Fruits'n'Vegetables: "Eat 5 to 9 a Day"

How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you eat a day? According to this WSJ article, the National Cancer Institute (NIC) recommends that men should eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, women should eat 7, and children 5.

That sounds like a lot, but a serving is a lot smaller than you think. Here are some examples from the article:

A six-ounce glass of fruit or vegetable juice, which is about the size of a small foam cup, counts. So does a medium-size orange, banana or apple. One cup of salad greens, about the size of your fist or a baseball, is considered a serving. To estimate the right amount of chopped fruits and vegetables, measure out a half-cup or imagine a scoop of ice cream or seven cotton balls. Three medium asparagus spears, eight carrot sticks or one ear of corn all equal one serving. For dried fruit like raisins, measure one-fourth cup, which is about the size of an egg. [Lauren's Note: I recommend eating grapes instead of raisins because 2 cups of grapes have the same amount of calories as in 1/4 cup of raisins].

The reason for eating so many fruits and vegetables is because there are significant health benefits to doing so:

A Harvard School of Public Health study of 120,000 nurses or health workers found that those who had very high intake of fruits and vegetables had the lowest risk for heart disease. For every additional serving of fruits and vegetables eaten regularly, a person lowers their risk for heart disease by 4%. Another study found that women who ate seven to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables lowered their heart-attack risk by 40%. In other studies, fruit and vegetable consumption has been shown to lower blood pressure.

As an aside, I think the reason why so many Americans are overweight is because they overestimate serving sizes in general. Here's an online Food Guide Pyramid which should look familiar. If, like me, you eat a lot of ethnic food and wonder how your diet fits maps into the Pyramid, the Food and Nutrition Information Center has links to Pyramids for special audiences, including those for young children (preschool nutrition), children (ages 7-10), seniors, vegetarians and a variety of ethnic groups (Chinese, Indian, Spanish, Italian, etc.)

Memory Aerobics

I'm a great believer in overall, wholistic health and fitness, so I think mental well-being is as important as physical health. Imagine my surprise and delight to find a WSJ article that discusses memory training. "Prevention is better than cure" goes the old adage, and current research suggests that people's minds don't necessarily have to decline as they get older. Engaging in a combination of certain activites can "...prevent, or at least stave off, age-related memory erosion". In fact,

Scientists have already found that getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and reducing stress can all help to improve memory. What you eat, too, can make a big difference. Several clinical studies have demonstrated that a diet rich in antioxidants such as berries, or vitamins A and E, can stave off memory decline.

In addition, active memory training, a.ka. "mental-aerobics" (e.g., playing bridge, doing crossword puzzles, or learning a foreign language) can "exercise" your brain and "tone" it even late in life.

In case you require a subscription for access to the full text of the article (it's a great read), I'm including their chart which shows descriptions of various memory-boosting techniques and what the research says about them:

Beating Brain Drain

What to Do	Research	Comment
Eat Berries	A Tufts University study showed that aging rats fed blueberries behaved more like young rats.	Blueberries, followed by cranberries and strawberries, had the strongest impact.
Eat foods rich in Vitamin E	Vitamin E, found in olive oil, spinach and whole grains, can reduce age-related inflammation of the brain.	Drugs like Motrin have the same impact, but may have other side effects.
De-stress	Cortisol, a hormone released during stress, can damage the hippocampus, the brain's memory center.	The worst thing you can do for your memory is worry about losing it.
Exercise	Heart hazards, like high cholesterol, may interfere with memory by restricting blood flow.	Endorphins released during exercise can also fend off depression, a major factor in memory loss.
Get Enough Sleep	Studies of college students show that lack of sleep impacts short-term memory.	Sleep-deprived students scored 30% lower, on average, on recall tests.
Ditch your calculator	Engaging the mind -- by doing math in your head, for example -- can fend off memory decline.	Another trick: Try guessing what your grocery bill will come to before you get to the register.
Take on random mental puzzles	Mice in cages packed with stimulating toys demonstrated better memories than those in barren cages.	When the microwave clock shows the wrong time, try to reset it yourself.
Use your opposite hand	Writing, eating or using a computer mouse with the opposite hand engages both lobes of the brain.	This can also stimulate hand-brain coordination.

50% Increase in Class Size!

The number of participants at my 6:30PM cardio kickboxing class at the Sequoia YMCA in Redwood City increased by 50% tonight! Impressive, no?

After that outburst, I feel I should provide full disclosure here. The 50% increase is from 8 to 12 participants. It's the first time it's happened in the four weeks I've taught this class (there are usually about 8 people) and for all I know it may be a one-time fluke thing. Even so, as a new instructor, this is very exciting for me. I really enjoy teaching, and I try hard to make my classes interesting and challenging for the participants. And speaking of participants, I couldn't ask for a more supportive group. They seem appreciative that I teach the class, and give me words of encouragement at end of each session. I'll do my best to make this the biggest, baddest, "bestest" class ever!

Asian BMI (Body Mass Index) Guidelines

BMI (Body Mass Index) is a measure of a person's weight in relation to height, not body composition (important distinction here). It's calculated by dividing your weight in kg by your the square of your height in meters (so the units are kg/m²). For you non-metric folks out there, 1 kg = 2.2 lbs and 1 inch = 2.54cm. Confused? Just hop on over to this online BMI calculator which will do the math for you and provides some guidelines for interpreting your score. I'm pleased to see that the site responsibly puts a disclaimer that "[t]hese values do not apply to athletes and body builders, pregnant and nursing women, the frail or elderly or people under 18".

I have questioned the BMI guidelines from the first time I saw them because I thought they were overstated for Asian populations. I'm a small-framed Asian Canadian, and think that the ranges should be lower for me. But by how much? I've finally found supporting research that "...(BMI) for Asian populations should be narrowed to 18.5-23 kg/m²". Thus, an Asian with a BMI > 23 kg/m² is considered overweight (the benchmark is 25 kg/m² for Caucasians). In fact, according to this CBS news article, a series of independent surveys in 10 Asian countries showed that because "...Asians had more fat content compared to Caucasians ... a BMI of 25 was way above overweight for Asians." [emphasis added by me]

Speaking of BMI calculators for different demographics, I've also found a BMI calculator for kids by Baylor College of Medicine that uses gender, "race" (hate that word) and age as parameters. I can't vouch for the calculator's accuracy so use at your own risk.

The Diet That Works: What science tells us about successful weight loss

Wonderful article in the Wall Street Journal today entitled The Diet That Works that provides tips for losing weight. I'll summarize the main points here with my own commentary interspersed throughout:

• Stop Drinking Soda: Cutting out one regular soda a day (or switching to diet) is the equivalent of consuming 50,000 fewer calories per year (about 15 pounds).

  "But calories alone are not what make beverages so insidious. Liquid calories have the potential to do more damage in terms of weight gain because they don't make you feel as full. The body simply doesn't "notice" calories that you drink as much as it does calories from solid foods -- so you end up consuming far more calories than you would otherwise. (Liquid diets don't pose the same problem because the drink is intended as a replacement for other food.)"

  In a similar vein, I've stopped drinking fruit juices. Instead of drinking a cup of orange juice, for instance, I'll just eat an orange. Same number of calories, but the orange is much more filling
• Write It Down: In general, people think that they eat less and exercise more than they really do. By writing down everything, you are much more cognizant of what you're putting in your mouth. It certainly helped me when I kept a journal because I'd always think twice before eating chocolate/chips/whatever.

  "... many studies show dieters who religiously record what they eat lose more weight and keep it off better than those who don't keep food records. The more days a person records the food they eat, the greater the weight loss. A Chicago study looked at eating habits over the holidays. On average, participants gained 500% more in holiday weeks than in other weeks. But those who consistently kept food records lost weight."

• Weigh Yourself Often: I thought this was interesting advice because unless you have "a lot" of weight to lose (everything is relative), you may not see results that quickly. Also, if you decrease your % body fat, and increasing your mass with lean muscle, you may not even see weight loss, or even experience weight gain. I'm a big fan of the "jeans test" and "mirror" test. But here's some fascinating info the Journal provides:

  "Look at the members of the National Weight Control Registry, a collection of 4,500 successful dieters who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a year. (The average member has lost 66 pounds and kept it off for six years.) Seventy-five percent of registry members weigh themselves at least once a week, while 44.5% weigh at least once a day. (To join the registry, call 1-800-606-NWCR.)"

• Eat Big Food: Apparently, your body feels full more as a response to the physical volume of food you eat, as opposed to the number of calories.

  "... the trick for the dieter isn't to eat less food, but to pick foods that pack relatively few calories by weight, says Barbara J. Rolls, the Penn State nutrition professor and author of the "volumetrics" diet books. An easy way to do this is to think big. Choose foods that are bulked up by water or fiber. For instance, for 100 calories, you can eat a quarter-cup of raisins or two cups of grapes. Adding vegetables can double the size of a pasta dish without much of a calorie increase."

  The article says that soup is considered "big food" and I agree. I eat that for dinner a lot.

• Pay Attention to Portions: These days, everything seems to be "supersized". Combine that with our tendency to eat everything put in front of us (my parents taught me to clean my plate ... "think of all the starving children in [insert country name]!"), and hey presto! Instant weight gain. Here's a trick I discovered when eating out: I usually order 2 appetizers instead of 1 appetizer + 1 main course. It's usually enough food (for me) and cheaper too!
• Replace a Meal: I don't know about this one. I'm a big fan of eating real food instead of ingesting "Slimfast" or other meal replacements. The exception to this are energy bars/granola bars which I eat as a snack. Well, that doesn't really count either because I eat them as a snack and not as a meal. But the Journal makes a good point:

  "Counting calories is hard. How many were in the dinner you made last night, or the meal at the restaurant last week?"

  "That may be one reason several studies have shown that people who replace several meals a week with portion-controlled foods such as commercial liquid diets or frozen meals have more success losing weight and keeping it off."

• Monotony Works: My coworkers tease me about eating the same foods at the same restaurant several times a week, but turns out this may not be such a bad thing after all. Here's why:

  "Variety excites the appetite. For dieters, though, variety is trouble. The more choices you have, the more you will eat. In laboratory studies, people choosing from a variety of foods will eat 60% more than those given a single food -- bad news for dieters who love a good buffet. But monotonous eaters walk a tightrope. If they feel too restricted, they will become bored with their diet. As a result, they seek variety on special occasions -- weekends or holidays -- and then quickly get back to the more predictable routine."

• Watch the Morning Carbs: Here's a great quote:

  "Losing weight is all about calories. But sticking to a diet is all about hunger."

  "There's growing evidence that some carbohydrates make you hungrier. The worst culprits are those found in refined grain products, like white bread, doughnuts, bagels and cereals. Your body uses them far more quickly than slow-release carbs found in most fruits and vegetables."

  "Eating bad carbs early in the day -- and many breakfast foods qualify as bad carbs -- may make matters worse. Some researchers think carbs in the morning may block the body's ability to keep blood sugar stable later in the day -- meaning that you stay hungry even if you have protein for lunch. It may simply be that carbs in the morning are worse because you have more hours left in the day for hunger to screw up your diet."

  The article points out that the evidence is not conclusive but here's a great rule of thumb by Susan B. Roberts, who runs the Tufts University energy metabolism laboratory:

  "If you're hungry two hours after a meal, you're eating the wrong foods."

• Rethink Exercise: Apparently, exercise alone will not cause you to lose a significant amount weight. HOWEVER,

  "While exercise often won't make you thin, it's generally the only way to keep from getting fat again."

  Even so, I'm a huge proponent of exericse because it provides so many other benefits. It's not just about weight loss!

Here are some interesting statistics that were also provided in the article:

• 14: Number of calories in a potato chip
• 29: Number of pounds you would gain from eating one extra potato chip a day for 20 years
• 19.8: Percentage of adults who say they are obese
• 30.5: Percentage of adults who really are medically obese
• 30: Percentage by which people typically underestimate how many calories they eat
• 1,795: Average number of daily calories successful weight losers probably eat
• 23: Percentage of U.S. adults who consume five servings of fruits and vegetables a day
• 510: Number of calories in a plain Panera cinnamon crunch bagel
• 2: Hours it would take a 160-pound person to walk off a plain Panera cinnamon crunch bagel
• 14: Hours a 160-pound person needs to walk to lose a pound
• 148: Average increase in daily calories consumed, compared with 20 years ago
• 140: Calories in a regular 12-ounce Coke
• 10: Diameter, in inches, of a typical restaurant plate 20 years ago
• 12: Diameter, in inches, of a typical restaurant plate today

Sources: Purdue University Department of Foods and Nutrition; Journal of the American Medical Association; National Weight Control Registry; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; www.panera.com; www.netnutritionist.com; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Coca-Cola Co.; American Institute for Cancer Research

I can run!

I was lamenting to some runner friends regarding my inability to run. They all suggested that I try running outdoors instead of on a treadmill (which gives me motion sickness believe it or not). So tonight, for the first time, I ventured outside to battle gale force winds and pounded the pavement. The first quarter mile was the hardest because I was cold and was seriously debating whether I should just turn around and head back home. I passed by some toasty cafes, and as an incentive to keep going, I promised myself that I would hit each and every one on the way back. Fortunately, I warmed up quickly and developed a steady pace. After about 2 minutes, who do I see running towards me but my husband, who just got back from an 8-mile run. He was a terrific sport and ran with me for 3 miles just to keep me company. He headed home after 3 miles (so he ran a total of 14 miles - crazy!) and I (surprisingly) kept on going.

I ended up running for an hour without stopping. I was mighty impressed with myself! Hubby said I covered about 5 miles. So the good news is, I can run for at least an hour. The bad news is, I'M REALLY SLOW! I think my pace was too comfortable which explains why I wasn't out of breath or very tired at the end of the run. Gotta push myself...

Dr. Robert Atkins Dead at 72

I knew he had fallen on an icy sidewalk, and he has since died of complications that ensued.

Diet trial review

My friend Ingo told me about a six month diet trial that was conducted in the UK last year. The BBC televised the results and also put them on their website. The four diets were:

• Weight watchers: A weekly group meeting helps dieters stick to a diet which limits calorie and saturated fat intake. An allowance of daily 'points' means dieters avoid the complexity of calorie counting.
• Rosemary Conley: Weekly group meetings with an emphasis on exercise aim to keep dieters on course with a calorie controlled, low fat eating plan.
• Dr Atkins: Unlimited protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) and fat (butter, oil, cream) but minimal amounts of carbohydrates (pasta, bread, rice, many vegetables, fruit, milk and yoghurt). Dr Atkins claims that his unlikely sounding diet leads the body to burn fatty tissue, leading to dramatic weight loss.
• Slimfast: Meal replacement milk shakes, soups or pasta instead of two out of three main meals plus planned snacks daily mean that Slimfast is relatively simple to follow, involving little weighing or measuring.

Ingo summarized the results as follows:

• Men did best on Atkins
• Women did best on Weight Watchers
• More women than men reached their target weight, although men lost more weight
• There were no short term effects due to Atkins, but the doctors tracking the participants did express concern about long term impact of the diet if it was continued indefinitely

Reducing carb intake

The Atkins Diet seems a little radical to me, and while there have been a lot of anecdotal evidence that it helps with weight reduction in the short term, I'm not convinced following such a food plan doesn't have adverse long term adverse health implications. For instance, Dr. Atkins himself went into cardiac arrest in April 2002, although he claims it was due to cardiomyopathy brought on by an infection that spread to his heart, and not caused by his diet. However, I do agree that most Americans probably eat too many carbs, and too many "bad carbs" at that, and should cut back somewhat. A more balanced perspective is in the fabulous book called Turn Up the Heat: Unlock the Fat-Burning Power of Your Metabolism which you can purchase from Amazon and also read the detailed review I posted there. I'd also like to emphasize that these are all my personal opinions: I'm not a dietician so you should consult with one before significantly changing your diet.

Related to this issue ia an interesting Wall Street Journal article that talks about reducing the types of carbs you eat. Here are some selected quotes:

... there's a growing body of research that shows eating certain types of carbohydrates -- like those found in potatoes and highly processed foods such as white bread -- can make you hungrier. That's because the body processes them more quickly -- causing a spike in blood glucose, which in turn gives you a quick surge of energy. But then you crash and you're quickly hungry again. And hunger is the primary reason diets fail.

"Those swings can make it harder to control caloric intake -- they stimulate hunger," says Harvard School of Public Health professor Walter C. Willett, a longtime critic of the conventional carb-focused food pyramid. "If you're hungry, you'll snack and may consume more calories in the long run."

This doesn't mean you should cut all carbohydrates. But if you're trying to lose weight, it makes sense to rethink the ones you do eat and how often you eat them.

Many high-carb foods, such as french fries, muffins and oil-laden pasta, are also very high-calorie foods, so cutting them out always makes sense. In addition, switching to the type of carbs found in brown rice, beans, vegetables and fruits may help curb your hunger; they are essentially "sustained-release" carbs that are harder for the body to break down. Choose whole-grain foods over highly processed ones. And restrict "white" foods such as sugar, white bread, white potatoes and foods made with finely milled flours.

The article also suggest some ways to improve the quality of the carbohydrates you eat:

• Bread: Choose grainy varieties and sourdough.
• Potatoes: Eat smaller portions, switch to sweet potatoes.
• Cereals: Try brans or oatmeal.
• Rice: Switch to basmati, brown rice or couscous.
• Sugar: Use apple juice, honey, applesauce or dried fruit to sweeten dishes.

Subbed at Embarcadero YMCA

Seems like I've been teaching all over the Bay Area! I subbed the 6:30AM class at the Embarcadero Y this morning, only because I was attending a conference (RSA) in San Francisco that day. A new instructor taught the warm up and it was her first time teaching. It seems like eons ago when I taught my first class/audition. I can't believe it's been less than half a year. Another noteworthy thing that happened at the Embarcadero Y was that there was a bunch of police tape all over the place when I got there. Turns out that somebody had broken in and had stolen all the computer monitors. Who steals from the YMCA? That's terrible karma. I guess it's an indication of how desperate some people have become in this economy.

Ran on the treadmill in the evening for about 35 minutes. I tried watching TV to help alleviate the monotony, but could really use additional inspiration. I seriously considered purchasing a Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen which holds 20GB of music, until I spoke to somebody who owns one. He's had it for about four months, says the battery life is great, loves it, etc. but said it's not appropriate for running because it uses a hard drive as storage and thus has moving parts which would be damaged easily if shaken a lot. Looks like I'm back to investigating flash memory/solid state devices. I wish they weren't so expensive.

I got a permanent class!

I subbed again at the Sequoia (Redwood City) YMCA for their 6:30PM Cardio Kickboxing class, and I've been asked to take it over. I'm so excited! My first permanent teaching gig.

I ran tonight!

I've never been a fan of running, perhaps because I don't find it stimulating. In an effort to crosstrain, however, I ran for about 50 minutes on the treadmill tonight. As I suspected, it was rather boring, so I'm looking into purchasing an MP3 player to pass the time.

24 Hour Fitness/Group Xpedition

I obtained a 10-day free pass to check out their Group Xpedition classes. I've done Rep Reebok, which is like Body Pump but with shorter sets and more rests (it seemed). I did all of the moves on a core board which was an interesting twist. Today, I tried a hip hop class for the first time. The class has a high fun factor, but ranks low to mediocre on the workout scale because there are so many gaps in between to learn moves. It took the whole class just to learn a simple routine. I've seen better dance workouts, e.g., the one at the Presidio Y on Saturday mornings at 10:30AM. John (the instructor) choreographs moves to songs, and they're simple enough so that you can follow even if you're new, so you keep moving throughout the class. After hip hop, I took Power Yoga. It was awesome! It's surprisingly similar to Hatha yoga (which I've done before), but a lot faster. They also have some pretty crazy poses which I couldn't do, but maybe over time!

Bikram Yoga for all!

I like the idea of crosstraining, so I'm considering yoga &/or Pilates as a next step. I've never tried Bikram Yoga, and have no intentions of doing so, but I was quite disappointed all the same to read about the actions taken by the founder of Bikram Yoga, Bikram Choudry in a Salon.com article . Choudry has recently obtained a copyright for his particular sequence of yoga poses, and will require yoga studios that want to continue teaching Bikram Yoga to

... pay franchise and royalty fees, change their name to Bikram's Yoga College of India, stop teaching other styles of yoga, use only Bikram-approved dialogue when instructing students, refrain from playing music during classes, and a host of other stipulations.

Fractionated palm kernel oil is evil!

"...of all these oils [regular palm oil, palm kernel oil and fractionated palm oil], organic, minimally processed palm oil is the healthiest, followed by conventionally processed palm oil. Palm kernel oil is less healthy still, and fractionated palm oil is the least desirable."

LUNA® never responded to my question regarding fractionated palm kernel oil. I did some digging on my own and while it technically may not be the same as trans fat, it sounds pretty unhealthy. Darn. Ironic how it's found in "health food".