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Be Informed! The beYOU.tv Weekly Review

Bittersweet Study -- Can Fake Sugars Make you Fat?

It all started in 2004 with a group of scientists who studied the effects of sugar substitutes, specifically saccharine based lo-cal sweeteners, on rats.

Let the Music Play

I was talking with one of our fitness Gurus, Misty Tipoli, yesterday.  She co-hosted our recent radio show with me.  After the show, we were chatting and told me that sometimes she thinks we’ve way over complicated this whole fitness thing; worrying about things like total calories, optimal heat rate and BMI.

In Defense of Food

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, was interviewed on Democracy Now yesterday.  The interview focused on our diets, the food industry and genetically modified food.  I though it was very interesting and wanted to share it with you!

 

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FDA Safety Review of Botox - Reassessing that Fountain of Youth

Don't worry, I've not become an FDA watchdog.  With my last post on the FDA's approval of cloned animals for food product, you might think otherwise.  This again is just me trying to keep my dear readers informed with thought provoking information. 

Heart Wise - February Newsletter

Ah, Valentine's Day.  A day to recognize and appreciate that special someone in our lives.  It's a day to open our hearts, to explore our thoughts and to get the blood pumping. No matter which you are looking to do, we have some videos to help.  And when you're looking to be extra nice to that special someone, remember, that someone is also YOU!

View the newsletter after the jump...

I Twitch From Stress

A stressed body is not a happy body. Did you know stress can cause involuntary spasms or what are commonly called ticks or twitches? Working in a Web 2.0 startup company and blogging can be extremely stressful – deadlines, clients, computers, and emails all add to my daily stress. I must be stressed because I've recently developed an eye twitch - an involuntary movement of my upper right eyelid! I've seen characters with something like this on TV, but now it's not so funny. This post is near and dear to me because I need it get rid of my twitch. It's driving me nuts. After doing some research, I've found great ways to get rid of eye twitches by reducing daily stress.

Let the Music Play

I was talking with one of our fitness Gurus, Misty Tipoli, yesterday.  She co-hosted our recent radio show with me.  After the show, we were chatting and told me that sometimes she thinks we’ve way over complicated this whole fitness thing; worrying about things like total calories, optimal heat rate and BMI.  While we both agreed those are all important, her point was this; sometimes, when you want to feel better, shake off the blahs and get your heat rate going, all you really need to do is put on your favorite tunes and put a little boggie in it! 

Dance around your house – naked if you want.  Take it to the streets or treadmill with your iPod, have a personal concert in your car– whatever.  Just crank up some music that moves you.  It’s an instant pick me up. 

When I am planning to teach one of my classes at Barry’s Bootcamp for the week, putting the music together is the by far the most important (and difficult) task.  I know that it can lift the class up to levels they didn’t think they could otherwise attain, or it can bring them down, because like everything else – music has energy.

So when I want to tap some energy and get movin’, here’s what’s on my Playlist (all songs are available on iTunes).  Some are old, some are new, some are just pure guilt pleasures.

What moves you?  What do you workout to?  Let us know what your Celebrity Playlist would look like on iTunes and share some of those good vibrations with the rest of us!

Bittersweet Study -- Can Fake Sugars Make you Fat?

It all started in 2004 with a group of scientists who studied the effects of sugar substitutes, specifically saccharine based lo-cal sweeteners, on rats.  In this controlled study, with findings reported and published this month in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, 2 groups of rats were given yogurt -- one group with the sugar substitute and the other group with regular white table sugar.  The group given the lo-cal sugar substitute gained weight while the other group that was given white table sugar did not. 

The really interesting part to me, as cited in the journal, "...found that the calorie-free artificial sweetener appeared to break the physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, driving the rats to overeat..."  This is where we have to focus and get back to real food and how it works in the body.  The body naturally craves sugar.  But the fake sugar, or lo-cal substitutes, satisfy the initial taste need, i.e. Gee, my coffee tastes sweet...  However, that doesn't really quell the bodies innate need for sugar.  So, you're eating more and more to satisfy that need. The Los Angeles Times did a great, in-depth piece on the study as well as Time. 

Personally, I've never been a fan of sugar-substitutes.  They always felt too "chemically" to me and left a funny aftertaste.  But - take a little test and see for yourself.  (It's the year of the rat, yet we are not rats...)  If you use lo-cal sweeteners, drink diet sodas and still can't lose weight, go off the fake sugar for awhile and substitute real sugar, honey, agave, or cane sugar.  If some stubborn pounds shed with the switch, I'd take note. 

And you know me -- natural is better.  (For my readers who might be managing diabetes or regulating sugar levels, please don't make any switches before consulting your doctor.)  If you take the switch, please report back and let me know how you fared.

Namaste,

Michelle 

Healthy and Simple Meal Ideas to Make at Home

In our fast paced, fast food culture, cooking at home has become a lost art. Most kitchens are more decorative than functional. But eating dinner at home has many benefits aside from showing off your new counter tops:

• Gets You More Greens. When you make your own meals, you have control over the nutritional value of the ingredients, like lean meats and fresh veggies.
• Saves You More Green - as in dollars, not the aforementioned spinach.
• Promotes Well Being. Experts say that in addition to meals higher in nutritional value, eating at home reduces stress and provides more family time together.

Where do you find the time to cook at home, though? Don't worry, with a little planning, you can make great tasting , healthy meals in minutes. It all starts with your grocery list and these simple meal ideas.

Below are some essentials to keep stocked in your fridge or pantry. They'll allow you to whip up a healthy meal for one or six in no time. While buying fresh is always the best way to go, frozen veggies, bagged salads and spinach can be great time savers. But remember - always wash your ingredients before cooking, even if they're labeled "Ready to Eat."

This list is just a guide, use your own creativity and tastes to spice it up however you like. We always recommend organic ingredients; they taste better, have no growth hormones or pesticides and come from a sustainable farming style, which benefits our planet. Also look for locally grown and raised food; they keep the business in your community going. Farmers' markets are a great place to find such foods.

On to the cooking -

More Green News for YOU -- The National Green Pages

I'm sure you're starting to get a sense of what I get really excited about and where my passions lay: yoga, fitness, wellness, organic and holistic living and living a green and socially conscious life. 

Maybe some of you knew about this, but I just came across the 2008 National Green Pages published yearly by the Co-op America, a not-for-profit membership whose mission is to "...harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society..." 

This directory showcases thousands of eco-friendly, socially responsible products and services.  On top of that, they are the nation's only directory that pre-screens and approves the green businesses in their directory. 

National Green Pages contains hundreds of tips for keeping your personal world and the earth green, while providing listings of organic products, socially responsible financial investing opportunities, directory of fair trade products, sweatshop-free clothing, energy-saving appliances and green building materials.  YES! 

And all this for the low low price of just $9.95. 

Let's mark the National Green Pages as a must in our personal resource library.

Namaste,
Michelle