Positivity Journal

I decided to start a positivity journal today. I used to keep a dairy (with a lock on it of course!) for 4 years throughout my high school years when I used to write everything from my hopes and dreams to boys, my summer loves and bad dates...girl friends, silly fights, sad days, etc. I was listening to a Soul Series that Oprah did on her XM radio last night and how she recently started a positivity journal and it's helped her tremendously to live in the present and manifest positivity. Ever since the books "The Secret" and Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth" were published, the world seem to be awakened to a new enlightened way of thinking. I have been reading quite a few things on this topic and it's really been such an exciting journey! While I was taking a power walk around Djurgarden today during lunch time, I made my decision: I will be writing down five positive things in my life each day...it's private of course! (the picture is from my friend and the super brilliant Gilles Bensimon)

Super Foods for a Super You: Feeling Hungry? Natural Appetite Suppressants Part III of V

With all this buzz around appetite suppressants including a new lip gloss I tried call “Huge Lips Skinny Hips” (yes there is a lip gloss out there that claims to plump your lips and suppress your appetite to help you get skinny hips!), I decided to do some investigation!

Why natural appetite suppressants?

- To reduce cravings and emergency hunger without adding more calories

- A natural way to control your appetite

- To help you cut out snacking and sudden sweet tooth cravings

How do you suppress that sudden emergency hunger and craving for food without adding more calories? Is it even possible? Yes, definitely it is, with the aid from natural appetite suppressants. Divided into two major groups, food supplements and whole foods, these foods can help you regulate problematic appetite swings during the day and keep you on track still. Important to know is that a sudden feeling of hunger is usually not of such immediate emergency as you think in the first place. More important though; don’t move into that ridiculous habit of starvation, it won’t do you good on a long-term basis, and it might even result in you gaining weight instead – starving makes your body want to protect your fat stores and hence slow down the process of burning fat. Keep a diet based on variety, and turn to the natural appetite killers when the immediate need for something to chew on appears. Also remember that regular exercising and workouts is an excellent habit to keep your appetite low. An active lifestyle will help you from overestimating your hunger.

The benefits of such natural appetite suppressants are more than merely reducing your desire to eat. In the long run this means an improvement of one’s health in terms of reducing the risk of heart disease, helping to lower blood sugar levels and thus risks of diabetes, also improving the digestive system and the immune system, increasing your energy and thus promoting a healthy lifestyle.

The choice between turning to supplements or whole foods is personal. Two well-known supplements are the Hoodia Gordonii and whey protein. The former is a cactus-like plant, which has been used by hunting men in South Africa for centuries. Only a small piece is needed to prepare for long hunting hours, the story tells. Hoodia cannot be found as a raw food, but can be purchased in the form of Hoodia pills.

Whey protein provides your body with many essential amino acids, often used by athletes to repair and build muscles after heavy workouts. They are made from natural whey which is a complete protein, i.e. including the maximum amount of amino acids. You can find whey protein in the form of bars, concentrate, shakes, drinks, and powder depending on your preference and taste. I often get a shot added to my Jamba Juice in the morning after a tough workout!

In terms of whole foods as an appetite suppressant we might turn to high fiber foods such as whole grains (oatmeal preferably), beans, apples, salads, water-based soups, grapefruit, and fish. Usually it’s a matter of filling your stomach to get rid of that scream from the brain telling you to eat something quickly. Ways to keep your stomach full while drinking includes primarily green tea, water, and lemon juice, only to name a few. Drinking water is probably the cheapest way to suppress hunger. Drink frequently during the day and this will help to curb those immediate attacks of hunger in a natural way. It’s a well-known fact that hunger and thirst go hand in hand, implying that your brain believes you are hungry instead of thirsty. Some recommend a glass of water before each meal; this will naturally reduce your appetite.

Green tea is my personal favourite. You can drink it both before and after a meal. Matcha powders tea is what I usually have for that energy boost! Preferably you should skip the milk to cut down further calorie intake, or you might substitute with low-fat milk. Plus adding milk to a nice cup of loose leaf Chinese green tea is committing a serious sin! My new favourite team spot in London is called Yumchaa. A visit there reminds me of my MIT days sipping tea at TeaLuxe on Newbury Street during the cold months of New England! I have yet to find a nice tea shop in Stockholm, please do share if you have suggestions!

Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, and all forms of lettuce are great appetite suppressants in their natural form. They are extremely low in calories and a great source of fiber. There’s a saying that these vegetables works as “negative calories” in the sense that the digestion requires more calories than the actual calorie content of these vegetables.

Apples. They only contain about 100 calories each, brings you those good fibers, and are definitely low in carbs. They are a good snack instead of those calorie traps you might fall into by eating candy bars, cookies, or potato chips. Also, eating an apple means chewing, chewing takes time and hence signals to your brain that you are in fact eating. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize satisfaction after a meal, so the longer it takes to eat the better it is and you will never feel too full.

Natural food suppressants generally help you regulate and control your appetite during the day. They save you from falling into sudden traps, when you feel like you’re losing the grip, you can’t think, you’re so intensely hungry. Usually it’s about routine, habit, and a little manipulation of the brain. Just give it a try – have some of the foods or beverages mentioned here next time when you’re considering a fast chocolate bar or candy bag. Natural appetite control foods and beverages make your brain think your stomach is full, when in fact you haven’t added any significant amount of calories at all.

For your reference and knowledge, let’s compare the effects on hunger and calorie intake between a cup of cashews and a cup of cabbage. Regardless of which one you choose to eat the hungry feeling will go away after a couple of minutes. What is important here though is the calorie content involved in achieving this feeling of satisfaction: cabbage carries approximately 20 calories versus cashews which contain up to 900-1000 calories. Huge difference!

Super Foods for a Super You: Part II of V: Super Berries

I have a wonderful little routine. I love those small energizing meals that make you feel fantastic, put you back on track when you believe you’re about to loose focus, or just simply have the effect of making you a happier person. My Casall colleagues probably think I’m a little freak of blueberries and well…yeah, they’re so right. My morning booster consists of a wonderful mix of Kesella Lätt (it’s the new cottage cheese: only 75 calories with 13 g of protein, found only in Sweden I believe. I was introduced to it by my fabulous Swedish PT, Magnus), those big fresh blueberries you buy in a little plastic box from Coop, and a spoon of Ezekial cereal and a sprinkle of Salba (make sure to read Super Grains, Part I just below). Or I could equally well just delve into that little box of blueberries without any additives – I love them in their pure, natural form and I just can’t get enough of them!

What’s more, you can eat as much as you want. No limits, no bad feelings. Small nutritional powerhouses are what they are, invaluable to my spirit and health – both for the quick, short-term good feeling as well as for the long-term healthy me. Research supports the fact that berries are among the fruits highest in antioxidants. The antioxidant buzz has been huge recently; still many people seem unable to explain why in fact we should eat them. Why are they such a good friend of our bodies?

Super berries, including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, goji berries, acai, pomegranate, camu, lucuma, mulberries, and many more, carry a high content of antioxidants. Apart from this, they are also a rich source of minerals, vitamins, and fibers – however, my focus here will be on the important feature of antioxidants in their role as health promoters long-term. Low in fat, good for your cholesterol levels, and low in carbs and calories, these small miracles of nature definitely gives you more than their size or appearance would suggest. Just to give you a quick understanding of their nutritional value: one cup of blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries gives you more than the recommended amount of Vitamin C for a whole day. So besides the delicious taste, eating berries is one of the best long-term nutritional investments you could probably do.

Antioxidants. These are substances that reduce oxidative damage such as those caused by the release of free radicals in the body. Shortly, antioxidants are chemical compounds of various minerals, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, and phytochemical antioxidants. There are hundreds of different types and versions; however they share a common capacity to reduce the oxidative damage to our cells and tissues. They hence help our bodies to counteract the natural oxidation that contributes to the ageing process and many chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, cardiovascular illnesses, and rheumatoid arthritis, among others. So, this is where the so-called super berries, implied by the epithet itself, enter the stage: they bring you those important antioxidants in various degrees, and even small amounts are needed to cover the daily intake recommendation. I’ve understood many people rely on those food supplements in tablet form, and of course this is better than not ingesting any of those vital substances at all. However, this is not as effective as eating them in their pure, natural form, and me, personally, can’t see why it would be a difficult choice having the real berries instead of some artificial unattractive pills on your tongue.

Measuring the antioxidant capacity of foods involves using ORAC values. It stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity and measures how well the antioxidants in the specific food neutralize free radicals. To get a clue about the antioxidant content of different foods, I’ve listed some of the super berries and some other foods for you to compare and understand what products are high in antioxidants and which are not. The ORAC value is expressed in the unit of micromoles per 100 grams servings, which is commonly used as a standard.

Gogi Berry 25,300 (seriously? Yeah..seriously)
Acai Berry 18 500 (obviously a true super berry)
Prunes 5 770
Raisins 2 830
Blueberries 2 400 (2x that of raw spinach)
Blackberries 2 036
Mulberries 2036
Cranberries 1 750
Strawberries 1 540 (2x that of broccoli florets)
Spinach 1 260
Red grapes 739
Salba 7000 (yes, not a berry but I can’t go off enough about this little miracle. Read Super Grains post below)

Goji berries, tops the list by a landslide! Recently it has become an extremely popular health beverage known as goji juice. However, eating the berries as they are in their pure form is both less expensive and probably a better health-carrier. Goji berries are commonly found in Chinese herbal stores, whereas the juice can be purchased through several channels, ranging from health food stores to online stores. In terms of its health benefits, goji berries have played a central role in traditional Chinese medicine, where they are eaten raw, soaked with tea or added to soups. Antioxidants are again one of the main reasons for ingesting this berry; this time we are particularly dealing with carotenoids, such as zeaxanthin. This type of antioxidant is involved in reducing the risk of age-related vision loss and blindness at a later stage in life.

Goji berries

Acai berries are super berries which have gained a lot of attention in discussions of dietary supplements for quite some time now. They can be found in many forms, including tablets, smoothies, drink powders, and whole fruits. Its nutritional value can be examined in terms of its importance to traditional populations in Brazil where acai berries have constituted more than 40% of total food intake per day. Acai berries carry the omega fatty acids that help to lower harmful cholesterol, while maintaining the beneficial one, giving it unusually similar characteristics to olive oil. Speaking about antioxidants, a popular reference is often made to red wine, “one glass per day…”. Listen and remember: acai is rich in antocyanins, which is one crucial antioxidant type that helps combating premature ageing, and acai berries do in fact carry 10-30 times more antocyanins than a glass of red wine does.

There are plenty of possibilities to mix the super berries with other ingredients to make awesome meals, breakfasts, etc. This is my friend’s recipe for a nice smoothie which I love to make for myself. It takes like 10 minutes to prepare and serves around 4 people:

• 1 cup of washed, chopped strawberres
• 1/2 cup washed, chopped blueberries
• 1 cup orange freshly squeezed juice
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup ginger piece (further adds to the antioxidant content)
• Some mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon honey (only if the berries are sour)
• 2 pinches of black pepper

Of course, as in all other instances of picking the optimal parts of a healthy diet you should go for variety. Merely eating berries is definitely not a recommendation I would give; Hollywood rumours of a Victoria Beckham eating a cup of blueberries in the morning, some salad for lunch and an almost non-existent dinner is in no way in accordance with my recommendation of eating berries. Just to make it clear enough.

I shared a yummy Swedish blueberry pie with a Swedish friend the other night – awesome! Vanilla ice-cream works fine, but I’d rather go for the Vaniljvisp – fluffy, yummy, and light! I know most Swedes can do the blueberry pie by heart, but this standard recipe is for anyone who stands outside of that group:

Blueberry Pie

125 gram butter
225 gram sugar
1.5 tablespoon baking powder
140 gram flour
1 egg
200 gram blueberries

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Melt the butter and let it cool for a while. Beat egg and sugar until fluffy. Add the butter, and beat to incorporate. Add the flour and the baking powder, and stir until batter is uniform. Spread into a greased pie dish, and scatter the berries on top. Bake, low in the oven, for about an hour.

Enjoy!