Happy Monday and welcome to your third week of our Sugar Detox!


CCP helps you stay on track!
  
Use our log to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to eliminate added sugars from our diets!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge: 
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

 
LUNCH WITH A SIDE OF SUGAR WITHDRAWALS

 
At this point, with added sugars removed from your breakfast and snacks, you may start experiencing some sugar withdrawal symptoms like fatigue, headache, crankiness, brain fog and cravings. These symptoms are perfectly normal and temporary! Stay strong, power through them, try to get adequate sleep and remember your dietary friends are protein, greens, fiber and fluids.
 
In Week 1, we mentioned the association between the microbiome and sugar consumption – both interrelated resolutions, to be revisited during our future resolution about the microbiome. Last week, we advised of the connection between sleep and sugar consumption—another example of those interrelated resolutions. Exercise is also an interrelated resolution because it helps the body “use up” excess sugar, minimizing its detrimental effects. A large UK study recently found that those with high post-prandial blood sugar had a 69% higher risk of developing dementia. Walking 10 minutes after meals helps lower elevated post-prandial blood sugar and can help take the edge off during a sugar detox, providing you with energy, lifting the brain fog and reducing headaches.

 
 
This week, we continue to remove added sugar from breakfast and snacks, and also resolve to remove added sugar from home-cooked lunches.

 
NO-ADDED-SUGAR LUNCH
 
As discussed in Week One, breakfast is typically a sugar bomb, but the sugar is easy to identify. Lunch, however, can be trickier. Hidden sugars are in everything from processed meat to salad dressing, bread, prepared soups and sauces, as well as many beverages. Remember to read the labels of your ingredients before banging the pots and pans!

PRO TIP: The amount of sugar in condiments, sauces and dressings is mind blowing. Keep them free of added sugar with most products in the Primal Kitchen line. Again, always read the label to be sure.

 
EASY MAKE-AHEAD OPTIONS

• Soup in summer? Sure! Here is one to help you make use of all that garden zucchini! Make ahead, freeze in individual servings, then grab and go from the freezer on your way to work! Pro tip: dice leftover chicken and swirl it in to make this a complete meal.

• Salads are always in season, try these 15+ Sugar-Free Salad Dressing Recipes in lieu of the bottled stuff which likely has added sugar.

• That frittata from Week One? Leftovers are another great option for lunch.

• Sheet pan dinners are a super easy way to prep a meal of protein, greens and fiber all at once! Line the pan with foil and limit your clean up! Make ahead, freeze in individual servings, grab and go from the freezer on your way to work!

• Don’t like our suggestions? By definition, most paleo recipes are unsweetened so try adding that variable to your search engine when looking for recipes free of added sugar.

 
NO TIME, IN NO TIME!

• Most Kettle & Fire soups are unsweetened. We like to add leftover rice and chopped grilled chicken to make it heartier.

• True Primal and Kevins Natural Foods offer some good, preprepared food options for days when you need grab & go. But again, check the labels as some varieties may add a touch of maple syrup, honey or molasses.

 
BETWEEN THE BREAD
Bread often has added sugar. Here are a few alternatives to try for your afternoon sandwich:

• Coconut wraps.

• Gluten-free bread.

• Buckwheat breads.

• Egg white wraps.

 
WHAT TO DRINK WITH YOUR MEAL OR THROUGHOUT THE DAY?

• Water infused with fresh fruit.
• Unsweetened iced tea (green or black).

 

• Club soda with a splash of fruit juice.

 

• Iced herbal teas (rooibos is especially tasty).

 

• Bragg’s makes a line of apple cider vinegar drinks that are sugar-free (these drinks are an acquired taste, for sure!).

 

• Unsweetened hot tea or coffee.

 

• Hot broth (Ok, maybe not in summer! But tuck that thought away for winter 😊).

 

• Wine with your meal? Here is a wine distributor who specializes in wine without added sugar (yes, they are allowed to make the wine sweeter and not add it to the label), and this is a fairly new wine on the market which is commercially available in stores. In both cases, whites drink better than reds- read the reviews before committing your wallet. Beer does not typically add sugar in the brewing process but check the labels on IPAs and micro-brews!

We will see you next Monday for the final week of our Sugar Detox!

 
Happy Monday! We hope you read labels with a fresh eye last week and tried some new breakfast recipes without added sugar!
 
This week, our resolution is to continue to keep sugar out of breakfast and to also remove added sugar from our snacks.

CCP helps you stay on track!
Use our log to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to eliminate added sugars from our diets!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge: 
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

 
Cutting Added Sugar from Breakfast and Snacks

In February when we resolved to Sleep Better, we discussed the connection between poor sleep and poor food decisions. People who under-sleep consume 500-800 more calories per day, mostly through snacks and typically in the form of fat and added sugar. Sleep and sugar consumption are another example of two resolutions with a strong inter-relationship.
 
So, let’s say you didn’t sleep well last night. You had a no-added-sugar breakfast, but you are longing for some energy or just some crunch to get you between meals. What are your options? In general, no-added-sugar trail mix (much dried fruit has sugar added, so be sure to always read those labels!) travels well and can be kept in a purse or glove box for emergencies.

 
 
Here are a few other snack ideas:
 
On the sweet side options:

• There is always plain fruit!

 

• Or try a sliced banana, no-added-sugar nut butter and some unsweetened cacao nibs.

 

• Another satisfying option: plain yogurt with unsweetened cacao nibs or unsweetened Granola.

 

• There are plenty of no-added-sugar fruit & nut bars out there. The original Rx Bars have egg whites for protein and are a little more balanced than the rest. We really like the kid sizes for better portion control. They also make nut butters and oatmeal. Be aware, the breakfast bars are sweetened.

 

• You can make your own bars if you are so inclined, read labels to be sure the dried fruit does not have added sugar.

 

• How about this cookie recipe without added sugar.

 

• There are literally hundreds of recipes online for unsweetened energy balls. Here is one to get you started.

 
Savory options:

• Hard boiled eggs.

 

• Sliced fresh real turkey (the processed stuff will have added sugar).

 

• Avocado (eat it right out of the shell with a spoon!).

 

• Roasted chickpeas.

 

• Edamame.

 

• Toasted seaweed.

PRO TIP: If you’re a dessert person, most of the sweet snack ideas above will satisfy dessert, too! And don’t forget protein, greens, fiber and fluids are your friends! If you have access to a blender, a half-scoop of protein powder or plain yogurt with a little fruit, dark greens, and ice will take the edge off!
 
We will see you next week when we tackle lunch!

We hope you enjoyed America’s 250th birthday! Now that we are halfway through the year, we hope you have made improvements in your sleep, are exercising more and with greater intensity, staying hydrated and consuming more FnVs.

Our July mini resolution is to reduce our intake of added sugar to our diet.

CCP helps you stay on track!

Use our log to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to up our fruit and veggie (FnVs) consumption!

For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

Why a Sugar Detox?


Excessive consumption of sugar can lead to adverse effects on the brain and cognition.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been unofficially referred to as Type 3 Diabetes in research. While this is a misnomer because it fails to acknowledge all the other modifiable lifestyle factors and nonmodifiable environmental and genetic factors that influence the development and progression of AD, it does drive home the point about the threat to neurological health posed by excessive sugar consumption.

A 2023 U.S.-based study on adult men and women found those with the highest daily consumption of table sugar teaspoons (58 grams or 14 teaspoons) had nearly twice the risk of developing AD than those with the lowest intake (27 grams or 7 teaspoons).

Keep in mind, the recommended maximum consumption of daily teaspoons of sugar for women is 6, and for men, 9. (That is the ceiling, not the goal.) The average American consumes 17 teaspoons of sugar!



How does sugar impact the brain? 


• A diet high in added sugar promotes inflammation. This includes neuroinflammation which, as discussed, leads to neuronal injury, and even death of brain cells. Neuroinflammation is implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD), AD, dementia, schizophrenia, MS and ALS.

• A diet high in added sugar negatively impacts the microbiome. This is an example of the many inter-related resolutions we will discuss in 2026—the microbiome’s connection to brain health will be another mini resolution for later this year!

• A diet high in added sugar damages blood vessels, including those in the brain. The blood-brain barrier is a filter, composed of capillaries (small blood vessels) designed to protect the brain and central nervous system from pathogens and toxins. A diet high in added sugar reduces the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, increasing permeability.

• A diet high in sugar leads to insulin resistance in the body and brain. Insulin resistance in the brain reduces the available energy to neurons which leads to the development of amyloid and tau. Amyloid prevents brain cells from communicating with one another and tau causes neuronal death.

• A diet high in added sugar can lead to Type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes, caused and affected by modifiable lifestyle factors, has been said to nearly double one’s risk of AD and other forms of dementia. Prediabetes also increases that risk.



Mini resolution: And thus, this month, we will be removing added sugar from the diet to limit ourselves to 6 teaspoons a day (women) or 9 teaspoons a day (men).


To be clear, for our purposes this month, we are discussing added sugar. Sugars that occur naturally in food are generally OK for the average person, with some exceptions. Nature wraps up sugar in a package of fiber, vitamins and minerals that makes it a wholesome option. On the other hand, added sugar is where the trouble begins.


Goal: We hope this process will help you treat sugar as just that, a treat-and not an acceptable ingredient in every meal. 


Don’t worry, we aren’t going to ask you to go cold turkey out of the gate! Our plan is to remove added sugar from one meal at a time. We will begin with breakfast—the WORST offender in most folks’ diets.


Outside of the sugar that’s obvious in cakes and candies, for example, added sugar is hidden in many foods such as bacon, ketchup, cold cuts, salad dressing and nut butters to name a few that surprise most folks. As a result, we must learn to read labels. Keep in mind, manufacturers have a litany of names of added sugars/sweeteners you may not be familiar with, so vigilant label-reading is imperative! Here is a list of those hidden names.
 
Most food manufacturers are now required to list the added sugars on the nutrition label. But it may be difficult for the average consumer to understand because it’s listed as a percentage of your total daily intake, rather than in teaspoons. Here is an image of how the labels appear. How many people actually know many calories they consume each day to ascertain the percentage of added sugars they’re consuming?


Here is a simple formula to make it easy for you to calculate added sugars:

• Added sugars are listed on labels in grams, and there are 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon. 

• Divide the total grams of added sugar by 4 and you have the total teaspoons in a single serving of that food item. 

For example, one single serving of vanilla Activia yogurt has 12 grams of added sugar. So the equation is 12 divided by 4, which equals 3 teaspoons of sugar in that one little container!

Here is a printable handout for your refrigerator: 



Free of sugar but “sugar-free”?


Don’t be tempted to buy sugar-free substitutes! In most cases, they are worse for you than sugar!


It is established that artificial sweeteners:
• Adjust the palate toward requiring sweeter tasting foods, leading to more sugar consumption. This is because they taste inherently sweeter than sugar itself, shifting the expectation of the palate.

• Make you hungrier: That’s right, you can’t fool Mother Nature! When we consume food, the palate sends signals to the brain to expect food/calories. When the promised calories are not forthcoming, the brain objects and sends hunger signals making you consume more calories.

• Adjust the gut microbiome towards obesity: It’s sad but true—there are gut microorganisms that lend themselves towards obesity, and artificial sweeteners feed those bugs, increasing their population in your gut.


We know the messaging on sugar substitutes can be confusing. Indeed, virtually all the messaging about nutrition has been conflicting and confusing. Why is that? Here is a link to a past Motivated Mondays Special Edition explaining why nutrition research is difficult to digest (no pun intended!).

So now you know the ceiling—not the goal, but the cap—on how much added sugar to consume in a day (women = 6 teaspoons, men = 9 teaspoons) and how to find and calculate sugar on a label. Geared up with all this information, what will you eat for your no-added-sugar breakfast this week? There is always a veggie omelet, plain oatmeal with banana and unsweetened peanut butter, or a smoothie made with protein (unsweetened yogurt or protein powder), leafy greens and frozen fruit.


Here are a few additional recipes to consider:



For those accustomed to cereal in the morning
• How about a bowl of this to trick the brain into thinking it’s getting its cereal?

• For adventurers, there are recipes out there for breakfast soups. Here is one example. 


Salad for breakfast! Yes, protein, greens and fiber are served right up in this recipe!

No time? Make-ahead this veggie frittata or change up the pan and make egg muffins. There are also Grab-n-Go breakfast options, like these waffles or freeze-dried meals.

And remember these from our last resolution to eat more FnVs? Top with no-added-sugar nut butter instead of syrup:
• Plantain Waffles
• Sweet Potato Waffles
• Banana Pancakes


PRO TIP: Keep in mind throughout the month that a few things will tame sugar cravings including protein, greens, fiber and plenty of fluids (with no added sugar, of course!).

We will see you next week when we take added sugars out of snacks!

 
By now, we hope you are finding it easier to eat more FnVs and that maybe you’ve explored a new recipe or two. Today, we’re tackling breakfast and dessert. This is kind of ironic since a typical American breakfast has as much sugar as a dessert. The recipes below are lightly sweetened with natural sugars, which are a marginally better option than white table sugar, meaning they retain some of their original micronutrients—they were not stripped away in the processing/bleaching handling.


CCP helps you stay on track!
 
 
 
Use our log to to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to up our fruit and veggie (FnVs) consumption!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
 
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

 
From the era of the Snackwell cookie (ultimate UPF!), most of us are familiar with the trick of adding applesauce or pumpkin to our baking to increase the texture/moisture in low fat desserts. We have all made our fair share of fruit crisps and pies or banana and zucchini breads, but here we wholesale swap out the grains for FnVs. Plantains, pumpkin, sweet potato and beets take center stage in these recipes which are prepared in a blender and either lightly sweetened or have no added sugar at all.

 
BREAKFAST

WAFFLES

 
Sweet Potato Waffles - No Added Sweetener
Plantain Waffles - No Added Sweetener

PANCAKES

Plantain Pancakes
Pumpkin Pancakes

MUFFINS

Cherry Plantain Muffins
Beet Chocolate Muffins

 
DESSERT

ICE CREAM

 
Everyone screams for ice cream, even when it’s not actually a “cream” but a fruit dessert made from the Yonanas Classic Frozen Dessert Maker.

POPS

 
Kids won’t know their Green Monster Ice Pops have spinach in them, they will just know they are delicious! Kids can easily pitch in and help make their own chocolate banana pops. The recipe calls for sprinkles, but you can be creative with chopped nuts or shredded coconut too. Let the kids choose their topping!
 
Green Monster Ice Pops
Chocolate Banana Pops

BROWNIES

 
If you aren’t super comfy in the kitchen, or unsure about trying new recipes, then a brownie is the way to go. Brownies are the most forgiving baked good, it doesn’t matter if the top sinks, cracks, or domes, it doesn’t need to rise and there is always an audience for an over cooked edge. The first recipe uses beets as the base. Chocolate is a great way to hide your beets!
 
Beet Brownies
Sweet Potato Brownies

COOKIES

 
Even the fussiest Cookie Monster will devour these veggie-based cookies!
 
Zucchini Almond Butter Cookies
Carrot Cake Power Cookies

CAKE

 
These cakes cook up more like a torte, because of the absence of flour. PLEASE let us know if you try the banana-avocado frosting!
 
Purple Velvet Torte
Chocolate Cake with Banana-Avocado Frosting

That wraps up our resolution to eat more FnVs! Did you have a favorite recipe from this past month? If so, let us know! We’ll see you next week for a new resolution!

Good morning! We hope you tried a salad-a-day last week and saw how easy it is to hit the goal of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (FnVs) each day.
 
In these next few weeks, we’re moving beyond the obvious salad onto different ways to substitute and replace grains with FnVs in some of your favorite dishes.

CCP helps you stay on track!

Use our log to to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to up our fruit and veggie (FnVs) consumption!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

 
You probably remember the old government-issued food pyramid from the low-fat craze of the 90’s… The same food guide pyramid which told us to eat SEVEN servings of grains per day? (Keep in mind this was the SAME food pyramid which also incorrectly told us eggs were a dairy product! That isn’t even anatomically correct!) Well, that’s just bonkers! Importantly, eating all those grains crowds your plate of more nutrient-dense foods like FnVs (and protein, but that’s another story). So, for the next two weeks we will be showing you how to replace those grains with FnVs, which are more nutritious and carb/diet friendly.

This week, we’re starting with pasta, noodle and rice substitutes and recipes. Need a little guidance in the kitchen? Ask us! We have a retired chef on board.

 
Spaghetti Squash

 
Spaghetti Squash is probably the OG pasta substitute. It is, literally, a squash that, when cooked, produces strings of squash resembling noodles or pasta. It can be prepared in the oven or nuked and then treated like pasta or noodles with toppings.

PREPARING SPAGHETTI SQUASH

 
How to Prepare Spaghetti Squash:

• In the oven.

• In the microwave.

• There is also a dehydrated version on the market which can be rehydrated and then topped. The jury is out on pre-prepared spaghetti squash, but we guess it’s probably convenient for camping. 

RECIPES

 
The recipes for spaghetti squash are endless! Getting started is easy by subbing out your pasta for spaghetti squash, and here are some more unusual recipe options for this versatile veggie.  

 
Noodled FnVs

 
In 1991, as part of the raw food movement, it started with “zoodles” (noodles made out of zucchini) and quickly progressed to boodles (noodles made out of beets), coodles (noodles made out of carrots) and now most all FnVs can be noodled—even red cabbage!

PREPARING FNV-BASED NOODLES

 
In the early days, folks had to invest in a large countertop spiralizer. Now, most grocery stores sell them pre-noodled for you, fresh or frozen.

RECIPES

 
Here are some recipes ready to go with your purchased veggie noodles. Keep in mind-they can replace pasta/noodles in a hot dish- but are also great as an alternative to lettuce in a salad, like this one!
 
Firm fruit can also be spiralized! Guests at the next BBQ will be dazzled by your spiralized fruit salad and kids will gobble up your fruit crumble recipe.

 
Other Noodle Options

 
Palmini—hearts of palm pasta—is a fairly new player to the market. There is an entire line of palmini pasta alternatives, including lasagna noodles. These cook up a little firmer, more al dente than typical veggie noodles.
 
Shirataki noodles have been around a while and are made from the fiber of the Konjac plant. They are decidedly NOT for everyone except for those adventurous eaters out there. (Coach Michele likes them!)

 
Rice Alternatives

 
As with the noodles, riced vegetables are more nutritious and carb/dieter friendly. And just like the noodles, they also can be made at home or purchased fresh or frozen by the Green Giant and Trader Joe’s. and Palmini has a hearts of palm rice version of their products too.
 
Once you have your riced veggies, you can search for riced vegetable recipes like risottos, sushi, fried rice, or even “rice” pudding—the possibilities are endless!

See you next week for breakfast and dessert!

Welcome to week 2 of your mini resolution to eat more FnVs (fruits & veggies)! Today, we’ll focus on strategies for incorporating salads into our daily diets—arguably one of the easiest ways to incorporate those extra FnVs beyond eating your 7 servings of raw fruit and veggies straight up. 

CCP helps you stay on track!
   
Use our log to to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to up our fruit and veggie (FnVs) consumption!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
 mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

​A Salad A Day…

The salad-a-day strategy requires some advanced planning, shopping and prepping but it’s worth it! Remember from last week: those who consume at least two servings of leafy green veggies each day have been found to be 11 years cognitively younger than those who rarely or never consumed them.
 
Constructing a salad is as simple as greens, protein, some crunch, herbs and dressing. But if you want more detailed instruction, here is a good article to help you “freestyle” your salad or recreate a composed salad.
 
Start by deciding if you want small side salads with meals or salad as a meal itself and then decide on your greens. There is always the tried-and-true iceberg or romaine, but maybe you want to experiment with one of these greens.

Here are a few salad recipes to use—think of these as your FnV roadmaps! But feel free to take a detour and forge your own path to a delicious recipe:

• Salad for breakfast! You know it! A poached egg coats those greens with all the beautiful yoke-ness!

• Skip the takeout and try this Asian inspired salad. Top with your protein of choice to make it a complete meal.  

• If it’s taco Tuesday, try making it into this deconstructed taco in a bowl recipe.

NOW FOR THE DRESSING…

Bottled dressings are rarely health-promoting and are often full of mystery ingredients like UPFs! But if you are in a pinch, Primal Kitchen has a clean line of salad dressings. If you have some extra time, we suggest you make your own! Here are a few recipes to consider.

 
THE POWER OF XVOO
 
The best health-promoting dressing base is extra virgin olive oil (XVOO). Its benefits are so powerful, it is the primary fat in the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay).
 
XVOO is known to enhance absorption of certain nutrients like lycopene, which is found in tomatoes.
 
Additionally, observational studies in humans suggest XVOO can quench neuroinflammation, improve the integrity of the blood bran barrier and potentially clear the amyloid and tau associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In a recent observational study, those who consumed more extra-virgin olive oil had a 28% reduced risk of developing dementia; this held true even when the researchers controlled for other healthy behaviors in their analysis.

REMEMBER THE EXTRA IN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL WHEN MAKING YOUR PURCHASE—IT MATTERS!

 
Now that you are stocking up in the produce aisle, you may be wondering about whether organic produce is worth the extra coin. You can read our Special Edition, “Buying Organic Produce – Is it Worth It?”

We’ll be back next week with more tips on upping your FnVs consumption!

CCP helps you stay on track!
  
Use our log to to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to up our fruit and veggie (FnVs) consumption!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
 
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com

​INTRODUCING YOUR NEXT MINI RESOLUTION: EAT MORE “FnVs”!

This month, your mini resolution is to strive for 7 servings of fruit and vegetables (FnVs) a day. For the next several weeks, we will provide you with different strategies to achieve your daily goal and will include recipes. We will also continue to track success with hydration, exercise, and sleep. Record it all in your log!
 
Wondering what counts as a serving of fruit & veggies? Here is a handy graphic you may refer to when logging your intake!

HEALTHY BRAINS LOVE FRUIT AND VEGGIES!

One aspect of a healthy brain diet is prioritizing fruit and vegetables.
 
To be clear, fruit & veggies (FnVs) shouldn’t comprise the entirety of one’s plate, but a substantial portion is recommended. This is because FnVs are chock full of micronutrients, antioxidants and fiber which either outright prevent neurodegeneration or slow disease progression once it has initiated. Here is how:

• Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and antioxidants in FnVs quench neurological inflammation and oxidative stress preserving neurons (brain cells). The brain is particularly sensitive to the free radical damage caused by inflammation. Alzheimer’s disease has been referred to as a “brain on fire” due to the inflammation often associated with the disease.

 

• Antioxidants in FnVs also fortify the junctions in the blood brain barrier- which is a selective gatekeeper designed to protect the brain. Tight junctions keep pathogens and toxins out.

 

• Some antioxidants directly impact memory and Executive Function.

 

• Some vitamins and minerals in FnVs enhance communication between neurons by providing precursor nutrients for the production of certain neurotransmitters, such as melatonin, serotonin and dopamine.

 

• Fiber in FnVs is critical for a diverse gut microbiome (GMB), there is a direct connection between diversity in the GMB and neurodegenerative diseases. We have a future mini resolution about the GMB.

 

• All the nutrition in FnVs (fiber, micronutrients and antioxidants) is critical for preventing chronic diseases which are independent risk factors for neurodegeneration, such as hypertension, diabetes, CKD, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

AND… DID YOU KNOW?

Increasing your daily consumption of FnVs essentially crowds out poor food choices. One study found that replacing 10% of ultra-processed foods (UPFs – as discussed last week!) in the diet with minimally processed foods participants lowered risk of dementia by 19%.

 
WHY 7 SERVINGS?
 
You might be saying, “Hey, why so many? The government says I only need 5 servings a day!” Keep in mind, government recommendations for nutrition are minimal standards to support life and prevent overt disease (think scurvy or rickets). We are looking to optimize our nutrition to build brains which are resilient to degeneration. A meta-analysis found that in a stepwise fashion, every 100 grams of FnVs each day (1/2 cup) was related to a 13% reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. So, we are reaching beyond the government recommendations.
 
If you are already consuming 7 servings a day, we don’t want you to be bored! We offer you the opportunity to participate in a challenge to eat 30 different types of plant-based foods a week.

 
IS IT TOO LATE TO MAKE A CHANGE?
 
Some of you may be thinking it’s too late in life to make dietary changes, but recent studies on cognitive function have shown people over age 60 benefit more from increased FnV consumption than children and adolescents. What aspect of cognitive function is most impacted by FnVs intake? Executive function (specifically verbal memory) is linked to a diet high in FnVs.
 
Blueberries and green leafy vegetables in particular are frequently cited in research for their cognitive benefits. One study found those who consumed at least two servings a day of green leafy vegetables were cognitively younger by 11 years than those who rarely or never consumed them.

 
MINI RESOLUTIONS WORK TOGETHER!

Our resolutions interact synergistically! You can revisit the content from our past mini resolutions here.

Exercise & FnVs
A longitudinal study found those who both exercise and consume a diet high in FnVs demonstrate exponentially less cognitive decline than those who only reported each independent variable.
Sleep & FnVs
Another study found that self-reported daily consumption of FnVs can buffer the cognitive impairment associated with poor sleep quality and atypical sleep duration (both too much and too little).

We’ll see you next week for a NEW mini resolution!

Welcome to the 3rd and final week of our mini resolution to stay hydrated! We hope you have been finding new ways to quench your thirst. As you know, we are suggesting 8 cups of water a day and we’re encouraging folks to check their urine for hydration status! Here is that chart again in case you need it!


CCP helps you stay on track!
 
Use our log to to track your progress toward our mini resolution.
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
 
mmccambridge@ccpmd.com



Signs of Dehydration

Know the signs of dehydration—beyond urine color—and grab some water and/or seek medical attention if you think you may be dehydrated:

• Unexplained sluggishness – if nothing else has changed in your daily routine (sleep, exercise, etc.) then maybe you need some water.

 

• Palpitations – blood volume decreases in dehydration (it has less water in it) which causes an increase in heart rate to compensate.

 

• Headaches – typical dehydration headaches feel like a dull ache or tightening all over the head (like a tension headache), but dehydration can also trigger migraines.

 

• Inability to concentrate – suffering from brain fog? It might be your hydration levels. Not only does dehydration result in reduced memory and executive function, but it can also increase anxiety and foul moods.

 

• Bad breath – dehydration results in reduced body fluid production, including saliva-which serves the very important function of bathing the teeth and       oral mucosa in enzyme rich oral fluids.

 

• Dry skin – think of the cells in your body as a sponge. When a sponge is dry it shrivels up, hard and dry. When it is wet, it is pliable, soft and voluminous. This is most evident in your skin cells. In fact, a test of serious dehydration is called a skin turgor test. This is when the skin is pinched to see if it holds a tented shape. If it does, serious dehydration has set in.

 

• Chills – if dehydrated, the body conserves blood flow to vital organs, redirecting flow from the skin causing you to feel more cold than typical.

 

• Muscle cramps – water has electrolytes (sodium and potassium), which are necessary for muscle contractions, an absence of electrolytes can force the muscle to spasm involuntarily.

 

• Sweet tooth cravings/hunger – if the liver doesn’t have enough hydration, it sends signals to the brain for food (it confuses dehydration with starvation), usually something glycogen rich like sweets.

 
DEHYDRATION DEVICES
 
Wearable devices that detect hydration levels are rapidly entering the market. Google “dehydration detection devices” to see what’s new in wearables to keep you alert to your hydration status.

 
This concludes our hydration mini resolution, but we encourage you to keep up with your progress from all your mini resolutions thus far. As always, feel free to reach us with any questions and we’ll see you next week for a new resolution.