Mick’s in Some Christmas Travel

Are you traveling this Christmas, like we are? 

Do you wonder how to eat healthily on the road?  We do, too… but we can share with you some ideas.

Planning ahead is key.  If you can’t or don’t want to pack your own healthy foods for the trip, then think up some alternatives.  Look at menus online before you head out, or find resources, such as the Curves™ book.  On page 163, there are a few helpful tips:  “Fast-food restaurants are okay as long as you order a burger or grilled chicken sandwich (throw away the bun) and a side salad… do not ‘super size’ your order… and of course, don’t order the fries.”  Also, Subway® has salad options.  No, I know the salads aren’t made with the most nutritious greens, nor are the meats the best choices, but it sure beats the nuggets at some of the other fast-food chains.

At this point, I’m not even going to consider addressing the grass-fed meat issue, nor the wild-caught fish information.  For a meal or two, while traveling, amidst the overall healthy eating habits developed to this point, doing your best at eating foods to help boost your immune system and your energy level, instead of dragging you down and causing inflammation, pain, and sickness, is the main focus.

“Fill your plate with Free Foods (Curves™ lingo for low-cal/low-carb)… and bypass the starches and desserts.”

(Gary Heavin and Carol Colman in Curves™ page 163)

Fast-food is not my top choice, so if you have time in your travel schedule for a sit-down meal, it might be an easier find for health-boosting foods (rancid oils are the biggest threat here, but do your best).  Again, the Curves™ book says it well:  “An Italian restaurant that offers salads and meat or fish entrees is workable.  Diners are great because they typically have a wide variety of food and serve it without a lot of fancy sauces.  Asian restaurants are a great option as long as you order the steamed or lightly sautéed vegetables with fish or chicken and avoid the deep-fried selections or foods cooked in heavy sauces.”

We had fun stopping at a mom-and-pop-style coffee shop on our last trip.  This allowed for the option of fresh, healthier sandwiches and wraps.  Of course, in a café like that, the sandwiches are made-to-order, which means you can order it open-faced or with an option other than the bread.  Try it out.

Remember, you’re eating for fuel, not for entertainment.  I like the quote, “Eat to live, don't live to eat.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Packing healthy snacks for between meals on the road is easy enough with foods like LARABAR, Granny Smith Apples, celery, grapes (in a solid container, not a plastic baggie, unless you want grape juice… just speaking from experience here), raw nuts and trail mix (but try to forego the chocolates and the oily nuts) with dates and raisins, Fruit Ropes , bananas, and low-glycemic candies.  WATER… remember lots of water!  One way to keep alert is to keep hydrated. 

Another way to keep alert is to have fun!  Play travel games, like I-spy and telling riddles, etc.  Listen to family audio dramas, such as Adventures in Odyssey and Lamplighter Theatre.  Keeping your mind and body busy with activity will keep your mind off food.

We wish you safe travels and happy eating!

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

~

Mick’s up on Fuel

Sticking to this week’s focus on sugar addiction, let’s see if carbs (aka sugars) are good fuel for exercise.

You’ve probably heard a coach or health source recommend loading up on carbs before a big game or workout.  The reason for that is to have enough energy stored up to get you through the event.  After looking further into this, you might decide it’s not as great an idea as it used to seem.


In a Maximized Living Webinar on Nutrition for Peak Performance, Dr. Fred Roberto points out “for all athletes:  The fact of the matter is food does matter.  It is critically important.  Food is your fuel, and food runs the human engine, and so we have to take and convert this quality food into fuel that can then get transferred into an energy source, and that's what really runs human performance.  We want optimum performance.  The human engine is amazing.  It's a high-performance engine.  It needs to run on high-octane fuel.  You simply don't put diesel fuel inside a race car.  It just gunks up the engine.  Your body requires high-octane, quality food just the same....  It's not really a game of calories in versus calories out, as most people would think.  There's so much more to the story.  You've got to put good, quality calories inside of your body.  When you put in the food that is designed for your body to run on, your body can run so much more efficiently and effectively.”

In that same webinar, Dr. BJ Hardick warns us to “only use carbohydrates that our body is actually going to utilize.  Don't overdo it on carbohydrates, if our body is not going to utilize them.”

Dr. Roberto explains that what we want are Medium Chain Fatty Acids, like coconut oil, because they “are an excellent source of energy (used immediately for energy)... and provide the energy without all the negative effects sugar has in the body.”

He points out that consuming sugar triggers insulin, and insulin has an adverse affect on HGH (Human Growth Hormone), which is a hormone we like to spike because with exercise... for increasing lean muscle.

Dr. Roberto continues: “Foods containing processed carbs and sugars...  are anti-nutrients... The body still needs the elements, and so pulls from its stores... not to mention... these greatly reduce your PH and make your body more acidic.  Having a proper PH balance is critical for sports performance and recovery time.... That's where performance happens: at the cellular level.”

So, what is recommended is:  low-glycemic, high-fiber carbs = veggies = high energy

Instead of sports drinks, reach for some coconut water. It is a great source of electrolytes (15x more potassium than other sports drinks).  It might still have sugar, but it’s alkaline!  Dr. Hardick warns us that the glycemic index is not the only thing to look at.  We need to know whether or not what we’re taking in is causing inflammation and whether or not it causes our body to be acidic.  Remember, alkaline is better for our cells, which is where performance really happens.

Dr. Hardick clarifies that only really long duration exercise benefits from a good helping of healthy grains the day before (ie Ezekiel Bread).  Then during exercise, concentrate on low-glycemic, easily absorbable and digestable things like coconut water.

Now that you're fueled up, go for it!

...my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—

the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Acts 20:24 (NIV)

~

Mick's up Turkey and Exercise

I've been enjoying talking with family and eating lots of food I did not have to prepare.  What a wonderful day! 

Because of this, today the nutrition and exercise posts are combined into one.

To all of my American friends, "Happy Thanksgiving!"  Be honest.  How many of you did like I did this morning?  We exercised, in order to feel better about eating the feast later in the day.  Actually, I know lots of you really have been outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and working off that full feeling.  What a great way to make the most of this family time!

It's also a wonderful way to keep from falling asleep.  You know the feeling.  After the big family dinner, we all feel like taking a nap.  We always blame it on the turkey... poor bird.  We say it's the tryptophan.

Did you know, though, that research shows it's not the turkey's fault?!

If you think about it, the usual list of items on the Thanksgiving menu are primarily carbohydrates and high on the glycemic index.  What does this mean for our bodies?  It means we eventually experience a sugar crash.

So, let's not go pointing fingers and falsely accusing the holiday favorite.  Instead, go for a walk with the family.

...when deep sleep falls on people...

Job 33:15 (NIV)

~

Mick's Scoop on Sugar

"Sugar... aww, Honey, Honey.... 
Honey... aww, Sugar, Sugar...."
Sugar Sugar (Original 1969 Music Video) - The Archies
Do you want to know how hooked on sugar my honey used to be?  That song for the opening to this post was "our song..." well, one of them, anyway.  What was another of "our songs?"  Here it is: 
Sugar Shack (1964)
Written by: Keith McCormack & Faye Voss
Performed by: Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs
"There's a crazy little shack beyond the tracks,
And everybody calls it the Sugar Shack.
Well, it's just a coffeehouse and it's made out of wood,
Espresso coffee tastes mighty good."

Hmmmm... Do you see a pattern here?  Yes, sugar was his thing.  He wised up, though.  He's doing amazing at staying away from sugar, because he knows the consequences involved.

One of those consequences is a sluggish immune system.  I've been hearing this for the past year, but I want to get some more scientific information for you.  So, here are some links:
Sugar as Immune Suppressant:  "Sugar eating... decreased their responsiveness." - quote found in Mark's Daily Apple, and based on the following study:
Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis: "These data suggest that the function and not the number of phagocytes was altered by ingestion of sugars. This implicates glucose and other simple carbohydrates in the control of phagocytosis and shows that the effects last for at least 5 hr." - The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 
Better Life Unlimited summarizes the study really well in their "Sugar And Immune Function" article.

We have a bit of an unscientific experiment going on in our household this week.  Unfortunately, too many variables changed recently to make it any more scientific than it is... not to mention, we're not scientists in this house... yet.

My daughter started getting the sniffles last week, and then the other three of us began feeling a little bit of something happening in our sinuses, too.  We ate well during the week, staying away from sugar and foods high on the glycemic index.  Then the weekend hit.

We splurged big time!  We had lots of different foods, sodas, coffee treats, snacks, etc. with sugar.  Not only that, but our chiropractic care has been put on hold, while we are transitioning to a new doctor.  Right there, we've changed more than one variable.  Not very brilliant, I assure you.

What foods contain sugar?  It's just in things like candy and desserts, right?  Check out Sugar Stacks. 

My daughter seemed to do OK with healing from the cold during the week, but her healing process was slowed down a bit from the weekend's events.  So, she still sounds stuffy.

My son, on the other hand, had a scratchy throat from sinus drainage at the end of the week.  Then he lost sleep Friday, due to his participation in our church's teen all-nighter lock-in, which of course, involved no sleep.  (So, that is a third variable that was changed.)  He informed me this morning that he feels he's healing just fine, even with the weekend sugar splurges.  Mom has a different opinion.  Obviously, he would have healed a lot faster without the sugar and without the messed up sleep schedule.  So, he still sounds stuffy, too, is grumpy, and has a cough... a productive one, but a cough, none-the-less.

On the other hand:
My husband and I are barely moving around the house, moaning and groaning and acting like babies.  Our heads are pounding.  We're grumpy, and my husband needs extra prayer this morning, for his brain to kick in to gear, so he sounds sharp and at the top of his game during his phone meetings today.  (Variables reach a total of no less than 5 for us, because besides the decrease in chiropractic care and the increase in sugar, add in stress and poor sleep, as well as poor sleep schedules.)

More on our progress later this week!  In the meantime, take our word for it (and that of the resources in the links mentioned above), and stay away from sugar, if you know what's good for you!

Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple summarizes it well:  "So, sorry, Poppins. Keep your spoonful of sugar. It may very well help your spoiled wards choke down their medicine, but it could also make the problem – a weak immune system – even worse."

PS ~ I think my kidderz are catching on to this sugar vs. the immune system stuff.  Yesterday, my daughter was going to share her extra lollipop with her brother, but his answer was, "That's OK.  I'm sick, and I want to get better, so I don't want the sugar."  That makes a mom's heart happy!  I dedicate this song to my kidderz.  (It is actually the song we sing for my daughter, since her nickname before she was born was Baby Lollipop.  Yes, more sugar references.):  Lollipop (1958) - The Chordettes

~

"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks...”

Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

This is what we did this weekend with our splurges,

eating sugary foods and drinking soda.

I don't recommend it,
when your immune system is already weak!
Blech!

~

You may also find interesting:  Mick's up on Your Immune System