Welcome to SideDish

Food Database

AST has a very comprehensive food database located here: http://www.ast-ss.com/research/food/food_search.asp 

When performing a search, the database will show a food's total calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, as well as GI.

Enjoy...

High on the G.I.

I get many questions regarding what the glycemic index is and tonight I came across a great article - here it is:

The Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Theory

In 1981 researchers David Jenkins and Thomas Wolever of the University of Toronto published a study suggesting that the "glycemic index" of foods be used to classify carbohydrates rather than the traditional "simple" and "complex" system.

Contrary to traditional belief, the study found that complex carbohydrates were actually digested faster than simple carbohydrates. Therefore, complex carbohydrates increased blood sugar much faster than simple carbohydrates.
      
Glycemic Index
Glycemic index (or GI) is a ranking of how fast a given food triggers a rise in the blood sugar level. The developers of the glycemic index used pure glucose as the standard, giving it a rating of 100. Therefore, the closer a particular food is to 100, the higher its glycemic index.

All foods that are ranked by GI are based on 50 grams of carbohydrates, regardless of how much of that food it takes to reach 50 grams. Publications are available with the GI ranking of particular food types.

High - GI of 70+
Moderate - GI of 56 - 69
Low - GI of 55 or less

When high GI foods are consumed, the pancreas detects that rapid rise and quickly pumps out a high level of insulin to balance the blood sugar levels. The result is a sudden "crash" in blood sugar. This sudden "crash" of blood sugar level is thought to create cravings for more carbohydrates, resulting in a vicious cycle of abrupt ups and downs and over eating. Low GI foods are digested slower, therefore there is a gradual rise and descent of blood sugar when insulin is released from the pancreas lessening carbohydrate cravings.

Source: http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?catitemid=108&id=767

When Life Gives You Lemons...

As I may have mentioned, I drink A LOT of water every day. I don't drink anything with aspartame as an ingredient, and I am also a little skeptical of spenda, etc (for a sweetener I always use stevia).  Lately I have been a bit tired of water and tea, so I tried mixing lemon juice with stevia and the result was a Crystal Light tasting lemonade (which I enjoy very much, but I am sure some of you think is distgusting!)

Now there are a few cool things about using stevia with lemon juice - the first is that there's no sugar and pretty much no calories.  In addtion, lemon juice is shown to lower a food's glycemic response (i.e. slow the rate at which the stomach empties and so slow the rate of digestion, resulting in a lower GI). In addition, stevia is believed to also control GI levels. 

Another cool benefit from drinking this is that the lemon will trigger your body to urinate less, and if you're drinking water like I do, that's a good thing!  In addition, lemon provides your body with electrolytes, which assists your body in speeding the absorption of fluid to tissues.

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,552027%7CStevia,00.html
http://ginews.blogspot.com/2006/01/gi-values-update.html
http://www.ast-ss.com/dev/qa_search/full_text.asp?ID=2956

I'm Your Pusher

So I received a catalog in the mail the other day for supplements (http://www.swansonvitamins.com).  I never signed up for this mailing list and have no idea how they acquired my contact information, but nonetheless, I took a look at it. I noticed that their prices were ridiculously low and they guaranteed the quaity of their products, so I made a small order last week.  The majority of their products are manufactured by them, thus you cannot go to www.easypricematch.com and get a better deal - regardless, pill for pill, they are priced more competitively.  I received the order within @ 4 business days ($4.95 flat rate to ship all orders - I love that!) and have been using the supplements for a week.

So far the quality of their product seems very high. They also have a very strong customer satisfaction guarantee (see below).  I will definitely use them for standard vitamins and things such as ALA, NAC, and glucosamine, which I use for my joints, and which is very expensive.  Another good place for vitamins such as these is Walgreens - Every month they usually have a buy 1 get 1 free promition happening (Swanson also seems to have a lot of these going on, also).

Here's their quality pitch:
SHP goes another step beyond its competitors by offering powerful guarantees. All products are backed by a 100% Satisfaction, Money-Back Guarantee and Double the Difference Lowest Price Guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your purchase for any reason, simply return the unused portion for a full refund of the purchase price. If you find a product priced lower in any competitor’s catalog, let us know and we’ll refund you two times the price difference.

I am in no way affiliated with Swanson - I am just passing what I feel is a good deal...

Good vs Evil

Good Fats

 

So now that we know that fat is essential (thus the term EFA), which ones should we include in our diets? Experts agree mono and polyunsaturated fats (fats which occur naturally), such as those found in fish (salmon is a good choice), avocados, olive oil, canola oil, seeds (I love flax seeds!), nuts, as well as corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils are the best choices. 

 

These 'good fats' are naturally-occurring and have not been damaged by high heat, refining, processing or other man-made tampering such as 'partial hydrogenation' (aka transfat).

 

Evil Fats

 

What Are Saturated Fats?

Saturated fats are those which are solid at room temperature, such as butter or shortening. 

Saturated fats raise LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) as well as total blood cholesterol. Saturated fats are typically found in animal products, including red meat, eggs, seafood and dairy.

 

What Are Trans Fats?

Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil - a process called hydrogenation - which increases the shelf life of foods containing these fats. Trans fats are found in many commercially packaged and fried food such as french fries and other packaged snacks, as well as vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine. 

 

In general, if a food contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening or hydrogenated vegetable oil, it contains trans fat - so read your labels carefully.

 

Also, as of January 1st, 2006 trans fat will now be included on nutrition labels. Here's more information on that: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html and more on trans fat: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html#s3q6

 

Total fat intake should range between 20-35% of the calories consumed, or approximately 65-80 grams per day, according to the USDA Dietary Guidelines.

Fat is Phat

There is an obvious overload of marketing to convince people that fat is evil, and today I am going to tell you why this isn't necessarily the case. Gram for gram, fat has more than twice calories than carbohydrates and protein (9 calories/gram vs. 4 calories/gram); Because of this, many people choose to remove it from their diet as an easy way to cut calories and reach their weigh goals. However, fat is absolute necessary for a health body, and in moderation it will assist you with you weight loss goals.

Here are just a few of the benefits of fat:

• Fats are needed for your body to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins, such as Vitamins A, D, E and K - Without the fat, vitamins are excreted.

• Fat in each meal helps you feel full and tells your body to stop eating

• Fats lower the GI of other foods, by taking longer to digest; this also reduces hunger between meals.

• Fats maintain cell membranes, regulate cholesterol production, and produce      vital hormones.

• Fats help maintain healthy skin.

• Fat deposits help protect internal organs.

• Fat serves as a reserve supply of energy.

• Fats help transport vitamins through the body.

Also, a moderate intake of fat also helps keep testosterone levels high. This will assist you in gaining muscle, which will then result in more calories expended during the day (i.e. you will indirectly lose bodyfat by having fat in your diet). If you have very little fat in your diet, you will likely start to lose your hard earned muscle.

Weighing-In

I've always noticed that when I consistently weigh myself on a daily basis, I more easily maintain my weight and can more rapidly achieve my weight loss goals. According to two recent studies (the first by the University of Minnesota of 3,000 overweight men and women and the second by Cornell University), researchers determined those who weighed themselves frequently had greater weight loss than those who did not.

I feel that this strategy works because people gain (and lose) weight slowly;  For this reason, you could put on a pound every couple of weeks and not really notice a change in your body composition until you have gained 5, 10, or 15 lbs.  Because weight is gained slowly, I think that weighing yourself daily gives you the chance to steer your weight on a more consistent (daily) basis, after all, it's easier to lose one pound (after you have realized that you have gained it) than it is to lose fifteen. 

I always try to weigh at the same time everyday - in the morning before I eat breakfast or drink anything. This allows me to get a consistent dry weigh-in and track my progress more accurately.

Cinna-Mon

There have been some recent studies where cinnamon was shown to have a positive effect on insulin (Insulin is needed by the body to convert carbohydrates and sugars from food into energy). In a recent study participants were given 1 gram of cinnamon a day. The results were a 20% drop in blood sugar; cholesterol and triglycerides were lowered as well. When daily cinnamon was stopped, blood sugar levels began to increase.

Cinnamon also has a plethora of other health benefits, including the ability to boost brain function, specifically attentional processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor speed. In addition it has been shown to improve digestion, tone tissues, relieve congestion, provide muscle and joint pain relief, relieve menstrual cramping (better buy a case of this stuff!!), thins blood for better circulation, relieve arthritis pain, prevent urinary tract infections, prevent tooth decay and gum disease and kill harmful bacteria.

The moral? Spicing up your favorite oatmeal or tea with cinnamon can be an extremely strategy for staying lean, as well as receiving a host of other health benefits.

Supplement Costs

Anyone who purchases supplements on a regular basis knows that they can get pretty pricey, especially if you are buying them from GNC or your local gym.  So I am going to let you in on my money saving supplement secret.

Whenever you need to buy to supplements, go to a site such as www.froogle.com - What froogle does if comb the web and finds the lowest prices of all the retailers out there.  Enter your product, find the cheapest one and then copy the price and the URL of the website.  Once you do this for all your products, go to a website named www.ezpricematch.com.  What ezpricematch does is beat any competitor price on the web by 5%.  And don't worry about them having your particular brand - they have ALOT!  Their site is a little cheesy, and their shipping always takes 2 weeks, but if you spending a couple hundred bucks a month on supplements now, you will see some substantial savings (probably around 30% off of retail). 

If you are only buying one or two items and need them quickly, I recommend the Vitamin Shoppe.  They are pretty quick and have free shipping over a certain purchase price.   

Get Your Zzzzzzzs

More and more information is discovered everyday about the importance of sleep. Many people think that the longer they are awake during the day the more calories they are burning, thus they will get leaner, but this is not the case.

A lack of sleep has many negative implications including hypertension and higher levels of cortisol in the body, which leads to weight gain.  Studies have shown that people who get the least amounts of sleep are typically the most overweight obese people are more likely to suffer from such ailments as diabetes and heart disease.

Sleep is also critical to muscle gains, particularly if you are following a weight training program.  A lack can short circuit all of your hard work in the gym. A recent study by The Eastern Virginia Medical School showed that those who slept that much more a night on average had a Body Mass Index of five points lower than others in the study.

Also, AST just wrote an excellent article that dives much deeper into this subject - Check it out: http://www.ast-ss.com/dev/qa_search/full_text.asp?ID=2974