When it comes to health and weight management, not all calories are created equal.

Doctors and nutritionists have long known that some foods are simply better for you than others, even when their nutritional information seems to match up.

Sure, sometimes that’s an easy distinction to make.  For example, a 150 calorie serving of fruit is clearly preferable over a twinkie – also 150 calories.  But other times, the line is blurred, especially when it comes to “healthy” foods.

This week, as part of a series called “This vs. That”, let’s take a look at two popular snacks among conscientious dieters: Pretzels vs. Pistachios.

Seems easy, right?  Pistachios are higher in fat than pretzels – surely a diet buster.

Wrong!

When faced with these party snacks, reach for that bowl of pistachios.  It’ll support your weight goals and promote heart health.  Pistachios come with 30 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients and are a terrific source of fiber, which makes them a healthy and filling snack.

Need more proof?  In a recent study, researchers put 52 overweight participants on a diet.  As part of the regimen, the participants were either assigned to a daily snack of 75 pistachios (240 calories) or a similar 220 calorie serving of pretzels.

They found that the group eating pistachios had better success with their weight goals compared to the pretzel group – even though the pistachios had a higher amount of calories from fat.  Something for snackers to keep in mind is that almost 90 percent of the fat found in pistachios is the healthy unsaturated type.

I want to preface this latest article by saying: Don’t hate me, I’m only the messenger.

For years, I’ve been hearing that some patients, after giving birth, request to keep their placentas, though I’ve never actually had this experience in my own practice.

Sometimes, according to my colleagues, the patients desire to keep the placentas for cultural reasons. However, I never realized that increasingly, many new moms actually want to eat them.

Therefore, I was quite surprised to see a recent in-depth feature in New York Magazine called “The Placenta Cookbook.”

Besides introducing some of the people who take part in this trend, the article contains anecdotal recipes and tips to enjoy the afterbirth delicacy and even shares step-by-step instructions on how to prepare placental capsules to preserve the nutritive power of the tissue.

Beyond the article, various websites also exist where mothers discuss how to drain the blood from the tissue, the amount of time it should be cooked for, and recipes ranging from roast placenta to placenta lasagna.

The growing popularity of this phenomenon has to do with some non-scientific belief that consuming the placenta may offer a new mother certain health benefits. For example, some people believe that the placenta can help with the treatment of postpartum depression, or “baby blues.”

It has been suggested in the past that postpartum depression in some patients is spurred by the quickly shifting levels of female hormones after giving birth, and that by eating the placenta, the hormones will stabilize and postpartum depression can therefore be prevented.

Also, others say that the placenta can offer some degree of pain relief due to certain chemicals contained within the tissue. Placental extracts are commonly offered for pain in Chinese medicine.

As it turns out, humans are actually one of the only mammals that don’t regularly eat their own placentas. Some researchers believe it must be because the placenta offers some fundamental biological advantage. The placenta is known to contain high levels or iron, vitamin b-12 and other hormones.

But before jumping on the placenta bandwagon, I must admit that I myself have failed to find any concrete benefits to eating your own placenta. The medical community rarely comments on this practice, to be honest.

In hospitals, the placenta has always seen as a biohazardous material. Remember that this is human tissue, and in theory, it could carry infectious diseases.

However, I know that there are many hospitals nowadays that are very actively looking into what their procedures should be if a patient requests her own placenta. Do the doctors give it to her? Do they package it neatly and present it along with the newborn baby?

I have to say, from what I’m seeing lately, it appears that as long as certain medical criteria are met – such as both the patient and placenta being healthy – that many hospitals will comply with the request.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think there are any legal statutes that would apply that would prevent a mother from taking a placenta. Certainly there have been isolated cases where patients have been denied their placentas and challenged the hospitals. In Las Vegas a few years ago, Anne Swanson took her case to the courts and won the right to take her placenta home.

So, this is my final take: If you want to eat your placenta because you believe in its supposed health benefits, go right ahead. Just be aware that this material has to be handled with care, and you have to protect those around you from being exposed to any tissue waste that you may find unsuitable for consumption.

Also, remember that there are no scientifically proven health benefits at this time, at least not in the present literature, and I don’t expect there will be any randomized studies coming out on this subject any time soon.

Finally, please, keep it away from my dinner table.

I think Americans generally pay more attention to the gasoline they put in their cars than to the food they put in their mouths. We are a society of excess, and one of our more impressive excesses is the way in which we eat and what we choose to put in our mouths.

We are the leading country in the world in almost everything, yet our mortality rates, our cancer rates, and our neonatal death rates don’t rank among the best in the world. We lead in research, we lead in academic training, we lead in freedom of information, yet we don’t lead in taking care of our health.

We have all the knowledge in the world about everything in life, but that has made no impact on our health. Why? I think nutrition is part of the reason, and I think I know why.

No one is ever taught about nutrition. We certainly don’t teach the subject in grammar school, and it’s rarely taught in high school. Some colleges may offer it as an elective. But our parents certainly don’t talk to us about carbohydrates and proteins the way they do about the birds and the bees. If you combine this lack of knowledge with our appetite for diversity, taste, and presentation, what you have is a lot of people who know nothing about the food on their plate.

It’s never too late to learn about nutrition. The fundamental issue with nutrition is learning how to balance your caloric intake with the number of calories you burn. Everything we eat has a caloric value. If you take in more nutrients that contain a lot of calories and you don’t burn them up, the excess caloric energy is going to be stored as fat, and you’re going to gain weight. That weight and that fat will then interfere with all the normal functions of your body.

On the other hand, if you consume too few calories, say fewer than 1,200 calories a day, then your body doesn’t have sufficient energy to maintain adequate functioning. The caloric intake for a normal adult should range between 1,500 and 2,000 calories a day.

The body requires certain nutrients in order to work properly. Nutrients are the chemicals our body gets from food. These nutrients are used to build muscles, improve cell-to-cell transmission, and manufacture hormones. In describing nutrients, the word “essential” means that the body must consume them; it cannot produce them on its own. The nutrients we need include:

Essential amino acids.
The body requires amino acids to produce new body proteins and replace damaged proteins to build and maintain the body.

Vitamins and minerals.
These are recognized as essential nutrients that are specifically linked to the functionality of cells. If we’re deficient in vitamins and minerals, we develop a weak immune system, cell metabolism disorders, premature aging, scurvy, goiters, and bone loss.

Fatty acids.
Also essential, fatty acids are crucial for maintaining the body’s normal health. They are responsible for the normal formation of hormones and creation of some of the biological pathways responsible for dealing with inflammation and cell repair.

Sugars.
They are essential because they provide the fuel our cells need to function adequately, which allows the other nutrients to be utilized properly. If cells don’t have the sugar molecule necessary to generate the energy required for repairing, functioning, transmitting, and utilizing nutrients, then cellular damage and disease will result.

Each nutrient carries out one or more unique tasks your body needs to function. And because you need many nutrients to stay healthy—protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals—you have to eat a wide variety of foods to get them all.

It’s when we don’t recognize the necessity of all those elements that we begin getting into trouble. It’s like filling your gas tank with gasoline and forgetting to change the oil every 3,500 miles, or forgetting to put water in the radiator. The car needs the gasoline, the oil and the water, all in the proper proportions, in order to function properly. The same is true of the human body.

The problem, as I’ve mentioned before, is that about one-third of all American meals are prepared foods. And the problem with prepared foods is that their contents are not nutritionally balanced.

Our lack of knowledge of nutrition, combined with our obsession with processed foods, is really damaging our health. So we have to get back to fundamentals, a good example of which is the diet of people who live in the Mediterranean. Their diet is well balanced with vegetables and fruit, fish and lean meat, and the good unsaturated fats like olive oil.

Today, many people think that if they stick to low-fat or nonfat foods, they won’t gain weight. That’s a myth, because gaining weight has to do with calorie intake. If you take a salad and you add cheese and eggs and everything else in the book, even if you select low-fat ingredients, you’re still consuming a tremendous load of calories. And size matters, too; the size of your portions does make a difference in terms of the total amount of calories consumed. It’s just a plain mathematical calculation.

There are no magical foods that are going to help you burn calories or increase your cell metabolism either. There is no such a thing as a food that is more active in the body than others. People think that eating a grapefruit each day or having cabbage soup for lunch is going to burn off their fat. But that’s a myth. There is only one way to burn off those extra calories: exercise, any exercise at all.

How to Eat
It’s not just what or how much we are eating that’s the problem these days, it’s the way most of us eat. Many people skip breakfast, gulp down a quick lunch at noon, and then consume a large meal at seven o’clock at night.

Trouble is, they don’t need all that fuel at night. They need a little bit throughout the day when they are active—either moving, thinking, or both.

So what happens in the middle of the day if this is the way we eat? Without a supply of energy, our metabolism gets altered. Our blood sugar level is erratic. Our hormones go haywire trying to figure out where to obtain the fuel we need. People are always telling me, “I don’t eat, so how come I’m not losing weight?”

That’s the answer. Their metabolism is out of whack, and they need to get it back in order.

Supplements
If you eat a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, and all the rest, you don’t need to take supplements. But how many of us really eat such a balanced diet?

And even if we do, because we are all predisposed for certain diseases and the aging processes, being proactive and adding certain supplements to our diet may be a good idea. But before popping supplements like candies from a bag of M&M’s, check with your doctor about what’s best for you. Some supplements can be toxic. Others may cause allergies or cross reactions with medications you may be taking. But there is no doubt that certain supplements can have specific health benefits and can lower the cost of health care at the same time.

An Important Word About Supplements
Many supplements contain active ingredients that can have strong effects on your body, and some supplements can interfere with prescription medicines. Always consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking supplements.

I am particularly bullish on five supplements that have been well studied and are proven to support optimal health.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
I love the omega-3 fatty acids. They are an important contributor to the improvement of human health. Some studies have shown that omega 3s are good for the prevention of heart disease, as well as for depression, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma. You can get omega 3s by eating leafy greens and fish or by taking a fish oil tablet. Omega 3s assist with fat metabolism and help maintain a balance of good and bad cholesterol.

Calcium
Calcium is another very good supplement, specifically calcium with vitamin D. Calcium intake is an important factor in bone health and may play a role in the prevention of colon cancer, though it doesn’t appear to be the silver bullet that everyone hoped it would be. Research has shown that calcium supplements can significantly lower the occurrence of hip fractures among those aged 65 and older.

Folic Acid
Folic acid and folate are forms of a water-soluble vitamin B that occur naturally in leafy vegetables such as spinach and turnip greens, dry beans and peas, fortified cereal products, and some other fruits and vegetables. Folic acid supplements have been a lifesaver in the prevention of neural tube defects in children. They are also very beneficial for cell function and the prevention of heart disease.

Glucosamine
I also like glucosamine. It has good anti-inflammatory effects, especially for individuals with arthritis. It doesn’t prevent arthritis, and it doesn’t repair or rejuvenate cartilage, but I think it’s a very good supplement because it helps promote joint function and relieves the symptoms of inflammation and pain.

Other supplements that are thought to make a positive contribution to health include saw palmetto, the fruit of the fan palm, for men. Native Americans consumed it as food and used it to treat urinary and genital problems. Some research has shown that it could be effective for the treatment of an enlarged prostate in men. It increases urinary flow and has no known safety hazards.

According to the Los Angeles Times, when researchers set out to catalog the hundreds of species of microbes in the human gut, by using gene sequencing, they expected to find a larger number of different possible combination of bacteria.

Instead, they found just three.  Gut bacteria seem to cluster into three distinct and stable combinations that show up across populations from a variety of backgrounds.

The results were “a big surprise…we expected more variation,” said Peer Pork, bioinformatics expert at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany.

In the study, researchers extracted DNA from the stool samples of 22 European individuals, and then attempted to determine the composition of it.  They used computers to sort the gene fragments of the bacteria and match them to the DNA of known organisms.  Then, they compared their results to published studies from Japanese and American subjects.

The researchers hope their findings may have implications for medicine in the future.  Hopefully, the discovery of the three ‘enterotypes’ can provide insight into certain diseases or characteristics.

Bacteria are a vital part of the human digestive system.  They help the body process food and acquire nutrients and vitamins.  Certain studies indicate there may be links between gut microbes and diseases such as as obesity, cancer and peptic ulcers.

Knowing a person’s enterotype may be useful for treating illness or prescribing more effective medications  in the future, Bork said.

The results were published in the journal Nature.

Click here to read more from the LA Times.

By eating the seven Latin powerfoods, by ingesting foods with antioxidant properties, and by eliminating bad oils and implementing good ones, you’re detoxifying yourself. What does this mean? Well, basically, every human cell takes food, burns it, creates waste, and then discards it. We all generate cellular by-products. However, when the cell doesn’t get rid of waste, we become less efficient. And when the waste is contaminated, it is difficult to eliminate. What we want is to have our cells metabolize effectively. Toxins don’t allow cells to work well. In order for us to lose weight, our cells must be working well. That’s why antioxidants, proteins, and good oils become important when you start to talk dieting and health. That’s also why when we see news reports about lowering cancer rates, they’re always—if you notice—linked with balanced diets. At the end of the day, cancers, aside from being genetically derived, are derived from cellular toxicity from poor diets and habits (like smoking and drinking).

The good news about all this is that you can eliminate a lot of the toxins in your body—and your body will respond relatively quickly. Consider this example using one of the most toxic activities people do to themselves: smoke. Did you know that if you quit smoking—even after twenty years of doing it—your body will immediately change? In fact, even after one hour of not smoking, the oxygen content in your cells is significantly higher! Now if your body responds that quickly to stopping one of the most detrimental toxins from invading it, you can recognize that a change in the body’s diet is also going to have immediate, beneficial effects.

Let’s look further into the seven Latin powerfoods and their subcategories and learn about their immediate effects on our bodies.

TOMATILLOS
These flavorful and unique small yellow-green tomatoes pack a lot more nutrients than regular red tomatoes. Used throughout Mexico and available now here in the States, tomatillos are rich in vitamins C, A, and folic acid, as well as potassium. They are a great source for your daily antioxidant needs.

GARBANZO BEANS
These delicious beans are very high in fiber, which will improve your elimination cycles and support the growth of healthy intestinal flora. They are very low in natural sugar content, and high in complex carbohydrate content and protein, giving you a steady source of high-quality fuel for balanced energy throughout your day. They also have a warming effect on your body and a calming effect on your mind. Garbanzo beans are used in cooking throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

AVOCADO
Do not let the “high” fat content of avocados deter you from eating this fantastic fruit. In fact, the healthy monounsaturated oil in avocado will help you feel satiated after a meal and signal your body to burn more fat stores, as well as lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol! Avocado also helps lubricate your intestines and assists in regulating your elimination cycles. Avocados are grown, and consumed, throughout the Americas.

GARLIC
Use garlic as often as you can in your cooking. Garlic is well known for its immune-boosting and antimicrobial properties. It also helps lower bad cholesterol. A clove of garlic a day can keep the doctor away! You will benefit from improved blood circulation as well as a stronger libido. The Spanish, Portuguese, and French are credited with introducing this powerfood to the New World, where it is now a ubiquitous ingredient.

CINNAMON
A half teaspoon a day of cinnamon can lower sugar levels in your blood, and studies show that cinnamon can aid in the prevention of diabetes. Cinnamon is also high in antioxidants, not to mention flavor. You can sprinkle cinnamon on fruits or whole grains instead of sugar for a delicious treat. You will also benefit from its sensually warming and cholesterol-lowering qualities. First used medicinally in Egypt and India and in parts of Europe since about 500 BC, this spice is now part of many Latin American and Caribbean cuisines.

CHILES
You can use chiles as often as you wish in your dishes for flavor and for health. Chiles of all types, like chipotle and other hot chiles, are high in minerals and antioxidants, giving a healthy boost to your immune system. Another interesting note about this powerfood is that although it is hot to taste, it actually has a cooling effect on your body. Blood rushes to the periphery of your body in response to the hot taste, and then the blood cools down before moving more to the center of your body, where your temperature is higher. That is why Latinos in hot tropical countries instinctively eat hot and spicy foods. Though many equate chiles with Mexico, they can be found in varied colors and shapes, as well as all different degrees of hotness, throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

CILANTRO
Cilantro accelerates the excretion of toxic metals from your body. Excess toxic metals in the body can create a breeding ground for viral infections, so using cilantro on a daily basis in your cooking is a very smart choice for staying healthy. All you need is a handful in a salad or a couple of tablespoons in a cooked dish to reap the benefits of this medicinal plant. This herb—and its cousin, culantro—is used throughout the Americas.

Aside from these seven Latin powerfoods, there is a great assortment of others that fall under the same categories. These powerfoods contain a myriad of options offering benefits similar to the ones I’ve mentioned. If you’re looking for more variety—which is one of the main advantages of following a Latin diet—look at the powerfood categories below. You’ll see where each of the seven Latin powerfoods falls within the food groups and what other similar foods you can work with. Be creative! More color means more nutrients. By combining these healthy and natural Latin ingredients, you’ll be sure to optimize their effects!

It’s that time of the year again – St. Patrick’s Day.  For some, it’s a religious day that involves attending church services, wearing green, and celebrating Irish culture.  For others, it’s a day of general revelry, comprised of drinking, attending parades, and staying out late.

Unfortunately, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Thursday this year.  That means, for most of us, after all the partying on the holiday, there’s still one more day of work to suffer through until the weekend.

It also means that it may be difficult to follow through with typical “go-to” hangover cures.  There’s no sleeping in on work days, and there may not even be time to cook up a big greasy breakfast.  Forget about the hair-of-the-dog cure, i.e. drinking more alcohol.  No boss is going to appreciate an employee coming in slurring their words and smelling like gin.

Here’s the truth: The best cure for a hangover on a work day is not getting one at all.  It doesn’t mean you can’t join in on any of the festivities – or the drinking because, let’s face it, who can resist green beer?  It just means you have to be smart while you enjoy yourself.  While not drinking is the only fool-proof way to avoid a hangover, here are a few other tips to lessen the pain of waking up bright and early tomorrow morning:

Before drinking:

1. Eat.  Not greasy pizza or bar food, but a solid, starchy meal with a lot of vitamins and minerals.  The food will help absorb the alcohol and lessen it’s effects on you.  Get into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit with hearty meals like vegetable shepard’s pie or corned beef with cabbage and potatoes.

2. Drink.  Not so fast!  Put down the green beer, and pick up a glass of water.  And then another.  A glass of fruit juice is also a good idea.  Hydrating your body now will be much more effective against pain than waiting until tomorrow morning.

3. Prepare your given hangover-cure now.  Tomorrow, you’re going to want as much sleep as possible.  Save time – and let yourself punch the snooze button a couple of times in the morning – by taking care of your hangover needs now.  If it’s food or a drink, it’ll keep for a night in the fridge.  If it’s a pill, rather than having to waste time rifling through your drawers, put it on your bedside table next to a tall glass of water.

4. Get out early.  Try to take advantage of happy hours and call it an early night.  That way, you can have your fun but still get as much sleep as you need.  Sleep is one of the best defenses against a vicious hangover.

While drinking:

1. Eat.  Because you took care of your vitamin and starch needs earlier, now’s the time when you can munch on less-than-healthy bar food.  The point here is to keep your stomach full enough to keep absorbing alcohol.

2. Stick with light beers on a work day.  If you do need a Guinness to get into the spirit, drink one and drink it early.  Darker beers contain more congeners, which equals more pain in the morning.  Light beers are much easier on your body – and your stomach.  Also, while we’re on the topic of alcohol, try to stay away from liquor, which is going to hit you hard and fast and isn’t going to mix well at all with the green beer you’ve already consumed.  Save it for tomorrow night instead.

3. Alternate between alcoholic and non-alcholic drinks.  This will slow down your alcohol intake with the added bonus of still giving you something to hold in your hands.  If you’re worried about you’re friends giving you a hard time, keep in mind that they can’t tell what’s actually in your hand.  It’s easy to pass off orange juice as a screwdriver or mineral water as a vodka tonic.  Remember: Your liver can only break down an average of one beer an hour.

4. Drink a glass of water and take some vitamin B before crashing for the night.  The goal here is to replace what the alcohol has drained out of your body.  It’s also much better for you than any pain relievers like Tylenol, Ibuprofen or Aspirin, which can cause serious damage to your liver.

Like I mentioned earlier, these tips do not guarantee a hangover-free morning (only not drinking does), but they will give you a fighting chance.  And remember, everything in moderation – even on holidays.  Have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone.