Vitamin C

I have a big presentation next week on Vitamin C in my Advanced MicroNutrient class.  I figured since I was doing so much research regarding this essential nutrient, I thought I would share some of my information!

Vitamin C is abundant in many fruits and vegetables such as oranges, strawberries, kiwi, guava, red & yellow peppers, broccoli, kale, cantaloupe, brussels sprouts, and grapefruit.  There are plenty more fruits and vegetables that contain good amounts of Vitamin C but these are excellent sources.  The average adult needs about 75-90 mg/day.  And let me tell you…that is a VERY easy amount to consume in a day.  A 1/2 cup of red peppers provides you with 142 mg of Vitamin C – that’s more than the Recommended Daily Allowance.  But not to worry.  If you are consuming whole food products with high levels of Vitamin C, you won’t reach toxic levels in your body due to the water-soluble characteristics of the vitamin.  That means you are more or less going to pee out the Vitamin C that you don’t absorb.  Your body is an incredible regulator of such nutrients and will get rid of what it doesn’t need or what it has too much of.  So if you eat 5 oranges in a day, your body is going to use and absorb the necessary amount of Vitamin C and then excrete the rest.

Read More»

Snack Time!

Everyone has heard that you should eat 5 small meals a day.  And if you haven’t heard it, then there you go.  Eating frequently throughout the day keeps your blood glucose levels stable, your metabolism burning, and decreases the urges to become ravenous the next time you sit down for a meal.  There have been plenty of times that I forgo my snack before dinner and end up consuming an EXCESSIVE amount of food (or become real good friends with the bread basket).  The times that I do make sure to have a snack in between lunch and dinner (closer to the time that I will be eating dinner), I make good choices and eat the right portions.  But hey…sometimes we blow it and that’s OK!

Read More»

Losing the lbs

Did you know that 1 pound of body fat is approximately equal to 3500 calories?  While that seems like an outrageously large number, the over-consumption of high caloric foods and large portion sizes makes it a fairly easy number to get to.  Often.  Of course take into consideration the calories you burn throughout the day, especially if you are frequently exercising.

Read More»

The Perfect Shake

I love smoothies and shakes.  I’d much rather drink my calories than eat them…and I don’t necessarily mean at the bar. :)  But I really like to have a nutrient dense shake in the morning because I never have much of an appetite.  This helps me to make sure I always have breakfast – the MOST important meal of the day.
So while I do enjoy Jamba Juice, I do not enjoy the outrageous calories and excessive grams of sugar that saturate almost all of their smoothies.  Some of the smoothies have more sugar than TWO Snickers bars.  WILD!  Possibly one of the culprits of America’s out of control obesity rate!  And let me also say that sugar makes you fat….fat doesn’t make you fat.
Now here is my tasty, healthy, nutrient dense shake recipe!  It’s a great breakfast, after-workout recovery drink or anytime you want something delicious – without compromising the scale.

Read More»

Sugar, Sugar, Everywhere

Since I am on the topic of sugar additives, I wanted to address a few questions I received about Splenda & Stevia.

Splenda

• Primarily made of Sucralose, this non-nutritive sweetener is derived from the natural Sucrose (table sugar), with a chemical structure composed of three alcohol groups, attached to three chlorine atoms.  Yes, chlorine.  Not to be alarmed though.  Chlorine is in our drinking water so it’s something we consume on a daily basis.  But obviously in very small amounts.  According to the American Dietetic Association, they deem Splenda as a ”safe” sugar additive.  And so does the FDA….

Read More»