The Top 10 Unhealthiest "Health" Foods, part 1

On TV, in magazines, on the radio; we are bombarded with health claims of what we should eat. A simple rule of thumb when choosing healthy foods, is to avoid foods that are advertised or have health claims such as "low-fat" on the packaging (the less packaging of the food, the better). Below is the first part of my list of top 10 foods that are often advertised as healthy, but should be avoided.

Click here to read 6 - 10

1. Salad Dressing – Many people eat salad for the health benefits, but unfortunately salad dressings are typically loaded with vegetable oil causing the negatives to outweigh the benefits. Instead of dousing a salad with unhealthy, creamy dressing, try extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar as an alternative.

2. Milk – When milk is from farmed cows, it typically contains growth hormones and antibiotics. Growth hormones allow the cows to produce more milk per day and antibiotics are used for treating cows that get sick from eating an unnatural grain fed diet. If you can’t give up milk try to find local grass fed, hormone free, unpasteurized, non-homogenized milk… basically straight from the cow.

3. Soy Milk – Soy foods that are genetically modified and unfermented are not considered healthy. Found in unfermented soy, phytoestrogens can mimic of the female hormone estrogen, which is unhealthy in high amounts. If you are going to eat soy products stick to fermented soy products such as natto, miso or tempeh.

4. Farmed Fish – Fish can be one of the healthiest foods, given you eat the correct type of fish. Farm raised fish is grain fed and are loaded with antibiotics, hormones and even chemicals to change their color, such as the pink salmon color you see in your local grocery store. Try to find wild caught fish from the Pacific waters. Huron Fish Co., 505 Gratiot in Saginaw has a variety of healthy, wild seafood. Call them at 989-792-2224 for more information.

5. Orange Juice – As we all know, orange juice contains vitamins and minerals but once it’s pasteurized it loses a lot of these nutrients. Orange juice is also loaded with sugar. When you extract the juice from an orange you are separating it from the fiber which makes very highly concentrated juice with a sugar in the form of fructose.

Inspiration

US: The Most Inefficient Healthcare System in the World

As this chart shows, the United States has the same life-expectancy of Chile... at seven times the cost. Not only are we below the life expectancy of other modernized countries, our current healthcare system is the most inefficient in the world.

Change needs to happen in a BIG way or the health of our country, physically and financially, is in trouble (more so than we already are).

Are you relying on the healthcare system to keep you healthy? It is time to to be proactive and make your health a priority. Learn more about the current state of our healthcare system, how to reduce physical and nutritional stress and how to correctly read food labels at my upcoming health class, Thursday, April 7, 6:30 - 7:30 pm. 

The class is free and I encourage you to bring a friend or family member, it is at Kehres Health & Chiropractic in Saginaw, 4882 Gratiot Road #13, corner of Gratiot and Center. Please contact us at 989-607-4322 or drkehres@kehreshealth.com to RSVP.

source

Inspiration: Make time for exercise

 

Learn more about exercise:

Saginaw Athletic Club

Saginaw Valley Sports Performance

March New Month's Resolution

Burst Out of Your Workout Rut

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Slainte! Who is celebrating St. Patricks's Day with a big green veggie shake? Learn how to make Dr. Dan's Veggie shake here! Also, be sure to get an extra helping of cabbage.

How to Choose Personal Care Products

Would you eat it? This question is something you should be asking yourself when buying personal care items and beauty products as our skin quickly absorbs everything we put on it. For example, if you were to stand barefoot on a garlic clove, within minutes you would taste the garlic (and have pretty smelly feet). It is important to not only make sure you are eating healthy foods, but also using healthy personal products.

The Environmental Working Group, who also provided the organic "Dirty Dozen" list, analyzed cosmetics and personal care product ingredients against definitive government, industry and academic databases of hazardous chemicals and found that more than one in five personal care products contain chemicals linked to cancer, 80% contain ingredients that commonly contain hazardous impurities and 56% contain penetration enhancers that help deliver ingredients deeper into the skin.

Similar to choosing healthy foods, follow similar rules when searching for healthy personal products: look for short ingredients lists, easy to pronounce ingredients (not a bunch of chemicals) and try to find organic. A great resource is EWG's Web site Skin Deep cosmetic safety database, you can type in the name or brand to get a rating and report.

Last year I wrote about the many benefits of coconut oil, and besides its many uses in the kitchen, it is my favorite skin lotion. After recently traveling on a long plane ride, Jen's skin got really dry, so she did an (unscientific) experiment and used coconut oil on one arm and organic lotion on the other. After just one day, the arm she used coconut oil on was completely smooth while the other arm was still dry.

Also, coconut oil is a nourishing conditioner for your scalp and hair, and it can be a natural remedy for dandruff.

The next time you are shopping for personal products, ask yourself, would you eat it?

We use organic, extra virgin, expeller pressed coconut oil, available at Kehres Health & Chiropractic for $13.00. To purchase, contact us at 989-607-4322 or drkehres@kehreshealth.com

Food Rules

#20 It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.

In Food Rules, author Michael Pollan wrote 64 simple rules on how to eat.

As Pollan wrote in 2009's In Defense of Food, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." he explains the importance of eating real food.

Food products manufactured in a plant and arriving through the window of your car is not real food.

How Can I Encourage My Kids to be More Active?

In the March 2011 issue of the Great Lakes Bay Magazine, I was asked to be the health and wellness expert. In the article "How Can I Encourage My Kids to be More Active" by Holly Case, a reader asked With spring just around the corner, I want to make sure my kids—who have been couch potatoes playing video games all winter—get outside to regularly exercise and play in the nice weather. Any tips to encourage them to be more physically active and healthy?

“You have to lead by example,” says Dr. Dan Kehres of Kehres Health & Chiropractic in Saginaw. “If the parents are outside exercising, the kids will want to do so as well.”

Inactivity is a nationwide problem, affecting children and adults alike. The health consequences of too little exercise can be significant. “Currently, 60 percent of the population is obese or overweight,” says Dr. Kehres. Asthma, type 2 diabetes and heart disease are all linked to obesity. “If something isn’t changed, today’s babies will suffer from diseases that once only affected much older people.”

Fortunately, these serious diseases are mostly preventable by adopting healthier lifestyle habits, and developing a family exercise habit does not have to feel like a chore.

 “Being active as a family has so many benefits. It feels good to see your spouse and kids get healthy. Spending the time together builds better relationships,” says Dr. Kehres.

Although families today are busy, the benefits of physical activity are worth the time investment for you and your kids. “Regular exercise can help your body fight stress and prevent illness,” says Dr. Kehres. “Outdoor exercise also provides a natural source of vitamin D, a nutrient many people are lacking.”

 Exercise doesn’t necessarily have to mean hitting the gym, either. “So many activities are fun for a family. Walking, hiking, mountain biking and even playing soccer are great ways to get moving,” says Dr. Kehres. “Michigan has so many options for outdoor activities, even in the winter.”

“Kids will do what their parents do,” says Dr. Kehres. “By making fitness a fun time you spend with your child, you also create good habits they’ll keep for the rest of their lives.”

 If you make a commitment to be fit and active as a family, it will soon become an important part of your family life all year long.

To see the original article in Great Lakes Bay Magazine, click here. Thank you for the opportunity GLB Magazine!