Well, that was yet again, my experience last night when I used DrFuhrman’s VegiZest product – which is the ultimate soup base and seasoning mix.

It was 7:00 PM, I was just sitting down to read a book, but wanted to sip something. At night, I like to go to be satisfied, but not full. So what I did was heat some water, and put in a tablespoon of VegiZest and I had a great broth that was “nutrient rich”. Mmmmm, it was so good.

One of the reasons why I like DrFuhrman’s products products so much, in particular VegiZest, is because he has created the niche products that make eating a Nutrient Rich diet, so “every day” and easy. As I like to say, “simple quick & easy”

In this one cup of vegetable broth, I was actually consuming: green pea, organic spinach, carrots, organic broccoli, organic celery, organic kale, broccoli sprouts, organic soy flour, organic date sugar, organic onion, garlic, spices, green tea, nutritional yeast, canola oil and organic parsley.

* The canola oil is limited and the only allergen was soy, but in extremely limited quantity.

It was in this moment that I realized how content I am eating a nutrient rich diet, and its because of having access to DrFuhrman foods, that I love it all the more. A cup of tea moment like this is very enjoyable, but I knew I was drinking more than a cup of tea. I was practically eating a meal, yet enjoying that “meal” like it was that cup of tea, or “Joe” moment that so many people savor. I woke up this morning with a sense of satisfaction as well because my nutrient needs were met before I went to bed.

Remember, the key to success in a “nutrient rich” PerformanceLifestyle, is knowing how to get the nutrients your body wants and needs to function and perform well, in ever more convenient, tasty and enjoyable ways. This is DrFuhrman’s mantra as he wants to make sure that people can eat for health and get nutrient rich foods into their diet in the same ways they can get the super convenient nutrient poor and nutrient barren foods so many people are accustomed to.

That is why I have been calling this Nutrient Rich diet style the “Simple Quick & Easy” way to eat. It’s not to say I don’t like gourmet, I do, and so do you, but I must admit, I have a bias to being able to refuel and enjoy my food in simple quick and easy ways, as that is the way I eat most of the time… so that bias spills over into the messaging here at NutrientRich.com.

Note: The Nutrient Rich food and Recipe database has gourmet recipe’s as well, but the hallmark to eating Nutrient Rich successfully are the Simple Quick & Easy Recipes, that most people eat 80-90% of the time. People are busy!

Last night was a simple quick and easy moment.

Here’s some info on VegiZest:

Try it out, one canister of VegiZest is only $17.95

Dr Fuhrman also has a similar product called MatoZest.

They’re great tasting, certified organic and kosher. Not only are these extraordinary products nutrient-rich, they are “organic vegetable supplements” that have been painstakingly designed to taste great naturally.

No Sodium (Great Salt Alternative)

Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest is a super-green food supplement with a mild blend of spices.

Dr. Fuhrman’s MatoZest is tomato based with more of a zesty Italian flare featuring sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and onion.

You can:

* Flavor all your soups, salad dressings and dips.
* Use alone in hot water as a weight–loss aid and phytochemical food supplement. (this is what I did!)
* Sprinkle on any dish as a seasoning, replacing salt.

The beauty is you get, phytonutrients, amino acids, antioxidants, plant enzymes and trace minerals in these unique products designed to complement your healthy, PerformanceLifestyle.

What’s also good is that MatoZest and VegiZest are “food supplements” as I like to call them because they are not quite whole foods (since they are dehydrated) but they are not necessarily supplements either (since they are all Nutrient Rich food ingredients with countless nutrients across all categories) have been formulated without the addition of possible allergy producing ingredients such as: sugar, starch, salt, honey, lactose, eggs, milk, colors, and fructose. There is some organic soy flour.

Enjoy these healthy additions to your lifestyle.
John Allen Mollenhauer

The consumption of nutrient-dense foods and beverages, which would ultimately be identified by a scientifically validated nutrient density profiling system, should be instituted as a nutrition platform in the Dietary Guidelines as a part of a larger educational effort to help people choose more nutrient-dense foods and as the guiding principle for consumers to plan healthful diets. By consciously choosing more nutrient-dense foods and beverages, Americans will be in a better position to meet their nutrient requirements without over consuming energy. An objective, science-based, and validated nutrient density profiling system is needed to characterize foods based on their nutrient composition and this concept should be integrated into the Dietary Guidelines.

This article sets forth guiding principles for the development and implementation of a nutrient density profiling system based on the current knowledge of diet and health and recommends that the development of a nutrient density profiling system include testing for effectiveness against accepted measures of diet quality, such as the Healthy Eating Index, and measurable public health markers, such as blood lipids and blood pressure.

Here’s where you can read the full abstract.

As weight is gained all 3 components vary according to several factors; the most common include genetics, the personal energy level, diet quality and activity level, and environment.

If a persona has a predisposition to gain weight relatively easily, their personal energy is low (burn out), food energy intake is too high, physical activity is low and the time its taken to gain weight is over a longer term, as much as 90% of the excess weight will be made up of mostly extra fat stores. However, a small percentage of any gain will comprise lean weight and water.

When weight gain is short term, all other lifestyle factors aside; it’s not just the food, it is the affect of the food that really makes the difference. This is a major diet trap.

For example, a gain in water weight is often due to an increased daily sodium intake.

Sodium in the body is mainly found in the fluids that surround the body’s cells, such as the blood and lymph fluid. When sodium intake exceeds the amount the body can handle it builds up within the interstitial areas and the kidneys have to work extra hard to excrete a constant rise in daily sodium intake. A build up may cause the body to hold extra fluids in the blood and around the cells which contributes to increased blood pressure and also excess weight gain from water.
Daily sodium intake will always be high in the standard western diet.

The average diet in the western world is commonly made up of fast, packaged or convenient foods with long shelf life due in part to preservation affects of sodium. These typically nutrient poor foods, typically again, consist of high levels of salt and salt contains sodium. If a diet is mainly composed of high sodium foods then naturally the sodium intake also rises thus extra weight is gained quickly as the body holds onto water. It has been estimated that many people in the UK and USA may be carrying up to 5 pounds of extra weight due to the effects of a high sodium intake.

The opposite effect also happens when an individual reduces food intake in order to lose weight quickly. A percentage of the loss will be water because a reduction in high sodium foods means a reduction in daily sodium intake which results in water loss as the kidneys have a chance to finally rid the excess sodium from the body. This also helps partly explain why a dieter may experience the yo-yo effect when dieting, water weight is lost with food reduction or a temporary change in food quality, but quickly regains the weight when old eating habits are back to normal and daily sodium intake rises once more.

Here’s the reality.

Just because you eat a food that has 200 calories for example, does not mean if you were overeating, you would gain .057 lbs of weight – 200/3500 calories (the amount of calories in a pound).

If that food is very high in sodium, and depending on how your body reacts, you could gain many pounds as your body holds excess water to keep the excess sodium away from negatively affecting the function of the cells. This throws many people off, particularly those who eat packaged diet foods, or unknowingly eat less of foods that are very high in sodium.

According to Joe Fuhrman M.D. we don’t need more than 1000 mg of sodium per day, (which would probably increase if you were an athlete); basically, the amount of sodium you would get eating a 2000 calorie nutrient rich diet, full of nutrient rich foods that have natural sodium levels approx, 1/2 mg per calorie.

If you are eating a nutrient poor diet, and not eating for health, it’s not uncommon to be eating foods that take your sodium intake upwards of 2000 – 3000 – 5000mg of sodium and that’s is a formula for major weight gain, even if the excess calorie intake does not equal the amount of pounds gained.

It’s not just the food and its calories, it’s the quality of the food and it’s affects on the function and performance of your body, that often determines weight gain and of course, your health.

The title of this article is from an acquaintance of mine Rip Esselstyn.I know Rip through his father Dr Caldwell Esselstyn.

Here is an excerpt from his article Attention Athletes: Eat Your Vegetables!

Alex Rodriguez. Barry Bonds. Jose Conseco. Andy Pettitte. Jason Giambi. Roger Clemens. Baseball players in the news, all of them in hot water for using illegal substances for a competitive edge.

As a former professional athlete with friends active in all areas of sports, I know that steroids and other illicit substances have permeated just about every sport. A feeling has sprung up among athletes that if you’re not on this stuff, you’re at a disadvantage. You’re just not going to be as good as the next guy.

But the secret to hitting fifty home runs, to stealing a hundred bases, to pitching a perfect game, doesn’t involve needles or pills, the cream or the clear.

The secret is no farther away than the local grocery store, where no one needs an illegal prescription or a shady doctor. It’s right there, in the produce section, where you’ll find Nature’s naturally lean, bad-ass performance enhancers: plant foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds, and nuts. Instead of injecting themselves with human growth hormones and steroids, instead of having those monsters coursing through their 65,000 miles of veins, arteries, and capillaries, by consuming plant-powered foods, athletes’ systems will be bursting with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, and they’ll not only be on their way to MVP seasons but also to the best health of their lifetimes.

Read More…

What is so powerful about this article, is that it’s true and reinforces the new mentality that is sweeping the nation one person at a time – that it’s your lifestyle that determines your health, how you look and feel, and perform!

So many people spend a lifetime, trying to find the magic pill or powder, some substance that will help them overcome the common ills, created unbeknownst to them, mainly by the way they eat. They think low energy, what they don’t know as poor performance due to their lack of true health, and the fight against disease are normal and natural, but they aren’t… just common because of our modern day way of life that is simply caught up and unhealthy.

What has also become common is thinking that that we need to seek performance enhancing substances to function and perform at peak, when we haven’t even begun to proactively tap the potential of our own lifestyle – how we think and live.

Of course, a big BIG part of your lifestyle is how you eat. The quality of the food you eat, whether you eat Nutrient Rich foods or nutrient poor foods is going to have a huge and compounding effect on your energy level, your health, how fit you are, and what you are able to achieve in your life.

Most people just can’t get it, that they need to change the quality of their diet, not simply seek another way to lose weight. They will naturally lose weight, when they focus on eating for health, functioning and performing better in a now more active and healthy lifestyle.

Rip Esselstyn has has it right. As the founder of www.PerformanceLifestyle.com, and author of the PerformanceLifestyle blog, this mentality is clear, near and dear to my heart and hopefully yours.

When how you live is driven by your ability to function, to have quality of life and the capacity to perform “well”, you will look at how you eat and your overall lifestyle so much differently. You will finally leave the eat less diet mentality ingrained in our heads by a diet industry that knows very little about living a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

You will learn everything you can about eating better, about eating Nutrient Rich foods and eating for health!

~ JAM
John Allen Mollenhauer

A healthy diet and lifestyle are the best weapons you have to fight cardiovascular disease. It’s not as hard as you may think! Remember, it is the overall pattern of the choices you make that counts.

www.NutrientRich.com: In terms of being practical, focusing on the overall pattern of your diet is the smartest recommendation being made in these guidelines.

Eating successfully is all about the quality of the food that comprises your total food consumption. Nutrient Rich whole foods are foods of plant origin. Nutrient poor foods are foods of animal origin. They may be rich in some nutrients but as a whole they are nutrient poor. And nutrient barren foods, are foods that are ultra refined of either plant or animal origin.

The percentage of Nutrient Rich foods, nutrient poor foods and nutrient barren foods is what matters. This is the overall pattern of your diet.

Make the simple steps below part of your life for long-term benefits to your health and your heart.

Use up at least as many calories as you take in.   

www.NutrientRich.com: This is true, maintaining energy balance is critical for weight management and overall health no matter what you eat, but a caloric focus is not enough because all calories are not created equal; in a bomb calorie meter yes, when calculating caloric values of foods, but in your stomach, no. There are Nutrient Rich calories and nutrient poor calories.

Start by knowing how many calories you should be eating and drinking to maintain your weight.

www.NutrientRich.com: There are guidelines for this, but really you are not in charge of this, your body is, and it will let you know when to eat again and how much you should eat by giving you hungar signals. Of course you can only trust these signals, when eating a whole foods diet.

Don’t eat more calories than you know you can’t burn up every day. Increase the amount and intensity of your physical activity to match the number of calories you take in. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week or — best of all — at least 30 minutes every day. Regular physical activity can help you maintain your weight, keep off weight that you lose and help you reach physical and cardiovascular fitness. If you can’t do at least 30 minutes at one time, you can add up 10-minute sessions throughout the day.

www.NutrientRich.com: Whether or not you are going to count calories consumed and burned is not important and not very practical either. Nonetheless, this is a great recommendation. The point is to be active and use what you consume.  

Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups.

www.NutrientRich.com: Here’s where all government agencies go wrong. They can’t make a stand on any economically influential points. Only the safe points are fair game for them and understandably so. Eating from "all food groups" is just a watered down way of saying eat everything in moderation. Eating all food groups or "classes" in moderation is a safe bet you’ll get a heart attack like 500,000+ Americans do each year.

Those foods that are nutrient poor and loaded with saturated fat, unhealthy protein and cholesterol, missing whole categories of nutrients such as carbohydrate, phytochemicals and fiber are sold and supported as if they are lean and great sources of nutrients…

For example, here’s a statement from the Beef Board – "The new AHA recommendations also encourage people to balance calories with healthier choices and physical activity. Each lean beef cut provides more nutrients in fewer, smarter calories than many other proteins. A 3-ounce serving of lean beef contains less than 175 calories, and is an excellent source of five essential nutrients (protein, zinc, vitamin B12, selenium and phosphorus), and a good source of four nutrients (niacin, vitamin B6, iron and riboflavin).

That’s allot of calories to take in for only 9 nutrients and it’s also going to come at a health cost.

Eating a food so you can get 9 nutrients and a whole lot of other stuff you don’ need that ultimately and negatively affects your health, is not worth it. This is the reason the overall pattern of your choices matters most.

You want to "base" your diet (the majority of it) on Nutrient Rich Whole Foods, eat small amounts of nutrient poor foods, if you eat them. Some people choose not to eat any nutrient poor foods, others in small amounts. You can still eat Nutrient Rich on a total dietary basis when you eat predominantly Nutrient Rich whole foods.

You may be eating plenty of food, but your body may not be getting the nutrients it needs to be healthy. Nutrient-rich foods have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients but are lower in calories. To get the nutrients you need, choose foods like vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products most often.

www.NutrientRich.com: in the same set of recommendations, the truth peeks its head out – look at the order in which these foods above are listed. They are listed in terms of nutrient density; whole plant foods first, animal products second and then only the "leanest" versions. Why? Animal products are actually nutrient poor and in significant amounts, neither promote your health or a healthy weight.

Vegetables and fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber — and they’re low in calories. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help you control your weight and your blood pressure.

• Unrefined whole-grain foods contain fiber that can help lower your blood cholesterol and help you feel full, which may help you manage your weight.
• Eat fish at least twice a week. Recent research shows that eating oily fish containing omega-3 fatty acids (for example, salmon, trout, and herring) may help lower your risk of death from coronary artery disease.

www.NutrientRich.com: Fish is also a nutrient poor food, though rich in some nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids. Animal products by their very nature, are not whole foods. In small amounts this recommendation is sensible; people enjoy eating fish as they do other animal products.

The point is not that you "can’t" eat these foods it’s that if you eat them, you want to eat them in small quantities. Not only is the nutrient value of animal products a major point, but the pollution in fish for example (PCB’s etc) are not promoting your health…

You are not dependent on getting omega-3′s from fish. Marketing leads us to believe that. You can get omega-3 fatty acids from flax seeds, walnuts and other whole foods… even whole food supplements.

Eat less of the nutrient-poor foods.

There is a right number of calories to eat each day based on your age and physical activity level and whether you are trying to gain, lose or maintain your weight. You could use your daily allotment of calories on a few high-calorie foods and beverages, but you probably wouldn’t get the nutrients your body needs to be healthy. Limit foods and beverages that are high in calories but low in nutrients, and limit how much saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium you eat. Read labels carefully — the Nutrition Facts panel will tell you how much of those nutrients each food or beverage contains.

www.NutrientRich.com: All good points. According to Nutrient Rich Medical Advisor Joel Fuhrman M.D. 93% of the modern diet for most people is animal products and refined foods. This is a nutrient poor diet. (Period)

It’s not about "eating your veggies first so you can make room for some high calorie lower nutrient food, as if your diet won’t be enjoyable unless you do, it’s about eating Nutrient Rich foods in great tasting ways.

There are plenty of high calorie, Nutrient Rich foods you can eat that are just as rich or richer than nutrient poor foods. You just have to know where to get them or how to make them. There are more than you will ever get to in your lifetime.

As you make daily food choices, base your eating pattern on these recommendations:

• Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.
• Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products.
• Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.
• Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol.
• Aim to eat less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day.
• Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.
• Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.
• Aim to eat less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
• If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. That means one drink per day if you’re a woman and two drinks per day if you’re a man.
• Follow the American Heart Association recommendations when you eat out, and keep an eye on your portion sizes. Also, don’t smoke tobacco — and stay away from tobacco smoke

www.NutrientRich.com: This is a classic example of why people stay stuck, every recommendation in the 2006 AHA Diet and Lifestyle Guidelines below talks about what to "eat less" of. And notice, listed are all nutrient poor foods, animal products and refined foods. You don’t see one reference to whole foods in this list. That’s because Nutrient Rich foods are better.

Don’t eat less, eat better and put your focus there. It’s allot more fun. You can reverse your risk of disease, reduce the visible signs of aging and promote natural weight loss, your health will improve dramatically and you can improve your fitness and performance.

Small amounts of animal products and refined foods if you need them are not the main issue, it’s what you eat 80-90% of the time or more, that matters. You will learn all about how to eat a whole foods diet for healthy living and natural weight loss, in the Nutrient Rich, Lifestyle Starter Kit.

Learn how to eat a Nutrient Rich whole foods diet for healthy living and natural weight loss.

Once you start eating Nutrient Rich foods in great tasting ways you enjoy and that are convenient, you won’t need to be eating junk food. You will also begin to realize that eating high-calorie low-nutrient food will become the exception, not the rule as it is for most people these days.

The Nutrient Rich revolution is in full gear these days. You don’t have to focus on just eating fruits and vegetables, whole grain’s etc, raw or by themselves or in simple quick & easy ways; that’s best, but it’s also what you can do with all these foods that is so exciting.

There are so many new Nutrient Rich foods, meals and menus being produced in restaurants, by businesses and available in food stores around the country every day that it is simply amazing. You can find out about these foods at www.NutrientRich.com.

Note: the commentary above is not about providing any medical advice. NutrientRich.com does not provide medical advice or prescribe, or diagnose. If you have a medical condition, include the advice of a medical doctor in your decisions.

]]> http://www.nutrientrich.com/1/nutrientrichcom-on-2006-aha-diet-and-lifestyle-recommentations.html/feed 0 http://www.nutrientrich.com/1/how-do-you-measure-ideal-weight.html http://www.nutrientrich.com/1/how-do-you-measure-ideal-weight.html#comments Thu, 24 Nov 2005 05:16:49 +0000 http://www.nutrientrich.com/?p=101 According to Dr Fuhrman

• Men shouldn’t be able to pinch more than a half-inch of skin near the belly button. Women should not be able to pinch more than an inch.
• If you have gained as little as ten pounds since you were 18 or 20 years old, then you could have a significantly increased risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

I don’t know that I would get too idealistic about this at becuase if you haven’t guessed, weight fluctuates!

Especially as your body get’s more efficient and healthy; you can get inactive for only a few days and even eat Nutrient Rich and put on a few pounds, becuase contrary to the points made in in this Reuters articles on emotional eating, people do eat for emotional, societal and environment reasons, so even eating healthy, you will live "at or near" your ideal weight, rarely at your "ideal weight".

But I still agree Dr Fuhrman, pinch yourself, it’s a good measure!, BMI, if you have a heavily muscled body, can be very misleading and most other methods are just too darn complicated.

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