Four Foods Help You Fight Off Flu

Happy New Year from all of us at AM Warner Insurance. January has started out with a nasty blast of cold arctic air. If you haven't had your flu and pneumonia shots, I encourage you to get them right away. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 98% of flu cases in the U.S. are related to swine flu, so make sure to get vaccinated for H1N1.

Adding four foods rich in germ-fighting antioxidants can help your immune system fight off colds and flu this winter.

• Colorful fruits and veggies contain beta-carotene and vitamin C, powerful antioxidants. So stock up on carrots and sweet potatoes and try to eat at least a half cup serving every day.
• Eating two 6-ounce servings of yogurt every day, particularly varieties containing probiotics, improves digestive health, can ease diarrhea and prevent yeast and urinary tract infections.
• Four tablespoons of lemon juice stirred into a glass of water or tea or sprinkled on salad helps maintain a healthy internal climate for good disease-fighting bacteria.
• Season your food with two cloves of garlic each day to stimulate infection fighting white blood cells.

Don't Fall for Weight Loss Scams

"Losing weight consistently ranks as one of the top New Year's resolutions,and many people look for fast, easy fixes or an easy way to get back into
shape," said Joan Coughlin of the Ohio Better Business Bureau.

With more than 100 million Americans fighting extra pounds or obesity, it's no surprise that fat-fighting frauds were the most-reported consumer scam last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. An estimated 4.8 million folks fell for weight-loss scams in 2007, most of them losing money on purchases of bogus products. The only thing many of these "miracle" products will lighten is your pocketbook, the BBB is warning consumers; these products won't do a thing for your waistline. It's another case of buyer beware. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The BBB offers these tips for spotting weight-loss scams:

• If there's no scientific evidence that the product promotes weight loss, it's a scam.


• If the product promises to reduce fat or cellulite in specific body areas, it's a scam.


• If the product promises, effortless, large or fast weight loss, it's a scam.


• If the product promises weight loss without exercise or without managing food intake, it's a scam.


• If the company requires large advance payments or a long-term contract, it's a scam.

Remember the adage: No pain, no gain. Weight loss is work, pure and simple. But the rewards are life-changing. So stop looking for a quick fix and just get on with it. Start counting your calories, decrease portion sizes, eat 5 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones, fill your fridge with veggies and fruit, stock up on whole grains, drink lots of water, join Weight Watchers, sign up for a session at Curves, join your local gym, lace up those tennies and start walking! Like they say in the commercial: "Just do it! "

"Bugs" in Your Food Can Keep You Healthy

It's the latest health craze: adding bugs to your food. Not the creepy, crawly kind! These "bugs" are probiotics, or "friendly" microscopic bacteria like those normally found in your digestive tract. Manufacturers are adding them to everything from yogurt to baby formula to help keep you healthy, not make you sick.

Promising to "regulate your digestive health" or "strengthen your body's defenses," major food manufactures like Kraft and Dannon are promoting a growing number of products that contain probiotics in an effort to capitalize on the burgeoning health food craze. Experts say the microbes are generally safe and might even be helpful, though more research is needed to verify the rather vague claims appearing on food labels. This week the National Institutes of Health is sponsoring a conference where scientists will discuss recent advances.

This year more than 150 probiotic and prebiotic (fiber and nutrient containing microbes that feed probiotic bacteria) products have been introduced in the U.S., compared to 100 in 2006 and just 40 in 2005. Current studies of probiotics suggest they may be beneficial in treating gastroenteritis, diarrhea and some allergic skin reactions.

Diet, Exercise Decrease Risk of Breast Cancer

While science offers no guarantees, multiple research studies suggests you can lower your risk of getting breast cancer by taking a few simple defensive measures:

• Eat more fruits and veggies. Five servings (3 or more cups) daily are recommended. Plants contain substances that protect cells the from damage that can lead to cancer growth. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage contain particularly potent cancer fighters. So stock up next time you're at the store and Go Green to stay in the Pink!
• Eat less fat. Diets high in fat usually include more calories and cause weight gain. Studies on connections between fat and cancer have been inconclusive to date, but weight gain, particularly after menopause, is strongly associated with increased cancer risk.
• Drink less alcohol. The use of alcohol has been clearly linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. One drink a day increases your risk only slightly over non-drinkers, but risk escalates quickly as alcohol consumption increases. (Remember, one drink = 5 oz. wine, 12 oz. beer or 1 oz. liquor. Those giant margaritas you love at your favorite Mexican restaurant, each of those can count as 2 to 3 drinks!)
• Add soy. There are no definitive studies on the merits of soy as a cancer deterrent, but Asian women who eat soy all their lives have a significantly lower incidence of breast cancer. Researchers suspect that benefits are greater if soy is a part of your diet from a young age, as opposed to being added to your diet after menopause. At any rate, soy is a healthy food, so it sure can't hurt to add it to your diet, and it might help.
• Exercise. There is growing evidence that regular exercise (30 minutes, 3 times or more a week) reduces breast cancer risk. In fact, exercise is a crucial element of good health and can significantly reduce your risk of other diseases such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes. One thing to remember, it's cumulative exercise time that counts. Ten minutes three times a day is just as good as 30 minutes once a day. So get out there and get moving!
• Enjoy your coffee. Thank heavens caffeine doesn't increase your risk of breast cancer. So you don't have to feel guilty when you sit down with that well-earned cup of java after a day of healthy eating and exercise.

Myth Busters! Do You Know Your Food Facts?

Like urban legends, food myths linger for decades. Remember these from our youth?

• Gelatin strengthens nails.
• Coffee stunts growth.
• Grapefruit burns fat.

None are true, nutritionists inform us. Perpetuated by celebrity magazines and internet "facts," food myths seem to go hand-in-hand with the latest fad diet. Remember the cabbage soup diet or the cider vinegar diet? Cleansing diets of yesteryear, they still crop up on talk shows and celebrity interviews from time to time. Just last week on Jay Leno I heard a Hollywood starlet credit the cabbage soup diet with her remarkable return to her svelte figure just two months after giving birth. Of course the 8-week, 6-hour a day, 6-day a week sessions with her personal trainer didn't have anything to do with it!

Detox or "cleansing" diets (I call them "potty" diets because that's where you spend all your time!) are all the rage in Hollywood right now. Unfortunately, a lot of fad diets can actually harm your health and any weight loss you achieve is only temporary.

The American Dietetic Association is encouraging people to eat "100% fad-free" this year. Balanced nutrition coupled with regular exercise is all most people need to maintain a healthy body and weight range. In support of healthy, fad-free eating, we invite you to take the following quiz.

Fact or Myth?

You lose weight when you skip breakfast.

• Myth. You'll compensate for the missed calories by eating more during the day. Of course, if you have a box of donuts for breakfast every morning, the answer might be "fact." Sugary breakfasts can make you eat more because they cause a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar which makes you feel hungry. Your best bet for breakfast? Protein for energy plus fiber for staying power.

Eating at night makes you fat.

• Myth. It's total calories that count, not when you eat them. The best plan is to space your food intake out over the day by eating several small meals and keep track of your calories. Spacing your meals keeps you from getting too hungry and overeating or snacking on fattening foods. Decreasing late-night snacking, particularly of unhealthy foods, can help you lose weight.

Fasting rids the body of toxins.

• Myth. The body comes fully equipped with an efficient and self-sufficient "detox" system that filters out harmful products. Depriving the body of food won't make it work any better or faster. Detox diets tout claims of extravagant weight gain -- 10 pounds overnight! Sounds great, but it's all water weight that you'll gain right back.

Olive oil is lower in calories than other fats.

• Myth. Fat is fat. All oils are 100% fat and have the same approximate number of calories: 120 per tablespoon. Olive oil is a "good" oil that contains monounsaturated fats, but it still packs the calories. Oh, and light olive oil refers to flavor, not calories.

Low-fat means low calories.

• Myth. If you see low-fat or fat-free on the package, make sure you read the label. Sugar may have been added to compensate. While sugar doesn't contain fat, it has calories in abundance. And remember, if you eat a box of low-fat cookies, you're still going to gain weight. Don't be taken in by words or misleading advertising. Watch your portion size and count the calories.

Honey is better for you than sugar.

• Myth. Honey may have a more "natural" appeal or taste better to some people, but to your body honey and sugar are the same. Your body breaks both down into glucose and fructose. Since honey is a bit sweeter than sugar, you might use less, but that's the only real nutritional benefit.

Organic food is more nutritious.

• Myth. There have been few studies, but so far scientists have found no correlation between the nutritional value of food and the way it's farmed. Some evidence suggests that organic produce may be higher in some antioxidants, but there appears to be no nutritional advantage in organic milk or meat. Organic foods have the same calorie content as conventional foods, so don't use them as an excuse to pig out.

Frozen vegetables are as nutritious as fresh.

• Myth. Freshly picked vegetables contain the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin and mineral contents decrease each day with shipping and storage so "older" vegetables in your grocery may, in fact, be less nutritious than frozen ones which are flash-frozen soon after picking. To maintain the most nutrients from fresh or frozen vegetables, microwave, steam or stir-fry them.

Multigrain foods are always made with whole grains.

• Myth. You have to read the label. Multigrain just means the product contains more than one grain. Look for the word "whole" in front of every grain in the ingredient list to make sure the product was made from whole grains.

Is Drinking Diet Soda a Health Risk? Say It Isn't So!

Just when we thought diet news couldn't get worse, now researchers are saying that even diet sodas can be bad for our health. Is nothing sacred?

According to a new study, drinking as little as one can of soda a day -- either regular or diet -- increases the risk of metabolic syndrome by 48% Metabolic syndrome is a key predecessor of heart disease and diabetes and includes excessive abdominal fat, high blood-glucose levels, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides and low levels of high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol.

Previously only regular soda was thought to contribute to heart disease and diabetes. This is the first study to implicate diet soda. Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine who conducted the study had no idea why diet soda would pose the same risk as regular, sugared soda.

Study leader Dr. Ramachandran Vasan said it is unlikely that an ingredient in diet soda is to blame. He suggested that the consumption of sweet sodas may change dietary patterns or may be simply indicate general poor eating habits.

Naturally, the soda industry was incensed by the new findings. Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Associations, said, "...it is scientifically implausible to suggest that diet soft drinks -- a beverage that is 99 percent water -- cause weight gain or elevated blood pressure."

Just to be safe, guess I'll start stocking up on green tea.

New Super Berry Found in Amazon Jungle

There's a new berry in town. With more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries and even pomegranates, the acai berry is this summer's new super food. The purple acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) is grown in the Amazon where it soaks up powerful amounts of healthy omega fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins A, C and E.

You can find acai berries in Sambazon organic smoothies ($2.50 at Whole Foods), Bossa Nova juices ($2.99 at Whole Foods and Safeway) and Naked Juice's Purple Machine smoothie ($2.99-$3.99 at most food stores). Haagen-Dazs is coming out with a Brazilian Acai Berry Sorbet, and Anheuser Busch is adding it to their new 180 Blue energy drink.

Good News and Bad News About Chocolate

Well there's good news and bad news on the health front. Chocolate, at least the right king of chocolate, is good for you. It seems that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure. Yea! Unfortunately, it only takes a small amount to get the job done -- the equivalent of just 2 tiny Hershey's Kisses. (Boo!) And here I was hoping to add a box of bonbons a day to my daily diet plan. Oh, well.

New research from Germany adds to other studies that have linked chocolate with health benefits but is the first to suggest that a tiny amount will do the job. Study volunteers who ate about 6 grams of dark chocolate daily for nearly five months (the equivalent of 1 1/2 Hershey's Kisses) lowered their blood pressure. A control group who ate the same amount of white chocolate did not.

Although decreases in blood pressure readings were typically small among study participants, scientists believe it is enough to potentially reduce the risk of cardio-vascular disease. Because of the high number of calories usually found in chocolate bars, the study tested small amounts of chocolate -- the equivalent of 30 calories -- which would not adversely impact weight gain.

Roughage Is Latest Health Buzz Word

Fiber is back in! Roughage is the latest buzz word at health clubs across the country. High-fiber diets are the latest health craze. The Fiber35 Diet by Brenda Watson (Free Press, $26) is the bible of the fruit and veggie set. Watson specializes in digestive problems, her co-author, Leonard Smith, is a gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon.

A shortage of fiber is the root cause of many health problems and one of the reasons Americans are overweight, Watson says. She recommends eating 35 grams of fiber a day. Medical experts recommend 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily, but Americans average only 10 to 15 grams, according the Columbia University's Institute of Human Nutrition. People on low carb diets may eat as few as 7 to 8 grams of fiber daily.

According to Watson's book, fiber:

• Fills you up and suppresses your appetite.
• Allows you to eat high volumes without high calories.
• Slows the body's carbohydrate conversion to sugar which supports blood-glucose stability and helps you lose weight.
• Eliminates calories from the food you eat through waste excretion. Watson calls this "fiber flush."

"For every gram of fiber you consume, you don't absorb seven calories," Watson says. "That's 245 calories a day (eating 35 grams a fiber per day). She contends that adequate daily fiber can counter common digestive problems such as acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids.

Try these quick easy ways to add fiber to your diet:

• make sandwiches with whole grain breads
• snack on hummus with whole grain flat bread
• spread peanut butter on apple slices for a quick energy boost
• eat whole oranges instead of orange juice at breakfast
• don't forget to serve a salad with dinner

Eat Red for Good Health

Red colored foods may strengthen the heart and help fight cancer. Naturally occurring protective compounds, phytochemicals lycopene and anthocyanins are concentrated in red foods. These compounds contribute to healthy plant structures and are thought to do the same for healthy bodies.

• Lycopene. Found in red tomatoes, particularly cooked tomatoes, lycopene protects the body from cancer of the cervix, colon, bladder, stomach and prostate. It increases heart health by boosting the cardiovascular system.
• Anthocyanins. Found in red apples and red wines, it improves cardiovascular health.
• Antioxidants. Found in radicchio, a bitter red-leafed cousin of endive, and strawberries, it absorbs oxygen-free radicals that can damage healthy cells.

Other red foods that promote good health include beets, blood oranges, cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, raspberries, red grapes, red onions, red peppers, red potatoes, ruby red grapefruit and watermelon.

"Good" Fats Important to Your Diet

Omega-3 is one of the good fats. It may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis and autoimmune diseases. It's not as hard as you think to increase omega-3 fats in your diet. Diabetic Living magazine recommends adding these foods to your menus to increase your intake of omega-3 fats:

• Walnuts are a great source of omega-3 fat. Eat as a snack; grind them up and use in baking to replace a portion of the flour in recipes; chop and use to top cereal, yogurt or ice cream; add to cookies, brownies or breads. I stir them into my morning oatmeal with a teaspoon of cinnamon, one-half cup of applesauce and a tablespoon of Splenda brown sugar blend. Yum!
• Cook with canola oil instead of vegetable oil. Make your own salad dressings with canola oil for a light, healthy salad. I add it to the Good Seasons packets or shake up my own dressings when I feel experimental. Just add oil, water, your choice of vinegar and spices and shake.
• Tofu is a wonderful source of omega-3 fat. Both Boca or Morningstar Farms sell tofu crumbles in bags. Look for them at your grocers in the same freezer section as the vegetarian burgers. The pre-cooked crumbles make it easy to add tofu to stir fries, soups, stews, chili or sloppy joes instead of using ground meat. I recently used the crumbles to make a fabulous chili that got 4-star reviews from my meat-loving dad and my daughter's vegan boyfriend. Check out the quick and easy recipe below.

4-Star Vegan Chili

1 onion, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons canola oil
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1 can green chilies, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Prego Garden Vegetable, but use your favorite)
1 bag tofu crumbles
Spices to taste: chili powder, cumin, cilantro, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt

In a large sauce pan, fry out onion, peppers and garlic in canola oil until soft. Add all other ingredients including tofu crumbles, stir to blend. Add spices to taste. I started with a teaspoon of chili powder and black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of everything else and went from there, stirring and tasting until I liked it. Simmer for 30 minutes to blend flavors. Serve with grated cheese or cheese substitute for garnish and thick grain bread. Don't be afraid to experiment with the ingredients. Add what you like and delete what you don't.