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Summer is the time that everyone wants to look their very best. There are so many reasons to want to lose the extra pounds added over the winter – everything from looking good at family and class reunions, to weddings or looking good at thee beach. The heavy clothes of winter come off and it becomes a little harder to hide those extra pounds in clingy tank tops, shorts, sundresses, polo shirts and swim wear. The heavy layers of heavy clothes come off only to reveal other layer we would like to shed as well.

Summer is the perfect time to lose weight. There are 2 key factors that establish what we weigh: what we eat and how much exercise we do. Many live in a climate where outdoor activity is uncomfortable over the winter. When it is 10 degrees with a bitter wind and dark when you get home from work, curling up in front of the television or with a good book is a whole lot more inviting than bundling up and going for a walk or a jog. Shoveling snow is perhaps the only outdoor activity but only because it is necessary.

But summer weather and longer days give the opportunity for more outdoor time and exercise. A brisk walk will not only help you loose weight and get in shape, it will lift your spirits and improve your sense of well-being.

If you want to lose weight and get in shape this summer here are some safe, helpful tips to get you started:

1) Walk for at least 45 minutes 3 or 4 times a week – try to build your distance up to 1 mile each 15 to 20 minutes. Keep track of your time and distance to check your progress.

2) You can also try power walking. Power walking steps up the pace and you walk holding small weights (sometimes ankle weights, too) to work more muscles and burn more calories. Keep your arms moving in motion with your steps. You might power walk 1 or 2 times each week and walk at a more leisure pace 2 times each week. One of the reasons walking is such an effective way to lose weight is that walking moves the largest muscles in our bodies. Large muscles burn more calories and continue to burn calories as they recover from the exercise period.

3) Yard work is another great way to burn some extra calories. Again it uses large muscles to burn calories.

4) Go hiking or biking. Mix biking with walking and try to go hiking for a 2 or 3 hour hike a couple times a month. Hiking is a great family activity. Many areas have hiking trails plus our many state and local parks have trails. Some trails are biker friendly as well. Be sure to take plenty of water with you and avoid getting sunburn.

5) Swimming and water activities are a great way to exercise and cool-off. Again many of these activities use the larger muscles.

6) Volleyball, badminton, Frisbee, golf (walk the course), soccer, softball, tennis and other team sports are fun to participate in and get in shape with. We play volley ball in our pool (it is fun at the beach, too). Anything that gets you outdoors and gets you moving.

7) Eat healthy: start with 3 meals a day. Cut out the sugars and starchy carbohydrates. Replace them with fresh vegetables, salads and fresh fruit. Buy from local roadside stands and enjoy the fresh goodness of local fruits and vegetables. Concentrate on vegetables like squash, tomatoes, cabbage, greens, etc. Remember, corn is a grain use very sparingly. Produce is usually lower in cost in the summer so you’ll save money along with saving calories. Use our Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Plan. There are specific personal guidelines for eating for weight loss by lowering your carbohydrate points and balancing your protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrate ratios. We will train you to make better choices in what, how & when you eat that will result in weight loss. H.E.L.P. also includes charts for setting your goals and journaling your progress, as well as determining your daily dietary needs and tracking your intake.

8) Drink plenty of water. Limit coffee to 2 – 8oz cups per day (one or even none would be best). Eliminate all cola drinks, sweet tea and fruit drinks even if they are sugar free. The use of sugar substitutes is probably one of the largest falsehoods implied by food suppliers today. They make us think sugar is bad. It is but there are worse things than sugar. Corn sweeteners and artificial sweeteners are two items used in colas & fruit flavored drinks that are more harmful than the sugar they replace. The key is you need ½ your body weight in ounces of water each day and you won’t drink that if you are drinking other drinks.

9) The second key is “sweet” addiction and the stimulant addiction from the caffeine. If you need an energy boost go to www.univera.com, use ID# 1207497 and order AgelessXtra to be delivered to your home or go to “feedback” on this web site and email us for further information.

10) Mentioning AgelessXtra brings up supplementation. Univera provides 1^st party science based products that work. Most nutritional products have someone else’s science behind them (if any at all) - Univera does their own science (check this out at www.unigenusa.com ) with 60+ research scientists doing clinical studies. The EcoNet, of which Univera is the marketing arm, holds 70% of the world’s patents in nutrition, they grow their own raw botanical ingredients, they have the world’s largest botanical medicinal library, and they offer a money back guarantee on their products. If you use supplements now you may want to compare their efficacy and science with the Univera products. Contact us for more information and personal recommendations.

11) Eliminate stress from your life as much as possible. You are invited to see our free article “5 Contributing Factors to Weight Gain” for a full explanation on how stress contributes to weight gain.

12) Find an accountability partner – someone who will encourage you & perhaps participate in some of the activities with you. If you are overweight as a family hold a family council. Research the dangers of being overweight or obese. Determine what type of changes you need to make as a family and then agree to implement the changes.

Set a goal and reward for success. As a family you will find eating healthy may be less expensive than eating poorly (water is a whole lot cheaper than soft drinks, “sweet” drinks, chips and dip costs more than munching on fresh fruits and veggies). There are some good insights in the free article Healthy Eating for Toddlers to Teens that might give you some good ideas. Reward your family with a dream vacation with the dollars saved by eating healthy & losing weight.

I’ll close with this story. I worked with a very large man – 400+ for a couple of years. The first time Dr. Emmett met him he asked me what the man used to control his diabetes. My answer: “he says he isn’t diabetic” (however both of his parents were diabetic). Dr. Emmett’s comment: “he just doesn’t know he is diabetic.”

A few months later my co-worker called early one morning to tell our manager he wouldn’t be in as he had started to work but became dizzy, cold, and sweaty. His pulse was racing and he felt terrible. He was going back home & to bed. Our manager told him to get to the emergency room and get himself checked out. He scared him into believing he was having a medical crisis. He went to a walk-in clinic - his test results were: blood sugar 300+ and he was on the verge of diabetic coma. If he had gone home he made not have made it there without blacking out or he well could have gone into a coma & never woke up!

The experience caused him to change his lifestyle. His 2 – 2 liter bottles of regular Mountain Dew were exchanged for 2 – 2 liter bottles of diet Mountain Dew. He cut back on the Scotch. He began eating breakfast (2 sandwiches from the local drive through), salads for lunch & a salad & meat (reduced portion, not 1# +) for dinner. He lost 60#’s fairly quickly and then the weight loss slowed down to a crawl. He complained to his doctor. (Dr. Emmett had told him to trade the Mountain Dew for water but he didn’t think it would make a difference. He thought diet soda was o.k.) Now his doctor asked him to list what he had eaten & drank over the last couple of days plus he asked him how much exercise he was getting. The exercise was zero and he said he was drinking diet Mountain Dew. His doctor was outraged and told him: “artificial sweeteners are a hoax – they are not diabetic safe. Stop drinking diet soda today or you are wasting my time! You will never lose the weight you need to lose and you will never control your diabetes!!”

Needless to say that lecture changed his life again. He began drinking water and a week later he said to me, “don’t tell Dr. Emmett but I have lost 7 # in one week! He went on to say, “the only thing I changed was to replace diet soda with water!” Three weeks and 20# later he was convinced & telling everyone his story. He bought a Brita water filter/pitcher with the money he saved the 1^st week & added the rest of his money saved to his new wardrobe fund! To date he has lost well over 150#’s.

I don’t suggest drive-thru for breakfast, or any meal, but this example shows how making some better choices really changed one person’s life. Don’t get trapped in the artificial sweetener trap, skipping meal trap, pills, stimulants and other fads. Don’t try the latest fad diet. You will lose and then regain. Statistics (my personal experience) shows that you gain back more than you lose.(usually 10% + more). Make the right choices – choose to live a healthier lifestyle. Eliminate the big causes & make staying healthy easier.

Free: “ 5 Contributing Factors to Weight Gain” under Free Articles

The Importance of Good Nutrition also free -Volume 1 Holistic 3d Health E-zine.

Purchase: “Holistic 3D Health Ezine” our Monthly publication and or

“H.E.L.P.” a complete guide to family nutrition and weight loss.

Healthy Eating from Toddlers to Teens

Two mothers talk with Dr. Harrington about the dietary and supplemental needs of their children. Nan’s children range from age two to eight and Kim’s children are “tween” and teens – eleven to fifteen.

Kim: Dr. Emmett, my three children are hungry all of the time and really are into what I consider junk-food - you know - the chips, soft drinks, and candy. How harmful are their habits and should I try to change them? I do want to inspire my children to eat healthy.

Dr. Emmett: I know exactly what you mean Kim. It seemed my children had hollow legs when they were that age! To answer your question about how harmful their habits are ~ I would say extremely harmful for two reasons: First, they are habits ~ the "junk food habit" I call it – and it is a bad habit because it will stay with the children into adulthood. They are forming life-long patterns. The second reason is when children fill up on “junk foods” ~ also called displacement foods, ~ they have a tendency to not get enough of the good foods they need. This is a time in their lives of rapid growth and great change; hormonal change and a time of learning and becoming independent. Many of the health challenges we see in the “tweens” and teens such as acne, depression, weight gain, poor concentration leading to poor grades, sicknesses like mononucleosis can be linked to nutritional needs of the teens.

Kim: How do I get my children to change their habits? There are so many influences on them.

Dr. Emmett: You are right about influences. Your children are at the ages where peer pressure is a tremendous influence. Here are some suggestions:

1. Insist your children eat a protein and fiber-packed breakfast. It will help them be more alert, have better focus and energy throughout the whole day.

2. Don’t buy the junk. I’m sure both of you buy the groceries for home, right? Nan and Kim: Right. Buy good nutritious snacks. Remember – the “foods” – chips, candies and soft drinks are habits and are addictive. They contain addictive ingredients – sugar, high fructose corn syrups, caffeine, white starches that turn to sugars, etc. By the way, did you know sugars turn to alcohol in digestion? You need to wean the bad foods away slowly. Sometimes holding a family council and forming a joint plan helps. Explain your concerns and your reason for concern. Start replacing soft drinks with water; chips and dips with crackers and cheese; fresh fruit, and fresh veggies. If your children eat peanut butter, try the natural even if you start off by mixing half natural and half sweetened. Let your children choose some of their snacks and make some of the decisions.

Nan: My husband bought peanuts, of course the two year old couldn’t eat them but the “big” boys thought they were a great snack!

Dr. Emmett: Nuts are great. Raw ones are the best but any nuts or seeds are a better alternative than chips. They have healthier fats and no simple carbohydrates to turn to sugar.

Kim: You mentioned a healthy protein and fiber packed breakfast. What cereal is best for them?

Dr. Emmett: Remember, cereal is a carbohydrate and in most cases an over-processed food as well. It isn’t going to give them much of the protein that growing children need for so many growth functions. They really need eggs, meat, cheese, cottage cheese or natural unsweetened yogurt and only enough cereal or toast to give them their proper carbohydrate balance.

Nan: How do you know how much protein is enough and how many carbohydrates are too many?

Dr. Emmett: It really is simple. Here is a formula: Divide your child’s weight by 15 and that result by 3. The results will tell you how many ounces of protein needed per meal. Then take the protein ounces and multiply by 9 to establish the carbohydrate amount.

Nan: So that means my 45#, four year old should get a little less than two ounces of protein per meal?

Dr. Emmett: That’s right Nan – a scrambled egg with a slice of cheese or a piece of bacon or sausage is plenty with a piece of toast or even a half slice or some fresh fruit.

Kim: You mentioned cottage cheese. My 14 year old daughter doesn’t do eggs or many meats. I never thought of cottage cheese for breakfast. She does like that. She also is a peanut butter and toast lover.

Dr. Emmett: How much does she weight?

Kim: Around 120 pounds.

Dr. Emmett: So here is a good example – she should have about 2 ¾ ounces of protein for breakfast. A slice of good bread, two tablespoons of natural peanut butter, a cup of cottage cheese with just a few (3 or 4) sliced fresh strawberries would be a great breakfast.

Kim: She would even eat that! She will eat ham and Canadian bacon and sometimes sausage.

Dr. Emmett: A nice whole grain English muffin with two ounces of meat or a slice of cheese would work, too.

Nan: That’s really good news. Cereals are so expensive. Eggs have also gone up in price but they are still a good buy. I can feed all 4 boys with 6 eggs, a couple slices of cheese and some toast.

Dr. Emmett: That’s right and scrambled eggs are quick to make too.

Kim: Time is an issue at our house. It’s so much easier to plop cereal and milk on the table!

Dr. Emmett: Try this Kim. Your kids are certainly old enough to do some chores and help in the kitchen. When you come home with a couple cartons of eggs, have them scramble enough for two or three breakfasts. Store the egg mix in glass jars, with enough for one meal per jar and refrigerate. Then it is as quick as warming the pan, pouring in the eggs and putting the toast in. If they already make their own toast, they can make their own sandwich and they will have a healthy start to their day.

Nan: We’ve covered snacks and breakfast, what about lunch? My two that are in school aren’t always crazy about school lunch choices and neither am I.

Kim: My kids can choose to eat pizza everyday!

Dr. Emmett: There is nothing wrong with pizza – you have hopefully some meat, cheese and some carbs in the crust. They also need a salad or vegetable with the pizza. I do see a lot of fried foods on school menus – chicken nuggets, fries and way, way too much corn (which is a fattening grain and not a vegetable!). I also know many schools offer PBJ sandwiches, they need to leave off the sugary jelly and hopefuly they offer a good quality wheat bread. If your school publishes the menu and you’ve made a family commitment to nutrition, review the menu with your children for the up-coming week or day and talk about the choices they might make. Packing lunches is also an option. You can get insulated bags that will keep things chilled. You might include celery, carrots, raw broccoli or cauliflower, fresh fruit, cheeses. Use good quality bread and their required protein – meat, cheese, peanut butter, etc.

Nan: You’ve mentioned “good quality bread” a couple of times. What breads do you recommend?

Dr. Emmett: Read the labels. You want to see at least three grams of fiber, no high fructose corn syrup or corn sweeteners, the higher protein and lower the sugar amounts the better.

Kim: So what about dinner? Often we are in a hurry and end up grabbing from the deli, drive thru or pizza again!

Dr. Emmett: With the fast pace of today’s families it is tough. The key is to make the best choices available: rotisserie chicken and a bag of mixed salad greens for a green salad, some deli baked beans or a bag of vegetables that steam in the bag is as fast as anything you can grab and it is all good for you. Again, load the pizza with extra cheese and add a salad or quick steamed vegetables. Subs are not a bad choice with extra meat or cheese and whole grain or wheat rolls. There are some great take-out salads both in the grocery store and through the drive-thru. Chose grilled items over fried. It’s all in the choices you make. Everyone offers bottled water and milk. Also, sometimes some planning and thinking ahead helps. We use the crock-pot, salads and steamed vegetables a lot. Your main dish for your meal cooks while you work.

Nan: Sometimes I think my kids may not be eating enough. If I go by your protein/carbohydrate ratio and they are getting the right balance, along with wholesome snacks, then nutritionally we should be pretty good – right?

Dr. Emmett: That’s right Nan, but I still recommend a quality multivitamin for everyone that is age group sensitive and for the adults I recommend something to give them the extra edge and energy they need to keep up with everything. Also, water is very important, as is exercise, fresh air, sunlight, and proper rest is a must.

Nan: How much influence do you feel nutrition has on ADHD, if any?

Dr. Emmett: Everyone’s body chemistry and personality is different but there are several imbalances that can contribute to many of the symptoms of ADHD. Blood sugar imbalances for example, can cause erratic behavior, an inability to focus or concentrate, hyperactivity, irritability, mood swings, sometimes almost a stupor or trance and even incoherent speech. The symptoms can range from moderate to severe and in various combinations. Lack of sleep can cause several of the same symptoms and so can dehydration. Sensitivities and allergies can also cause some of the above symptoms and so can boredom. My suggestion is this: If someone has a child that they feel has an Attention Deficit or Hyper- Activity challenge I would consider the following things first off:

1) If the child is a bright child is he being challenged or is he bored?

2) How much sleep is he getting? Children need eight to ten hours of sleep. If he/she has to be up at 6:00 am, he/she should be in bed by 8:00 to 9:00 pm at the latest if under age ten or so. Older children may cope with eight hours. I also suggest the last half hour be spent in calming down activities such as reading, coloring, listening to music, watching a non-violent movie on television. Regular bedtimes with regular bedtime routines are important for quality rest.

3) Is the child getting 45 minutes to an hour (at minimum) of outside activity on a daily basis? They need to burn off energy.

4) Watch for signs of food and/or chemical sensitivities or allergies. Are the child’s symptoms consistently the same? Do they come and go or increase in intensity? A diary will help pinpoint possible problems.

5) Look at the child’s diet. Keep a diary of what they eat and when. If they seem to be getting the proper protein and carbohydrate ratios’ then blood sugar imbalances shouldn’t be the issue but also consider time between meals. If your child eats breakfast at 6:30 am, walks to school or a distance to catch a bus, has gym class at 10:00 am and lunch at 12:30 or 1:00 pm they may not need a snack to tide them over.

Nan: I know exactly what you mean. I had a similar schedule in 7^th or 8^th grade. I walked 3/4 mile to the bus besides. One day, I went to get up from my class that got over at about ten of eleven and I couldn’t even get out of my chair! I was diagnosed as hypoglycemic and had to take a snack to school with me to eat before that class every day.

Dr. Emmett: That’s a great example, you were stopped in your tracks. Another child might be fidgety, irritable, disruptive, etc. I always ended up falling asleep or getting into a fight. My wife’s first recollection of me was seeing me (as one of her classmate’s cousins) sitting in the hall with a dunce-cap on because of my acting up in class! Back in the 1950’s you were just a “bad” kid. The labels we have today didn’t exist and with the knowledge I have today I know what contributed to my actions. As a “tween” breakfast, for me, was a half cup of coffee, half cup of canned milk, 3-6 teaspoons of sugar and a couple of sugared donuts! If I didn’t act up, I’d fall to sleep. Acting up was more accepted by my peers! My point is this. True ADHD is an electrical short circuit in the brain. There are several things that can cause the short circuit, such as faulty nutrition, lack of sleep, dehydration, etc. There may not even be a biochemical malfunction at all. Check all the possibilities before you medicate with chemicals. There are also some super food nutritionals available that seem to be successful.

Kim: Are you opposed to chemical treatment and medication?

Dr. Emmett: I feel that you should use chemical treatment as a last resort. There may be times when an antibiotic is necessary to treat an infection. However, I think sometimes we jump too quickly even to antibiotics or OTC remedies. Stephen Cherniske, in his book The Metabolic Plan, speaks about this when he talks about the reason for getting a fever and how we tend to react to it. Fever is natures’ weapon we were naturally equipped with to kill bacteria and viruses. We try to control it by taking a fever reducer rather than let it do its’ work. Certainly a high fever should be controlled but a mild fever (under 102) is not something to panic over or even treat other than by slowing down, getting some extra rest, and drinking plenty of fluids. Chemical treatment is always my last choice. I truly believe God provided a remedy in nature for every illness or disease we experience. Have we discovered them all? We haven’t, but we have found many of them and new remedies and preventions are being uncovered daily.

Kim: Where do you find these remedies – at the health food stores?

Dr. Emmett: You may find a few in health stores but I believe some of the best, if not the best, are developed and researched at a laboratory called Unigen Pharmaceuticals. The thing that impresses me most about Unigens’ products is that they are pharmaceutical grade, nutritional products, or in other words, they are nutritional products that have been scientifically researched and developed, scientifically tested and many have been clinically tested. Unigen’s science and testing is unique in the natural products field. The key to good health is prevention. Your body works in a tear down/build up cycle. You want to provide it with fuel to build faster than it tears down. Unigens’ nutraceuticals are developed to do just that through their study of how certain nutritional components affect our DNA. You can find more information at ww.unigenpharma.com

Nan: So you are setting up a total wellness scenario for us really: the right foods, water, plenty of rest, exercise, supplementation, and if one of us still gets ill, just slow down.

Dr. Emmett: You are right. Change your family’s lifestyle to meet the criteria we’ve talked about and you’ll see better focus, fewer illnesses, and all around better health. Are there any other questions?

Nan: You mentioned fruit but not juice. Aren’t juices good?

Dr. Emmett: Juices are too high in sugar and low in fiber. Fresh whole fruit is my first choice. God made apples and oranges, not straight apple and orange juice. Certainly back in history when fresh fruits weren’t so available year around juices were better than not eating fruit at all, but today there is plenty of fresh fruit to choose from. Anything else?

Kim: I have a friend that is self proclaimed health-nut. She only uses soy-milk, organically grown vegetables and fruit, almost no meats, but some soy substitutes there too. To me she seems to be going overboard!

Dr. Emmett: I agree! A comment about soy products. Many people use soy because they fear the animal products contain too many antibiotics and growth stimulating hormones in the feed are carried over into threat and milk they drink. That concern is partially legitimate; however soy is not the answer. Soy causes hormonal imbalances itself! The answer is to eat a balanced diet. If you can get meats and milk that say they are hormone free that would be my first choice. I strongly would like to see more U.S. grown produce because we have higher standards on fertilization and pesticides but we personally do not always buy organic fruits and vegetables. We do clean them well which is always a good practice. Well, we could probably go on longer, but we’ve covered a good number of areas.

Kim: I’ve learned a lot! I know my grocery list is going to change! I also think a family council is a really good idea and will mean better cooperation and fewer complaints.

Nan: I agree! My shopping list will change some too. I know I won’t panic so much with fevers. I understand how and why they are necessary.

Dr. Emmett: Thanks ladies.

For a copy of Dr. Emmett’s Eating Plan for your family purchase Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Plan (H.E.L.P.) for $29.95 H.E.L.P. will provide you with a complete guide for daily nutritional needs for your whole family, helpful charts for tracking needs, recipes, tips and much more. Also, you may want to subscribe to our monthly newsletter that features articles on health, ongoing discussions, recipes, menus, shopping tips and product recommendations and more. ($19.95 for one year subscription)

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Five Contributing Factors of Weight Gain

An Interview with a Ph.D. Nutritionist with his "Secrets of Weight Control"

Dr. Harrington is a Ph.D. nutritionist and holds a C.Psy.D. as a Doctor of Christian Psychology in Clinical Counseling. He also is a NCCA Certified Temperament Counselor, a Certified Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Coach, and a Licensed Pastoral Counselor with Board Certification in Substance Abuse and Addictions (including Food Addiction and Eating Disorders).

Interviewer: Dr. Harrington, as you know obesity and weight gain are a major concern today as well as a contributor to many related health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. I have several questions for you today. First, what causes do you attribute this weight gain issue to and what can each of us do to make positive changes? Second, which diet do you think is the most effective or do diets even work?

Dr. Harrington: Well, I’ll address your last question first. No, research has shown in the long term diets do not work and I will explain why. Most diets make us do things, eat things or not eat things, which put us into a position that we really don’t want to stay in for the rest of our lives. We may stick with a diet for a brief period of time, lose some weight and then just give up because it is too difficult or we miss our favorite foods. Many weight loss programs are the same.

Interviewer: I know exactly what you mean – you just get tired of the diet. I’ve tried diets that concentrated on just a few foods. I got so tired of them I just quit!

Dr. Harrington: I can almost guarantee you gained back every pound you lost and then some!

Interviewer: You are right! So what is the solution to weight control?

Dr. Harrington: There are basically five factors that affect our weight and our ability to lose weight and four out of those five factors are within our control.

Interviewer: What are those five factors? I can guess genetics may be one – the one we can’t control.

Dr. Harrington: You are correct. Genetics is one factor of weight loss and it is the one factor we cannot control, however, I often find that family nutrition habits and tradition get confused with genetics. We can alter those two things, we just need to separate them.

Interviewer: Explain what you mean- genetics verses tradition and habits.

Dr. Harrington: We are born with genetics. Traditions or family habits would be such things as a family who always eats meals based simple carbohydrates such as white breads, pasta, rice and desserts with very few vegetables and fruits or a diet high in fried foods – fried chicken, fried potatoes, fried green tomatoes and okra, fried fish, grits and the list goes on but never includes the good green things! Many families have a tendency to over eat as well. Adding alcoholic beverages, sweetened beverages, colas and other high empty calorie or high carbohydrate foods to the wrong foods in large quantities are family habits or traditions that equal weight gain.

Interviewer: I see what you mean – If the family habits encourage overeating and eating the wrong things; the wrong combinations, the family’s traditions and habits cause the family members to be overweight generation after generation. That certainly is a factor we can control. What are the other factors we can control?

Dr. Harrington: So the first and most obvious is what we eat along with when we eat it. In other words the eating habits we have been speaking off. Let me give you a basic foundation: You must eat three well balanced meals each day. It is best if you keep those three meals small and supplement with healthy snacks.

Interviewer: Talk to me about your definition of a well balanced meal.

Dr. H: A well balanced meal needs the proper balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates. Your current weight and your weight loss goals, if you need to shed pounds, determines the exact amounts.

Interviewer: Where do you see people getting off track the most with this protein/fat/carbohydrate imbalance?

Dr. H: I wish I could say – “in this little area” or “at this meal” but really our concept of balance is pretty messed up. The worst things I see are:

1. Breakfast gets skipped or is high in over processed carbohydrates – cereals,

white bread products, etc. and sugar loaded foods.

2. Lunch consisting of “fast food” again that is over processed, high in white bread products and/or fats and low in protein.

3. Dinner may have too much protein. We have starved our bodies of quality body building and energy sources all day and at dinner we tend to over eat.

4. We drink sugar or sugar substitutes all day long! A year ago my son who works for Pepsi-Cola told me that their water products had outsold their cola drinks. I was thrilled! I know some of it was flavored but it is still better for you than any drink with sugar, any type of high fructose corn sweetener or sugar substitute.

Interviewer: You mean diet sodas aren’t a good drink choice?

Dr. H: No, they are not. First of all they take away from much needed water consumption, and secondly most sugar substitutes are more harmful to our bodies than raw sugar. There are many reasons to state this but basically anytime you are replacing a natural product – raw sugar – with a chemical product – sugar substitutes - you are going from the frying pan to the fire so to speak.

Interviewer: So we really need to change our lifestyle habits.

Dr. H: You are 100% correct! Breakfast needs to consist of protein – eggs, meat, cheese, cottage cheese, whole grain breads or a quality cereal and perhaps some fresh fruit or a small glass of 100% natural juice.

Lunch again needs some good quality protein – lean meat, chicken or fish, cheese, cottage cheese, natural yogurt (no artificial sweeteners added!), with green vegetables.

Salads are great if they include dark greens. Other options are sandwiches made with whole grain breads, veggies, meat and cheese. Another lunch suggestion would be a whey-based shake (if you can find a good quality base) which is what I personally use.

My wife has either a salad or a smoothie made from yogurt, cottage cheese and a fruit flavored super food.

Dinner also requires your protein allotment and a balance of carbohydrates. There are a great number of vegetables that are very low in simple carbs, yet high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals that can be eaten in unlimited quantities.

Interviewer: You mentioned fiber. How important is fiber and how much do we need daily?

Dr. H: We need at least 35 to 45 grams each day however most get less than 10 grams per day. Don't believe recommendations that say 12 to 20 grams either.

Interviewer: Wow, that’s a big difference! How can you add that much more fiber?

Dr. H: Let me give you some basic ideas. If you are eating a white bread now that has one gram of fiber per slice and eat the same at two meals each day – lets say two slices of toast for breakfast and a burger for lunch and maybe a serving of cooked veggies at dinner with mashed potatoes or fries – you gotten about eight to twelve grams of fiber depending on what else you ate. If you failed to eat any vegetables at all and instead consumed snacks and chips your fiber intake might well be even lower. On the other hand, you could change that to a quality bread with 3 grams of fiber per slice for that to two slices of toast at three grams each for breakfast plus a sandwich at lunch on the same type of bread along with a green salad or raw vegetables. Then at dinner you could have baked potato with the skin, two lightly steamed vegetables (say broccoli and green peas) and your snacks being either raw veggies (carrots or celery) or fresh fruit (an apple or a pear). You dinner dessert of perhaps cake, could be replaced with fresh strawberries with the result of the day’s fiber intake now in the range of 32 to 36 grams. It is all a matter of choices.

Interviewer: So making the right choices makes a really big difference!

Dr. H: You are right. Just changing the bread took us from 4 grams of fiber in our bread to 12 grams which is the daily average. Everything else you add after that is really giving you a big boost over what most people consume!

Interviewer: That is amazing! You make it sound like it really is not hard. It just takes making the right choices. So we should eat three well balanced meals each day.

Dr H. Yes and surprisingly if you get your portions of protein and carbohydrates in balance, you will begin to get your total meal in balance.

Interviewer: What happens when we skip meals? It seems like you would have lower calorie intake and lose weight.

Dr. H: If you skip meals or eat nutritionally inadequate meals your body thinks it needs to store whatever you do eat. Do you know what happens when we store what we eat?

Interviewer: It turns to fat?

Dr. H: That’s right. When we eat a signal goes to our brain asking, “what do we do with this food (fuel)?” If a person eats regular meals and is active the brain tells the body to produce energy, muscles and healthy cells and tissues. If you do not eat regular meals the brain signals back and says – “store it! It may be awhile before we get the next shipment!” If the person is inactive the signal comes back to the body to “make a little energy, but don’t worry about muscles and healthy cells as this person is “old” and doesn’t need that.” “Make some fat out of the rest!”

Interviewer: So eating right and being active are essential.

Dr. H: That’s right. Exercise or being active is the second component that we have control over. Most of us do not get enough exercise.

Interviewer: What types of exercise do you suggest?

Dr. H: Walking is probably one of the best and least expensive exercises and almost everyone can walk. It is best to walk outside. We should try to get at least 15 to 20 minutes of sunlight daily, so walking outside accomplishes two things at once. Doing some type of strength training, using light weights, that doesn’t cause injury to the joints is also recommended. But for the more ambitious, there is bicycling, swimming, etc., as well. It’s not necessary to spend tons of money – but it does require getting out of the chair or off the couch to exercise! Some type of exercise for 35 to 45 minutes 3 times each week can really make a big difference.

Interviewer: So we have two of the four – what we eat and exercise – what are the other two?

Dr. H: Growing old or aging is the third factor, within our control, that affects our weight and our ability to lose weight. You may think “but I can’t control how old I am getting”, but you can. You can trick your body into thinking it is young in 4 ways. We just talked about one way – what we eat.

1. Stay active – exercise, participate in sports or physical activities you enjoy such as tennis, golf, dancing, swimming – whatever, but keep moving!

2. Think young – keep your thoughts positive and keep mentally active. Read.books, learn new things, try new things – keep growing and learning. I am sixty-five and I earned my third Doctorate at 60. Each year I do one or two new certifications. I continually research and intend to continue to be as active as I am today for at least another 30 years! I hear many people younger than I am say “I can’t do that, I’m 62 or whatever the age, or I’m too old.” The bottom line is if you think you are too old – you are old!

3. If you are over thirty have your DHEA Sulfate levels tested and supplement

your diet with a good DHEA source. The best I’ve found is called Prime manufactured by Unigen Pharmaceuticals and distributed by Univera Life Sciences. Prime may be purchased through www.univeralifesciences.com . A DHEA sulfate test may arranged through your family physician to determine the amount of suggested DHEA supplementation needed.

Interviewer: What does DHEA actually do?

Dr. H: DHEA is our master hormone. It is the control hormone that signals all other hormones for growth and renewal. As we age our bodies produce less because of the accumulative effects of oxidative stress. If we can increase our DHEA levels, eat right and stay active our bodies think we are young and continue to repair and rebuild cells like we did when we were younger.

Interviewer: That sounds like with DHEA supplementation we would actually slow down the aging process.

Dr. H: You are correct again. It is a way to trick Mother Nature. Through our mental attitude, staying active and supplementing with DHEA our bodies function younger.

Interviewer: So what is the fourth factor, within our control, that affects our weight and our ability to lose weight.

Dr. H: Factor #4 is stress.

Interviewer: Stress?

Dr. H: Yes, stress. Stress covers everything dealing with traffic going to work in the morning to worrying about how to pay the bills, to a family crisis such as death, divorce, marriage, buying a new home and the list goes on.

Interviewer: How can we control stress? It comes at us from so many causes.

Dr. H: Stress management is the key. Sometimes we create stress for ourselves by:

1. Committing ourselves to too many activities. We need to be good time managers as well as realistic time managers.

2. Sometimes we financially over commit ourselves. We need to learn that we don’t need everything today. We need to save up for big purchases and try to eliminate credit purchases except for your home and perhaps for our vehicles.

The bottom line is we need to keep things in their proper perspective. Some things just aren’t worth stressing about, like the guy in front of you who didn’t take off quick enough when the light turned green or the one behind you that beeps his horn when you didn’t move fast enough!

Exercise helps relieve stress. Your mental attitude helps manage stress. The best thing to do is to remove yourself from stressful situations. Prayer and meditation relieves stress. It is good just to turn some situations over to your Heavenly Father and let Him handle the stress.

Interviewer: So you are saying stress can make me gain weight? How does that happen?

Dr. H: That’s right. There are several ways:

1. Some people eat when they are stressed and generally they over eat. Others do not eat at all, both are bad and we have covered why.

2. Physiologically, stress raises cortisol and elevated cortisol lowers DHEA production. We know lower DHEA levels mean our cellular metabolism slows down which means we burn fewer calories, store more fat and gain weight.

3. Stress can cause depression which also slows us down as well as creating anxiety which raises cortisol levels.

4. For some, stress causes hyperactivity and our adrenals over-react. Again,our body goes into the preserve or store up – stock up mode. Adrenal stress causes DHEA levels to drop and we’ve covered that cycle as well.

Interviewer: Wow! There are a lot of factors that can cause weight gain that I never thought of.

Dr. H: Weight control really isn’t as hard as it sounds. It is a matter of right choices: right choices in what we eat and when we eat; right choices in exercise and activity versus sitting on the couch; right mental attitudes; and right choices in supplementation.

You might say it equals the right choice of what your lifestyle is going to be.

Interviewer: Thank you Dr. Harrington for taking the time to discuss the topic of

controlling the contributing factors of weight gain, I have really learned a lot.

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