9 Expert Tips For More Mindful Eating

As a doctor of the stomach this is such a great article about the healthy way to eat.   It's so simple, yet SO important. Dr. Dale

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/06/slow-eating_n_5419625.html?view=print&comm_ref=false

The Huffington Post  | By Abigail Wise

Unless you're a competitive eater, there's really no reason to scarf down your meals. After all, doing the opposite -- that is, slowing down -- is likely better for your waistline, according to a new review of studies.

The review, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, included 22 different studies that examined food consumption through computerized feedback, human instructions, food texture and utensils used in eating. The results showed that eating slower is linked with statistically significant weight loss.

But how do we slow down when we chow down? Nutrition experts shared their best tips.

1. Take A Seat Many people eat on the go, meaning they stand while they grab a meal. Whether it's at your desk, walking down the street or standing around your kitchen counter, "The Biggest Loser" nutritionist and HuffPost blogger Cheryl Forberg, R.D., says this is a clear sign that they’re rushing through a meal to get to something or somewhere else. To stop speed-eating, sit down at a table.

2. Unitask Many of us veg out in front of the TV, mindlessly shoveling food into our mouths. But as we already know, we're no good at multitasking, so stop reading the paper or watching reruns while you eat. Focusing on what you're putting into your mouth can help you slow down and really pay attention to the task at hand. “Enjoy it, savor it and your mindfulness will replace inhaling your meal with a relaxed pace, more enjoyment and better digestion,” Forberg tells HuffPost.

3. Switch Things Up Having trouble channeling mindful eating? Maybe it's time to get a little weird. Nutritionist Rochelle Sirota, R.D., C.D.N., recommends adopting some different techniques to help distracted diners slow down and focus. She suggests eating with the nondominant hand, using chopsticks or even setting down the utensil between bites. Eating in an unusual way can help bring back the focus and break quick-eating habits.

4. Socialize If you're looking for an excuse to host dinner parties on the regular, here's your chance. According to Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., nutritionist and founder ofNourish Snacks, eating with others can help fast eaters slow their pace by engaging in conversation. “The more you chat, the slower you eat,” she tells HuffPost.

5. Chew More Chewing more can both bring the focus back to speed and help taper eating pace, simply because it takes longer to swallow each bite. That’s why nutritionist Julie Upton, M.S., R.D., CSSD and blogger for The Huffington Post, recommends trying to chew for 15 to 20 seconds before swallowing. Leaning toward foods that actually require more chewing -- like veggies, fresh fruits and lean proteins, rather than softer casseroles, mashed potatoes, applesauce or ice cream -- can also help speed eaters slow down.

6. Avoid Extreme Hunger Any time we get too hungry, we tend to scarf down our meals without a second thought. But how can we tell the difference between hungry and too hungry? Upton advises paying attention to your body. If you feel hungry, start planning what to eat, but if your stomach is growling and you have hunger pains, you've let your hunger go too far. Train yourself to start keeping track and listening to what your body's saying.

7. Eat Shelled Snacks Shelled snacks -- like peanuts, pistachios and soybeans -- slow down eating because it takes time to remove the actual nut or bean from its encasing. They also may provide visual cues that let munchers know when to stop snacking. One study conducted by researchers at Eastern Illinois University found that participants consumed fewer calories from pistachios when they ate shelled ones versus unshelled. That means that shelled snacks kill two birds with one stone, helping eaters consume less and know when to stop.

8. Water Is Your BFF Water can help you slow your munching in more than one way. Bauer suggests setting down your fork and taking small sips between each bite to stayed focused and regulate speed. Forberg recommends gulping down a glass before you even begin. “This really does help you fill up a bit,” she says. “When we don't feel as starved at mealtime, we eat more slowly.”

9. Time Yourself Since time is the problem, why not tackle it directly? Bauer recommends setting a timer to help slow down your eating speed. Ideally, it should take at least 20 minutes to finish a meal, and using a kitchen timer can help retrain rushers until they've slowed down.

So, this just changed my day.

25 Simple Ways to Improve Your Relationships at Work and Home

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joyce-marter-/conscious-relationships_b_5287444.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

By the amazing Joyce Marter • Psychotherapist

Posted: 05/19/2014 8:11 am EDT

1. Smile. Put a smile on your face and in your eyes, voice and heart as often as possible.

2. Make eye contact. Look people openly, warmly and squarely in the eye.

3. Open your body language. While facing the person with whom you are talking, open your chest, your heart and your arms.

4. Address people by name. Honor people by calling them by name as you greet them, give them thanks, ask a question or bid them farewell.

5. Speak with a friendly tone. Warm your tone of voice with love and kindness.

6. Be present. Give your complete and undivided attention to others when they are speaking to you.

7. Express gratitude. Focus your attention on the goodness in others, verbalize all that you appreciate and give thanks.

8. Slow down. Breathe and gift yourself and others with time to properly address situations and transition from them.

9. Reflect empathy and compassion. Honor people's emotional experiences. Normalize and validate their feelings so they feel heard, known and understood.

10. Have integrity. Keep your word. Do what you say you are going to do. Live according to your values.

11. Have good manners. Be polite, conscientious and gracious.

12. Demonstrate thoughtfulness. Get out of your own head and be of service to others. Consider their feelings and experiences.

13. Give genuine compliments. Tell others their strengths, give positive feedback and express what you admire about them.

14. Give salutations. Make the effort to open and close verbal and email interactions with a nice greeting or closure, rather than abruptly asking for something with neither a hello nor goodbye.

15. Be generous. Give and share whatever you can, whenever you can.

16. Be kind. Be the bigger person. Kindness is a choice.

17. Show compassion. Demonstrate self-compassion by cutting yourself some slack extend this same compassion to others. Let go of criticism.

18. Be patient. Breathe and breathe out. Patience is a virtue. There is great value staying in the present moment and not hurrying our minds or bodies onto the next task.

19. Demonstrate self-awareness. Consider how what you are saying will feel to them and how it will impact them. Notice the impact you have on others by paying attention to their facial expressions, tone and body language. Make adjustments accordingly.

20. Be truthful. The truth has different layers and sometimes the deepest layer is hurtful or inappropriate. Speak the truth from the deepest layer that is appropriate. Speak from a place of kindness.

21. Be reliable. Follow through with responsibilities and commitments with competency and effective communication.

22. Be forgiving. Each time somebody else makes a mistake it is an opportunity for you to extend kindness and compassion. Let go of resentments that keep you tethered to the past.

23. Apologize. We are human and nobody is perfect. When you make a mistake, make an amend or extend a sincere and timely apology.

24. Take responsibility. Drop the defensiveness and the excuses and accept responsibility for yourself, your actions and your behaviors.

25. Express love. Be open-minded and non-judgmental. Extend love to yourself and to others. Choose to be loving whenever possible -- it is always possible.

Twitter: @Joyce_Marter and @Urban_Balance.

Facebook: Joyce Marter, LCPC and Urban Balance.

Websites: www.joyce-marter.com and www.urbanbalance.com. 

Do NOT read this!

Hi family, there are many misconceptions about sugar.  Just because it's sugar-free doesn't mean it's "healthier" for you.  Just because it's fruit, doesn't mean the sugar is "healthy for you." Thanks for checking out the below.  It's really good.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/19/healthy-sugar-sugars_n_5315969.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

Sorry, But There's No Such Thing As A 'Healthy' Sugar

The Huffington Post  | by  Rebecca Adams

Posted: 05/19/2014 8:16 am EDT 

Infographic designed by Noelle Campbell

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but we feel the need to clarify a common misconception: There's no such thing as a "healthy" sugar. Or even a "less bad" sugar. Your body doesn't care if it's "organic" or "unrefined" or "all-natural," and it certainly doesn't care if Gwyneth Paltrow deems it suitable for her children's consumption.

Done hyperventilating? Now let's delve into the nutritional science behind this.

First things first: All sugar is sugar.

It's no secret that consuming sugar in large quantities has deleterious effects on your health -- studies have linked it to obesity, diabetes and increased risk of heart disease, to name a few. Sure, you need carbohydrates, which include both complex and simple sugars, for your body to break down and convert to energy. But it's the added sugars that sweeten some of your favorite foods and beverages that you need to watch out for.

So why can added sugars like agave nectar, raw honey or coconut palm sugar never really be deemed "healthy"? Because, as Dr. Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University, put it, "Sugar is sugar, alas." Meaning: No matter what type of sugar you consume -- whether it's table sugar or maple syrup chock full of "vitamins" and "minerals" -- your blood sugar goes up. "Minerals don't counter calories or hormones," Nestle told The Huffington Post.

And it's those pesky calories that link deceptively "healthy" sugars with the regular refined stuff. Dr. Jaimie Davis, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, explained to The Huffington Post, "Ultimately, they're all having similar effects on obesity and metabolic disorders. There's no data that suggests that if you consume more calories from honey, you store it differently."

And by "sugar," we mean a combination of fructose and glucose.

To understand why "sugar is sugar," one must know what it is in the first place. What we commonly refer to as table sugar is actually sucrose, a compound composed of 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. Most caloric sweeteners, including the so-called "healthy" ones, contain some ratio of glucose and fructose, which trigger key reactions in your body. Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian and manager of wellness nutrition services for the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, told The Huffington Post that when you consume sugar, the metabolic process begins the minute the sugar reaches your mouth. But the majority is ultimately absorbed in the small intestine, where the sugar is metabolized and absorbed into your blood. Enzymes from the stomach then convert the sugar into glucose, your body's preferred energy source. While it can provide your cells with fuel, something your body and brain need for proper functioning, glucose can cause excess weight gain. It spikes your insulin and blood sugar levels, plus it's absorbed and used up quickly.

"Insulin is the chaperone that takes the sugar into your cells where -- after your body immediately takes what it needs -- it's transformed into glycogen, stored and ready to be drawn on by the body for energy," she explained, noting that this is a very basic explanation of the metabolic process.

Fructose, or "fruit sugar," is metabolized differently, since the liver does most of the metabolizing and your insulin levels don't spike quite as much as when you ingest glucose (this is due to the lower glycemic index of fructose). That can make fructose sound like glucose's better half, but it's not true: insulin triggers the hormonal response that tells your brain you're full. Fructose doesn't elicit this reaction, so it's easier to overeat. The effects of sugars higher in fructose is a controversial topic in the nutrition world, since fructose is often blamed for adverse health conditions -- like increased LDL, leptin resistance and uric acid increase -- and fructose is the form most likely to be added to foods, Kirkpatrick explained. Fructose may be tolerable in small amounts but more and more research is being conducted to determine if even small amounts put you at risk for metabolic disorders like insulin resistance. It's worth noting that some so-called "healthy" sugars, like agave nectar, are even higher in fructose than table sugar.

While sugar is never "healthy," you can certainly adopt mindful sugar consumption habits.

The problem with calling sugars "healthy" is the health halo effect, which makes people feel better about eating more of it. But Davis conceded, "I have heard that people who use honey and agave are a little bit more health-conscious, so they might use less, which would have a beneficial effect." And that's the trick when it comes to sugar: just use less of it. Yup, Mary Poppins wasn't so off-base with that whole "spoonfull of sugar" theory, after all.

When incorporating sugar into your diet, keep in mind that the World Health Organization recommends that added sugars make up no more than 10 percent of your calorie intake, while the American Heart Association wants women to consume less than 100 calories and men to consume less than 150 calories of added sugars a day. And it doesn't matter if it's organic molasses or plain old Domino sugar -- it's thequantity that makes all the difference.

So when it comes to trying to decipher between sugars higher in either glucose or fructose, it's very much a "choose your poison" scenario. You don't have to cut out added sugar altogether per se -- the bottom line, according to Nestle, Davis and Kirkpatrick, is to limit your sugar intake no matter what the source. And don't let yourself get too smug for choosing the raw, "all-natural" or "healthy" sugar du jour.