Posts Tagged ‘blood sugar’

The Importance of Eating Breakfast

Debra Santelli ... Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

We’re often told by nutrition professionals about the importance of eating breakfast every day. Yet, despite this advice, breakfast is still the least commonly eaten meal of the day, which many of us try to justify by saying we either don’t feel hungry first thing in the morning or simply don’t have enough time to eat it. Whatever our excuse, if you desire to be healthy, you can’t ignore this advice any longer. Here is one reason why:

Breakfast Cereal 2

In many ways, modern living goes against our natural biorhythms. Our bodies were designed to wake up at sunrise and to go to bed at sunset. Unfortunately, this is not the lifestyle most of us lead. We tend to burn the midnight oil on a daily basis, necessitating that we set an alarm clock to wake us up, regardless of whether we were able to sleep well or enough the night before. Without sufficient rest, many of us depend on caffeine to jolt us awake.  While this liquid stimulation may provide us with a quick dose of adrenaline, it also uses up our reserves of blood sugar that we need for energy. As a result of this, within an hour, we are craving sugary foods to keep us alert. This vicious cycle may continue for the rest of the day as we crave more stimulants and sugar to keep us going. Eating a healthy, well-balanced breakfast takes us out of this cycle. Your energy will be more stable throughout the day and your cravings will be minimal.

Stay tuned for more breakfast tips including…

- How to feel like eating in the morning
- Tips on eating a good breakfast
- Quick & easy breakfast options

Trying to lose weight? Have a Coconut.

Debra Santelli ... Monday, June 22nd, 2009

You’d be amazed at what eating a coconut can do to help you lose weight.

Coconuts contain Medium Chain saturated Fatty Acids (MCFAs), which are digested and handled by the body differently than other fats.  MCFAs do not circulate in the bloodstream and are instead immediately converted into energy, meaning they are burned instead of being stored as body fat.

An additional benefit of MCFAs are that they speed up the body’s metabolism (up to a 50% boost!), allowing you to burn more calories, resist weight gain and even shed some unwanted pounds.

Lastly, MCFAs burn longer and more steadily than other foods so there are no spikes or slumps in the blood sugar levels, which helps fight off two driving factors behind weight gain: cravings and bingeing.

So if you’re looking for a smarter snack between meals, crack open a coconut.

- Debra Santelli