex may be needed if females in their 20′s are taking birth control pills. These pills delete a lot of the B vitamins. Omega threes is another great supplement. Especially for the heart muscle Omega #3 helps to reduce inflammation and increased brain function and also the heart muscle. More and more young people are ending of with Coronary artery disease. The Omega Threes can help prevent this disease. Iron needs to be checked in females due to menstruation. If it is low, a supplement should be taken. In the 30′s the same type of supplements can be taken with the addition of fiber. Regular bowel movements are so important for the functioning of all vital body functions. Add it into your diet if you are having problems with digestion and constipation. Add in a probiotic. You can find these in yogurt and other yogurt based drinks. They also come in powder and capsules. Probotics are a healthy bacterium which boosts up the immune system. 40′s and beyond digestion can be the issue. As you get older you loose stomach acid a lot of older people are put on acid blockers and this actually interferes with nutrients being absorbed, calcium, B vitamins and zinc.

Co-q 10 also is a good supplement. It is a molecule is body makes. As our body ages, we produce less co- q 10 which affects the function of all the muscles especially the heart muscle.

10. Why is water such an important nutrient?

Water content in our body is very high blood is 90% water, muscle is 75 and bone is 25%. Most of the fluid in our body is inside the cells. If you are dehydrated the cells will not function well. It is also important for acid based balanced in your body. Water helps minerals to become fluid and allows the minerals to be transported throughout the body. Water helps to maintain your blood pressure and is good for waste removal and regulates body temperature. Water is needed for all of the chemical reactions in our bodies and also keeps the fluid in our joints. It’s recommended that you consume eight-8 ounce glasses of water per day. If you find that you are thirsty it means that you have already gone to long without water. Contrary to popular knowledge, it is possible to drink too much water. This occurs more commonly in athletes who perspire a lot. When you work out and perspire you loose great amounts of electrolytes and minerals. At this point drinking large amounts of water will overload your system and further dilute the mineral and electrolyte content in your body which will cause a severe reaction. This term is called water toxicity. The remedy for this loss of minerals and electrolytes over a prolonged period of exercise will be the use of power drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, etc.

11. What nutrients do you recommend for someone looking to begin a weight training regimen?

Fluids are very important in any diet modification especially for weight training. When you train your muscles to get bigger you are actually training them to store more energy in the form of glycogen. When you avoid carbs as in diets like the Adkins diet you reduce glycogen storage in your cells which helps you to lose weight. An important fact to remember is that glycogen molecules also carry water which is also being lost. Water is an essential nutrient for energy and endurance. This is why many dieters seem to not have as much energy if they also do not increase their water intake. Protein intake is also essential for activities and minerals as well. After activity there are different kinds of magnesium that may have different reactions but in general I recommend magnesium after exercise to relax your muscles and calcium is great to start your day for more energy. During intensity work outs your resistance tends to drop so it may be a good thing to also take zinc and vitamin C to boost your immune system.

12.What do you suggest as the ideal diet for someone looking to lose weight?

Typically it’s best to examine your current diet and reduce your calorie intake to reach your target goal weight. Eating too little will actually slow your metabolism, which you do not want to do. It is best that you get a physical exam and seek your doctor’s advice on dieting relative to your overall physical health.

13. Do you have certain recipes that you suggest as healthy meals and snacks?
I do and they will all be published on my website which is currently under development. In the mean time subscribers can call me for consultations and the creation of custom diets with recipes.
14. What are some good suggestions for those suffering from malfunctioning thyroids?

As mentioned in Dr. Kalidas’ Q&A on malfunctioning thyroids, the lab tests ordered by your doctor may yield normal results even though your thyroid is not fully functioning. A good test to determine a malfunctioning thyroid besides the symptoms mentioned by doctor Kalidas would be to use to keep a thermometer by your bed. Each morning before getting out of bed for about 15 days take your basal body temperature and keep a log of the readings. If your basal body temperature is consistently well below normal which is 98.6, this may be another tell tale sign for the need of further testing of your thyroid.

Rukhsana Shanbhag, MS, RD, CDE, LD/N, CCN
Rukhsana Shanbhag is a registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and certified clinical nutritionist who teaches consumers about creating healthier lifestyles through improved nutrition and behavior modification. She is a graduate of New York Medical College. She conducts workshops around the country on weight management, diabetes management, nutrition for cardiac rehabilitation, nutrition for seniors and nutrition for addiction rehabilitation. For private consultation and custom diet preparation Rukhsana can be reached via e-mail at SRUKHSANA@aol.com or 407-671-7123.

In high speed blender, blend together apples, and banana with juice. Add more banana or apple for desired sweetness. Add the kale until the mixture turns a bright green. If using organic kale, the color will be a brilliant green. Add ice for a more smoothie texture, or drink as is. You can also replace the banana with an avocado for a less sweet tasting smoothie.