Posts from — May 2009
Caffeine and Age Spots
I love coffee. And I love the sun. So, when I got married and took a 3-week honeymoon (or was it 5-week? Ask any of my friends who couldn’t take as much vacation for their honeymoons and they will tell you) in Brazil, spending a minimum of 9 hours daily on the beach I naturally blamed any age spots developing afterward on sun exposure. My skin does freckle in the sun, but one spot in particular has hung around for the last few years of marital bliss and has been something I watch as a general indicator of skin health. No, I won’t tell you where it is lest every time I wear a tank top you become fixated on figuring out which freckle is of concern to me. Just trust me that it’s there.
The reason I am blogging about such a seemingly mundane topic is that for the last few weeks I have been working on reducing my caffeine intake and drinking more water and a very unexpected side effect has happened – my age spot has gotten lighter. I can’t say it’s directly related to caffeine intake or to hydration but it is noticeably different. I used to drink a cup or two of coffee with cream each day, but have switched to mostly drinking green tea lattes with an occasional coffee binge once a week. Maybe the lightening of the age spot has nothing at all to do with reducing caffeine and more to do with getting more antioxidants from the tea but either way I don’t care – I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing!
Here is how I make the green tea lattes – they’re great iced or hot:
1 green tea bag steeped in 6 oz. boiling water (I like Jasmine green tea but any kind is okay)
1 Tbsp. raw honey
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
That’s it! It doesn’t have that bitter coffee taste that is so satisfying, but it does have a nice floral aroma and creamy texture so it is enjoyable to drink.
May 18, 2009 2 Comments
Motivational Threat: Day Seven
Here is the final entry for the 7-day experiment. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
Good morning and happy Mother’s Day! Since it is Mother’s Day and most of us will be spending time with our mothers and/or children today I decided that today’s threat will apply to tomorrow, instead of having to be implemented today. Here it is:
If you don’t eat a healthy breakfast containing protein within 30 minutes of waking up (which is key timing for starting your metabolism for the day), I’m going to scatter mouse droppings inside one of your kitchen cabinets. Then, when you discover it, you’ll think you have a mouse infestation and set a bunch of traps that won’t catch anything so you’ll live day and night with the thought that you have mice in your house, when really it was just planted droppings. (Don’t ask me where or how I will obtain those droppings, okay?)
Ideas for a healthy breakfast containing protein include eggs and toast, nitrate-free sausage or bacon, an omelette, plain yogurt with fresh fruit, a protein shake, oatmeal with chopped raw nuts, or an English muffin with smoked salmon.
NOTE: These threats are not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. Do not make changes to your diet or lifestyle without first consulting your physician.
Thanks for participating in the experiment!
Jessica
Jessica Forbes, MS CCN
Certified Clinical Nutritionist
May 10, 2009 No Comments
Motivational Threat: Day Six
Here is today’s threat. Happy Saturday!
I let you sleep in today and decided to give an afternoon threat instead of a morning threat as part of my be nice/be mean bullying technique. Plus it’s Saturday and I didn’t feel like getting into email first thing in the morning! Here is your threat for today:
If you don’t do something for at least 30 minutes today that is relaxing and purely for your enjoyment, I’m going to set all the clocks in your entire home 2 hours back so that you are 2 hours late for work on Monday and don’t even know it until you walk in the door.
Ideas of things to do include taking a walk with a friend, reading a book, knitting or crocheting, getting a manicure or pedicure, or spending some time outdoors in the sunshine. Watching television doesn’t count!
NOTE: These threats are not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. Do not make changes to your diet or lifestyle without first consulting your physician.
Thanks for participating in the experiment!
Jessica
Jessica Forbes, MS CCN
Certified Clinical Nutritionist
May 9, 2009 No Comments
Motivational Threat: Day Five
Happy Friday! Here is today’s threat, which went out to participants a few minutes ago.
Only 2 days of threatening to go! Here is your threat for today:
If you don’t do something to balance your hormones today (see link below), I’m going to empty out your underwear drawer and fill it with non-poisonous, yet still scary snakes and spiders so that when you wake up in the morning and groggily get dressed you’ll have a scary surprise.
At this site http://www.forbesnutritionalservices.com/uploads/Hormone_Balance.pdf you will find a list of practical nutritional tips to promote hormone balance.
NOTE: These threats are not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. Do not make changes to your diet or lifestyle without first consulting your physician.
Thanks for participating in the experiment!
Jessica
Jessica Forbes, MS CCN
Certified Clinical Nutritionist
May 8, 2009 No Comments
The Splenda Rant
In general, I am a very anti-artificial sweetener nutritionist. Call me crazy, but when something is created in a lab to make your body think it is tasting one thing when in fact it is something completely different and undigestable I would tend to think it is not something you would want to put in your body.
Of all the artificial sweeteners out there, there is one that really sets me off on a nutrition rant. Splenda. Why? Because they are the sole artificial sweetener (at least that I am aware of) which markets their product to children. At least the aspartame and saccharin people have enough dignity to advertise their product to adults. Splenda, however, has concentrated their marketing campain on such gems as the ad below:
This, to me, is unforgivable. And here is the science behind my rant.
Splenda’s original slogan was “Made from Sugar so it Tastes Like Sugar.”
May 8, 2009 No Comments
Double Motivation
A funny friend of mine sent me an email this morning with a bunch of ridiculous motivational posters, the most applicable of which is below. I hope I am not infringing on someone’s copyright by posting this on my blog but I found it too funny not to share!
And for those of you who are following the motivational threatening 1-week experiment from afar, here is the email that went out this morning to participants:
Good morning and welcome to day 4 of our threatening journey – only 3 days to go! Here is your threat for today:
If you don’t drink an appropriate amount of water today, I’m going to buy the mechanical shark that they used in Jaws and release it into the swimming pool next time you’re out for a leisurely swim. Sure, it’s not real and it would be under my control so it wouldn’t actually eat you – but you wouldn’t know that.
The general formula for calculating the appropriate amount of water for you is:
Your body weight in pounds divided by 2 = The number of ounces of water you should drink daily.
For example, a person weighing 150 pounds would drink 75 ounces of water over the course of a day. Needs will vary based on activity levels, but generally this formula works well for most people.
NOTE: These threats are not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. Do not make changes to your diet or lifestyle without first consulting your physician.
Thanks for participating in the experiment!
Jessica
Jessica Forbes, MS CCN
Certified Clinical Nutritionist
May 7, 2009 No Comments