The consumption of food to “break the fast” from dinner until the morning, called breakfast, increases the metabolic rate (how fast you burn calories) and kick starts your body into gear. If breakfast isn’t had, your body doesn’t process your next meal as quickly and tries to hold onto those nutrients.

If you regularly skip breakfast in the interest of saving time or getting a few more minutes of sleep, remember that eating a wholesome, nutritious morning meal will probably save you time in the long run. By recharging your brain and your body, you’ll be more efficient in just about everything you do.

Some people skip breakfast in an effort to lose weight, but the practice is more likely to cause weight gain than weight loss. Studies show that overweight and obese children, adolescents, and adults are less likely to break the fast each morning than their thinner counterparts.  Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can actually make weight control more difficult. Breakfast skippers tend to eat more food than usual at the next meal or nibble on high-calorie snacks to stave off hunger. Several studies suggest that people tend to accumulate more body fat when they eat fewer, larger meals than when they eat the same number of calories in smaller, more frequent meals.

Always start your day with breakfast.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that specializes in helping busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

“Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet” has been the mantra for healthful eating for decades.  Touted as a way to lose weight and prevent or control heart disease and other chronic conditions, millions of people have followed or, more likely, have tried to follow, this advice.

Seeing a tremendous marketing opportunity, food companies re-engineered thousands of foods to be lower in fat or fat free.  The low-fat approach to eating may have made a difference for the occasional individual, but as a nation it hasn’t helped us control weight or become healthier.

Detailed research, much of it done at Harvard, shows that the total amount of fat in the diet isn’t really linked with weight or disease.  What really matters is the type of fat in the diet.  Bad fats increase the risk for certain diseases.  Good fats do just the opposite.

Fat is a nutrient, and one that we absolutely need.  We have about 100 trillion cells in our bodies and every single one of them has a cell membrane that is made of fat.  Depending on the type of fat you eat is how healthy your cell membranes will be.  Fat is crucial for normal body function and without it we could not live.  It plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature and  the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, a, d, e and k.

Fat also serves as a buffer between the body and a host of diseases.  Whenever chemical or biotic substances reach unsafe levels in the bloodstream, the body stores it in our fat tissue until the offending substances can be metabolized or removed from the body.  This helps protect our vital organs from being damaged.

Fats are also called oils, and when they are in the body we refer to them as lipids, cholesterol or triglycerides, as in a lipid or cholesterol panel that your doctor will do to measure the levels of your good cholesterol (HDL), bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. 

We get fat in our diet from animal sources, which are usually solid, such as butter, lard, cream and meat.  We also get fat from fish oil that is liquid; and vegetable sources, which are usually liquid, as in olive, peanut, flax and corn oils.

There is a fear of fat in our society.  We always hear that fats lead to heart disease.  This is too general a statement, not all fats cause heart disease.  There are actually fats that are good for us and when these good fats replace the bad fats in our diets they can actually help reduce our risk of heart disease.  What makes fats different from each other is the number of hydrogen molecules they have.  And within each category there are many different fats, the difference between these fats is the number of carbon atoms they contain.

CATEGORIES OF FAT

Saturated fats are totally saturated with hydrogen atoms.  It is a naturally occurring fat found in meat and meat products, the skin of poultry, dairy products, many processed foods such as cakes, biscuits, pastries and crackers, as well as coconut and palm oils.  A diet high in saturated fat tends to lead to heart disease as well as decreased fertility

Monounsaturated fats are not saturated with hydrogen atoms; each fat molecule has only the space for one hydrogen atom and has only single bonds.  It is a naturally occurring fat found in olives and olive oil, ground nut oils and avocados.  Foods containing monounsaturated fats lower LDL cholesterol, while raising HDL cholesterol.  It has been shown in studies that replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated fats may help lower total cholesterol, raise HDL and lower triglycerides.  Good sources of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

There is another monounsaturated fat worth mentioning called Omega-9.  We always hear about Omega 3, but there are two other Omega fats, 6 and 9.  Omega 9 is created in the body from unsaturated fat.  It is thought to improve immune function, reduce insulin resistance, reduce hardening of the arteries and lower cholesterol levels.  It is found in olives, olive oil, avocado, almonds, sesame oil, pecans and macadamia nuts. Omega 3 and Omega 6 will be discussed shortly.

Polyunsaturated fats are not saturated with hydrogen atoms; each molecule has only the space for one hydrogen atom.  What makes it different from monounsaturated fat is that it as double bonds.  It is a naturally occurring fat found in safflower oil, grapeseed oil, and sunflower oil.

Omega 3 is a marketing buzzword these days.  It is a polyunsaturated fat that the human body can’t make from scratch so it must be supplied by the food we consume.  It is found in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, chunk light tuna and mackerel as well as flax seed and flax seed oil, canola oil, walnuts and soybean oil.  It protects us from heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels, and acts as an anti-inflammatory, has been shown to be beneficial to the brain.

Omega 6 is also a polyunsaturated fat and it is extremely abundant in our food supply.  We get it from poultry, avocado, eggs, mayonnaise, salad dressing, shortening, pork, bacon, trail mix, chocolate chips, egg substitute, cereal, whole grain breads, nuts and vegetable oils.  Omega 6, unto itself is not an unhealthy fat, but our Standard American Diet (SAD) typically has a ratio of 10:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3 and some as high as 30:1, while the optimal ratio for health is thought to be 4:1.  It is this unbalanced ratio that is believed to increase the possibility of a number of diseases as well as depression.  Excessive amounts of Omega 6 interfere with the health benefits of Omega 3 because they compete for the same enzymes.  A high proportion of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is associated with heart attacks, stroke, arrhythmia, arthritis, osteoporosis, inflammation, mood disorders, cancer and reduced fertility.

Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils are extremely unhealthy. The only natural source of trans fats are the bacteria living in the stomachs of cows, sheep, deer, and other ruminants.  As a result beef, lamb, buffalo, venison, and dairy products have small amounts of naturally occurring trans fat and until recently they were the only source.

Today trans fats are created by the process of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid which gives the oil a longer shelf life.  Mono and polyunsaturated fats have a very short shelf life, they don’t last very long when baked into food items that are expected to sit on store shelves, such as, cakes, cookies and muffins, they go rancid.  By adding hydrogen to these fats they last much longer, can give food a nice taste and texture and turn it into something so unhealthy that it has been proven to increase LDL cholesterol levels and lower HDL cholesterol levels, which in turn raises the risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke.  It has been found that, gram for gram trans fat has twice the adverse effects on these cholesterol levels then saturated fats.  Trans fats have become popular because food companies find them easy to use and cheap to produce.

Trans fats can be heated over and over again so they are used in commercial fryers by restaurants and fast food chains to prepare French fries, fried mozzarella sticks and fried shrimp.  Several cities around the world have banned the use of trans fats.  But they are still used in mass produced foods such as doughnuts, pies, pastries, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers, stick margarines, shortenings, and many other baked foods. The FDA has estimated that until recently, 95 percent of prepared cookies, 100 percent of crackers and 80 percent of frozen breakfast products contained partially hydrogenated fats.  Most of the time we don’t choose to eat trans fats; they are fed to us unknowingly.  Trans fats are so detrimental to our health that many states have banned the use of them

I mentioned cell membranes earlier and I want to expand on that now that I’ve explained the different categories of fats.  Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega 3 fatty acids are essential to healthy cell membranes.  Why is this important?  When we spoke of carbohydrates, we spoke of insulin opening the cell door for glucose to move out of the blood stream into our cells and glucagon to help it move out again and in order for this to happen the glucose has to go through the cell membrane.  Consuming mono, poly and omega 3 fats keeps our cell membranes soft so glucose can move in and out easily.  If we consume high amounts of saturated and trans fats then our cell membranes aren’t as soft as they could be and we start to have a problem moving glucose in and out of our cells which leads to too much glucose in the blood.

Cholesterol is a type of fat found in nature and in the body. We do need cholesterol although our livers usually make all we need and any additional is building up in our arteries causing plaque.  Although it is still important to limit the amount of cholesterol you eat, dietary cholesterol isn’t nearly the villain it’s been portrayed to be.  Cholesterol in the bloodstream is what’s most important.  Dietary sources of cholesterol include cheese, egg yolks, beef, pork, poultry, and shrimp.  It is not present in plant based food sources unless it has been added during preparation.

There are two types of cholesterol:

• HDL is your good cholesterol; it cleans up the arteries of LDL and triglyceride deposits, so it helps prevent heart disease.  This is why you want your HDL level to be as high as possible.

• LDL is your bad cholesterol; it sticks to your arteries and causes heart disease.  This is why you want this number as low as possible.

Triglycerides are another type of fat found in nature and in the body.  This is a very bad type of fat.  Many people have high triglyceride levels due to being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol consumption and/or a diet very high in carbohydrates.  High triglycerides are a lifestyle-related risk factor for heart disease; however, underlying diseases or genetic disorders can be the cause.  Usually, when people have high triglycerides they also have high LDL and low HDL as well as diabetes

When your doctor does a lipid panel what is being measured is the amount of cholesterol floating around in your blood.  You usually get four numbers total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides.

These are the healthy numbers:

• Total Cholesterol – under 200
• HDL –
  • Men the ideal range is 40 to 50 mg/dL.
  • Women, ideal range from 50 to 60 mg/dL.
  • An HDL cholesterol of 60 mg/dL or higher gives some protection against heart disease.
  • LDL – Less than 100
  • Triglycerides – Less than 150

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that specializes in helping busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services

Stefanie Lester Coslow is a native New Yorker currently residing in Chicago with her husband and two kids and teaches at CorePower Yoga throughout their Chicago locations. In a former life, she was an accountant at a TV Rep firm who studied Psychology at school, talk about yin & yang.

A yoga student and a friend are talking, the friend asks the yoga student what she wants for the holidays. The yoga student replies, “I don’t need gifts, I only want presence”, bah dum ump…..

Okay, so I borrowed that from a friend…. And I don’t normally set New Year’s resolutions, but I’ve been thinking about, for awhile now, and working on, being present in the moment. It first really occurred to me during my teacher training. While teaching I found that I was often very much in my own head, focusing so much on what came next and what I was going to say that I wasn’t observing or connecting with my students. Over time, and with experience, I have learned to be more observant, come out from inside my own head a bit more, and react to and teach to what I see.

It sounds so simple, right? But think about how much of our lives we spend inside our heads. We think about our to do lists, plan what we’re going to do or say next, mull over what just happened rather than stay present in the moment and enjoying the here & now, and often we miss out on truly connecting with the people we’re with.

So much of yoga is about being in the present moment, being present on your mat, and focusing on what’s going on in your body here & now.. Pranayama, or breath work, is a huge tool in helping to focus the mind in the present. So are the poses, or asanas of yoga. But clearly, and as is often the case, this can be applied to your life off the mat as well.

It’s a lifelong practice and something I will probably always have to remind myself of, but yoga has given me this awareness and has made me strive to be more present in my everyday life.

One of my favorite quotes, by Eleanor Roosevelt (who are we kidding here, I originally heard it from Kung Fu Panda): “Tomorrow is history, Yesterday is a mystery, Today is a gift…..that’s why it’s called the present.”

Namaste my friends…..

Stefanie

Take one of Stefanie’s classes at CorePower yoga studios throughout Chicago corepoweryoga.com. She is on the schedule as Stefanie C. She also works with private clients in their homes so think of her for your next party or corporate event. Either write her a note on the blog, or call her directly at 646-642-3391.

Beans are one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world.  The oldest known domesticated beans were found in an archaeological site in Peru, and dated to around the second millennium BC. They were an important source of protein throughout Old and New World history, and still are today. There are over 4,000 different types of bean on record in the United States alone.

Beans have significant amounts of fiber and many other minerals.  One cup of cooked beans provides between nine and thirteen grams of fiber, a lot of protein, complex carbohydrates, folate, and non-heme iron.

Beans are legendary for causing flatulence causing many people to forego these amazingly delicious nutrient packed yummys.  This is caused by fiber and sugar molecules that aren’t fully digested in the stomach or small intestine, so they pass through into the large intestine where bacteria ferment them giving off hydrogen, methane and highly aromatic hydrogen sulfide gases.

Here are some tips for turning off the gas:

• If you don’t usually eat beans, start with a small serving two or three times a week to allow your body to get used to the fiber and then you can gradually increase either the serving size or how often you eat them.
• Adzuki, mung beans, lentils, black-eyed peas, pigeon peas and split peas seem to create less gas than others.
• Stay away from lima beans, pinto beans, navy beans and whole soy beans as these seem to create the most gas.
• If you’re cooking beans from scratch add a piece of kombu as I mentioned when grains were discussed.
• If cooking dry beans use this method to soak them:
  • In a large pot add ten cups of water to one pound of beans.  Heat to boiling and continue boiling for two to three minutes.  Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the beans stand for at least one to four hours or, if possible, over night.  When you are ready to cook the beans, rinse well and add clean water.
  • Or just soak rinsed beans overnight.

If you are so inclined as to prepare dry beans here is a chart with cooking and soaking times

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that specializes in helping busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services

Stefanie Lester Coslow is a native New Yorker currently residing in Chicago with her husband and two kids and teaches at CorePower Yoga throughout their Chicago locations. In a former life, she was an accountant at a TV Rep firm who studied Psychology at school, talk about yin & yang.

The other day I set my alarm and woke up, dark, chilly & early, to go to a 6am yoga class. It’s always tough to get out of bed, but when I do, I’m always glad I did. It’s a fabulous way to start my day, a little quiet, “me time” to help me wake up, stretch out, and sweat before the craziness of the day begins. And this was no exception, the studio was nice and warm, the instructor had a nice calming, but motivating presence, good tunes, and the sequence was the perfect blend of challenging postures and deep stretches to help get all the morning kinks out. And I sweated……A LOT. I had just settled into my savasana, or final resting pose, ready to take a minute or so to sink into my mat and let my mind and body be still. And then, I heard it….. somewhere in the room, in someone’s bag, an iPhone alarm was going off. It was the same iPhone alarm tune I use to wake me up in the morning, and the alarm kept going off, for the entire rest of the time that we were in class. Now I’m sure the person who’s phone this was did not intend for this to happen, but still…..

So while I am a pretty laid back, easy going person, I do feel that there are some basic etiquette rules that should be followed in a yoga class (or any other fitness class for that matter), but, as not to be too restrictive or seem unwelcoming, I also feel there are some that need to be taken with a grain of salt:

1. Personal belongings do not belong in the studio. For the most part, if it’s not that crowded, and as long as the instructor and other students can move about without tripping over coats, jackets, purses, et then I suppose it’s ok, but why? If there’s a secure place to leave your stuff, just leave it. Your stuff just adds clutter/takes away from the simplicity and kind of ruins the ambiance. Where I teach we make it really easy, we have locker rooms and students can rent a lock, for free, in exchange for an ID or keys as collateral. Easy peasy, right? My #1 reasons for not liking personal belongings in the studio, inevitably, as it happened that day, someone forgets to silence a cell phone. Which brings me to #2…..

2. No cell phones!! I do feel, however, that on the rare occasion, there can be an exception to this. For example, I once left my youngest at pre-school hysterically crying, which was completely out of the norm for him. He wasn’t sick and he always loved school, so, I decided to practice tough love, and his teacher promised to call me if he didn’t calm down. My nerves needed calming, so I headed to my 9:30 yoga class. I told the instructor about my morning and asked if I could bring my cell phone in, on silent, keep it by me so I can see if I got a call, and set myself up by the back door in case I needed to sneak out. She agreed, and all was fine. I got a phone call after class letting me know my son was totally happy and having fun. So I can see, on occasion, the possible need for a phone to be brought in, as long as it is silenced, and as long the person can sneak out quietly if they need to answer it.

3. Come to class on time, stay for the duration. Ideally, yes, this is how it should be. But, sometimes life happens, and it’s just not possible. Sometimes you race to get to class on time, but are a minute or so late, or have to leave a few minutes early to race off somewhere. Life’s busy, I get it. Just sneak in or out quickly and quietly so as not to disturb others. And if you need to get water or take a bathroom break, that’s fine, and obviously, if you’re not feeling well, let the instructor know and do whatever you need to do, but other than that, try to keep the coming and going to a minimum, it’s distracting.

4. Keep conversations out of the studio. Prior to a yoga class, many students come in early, set up their area and begin to let the outside world fall away. Often it’s their only quiet time of the day. Other people’s conversations can distract from that. I don’t mind a little whispering, but take a full fledged conversation out to the lobby. And believe it or not, I’ve had students converse at points during class, which is just rude to the instructor and the other students.

5. Make room for other students. Classes sometimes can get crowded, but we can (almost) always find room for more students. Be willing to move your mat to make room for someone else. Wouldn’t you want the same done for you?

6. Keep an open mind and an open heart. Be supportive of your fellow students, don’t be judgmental, and try to remember that we are all in this together. Think of it as “we”, not “me”. IE, I heard of a student taking it upon herself to prop the door in class recently. If you’re too hot, quietly signal the instructor over, but don’t take it upon yourself to open the door, it’s not fair to the other students who may not want the door open.

7. Only focus on yourself. Yes, for the most part true, but I do feel it’s okay to look to others for form, especially if you’re newer to practice or not as familiar with a particular posture. Watching someone who knows what they’re doing can help. I also think it’s fine to look at someone who’s doing a really cool advanced posture, it’s okay to be impressed, even in awe. What’s not okay is when you start forming judgements either about them or about yourself, and start comparing or perhaps even putting yourself down a bit. And I’m guilty of that just as much as anyone else…..but really, it’s not a competition.

Peace, love & yoga,

Stefanie

Take one of Stefanie’s classes at CorePower yoga studios throughout Chicago corepoweryoga.com. She is on the schedule as Stefanie C. She also works with private clients in their homes so think of her for your next party or corporate event. Either write her a note on the blog, or call her directly at 646-642-3391.

Stefanie Lester Coslow is a native New Yorker currently residing in Chicago with her husband and two kids and teaches at CorePower Yoga throughout their Chicago locations. In a former life, she was an accountant at a TV Rep firm who studied Psychology at school, talk about yin & yang.p>

I came to yoga purely for the physical benefits, I was drawn in by and immediately became addicted to yoga sculpt, which if you haven’t tried it, you should. It’s an intermediate yoga practice combined with weight training and cardio, and at the studio where I teach, it’s heated. It’s a very fast paced dynamic workout, and typically a lot of fun with great tunes, it also kicks your butt. And I remember thinking I could eat 10,000 calories after doing it……okay, so that part of it I couldn’t sustain.

Slowly over time I got drawn in to the “yoga” yoga classes and came to love yoga in and of itself, take away the gym rat part. Then I became addicted to how yoga made me feel mentally. I’m not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve connected with the yoga philosophy and find I have become more introspective, more spiritual.

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Where did your eyes go first? Did you smile or frown at yourself? What was your first thought? Was it “g-d, I look so fat”, “ugh, my hair is awful”, “look at the rings under my eyes, my wrinkles, that zit….”? Did you automatically see your to do list and become critical of the things you haven’t yet done?

Is this how you would treat a friend or family member? A stranger? Probably not……

I think we could all learn to practice some self acceptance, some self love, and just be plain old kind to ourselves. Accept who and what you are, acknowledge your strengths, your weaknesses, and know that every single one of us has stuff that we are working on. It’s cliche, yes, but true, no one is perfect.

Peace, love & yoga,

Stefanie

Take one of Stefanie’s classes at CorePower yoga studios throughout Chicago corepoweryoga.com. She is on the schedule as Stefanie C. She also works with private clients in their homes so think of her for your next party or corporate event. Either write her a note on the blog, or call her directly at 646-642-3391.

Stefanie Lester Coslow is a native New Yorker currently residing in Chicago with her husband and two kids and teaches at CorePower Yoga throughout their Chicago locations. In a former life, she was an accountant at a TV Rep firm who studied Psychology at school, talk about yin & yang.

So first I need to start with a major shout out……….my hubby ran his first race last week, a 15k, and did awesome. He took charge of his health last summer, started eating better, started running, and lost a significant amount of weight. He doesn’t do anything half-assed and has really gotten into running, and the kids and I were so excited and so proud to cheer him on in his inaugural race. And throughout my yoga journey, they’ve been there to cheer me on and support me as well.

All this made me realize that I’m extremely proud of a few, I think, important messages that we are sending our kids. The first is that we are supportive and celebrate each others endeavors and accomplishments. It’s not always easy, clearly there’s only a finite amount of free time, and I’m not going to lie, it quite often can become a power struggle over who gets to go do their thing and who is staying with the kids. The Cleavers we are not. But, all in all, I think we do a decent job of compromising and trying to make it fair, while simultaneously trying to balance that all with family time. Like I said, not always easy, but usually it works out ok.

The next message sort of combines a bit with the first one, but it’s about valuing oneself and making time for yourself outside of being mommy or daddy. Maybe it sounds a bit selfish, but I think it’s necessary and helps me to be a better parent, a better person. And I think that’s really valuable for our kids to see and take into adulthood with them. I think it’s so important to take some time for oneself and not lose sight of you as an individual.

Lastly, I am so proud to be showing our kids how important it is to be active, healthy, and fit.

I’m so glad they are exposed to it and sincerely hope they make fitness a part of their daily lives, it is so, so important and, in my opinion, the fountain of youth.

There is one caveat to that though. In the interest of full disclosure here, I struggled with eating disorders for many years. And as fabulous as fitness is, I know all too well that it can be taken too far. For a long time, exercise combined with me in a sentence was practically a dirty word in my family. But I’ve come a long way and believe I have a healthy outlook on/approach to things these days. I’m just hoping I pass that along to my children versus any obsessive/self depreciating tendencies. I’ve already had my 6 year old daughter ask if she looks fat, I think she was probably just repeating something she’d heard (hopefully not from me!) and not really pondering, but still, that scares the crap out of me! But I’m trying really hard to be the best, most moderate example I can be.

Yet again, life is all about finding that balance.

Peace, love & yoga,

Stefanie

Take one of Stefanie’s classes at CorePower yoga studios throughout Chicago corepoweryoga.com. She is on the schedule as Stefanie C. She also works with private clients in their homes so think of her for your next party or corporate event. Either write her a note on the blog, or call her directly at 646-642-3391.

There are many issues when it comes to protein sources.  Organic, grass fed, sustainable, wild, cage free and pasteurized are all terms that have come into question.  Label reading and questioning your fish monger or butcher has never been more important.  If you are not interested in supporting the inhumane, unhealthy processing plants where animals are treated as simply “product”, then you must know where your food comes from and how it was treated and fed.

The natural diet for a chicken is bugs, worms and some grains, seeds, and greens. When birds eat this food they produce eggs with golden-orange yolk and are naturally rich in omega-3 with viscous whites that aren’t runny.  Chickens that are raised in factory farms, produce conventional eggs, are put into two foot square wire cages with two to four other chickens and given feed containing antibiotics made mostly of bioengineered corn.  This type of caging has been banned in some places in Europe due to the fact that it’s so inhumane.

While we’re on the topic of chicken, let’s talk about eggs.  There are so many different claims on the cartons – cage free, free range, good source of omega 3, organic, certified humane – that it’s difficult to figure out which are the best.

Here’s a few things you should know:

• Cage free simply means that the hens aren’t stuck in little cages; instead, they’re packed into barns where they’re crowded but unconfined.
• Free ranges means that the hens are allowed to roam outdoors on occasion.
• Certified organic eggs come from uncaged hens that are given outdoor access and fed and organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides.

When it comes to fish, the best quality is wild, line-caught.  This means that the fish lived a relatively normal life, ate a natural diet, and was caught in a sustainable ways.  On the other hand we have farmed fish.  These fish are kept in huge pools where disease spreads rapidly and antibiotics must be used.  The PCB levels are higher because the fish live in their own waste in a limited area.  Farmed salmon are fed pellets that have color added to get the red color in the flesh.  Much of our farm-raised fish, especially Atlantic, are genetically modified which will be discussed later.

The natural diet of cows is grass.  Their whole anatomy and physiology is set up to graze and digest grass.  Cows that are allowed to be raised and finished on grass have more omega-3 fatty acids in their fat.  If cattle are corn or soy meal fed, they are not as health, often requiring antibiotics.

When it comes to protein, it’s not “you are what you eat”, it’s “you are what they eat”.  Ask questions about how the animal was raised and what it was fed. Was it given access to pasture, was it caught in the wild?  Answers to these questions tell you more about what you are eating then reading any label.

When speaking of protein, we must also talk about iron.  Iron is essential to a healthy pregnancy and is the most widespread type of vitamin or mineral deficiency in the world. It plays the central role in the transportation of oxygen from the lungs to the body’s tissues and muscles and carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. The bottom line is too little iron in the body, too little oxygen.  In addition, iron functions in several key enzymes in energy production and metabolism, including DNA synthesis.

There are 2 forms of iron, “home” iron and “non-heme” iron.  Heme iron is found in animal sources of protein and is the most efficiently absorbed.  Non-heme iron is found in plant sources of protein.

When it comes to getting enough protein the main thing to consider is the protein “package”.  Proteins from animal products come along with saturated fats and don’t come with much, if any, fiber.  Plant proteins, on the other hand, are lower in saturated fat and high in fiber as well as other nutrients. Research shows that women who had the highest intake of animal protein had thirty nine percent more chance of ovulatory infertility and the women with the lowest intake of animal protein were substantially less likely to have ovulatory infertility. Adding just one serving per day of beans, peas, tofu or soybeans or nuts shows a modest amount of protection against ovulatory infertility.

When we speak of protein we absolutely must address the issue of soy.  There is so much controversy in the media about the fortunes, and misfortunes, of soy that a person can get be mislead.  Headlines tell us that eating soy based foods lowers cholesterol, chills hot flashes, prevents breast and prostate cancer, aids in weight loss and ward off osteoporosis.  Soy products have flooded the market; from tofu to soymilk, tempeh and soy ice cream.  The problem is the claims for soy exceed the evidence and some studies warn that too much soy may increase the risk of breast cancer in some women or promote memory lose.

Soy is as excellent source of protein, calcium and other healthful nutrients and eating it in place of red meat once in a while is definitely a better choice.  For me, I believe the jury is still out and wouldn’t consume soy more than once a week.  Something to keep in mind where soy is concerned, most of our soy crop is genetically modified (discussed later), which may not be good for our health.  Most manufacturers will go out of their way to label their products when they don’t use GMO soy.  If you’re going to consume soy, please make sure it is not genetically modified.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that specializes in helping busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services

Protein is necessary to the structure of almost every molecule in the body, especially to hormones, neurotransmitters, genes and all enzymes. It is necessary for the secretion of a hormone called PYY. This is the hormone that goes from the gut to the brain that tells us to stop eating (obviously a very important hormone!). Proteins are the building blocks of the body; they are manufactured in the body to make up our hair, muscles, nails, tendons and ligaments. The human body contains somewhere between thirty thousand and fifty thousand unique proteins. The building blocks of all proteins are molecules are known as amino acids.

On any given day, the body breaks down about one pound of protein into amino acids and reassembles them into new proteins. This protein turnover allows us to grow, heal and internally defend ourselves on a constant basis. Although the body can manufacture some amino acids, it can’t manufacture all of them so adequate dietary protein intake is essential to providing us with the nine amino acids that our bodies can’t produce. These are called essential amino acids.

The body does not need or use excess protein and an excess can become a burden for the kidneys and liver, two organs that are in charge of getting rid of wastes. Excess protein intake increases the use of amino acids as a daily energy source, which decreases the breakdown of glucose stored in our fat cells, thereby promoting increased body fat. Also, when animal protein intake is high, animal fat intake is typically also high, which is linked to several chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and kidney disease as well as decreased fertility. When choosing a protein, it’s important to keep in mind what comes along with those amino acids which will be discussed shortly.

We get protein from anything that once moved around; from their meat, organs and the products produced by their milk. These foods are a complete protein. A complete protein source is one that provides all the nine essential amino acids in adequate amounts. Animal products such as meat, fish, dairy and poultry are examples of complete proteins.

There are other sources of proteins from plant products, such as grains and legumes (beans, peas, lentils, and soy products), referred to as incomplete proteins due to the fact that they are missing one or more essential amino acids (quinoa is the only plant product that has all nine amino acids). By combining incomplete proteins we can turn them into complete proteins. With a varied vegetarian diet of grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, a person is almost assured complete proteins, as well as healthy fiber, vitamins and minerals; nuts are a great source of healthy fat as well as protein. Grains and beans or legumes do not need to be combined at the same meal in order to reap the benefits of complementary amino acids. We carry an amino acid pool of about 80-90 grams of complete protein in our bodies that can be called upon to fill any gaps.

Many cultures understood this need for complete proteins and we see it in the foods they still eat today. In Mexico they eat many dishes that combine beans and tortillas, as well as beans with rice; in the Middle East they eat hummus (ground chickpeas and sesame seeds) and pita,

Tabouli (bulgur and tomatoes), in Italy pasta and tomato sauce, in Africa they prepare stews with vegetables, grains and peanuts, Asia is known for its vegetable stir fries with rice and even here in the US we have peanut butter and jelly on bread.

There are many issues when it comes to protein sources. Organic, grass fed, sustainable, wild, cage free and pasteurized are all terms that have come into question. Label reading and questioning your fish monger or butcher has never been more important. If you are not interested in supporting the inhumane, unhealthy processing plants where animals are treated as simply “product”, then you must know where your food comes from and how it was treated and fed.

To Be Continued…

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that specializes in helping busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services