Tag Archive for: diet

Energy Thieves: Food

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This week I’m focusing on potential energy thieves, and I’ve identified three areas that can hinder performance; one of those is the foods we eat. The two primary food thieves that affect me and many others are refined carbohydrates and deep-fat fried food, but the reasons are polar opposites:

  • Refined carbohydrates and some starchy foods raise blood sugar quickly, but then you suffer a rebound drop. Eating too many refined carbs can put you in a carb coma.
  • High-fat foods, especially deep-fat fried foods, can take hours to digest, redirecting blood from the rest of the body to the digestive system to digest and absorb the fatty foods. Less blood to the brain means your mental acuity drops.

All this week, I’m using the techniques I developed for Energy on Demand in the Optimal Performance Program to have all the energy I need to focus and work 14-hour days through the end of the next webinar. My goal is to eat to perform at a high level, and part of that is knowing what not to eat. If you participate, either live or by listening within the following week, you’ll get the complete story.

Spend some time thinking about how the foods you eat affect your energy levels. There may other foods and dietary factors that affect you in addition to the two I’ve listed; for example, maybe it’s not so much which foods as when you eat them. How food affects energy for the times you really need to be at your best will be one of the topics this Sunday in the Super Bowl Webinar. I hope you’ll join me.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

The Last Word on Sugar

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The sugar war continues in the health headlines these last few days of 2016. Here’s a summary of what was said and my opinion.

Researchers reviewed the science behind the nutritional guidelines that fewer than 10% of calories should come from sugar (1), a position held by the World Health Organization and the USDA. After examining the science behind those guidelines, they concluded that the guidelines are not trustworthy.

Experts responded by calling what the researchers did junk science (2). The researchers were funded by a group composed of soda, candy, and fast-food companies. The experts said that . . .

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The Bottom Line on a Low-Fat Diet

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In this final look at the opinion article in JAMA, I’m going to cover another statement the author made along with some thoughts on the article and why it matters.

In the article, he suggests that, based on the theory that carbohydrates do not cause weight gain, public health policy was changed to encourage the use of more starch and sugars (1). Specifically he cited Healthy People 2000 Nutrition Goal 2.15, which recommended that food manufacturers “increase to at least 5,000 brand items the availability of processed food products that are reduced in fat and saturated fat . . .

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As Much Sugar As You Want!

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Continuing the topic from Tuesday’s message, I’m going take a look at one specific statement that the author made in his article in JAMA (1). I chose it because he specifically stated it was used to justify the increase in carbohydrate recommendations in public health policy. I also had never heard of it before—and I’ve been around awhile. The inner quote was taken from an article written in 2001 (2) that was used as a reference in . . .

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Low Fat: A Failed Public Policy?

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The recent series of messages on health hooligans was something I’ve wanted to write about for a long time. No sooner did I finish it than I got an email from JAMA announcing an opinion piece on the low-fat diet we’ve been told to follow for over 40 years (1). I spent some time over the past few weeks checking the piece and the research behind it.

The opinion was written by an expert in endocrinology, a physician and researcher. He has the credentials. But he is one of a number of scientists who’ve become critics . . .

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Here We Go: The Holiday Stretch

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The final two months of 2015 are upon us. Winter is approaching. Some lucky people will be packing up to flee south. Depending on where you live, you may have leaves to rake, bulbs to plant, trees to prune, and winterizing tasks all over the house.

It’s also the busiest eating season of the year. As soon as you recover from your Halloween candy coma, here comes Thanksgiving, holiday parties, eggnog, pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, Christmas dinner, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and month after month of sports playoff parties. No wonder the holiday seven has . . .

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“That Saved My Life!”

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This is going to be an opinionated week of messages, starting with a recent conversation. Actually, I’ve had the conversation with many people over the years who feel that at a time when their health was spinning out of control, they heard or read something that made sense, and they feel it saved their lives—a product, a diet, or even a person.

I don’t see it that way. When people get to the point of realizing that the path they’re on is going to kill them, whatever trigger gets them on a better path gets the . . .

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