Chocolate Really Does Grow On Trees

Chocolate, as we know it, is produced from the seeds of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree grown in Brazil, Africa, Malaysia and Hawaii. This evergreen tree is 15-26 feet tall – about the size of our Crabapple trees - with long, broad leaves.

Thousands of pink flowers form in clusters directly on each tree trunk and, once pollinated, about 100 of these clusters develop into mature cocoa pods. The ovoid pods look similar to an extra long, over-ripe acorn squash: about 6-10” long and 3-4” thick.

After harvest, growers remove the thick husk much like you might open an acorn squash and remove the center pulp that contains 16-40, 1¼ “ long, white or purple seeds. These intensely bitter seeds are fermented to develop the characteristic flavor. After fermentation each cocoa bean usually weighs between 1/20th to 1/30th of an ounce.

The beans are then dried, cleaned, and roasted. The shells are removed and the cacao nibs are ground into pure chocolate in a rough form known as cocoa mass. The liquefied cocoa mass, chocolate liquor, is sometimes further processed into two products: cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

Pure chocolate liquor is then blended with cocoa butter in varying quantities to create three basic types of chocolate. The healthiest chocolate, of course, has the highest percentage of chocolate liquor. So, in order of the highest quantity of cocoa liquor first, the general recipes are:

* Dark chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla
* Milk chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
* White chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, and vanilla

Additional ingredients such as emulsifiers (like soy lecithin), alkaline compounds and preservatives may also be added at this point in the processing.

Now that you have followed the raw beans through to the final product, I hope you find it easier to understand how different processing choices create significant nutritional differences – not just in chocolate but in all the foods we eat. Making the right nutritional choice for yourself and your family can be difficult. Want some help with your nutritional plan? Call me at 503-492-9427.

Are you ready for healthy chocolate and healthy wine?

Yes, wine and chocolate. The right wine and the right chocolate is a heavenly combination. The secret is to find a wine that is sweeter than the chocolate which is an easy feat when you start with healthy chocolate!

Some combinations favored by wine experts include:

* First choices for an unparallel taste combination: Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandels
* Alternate choices and nice variations: Pinot Noir or a Merlot
* Finally, for desserts: Tawny or Vintage Port

But what does wine have to do with health? A 5-ounce glass has about 100 calories, no fat, no cholesterol and negligible sodium. Furthermore, one little glass (about 5-ounces) of wine a day is thought to have several health benefits. Wine may:

* prevent some causes of cognitive decline and heart disease.
* raise HDL which helps unclog your arteries.
* encourage your body to burn extra calories for as long as 90 minutes
* reduce the risk of infection by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, a major cause of gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancers and help prevent certain kinds of food poisoning.
* reduce the risk of ovarian cancer
* may boost women’s estrogen levels and result in higher bone mass

Wondering if chocolate and/or wine fit into your nutritional plan? Call me at 503-492-9427.

3 Sumptuous ways to enjoy your Healthy Chocolate

Eating an ounce of healthy chocolate….is an event to be savored. Try the following suggestions:

1. Nibble one delicious square of chocolate – at about 150 calories – for a highly satisfying snack when you crave chocolate.
2. Alternate bites of your chocolate square with an ounce of almonds (about 20-25). An ounce of almonds contains about 6 grams of protein, 35% of your daily Vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids (but no cholesterol!) and as much calcium as a ¼ cup of milk in 160 calories.
3. Finally, the third sumptuous suggestion is to use the healthy chocolate as a frosting. Melt your chocolate in small dish placed in very hot water.

Dip or spread your melted chocolate. Flavorful fruits for dipping include apple slices, dried apricots, raisons and strawberries. Excellent baked goods include angel food cake, graham crackers, unsalted pretzels and lady finger cookies.

Let your confection harden in the refrigerator for a few minutes before enjoying.

Ten tips for sustaining your energy

Every day stuff:

1. Start your day with breakfast and include a small portion of protein
2. Select crunchy fruits and vegetables for snacks - crunch is satisfying
3. Get some fresh air and daylight
4. Plan something you look forward to doing
5. Do something nice for somebody else

Big stuff:

6. Make a best friend at work
7. Understand and do what is expected of you
8. Do what you do best most of the time and do it well.
9. Continue to learn and grow
10. Develop and follow a personal mission and purpose

So you're counting calories...how many do you need?

Over the years I’ve seen many different, and often conflicting, numbers for daily calorie requirements. Unfortunately, one size does not fit all. A flat number of calories for all women or all men cannot be accurate.

If you don’t know the goal you are shooting for how can you reach it? Let’s take a minute and figure out a more reliable number for your personal caloric intake per day. I like the following equation from Jim Kara’s because it factors in several important variables.

Working the numbers

To maintain your current weight start with this first equation:

Women: resting metabolic rate = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

Men: resting metabolic rate = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)

Then multiply your results by:

Activity Factor Category Definition
1.2 Sedentary Little or no exercise
1.375 Lightly Active Light exercise 1 to 3 days a week
1.55 Moderately Active Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week
1.725 Very Active Hard exercise 6-7 days a week
1.9 Extremely Active Hard daily exercise and physical job

You now have the number of calories required to maintain your present weight.

Loosing weight

3,500 calories equals one pound. The most effective weight loss is a blend of increased exercise to burn more calories and decreased intake of calories. To target loosing one pound in a week, you would need to reduce your net calories by 500 per day. Please don’t reduce your net intake below 1200 calories per day.

A slow weight loss accompanied by lifestyle changes is usually the most effective long-term plan to reach and maintain your ideal weight.

Support systems help you succeed in changing your habits.

The three key factors to successfully change your lifestyle are planning, discipline and a support system. You can control the plan and discipline by yourself. Adding the encouragement from an outside support network makes reaching your goals easier.

Who wouldn't want encouragement? Making changes without any help, or even worse, with people who don't believe you can succeed is really difficult. Be cautious of people who only support you if you buy their products, too.

Support people are your cheer-leading team. They offer encouragement, information and feedback. They can be your sounding board for tough decisions. And, since significant change takes time and can have set-backs, they can pick you up when you are down. These are the people who really care if you succeed!

Where do you find these magical people? Look for the people in your life who help you feel:
• Greater self-worth
• Increased zest for living
• Able to act and the ability to act

Enlist their help. Tell them what you are working towards and how they can support you.

Discipline drives successful lifestyle changes.

Discipline is recognizing the need for action followed with immediate and consistent actions. Discipline compels you to put your ability, skills and talent to work.

Although many of us know what we should be doing, there are times that we fail to act promptly. Procrastination delays the necessary action and halts progress.

Six tips that promote discipline:

1. Start with SMART goals. Plan. You'll gain confidence knowing exactly what you should be doing and why.

2. Publically announce your goals. Knowing that others are watching your progress increases your motiation to act responsibly.

3. Get rid of temptation. Replace the routines that led to bad habits with new routines. For example, if you always snack while watching TV, try reading a book. Remove vices such as cigarettes, high-calorie condiments or low-nutrition snacks.

4. Do not debate with yourself about acting promptly.

5. Change your thinking. When you find yourself thinking negatively, replace that thought with a positive thought or mantra.

6. Reward yourself at specific intervals. Small steps get small rewards. Milestones get big rewards.

Discipline takes practice, patience and a willingness to change. Be firm, but kind to yourself during your learning process.

Plan your lifestyle changes to succeed.

Setting goals and following them is one of the surest ways to succeed. The most effective goals are SMART:

Specific. A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions:
Who: Who is involved?
What: What do I want to accomplish?
Where: Identify a location.
When: Establish a time frame.
Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
Measurable. Establish concrete criteria for measuring your progress. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask yourself......How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable. Find out if you are capable of reaching the goal. Make sure you have the ability, skill, health and discipline to achieve your goal.

Realistic. Decide if you really will use your ability, skill and discipline to achieve your goal. Do the required behaviors fit or conflict with the other priorities in your life?

Attainable and realistic can often be confusing. So let me give you an example. You decide your goal will be to go to a gym three mornings a week from 7-8:30. If you have the physical ability and the gym membership, this goal is attainable. However if one of your top priorities is having breakfast with your family, the time conflict may make this goal unrealistic.

Timed. A goal that is tied to a time frame creates a sense of urgency and promotes personal accountability.

Some well constructed SMART goals sound like:
• Add two weight-bearing exercises to my fitness routine this week.
• Replace my Monday-Friday fast food lunch with a large salad dressed in balsamic vinegar for the next four weeks.
• Barbeque or broil - but not fry - all meat until the end of the month.

3 Family Craft Projects

Winter often brings families together for more shared time. Here are three activities to spend that time creatively.

1. Design personalized cards for greeting, birthdays and thank-you cards. (See the blog on Scraper Art and Colorful Coffee Filter Paper [link] to create some great paper for this project.)
2. Take a walk and bring home found treasures to make into a centerpiece/collage
3. Create aromatic Air Fresheners*

*Aromatic Air Fresheners

Materials:
Equal parts apple sauce and cinnamon
Cookie cutters
Ribbon or string

Step 1: Mix equal amounts of applesauce and cinnamon (for instance 1 cup of each) until you have a dough.

Step 2: Roll out on waxed paper and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Poke a hole in the middle, near the top to hang a ribbon or string when the air freshener is dry.

Step 3: Dry. Air drying will take several days and you'll need to carefully turn shapes to dry both sides. As an alternative, place air fresheners on a cookie sheet in a warm (200 degrees) oven. Drying time will depend upon the amount of moisture in the dough.

2 Techniques to Jazz up Your Kid’s Art

Bring out the paint and bring on the kids! Here are two favorite projects with a new twist: Scraper Art and Colored Coffee filters. The finished art makes great paper for other craft projects and is worthy of any refrigerator!
Scraper Art
Scraper Art updates finger painting into modern art.
Materials:
Finger paints – bright colors and pastels work the best
Palette - any flat surface to hold the paint such as a plate or pie pan
Paint spreader - brayers, fingers or brushes
Paper - heavier paper works best for frame-able art or gift cards
Scrapers – credit cards, combs, cardboard shapes, popsicle sticks, the eraser end of a pencils, etc.
Newspaper

Step 1: Cover your work surface with newspaper.

Step2: Put some finger paint on your palette.

Step 3: Spread the paint in stripes on the paper.

Step 4: Run the scraper over the wet paint to create a design.

Step 5: Let your painting dry flat on the newspaper.


Colorful Coffee Filter Paper
This paper is very sturdy and good for delicate projects like snowflakes as it doesn’t fall apart. 

Materials
Coffee filters
Brightly colored water color markers or water color paint
Newspaper
Scissors

Step 1: Cover your work surface with newspaper.

Step 2: Decorate the filters with markers or paint.  Any shapes, any design, any amount.  

Step 3: Wet the snow flakes with water. You can spray, flick drops, or ring a wet wash cloth on the filter to create a new design.

Step 4: Let dry. Great news, coffee filters dry very quickly and will soon be ready to use in another project.

Family Memory Game

This variation on the traditional memory game fosters the retelling of family stories as well as helping build memory skills.
Materials:
Place several pieces of family memorabilia in box – fewer for younger children, more for older kids and adults.
How To Play:
Show the items in the box. Remove one or more items out of the box (without the players seeing you). Have the players guess what items are missing.
For older children and adults put items on large tray or cookie sheet. Cover. Remove cover for 20-30 seconds and then recover. On your mark, the participants write down as many items that they can remember from the tray before you yell, "STOP". The most correct answers wins.

4 Ideas to Seasonalize Game Night

Bring everyone together and put a new twist on old games to liven up these cold days.

1. Replace board game pieces with colored, wrapped candies
2. Play charades with seasonal song, story and movie titles.
3. Play games such as Scrabble, Apples to Apples, Boggle, BuyWord, etc. using only seasonal words
4. Create a Memory Game with family memorabilia

Dr Jen’s Repertoire of Cold and Flu Remedies

Hydrogen Peroxide. Pour 16 ounces of hydrogen peroxide into a humidifier and fill to capacity with water. Run the humidifier in the sick person’s room all night. This is a great disinfectant and helps prevent the virus from spreading to other members of the household.

Vitamin D*: increase to 50,000 units (if you weigh over 100 pounds) for 3 days in a row if you are already infected with the flu.

Vitamin C : increase to bowel tolerance. In other words, when you start to get diarrhea, decrease the amount and stay at that dose.

Herbal remedies: andrographis, Echinacea, licorice (good for coughs), ligusticum, artemisia, bupleurum root, and garlic.

Hot tea with honey and lemon

Warming sock therapy

Chicken soup (preferably homemade) with lots of garlic

* I hope you’ve already read my blog entry on Vitamin D. Vitamin D is superb for maintaining your immunity. Ideally, I recommend keeping your Vitamin D blood levels at 60-80ng/ml. A simple test is available from our office that will help you determine your current level.
Contact my office for more information on any of these topics.

Vitamin D & the Flu

Vitamin D increases your immunity to the flu.

There are two forms of Vitamin D, synthetic Vitamin D2 and natural Vitamin D3, that contribute to the human body’s supply of vitamin D. Vitamin D3 is thought to be at least four times more effective than Vitamin D2. Sources of Vitamin D include food, exposure to sunlight and dietary supplements.

Food

Salt water fish such as herring, salmon, sardines, and fish liver oils are good sources of Vitamin D3. Small quantities of Vitamin D3 are also derived from eggs, veal, beef, butter and vegetable oils. Foods such as milk, margarine, butter, cereals and chocolate mixes often have added Vitamin D.

Sunlight.
Twenty minutes of sun exposure will provide ten to twenty thousand IU (International Units) of Vitamin D. However, exposure to sunlight is controversial. Although an excellent and inexpensive source of Vitamin D, the American Academy of Dermatology continues to warn the public about the danger of sun exposure.

Dietary supplements.
I often advise well adults and adolescents to take 5,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3.

However, this is not a one-size fits all solution. Getting the right amount of Vitamin D is critical.

Monitoring your blood level is important to maintain the optimum level of Vitamin D. We use a quick and inexpensive test to measure a metabolite known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D. Blood levels between 60 and 80ng/ml are ideal to maximize your personal immunity. Levels under 40 ng/ml indicate a Vitamin D deficiency and increased vulnerability. As Vitamin D is fat soluble, it is also possible to build up a toxic level over 90 ng/ml.

Set up an appointment to find discuss your personal needs and test your current Vitamin D level.

Call 503-492-9427
email jen@favoritedr.com

Antioxidants & the Flu

Antioxidants protect against lung damage caused by the influenza virus. As we approach this flu season add more foods high in antioxidants to your regular day! Look for foods rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Beta Carotene, and Selenium. Below is a list of some of the best and most studied foods high in antioxidants.

Vitamin C
Amla Fruit
Apricots
Apples
Blueberries
Blackberries
Acai Berries
Cranberries
Raspberries
Rosehip
Cherries
Wolfberry
Blackcurrants
Citrus Fruits
Strawberries
Prunes
Grapes
Raw Cabbage and Potatoes
Green Leaf Vegetables
Green and Red Bell Peppers
Artichokes
Broccoli
Watercress
Spinach
Watermelon
Walnuts
Tomatoes
Vitamin E
Astaxanthin (found in Salmon)
Wheat Germ
Nuts
Seeds
Whole Grains
Green Leafy Vegetables
Vegetable Oil
Fish Liver-Oil
Beta Carotene
Carrots
Winter Squashes
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Kale
Collards
Cantaloupe
Peaches and Apricots
Spirulina
Selenium
Fish
Shellfish
Red Meat
Grains
Eggs
Chicken
Garlic
Unexpected Foods High In Antioxidant
Beans
Potatoes
Artichokes
Olive oil.
Sesame seed oil Sesame seeds
Pistachio Nuts.
Flaxseed Oil
Maple Syrup
Ginger
Ground cloves
Cinnamon

14 Tips for immediate relief from bad stress

1. Run a hot bath with essential oils

2. Breathe deeply. Use square breathing: inhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts, exhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts.

3. Meditate or pray

4. Aromatherapy

5. Take a time-out

6. Focus intently on something pleasant – such as your favorite music

7. Get a massage

8. Engage in vigorous, productive activity (such as cleaning)

9. Exercise or take a brisk walk

10. Talk with someone in your support network

11. Hug someone who cares about you

12. Drink lots of water

13. Look yourself in the mirror and repeat your favorite affirmations

14. Write down everything that bothers you (and then destroy the paper!)

The best cup of tea you’ll ever relax with…

This tea recipe was a favorite with my patients when I was a student. It tastes good and has several nervine herbs to sooth and relax you. You can brew it up and drink it hot or cold. It also is very high in vitamin C, Magnesium and Calcium. Note that this recipe is for bulk herbs which you mix together in a bag and then can use in a tea ball or make in bulk for batches of tea. If you let us know ahead of time we will order the herbs for you and make it easy!

Recipe:

Lemon balm 3 oz

Oat straw 3 oz

Chamomile 1.5 oz

Spearmint 1.5 oz

Orange peel 1 oz

Lavender 1 oz

Rose hips 0.5 oz

4 Tbs. of herbs in 4 cups of hot water brews 1 quart of tea. Drink 2-3 cups a day.

10 Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

Restful sleep helps to keep your heart healthy, prevents cancer, makes you more alert, aids memory function, reduces risk of depression, helps your body make repairs and may even help you lose weight. Most of us would like to sleep soundly and wake refreshed. Ah, if only we could…try some of these tips:
1.
Set and keep a bed time. For maximum benefit, plan to be asleep before 11 and allow for 7-9 hours of rest.
2.
Follow the same bedtime ritual every night.
3.
Engage in a restful activity before bed. Put work, TV programs and Stephen King novels away an hour before bedtime. Let your mind unwind with relaxation techniques, meditation, prayer, soothing music or journaling or other restful activities.
4.
Take a warm bath, shower or sauna before bed.
5.
Wear socks to bed. Cold feet can make your entire body miserable and restless. (See the Warming Sock Treatment posted on my website.)
6.
Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. Substitute a bit of fruit if you are hungry.
7.
Avoid drugs, alcohol and caffeine.
8.
Exercise during the day.
9.
Reserve your bedroom for sleeping. Condition your mind to think of your bed as a just a place to sleep.
10.
Regulate your natural clock. Getting some sunlight during the day and sleeping in complete darkness helps to regulate your sleep cycle.

If you are still experiencing poor sleep on a regular basis, give me a call. Some physiological issues, such as overactive hormones and adrenal glands, are often the problem. Simple tests and treatments are available.

Read those food labels – they may save your life!

Give yourself the gift of reading ingredient labels. What you eat is a choice; reading food labels helps you make an informed choice.

Remember sugar, sucrose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, high fructose, honey, maple syrup and corn syrup are all sugars . Sodium , the ingredient in salt that is linked to hypertension, is found in salt, monosodium glutamate, baking soda, baking powder, seasoned salts, sodium lactate and meat tenderizer. One of your bonus discoveries in reading labels is discovering that some stores routinely plump all of their meats with saline solution! Saline – that’s another form of salt, of course.

The Nutrition Fact label on foods will list all required nutrients as a percentage of daily value per serving. Percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. The actual number of calories you need may be more or less to maintain your body. If you aren’t happy with your current nutrition, call Dr. Jen to assist you in planning out your calorie intake and nutrition.

Actual serving sizes often vary from the servings listed in the Nutrition Facts. For example, the Nutrition Facts on a 14.75 ounce can of salmon lists 7 servings per container. Yet the same label displays a recipe that yields four salmon burgers. The sodium listed for 7 servings is 11%, but the sodium in one salmon burger is 19.25%

Some products lower one ingredient, for example fats, while raising another, such as salt, to compensate for the loss of taste. For example, the traditional Best Foods Mayonnaise recipe has 4% sodium per serving (1 tablespoon). Best Foods Light Mayonnaise boasts half the calories and fat however the sodium increases to 5% per serving.

Do you ever stop to wonder if you should choose fresh, canned or frozen products? Several studies suggest that frozen and canned vegetables may offer nearly the same nutrition as fresh vegetables. Surprised? In many cases the nutritional loss suffered during the canning or freezing process is similar to the nutritional loss suffered during transportation for fresh products. In general, however, canned products do have more salt than their fresh counterparts.

Give yourself the gift of reading ingredient labels. When you choose to put healthy food in your cart, you take home healthier food!

Three Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping

The foods you choose to eat do make a difference in your health. One of the easiest ways to eat healthier is shop healthier.

You probably already use several smart grocery shopping strategies such as:
-Preparing a list ahead of time
-Avoiding shopping when you are hungry
-Leaving the impulse shoppers home

Shopping with a plan saves time, money and energy. Shopping with a plan can also enhance your nutrition when you plan to shop healthy. Here are three simple ideas to improve the nutritional value of the food you put into your grocery cart:

1. Shop the perimeter. Take a moment and visualize the layout of your favorite grocery store. Most stores have the fresh produce, dairy, breads, meats & fish around the outside of the store, right? When you select these fresh items you are choosing the least refined foods and, in general, the most nutritious.

2. Walk only as far as you need. If you need an item in the middle of an aisle, head into that aisle as you walk by. Go only as far as the item you need and then back out of the aisle. Ignore the food products displayed at the end of the aisle products demanding your attention, too.

3. Avoid food coupons. Most coupons come from the processed food manufacturers. In general, more highly refined foods are lower in genuine nutrition.

Shopping with a plan to stay healthy improves the choices you make about the items you put into your shopping basket. When you take healthier foods home you are more likely to put healthier foods into your body.

Brain-Power Foods

If you are feeling good, you can eat just about anything – so why not add the foods that increase brain-power.

Take a look at this list of brain-power foods from the ADD/ADHD Help Center


Blueberries
Add at least 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries or other berries a day to your diet.

Wild Salmon
Add a 4-ounce serving of the natural brain food salmon or other Omega-3 rich fish to your diet two to three times a week.

Nuts and Seeds
Add an ounce of nuts or seeds to your daily diet. Be careful that you do not overdo this brain-booster. Too much of this higher calorie food will add to your waistline.

Avocados
This is another high calorie "Less is More" food. Just 1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado daily will do the trick.

Whole Grains
Add three slices of whole grain bread, a 1/2 cup of oatmeal or other whole-grain cereal, or two tablespoons of wheat germ to your daily diet.

Beans
Add at least a 1/2 cup of beans or other legumes to your diet every day.

Citrus Fruits and Colorful Vegetables
As many colorful vegetables as you can, with an absolute minimum of five servings daily. Since colorful fruits are higher in calories, add two to four servings daily to your diet.

Freshly Brewed Tea
Two to three cups a day of freshly brewed tea. Note that bottled or powdered teas don't count.

Olive Oil
Replace regular oil in recipes with olive oil. 2 Tablespoons of olive oil is recommended.

Dark Chocolate
Enjoy 1/2 ounce of dark chocolate daily. Note that the more processed chocolate varieties such as milk chocolate and white chocolate do not provide the same amount of benefit as dark chocolate.

Water
Drink pure water and plenty of it - at least eight glasses daily. The two to three recommended cups of fresh-brewed tea count toward this brain hydration requirement. Higher activity levels will increase this requirement, as will hot and humid weather, illness, pregnancy and breastfeeding.