LET’S TALK TURKEY – Food Coma

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Food Coma

Why is it you feel so sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner?  Is the turkey really the guilty party?  Who is the true culprit of the lethargic feeling experienced after a heavy Thanksgiving dinner?  Is it just an act to get out of dish duty?

Let’ so start with the facts:  We know Turkey contains L-tryptophan, an essential amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect- a natural sedative.  The body cannot produce L-Tryptophan; we have to get it and other amino acids from food.  L-Tryptophan helps the body produce niacin, which assists in the production of serotonin, a chemical that acts as a calming agent in the brain.  So it sounds like the turkey is the guilty party after all, however, it is not.  L-Tryptophan only has those effects if it is taken on an empty stomach, without other amino acids or protein.

So why is it we desperately want to conk out after a heavy thanksgiving dinner if it’s not the turkey?  I suppose the word “heavy” may be the key here.  Thanksgiving dinner is heavy and high in carbohydrates, as well as fats.  Carbohydrates fuel the pancreas to emit insulin, which causes amino acids to battle L-Tryptophan and causes it to leave the bloodstream and enter muscle cells, which in turn amplifies the concentration of L-Tryptophan in the bloodstream. Serotonin is synthesized and you begin to feel sleepy.  Fats take a significant amount of energy to digest, which also results in fatigue.  If you throw alcohol into the mix you are going to intensify the feeling even more.

Lullaby…

Ever notice it’s hard to keep our eyes open once we haven’t been able to keep our mouths shut? Oh, for the sofa…just a little nap. We really should have exercised some restraint, but the only thing we give our bodies Thanksgiving Day is a digestive workout. And instead of stimulating us, we poop out. Even conversation seems an effort. All the food may explain the “food coma” many people experience after a big meal (and beyond.) Although popular wisdom holds that Thanksgiving drowsiness is caused by L-Tryptophan, it has been shown that the amount isn’t significant enough to affect most people. The culprit is food fatigue.

 

FOOTBALL BINGING

Whether you’re a breast man (or woman), leg man (or woman), heck, even a wingman (or woman), there’s something you all have in common. People are eating earlier not to digest their turkey parts and hordes of trimmings, but to ingest more football, a tried and true part of the Thanksgiving tradition. But this is merely a sitting sport for the overly indulged. Hour after hour of not moving except to stand up and scream at appropriate moments in the game. Something is wrong here. The players are out there running across the middle and pushing their bodies to the limit. No way around it, though, binge watching is a derelict distraction from getting the exercise you should be getting. And binge watching doesn’t burn calories. Sorry.

NO PAIN, NO PIE

The only thing that is going to help you get back on track, is getting back to exercising. How to start? Don’t go anywhere near a scale or mirror. Ever seen a python after it’s swallowed an animal? Sheer terror. Next, don’t fast. Fasting after binging raises the risk of triggering a binging-fasting cycle. Fasting can make you hungrier so that you subsequently overeat. Also, fasting could alter your metabolism so that you do not burn as many calories as you normally would, since fasting may make the body think that it should conserve energy. And don’t binge exercise. Enough with the excess.

Start by just moving. Then ease into resuming your regular exercise program.

This is the smart way to go. But we live in a frantic world of the exercise-obsessed.

At Crunch gyms across the country Thursday morning, dozens of eager exercisers will turn up for the Turkey Burn N’ Firm Ride, a 75-minute workout combining spinning and Pilates-based abdominal work. For others, it’s an early bout of tortuous kick-boxing. Pre-Thanksgiving workout feasts are filling up faster than anyone could fork in the food. And morning-after classes are as brutal as the previous days’ merciless and voracious sprees. It’s as much a mental thing as a physical thing. It takes an hour on the elliptical to burn 365 calories, but only five minutes to eat a piece of pumpkin pie with the same calories. Manic Thanksgiving exercisers are doing too much math.

BE GRATEFUL

ONE THING MOST PEOPLE NEVER EXERCISE AT THANKSGIVING IS RESTRAINT. THEY EAT. GO FOR SECONDS. SCARF DOWN WHATEVER THEY WANT WITHOUT RESERVE OR THOUGHT. AND THEN THEY PAY FOR IT. THEY FEEL LIKE A TRUCKLOAD OF FROZEN TURKEYS HAS RUN THEM OVER AND THEY CAN BARELY MOVE. THEIR GUTS ARE IN TURMOIL. THAT’S THE POINT WHEN THEY SHOULD MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE DR. STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. AT DENVER HORMONE HEALTH. THE CULPRIT TO YOUR INTENSE DISCOMFORT MIGHT NOT JUST BE MILE HIGH PLATES OF FAT AND CARBS YOU’VE CONSUMED. IT COULD BE THAT YOUR HORMONES HAVE GONE ROGUE. DR. GOLDSTEIN IS THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUT. HE HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN BIOIDENTICAL HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY, A NATURAL WAY TO MAKE SURE THE HORMONES IN YOUR BODY ARE SENDING THE RIGHT MESSAGES TO YOUR CELLS TO DO THE WORK THAT KEEPS EVERYTHING IN YOUR BODY WORKING RIGHT. WHEN YOU MEET WITH DR. GOLDSTEIN, HE DOES A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION. THEN WITH SIMPLE TESTS, HE CREATES A TOTALLY UNIQUE TREATMENT PLAN TO GET YOUR HORMONES BACK ON TRACK. PART OF THAT PLAN ALSO INCLUDES GETTING BACK ON A HEALTHY EATING PLAN AND EXERCISING MORE. EXERCISING IS EQUIVALENT TO PRESSING A BUTTON TO LAUNCH THE HORMONES THAT HELP YOU FEEL GOOD. AND FEELING GOOD IS HIS GOAL FOR EACH AND EVERY CLIENT.

SO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY.

AND DON’T JUST THINK OF IT AS FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

LET’S TALK TURKEY – Hop on the Gravy Train

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Gravy Train

It’s the March of the Marsh Mellows! Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the gluttons-for-gluttony season, the time when even the most health-conscious succumb to the temptations of the cram-packed holiday table. But is pigging out during the holidays a harmless indulgence or a real health worry? Indigestion, flatulence and the need to wear elastic waists or unbutton tight pants are the most common symptoms triggered by the Thanksgiving Day binge. But vast helpings of turkey, stuffing and candied sweet potatoes can take a more serious toll. The average American consumes about 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat throughout Thanksgiving Day. It’s like a tsunami of butter, cream, carbs and sugar flooding into the body.

Big meals can also raise the risk for heart attack, gallbladder pain and even dangerous drowsiness on the drive home. Every bite of food travels a complex journey through the body, touching off a simultaneous release of hormones, chemicals and digestive fluids. The average meal takes 1 to 3 hours to leave the stomach. But a large meal can take 8 to 12 hours, depending on the quantity and fat content. Still, we repeatedly put excess to the test.

MOAN, GROAN, GO FOR MORE

You’re in that “I-don’t-even-know-if-I can-get-up-from-the-table” trance. But oh, that crispy wing that somehow no one has swooped down upon yet is calling your name like the Sirens. There’s no stopping you. You swore you’d watch what you ate, but your spoon magically transforms itself into a demolition excavator. There are apps like MyFitnessPal and FatSecret that can track your calorie count and fitness goals. But your cell is probably in the other room with all the drained eggnog glasses. Then you think, “this is the only day like it in the year. This is the only day I can have all the favorites I look forward to 365 days.”  But at some point of packing it in, your gorge gauge explodes. You feel as if you’re going to explode and you start to feel sick to your stomach. No matter what your mind tries to remind you, it’s usually the gut releasing a hormone that causes the upset stomach and accompanying nausea. One good thing, is that although your stomach may feel as if it will burst, gastric rupture is extremely rare. But while your stomach won’t explode after a big Thanksgiving meal, overeating will make your body work harder. The extra digestive workload demanded by a food binge requires the heart to pump more blood to the stomach and intestines. Heavy consumption of fatty foods can also lead to changes that cause blood to clot more easily. The sudden intake of an inordinate number of calories from one sitting has other detrimental effects. The increased blood flow to your intestines means there is less blood for your other bodily functions, including your brain. When you overload on food, you can’t tell your body, “Oh, it’s just this one time.” Your body reacts to the excess food automatically. It works fast and prepares for more. It puts all your systems on alert. Your pancreas, for example, pumps out insulin to remove the excess sugar from your blood. Your liver, which helps digest fats, adjusts cholesterol levels and detoxifies your food, can be damaged by overeating. Your heart works harder to keep your body working, which it does even while you sleep it off. Regardless of the consequences, we all feast on a lot more than our eyes.

A SIDE OF SUGGESTIONS

Eating yourself silly is nothing to laugh about. But for all the butter, carbs and cream that seem to be lurking in every dish, there are tips for having a healthier day without giving up a forkful of taste or total deprival.

  • Eat a Healthy Breakfast. On the day of the party or big family feast, do not starve yourself. That will only leave you so famished that you overindulge. Instead, eat small high-protein meals or snacks every three to four hours before the big dinner.
  • Reduce Saturated Fat. At holiday parties, provide or bring veggie trays instead of traditional meat and cheese platters. Reduced fat salad dressing makes a great veggie dip, and when used in place of the full-fat version will save you at least 70 calories per serving. For every recipe, there are recipes for adapting them to be healthier flooding the web.
  • Eat More Fruit. When it comes to holiday desserts, replace the typical pies with fruit or yogurt parfait. Or make your pies with less sugar and more fruit than crust. And just remember, whipped cream is not King.
  • Drink Less Alcohol. Cut back on alcoholic drinks and drink water, fruit juice or diet soda instead. An 8-ounce eggnog with rum contains 450 calories, about 25 percent of what the average woman should have in an entire day! The average alcoholic drink contains 150-200 calories per glass. A little wine with dinner? O.K., indulge. Red wine has actually been shown to be good for you.
  • Avoid Buffet Chat. It seems that at every holiday party there is a group that congregates near the buffet table to talk. Do not be part of that group!
  • Avoid the Kitchen unless you’re the one cooking or serving. They probably don’t want you in there anyway. The kitchen is the “just picking” scene of caloric crime.
  • Eat the healthy parts of the Turkey. All turkey is not equal. Choose light meat instead of dark meat and you’ll save a lot of calories. A 3 1/2 ounce serving of sliced meat from a whole roasted turkey has either 161 calories (white meat without skin) or 192 calories (dark meat without skin).
  • Say No to Turkey Skin. Speaking of turkey, do not forget to trim off the skin before serving it up! You will save 33 to 40 calories and 4 or 5 grams of fat per serving. “(NO, NO..NOT THE TURKEY SKIN!)
  • Skim the Fat Off the Gravy. Make the gravy in advance so you have time to put it in the refrigerator. As it cools, the fat will rise to the top and solidify, allowing you to skim it off with a spoon and put it where it belongs: in the trash!
  • Eat Slowly. Do not rush the meal. It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that you’re full, so any meal should last at least that long! Take your time, eat slowly, and enjoy your family and friends.
  • Wear Tight Clothes. Wear ‘skinny’ clothes to the holiday party as a reminder to watch what you eat. Snug, tight clothes do not leave much room for bingeing!
  • Pile on the Good Stuff First. A plate can only hold so much, even the first time around. So start with the healthier choices like the turkey and it will help make less room for the rest. Leaving an inch of plate showing won’t kill you.
  • Do Not Over Feed Children. When filling up plates for the kids, only give them what they can eat. It is too tempting to just ‘finish off’ those leftovers for them. Moms, you know what we are talking about here!
  • Share Your Dessert. Follow the ‘Dessert Split’ plan: Go ahead and take something from the dessert table, but split it with a friend. If you must taste two desserts, split them with two friends. If you feel the need to sample three desserts, split them with three friends. You get the idea. That way you will get to taste all the new foods and recipes without completely breaking the calorie budget.
  • Eat Your Favorite Food. Do not attempt to deprive yourself of your absolute favorite food. This only sets you up for a disappointing binge. Instead, allow yourself one small serving of your preferred treat and really savor it.
  • Don’t Beat Yourself Up. This is not a time for panic. Overeating episodes happen to the best of us. Consider an overeating episode like a one-night stand with turkey gravy and pumpkin pie. You cannot turn back time and erase the episode. You may as well accept that it happened and move forward.

 

BE GRATEFUL

EATING TOO MUCH IS OFTEN MORE THAN JUST AN ISSUE OF WILLPOWER. THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR OVEREATING, MANY OF WHICH SCIENTISTS NOW SAY TRACE BACK TO BRAIN CHEMISTRY AND HORMONAL IMBALANCE. FOR EXAMPLE, WOMEN WITH PMS ARE NOTORIOUSLY PRONE TO BINGES AND FOOD CRAVINGS. WHICH MEANS OVEREATING ISN’T JUST A STATE OF SEASONAL DISTRESS. HORMONES THAT CAN’T SEND THE PROPER SIGNALS TO THE CELLS IN YOUR BODY, DISH UP CONDITIONS AND ONGOING AILMENTS LIKE THYROID DISEASE, AND EVEN WEIGHT LOSS RESISTANCE. AND THAT’S JUST A SHORT MENU. WHICH IS WHY PART OF YOUR PLANNING FOR THE HOLIDAYS SHOULD INCLUDE A VISIT TO

STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. AT DENVER HORMONE HEALTH TO CHECK, AND IF NECESSARY, TREAT YOUR HORMONE IMBALANCES. DR. GOLDSTEIN’S ONE GOAL IS TO SEE TO IT YOU FEEL YOUR ABSOLUTE BEST. AT THE FOREFRONT OF BIOIDENTICAL HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY, HE HAS THE EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE TO TARGET YOUR IMBALANCES WITH COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION AND SIMPLE TESTS. BASED ON THOSE RESULTS, HE CREATES A TREATMENT PLAN UNIQUELY TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS. SO GET OUT YOUR TO-DO LIST, AND ADD DR. GOLDSTEIN TO THE TOP.

CALL NOW.

AND START CELEBRATING EARLY.

EXERCISE BANDWAGON MECCA – NEVER SAY “PHOOEY” TO FITNESS

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Denver is the Fitness Mecca

Denver is one of the top ten fittest cities in the country. The fitness scene here has become a bastion of workout fanatics, which has recently reached a tipping point. A Yelp search for “gyms near Denver” yields more than 2,000 results, and it’s not difficult to determine that those numbers are genuine. Drive down any street and you’ll find a place (if not many places) to burn calories and build muscles. Many of these workout meccas are big-box gyms, others are part of a growing number of smaller or independently owned shops. CrossFit studios in particular have exploded.  Colorado may have fewer people than many states (22nd out of 50 in population), but our go-hard-or-go-home populace sustains the ninth-largest CrossFit market in the country.

HOW DENVER DOES IT

We’ve got it all. Look everywhere and there’s a league for everything for every type and age of Denverite:

Yep, Denver is definitely in a league of its own.

LATHER ON SOME SUNSCREEN AND TAKE IT OUTSIDE

Denver has countless ways to get out there and meet new people combining fitness and fun. Just pick your park.

  • Sunset yoga
  • Nordic walking classes
  • Ultimate outdoor workout meetup
  • Outdoor cycling club
  • Outdoor Zumba parties
  • Extreme teen boot camp
  • Yoga Rocks the Park
  • Fitness in the foothills
  • Outdoor training for mountain biking, trail running or hiking
  • Civic Center MOVES

http://www.civiccenterconservancy.org/event-civic-center-moves_78.html

Newbie, beginner, intermediate, disabled, advanced. Wherever you go, Denver speaks fluent fitness. And anyone can learn it.

 

MILE HIGH HORMONES

HORMONES ARE DIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN HELPING THE BODY ADAPT TO THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF MOST KINDS OF EXERCISE. TRYING TO BALANCE YOUR HORMONES NATURALLY IS A GUESSING GAME AT BEST WITH NOTHING MEDICALLY SUPPORTING IT. WHEN HORMONES GO HAYWIRE, YOU LOSE. THAT’S WHY YOUR BEST PLAN IS TO CALL DENVER HORMONE HEALTH FOR A CONSULTATION WITH DR. STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, HIS EXPERTISE GETS TO THE CORE OF WHAT’S BENCHING YOUR BODY. THEN WITH A TAILORED TREATMENT PLAN HE CAN GIVE YOU THE LIFT YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.

CALL FOR A CONSULSATION BEFORE YOUR ROUTINE DERAILS YOU. BOY, WILL YOU SCORE.