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High Fructose Corn Syrup
Carbs 3
PT Corner
Recipe of the Week
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Dr. Magryta
Chris
Go to www.salisburypediatrics.com  if you would like to learn about Integrative Medicine or our practice

 

Issue: #3January 9, 2012

Volume 2, Letter 3

 

January 9, 2012 

  

From Dr. Weil's Newsletter.  I wanted to pass this information along.  

 

The HFCS debate rages on:

 

""High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a cheap sweetener chemically derived from corn. This ubiquitous ingredient of junk food has been in the news lately, in part due to a proposed name change by the Corn Refiners Association - the group wants to rename it "corn sugar." 

 

Whatever you call it, HFCS is a marker for low-quality food and has no place in a healthy diet. But unfortunately, it is widely used: HFCS is found as a primary ingredient in soft drinks and often hidden in processed foods including salad dressings and ketchup, jams, jellies, ice cream, bread and crackers. It is one of the biggest sources of calories in the American diet.

 

The most widely used kind of HFCS may have disruptive effects on metabolism, as the body doesn't utilize fructose well. In fact, regular consumption of HFCS may contribute to obesity, which in turn is a risk factor for several types of cancer and diabetes. In my opinion, HCFS is definitely bad for you and should be avoided - read food labels carefully and minimize your consumption of items that list HFCS as an ingredient.""

 

 

I would concur that an unnatural processed product like HFCS is likely to be unhealthy for us.  We can sustain life on intravenous glucose (sugar) but prolonged IV fructose causes liver dysfunction and failure.  Fructose occurs naturally in fruit and honey, but the volume of ingestion has skyrocketed with the use of HFCS.  Why would they need to hide the name if the safety was without doubt???

 

See the article in Links

 

My take home point today: Nature provides fructose - use this form in moderation. Avoid HFCS until safety data is unequivocal.

  

Hedging my bets,

  

Dr. Magryta

 
Carbohydrates
 
Episode 3 - the carbohydrate dilemma - when, how much and why?

Next Step:  Now this is a beauty of nature.  

During the race or once you start exercising, your body releases chemicals called catecholamines which change the physiology of your metabolism to reduce insulin use and increase sugar availability.  In other words, your body is shifting away from storing sugar as fat and giving it to the muscles to do work.  This is very useful when running away from a bull or whatever wants to chase you!!!  Therefore, it is an ok idea to consume high GI* foods during a race or exercise.  You will not have an insulin response and you will avoid a sugar trough.  

Pay attention to the types of carbs that you eat and you are beginning the process of attaining peak performance.  See the link below and in links for types of glycemic foods.  

Here is your chance to eat chocolate and not suffer the consequences of weight gain!
Preferably - Dark Chocolate

Dr. M 

 

 

Physical Therapy Corner with Joel
 

 

Are ready to start the New Year with a bang? 

 

I see the New Year as a time to bring new ideas to your workouts. This change in training can be a good thing. In fact, programs should be shifted the entire year to keep mental and physical stagnation low. This is true for adult fitness and youth training for sports.  

 

An untrained individual who begins an intense weight training program will generate substantial progress.....for a while. The key is to recognize when progress slows and understand how to re-direct the body in order to avoid this inevitable plateau.  Pay attention to when you feel like you are not making strides in your ability and function.  

 

For the athlete, repeating the same sets and reps scheme throughout the year will allow the nervous system to adapt a pattern where at just about the same time each training session fatigue renders anymore progress stalled.

 

The human body is a miraculous organism and given time and exposure to a particular mode or method, it always finds a way to neutralize the training effect. It has been said that human beings are creatures of habit. Keeping your workouts varied will help reduce gaps in performance. This year, find what works for you and go for it!!! But don't wait until 2013 to mix it up again. 

 

In the coming months we will talk about workout routines and performance.

 

Joel Burgess

Xtra Performance and Physical Therapy

 

 

The newsletter archive in the links section is officially working.  New readers can now go back in time to learn about the future!

 

Recipe of the Week
   
Whole Grain Pasta with Pesto and Vegetables
 
This recipe can be performed a million ways and still be amazing!
 
Ingredients: 
 
1/2 to 1 cup of Pesto depending on your desires.  I like my pasta covered in Pesto- Click this site for the perfect Pesto 
Or buy it from Trader Joe's
Whole Wheat Pasta 1 pound 
Organic Green Beans and Peas - 1 pound total 
 
Bring slightly salted water to a boil
Add pasta and cook until al dente or slightly crunchy.  See package directions
Drain and put back in pot
Add pesto and stir together
 
Steam vegetables until bright green color
Add to pasta and mix together
 
Ready to go - that easy
Change up the vegetable, add beans, add salmon or chicken and on and on.  A childhood favorite.
 
Enjoy
 
 
 
Glycemic Index/Load

Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load

  

Glycemic Index

  

In the past, carbohydrates were classified as simple or complex based on the number of simple sugars in the molecule. Carbohydrates composed of one or two simple sugars like fructose or sucrose (table sugar; a disaccharide composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose) were labeled simple, while starchy foods were labeled complex because starch is composed of long chains of the simple sugar, glucose. Advice to eat less simple and more complex carbohydrates (i.e., polysaccharides) was based on the assumption that consuming starchy foods would lead to smaller increases in blood glucose than sugary foods (1). This assumption turned out to be too simplistic since the blood glucose (glycemic) response to "complex" carbohydrates has been found to vary considerably. A more accurate indicator of the relative glycemic response to dietary carbohydrates should be glycemic load, which incorporates the relative quality and quantity of carbohydrates in the diet.

  

Measuring the Glycemic Index of Foods

  

To determine the glycemic index of a food, volunteers are typically given a test food that provides 50 grams of carbohydrate and a control food (white bread or pure glucose) that provides the same amount of carbohydrate on different days(2). Blood samples for the determination of glucose are taken prior to eating and at regular intervals after eating over the next several hours. The changes in blood glucose over time are plotted as a curve. The glycemic index is calculated as the area under the glucose curve after the test food is eaten, divided by the corresponding area after the control food is eaten. The value is multiplied by 100 to represent a percentage of the control food. For example, a baked potato has a glycemic index of 76 relative to glucose and 108 relative to white bread, which means that the blood glucose response to the carbohydrate in a baked potato is 76% of the blood glucose response to the same amount of carbohydrate in pure glucose and 108% of the blood glucose response to the same amount of carbohydrate in white bread (3). In contrast, cooked brown rice has a glycemic index of 55 relative to glucose and 79 relative to white bread (4). In the traditional system of classifying carbohydrates, both brown rice and potato would be classified as complex carbohydrates despite the difference in their effects on blood glucose levels.

  

Physiological Responses to High- versus Low-Glycemic Index Foods

  

By definition, the consumption of high-glycemic index foods results in higher and more rapid increases in blood glucose levels than the consumption of low-glycemic index foods. Rapid increases in blood glucose are potent signals to the beta-cells of the pancreas to increase insulin secretion (2). Over the next few hours, the high insulin levels induced by consumption of high-glycemic index foods may cause a sharp decrease in blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia). In contrast, the consumption of low-glycemic index foods results in lower but more sustained increases in blood glucose and lower insulin demands on pancreatic beta-cells (5).

  

Glycemic Load

  

The glycemic index compares the potential of foods containing the same amount of carbohydrate to raise blood glucose. However, the amount of carbohydrate consumed also affects blood glucose levels and insulin responses. The glycemic load of a food is calculated by multiplying the glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrate in grams provided by a food and dividing the total by 100 (1). Dietary glycemic load is the sum of the glycemic loads for all foods consumed in the diet. The concept of glycemic load was developed by scientists to simultaneously describe the quality (glycemic index) and quantity of carbohydrate in a meal or diet.

 

From the Linus Pauling Institute at: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/foods/grains/gigl.html

 

Copyright � 2010-2012 Christopher J. Magryta, MD. Readers, please note: The information provided in this newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for advice and treatment provided by your physician or other healthcare professional and is not to be used to diagnose or treat a health issue.


 


Chris Magryta
Salisbury Pediatric Associates
Touchstone Pediatrics