By Scott Drexler
Much like the rest of you I try to be the smartest shopper I can be and have fallen victim to sacrificing quantity for quality. Heck, who can beat a 1,000 tablet multivitamin bottle that can last me 6 months compared to one that will only last me a single month? Well, it is the quality of that one month bottle of vitamins that beats that six month juggernaut. If there is one important lesson I have learned from working at Angie’s World other than the obvious, it is the quality of the substances I put into my body. If I want to perform at the highest, healthiest and most efficient level, why would I want to settle for less? Caution to those who read any further, this is going to sound like a lame sales pitch, but the beauty of Angie’s World is Angie refuses to have anything in her store that she hasn’t researched and/or used herself. Being that I am somewhat of a health-nut myself, I cannot begin to describe how many times I have walked into your generic, corporate nutrition shop and asked the employee a question about a product and have gotten the same automated response that can be found on the products website. Not that this is a bad thing, but it just demonstrates how little is known of the actual quality of the product. I am by no means claiming to be more knowledgeable than these other workers, but unlike the other stores I have a trained and certified professional (Angie) in store that is able to answer any questions I or any customer may have. I don’t know about you, but being told by a certified nutritionist/trainer whether a product will work for me and how it will improve my life gives me much better piece of mind than saving some money on a product that may not actually work. So, next time you see a lifetime supply of multivitamins for really cheap, instead of thinking “That is a great deal!” maybe you should consider why this product is being sold for such a low price. It’s because of the QUALITY!
Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category
Why Shop at Angie’s World
Friday, July 30th, 2010Feeding the Brain
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010When we eat right and exercise we know we are improving our physique but does it really make that much of a difference in our brains? The answer is YES! Choosing the right fuel for our brains is as important as choosing the right foods for weight loss and a healthy heart. Our brain accounts for 2% of our body weight but uses roughly 20% of our daily calories to function. When the brain is given the right fats and nutrition it will perform optimally, stave off depression and effectivly calculate it’s daily tasks. B-vitamins and Omega3 fats are the key ingrediants to a healthy brain. B vitamins can be found in eggs, brown rice, leafy greens, mushrooms, beef, avocados, nuts, seeds etc. Omega3 fats can be found in cold water fish especially sardines and salmon (wild-caught, please), olive oil, avocado and alfalfa. Pregnant women, children and people recovering from TBI’s (traumatic brain injuries) should pay special attention to their intake of these nutrients especially because the reconnection of neurons is essential to brain development and recovery. This is also good advice for students and most people who want to walk around with a clear head instead of a cloudy one. Remember, your body is like a car. You drive it around all day long and if you put the right fuel in your tank you’ll be able to go for miles and miles!
Traumatic Brain Injury
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010At Angie’s World, we have achieved great success with clients with Traumatic Brain Injury, also known as TBI. Many facilities provide care and occupational therapy for such patients but families are often frustrated with the overall results. Studies have shown that exercise for someone with TBI provides many positive benefits such as increased blood flow and faster nerve impulses to the brain (which improves how quickly you process or think), and increases body awareness. Exercise also improves mood and memory, increases heart and lung efficiency, and positively affects balance.
Donny Winn, A TBI client, has had remarkable success with our program. Please check out www.donnywinn.com. Donny has been training with us for over 2 years and has developed stronger core stability, improved range of motion, and muscle strength that has made him more independent. Check out his before and after photos here. You can even see a video of his workouts here.
Another of our clients, is Brennen Haworth. When Brennen, A.k.a “Shoeey”, came to us, he couldn’t move his arms or legs. We began his program with a stretching routine to help relax the muscles. Now, less than a year, Shoeey can perform shoulder rows, ride a stationary bicycle, and can use various leg machines.
Our TBI clients have had various degrees of injury and we are able to work around almost all challenges, including wheelchairs, walkers, feeding tubes, etc.
As a certified nutritionist, I emphasis the importance of nutrition to help the individual in the recovery process. I will help design a program that is right for the individual to increase brain function and improve body composition which is a significant component to their progress. I can also provide information on supplementation, working directly with their doctor.
If you or a loved one is frustrated due to a TBI, we can help. Please contact us for a free consultation.
AlkaPower Works!!
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010By Wilma Young
Well it’s been one week of using the Alkapower water (www.alkapower.com) and I
am thrilled with the results so far.Using our BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance
Analysis) device, we have confirmed positive results. Angie lost 1.8
pounds, had a 1/2 % improvement in overall hydration and 1/3% reduction in toxic
burden. I had improvements in my hydration, weight and body fat. I have lost 3
pounds, 1.8 lbs of that being fat and the rest is extracellular water (which is
wonderful, since this is a sign of toxins leaving the body). I have also had my
BMI reduced and an increase in my cellular health. I kept
my eating and exercise routine the same, drank 2-3 bottles of the 33 oz
Alkapower for for the first 3 days and then 1, 33 oz bottle on the subsequence
days. I know one thing for sure. I am going to keep it up and see if the numbers
keep improving because we know that the more alkaline a body is the leaner and
healthier it will be. If you are interested in a BIA test for yourself so you
can see how your health is doing just call the office for an appointment! Check
back for updates…
The Latest Press Release
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010Riverside Trainer’s New Book Shares “Secrets” of Health and Fitness
Hard work and long-term commitment trump trendy diets and surgeries, says president of Angie’s World and author of the new book, “Body by Angie.”
RIVERSIDE, CA—If you’re overweight and unhealthy and want to do something about it, Angie Lustrick has some advice for you.
Ignore the ever-present ads for weight-loss surgery (it’s a lot riskier—and costlier—than they let on). Forget the quick-fix diet fads—the only weight you’ll lose will be from your wallet.
Instead, take a page—literally—out of Lustrick’s new book, “Body by Angie: Is Your Body Bankrupt? Learn to Invest in Your Health.”
In her book, Lustrick, president of Riverside-based personal training and nutrition center Angie’s World, explains why starvation diets, risky surgeries and unrealistic exercise regimens simply don’t work.
The truth is, getting and staying in shape isn’t easy.
It takes hard work, dedication and the right mindset. And support from expert trainers such as the staff at Angie’s World doesn’t hurt, either.
What’s really needed is a life-changing commitment to getting and staying healthy, says Lustrick, who understands firsthand the challenges of being overweight.
A decade ago, she was overweight, hypoglycemic and unhappy with the way she looked and felt. Like increasing numbers of Americans, her lack of fitness was affecting her overall health, and she had to do something about it.
Ten years later, Lustrick is a certified nutritionist and personal trainer. She has competed in marathons, triathlons, bodybuilding events and other sporting competitions. At 34, she’s in the best shape of her life—physically, mentally and emotionally. And she’s inspiring others to embark on the same life-changing journey she undertook.
Her message couldn’t come at a more appropriate time. A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that 32.2 percent of adult men and 35.5 percent of adult women were obese. According to medical experts, obesity can lead to chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, certain cancers and arthritis.
No miracle diet or dangerously invasive surgery will help you lose the weight and keep it off, says Lustrick, who appeared at book signings in the Inland Empire in July— including an event scheduled at Barnes & Noble booksellers on July 24— where she dispensed advice and inspired people to set and pursue their own weight-loss goals.
As Lustrick says, eating sensibly and committing to long-term exercise goals will allow you to lose body fat and add muscle, increase your metabolism and stamina and improve your overall health.
A sensible—and increasingly affordable—approach to getting in shape is by working with a personal trainer. And “Body by Angie” tells you how to choose a trainer who will help design a safe and appropriate exercise routine, get maximum benefit from your workouts and keep you motivated to do even better.
Lustrick received her certified nutritionist degree from American Health Science University and earned a degree in Biology from the University of California, Riverside. She was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in her early college years, and knew she had to make a major lifestyle change. She entered a nationally sponsored transformation contest in 2000 and won first place out of 30,000 participants. She has since started Angie’s World, a Center of Excellence for the First Line Therapy® Program, a medically proven nutrition program.
The Answer To Your Water Dilmena!
Thursday, July 15th, 2010By Wilma Young
After the last blog about how acidic our water is, especially the ones touting elctrolytes, we have been on the search for an alkalizing water. One that would taste good and provide the all important hydration we all need. We are excited to have brought in AlkaPower. It has a stable pH Level of 9-10 which counteracts the negative effects of a poor diet, stressful lifestyle and inadequate hydration. It is infused with ionic calcium for maximum absorpstion and so far we have been impressed with the results. Angie and I have documented our numbers with our fabulous BIA machine and have started the water test. We will do a re-test and provide results to see if we really have what we think we have. In the meantime, I have already felt stronger and more clear-headed. Now there are those of you that know me that may think that is not a hard improvement to make (ha!ha!)but in all seriousness…if we can lose body fat, increase hydration and performance and stave off the effects of an acidic biological environment COUNT ME IN !!! Check back for results and updates…
Don’t take another sip of water before you read this!
Friday, July 9th, 2010We all know that soda is bad for us. The media is making us quite aware of all the sugar that is in our drinks. We are constantly told to drink more water but is it really all that good for us? The obvious answer is YES, but after a weekend at the beach, I realize the answer is a bit complicated. In a previous post I mentioned to not leave your plastic water bottles inside your cars because the BPA (bis phenyl A) in it will leach into the water when exposed to heat. These BPAs are responsible for causing excess Estrogen in our bodies and may lead to weight gain amongst other things. But now, I have also discovered that many “healthy” waters are in fact very acidic! Drinking water should be at a pH of 7.0 or higher. The higher the number the more basic, or more alkaline, the water is. Our bodies cannot absorb acidic water, which means, after downing bottle are bottle, our bodies remain dehydrated. Many of my clients have increased their water intake to discover that it wasn’t “working” to increase their dehydration status after testing them. My initial thought was that they were eating too many processed foods and their body was still too acidic to absorb the water they needed. But NOW, I realize their is another problem: ACIDIC WATER. Yep. Most waters on the market today are highly acidic. After visiting a shop down in Carlsbad where they had tested the pH of many popular bottled waters, I saw that most waters on the market today scored well below 6.0.
So, Wilma and I decided to do our own test this week. We bought water from Trader Joes, Ralphs, Rite-Aid, and even our local Water & Ice store. We discovered that, indeed, all our waters were about 5.4- 6.0 in range! Yikes! This included Smart water with electrolytes. The only waters that did better were Spring Waters, good ole Arrowhead Water. Interestingly enough, the better (high alkaline) waters didn’t taste as good to me. Well, no surprise, the more alkaline the water, the more minerals and the harder the water. Hmm.. Makes you want to rethink everything we are doing – softening our water, reverse osmosis, ultra purified…. All this in the end makes a commercial tasty water, much like Wonder Bread is a tasty bread – void of all the good stuff.
How to Tell if Eggs are Fresh
Thursday, June 10th, 2010I stumbled upon this great information from whatscookingamerica.net on how to determine if you should “chuke it” or “eat it”:
A general rule to follow is that any egg that looks or smells odd should not be used. If an egg is bad you will know it. Just smell the egg! Just crack each egg in a small bowl, smell it – your nose will tell you!
How to test if an egg is fresh
First Method:
Fill a deep bowl with water and carefully lower the egg into the water. A very fresh egg will immediately sink to the bottom and lie flat on its side. This is because the air cell within the egg is very small. The egg should also fee quite heavy.
As the egg starts to lose it freshness and more air enters the egg, it will begin to float and stand upright. The smaller end will lie on the bottom of the bowl, while the broader end will point towards the surface. The egg will still be good enough to consume.
However, if the egg fully floats in the water and does not touch the bottom of the bowl at all, it should be discarded, as it will most likely be bad.
Second Method:
Test the eggs freshness by breaking the egg onto a flat plate, not into a bowl. The yolk of a very fresh egg will have a round and compact appearance and it will sit positioned quite high up in the middle of the egg. The white that surrounds it will be thick and stays close to the yolk.
A less fresh egg will contain a flatter yolk, that may bread easily and a thinner white that spreads quite far over the plate.
So I’m At The Grocery Store…
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010I am at the check out line noticing the woman in front of me. She has the classic American apparel of grey, baggy sweats and an oversized shirt. Her energy seems to be negative and I feel sad for her because it looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. As she approaches the conveyer she proceeds to give the checker and bagger the specifics on how she would like her transaction to be handled. I was enthralled at this woman’s demeanor and wondered how she got to this place in her life. Then as she started to remove her groceries from her cart she literally threw them on the check out stand. One time after another with no consideration as to how they were landing or what they hit. When the yogurt containers hit the cellophane chicken bending it out of it’s original shape I was awstruck by how callously she was handling her food. That the respect, or lack there of, she was showing to the food was representative of how she felt about life was obvious to me. I wondered how she got to a point in her life that she no longer cared about the quality of her food or maybe when she stopped valuing herself enough to think that she was unworthy of consideration and kindness. I thought that if she treated her food this way, she would also prepare the food with negative energy and she would then ingest this negative energy and the cycle would continue.My wish for all of you out there would be to realize that the respect we show our food, our environment and each other is important for our individual well being. That the collective is only as strong as the individuals. When you are kind to a stranger you are being kind to yourself. When you consider the positive nature of how your food is processed and the humanity in which it is provided is representative of your humanity to yourself. That if you manage your family and friends with love, that you deserve the same love back! Start to see the connection between our attitudes and our bodies and you will finally realize there is a mind-body connection. Start to apply this everyday to your life and you have health beyond your wildest dreams!!
Gluten-Free? Diet Craze or Epidemic?
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010More and more products are now advertising that they are gluten-free. What does “gluten free” mean anyway? Good question! Gluten is the protein found in wheat. Any wheat containing product will also have gluten in it. As a nutritionist, I am noticing many people are confused with the emphasis on the recent gluten-free craze. Because we have seen the Atkins Diet, and low-fat diets, and many other diet plans, it is easy to dismiss the gluten-free acronym as just another diet. The truth is, gluten sensitivity is becoming epidemic in the world. Symptoms are often seen within 20 minutes of eating wheat containing foods, but may take up to 6 hours. These symptoms can include: headache, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, anemia, congestion, itchy ears, phlegm, malabsorption of nutrients, moodiness, and the list goes on and on. HOWEVER – gluten sensitivity may be asymptomatic (no symptoms at all!). But prolonged exposure can lead to serious health consequences. Gluten sensitivity at its extreme is diagnosed as celiac disease. But can also show up as colitis, crohns disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. Long term exposure to wheat in sensitive individuals is directly linked to elevated liver enzymes and/or cirrhosis, faulty thyroid function, and alzheimer’s disease.
So how come so many of us are having problems with wheat nowadays?
The underlying reason, in my opinion, is genetically modified wheat. When we genetically modify a food, we change its chemical structure. This new structure is unfamiliar to our bodies and our bodies react to it. This causes autoimmune responses. Wheat was the first genetically modified food, thus we are now seeing reactions to this food. Next, we will most likely see allergic responses to corn and soy – two other foods that are genetically modified.
The big problem I see with these modified foods is that once you eat them, your body sends signals against that particular food. Meaning, if you eat a genetically modified wheat product, your body now will react to ALL wheat that you consume – regardless if it is modified. Your body views it as an intruder.
Unlike normal food allergies, a person can’t eat gluten in moderation. Any bite or sip of a gluten containing product will cause harm to a sensitive person’s body regardless how long they have avoided gluten. This is very scary considering that wheat is in so many of our foods, cosmetics, lotions and shampoos. If you are gluten sensitive, I would advise you to google gluten-containing foods because it will freak you out just how many products have gluten in it. For example: soy sauce, ketchup, artificial maple syrup, chips, breaded items, frozen entrees, pasta, and salad dressing may contain gluten.
So how do you know if you have a sensitivity if you don’t have any symptoms? There are two ways to find out. One is a blood test by your doctor. The other is by doing a non-invasive (no needles!) sensitivity screening at my office.