Controlling Fat Effects Your Liver

Having too much liver fat is known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The researchers report online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition) that when fat collects in the liver, people experience serious metabolic problems such as insulin resistance, which affects the body's ability to metabolize sugar. They also have increases in production of fat particles in the liver that are secreted into the bloodstream and increase the level of triglycerides.


"We don't know exactly why some fats, particularly triglycerides, will accumulate inside the liver and muscle in some people but not in others," says first author Elisa Fabbrini, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine. "But our data suggest that a protein called CD36, which controls the transport of fatty acids from the bloodstream into different tissues, is involved."


Senior Investigator, Samuel Klein, M.D., says those who are obese but don't have high levels of fat in the liver should be encouraged to lose weight, but those with elevated liver fat are at particularly high risk for heart disease and diabetes. He says they need to be treated aggressively to help them lose weight because dropping pounds can make a big difference.
"Fatty liver disease is completely reversible," he says. "If you lose a small amount of weight, you can markedly reduce the fat content in your liver. 


Summary from article: Fat in the Liver, ScienceDaliy.com, Aug 25, 2009


Other related articles: 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110406102135.htm      http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824151304.htm

Growing A Garden

This year as we tilled up our small garden area, my husband asked what vegetables are 'safe' (anti-inflammatory) for me to eat. I responded by saying let's plant vegetables everyone can eat. His favorite are fresh tomatoes, mine is zucchini. Our kids and grandkids will eat everything! What a delight to be able to offer them a few fresh options.

         

So often in the city, children do not get to experience growing their own food. They get used to convenience foods as they get rushed here and there for activities or errands. As I watch my daughter prepare to take her kids to the park (or any outing), she always takes along healthy snacks and drinks for everyone. It seems so natural for her to do - and it just amazes me. She works hard to integrate all the food groups into her children's lives and she is mindful of what I can and cannot eat. 


This year we hope to involve the grandkids in caring for our garden. When the time comes to harvest, I will enjoy the look on their faces as they squish into a bright red sweet cherry tomato! You can imagine that freshness, can't you?


One step at a time, we can pass down the tradition of eating a variety of nutritious, FRESH foods that help our bodies grow, develop and THRIVE. My motivation is to build a foundation for these little ones now in their early years, so they won't have to suffer serious health issues in their lifetime. If by chance they do, at least they will understand the importance of having fresh foods in their diets.


Hope you have the chance to plant some vegetables or herbs where you live. Potted plants can thrive quite well too with adequate water and care. Blessings to you and your family. Take care!

The Nutrient Factors

Often times we would like to find out the nutritional information of a specific food or perhaps analyze a recipe. Nutritiondata.self.com has an extensive database with thousands of foods allowing you a unique opportunity to select a food and query as to it's nutritional values.  By clicking on the food summary, you will see the ever familiar nutritional fact label, breaking down per serving calories and percentage of daily nutritional needs. There are colorful diagrams for Fullness & Nutrition Factors along with a Caloric Ratio. Included in the analysis is a Glycemic Index load and an Inflammation Factor for the food. The final two diagrams offer the visual impact of the percentage of essential nutrients in the form of proteins, fats, and vitamins  and the quality of the essential amino acids. Because this is such a colorful visual presentation, it is very impressive. Click on this link to view the nutritional value of an avocado: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1844/2

Another unique feature of Nutritiondata.self.com is the ability to enter a recipe and find out it's nutritional value. This helps to analyze the breakdown of calories, fats and carbohydrates. After entering your ingredients and the amounts, you can save and analyze the recipe. If you wish to make substitutions at this time you can go back and change ingredients, making healthier substitutions and then view the nutritional changes. Click here to see my (anti-inflammatory) recipe for Chicken Chile: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/recipe/2039662/2

A final enjoyable feature of the website is the "Topics" menu offering current articles on: Dieting & Weight Loss, Heart Health, Diabetes, Better Choices Diet, Glycemic Index, Fullness Factor, Fatty Acids, Food Additives, Effects of Processing Foods, Recipes and Nutrition News.

The Nutrition Data website is centered around making wise choices for eating healthier foods. You can choose to track your daily food journal and at the end the day view the complete analysis (as listed above) and see if the foods you are eating are a source of inflammation in your body. You can learn to explore new foods by selecting one of the epicurious recipes and immediately know whether it fits into your food plan or not, by the list of nutrients given with the recipe. You can make food planning fun again by visiting this website and clicking on the various buttons. Enjoy your day by treating yourself to this new tool.

The Green Facts

Today we are hearing more and more about being GREEN.  We are asked to consider making our carbon footprint less by walking, biking, taking mass transit or purchasing vehicles which are GREEN. We are suppose to bring our own bags to the grocery store and not use plastic ones, to keep our earth more GREEN.

I'd like to expand upon eating GREEN, dark leafy greens, that is. Why? Because they are a great source of nutrients our bodies desperately need. There are 3 basic groups of leafy greens.

Salad greens - these are normally eaten raw. The darker the color, the more nutrients in them. When using salad dressings, choose one that is high in Omega 3's - like an olive oil base, or make your own. Put dressing ingredients directly onto the greens and toss. Start with a vinaigrette, (rice vinegar, balsamic, or lemon juice), add a little olive oil and fresh herbs, a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Quick cooking greens - these greens can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Spinach is a familiar vegetable in this group, but others include multiple varieties of chard, beet greens, and members of the broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower family. Some of these greens shrink drastically when cooked. 6 cups of fresh spinach become 1 cup cooked. This can pack a lot of nutrients into your body very quickly!

Hearty greens - like kale and collard greens require more cooking time, mainly because they are more fibrous. These greens are not eaten raw because of their toughness. However by cutting the stems from the leaves, you can reduce cooking time by more than half.

The nutritional value of greens is HUGE. They are flavorful and contain a high percentage of Vitamin A, C, E and K, Calcium, Iron, Folate, Omega 3 fatty acids, anti-carcinogens, and are super high in protein per calorie.  These nutrients assist with mental functions, help to prevent osteoporosis, macticular degeneration, premature aging and cancer, as well as they help to flush out toxins in the digestive system and reduce the risks of coronary heart disease.  If you want to feel good and put a lot of nutrients in your body ~ choose GREENS!

IBS Flare Hits Hard

I have been adjusting to eating more anti-inflammatory foods on a daily basis over the last few weeks. In all of my research it seems quite apparent to me that this type of eating lifestyle is helpful for my diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and liver disease. However I also suffer with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Gastroparesis and Bile Reflux and I have met with nutritionists and physicians who encourage me to eat a diet of bland foods, white bread, and limited cooked vegetables and canned fruits. All of these foods are high on the glycemic index charts.

I've tried eating both types of diets and I'm happier on the healthier choices of the anti-inflammatory foods. BUT . . . I came down with severe symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome this week. After 3 days of chronic diarrhea, nausea and unbelievable stomach pain, I finally contacted my GI specialist. I was prescribed yet another medication to calm down the intestinal inflammation. I noticed how  dehydrated I had become. My hands, skin, eyes and throat were dry and achy sore. As I was able to keep food and beverages down, I found myself gravitating towards the wheat products of "comfort foods" (soda crackers, noodle soups, toast, etc.) and 7-up. Once the symptoms subsided for a day or so, I was back to eating fresh vegetables, fruits and lean meats with little pain.

It will take more time to track the results of eating anti-inflammatory fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and Omega 3 oils. I had IBS flares with blah foods too, so if it's going to happen with either diet, I'd rather have the advantage of eating healthy foods effect my metabolic and immune system in a positive way than not.

If you have had similar experiences, I'd appreciate hearing your insights, how you have handled it and survived.

Thanks for checking in on my blog and I hope you will come back often for further information and updates. Take good care of yourself and loved ones.

Some Foods to Eat or Avoid

In Jessica Black's book listed below, some inflammatory foods I have found to AVOID include the nightshade vegetables tomatoes and potatoes, but also ALL wheat and corn products, refined sugar and flour, and caffeine.


Some SAFE foods for me to include are legumes, chicken, turkey, fresh cold water fish (salmon, trout, tuna), vegetables, fruits (limit to 2 per day - no citrus), nuts, seeds, and rice/rice products. All products are encouraged to be organic so they will not include added hormones, pesticides or herbicides, thus further comprising your immune system.


Inflammatory foods are covered over many chapters, along with recipes. You have to do a bit of reading to understand the triggers of specifics foods to inflammation within the body. I have tried several of the recipes and found them to be extremely easy and tasty. It is also very easy to adapt my own recipes to fit the suggested foods and enter the recipe into nutritiondata.com for further nutritional analysis and determination of inflammation factor.  This is a very COOL feature of this website. Seriously, it's worth your while to check it out!