Eating Disorder Pro

I am really excited about this guest blog post from Maria Emmerich of marianutrition.com! Maria Emmerich is a wellness expert in nutrition and exercise physiology. She shares a passion for helping others reach their goals of optimal health. She struggled with her weight throughout childhood and decided enough was enough. She decided to study health and wellness so she could help others stop wasting their time being discouraged with their outward appearance and not feeling their best mentally. Maria understands the connection between food and how it makes us all feel on the inside and out. Her specialty is brain chemical neurotransmitters and how they are affected by the foods we eat.*

She has authored several books, including “Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism“, “Nutritious and Delicious” and “Secrets to Controlling your Weight, Cravings and Mood: Understand the biochemistry of neurotransmitters and how they determine our weight and mood” and is a writer for “A Second Opinion Magazine“. Be sure to check out both her website and blog, both are excellent sources of recipes and current health information!

Ramen + MSG

Yikes! With ingredients like this, do I really need to tell you that this plastic bag is nothing but junk?

Ramen Noodle Soup Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (contains One or More of Following: Canola Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Palm Oil) Preserved by Tocopherols and/or TBHQ and/or Ascorbyl Palmitate, contains Less than 2% of Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Potassium Carbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Alginate. Seasoning Mix: Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Soy, Corn and Wheat Protein, Chicken Powder, Soy Sauce Powder (Wheat, Soybeans, Maltodextrin, Salt)Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spices, Chicken Fat, Calcium Silicate (Anticaking Agent)Celery Powder, Sugar, Dehydrated Leek, Turmeric Color, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Natural Flavors, Artificial Flavors.

MSG (an excitotoxin) causes damage to the neurons in your brain and has links to Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease and many others. Children are very susceptible to this type of effect on their sensitive and growing brains. Excitotoxins excite the neurons in the brain too much. They become exhausted and die. Neurotoxins are also a main cause of seizures . The damage may not be seen until many years later. When this happens, our neurotransmitters responsible for focus, mood, and memory have a hard time finding and recognizing their receptors due to the inflammation of the membranes on the brain cells caused by the consumption of MSG.

Brain levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (important for mood and focus) are lowered by 95% when you ingest excitotoxins. BUT what is even more disturbing, is that when you switch to eating 100% free of processed food, our brain remains unable to produce normal amounts of dopamine in the hippocampus (the part of the brain most responsible for consolidating memory). This is one reason for the high rates of ADHD and depression. To read more on Brain Chemicals, check out my book: Secrets to Controlling Your Weight Cravings and Mood

TBHQ comes from petroleum (think “lighter fluid”). It is banned in other countries. TBHQ keeps fats from going rancid, so you see it in a lot of foods that they want to have a long shelf life. It is considered an “anti-oxidant” BUT it can itself be oxidized into harmful molecules, like tert-butylquinone…causing a TIRED TOXIC LIVER (see chapter on the liver in Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism).

TBHQ also promotes production of quinone reductase, which is linked to cancer. TBHQ can cause a full range of reactions from asthma to anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, depression, tiredness, learning difficulties and children’s behavior problems. This chemical is also found to effect estrogen levels…are you trying to get pregnant? or dealing with menopausal symptoms? I would avoid this like the plague.

Healthified Ramen

“HEALTHIFIED” Ramen
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
4 cups zucchini “noodles”
2 tsp organic Tamari sauce (soy sauce)
1/2 tsp chili oil (or sesame oil)
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger root
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 green onions, sliced

Peel and “swirl” the zucchini using THIS TOOL: Spiral Slicer. In a medium saucepan combine broth, zucchini noodles, tamari sauce and ginger. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in chili or sesame oil. Slowly pour in the egg and stir for 30 seconds until the egg has cooked. Garnish with green onions. Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Ramen = 190 calories, 26 carbs, 2 g fiber (24 effective carbs)
“Healthified” Ramen = 75 calories, 5.3 carbs, 1.4 g fiber (3.9 effective carbs)

*Maria Emmerich’s Bio Information was obtained from: http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/

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Do you have any favorite “less healthy” foods that you have “healthified”? I’d love to hear from you!

Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.