Yerba Mate - Better than Coffee or Green Tea?

Down Argentine Way, the drink of choice isn't coffee or tea - it's yerba mate.

Made from steeping dried leaves of the yerba mate plant, it's extremely popular in South America and looks to be gaining ground in the U.S. - popping up in lots of mainstream publications, including USA Today and Epicurean. In fact, Bombilla & Gourd's Yerba Mate Tea just won the 2007 Best Non-Carbonated Beverage award over at BevNet.com, the beverage industry's trade publication website.

As the national drink of Argentina and Uruguay, mate is brewed much stronger and drunk much more often during the day than in other parts of the world. It's also accompanied by a social component: from Brazil to Argentina to Lebanon and Syria, the drink is served as loose leaves in hot water, in a special gourd-shaped container (shown above) and drank through a metal straw ("bombilla") whose tip includes a strainer. Yes, people share the same metal straw, passing the container from person to person in Latin America's answer to the coffee break.

There's a worldwide fanbase for yerba mate. Folk herald yerba mate as a superior caffiene source than coffee (there's not a gnarly effect on the stomach) as well as aiding in weight loss and helping with all sorts of health maladies.

Weight loss catch your eye? Check out this article in Women's World where a woman claimed to have lost 100 pounds just by incorporating mate into her daily life.

Yerba mate is a distinctly different plant, and it's been studied for its medicinal properties. Studies have found it to be filled with good things like B vitamins, antioxidants (more than red wine or green tea), and a mood enhancer similar to that found in chocolate. Some are saying it's a possible cancer-fighter.

However, other studies have warned that it may have a cancerous effect among heavy drinkers - those drinking significants amount of the drink over long periods of time.

Me? I got a box of Yerba Mate tea bags for Christmas. Taste was just fine (I sweetened it with Stevia) and I had a cup each morning for a week. I liked it, I had lots of energy and no yucky-stomach feeling. Better than coffee, for sure.

I'll keep it in stock, but I'll still have my tea as well. Tea is just too fun to abandon: choosing between the pretty packages, deciding between milk or lemon, picking the mug. Maybe it's a girl thing.

Weight Loss That's Simple? Jon Gabriel and Lee Haney

John Gabriel has just made a deal to have his book, The Gabriel Method, published in the US. You can already buy it online at his Australian website, along with an accompanying CD. What's the big deal about this one?

Well, he lost over 220 pounds without surgery or some strange diet methods - and he didn't need any plastic surgery for loose skin afterwards. Check out the photos and be amazed.

Jon Gabriel's approach addresses the fight vs flight body response, visualization techniques, and a slow weight loss. For more details, read this discussion.

Another newbie on the weight loss market is Lee Haney's new website, LeeHaney.Com, where he promotes 4 simple keys to getting fit:

1. Detox your body
2. Exercise 30 minutes a day - moving and weights
3. Take supplements that help your metabolism
4. Decrease your daily caloric intake by 250 calories a day.

Now, of course there are zillions of diet and fitness and weight loss products out on the market. What I like about both of these approaches is that they keep it simple; they are directed to an overall lifestyle change; and they recommend a slow weight loss. Plus, that Lee Haney seems like such a nice guy.

Food as Medicine: Cinnamon

Cinnamon taken daily (2t either in pills or added to food) may prevent or inhibit diabetes because it increases the body's efficiency in metabolizing glucose twentyfold - yes, that's 20-fold. It is also very effective with the metabolizing of cholesterol, as it removes free radicals from the blood, which act to damage the vessels, and also assists small blood vessels in their performance.

Cinnamon acts as an anti-inflamatory and an anti-microbial agent that is especially effective against Candida. Just smelling the stuff helps brain function.

From WholeFoods:

"A study published in the February 2004 issue of Hormone Metabolism Research showed that when rats fed a high-fructose diet were also given cinnamon extract, their ability to respond to and utilize glucose (blood sugar) was improved so much that it was the same as that of rats on a normal (control) diet. Cinnamon is so powerful an antioxidant that, when compared to six other antioxidant spices (anise, ginger, licorice, mint, nutmeg and vanilla) and the chemical food preservatives (BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), and propyl gallate), cinnamon prevented oxidation more effectively than all the other spices (except mint) and the chemical antioxidants. (May 6, 2004)."


See: WebMD; DiabetesHealth(describing the US DOAStudy, 2000, WholeFoods (describing the 2004 USDA study).

Rebounding: Simple and Great 4 U

"Rebounder" is simply another word for "mini-trampoline," with rebounding becoming more and more popular these days. Yes, there are infomercials.

However, rebounders are not receiving the same criticisms as OmniGlides or AbTwisters. Rebounders are receiving rave reviews from expertsand laypeople alike.

User reviews are good: people are reporting that they stay with rebounding because it's fun and easy. And, some are reporting almost miraculous benefits from using a rebounder.

Jordan Rubin, author of The Maker's Diet, and nationally-recognized physical trainer JB Berns, creator of the UrbanRebounder, are both promoting rebounding as excellent exercise for all ages. Dr. Mercola admits to rebounding in front of the TV during the winter months. The Pacific Health Center has been recommending rebounding since the 1970s.

What's the big deal? Weather can't stop you. Age doesn't matter. Rebounders aren't that expensive. And the health benefits are enormous.

First, there's no structural trauma: going down, you hit the mat at 2X the force of gravity, but going up, you're weightless. Cool, huh?

This gravity business causes a pumping-type response inside your body that removes waste from cells and infuses them with oxygen and other nutrients. This gravity component makes rebounding a unique exercise.

Rebounding also reduces stress and creates nervous system equilibrium that stays with you after you stop rebounding. NASA reports that rebounding is 68% more efficient than regular running.

It is also unique in how it impacts your lymphatic system. This is a part of your circulatory system that deals with immune response and drainage. "Lymph" is a clear liquid, and it takes toxins, wastes, fat, viruses, and other mess away from the cells.

What rebounding does is move the lymph in three ways: muscular contraction from exercise and movement; gravitational pressure on the lymph vessels; and internal massage of the lymph vessel valves. And rebounding can increase lymphatic movement up to 15 times, better than than any other exercise, according to the experts.

How do you do it? After choosing a good rebounder, try these exercises from the Pacific Health Center:

1. Health Bounce - Just simple bouncing, even with your feet not leaving the surface of the rebounder, greatly stimulates lymphatic flow. The elderly or infirm can do this holding optional hand rails or a chair back next to the rebounder. They can also bounce in a seated position initially to get the lymph moving.
2. Running in Place - Perhaps the most basic exercise. It helps to alternate running in place with other exercises, so as not to get bored.
3. Twisting - Twist left and right with the hips and legs going one direction and the arms and chest going the other.
4. Kick Step - Alternately kick the left and right feet out in front of you as you bounce.
5. Jumping Jacks - Just like you would do on the ground, only you're bouncing on the rebounder while doing them.
6. Cross Crawl Bounce - This is great for left-brain, right-brain coordination. On the bounce, with straight, extended arms like a marching soldier, you place your left foot forward and right arm forward and across to the left. Reverse on the next bounce. Stimulating this bilateral motion is very energizing to the body.

Menu Planning 102

When planning a family menu, you're really planning a collection of meals. And each meal is a collection of portions. The question of how much do you have to cook for a meal translates into how many portions do you need (or want)?

Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta
1 slice of bread
1 tortilla
1/2 bagel or 1/2 English muffin or 1/2 pita
1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal
1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta

Vegetable
1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw
1/2 cup of vegetable juice

Fruit
1 medium apple, banana, orange
1 cup berries, cubed melon
1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
1/2 cup of fruit juice

Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese
1 cup milk
1 cup yogurt (artificially sweetened)
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
1 ounce cheese

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts
1 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
1/2 cup of cooked dry beans or 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of lean meat.
2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1/3 cup of nuts count as 1 ounce of meat.

Fats
1 teaspoon oil, butter, margarine, mayonnaise
1 tablespoon salad dressing, cream cheese

Another form of reference:

Fist or baseball - a serving of vegetables or fruit
A rounded handful - about one half cup cooked or raw veggies or cut fruit, a piece of fruit, or ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta
Deck of cards - a serving of meat, fish or poultry
Golf ball - one quarter cup of dried fruit or nuts
Tennis ball - one half cup of ice cream
Computer mouse - the size of a small baked potato
Compact disc - the size of one serving of pancake or small waffle
Thumb tip - one teaspoon of peanut butter
Six dice - a serving of cheese
Check book - a serving of fish

For fun, try the Portion Distortion Quiz - it's very enlightening, if somewhat scarey.

Sources: about.com, mealsmatter.org, National Institute of Health.

Check the Nutrition Online: Restaurant Reality

Several fast food chains offer online charts where the nutritional components of various menu items are provided. This includes McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, Arby's, Popeye's, Church's Chicken, A&W, Taco Cabana (pdf), Dairy Queen, Sonic (pdf), Subway, Quizno's, Wendy's.

These links are to the restaurant sites themselves. For a master site providing nutritional information for 372 different food places, nationwide, try DietFacts.Com.

Drinking Water

Research has shown that drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day can burn off almost 35,000 calories a year, or about 10 pounds. It helps if the water is cold; then, the body has to expend some energy to heat the liquid to the body's 98 degrees. If you don't drink enough water, one doctor reports, your body fluids are out of balance, you experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst.

How much should you drink? If you are not overweight, then drink the standard 64 ounces a day. If you are overweight, then some say you should drink an additional 8 ounces for each 25 pounds you want to lose. Others report that you should drink 1/2 ounce for each pound you weigh: if you weigh 100 pounds, then you drink 50 ounces; if you weigh 200, then you drink 100. You get the idea.

Freebie Online - Fabulous Diet and Exercise Manager

FitDay is great - so great, it's a wonder that it's still free on the web. After using the freebie for a couple of years, I did splurge on the inexpensive software - but the freebie was more than enough for me for awhile and hey - it's free. Love this product, even though I may not love what it tells me (who knew there was so much fat in a peanut? in eggs? in my homemade soy smoothie?) ....

While the habit of inputing all that you eat and all the movement you make seems cumbersome, if not overwhelming, you get used to it. The more you input, the more you learn about the reality of your body and how much you're supporting it - or neglecting it. The inventory of items provided in the food selection is huge (yes, brand names and fast food vendors are included) and there is the opportunity to add your own items as well. Your homemade recipes can be inputed here, and broken down nutritionally.

According to the site, FitDay gives you:

weight loss

calorie counter
fat, protein, and carbohydrate intakes
metabolism & exercise calorie expenditure
weight loss tracking
weight loss goals and progress reports
caloric balance reports

good nutrition

food nutrition facts for any food
daily nutritional intakes
audit of personal RDAs
long term nutritional analysis
quick reference to Dietary Guidelines for Americans

peak fitness

exercise log
mileage/distance tracking
calorie expenditures
metabolism breakdown
analyze and graph mileage/distance