Grapefruit Juice - Not the Best Hangover Beverage

I used to drink a container of grapefruit juice if I was suffering after a late night. It was a favorite of mine because it was tasty, hydrating, and high in potassium which I would have depleted while drinking. Turns out that I might have been inhibiting my liver’s ability to detox.

Grapefruits naturally contain a significant amount of the flavanoid naringin. Naringin has been shown in numerous studies to reduce the activity of the cytochrome P450 system, the system responsible for cleaning out booze and medicine. The result is that the toxins stay in your body longer.

It is also important to realize that naringin interferes in the metabolism of 60% of currently marketed pharmaceutical drugs. Some examples of drugs are calcium channel blockers (for high blood pressure), statin drugs (for high cholesterol), and sedatives. If you currently are taking any medication you could go to http://www.drug-interactions.com/ to see if your drug is on the list.

I am a huge fan of grapefruits though and they are so healthy for lots of reasons. If I am having a rough morning now, though, I just drink another type of juice. Cheers!

A Thrilling Twist on Summer Pops

June’s issue of the magazine Body and Soul (http://www.wholeliving.com)/, had these three VERY EXCITING popsicle recipes. Besides the artificial colors and horrendous sweeteners you are avoiding, you are getting lots of vitamins and minerals. And the flavors are so odd!…aren’t you curious?

For each of these recipes below, combine the fruit, herb or spice, and a dash of salt in a blender on high for 30 seconds, until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for six hours.

Honeydew-Basil
Mix 4 cups of honeydew melon cubes with ¼ cup of chopped fresh basil and ½ cup organic frozen lemonade concentrate.

Pineapple-Cinnamon
3 cups of fresh pineapple chunks, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ cup fresh orange juice.

Mango-Parsley
Combine 1 ripe mango and ½ cup loosely packed chopped parsley. If the mango isn’t ripe, add ¼ cup organic frozen lemonade concentrate.
(I have a suggestion – use 2 mangos, same amount of parsley, and ¼ to ½ of the lemonade concentrate even if the mangos are ripe. This way the pops come out juicier rather than like a frozen mango.)

I tried the honeydew-basil pops which were my favorite. I also tried the pineapple-cinnamon flavor but my blender didn’t blend it properly so the texture was weird. The flavor was very nice though and I am sure they would have been delicious if my blender cooperated. The mango ones were interesting and I would change the recipe slightly like I mentioned above.

Avoid Smelling Like This Guy...

No one appreciates dog breath and Dentyne can only get you so far. Bad breath can result from many different things including:

• Bad oral hygiene
  
• Gum disease


• Gastrointestinal issues like constipation, indigestion, or too few "friendly bacteria" in the colon


• Dieting or fasting (body breaks down the fat and protein in your body where toxins are usually stored)


• Sinusitis
  

Assuming that the underlying reason for bad breath is not a serious health problem (such as kidney or liver disease), there are safe and easy ways to reduce your poisonous emissions.

Having regular dental cleanings and maintaining proper dental hygiene is a no brainer.

Maintain regular digestive function. This may require you to incorporate more fiber into your diet and to drink more water. This will help keep toxins from building up in your body. Any source of chlorophyll, such as wheatgrass or alfalfa liquid, will also help remove toxins.

Probiotic supplements will help restore the proper balance of good to bad bacteria in your intestines.

Zinc supplements (not exceeding 100 mg/day, read directions on label) has an antibacterial effect and can reduce sulfur compounds which often causes bad breath.

Eating herbs such as parsely, fennel, cloves, and anise after a meal can help.

And the very best way to help us all breathe easier is to incorporate more good quality, minimally cooked fruits and veggies into your diet. By doing so, you are guaranteeing that you are getting the vitamins and minerals needed to maintain healthy teeth and gums, the fiber to eliminate toxins, and the nutrients to keep up a healthy immune system.

A special thanx to Horatio the Pug! xo

Cooking with Coconut Oil

Many people consider coconut oil to be the black sheep in the cooking oil family. Coconut oil did not earn this reputation - it was just a victim of vicious lies and rumors (probably started by a vindictive cousin like walnut oil!). There are several good reasons to give coconut oil another chance and let it back into your kitchen cabinet.

Coconut oil is a saturated fat. We are told to avoid or limit saturated fats as much as possible. That warning refers to animal fats, however, not coconut oil. The reason is that animal fats are LONG CHAIN fatty acids, while coconut oil contains SHORT and MEDIUM CHAIN fatty acids. They are different and have a different effect on your body and your metabolism.

So yes it is true that coconut oil is a saturated fat, but not one you should necessarily avoid. Saturated fats (of all kinds) are more stable during the cooking process. This means that when cooked, less lipid peroxides are formed. (Lipid peroxides are toxins, like free radicals). Compared to an unsaturated fat that is commonly used for cooking – canola oil – coconut oil produces just a fourth of the lipid peroxides. Why is this important? Lipid peroxides are toxic and can lead to diseases like cancer. They also make your skin age faster, similar to the effect of sun exposure.

Going back to its effect on metabolism, since coconut oil is made up mostly of short and medium chain fatty acids, it is given preferential treatment by your liver for burning. In other words, it can actually help you burn fat. Here is a quote from the book The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, "[Short and medium chain fatty acids] have actually been shown to promote weight loss by increasing the burning of calories (thermogenesis); some research suggests that they lower cholesterol as well".

Unsaturated fats, like olive oil, are still important. These oils, however, are better suited for salad dressing rather than being exposed to heat.

BE SURE YOU GET VIRGIN COCONUT OIL. Everything stated above refers to virgin coconut oil (that can be purchased at a Whole Foods store or similar). Hydrogenated coconut oil is very, very bad for you and is usually found in processed foods.

Finally, it is recommended that no matter what type of fat you choose to use, it should only make up about 30% of your total daily caloric intake.

Here is more interesting info on coconut oil and fats in general - http://products.mercola.com/coconut-oil/. This guy states it better than I ever could.

A Tie! Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest - Part 2 of 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvudKRzHQsQ

The excitement reached new heights yesterday at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. For the first time in Coney Island history, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest went into overtime. Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi had a 5 dog eat-off after they each tied with 59 franks, leading Joey Chestnut to his second consecutive victory. Poor Koby’s mouth still hurts but he promises to be back next year in top form.

My girl "The Black Widow" finished in fifth place with 34 hot dogs.

We have to give props to these guys because they suffer after the event – but they do it for us anyway. According to AP writer Adam Goldman, the competitors will "likely suffer nausea, bloat, headache, and possibly high blood pressure for several days as the body slowly digests the food".

God Bless America. God Bless the Mustard Yellow Belt.

Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest - Part 1 of 2

The 4th of July – the day of our great nation’s independence – provokes memories of holidays past and makes us reel with anticipation of the annual traditions that make this day so special. Traditions are different for all of us. My friend Natalie likes to race two live lobsters across her floor before boiling them. I do my best to avoid fireworks but sob uncontrollably when avoidance fails. My family barbecues. No matter what makes this day different for each of us, there is one tie that binds us all as a nation – the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Last year proved to be a banner year for America, as Joey Chestnut claimed the Mustard Yellow Belt, winning it back from Takeru Kobayashi of Japan. Not only did Chestnut bring the title back to the U.S.A., he broke the world record by eating 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. (He is also the 3-time winner of the asparagus title.) Kobayashi (Koby) was the favorite to win but apparently succumbed to discomfort related to a jaw injury he suffered shortly before. Joey Chestnut and Koby will go head to head again today as they both qualified for the contest in first and second places, respectively.

A notable contestant, and one of my personal favorites, is 105-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas (photo above). While never winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, she holds several world records including: Armour Vienna Sausage, cheesecake, hard-boiled eggs, and baked beans (the long course; apparently there was controversy during the short course with regards to the temperature of the beans). The Black Widow broke the female world record in hotdog eating in last year's Nathan's Hot Dog Contest with 59 hotdogs. This will be participating again today, having qualified in fifth place.

Techniques:

• Water dunking – dunking the food in a cup of water before eating it to soften and lubricate


• Breaking the food into small pieces which reduces necessary chewing time


• Solomon Technique or Japanesing – Koby’s technique of breaking the hotdog in half and eating both halves at the same time

Check back tomorrow for a run down of the 2008 highlights! (Due to the time difference between Zurich and Brooklyn, I won’t see results until the evening).

http://people.howstuffworks.com/competitive-eating1.htmhttp://www.ifoce.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonya_Thomas

Caffeine Makes You Tired

Wait, what? That makes no sense. Actually it does! It turns out that if you always feel tired, eliminating caffeine from your diet can significantly improve your energy levels. There is actually a medical condition called "caffeinism", characterized by symptoms of depression, nervousness, irritability, recurrent headaches, heart palpitations and insomnia. It can occur in people that ingest as little as 250 mg of caffeine per day (about the amount in 2 cups of coffee), but the amount can be higher or lower depending on the individual.

This means that for many people, drinking caffeine provides a short-term temporary zip with ugly long term consequences. Habitual caffeine intake stresses the adrenal system and can induce a situation of chronic fatigue. While it may seem insane to eliminate caffeine from your diet if you always feel exhausted, it has been shown to dramatically improve and stabilize energy levels.

There is a popular study involving mice that is always cited when this topic comes up: Mice were given a dose of caffeine and it improved their swimming capacity. After six weeks of receiving this same dose of caffeine, however, their swimming capacity was actually reduced. In other words, the long-term effects of caffeine are actually counterproductive to the reasons people drink it in the first place.

If you’re skeptical, just try it! See what happens. Make sure you gradually reduce your caffeine intake otherwise you will have a serious headache and a Frankenstein-like demeanor. After a few days or maybe a week, you should really start feeling good!

I just want to point out that caffeine isn’t ALL bad, it’s just bad for people who are always tired, who have high blood pressure, who may have depression or anxiety, or who get wicked PMS*.

Good things about caffeine (if ingested only on occasion):

• Really helps alleviate a migraine headache or hangover
• Comes in extremely tasty beverages
• Mildly stimulates the metabolism
• Helps flush out excess water if you’re bloated (which can also lead to dehydration, so be careful)

*Trust me on this one.