By: Dr. Mary Riggin, LAc, DAc, DOM and Dr. Kim Marie, LAc, DAc, DOM
vital body
Lies Exposed!
Common Diet Myths Revealed
L
Part 2
ast month, we introduced you to the idea that many of things we have been taught about food are incorrect. This month, we will explore Myth #1 of the 7 Diet Myths.
ings, make you feel more hungry, and cause you to eat more!***
etables; and roots (carrots and potatoes, et.al.) and leaves (spinach, lettuce, kale, et.al.).
* In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan ** “The Dirty Dozen List”on CNN.com *** The 7 Principles of Fat Burning by Eric Berg
*http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen. produce.pesticide/index.html
Myth #1 Calorie counting works!
So you end up eating even more lowerquality calories than before, reducing your health and leaving you even more hungry! Check out this article from CNN* on the dirtiest 12 produce items. Every year, the Environmental Working Group**, a non-profit organization, tests the most popular produce items and lists the ones with the most and least chemical residuals. Apples and celery are usually at the top of the list with 67 pesticide residues. You can’t wash it off, or peel it off or soak it off – it’s part of the cell structure of the tree or the plant! The pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other chemicals are sprayed on the plants and trees. Then those chemicals are washed off the plants and trees into the soil by rain and irrigation water; where they are soaked up by the roots, along with the water and nutrients in the soil. Therefore, these pesticides and other toxic chemicals become part of every cell in the plants and trees – including fruits and veg-
Fact #2: If you eat too little and get hungry, your adrenal glands (the glands that sit on top of your kidneys and help you manage stress) will interpret your hunger as stress. This causes cortisol (an adrenal hormone triggered by stress) to be released. Cortisol uses your body to convert muscles in your thighs and buttocks into sugar, and dump it into your blood. Then insulin removes the sugar from your blood, converts it to fat, and stores it on your belly. This can be a root cause of BELLY FAT! Cortisol, your adrenal glands, and their connection to stubborn belly fat, will be discussed in much more detail in the booklet and audio training “12 Easy Ways to Burn Fat.” Calorie counting is not a sustainable answer to the weight issues we face. As we said earlier, if this worked, we would all be thin. Haven’t you tried this method before – many times? Next month we will reveal Myth #3. Good Eating and Good Health to YOU!
It’s simple: if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight because a “calorie is a calorie.”
Reality #1: Focusing on merely reducing calories can lead to weight gain! If this method worked, we would all be THIN! At any given time, over 50% of Americans are on a diet because they are trying to lose weight. The problem is that not all calories are the same. Here are the facts:
Fact #1: Calorie counting does not address the quality of the food.* If food chemicals have been added; if the food source, like corn or soy or potatoes, have been grown with genetically modified seeds; if the pesticides used in the commercial farming are excessive like apples, celery and salad greens; over time, this can create problems.** Many food additives and chemicals will actually cause food crav-
**www.ewg.org/foodnews
Dr. Kim Marie and Dr. Mary Riggin co-created the booklet “Lies Exposed: 7 Diet Myths Revealed” as a result of their purpose to help as many people as possible achieve a higher level of health and wellness in their lives. Over the course of many years, working with thousands of people as licensed acupuncturists and doctors of acupuncture practicing full-scope Oriental Medicine in the Tampa Bay area, the concept of using food as medicine has become more important in order to achieve optimal results in the clinic. Dr. Riggin is Founder and Director of Healing Touch Oriental Medicine with 2 locations in Pinellas County. They are free lance writers, popular speakers, and co-host “Food is the First Medicine Radio Show”. Read more about the doctors at: www.FoodisMedicine.org or www.HealingTouchOM.com
16 july 2013 • Tampa Bay Wellness
www.tampabaywellness.com