Forgive me food blog, for I have sinned...

It has been 6 and a half months since my last blog. Why? Wow, where to begin? The entire story or sum it up in a nutshell? Nutshell it is. Forget the nutshell, let's move on. Most of us are emotional eaters and around stressful times, like change, holidays, weddings, funerals, and just when life happens every day, we reach for the bottle. The bottle of sugar. You've all heard of the book, Potatoes Not Prozac, but have you really thought and considered what sugar does to the brain? No? Good, I will tell you.

Firstly, your brain cells need two times more energy than any other cell in your body. Glucose is the form of sugar that travels in your bloodstream to fuel the furnaces responsible for your brain power. Neurons can't store glucose though, so your brain totally depends on your bloodstream to deliver a constant supply of fuel, ie: blood sugar. This blood sugar is obtained from CARBS. YES, CARBS! But here's the kicker, too much sugar or refined carbohydrates at one time can actually deprive your brain of its fuel – depleting its energy supply and compromising your brain's power to concentrate, remember, and learn. This is why you feel sluggish when you don't eat.

BUT...though a snack or powerbar with too much sugar in it (or heaven forbid a soda full of high fructose corn syrup - bleh) might quickly give you a boost of energy, it's short lived. When you eat something with a high sugar content your pancreas starts to secrete insulin. And get this, insulin then triggers cells throughout your body to pull the excess glucose out of your bloodstream (you know, the fuel for your brain?) and then stores it. 'Stores it' you wonder? Thats what we are talking about. Storing the carbs. You become a big fat storage unit for carbs... literally you will develop a fat 'asana'. Stick with me here, it gets worse before it gets better.

"Soon, the glucose available to your brain has dropped. Neurons, unable to store glucose, experience an energy crisis. Hours later, you feel spaced-out, weak, confused, and/or nervous. Your ability to focus and think suffers. The name for this glucose deficiency is hypoglycemia, and it can even lead to unconsciousness." Oh and p.s., eating like this will lead to type 2 diabetes, making the brain even more delicate and you will then become vulnerable to depression and are more likely to suffer a decline in mental ability as you age. Fun.

This is why I say EAT! BUT, be careful (mindful, aware, present in) WHAT you eat. When we are emotional, stressed out, experiencing change, etc, we go through different stages of anxiety. Anxiety is a relative of fear - it's a negative response. We reach for comfort, for something to settle our stomachs and thusly settle our mind. We grab fries, greasy pizza, a pint of ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, a few bowls of cereal, a box of fig newtons, an entire bag of Sun Chips, etc., etc., and we reach with a numb mind. When you have got a ton on your mind, the last thing you remember to do is count calories let alone even pay attention to what you are putting in your pie hole. And when you do this, your brain function worsens, you continue to eat poorly because you aren't thinking straight BECAUSE you aren't eating right. Hop on Hammy the hamster, because you are just going round and round and round and round...

Pay attention to what you eat. Pack healthy snacks. Steer clear of the dessert table at holiday parties and avoid all alcoholic drinks with any added sugar in them (more on sugar and alcohol next time). But, if you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. There is no sense in that. That's like beating a dead horse. In the words of Ronnie from the Jersey Shore, "If the horse is dead, leave it alone!" Treating yourself this way just attracts more negativity to you. I don't need to go there do I? More negativity? You'll turn yourself into a black hole for goodness sake! Grow up, use your brain (I know it hurts to think sometimes, but you can do it!). Ok, I know I'm getting snarky now, but it's the Holidays people. You have got to think before you eat. Stay present, take a breath and DRINK WATER WATER WATER! You are nothing if you are not hydrated.

Peace, love and H20.

Hydration - am I drinking TOO much water?

Proper hydration is confusing to just about everyone. I was one of those, "my face is ALWAYS red when I work out!" folks. Until one day, a very snarky Bikram teacher in NY told me, "well then, you are ALWAYS dehydrated!" So I started drinking more water. water water water... but still didn't notice a difference. Well, maybe a little, but I was still tired and my hands and feet would still swell every other day.

Here's the deal: dehydration is not just a loss of water from sweating, it is also a loss of very important electrolytes, including potassium, calcium, sodium chloride and magnesium, plus many lesser known trace minerals which are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of our brains! As well as our nervous systems, hearts, etc. You get the point. As we lose water (ie: sweat!), the body is depleted of minerals, not just water, and then we get muscle cramps, are exhausted and feel like we've been run over by a truck. This is why it is so very important to REPLACE YOUR ELECTROLYTES! It's actually easy - products like Smart Water and "electrolyte enhanced water" already do most of the work for you. But sometimes a little just isn't enough. And, buying bottle after bottle can be expensive (and destructive if you don't recycle). You can actually re-mineralize your own water at home. Try Concentrace or even Cell Food. Both are available at Whole Foods and other vitamin stores. I also take Potassium supplements (Solaray is my favorite brand) as well as Cal/Mag/Vit-D (if you are taking Cal, take it with Mag and always get it with D for proper absorbtion.).

Ideally, drink half your body weight in fluid oz. of mineralized water. On average, that's two liters of water. If you are taking Bikram yoga, try to drink a coconut water or vitamin water 10 (which is actually 25 cal. for the whole bottle) before or after class. On tough days, get a real (meaning 120-140 calorie) vitamin water or a couple of coconut waters.

Drink up!