The CragBaby

I’m currently making the 16 hour trek from Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, Arkansas to Hueco Tanks, Texas.  Last night I put in 5 hours of the drive, which went by surprisingly quickly thanks to podcasts.  Some of my favorite podcasts include WSJ: This Morning (allowing me to keep apprised of business news), The Economist (I enjoy their world news coverage), Barack Obama’s Weekly Radio Addresss (though only 5 minutes long, it is inspirational) and Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (my favorite podcast, though completely silly).  I’m always trying out new podcasts and today I found a great one: The Nutrition Diva.

The Nutrition Diva provides 5 minute long podcasts addressing health topics that I truly am interested in, for instance “Organic, Schmorgaic”, “Just the Flax, Ma’am”, “Is Going Meatless the Answer”, “High Fructose Hysteria” and many more.  I catch myself learning so many great facts that I can easily implement in my life.

Some of the great take-aways I learned yesterday were:

• High fructose corn syrup isn’t any worse than normal sugar.  What is more important is watching how much sugar is consumed.  On average, the normal person should intake less than 50 grams of sugar.
• High fiber diets are great because they help you lose weight, prevents disease, keeps you regular and fiber is usually found in foods that contain vitamins and antioxidants.  One should try to consume at least 25 grams a day, though ideal consumption would be between 35 – 40 grams.
• Organic is not always nutritionally better than conventional fruits and vegetables.  It instead depends on how fresh the vegetable is, meaning when it was picked.  However, organic is substantially better for the environment and for personal pesticide ingestion.  If on a tight budget and can’t always afford organic, follow the Dirty Dozen rule.  Avoiding or buying organic of these 12 fruits and vegetables will cut your pesticide ingestion by 90%: peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, spinach, lettuce, imported grapes and potatoes.
• Flaxseed really is all that it has been hyped up to because it is high in fiber and protein, includes high contents of ligands (protection against cancer) and is very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids..  For full benefits, the flaxseed must be in a ground up form and kept in a refrigerator once it is opened.  Buy it in small packages and try to use within a couple weeks.
• Raw vegetables do contain the most vitamins and minerals and how you cook them can have a significant impact.  Here are the cooking techniques from worst to best. Worst: cook foods for a long time and throw away the cooking water.  Better: boil or stew foods, but incorporate liquids into the dish or another dish.  Good: steam foods or microwave them.  Best: don’t cook them at all.
• Nuts are a great snack, but too much can easily pack on the pounds.  The key is to have two tablespoons of nut butter (peanut butter, etc.) or one handful of nuts.  There isn’t one nut that is better for you than others rather each one provides different benefits.  Peanuts are high in protein; almonds are high in fiber; English walnuts high in antioxidants.  Cashews, unlike the myth, are not any fattier than the previously mentioned nuts; whereas, pecans are the fattiest out of the bunch.

Nutriential Diva really is quite an intriguing podcast.  If you listen to it, feel free to post up your thoughts and / or favorite episode.