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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: [email protected] 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
NO TIME, IN NO TIME!
BETWEEN THE BREAD Bread often has added sugar. Here are a few alternatives to try for your afternoon sandwich: WHAT TO DRINK WITH YOUR MEAL OR THROUGHOUT THE DAY?
We will see you next Monday for the final week of our Sugar Detox!
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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: [email protected] 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:
Savory options:
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: [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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:
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: [email protected] 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:
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: [email protected] 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:
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! Hello and happy Monday! Before kicking off our next mini resolution to eat more fruits and vegetables, let’s dive into today’s Special Edition of Motivated Mondays: Ultra-processed foods and their relationship with cognitive decline!
In today’s fast-paced world, grocery shopping has transformed into a complex experience filled with a large array of choices. Among these options, processed and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become staples for many, offering convenience and instant gratification. But as our carts fill with brightly packaged snacks and ready-to-eat meals, it’s crucial to pause and consider what we’re really putting into our bodies. And recent media coverage has shone the spotlight on just how harmful these UPFs can be. In order to better understand health outcomes and inform food policy, researchers have created four food categories based on their degree of processing: 1. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods 2. Oils, fats, salt, and sugar 3. Processed foods 4. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) CCP helps you stay on track! Download the log for this week. For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge: [email protected] What is the definition of “ultra-processed foods”? In general, UPFs are industrial formulations primarily composed of chemically modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance, and durability, with minimal to no inclusion of whole foods. As American molecular biologist and nutritionist Dr. Marion Nestle points out, UPFs are foods you could not make at home due to a lack of the necessary equipment and ingredients. UPFs are typically inexpensive, high in salt, sugar and fat, but low in fiber, protein and the nutrients found in the original foods. Do you recall the old ad, “No one can eat just one?” UPFs have been chemically engineered to be hyper-palatable—in other words, they are lab-created foods designed to encourage individuals to eat beyond the point of satiety. EXAMPLES OF UPFs Snacks: Chips, biscuits, cakes, pastries, sweets, chocolate, and ice cream. Processed meats: Sausages, hot dogs, deli meats, and chicken nuggets. Drinks: Sugar-sweetened beverages, energy drinks, and fruit drinks. Ready meals: Frozen pizzas, pre-prepared pasta dishes, and packaged pies. Breakfast cereals: Especially those with added sugars, artificial colors, and flavors. Bread: Mass-produced packaged bread often contains additives. Condiments: Bottled sauces and dressings. Health Risks As Americans, 58% of our daily caloric intake comes from UPFs, displacing minimally processed, nutritious food in the diet, especially fruit and vegetables. Alarmingly, more than 1,500 observational studies on UPFs indicate a strong, linear association between UPF consumption and mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders including diabetes, and mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. All of these are known risk factors for cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. So, can’t the lab just add the nutrients back into UPFs to restore health benefits? No, and here’s why. Processing food alters its chemical and physical properties, leading to a dietary reconstitution that affects not only the nutrients in the food item itself but also how or if those nutrients can be absorbed. Furthermore, industrial processing can produce harmful substances such as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), trans fats, furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The additives—emulsifiers, coloring agents, artificial sweeteners, and nitrates/nitrites—must also be considered, as they can disrupt the gut microbiome. These additives have been studied for safety as individual ingredients, yet they are often consumed together as a “cocktail,” which may amplify negative effects on human health. Additionally, contaminants in packaging such as bisphenols, microplastics, mineral oils and phthalates pose further health risks. The body perceives these chemicals as foreign, triggering a cascading inflammatory response often referred to as “fast food fever.” Collectively, these factors result in elevated circulating biomarkers indicating oxidative stress and cellular damage. A Closer Look at the Research The research on UPFs is fairly new, dating back only to 2010, but the findings so far are troubling and show there is likely a direct, yet to be established, mechanism of action where UPFs negatively impact neurological health. Presently we understand the relationship to be inflammatory in nature, directly related to comorbidities such as cardiometabolic diseases and mental health disorders and likely linked to changes in the microbiome (a future mini-resolution) affecting the gut-brain axis. A rare clinical trial (PMID 31105044) supports further observational findings on ultra-processed foods (UPFs). In a 4-week controlled study, participants alternated between UPF-based diets and minimally processed diets, matched for calories and nutrients. On the UPF diet, they consumed roughly 500 more calories daily and gained 2 pounds on average. By contrast, on the minimally processed diet, participants lost 2 pounds and showed improved hunger hormone profiles and metabolic markers. Moreover, studies regarding UPFs, cognitive decline and neurodegeneration have found a direct, dose-response association between consumption of UPFs and the development of dementia, meaning more UPFs consumed could mean a greater risk of cognitive decline and/or dementia. Conversely, replacing just 10% of UPFs in the diet with a proportional equivalent of minimally processed foods has been estimated to reduce the risk of dementia by 19%, a finding that gives credence to the value of minimally processed diets, such as the Mediterranean and Nordic Diets. Just last month, a groundbreaking study identified a strong association between long-term consumption of UPFs and the development of non-motor prodromal Parkinson’s disease (PD) features, including partial loss of the ability to smell, daytime sleepiness, body pain, impaired color vision and depressive symptoms. What does all of this mean for you? It’s all a matter of making better choices, namely, eating real food! WHAT IS REAL FOOD? Simply ask yourself, “Did my grandmother eat this food,” or “Can I make this at home?” or “Are the listed ingredients sold on grocery shelves?” If the answer is “no,” don’t put it in your grocery cart. Consuming UPFs has become second nature to many and being mindful of what you’re eating is half the battle. This week, use our log to create awareness of your UPF consumption, tracking each processed food item you eat throughout each day. You may be surprised by your findings! Next month, our mini resolution will be to eat more fruit and vegetables (FnVs), and we hope that in creating awareness of your UPF consumption, you will start to become more inclined to reach for FnVs instead of UPFs. If you need additional guidance on how to make better choices, you can try the Yuka app. Just scan your item’s barcode and the app will provide a grade for that item out of 100, as well as better food alternatives. Sometimes the alternatives include items with artificial sweeteners—we recommend avoiding those! 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: [email protected] 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:
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. Welcome to Week 2 of our hydration resolution! This week, we’re exploring why dehydration becomes more common as we age and sharing simple strategies to help you stay well-hydrated.
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: [email protected] Aging and Dehydration From an evolutionary perspective, our bodies were built to be their own portable water source. Like a canteen, about 80% of our total body water is stored in our muscles. Age-related reductions in muscle mass mean a smaller water reservoir from which the body can rely on when consumption is inadequate. This loss of muscle mass is exacerbated by inactivity and low protein consumption. (You may wish to revisit last month’s mini resolution Track 2 for insights on strength training.) Within the brain are cells known as astrocytes, which regulate our water intake mechanisms. As we age, astrocytes in our brains atrophy, impairing the circulating signals which trigger thirst. The combination of reduced muscle mass (your portable canteen for water) and atrophied astrocytes mean there is less fluid from which the body can draw upon in times of necessity, and the brain is less likely to sense the need for fluid intake. The icing on the cake? Certain medications can increase fluid loss, either intentionally or as a side effect. It is also common for older adults to take multiple medications to treat various conditions, known as polypharmacy, potentiating dehydration even further. This is why understanding your own urine is so important! Your urine will let you know if you need fluids before your brain will. Pinkies Up! Creative Ways to Drink More Water How can you drink more water? Here are some tips: Consciously make it part of your day:
If you find water boring, spruce it up:
Eat your water! Roughly 16% of our daily water intake comes from food. Choosing foods higher in water content can be a better option when trying to stay hydrated. Some options include:
In Week 1, we had mentioned that dehydration may accelerate the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and can exacerbate symptoms, such as confusion and agitation. And, unfortunately, those with dementia are more prone to dehydration because they are less likely to be able to monitor their fluid intake and/or communicate their needs to caregivers. A new product on the market, Jelly Drops, is designed with the elderly and those with dementia in mind so they can “eat” their hydration and intake can be monitored. Please consult your concierge physician before trying this product. If the safety of your water is a concern, you can visit the Environmental Working Group’s webpage, input your zip code and utility company, and they will advise you of common contaminants in your water supply and make recommendations for the type of water filter to purchase. Are you feeling thirsty yet? We’ll see you next week to discuss signs of dehydration. Until then, drink up! |
AuthorMichele is the Senior VP of Membership Development at Concierge Choice Physicians. She is also a professional in the areas of nutrition, fitness and wellness. Archives
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