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By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom With the holiday season adding extra activities to our already busy lives, we all sometimes feel we’re running low on energy. And this lack of energy can become a barrier to enjoyment. Below are three of my favorite strategies for boosting holiday energy in a healthy way.  I hope they’ll also work for you! Structure Your Eating.   Make sure to pre-plan your eating day; avoid skipping meals. No time for lunch? Try a protein bar or shake along with fruit if you’re on the run. Carry a small bag of nuts and/or dried fruit with you for a quick emergency energy boost, especially in the late afternoon. When you avoid getting “over-hungry” it’s much easier to resist the holiday treats on every desk and in office break rooms!  Don’t Skimp on Sleep. While it might be tempting to cut back on your sleep to lengthen your active day, fight that urge. Aim for at least seven hours nightly during this busy season. When you’re rested, you’ll be much more efficient ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Grapefruits are one of nature’s perfect fruits – low in sugar, rich in fiber, and a great source of vitamin C. But this fruit also contains a compound that can interfere with the activity of some prescription medications. A new study published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reveals that the number of these drugs has significantly increased over the past few years. Researchers estimate that there are 43 drugs (26 having been introduced to the market in the past 4 years) that have been shown to cause serious harm in susceptible individuals when mixed with grapefruit. There are three major categories of drugs that can have serious negative effects when combined with grapefruit: - Cholesterol lowering statins - Some heart drugs, like beta-blockers - Some antibiotics While food and drug interactions are printed on every label and stated on package inserts, many people do not take these warnings seriously.  The best step is to talk wit...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom PepsiCo has just launched a new soda in Japan, claiming to burn fat and support weight loss. It’s called “Pepsi Special” and the “special weight loss ingredient” is the addition of dextrin to the standard Pepsi formula. Dextrin is a non-digestible fiber, used in baked goods and other food products. Scientific studies have documented that fiber can help bind small amounts of dietary fat, and this metabolic observation is the sole “science” upon which this claim is based. Americans have a love-hate relationship with soda, and soda consumers are always happy to hear of some redeeming health benefit that helps justify consumption. This is not the first time soda has made a weight loss claim. In the U.S., you might be familiar with a soda named “Celcius” containing 200 mg of caffeine (the amount in a large mug of coffee) claiming to burn fat and raise metabolism. And Coca Cola’s Fuze Slenderize energy drink, containing a special blend of minerals, promises to help ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might be surprised to hear that the day after Thanksgiving can be a big barrier for many people when it comes to sticking with a healthy lifestyle over the holidays. This is the day most people make the decision to indulge smartly and adjust their eating and activity patterns to adapt to the culinary treats of the season, or disconnect from mindful eating until January and “worry about it later.” The first step in this decision starts with what I call “eater’s remorse” – feeling bad about your overindulgences of the previous day. It’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that you’ve gotten off track, and there’s no hope for your diet, so why not just keep eating until New Year’s Day.  Today is the day to adjust your thinking for weight control success. No more guilt!  Thanksgiving is just one day of eating, even if you’ve eaten way more than you intended. Don’t feel guilty about your past eating. Learn from your eating behavior, to see how you c...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Today I’d like to share some interesting facts about turkey in honor of the day most often associated with eating this bird – Thanksgiving! Here’s a list of my favorites: Nearly 95% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. That translates to 45 million birds! Turkey has more protein, ounce per ounce, than chicken or beef. White meat and dark meat turkey have almost the same number of calories per serving. Dark meat has four calories more per ounce, or 24 calories in a six-ounce serving A 15-pound turkey has 70% white meat and 30% dark meat. Eating turkey does not put you to sleep. While the old wives’ tale about the sleep-promoting effects of tryptophan-containing turkey remains active, it’s not true. The metabolic explanation is that the large caloric load consumed with the Thanksgiving meal drives more energy to the digestive tract, often causing drowsiness. Benjamin Franklin originally proposed the turkey as the official bird of the United States, instead ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom If you’ve lost and gained the same 20 (or 30, 40, 50+ pounds) for years and believe that you’ve “wrecked” your metabolism and can’t maintain successful long term weight loss, there’s very good news for you! A recent article in the scientific journal Metabolism followed more than 400 women for one year. About 40% of the participants classified themselves as “weight cyclers,” defined as losing (and regaining) at least 10 to 20 pounds at least three times. Participants were assigned to one of four treatment groups: (1) reduced calorie diet only; (2) reduced calorie diet plus exercise plan; (3) exercise plan alone; (4) no intervention, served as the comparison group.  Now here’s the good news! There was no significant difference for the total amount of weight lost between women who were yo-yo dieters and those who weren’t. That’s a reassuring message for the millions of women (and men) who feel their efforts are sabotaged by their past weight cycling history....

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might have seen advertisements or read magazine articles and health books touting the health benefits of coconut oil. We’re often led to believe that there is a new health secret to using this oil – that adding it to your diet is definitely a good choice. But what’s the truth about coconut oil?  Coconut oil is a vegetable fat - it comes from a coconut after all. But unlike most vegetable fats, coconut oil has a lot of saturated (artery clogging) fat. The saturated fat in coconut oil is no different from any other saturated fat and it raises the “bad” LDL cholesterol (think “L” for Lousy). But coconut oil is different from other saturated fats because it also raises the “good” HDL cholesterol (think “H” for healthy). It’s not really clear what impact coconut oil has on overall heart health because studies show that it raises both good and bad cholesterol. So is it healthy? I’d stick with the other vegetable oils like soybean, canola, or olive that do n...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom When it comes to food, when we hear the word “salt,” most of us automatically think about sodium. The emphasis on lowering sodium intake to promote heart health is important and well documented.  But there’s another important salt in the dietary picture: potassium. Getting the right balance of sodium and potassium is another key component for heart health. According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , 90% of a group of of 12,500 people consumed more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily, the upper limit from the American Heart Association (AHA). While sodium intake was up, potassium intake was down. This group consumed only about half of the AHA recommendation of 4,700 mg/day per day. How does this finding translate into what you should eat? Because nearly three quarters of daily sodium intake comes from the consumption of processed foods (food contained in boxes, cans, and bags), cutting back on these items can drastically...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Three cheers to the American Academy of Dermatology for designating November as “National Healthy Skin Month.” This makes a lot of sense since November brings the arrival of colder, drier air as the winter months approach. Their main goal is to raise awareness of healthy skin care throughout the year, as well as provide some specific tips for protecting your skin all winter long.  Keeping your skin hydrated and protected isn’t just important to reducing the visible signs of aging, it’s also a preventive measure for avoiding long-term skin damage. Follow these five easy steps for a healthy skin year-round! - Wear sunscreen. You know by now that I’m a big advocate of year-round sun screen. Cloudy and cold conditions do not block the rays of the sun, although the heat is less intense in winter. Remember to coat the skin on your hands (unless you’re wearing gloves) and your lips to avoid chapping. - Use milder soaps and scrub lightly. Washing the skin removes n...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom For those of you who skimp on sleep because of “too much to do,” this weekend is meant for you. It’s the end of daylight savings time, and we turn our clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. It’s time to “fall back” and gain an extra hour! While you might be tempted to pack more activity into this extra hour, how about using that time for an extra hour of sleep? Many people tell me they can’t make the time to sleep 7-8 hours every night. With our busy lives, sleep is often at the bottom of the “to do” list. Lack of adequate sleep is increasingly becoming a risk factor for our long term health. Chronic lack of sleep is associated with weight gain, hormonal shifts, mood changes, and lack of work productivity. One extra hour won’t make up for weeks and months of inadequate sleep, but it’s a start. It’s a big step for increasing personal mindfulness of your own sleep schedule. Pleasant dreams!

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom With Halloween on the horizon, I thought it would be fun to provide a little “candy trivia.” If you choose to indulge, stick with the “fun size” servings at around 100 calories, and you get to eat the whole thing! Here are some of my favorite candy facts.  1. Nearly half of the 200 million pounds of candy sold in America is at Halloween.  Most of the other half is sold at Easter and Valentine’s Day. 2. The top selling candy in America is candy corn.  But we don’t know how much we eat, and how much we use for crafts and decorations.  3. Candy does not cause weight gain and often supports weight loss.  The Swiss are among the biggest consumers of chocolate (about 2 pounds per month per person) in the world, yet they have an overweight/obesity rate of around 7%! In the United States, about 35% of the population is overweight or obese. Allowing yourself a small amount of chocolate or candy can be an indication of good control over food, not ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Power outages often accompany big storms. While Hurricane Sandy might not knock out your electricity this time, it’s good to know the basics of food safety related to your refrigerator and freezer. If you don’t already have a refrigerator thermometer, run – don’t walk – to get one at any store selling kitchen gadgets (including most supermarkets). This is a key step to following my four-hour/40 degree food safety rule.  All food in your refrigerator is safe to eat after a power outage, if the temperature remains below 40 degrees . An ideal range for food safety is 36–38 degrees. At 40 degrees or higher, bacteria start to multiply quickly and can easily cause food-borne illness.  If you have a thermometer , your food might be good for much longer than four hours (that’s with the door closed!). If you don’t have a thermometer , stick with the four-hour rule and toss most foods from your refrigerator. Don’t use the taste or smell test to determine food ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom If you’re like millions of people in our region and across the country, the typical answer to that question is, “in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom.” And who doesn’t love extra storage space in their bathroom?  But if you’re keeping your prescription or over-the-counter medications there, you’ll want to change the location! The bathroom turns out to be the worst place to store medications because there are constant changes in room temperature and humidity caused by hot showers and baths. Too warm or moist of an environment over time can reduce the potency of your medicines.  Keep your medications in a cool, dry place. For daily prescription medications, be sure to keep them where you are likely to see them. “I forgot,” is one of the biggest reasons people give for being non-compliant with prescription medicines. Keep your daily medications and dietary supplements (like vitamins and minerals) at your bedside or on the kitchen table – both serve as i...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might have heard about calorie postings on fast-food menus in New York City, and elsewhere, and wonder if it will hit our region anytime soon. The answer is a definite YES. McDonald’s is taking a bold step in posting the calorie counts of all menu items, along side the prices. This will be in all restaurant locations across the nation. If you think this will make the signage a little cluttered, you’re right. Although it’s a lot of information to “digest,” it is very helpful to becoming an informed patron.  Opinions vary widely about this new policy. Advocates say it empowers consumers who want easy access to this information. Opponents find it to be a waste of time, especially when no one wants to know this information.  I say it’s a step in the right direction and can only help those who want to be more mindful. Those who are not interested can just ignore it. And that’s just what focus groups have found.   What do you think about calorie pos...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Are you one of those people who never can find the time to exercise? Are you so busy with your daily activities that a regular run or walk isn’t even on your radar? If so, the national campaign called Run At Work Day might interest you. It’s a day of raising awareness about the importance of daily physical activity in supporting good health, a “call to action” to make room for physical activity in your life. And you don’t have to be a runner to participate. The goal, for both adults and children, is to include at least a 30-minute walk some time during your day.  While we all know the benefits of exercise on cardiovascular health, a mid-day boost of physical activity has other health benefits. A 30-minute walk can be the perfect stress reliever. Walk with a friend or listen to your favorite music. Feeling some late afternoon fatigue? Instead of a coffee break, take a walk for some fresh air (and maybe some sunshine!) for an energy boost.  If you don’...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom While pets are regarded as members of the family, you shouldn’t always feed your dog or cat like one! You might not know that certain foods beloved by humans – like chocolate – can be dangerous if consumed by your pet. The ASPCA has some suggested guidelines for the healthy feeding of your dog or cat. Below are some of the highlights: Replace the beef and chicken bones.  These can splinter and cause digestive track damage or damage to your pet’s teeth. Look for treat bones specifically made for dogs and cats. Avoid dairy products .  Adult animals don’t have the digestive enzymes (lactase) for this. Consumption can lead to diarrhea. Skip the chocolate.  The caffeine and other methylxanthines (chemical family of the active ingredient) is not metabolized well by dogs, especially.  Higher concentrations when consumed can produce the same symptoms as in people, like heart palpitations and tremors.  Lose the booze.  Don’t ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom While it’s hard enough to follow a healthy diet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found itself in a pickle recently, with a recommendation in its online newsletter to adopt the idea of “Meatless Mondays,” and replace a meat entrée with a vegetarian option. Sounds good, right? But big problems arose immediately, and that recommendation was taken off of the website. Why? Because the USDA represents ALL foods, and groups like the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association found that to be a biased recommendation toward vegetables and away from beef. In such a politically charged climate, where even a basic suggestion to broaden your food horizons is met with controversy and claims of bias, what is a consumer to do? There’s no easy answer, but common sense is a good place to start. There are health benefits to both meat and vegetables. Moderation is key. Stick with a variety of foods, seasonal and simply prepared, for best nutrients and cost savings. Watch out ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You know I’m a big fan of seasonal eating, and have been enjoying berries of all kinds – at a great price. But berry season is a short one, and come the fall and winter, the local varieties will be long gone, and our markets will carry berries shipped in from thousands of miles away, lacking flavor and sold at crazy high prices.  Packaged frozen berries are my go-to option in cold weather. Right now, I’m pre-planning and taking advantage of summer’s bounty by freezing berries on my own. If you’re thinking these will be a mushy mess by the time you thaw them out, I’ve got a great tip for freezing these little gems, winding up with frozen berries similar to those “flash-frozen” in commercial bags. Start with a cookie sheet, and spread your berries in a single layer, without any berries touching. Carefully place in the freezer, and wait several hours, until frozen solid. Transfer them into a freezer-type zip-lock bag, and you’re done. Grab a handful to top you...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Have you ever thought about foods that are good for you “inside and out”? They’re what I call double duty foods because you can eat them but also use them as a beauty product. Not only are these foods good for your health, they are also a plus for your wallet, because these homemade beauty products cost just pennies compared to store brands. Here are some of my favorites. I’d love to hear about some of yours! 1. OLIVE OIL   INSIDE:  Olive oil is a heart healthy fat. It’s high in monounsaturated oleic acid (a kind of fat), which protects the heart. It’s rich in Vitamin E and antioxidants. Extra-virgin olive oil has the greatest benefits (first press of the olives). OUTSIDE: It’s a great hair conditioner; a pure fat, it provides much needed oils to dry hair (glossy hair has natural oils). Massage it in, and cover your head with a shower cap – leave in for at least 10-15 minutes for optimal conditioning. Wash thoroughly with shampoo! 2. OATMEAL INSIDE: ...