Welcome to  Eat on Purpose                    
September 2009, Issue 15 
    
     Get beyond health myths, misconceptions, and marketing;  
         transform your life with your shopping, cooking, and eating choices.
 
Hi,  ,
Happy First-Day-of-Autumn - and welcome to my many new subscribers! 
 
Last week I was in the mountains of western North Carolina, just outside Asheville, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It's a gorgeous part of the country.  You can find true solitude and inspiration there (plus things like grits and awesome barbecue).  There is a truly slower pace to life in the beautiful forests of the smoky mountains.  What is important becomes more clear.  What you may not know is that this is the future home of the Purpose Retreat, a mountaintop refuge where you can leave the stress and responsibilities of your day-to-day life behind for a while and reconnect with nature, your body, and your true self.  
 
A retreat center is an expansion in Purpose that has long been part of my plan - and my dream.  Well, I have exciting news to share!  After so much searching, we have found IT - the perfect piece of property.  There are many details to sort out, so building won't begin for a while.  But stay tuned for more updates in the months ahead.  Rest assured this expansion doesn't change and won't interrupt our ongoing business growth in Metrowest Boston!  We will operate out of two locations long-term and also continue to support long-distance clients. 
 
Back-to-School for many people means Back-to-the-Diet time.  In this month's issue, I offer some thoughts on eating for healthy weight maintenance.  I don't believe in diets because in my experience, they never work for long-term, sustained weight loss - just loss and gain yo-yo frustration.  Healthy life-long habits need to include treats, like this month's brownie recipe.  Arthritis sufferers may also find some natural relief from a surprising source in this issue.  It's a great example of just how much food matters.  So choose to eat on purpose!
 
Be well,
Tracy
 
 
 
     In this Issue
    
     - Calorie Confusion
       & Artifical Overload
     - Beautiful Brownies
     - New Mystery Label 
     - Eat on Purpose class
       begins Sept. 28th
     - Arthritis A-gone-y?  
    
   
 
Calorie Confusion & Artificial Overload 

 
A few weeks ago I saw a brief TV segment about healthy eating.  While I appreciate the show's desire to educate viewers, I found myself frustrated by what I saw: yet another confusing and misleading "snippet" of over-simplified health guidance based on common myths. 
 
The guest reporter was comparing pairs of common American processed foods and labeling one as "healthy" and one as "unhealthy" purely based on the product's calorie and fat contentDon't fall for weight loss schemes that involve counting. One intention was admirable:  encourage viewers to read labels and think beyond the seductive advertising on the front of the package.  However, the producers were making choices based on old-school myths: in particular, that all calories are created equal and thus foods with fewer calories are always healthier.  As a result, the show selected and promoted the use of many low-fat and no-fat processed products containing a whole host of artificial sweeteners and chemical additives.     
 
This is unfortunately the type of quick-sell marketing advice that sells a lot of products, BUT it also keeps many people unhealthy and overweight - and stressed!  100 calories of chicken will satisfy you and nourish your body in a very different way than 100 calories of broccoli or 100 calories of an artificially-sweetened "lite" yogurt or 100 calories of "diet" chocolate cupcake.  Yes, portion size is an important concept in healthy eating.  But in my experience calorie-counting can easily become an obsession and does not lead to long-term healthy weight and stress-free eating.      
 
Recent scientific research shows that foods with artificial sweeteners do not lead to weight loss and actually promote weight gain.  These sugar-free yet intensely sweet foods simply keep our taste buds accustomed to (and our bodies craving) sugary foods.   The sweet taste without the actual ingestion of sugars is also confusing to the body and causes metabolic mayhem (learn more about the studies here).  One quick way to begin to cure sugar and carbohydrate cravings is to avoid all artificial sweeteners. 
 
Even if they are low in calories, foods laden with artificial ingredients also tend to keep us hungry.  Our bodies will often create hunger and cravings when they need specific nutrients.  You can be quite overweight and malnourished at the same time. If we respond by eating artificial ingredients and highly-processed foods stripped of their natural nutrients, our cravings will continue until our bodies get what they need.  This can create a stressful relationship with food:  constantly resisting what you most want through willpower. What a depressing way to live! 
 
In my experience, it is healthier to honor your cravings.   Choose a smaller serving of a truly decadent, natural, and satisfying treat.  Instead of obsessing over calories, just choose to eat only whole and natural foods.  If you do buy processed foods, read the labels and choose those containing only whole, natural foods.  Your body will thank you with fewer cravings, better health, and less stress around food.  Helping clients to have truly sustained weight loss and a healthier relationship to food is one of my expertise areas; let me know if I can help you.

Cooking Classes
* Note there are only two spots left in this program, so respond quickly if you're ready to seize the opportunity! 

With the economy still a bit low, more and more people are choosing to eat out less often.  The problem is that cooking at home often means the same old foods and the same old recipes. Not very inspiring.  Well, this Fall (starting next week!) I am offering a very special opportunity.  In the past, all of my cooking classes have been one-night affairs.  For the first time ever, I am offering a series of combined nutrition seminars and cooking demos called Eat on Purpose.
 
Learn, laugh, watch, taste, and savor.  Every class will feature a myth-busting, interactive discussion on key health topics (e.g. weight loss, blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure) Make it easy to eat healthily; spice up your cooking creativity this fall!followed by a cooking demonstration complete with sampling.  You get to take home the recipes plus some food samples to help you get started. 
 
You can learn to Eat on Purpose.  Most of us don't.  We eat by default, by convenience, at random, or even mindlessly.  There are so many conflicting media and marketing messages bombarding our lives.  Even those of us who try to make healthy choices are often misled.  Eating healthily feels hard, boring, confusing, restrictive, or just not fun.  So we don't do it.  And we get sick.  Well, it doesn't have to be that way.
Six-session program starts Sept. 28th and meets every other Monday evening at 6:30.  $130/month for three months.  Call 508-944-1407 or email tracy@purpose.us.com to register.  
  
Arthritis Agony Relief? 
 
My clients come to me struggling with many different types of inflammation.  Unfortunately, arthritis is becoming increasingly common.  This advanced joint inflammation can be extremely painful and debilitating.  Don't make the mistake, however, of assuming that yours is necessarily a life-long, progressive ailment of aging that you" just have to accept". 
 
The most common medications arthritis sufferers take daily (often several times) are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen (e.g. Aleve, Advil).  The problem is that regular use of these drugs can cause severe gastro-intestinal problems.  The good news is that there are many natural supplements that can really help you heal - not just mask the pain.  Natural anti-inflammatories like fish oil and curcumin (the active ingredient in the spice turmeric) are helpful.  In particular, research has proven that glucosamine sulfate (not necessarily other types), MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), and synovial fluid (hyaluronic acid) are effective.  These are forms of nutrients that your body makes on its own, and they help the body actually to regenerate and then nourish worn-out or missing cartilage. 
 
But here's another simpler solution I highly recommend you try:  stop eating tomatoes.  Yes, tomatoes.  And potatoes, peppers, eggplant, and related spices like cayenne and paprika.  These are all part of a family called Nightshade vegetables (note that sweet potatoes are not included).  Many times a set of seemingly unrelated inflammatory problems in your body (e.g. headaches, GI distress, eczema, post-nasal drip, muscle/joint pain) are caused by food sensitivities.  These are usually delayed-reaction sensitivities which differ greatly from the typical food "allergy" you hear about where someone eats peanuts and can't breathe.  It just so happens that many arthritis sufferers have a marked sensitivity to Nightshade vegetables.  However, you don't need an expensive test to be sure; just try fully eliminating these foods from your diet for 3-4 weeks and see how you feel.  It needs to be a fully 100% (cold turkey!) elimination in order to give you results, but you have nothing to lose in trying it.  Many of my clients discover they have food sensitivities, so don't hesitate to drop me a line if you need more information.  
Copyright © 2009 Purpose LLC
 
Mystery Label 
  September Challenge  
 
Do you regularly read food labels? 
 Are you a nutrition super sleuth?
What food product includes the list of ingredients below?   
 Be the first person to identify correctly the product below via email, and you will win a grab bag of healthy, delicious snacks. 
Email  tracy@purpose.us.com   
 
Can this guess this month's mystery product label?
 
Congratulations to Laurie Longo of Westborough, MA for quickly identifying a common pantry staple in our last challenge:  Jiffy Brownie Mix. 
Quick fix mixes often don't satisfy us and we keep eating.
Certainly we can all enjoy a sweet treat occasionally, but this is the type of quick-mix that will leave you hungry and still craving "the real thing".  You will also be more likely to eat 2 or 3 or 7 of the standard "serving size", sure to cause a big blood sugar spike.  My label super sleuths also undoubtedly noticed sugar as the #1 ingredient, a good dose of harmful transfats, and fake flavoring (likely MSG).  With families going back to school this month, I get a lot questions about healthier treats.  Try this month's recipe!
 
 
Yes, They're Healthy! Brownies
 

Ingredients

1/4 c. unrefined coconut oil
1/4 c. almond butter
3 (x1 oz.) squares organic bittersweet (or very dark!) chocolate
1/2 c. sucanat (pure evaporated cane juice)
2 eggs, preferably organic, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 c. grated zucchini

Directions 
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt coconut oil and chocolate together over low heat in a large saucepan. Remove from heat, cool for a few minutes, and stir in remaining ingredients. You may need to add and stir in up to 2 Tbsp. of water if the batter consistency is too thick.  Pour into a greased 8-inch square pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
 
 
 
  What Inspires Me
   this Month...
 
   "Whatever you can do,
    or dream you can, begin  
    it.  Boldness has genius,
    power, and magic in it. "
                            - Goethe 
 
 
 
       let me help you find the missing puzzle pieces to the life you truly want
 
My name is Tracy Harrison.  I am a health and wellness counselor and founder of Purpose LLC.  I work with individuals and groups to help them make step-by-step changes to become healthier and happier.  Unlike most health fads and gimmicks, my clients make life-long habit changes.  It's easy and fun, so it sticks.  Permanent results. 
 
You don't have to be sick.  You don't have to feel exhausted and depressed.  You don't have to feel old and creaky.  You can change your reality.  You can rediscover real joy in your life.
  
  To learn more, please visit
.