The Fitness Guru

Parents, rejoice!

Here is the first episode of “Eating Well with Michael and Elle”. Our intrepid hosts take us on the journey of a lifetime: the creation of a home cooked chicken nugget.

Take one and pass it on………

Two big studies came out last week, one from the good folks at Yale and the other from equally as noble folks at Columbia, in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Boston.

Both studies took a look at the importance of infancy on obesity in adults. As I have mentioned, and as I am sure you know, the obesity epidemic continues to climb, with the new numbers released last week showing that over 30% of the residents in nine states are obesity– much higher figures than just ten years ago. Doctors, scientists and fitness gurus are all trying to figure out what can be done to stem the tide of unhealthy weight gain.

According to the Yale University study, an individual’s weight is set in the brain before birth. In other words, our size is being wired into our brains in utero. For many people, portions of the brain that would trigger satiety are just not firing properly, causing those individuals to eat more.

“It appears that this base wiring of the brain is a determinant of one’s vulnerability to develop obesity,” said Tamas Horvath, chair and professor of comparative medicine and professor of neurobiology and obstetrics & gynecology at Yale School of Medicine, who is also co-director of the Yale Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism. “These observations add to the argument that it is less about personal will that makes a difference in becoming obese, and, it is more related to the connections that emerge in our brain during development.”

Horvath also mentions that this cerebral wiring leads to other problems. “Those who are vulnerable to diet-induced obesity also develop a brain inflammation, while those who are resistant, do not,” he said. “This emerging inflammatory response in the brain may also explain why those who once developed obesity have a harder time losing weight.”

Meanwhile, over at Columbia, researchers studying births over a period of 14 years (and over a half a million births) found that babies who were heavier at birth were much more likely to become obese adults. The researchers worked with the premise that a healthy weight increase while pregnant was about 18-22 pounds. As the expectant mothers would put on more weight, so too grew the chances that the baby would be large, with the likelihood one and a half times with a gain of 40 pounds and more than doubled with a gain of 52 pounds.

“These are the most important nine months of life from the standpoint of development,” said Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston. “Our cells, tissues, even brain structures are being formed and fine-tuned so that having too high blood sugar and other abnormal metabolic influences can affect that infant not just at the moment but potentially throughout life.

“For an adult to gain an extra 10 pounds and then maybe lose it doesn’t cause permanent changes in that individual’s biology,” Ludwig said. “But, for a fetus to gain too much weight during key [moments] may permanently alter the brain circuits that affect appetite and metabolism, fat tissues or other parts of the body that have a permanent role in body weight regulation.”

Here are a few great books about food to kick back with at the beach this summer. Please note that by “great”, I don’t mean to suggest that they romanticize food in the least. Actually, they are very aggressive in talking about what is wrong with the state of food and eating today. But, as far as educating yourself goes (and ain’t that what we’re trying to do?), ya can’t beat ‘em with a stick.

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health– My friend, Donny Guns, our local weight-loss-muscle-packing-surfer-in-NY dude, turned me onto this book. It almost immediately made him go ultra-orthodox vegan. A fascinating study of the effects of nutrition on the population.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals– This book delightfully confused the hell out of me, and I don’t think I was able to eat without a great deal of forethought for weeks afterward. But Pollen’s delivery is never over the top and it makes for a very quick and interesting read.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto– Pollen’s follow up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma, this book gives a rough and tumble look at the Western diet (such as it is) as well as the food industry as a whole.

So kick back with a couple of margaritas and some BBQ and have a terrific read!!

Rock on!

A few weeks ago, I reported on the WORST Burger in America. Turns out that I may have jumped the gun. First, that burger was actually four burgers served on one plate– that’s not quite cricket. But now I find out that I haven’t done enough research.

It seems the Carl Jr.’s restaurant chain has been market testing a brand new foot long burger. That’s right– the dimensions that are usually saved for your favorite hero sandwich are now available in medium rare.

The plain cheeseburger cost $4 and you pay $4.50 for the trimmings, like tomatoes and lettuce. Deluxe costs a bit more. As it’s still in the testing phase, it’s not possible to get the stats on this 12 inch monstrosity, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that it is not nutritional perfection. And calorically, it probably comes in at close to half a day’s worth of calories. MMMM-mmmm good!

Up until about 24 hours ago, I didn’t even think such wonders were possible. Then I happened upon an article in the New York Times: apparently, a money manager, Mr. Travis L. Wright, has been accused of taking clients cash, which he had said he was going to invest in real estate and deliver 24% returns, and investing in a company that dreams of canning sandwiches. Called Candwich. Get it?

……not sure where to begin on this one…….

To Mr. Wright: of all the colossally boneheaded money manager stories about the misappropriation of funds and shear lack of integrity in your industry over the past couple of years, this one takes the canned cake. If it all proves true, I hope the punishment fits the crime: years of hard labor with nothing to eat but aluminum-wrapped Monte Cristos (prepackaged with a maple-syrup-like substance). Though I am very impressed that you were able to squeeze……deep breath…….$145 MILLION DOLLARS from investors, this thinking takes shallow to a whole new level.

To Mark Kirkland, the developer behind the Candwich idea: really?!? Pepperoni Pizza Pocket in a can?!? Really?!? This is keeping you up at night?!? If I were reading the Onion, I might get a good laugh, but this just makes me queasy. Is the dream to have a can of PB & J in the lunch box of every school child? This idea is to health and well being what the Snuggy is to formal wear. Please: drop it. Drop the idea before it is too late. Personally, beyond the thought of other humans eating such things, the thought that this might be part of our legacy as a people is a little overwhelming. Suddenly KFC and their bread-less chicken sandwich looks amazingly health conscious.

On the plus side: according to the Times, Mr. Kirkland believes the Candwich has a remarkable shelf like. Kinda like Soylent Green.

The United States isn’t necessarily a land of subtlety……we just seem to like our stuff big. Sometimes that’s pretty spectacular and fun. Sometimes it’s just spectacular. And sometimes….well, sometimes it’s just big.

Here’s a fascinating little lunch time nugget for you. Perhaps it’s not the worst burger in America (certainly there are some interesting entries on This Is Why You’re Fat), but in a fast-food-replicated-across-our-great-country kinda way, this one takes the cake.

It’s the Smokin’ Q Four Pack from our buddies at Denny’s: it’s four burgers in one little meal, “sliders” style, topped with fried onions and bacon. And the statistics? Here we go: 2,020 calories, 110 grams of fat and 3,570 mg of sodium (not a typo). The breakdown: a full day’s worth of calories, 50% more than the DAILY recommended intake of sodium and twice as much fat as you should be chowing daily.

Wow. You go Denny’s. Way to have our backs.

In a new study released in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, doctors have found that TV commercials are playing with our decision making process when it comes time to eat. Though that may not come as much of a surprise, just how much we are being toyed with might blow your mind.

Doctors took a look at 84 hours of prime-time programming and 12 hours of Saturday-morning cartoons broadcast over the major U.S. networks during one month in 2004. They then created a meal planned based on a 2,000 calorie-per-day base line. People eating the advertised foods were consuming 20 times the government’s RDA of fat and 25 times the amount of sugar. Let me repeat that: if you eat what you see on TV, you will eat an entire month’s worth of sugar in one day. ONE DAY! That basically turns the recommended food pyramid upside down, creating the largest portion of daily calories to come from fats and sugars. Oops!

The TV diet also provided less than half the RDA of fruits, vegetables, and dairy.

The 775 foods advertised on TV contained inadequate amounts of 12 essential nutrients, such as calcium, potassium, fiber, vitamins D and E, and magnesium. But the foods are not completely lacking: they do provide an abundance of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, which can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

One of the study’s leaders, Michael Mink at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga, believes that if TV advertising can lead viewers down a path to unhealthy choices, perhaps the same advertising can lead to healthier choices if they are about fruits and vegetables. However, studies have shown that past education campaigns that were designed to inform the public about the heart risks associated with diets high in cholesterol and fat and encourage consumers to choose low-fat versions of foods were not successful in getting people to change their eating habits.

Tobacco companies can’t advertise on TV. How is that foods that are as long term detrimental for one’s health may be splattered across the screen morning, noon and night?

So sayeth Men’s Health. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the Stone Cold PB & C in the 24 ounce Gotta Have It size. Hold onto your hats– here’s comes the nutritional information:

2,010 Calories (that’s a single days worth for most healthy Americans)

131 grams of Fat (and, at 68 grams of saturated fat, more than 3 times the suggested LIMIT, you could eat 3 pounds of bacon)

153 grams of sugar (or, as MH likes to put it, 30 Chips Ahoy Cookies)

MMMMmmmmm-mmmmmmm!! Gotta grab one of those!

The good researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health released a new study this week that found that there is no increased risk in heart disease and diabetes from eating unprocessed red meat like beef, pork and lamb.

Good news, steak lovers! Right?

Not quite….. the more interesting finding is that processed meats are associated with an increase in the risk of heart disease (42%!!) and type 2 diabetes (19%!!).

Processed meat was defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives; examples include bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs or processed deli or luncheon meats. Vegetable or seafood protein sources were not evaluated in these studies.

“To lower risk of heart attacks and diabetes, people should consider which types of meats they are eating. Processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed deli meats may be the most important to avoid,” said Micha. “Based on our findings, eating one serving per week or less would be associated with relatively small risk.”

The study was a review of 20 specific studies culled from over 1600 relevant published pieces and took into account the lifestyles of 1.2 million people.

What bugs me more than anything else is the fact that doctors have been bashing red meat for years. Suddenly, red meat is okay and its the turkey sandwich I’m having for lunch that’s the danger. Come on gang, figure it out. That’s why you’re spending all these research dollars, right?

Next up, the coffee and donuts diet will prolong life for an additional 20 years……this study brought to you by the good folks at Dunkin’……

Didja know??

According to Japanese scientists, vinegar may help in the battle to lose weight. The main chemical componant of vinegar, acetic acid, may help to switch on genes that produce fat fighting proteins, thus winning the battle of the bulge.

So?…..What are you putting on your salad for lunch?