Harvest Nutrition Blog

You are what you eat Eats

    I’m sure you’ve heard that “you are what you eat.”  But think about the beef you buy.  What did that cow eat?  Or what about those carrots?  What did they absorb from the soil they were grown in?  Just as important, or even more so than the types of foods you choose to eat, is the quality of that food and how it was raised.  

    Two burgers side by side may look exactly the same, but one has residues of antibiotics and steroids but lacks the important CLA (conjugated linoleic acid that fights cancer and the hardening of the arteries), has less vitamin E and beta carotene, and has an unhealthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, due to the cow being raised commercially and being fed inferior grains.  The other burger has no residue of antibiotics or steroids, and has higher, healthy amounts of CLA, omega 3s, vitamin E, B vitamins, and beta carotene because it was raised sustainably, and ate rapidly growing green grasses.  Regarding the foods you eat, what they ate or absorbed is vitally important to your health.

By Aaron Hughes

http://www.harvestnutrition.com/

Weight Loss Tip

Added sugars will can you fat, and keep you fat.  When your bloodstream is quickly flooded with sugar, your body produces insulin, a hormone that causes fat to be stored.  Added sugars are abundant in processed and packaged foods, and go under many different stealth names.  

 

A Few Pointers:

-Read the nutrition facts panel and see how many grams of sugar there are per serving.

 

-The "grams per serving" include both naturally occurring sugars and added refined sugars.

 

-The "grams per serving" represents how much sugar is in each serving size, not in the entire package. 

Example: a bottle of fruit juice may contain 2.5 servings, so you'll multiply the grams of sugar per serving x 2.

 

-Besides the obvious candy bars, sodas, and sugary snack foods, avoid sports drinks and bottled fruit juices.  These often have as much, or more, sugar than "junk" foods.

 

-Avoid white flour products.  They are very low in fiber, and therefore convert to sugar very rapidly in your body, thus causing insulin levels to rise, and your body to store fat.

 

-Avoid high fructose corn syrup.  This shows up in alot of food products these days.  It's a harmful sweetener that wreaks havoc on the body's metabolic processes.

 

-When craving sweets, grab a piece of fruit...it has sugar, yes, but in its whole food form.  It's packed with fiber, which helps give you a slow, steady release of energy-giving sugar, without drastically spiking insulin levels.

 

-If people simply cut out refined white flour, refined sugar and added sweeteners from their diet, they've already won about 70% of their fight for wellness and weight loss!

By Aaron Hughes

http://www.harvestnutrition.com/

Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil in its unrefined, cold pressed form is one of the best oils on earth for supporting wellness and helping with prevention.  Everyone should have this health-promoting oil in their kitchen.  It's one of the best sources of the Omega 3 essential fatty acid called Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA).  It also contains lignans, substances known for their anti-cancer properties.

 

Health benefits of Flaxseed Oil. 

-Supports healthy brain function

-Supports cardiovascular health

-Anti-inflammatory

-Anti-cancer

-Antioxidants

-Helps maintain healthy nerves, blood, arteries, skin and hair.

-Promotes hormone and adrenal health

 

Uses.

-Use on salads or in homemade salad dressings

-Mix with yogurt or superfood smoothies

-Sprinkle on steamed veggies

-Don't use for cooking.  The omega 3s within are too fragile for heat.

-Always store in fridge.

 

 

Consider the source. 

The best brand for unrefined, cold pressed flax oil is without a doubt, Barleans.  They fresh press their flax seeds, then air ship-to-order their oils to health food stores and online retailers nationwide, as well as to customers, for guaranteed freshness.  You can find them online or in health food stores.

- By Aaron Hughes

http://www.harvestnutrition.com

Have you heard of Acai?

There's alot of buzz out there about superfruits and berries like Goji, Mangosteen, and Noni.  Perhaps the newest kid on the block, the acai berry, has been gaining popularity over the past half decade or so, as a leading "superfood".  Lately it's become pretty mainstream, showing up in fruit juices and other products in your local supermarket.

 

The acai berry comes from tropical Brazil, and the berries themselves aren't available here in the US.  Therefore, the acai we have available is in powder (pulp) or liquid form. 

 

Health benefits.  Many experts have hailed acai for its energy-giving qualities, and its antioxidant properties (compounds that alleviate the body's toxic burden by neutralizing potentially harmful free radicals).  Acai also has healthy fatty acids, which can be anti-inflammatory.

 

Consider the source.  If you want to try acai as a smoothie or supplement, Sambazon is the best brand.  They offer single serve smoothies, freeze-able smoothie packs (my favorite), and whole food acai supplements.  They're the first company to  establish a fully free trade, Organic certified supply chain of acai to the US.  Check out Sambazon.com for more info, and where to buy. 

Zola is another good brand of individually packed smoothies.  Beware of acai diet/cleanse websites.  They're often over-priced and of inferior quality.  Many of them have been reported as scams.

-Aaron