KEEPING HOLIDAY WAIST LINES IN CHECK

It's no secret that this time of year is a time of excess. We pile on the mashed potatoes and another serving of turkey to the plate. We indulge ourselves with homemade cookies and pies.

The average person gains between seven and 10 pounds between Nov. 1 and Jan. 1, according to Monique Hollowell, BS, CSCTT, who is the CEO of Lafemme Mobile Gym. However, a little planning can help keep the "holiday-10" at bay, especially if you are planning to lose weight for New Year's or simply stay at your current weight so you can fit into those new jeans from your cousin.

By being aware of the big holiday offenders, you can ensure your body doesn't balloon out of control.

Here are Hollowell's tips.

• Be Careful What You Drink. When you think of weight gain, many of us think of over-eating as the major accomplice. However, it's often drinks, filled with empty calories, that cause us to rack up the pounds, according to Hollowell. The popular peppermint mocha that appears at coffee chains, for example, is 350 calories. A glass of egg nog can be as high as 400 calories. If your holiday enjoyment comes from these comfort foods, Hollowell suggests going without whipped cream for that mocha, or using lighter cream for egg nog. In fact, she says many manufacturers make reduced fat egg nog and guests don't know the difference.
  
  "Try not to drink all of you daily allotments for calories," says Hollowell. "Our body can only burn so much energy at a time. If you drink it all, guess where it's going to be stored? In your fat cells."
  
  
• Don't Overeat and Assume You Can Exercise it Off. It makes sense that a little exercise can help you keep weight under control. However, Hollowell explains that it takes a lot of exercise to work off a night of binge eating. The average holiday meal is approximately 3,500 calories, Hollowell says, which coincidentally also equals an extra pound. What's an extra pound, right? You might think you can easily lose a pound later. But it's not so easy.
  
  "If you run or perform some other exercise, you burn on average 350 to 500 calories an hour, depending on your workout," she says. "Literally, it'll take five to six days of workout before you expend what you consumed in just two hours."
  
  A better strategy is to have a plan, including making certain substitutions.
  
  
• Don't Cream. Everyone seems to love creamed corn and broccoli, but Hollowell suggests taking healthy foods such as vegetables, and keeping them healthy. If you simply must cream, use low fat cream cheese.
  
  
• Pies Vs. Cake. If given the choice between a fruit cake or pie, Hollowell states take a fruit pie. Pies are less fattening and have less calories. In addition, if you are making a pie to bring to the festivities, be sure to use just pie crust at the bottom. This will cut down calories, as well. "You can save 100 calories just by not using pie crust at the top."
  
  Stay away from nut pies, as well, which are usually high calorie treats.
  "One slice of pecan pies is 500 calories. It has 20 grams of fat, and 30 grams of sugar," she says. "Instead of digging into the pie, which actually has a high-calorie nut. Go either to the pumpkin, fruit or peach pies."
  
  Don't sample. When people eat, they often like to sample the taste-whether cookie dough, stuffing of turkey, try to avoid this habit. You don't know exactly what you are consuming and the calories will rack on.

Most importantly, you should have a plan and not look at the holidays as a food-free-for-all. Instead, with intention, decide what you want to eat and what you don't. Still, have fun without denying yourself everything. Little alterations to your holiday plans can make a difference.

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GLYCATION AND SKIN AGING

An excerpt from Healthy Aging's November/December cover story on the mechanisms of skin aging:

By Charlene DeHaven, MD, FACEP

Posted on: November 17, 2010

For almost 50 years, the free radical theory of aging has been the most accepted explanation for skin aging. However, other mechanisms are rising in importance. At present, it seems aging is probably multifactorial, and evidence indicates we should combat aging processes using several avenues.

Among the theories gaining traction is glycation.

Glycation is the chemical process in which a sugar attaches to a protein. Also known as the Maillard or browning reaction, glycation is an important aging process in skin. When glucose damages skin collagen, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) form. The addition of glucose makes collagen stiff and less functional.

AGEs and the accompanying decline in mechanical properties of joints contributes to osteoarthritis. Diabetics, especially if under poor glycemic control, have high amounts of extracellular glucose and therefore have a high glycation rate.

Obese and aged persons also have higher glycation rates. Under the age of 40, the amount of obesity is the major determinant of glycation rate. However, age becomes the main factor that predisposes people to higher glycation rates after 40.

Glycated skin shows a number of changes on a biopsy, including altered fibroblast shape and distribution with vimentin staining. The dermal-epidermal junction and extracellular matrix have more prominent molecules. Collagenase activity increases, and collagen ratios changes.

Alpha-hydroxy acids and beta-hydroxy acids increase collagen synthesis by increasing cell turnover. The newly synthesized collagen is more functional because it is not glycated.

Aged individuals are able to synthesize about half the functional protein they did in younger years. Because of this, desquamation agents may be less successful in older or otherwise metabolically impaired individuals than in younger persons possessing more efficient metabolic processes.

Botanicals that can decrease glycation include Centella asiatica and the polyphenols found in resveratrol of red wine, grape seed extract and catechins of green tea.

We've all heard of the benefits of red wine on vascular disease prevention. Resveratrol in red wine inhibits glycation in the blood vessel, thus preventing atherosclerosis. However, resveratrol is found in many plant substances other than red wine. In fact, in red wine production, the grape seed serves as the primary resveratrol source.

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