By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

We all know what a fuel efficient car is, well at least the basic idea behind it. I mean, I couldn’t point one out to you on the street’ and if you wanted to tell me to look for one you would have to say something like, “Abra, the red one, the small red car” then I would get it. A fuel efficient car reserves energy so as not to gobble up fuel, it saves money, it’s better for the environment, and overall makes a lot of logical sense.

But when I tell people that in the winter our bodies are looking for ways to conserve energy, to be more fuel efficient, I am met with resistance. Slow down? Conserve energy?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that people should live in harmony with their environment, to honor the seasons and their affect on our bodies.

In winter nature slows down, hibernates, the energy of the earth goes inward and internally begins the process of renewal for spring. To live in harmony with your environment during the season of winter means to honor the same principle: slow down, calm down, conserve energy allowing your body to prepare for renewal in the spring. Winter health in TCM is focused on the kidneys. Kidney health is the core of vitality, the source of strength throughout the body. When the kidneys are weak we age faster than we should, we feel more tired, our sex drive is decreased and their is an overall lethargy throughout the body.

To embrace winter and all the glorious peaceful qualities that come along with it align your food and exercise regimen with the season.
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by Shelby Kaho from Celiacs in the House

When I come home for the weekend, I try to cram in as much time with my friends as I can, but Saturday night and Sunday before I head back to school, I get down to business and cook for a solid few hours preparing gluten-free food to put in my dorm room mini-fridge freezer. The menu usually consists of fried rice with lots of veggies, grilled or baked chicken cut into small slices, sautéed asparagus, black beans, sweet and sour sauce to put on the chicken and/or steak, ravioli with sauce, steak cut into strips and sautéed, pizza, French toast, and chocolate chip cookies. I pack everything in quart sized freezer bags that I fill halfway, release the air and flatten the contents. This makes everything flat and stackable. It also makes it easier to break off single servings if the food is in a thin layer and cut up into small pieces.

I also stock up my fridge with corn tortillas for microwave quesadillas, shredded cheese (I put this on rice bowls, quesadillas, etc…), fruit cups, microwaveable sausages, lunch meat, fruit smoothies, and kefir. I also have several drawers full of the items that don’t need to be refrigerated. Some of my staples are microwaveable rice, gluten-free pretzels, chips, bread, fruit snacks, and beef jerky.

My strategy is to cover the basics like protein and carbohydrate so that I know I won’t go hungry and will always have what I need available to me. I also keep a collection of spices and sauces to make things less monotonous. My favorites to keep on hand are tamari, mayonnaise, hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder and chipotle powder.

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Aimee E. Raupp is the author of Chill Out and Get Healthy– a no nonsense guide for women on improving their health now. As well she is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist with a masters of science in Traditional Oriental Medicine. For more information visit AimeeRaupp.com.

Everyone’s talking about gluten these days. Is it just hype or are wheat and other gluten containing foods bad for us? The short answer is yes.

Let me explain. Gluten is a large, water-soluble protein that makes doughy things doughier. It is comprised of two proteins: gliadin and glutenin and is found in grains like wheat, rye and barely (click here for a concise list of gluten containing foods.) As well, since gluten is such a good thickener, these days we can find it in most packaged and processed foods and candy. Gluten has become a staple of the American diet and our health is suffering because of it.

“How?” You ask.

Gluten is a very inflammatory substance that is difficult to digest and causes damage to the walls of your intestines. When this damage occurs, your intestinal walls become leaky and are unable to carry out their expected task of digesting necessary nutrients and filtering out toxins and hence, toxins make their way back into your bloodstream causing an autoimmune reaction. This autoimmune reaction manifests differently in each person, but ultimately, it predisposes you to many diseases and often leaves you feeling unwell, bloated and fatigued.

When it comes to gluten reactions, there are people with Celiac disease and there are people with gluten intolerance. About 1% of the population has Celiac disease—a genetic condition of severe gluten intolerance and then there are the other 30-40% of the population who have a more mild form of gluten intolerance.

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Aimee E. Raupp is the author of Chill Out and Get Healthy– a no nonsense guide for women on improving their health now. As well she is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist with a masters of science in Traditional Oriental Medicine. For more information visit AimeeRaupp.com.

Eat fat to lose fat

Yes, you heard me: eat fat to lose fat.

“But, isn’t fat is bad for my health? And, doesn’t it cause heart disease?” I hear you say. The answer to both is no.

For many centuries, cultures (like the French) have been eating high fat diets and, oddly enough, they have much lower rates of obesity and type II diabetes than we do here in the United States. You see, what happened was back in the 1950’s some scientists ran a small and very poorly designed study looking at the incidence of heart disease and the dietary habits of different nations. Somehow (after leaving out a great bit of data) these researchers determined that Americans hearty full-fat diet caused the most heart disease. And, voila now American’s eat a low-fat diet because their doctors recommend it.

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By Eve Kecskes MS, RD

It’s two-and-a-half weeks into the new year: are you still following your resolution? If so, how much longer do you think you can keep it up? Or are you like most of us and did you ditch it by now?

Most people make resolutions that are too hard to stick with long-term. We end up failing and then give up completely. As a dietitian, I’m going to focus on New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight and be healthy. I’m sure you want to be healthier even if you didn’t make a formal resolution.

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