Sweet Treats

I’m a dessert person. I always need a little something after my dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth, otherwise it just doesn’t feel complete. But of course, I try to stick with low calorie options as much as possible, and I’m always looking for something new. That’s why I got very excited when my friend pointed out to me today that Skinny Cow – the brand behind those delicious, low-calorie ice cream sandwiches – has come out with a new line of ice cream cups in a variety of flavors. Choose from the following fabulous flavors: 

Chocolate Fudge Brownie – Rich chocolate ice cream with fudgey chocolate brownie bits (150 calories; 2 grams of fat) 

Dulce de Leche – Low-fat caramel ice cream with swirls of caramel (150 calories, 1 gram of fat)

Strawberry Cheesecake – Cheesecake ice cream with swirls of sweet strawberry (150 calories; 1 gram of fat) 

Caramel Cone – Low-fat ice cream with a sweet caramel swirl and chocolate-covered chunks of crunchy cone (170 calories; 3 grams of fat) 

Cookies ‘N Cream – The classic low-fat vanilla ice cream with crunchy chunks of chocolate cookie (150 calories; 2 grams of fat) 

Is it dessert time yet? 

TGIF

Another work week has gone by, which means one thing... happy hour! But depending on your drink of choice, that can add up to a lot of extra calories over the course of an evening. Just so you're prepared, I've listed the calorie counts of some popular drinks below. Enjoy!

Red Bull and vodka: 177 (9.3 ounces) 

Captain Morgan and Coke: 123 (1.25-ounce shot of rum and 4 ounces regular coke)

Captain Morgan and Diet Coke (my personal fave): 75 calories (1.25-ounce shot of rum and 4 ounces Diet Coke) 

Bud Light: 110 (12 ounces) 

Michelob Ultra: 95 (12 ounces) 

Miller Lite: 96 (12 ounces) 

Gin and tonic: 143 (6 ounces) 

Cranberry and vodka: 133 (1-ounce shot of vodka, 4 ounces cranberry juice) 

Cosmo: 143 (6 ounces) 

Mojito: 172 (7 ounces) 

White wine: 77 (4 ounces)

Red wine: 85 (4 ounces) 

Daily Dish

I am a creature of habit in all aspects – especially the way I eat. I tend to eat the same exact thing every day for weeks at a time (except on weekends), and honestly never get tired of it. It's just easier to plan my meals and cook when I know exactly what I'm going to eat, when, how much, etc. 

But that got me thinking about an earlier post, where I stressed the importance of varying your workouts to avoid hitting plateaus, and realized that maybe my routine eating habits could be doing more harm than good. 

So I decided to do a little research, and here is what I found. 

Apparently it won't hurt you to eat the same thing every day, as long as you're making healthy choices. (Daily trips to Burger King don't count.) However, it's important to vary your diet as much as you can to make sure you're covering all your nutritional bases and taking in all the vitamins and minerals as you can. So maybe instead of your mid-morning apple, you can swap that out for an orange or pear or banana (you get the idea). 

One thing to note, however, is that it may be possible to develop intolerances to certain foods that you eat often. Unfortunately, food intolerances are highly individual and mysterious, and can be triggered by anything from emotional stress to environmental toxins, so it's very hard to predict. 

I figure that as long as I incorporate all the major food groups (fruits, veggies, whole grains, protein, heart-healthy fats, etc.) in my daily diet, I can just keep doing what I'm doing. 

Is Kosher Better For You?

As a Jew, I have a special place in my heart for all things kosher (especially anything found in a kosher deli). And apparently I'm not the only one. Much like my previous post that highlighted the fact that many non-Celiac Disease sufferers are opting for gluten-free products in their diet, I've also noticed a trend in the popularity of kosher products, even for those who have no religious connection. 

The idea is that kosher products are in some way healthier or more environmentally friendly. In fact, a recent study found that the top reasons consumers chose kosher products were "food quality," "general healthfulness" and "food safety." ("I follow kosher religious rules" came in sixth.) But this is not entirely true. 

While there are very strict guidelines that must be followed in order to declare something kosher, the rules do not specify how to raise the animals or what to feed them. So if you think you're eating an animal that was reared on organic grasses, you are probably mistaken. 

According to kosher "law," the animals must be killed by hand with a sharp knife drawn across the neck. From there, the lungs are carefully inspected and the meat is de-veined, soaked in cold water and salted before being rinsed. This salting and rinsing process can reduce the presence of certain microbes, such as salmonella. And the de-veining may help as blood can be a breeding ground for bacteria. But kosher meat processing has additional contamination risks as well – such as the use of extra-strong plucking machines (because steam or hot water cannot be applied to get rid of stray feathers until after the meat has been salted), which can tear the skin of a carcass and open up sites for infection. 

The bottom line is, while it may be more expensive, there's no real evidence that kosher meat is cleaner or healthier than non-kosher. 

Happy Birthday, Birth Control Pill! (Ironic, Isn't It?)

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill (on May 9, 1960, an advisory committee to the FDA recommended approval of the birth control pill, and it was approved 45 days later), I thought it was appropriate to clear up a few myths surrounding it. 

Myth 1: The Pill Makes You Fat.

While some women seem to gain weight on the pill, it isn't quite so black and white. Estrogen in the pill can make some women feel bloated, but this typically goes away. And water retention is also a common side effect, but that can often be reduced by switching to a lower dose pill. Studies have actually shown that women often start the pill during a time in their life when they typically gain weight anyway, giving the pill a bad rap. 

Myth 2: Long-Term Pill Use Can Affect Fertility.

Although some women may face a delay in becoming pregnant after stopping the pill, this is most likely due to the fact that they had irregular periods before starting it in the first place. In fact, fertility can return almost immediately after stopping the pill, and often times women may become extra fertile soon after going off the pill. 

Myth 3: It's Good to Take a Break from the Pill if You've Taken it for a Long Time.

There's no medical reason to back this up; however, doctors do advise reviewing contraceptive needs after 15 years of being on the pill or at age 35. 

Double Down Details

I know I'm a little late on bringing up this whole KFC Double Down topic, seeing as how it's been creating quite the buzz since its April 12 debut. This is mostly because every time I even think about the sandwich – strips of bacon, cheese and sauce sitting between two pieces of fried chicken – I can just feel my arteries clogging on the spot. 

But I do want to bring up one thing that has me scratching my head. According to KFC's website, the Original Recipe Double Down has only 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 mg of sodium. I don't mean to make it sound like that's not an astronomical amount (because it is – especially the sodium), but if that's true, you're telling me that it is more "nutritious" than, say, Burger King's Tendercrisp Garden Salad (which has 670 calories, 45 grams of fat and 1,740 mg of sodium)?? I find that hard to believe. 

For a list of more fast food items that are supposedly worse for you than the Double Down, check out this website: http://consumerist.com/m/2010/04/10-fast-food-items-worse-for-you-than-the-kfc-double-down.html. 

Broccoli vs. Breast Cancer

Didn't your mother always tell you to eat your broccoli? Well, it turns out mom was right – but now for a very different reason than just being low-calorie and highly nutritious. 

A recent study conducted at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that an extract in broccoli – sulforaphane – can kill breast cancer stem cells, which drive a tumor's growth. By killing the stem cells, it actually stopped new tumors from forming. 

The findings are particularly significant because even existing chemotherapy treatments do not eliminate the stem cells of cancer, which means it's possible for the cancer to spread or come back. 

The study, which was conducted on mice and in human cell cultures, relied on higher concentrations of sulforaphane than can be ingested by simply eating the green veggie, but there are supplements out there. However, since the concentration in these supplements are not controlled or regulated, and clinical trials on actual patients haven't been done yet, researchers don't recommend adding the extract to one's diet yet. 

But hey, it's a start. 

Cardio Conundrum

I have always subscribed  to the "calorie in, calorie out" philosophy, which states that in order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. And since I typically only have an hour a day to exercise, I want to make sure I burn as many calories as I can in that period of time – which typically means heavy on the cardio – to take advantage of that window, right? Well, maybe not. 

Although cardio does burn 10 to 12 calories a minute, compared to only 8 to 10 calories per minute with strength training, it's the weights that will give your metabolism a boost for up to an hour after your workout. Since your body is trying to help your muscles recover, it's burning an additional 25 percent of the calories you just burned during your workout. Plus, for every three pounds of muscle you build, your body burns an extra 120 calories a day with no extra effort. 

Another thing to consider is your target heart rate for fat burning. Technically, working at a lower intensity (such as walking, light weights, etc.) requires less quick energy, so your body is burning a higher percentage of fat rather than carbs. This is great for someone who is at their ideal weight, but wants to tone up. However, if the goal is to lose weight, a calorie in is still a calorie out, so a leisurely walk around the park won't do much. Confusing, isn't it? 

A great tool to help you keep track of your heart rate and overall calories burned is a heart rate monitor. I personally like the Polar products. Check them out here (www.polarusa.com) and find which one is right for you.

What Dreams May Come

There's nothing I love more than a good power nap. In fact, in college, I pretty much had it down to a science: 22 minutes was all I needed to recharge for the rest of the day. 

And as it turns out, I may have been unknowingly boosting my memory with each snooze. According to a new study done at the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, naps may boost your ability to process and store information, but only if you dream. 

The study followed 99 college students who were asked to memorize a complex maze on a computer. They were then placed inside a virtual, 3-D version of the maze and asked to navigate to another spot within it. After doing this a few times, half of the students took a 90-minute nap while the other half stayed awake and watched videos. Five hours later, all the students were given the maze test again, and guess what? The nappers did better than the students who stayed awake. And the ones who dreamed about the maze did especially well – 10 times better than the nappers who didn't, to be exact. 

And luckily for those who don't have enough time to take a 90-minute nap – like me – it doesn't even have to be a deep sleep to work. Researchers found that the students' dreaming and learning occurred after as little as one minute of non-REM sleep. 

In that case, I think we should all push for nap time at work. Who's with me?