Rejuvalife Vitality Institute
Beverly Hills CA

Welcome to Sho-Stopper Recipes!

Hello to our dear patients and readers!

This is the first entry and beginning of our newest addition to the blog – The Sho-Stopper Recipes!

My name is Sho, the latest member of Team Rejuvalife, and I will be updating you with healthy and nutritional tips & recipes that are no doubt good for you but are easy to follow, scrumptious, and most importantly, enjoyable for you & the whole family.

My passion for cooking has long since developed when I was child and it’s all thanks to my family. My mother is always contemplating on what delicious meals she will be crafting for dinner.  – I’m lucky to say that there isn’t a single food my mom has made that I didn’t enjoy. Sundays were kept for my father who, to this day, still makes his infamous all-star breakfasts and dinners that usually came hot, right off the grill.

I can go on and on and on and on about food. What can I say? I love food!

And I hope that by sharing my passion and love for food to the world, you too will be able to enjoy one of the greatest gifts we have – Eating!!!

Let’s Start Cookin’!

-Sho

Move Over BMI, Here Comes BCA

The Body Mass Index can't distinguish lean body mass from fat weight, therefore very muscular people have BMI scores of the morbidly obese. (image: How Things Work 2005)

Invented in the mid 19th century, the Body Mass Index, or BMI, is currently the most widely-used diagnostic tool for gauging whether a person is at a healthy weight, under or overweight, and is reached through a calculation of height and weight measurements.

A person’s BMI is a very simple indicator of a person’s “fatness” or “thinness” that when used as designed, allows doctors to more objectively discuss weight issues with their patients.  Using this calculation, doctors use an individual’s particular BMI to determine whether or not they need medical care for being over or underweight: a BMI of 18.5 to 25 usually indicates optimal weight, a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight, while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight; a BMI below 17.5 may indicate the person has anorexia nervosa or a related disorder; a number above 30 suggests the person is obese (over 40, morbidly obese).

There is some controversy over the accuracy of this measurement, as it can’t distinguish body fat from lean body mass,  therefore a very muscular person will weigh more, and therefore have a higher BMI, even though he/she may really be quite lean,  and many feel it is most appropriately used in the study of populations, not individuals, for that reason.

There is another method of measurement that, according to recent studies, is a more reliable indicator. Body Composition Analysis (BCA) measures four parameters of health.

The BCA for Weight Management helps us measure four parameters of health:
1. Body Hydration Status by measuring the cellular fluid.
2. Cell Health Status by measuring the lean body mass and fat mass.
3, Nutritional Status through the BIA meter.  (Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer)
4. Longevity Status by calculating various indices.

From Medical News Today:

Recent studies using similar analysis suggest that up to 30% of obese people do not in fact require medical treatment. Widespread adoption of BCA could significantly improve the targeting of limited healthcare resources in the context of one of modern society’s global killers. Thanks to advances in imaging technology, variables – such as the body’s fat proportion, location and distribution and the size of fat cells and fat droplets within these cells – can now be factored into the health risk assessment.

Coupled with a better understanding of the interrelation between genes, environment, hormone levels and metabolism, BCA gives clinicians a clearer picture of the specific health risks to an individual.

In light of the growing evidence in favour of functional BCA, the authors conclude that “the definitions of both ‘overweight’ and ‘malnutrition’ should be reconsidered” by clinicians and researchers. Evidently, size does still matter but it’s what you do with it that really counts.

One way to ensure that you are at “optimal weight” regardless of how it’s measured is to…yep, stay active, eat a healthy diet, and keep your soup clean!

Thanks for reading,

Andre Berger, M.D.

p.s. Full disclosure – we have been using the BCA for Weight Management at Rejuvalife for quite some time. Give us a call if you’re interested in being measured!

Associated posts:

Keeping Your Soup Clean: Questions and Answers About Diagnostic Testing

Obesity Shrinks Your Brain & Shortens Your Life

Insulin Resistance Improved with Exercise

Weight Loss Improves Mood in Depressed Individuals

FDA Cracking Down on Misleading Nutrition Labels

Bad News for Your Sweet Tooth and Waist-Line

Artificial Sweeteners are no friend to dieters.

Contrary to popular belief, replacing sugary snacks with those sweetened artificially do not help with weight loss. According to a recent study, artificial sweeteners are not helpful for losing weight because your body cannot really tell the difference.

The  researcher identified specific cells which detect sugar, releasing hormones essential for its passage through the lining of the stomach and into the blood, where it is either burned off or is converted into fat.

When confronted by artificial sweeteners these cells release the same hormones, and consequently the body prepares to absorb real sugar.  If you’re dieting, you may not lose any weight, and very well may gain additional pounds over time.

From the U.K. Daily Mail:

Professor Soraya Shirazi-Beechey, from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool, found that a sweet taste receptor, present in the taste cells of the gut, allows humans and animals to detect glucose within the intestine.

Artificial sweeteners behave in a similar way to sugar however, and activate the sensors in the gut key to glucose absorption.

The receptor also detects artificial sweeteners in foods and drinks, resulting in increased intestinal intake of
dietary sugars. This could explain why artificial sweeteners are unsuccessful at helping people lose weight, and
sometimes result in weight gain.

Professor Shirazi-Beechey said: “If someone wants to lose weight, I don’t think artificial sweeteners are going to
help.  “My recommendation is to eat natural foods, but to eat less of them.”

Prof Shirazi-Beechey said: “Artificial sweeteners can also activate the glucose sensor and increase the capacity of  the intestine to absorb more sugar.  “You drink diet cola to stay slim but the reverse is true, because the artificial sweeteners can activate the sensor, so you are taking more glucose from your diet.”

Prof Shirazi-Beechey’s research can be seen at an exhibition at the Food Museum in Switzerland. The exhibition,
called Research Food – a Dialogue, looks at food history, science and technologies.

I recommend eliminating artificial sweeteners (and other highly processed products and foods) from your diet entirely, and if you must indulge in something sweet, try Stevia,  Xylitol or Lo Han. They are better natural solutions all the way around, in more ways than one!

Thanks for reading – see you after the Holiday weekend!

Andre Berger, M.D.