Top 10 Super Foods for Spring

Are you feeding you and your family foods to build them up or tear them down?
Kids won't eat their vegetables? CLICK HERE for a simple and easy way!
To your Health,
Sherry Fritz
Nutrition Educator for Juice Plus
www.sherryfritz.com
JOIN Fitness in Tucson

Less Salt and More Fruits and Vegetables

New U.S. dietary guidelines: Less salt, more fruits and vegetables
Los Angeles Times Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:56 PM PST
Many Americans need to cut their sodium consumption by half, especially in certain risk groups, officials say. Salt is the latest enemy highlighted in the nation's battle against obesity and poor eating habits, with new federal dietary guidelines calling on Americans to dramatically cut sodium intake, bulk up on fruits and vegetables and drink water instead of sugary beverages.

Everyone 51 and older, all African Americans and people with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease —about half of the American population — should reduce sodium in their diets by more than half, according to the revised guidelines, issued every five years by the federal government.

The new recommendations, stronger in tone than in 2005, are aimed at awakening the public to the links between unhealthy eating and such chronic killers as diabetes, cancer, stroke and heart disease. A majority of American adults and a third of children are overweight or obese.

As an easy reference, the report told Americans to "make half your plate fruits and vegetables," switch to fat-free or low-fat milk and reach for a glass of water instead of sugar-laced drinks.

This time, officials emphasized the high price of poor eating habits: three-fourths of every healthcare dollar is spent on treating chronic diseases related to diet, imposing financial burdens on household budgets, business and government.

Past guidance has been "opaque" and there hasn't been enough focus on "how this impacts us as a nation," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, whose department co-wrote the guidelines with the Agriculture Department.

The advice on sodium was heavily emphasized

Americans consume an average of about 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily, well above the 2,300 milligrams recommended as a daily upper limit.

The guidelines recommend that the half of the U.S. population in higher-risk groups lower their intake to about 1,500 milligrams.

But that is hard to measure, even for willing consumers, because about 90% of sodium that people consume comes from restaurant or packaged food, not the salt shaker.

"You have to look at a label or a [food] company website," said Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, who praised the straightforward guidelines. The report may be the first since 1980 to state the obvious: "Eat less," she said.

Nutritionist Marion Nestle said the guidelines were a substantial improvement over earlier versions but fall short by failing to name specific foods and products to be avoided, in deference to powerful food lobbies who don't want their products passed over by consumers.

Nestle said the guidelines used the acronym "SoFAS," which stands for solid fats and added sugars.

"Why don't they just say what they mean: eat less meat, sodas, snack foods?" said Nestle, who teaches at New York University. "The most useful thing they could do is name names."

Though advisory, the guidelines influence decisions in school food programs, Meals on Wheels and regulatory issues like food labeling and how foods are marketed to children.

Sebelius unveiled the guidelines with Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack as one of a series of food-centered health initiatives that include a proposed overhaul of federally subsidized school meals programs.

The Food and Drug Administration is working with food producers to improve nutrition information on food packaging and with restaurant chains to add nutrition information to menus.

azajac@latimes.com

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
CLICK HERE to view Los Angeles Times

Childhood Obesity: Are Overweight Children a Product of Poor Parenting?

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.

Expert in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and author
Posted: October 25, 2010 09:41 AM

Childhood Obesity: Are Overweight Children a Product of Poor Parenting?
I see myself as a relatively nonjudgmental person. Be and let be. But yesterday I found myself being highly critical of some people at a restaurant. It's a place well known for their very large portions and huge desserts. I think people often go there because the restaurant gives them license to overindulge. (I can almost hear what some readers are thinking: "Why did she go there, then?" Answer: I was invited -- and I decided before I went that I would eat only moderate portions with no dessert.)

It's OK with me if adults decide to overeat or choose foods that are obviously quite unhealthy. (And having written two cognitive behavioral books for consumers on how to lose weight and keep it off, I'm powerfully empathic to those who struggle with food decisions.) But when it comes to encouraging already overweight children to eat in an unhealthy way, I have little sympathy.

The people at the table next to me were a classic example. A seriously overweight husband and wife were seated with their two young, seriously overweight children. The parents were urging the kids to finish what was on their plates. None of them could possibly have been hungry at the end of the meal. Despite that, all four ordered their own desserts, which were huge: an ice cream sundae, a banana split, a piece of cheesecake and a piece of chocolate cake. The adults polished off what the kids couldn't finish.

"But," you might say, "it could have been a special occasion." Yes, that's true, but why should any special occasion be an excuse for such a galling display of overeating? People should treat themselves on special occasions, perhaps by having moderate portions of their favorite foods. (They could have shared food, for example, or taken half of everything home.) But to model and actually encourage overconsumption does such a disservice to children. It doesn't matter if the kids are normal weight or overweight. There's never a good reason for overindulgence. And it's all too common for isolated instances of overindulgence to turn into consistent habits of overindulgence.

Why do parents overindulge their children? It's related to their beliefs, the ideas that guide their behavior. For example, perhaps the mother and father described above believe that:

1. Restaurant portions are normal
2. I should never waste food
3. I should give my kids whatever they want
4. It won't really matter if the kids overeat
5. I am destined to be overweight and so are my kids
6. If everyone at the table overeats, I won't feel as guilty
7. It's normal to feel overly full

The poor kids. They look as if they are fast approaching obesity. They are learning such unhelpful ideas about food and eating, which are clearly influencing their eating behavior and their weight. They are growing up with distorted beliefs about what "normal" eating is.

"Why blame the parents," some might say. "Our society encourages overindulgence. Many cultures often view overeating and overweight as positives." Of course our societal and cultural beliefs and practices influence how we think and what we do. But the buck has to stop some place.

Yes, let's work on the bigger issues of the ubiquity of unhealthy food in the marketplace. The scarcity and cost of healthy food and the lack of safe outdoor areas to exercise in some neighborhoods are deplorable. But for those who can afford and have access to healthy foods, stop promoting unhealthy eating practices with your kids, especially your young kids. Teach them to eat only when it's time to eat. Stop allowing them to eat on demand. Encourage the consumption of healthier foods. Don't outlaw, but do limit, less healthy food. Recognize that what you do and what you say about food and eating can be key contributors to your children's health, now and in the future.

For everyone who can't, won't or don't eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables every day, there is an interesting alternative: www.sherryfritz.com

FREE for your child! Just ask me how!
Sherry Fritz
866-508-2910

My fitness journey

OK, I am about to be 56 years old, this month, I am 20 lbs over weight and feel like a fat old lady! Where did the time go? So, where did I go wrong? 12 years ago, I was slim and trim and in fantastic shape! I have been in great shape most of my life! In my 30's I had a personal trainer and really got into thong wearing bikini shape! Oh! Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end!

So, what happened? I got divorced, and as I hopped from town to town and job to job looking for a place to settle in, I kept thinking some day. Some day I will have more time and then I will start exercising; some day I will settle into new job, new boyfriend, new life and then, I will start exercising! Well, now it is some day and it is 12 years later, with flabs under my arms, sagging everywhere and 20 pounds to lose.

It took me the entire last year to get exercise a routine again! I started and stopped, started and stopped again and again. What did I do? I started with some thing I like, Yoga, and I started a fitness group and invited other ladies to join me. When they show up to work out, I cannot talk myself out of a work out!

I also changed careers. Now, granted, you may not be able to change careers, but this is my story. I am a real estate agent by trade, since 1977. I have sold single family, mobile homes, time share, condo's, been a designated broker, property manager, leasing agent, you name it, I have done it!

My moment came that changed my life is after my grandkids were born and I was not available to play and swim with them and my family on Sunday afternoons because I was selling real estate. That's when I began to say this is enough. I want money and I want to be in control of my time! So after 30 plus years, if I am going to learn a new career, I wasn't looking for just money, I was looking for something "worthy of my time". That is when a friend invited me to come to a health seminar to hear Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, (you know, Fox TV, contributor to Parade Magazine?? The famous, Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld?).

Dr. Rosenfeld talked about whole food nutrition, fruits and vegetables in a capsule, not a vitamin, not a supplement, that's what he and his family takes and that's what he recommends to all his patients and it is the only product he has ever recommended by name!

At that moment, I decided, not only would I and everyone I loved and cared aboout had to take it, this was truly a business worthy of my time! I wanted my time and my business to be about being healthy and in the best shape of my life. That's what I chose! And that is what I am doing today.

When I began my journey, I never heard the word "free radicals", "oxidative stress", "antioxodants", I truly knew nothing about healthy eating. So, little by little I went to the lectures, I learned, and now I am teaching others. NO, it doesn't have to be your full time job, but whether you are 30, 50 or 60 years old, get started today! It is truly amazing what exercise, healthy eating, and drinking water can do for you! That's the good news.

So now, I am getting on track, I have a great group of ladies to work out with, I am beginning a lose weight class on Saturday's and I am getting off the 20 pounds.

I will log my journey from 150 pounds to 130 pounds here! So welcome, I hope I can inspire you. I invite you to join me, let me know how you are doing, and together let's reach our goals!
If you are in Tucson and would like to join our weekly exercise classes and Saturday weight loss classes, you can go to the meetup group here:
http://www.meetup.com/fitness-in-tucson

Sherry Fritz
Nutrition Educator for NSA
866-508-2910

STOP COUNTING CALORIES NOW!

Stop Counting Calories, NOW!


Dear Sherry,

There's such an abundance of well-meaning but completely
incorrect diet advice in the world today that it's no
wonder people's heads are spinning.

When one source tells you that low carbs are the way to
go, then another says low fat is where it's at, who do you
listen to?

And now scientists in Los Angeles are reporting that it
doesn't matter what diet fad you get suckered into--all
that matters in losing pounds is calories in vs. calories
out.

So let's take a step back here and use some good old
common sense.

The human body needs a wide variety of nutrients to
function optimally. All of the different vitamins and
minerals you ingest in your foods have a very specific,
unique role in your body.

If you're lacking in any of these vital nutrients, a
number of your body's systems can and will fail in a
variety of ways.

So how can you be healthy by eating only one certain kind
of food or omitting an entire food group from your diet?

Answer: You can't.

Sure, you might look thinner, but you'll be rotting on the
inside.

That's like omitting entire sections when you're pouring
concrete for the foundation of a building. Sooner or
later, the building will collapse. It might look beautiful
from the exterior, but it will be crumbling from within.

Also, our bodies are alkaline by design. They need to
stay alkaline to be healthy. This is not my opinion. It's
a scientific fact.

Most of the diet fads today completely ignore this fact.
Instead many of them encourage eating mainly acid-creating
foods, all in the name of looking thin.

Meanwhile, although you might lose some pounds, you're
wondering why your hair is thinning, why you're tired, or
have headaches, halitosis, stomach bloating, constipation,
repeated colds or infections or skin conditions.

Those are ALL signs of excess acidity in the body.

The diet plans that sell their expensive packaged meals
are even worse. They're making money hand over fist by
getting you to eat processed stuff that is so acidic and
lacking in real nutrients that you might as well eat
marshmallow fluff for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Truth.

I recently had dinner with some people I hadn't seen in
years, and one of the women is on a currently popular
high protein diet.

She was significantly thinner than I remembered, but she
looked like hell.

Her once pretty, shiny hair was dull, flat and stringy.
Her former peaches-and-cream complexion now had a grayish,
ruddy tone to it. Her teeth were yellowed, she had dark
circles under her eyes and you could smell her breath from
across the room.

Listen, if you want to not only be a normal bodyweight,
but also enjoy living without sickness and disease, you
have to use common sense.

First of all, stop worrying about calories. If calories
were the only thing that mattered, then you could be
healthy just drinking Coca-Cola. It's got plenty of
calories.

Does that make good sense to you? I didn't think so.

Be concerned instead with eating REAL foods put on Earth
for the sole purpose of being eaten by humans.

All of the nutrients our bodies need are provided to us in
the foods put on this earth by the one above--not by some
lab or food processing plant.

We need to eat a variety of these real (not processed)
foods, making sure our alkaline to acid ratio is 60/40 (at
least 60% alkaline foods and no more than 40% acid foods).

70/30 or 80/20 is even better, especially if you've been
on any of those disease-creating fad diets recently.

The few simple principles you need to know to accomplish
this are explained in The Nutritional Seminar April 23, with Nutritionist, Ginger Carter.

Ginger puts in common sense, everyday language--not
scientific jargon.

You'll understand how and why eating this way works so well with
how your body is designed.

There are health education lectures by doctors, nutritionists, personal trainers, medical doctors, naturopathy doctors, research scientists, sports medicine, pediatricians, radiation oncologists and more! Each one explains what happens in your body, how fruits and vegetables reduce your risk of EVERY disease and alkalize your body. Just ask me to send you a DVD or better yet come to the next health education lecture with Nutritionist, Ginger Carter.


When you eat this way, (and move your body regularly) no
dieting or calorie counting is necessary because excess
pounds are not an issue. Here's why:

The hunger signal is only triggered by the brain when you
need more nutrients. Since you'll be getting so much now
from your food (and being less acid allows those nutrients
to be absorbed), you simply are not as hungry as often. So
you eat less.

Eating properly also helps eliminate built-up wastes in
your intestines. Not only will that result in a smaller
number on the scale, but you'll be helping to prevent
conditions like diverticulosis, colitis and IBS. Increase your body's alkaline with Juice PLUS+, fruits and vegetables in a capsule. Whole food nutrition of Juice PLUS+ can alkalize your body where supplements cannot.

And the best part is, not only will you be thinner, you'll
glow with great health from within.
To your health,

Sherry Fritz
Health Advocator

(c) copyright 2009 Holistic Blends

Sherry's Eating Plan

With Juice Plus+®:

Juice Plus+® Complete for Breakfast and lunch. Juice Plus+® Thins between meals, drink 8 glasses of filtered water (at least! Drink more if you are exercising, drinking coffee or alcohol) and take Juice Plus+® fruits, veggies and vineyard blend capsules.
Plan two healthy snacks: apple, or fresh, raw veggies
Eat a healthy dinner by 6 pm. Lean meat, steamed vegetable.
Limit the Five White Poisons: White bread, pasta, rice, sugar, milk, and salt
Do NOT eat any diet foods such as low fat, sugar free, processed anything!
Consuming even one diet soda a day will increase your chances of diabetes by 40%!
Do NOT eat any sugar substitutes! They will increase your cravings and therefore sugar consumption, sabatoge your healthy eating and add pounds in the long run!
www.sherryfritz.com

Eat More, Weigh Less

The Ornish Diet: What It Is
What It Is
Unlike other diet books that make big promises, Eat More, Weigh Less, by Dean Ornish, MD, soft-pedals the health claims for this diet for the masses, adapted from his regimen to reverse heart disease. Ornish is well known in the medical community because of his success in reversing blockages to the heart, once thought impossible without surgery or drugs. Ornish also runs his own health and diet site here at WebMD which can give you additional details about his plan.

Unlike other books that are full of scientific-sounding theories and explanations without clinical studies to back them up, Ornish's explanations are simple and well supported. His main point is that eating a high-fiber, low-fat vegetarian diet will not only help you stay healthy, or get you there, but also will help you lose weight.

This is accomplished, according to Ornish, by a combination of diet and exercise that allows the body's fat-burning mechanism to work most effectively.

What You Can Eat
Ornish counsels that we will find success not by restricting calories, but by watching the ones we eat. He breaks this down into foods that should be eaten all of the time, some of the time, and none of the time.

The following can be eaten whenever you are hungry, until you are full:

Beans and legumes
Fruits -- anything from apples to watermelon, from raspberries to pineapples
Grains
Vegetables
These should be eaten in moderation:

Nonfat dairy products -- skim milk, nonfat yogurt, nonfat cheeses, nonfat sour cream, and egg whites
Nonfat or very low-fat commercially available products --from Life Choice frozen dinners to Haagen-Dazs frozen yogurt bars and Entenmann's fat-free desserts (but if sugar is among the first few ingredients listed, put it back on the shelf)
These should be avoided:

Meat of all kinds -- red and white, fish and fowl (if we can't give up meat, we should at least eat as little as possible)
Oils and oil-containing products, such as margarine and most salad dressings
Avocados
Olives
Nuts and seeds
Dairy products (other than the nonfat ones above)
Sugar and simple sugar derivatives -- honey, molasses, corn syrup, and high-fructose syrup
Alcohol
Anything commercially prepared that has more than two grams of fat per serving
That's it. If you stick to this plan, you will meet Ornish's recommendation of less than 10% of your calories from fat, without the need to count fat grams or calories. Ornish suggests eating a lot of little meals because this diet makes you feel hungry more often. You will feel full faster, and you'll eat more food without increasing the number of calories.

Ornish's regimen is more than mere diet, he claims. He is a stickler about incorporating at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, or an hour three times a week, and using some kind of stress-management technique, which might include meditation, massage, psychotherapy, or yoga.