True Food Kitchen

I’ve strategically avoided going to the new Santa Monica place to avoid the crowds but after hearing rave reviews about one of the restaurants from a few of my clients the pull overcame my fears of parking hell.

True Food Kitchen meals are based on simplicity and sustainability.  They boost their food has simple, fresh, pure ingredients with a menu that is packed with “nutritious, good-for-you vegetables, whole grains and proteins, we never sacrifice flavor.”  They base their philosophy on Andrew Weil’s philosophy of anti-inflammatory eating.

I’m always skeptical about “healthy” restaurants but was pleasantly surprised.  The menu provides incredible diversity in salads, starters, entrees and extras.  I usually have a hard time finding one or two things that fit my personal and nutritional criteria but I found at least 5 or 6 things.  Seeing how my appetite is limited I chose 2 things to split with my friend Anne.

We ordered the Tuscan Kale Salad with lemon and parmesan and added Wild Salmon and the Panang Curry with chicken and vegetables.   They offered to split each dish for us which was a nice plus.

The Kale Salad was the perfect combo of sweet, tart and crunch.  The Wild Salmon had a light non-fishy taste (a sign of freshness) and went well with the salad.  The curry also had wonderful complimentary tastes along with the chicken and vegetables.  There was a small amount of brown rice mixed in the curry sauce which I estimated at no more than half a cup.

I felt completely satisfied and enjoyed my meal with a glass of iced green tea.  When our waiter Jason asked if we wanted dessert it was not even a small desire since the meal was so good, clean and satisfying.

Eating a balance of protein, clean non processed carbs (vegetables with small amounts of brown rice) and healthy fat along with great spices (lemon and curry) paves the way for health and satiation besides weight management.  True Food Kitchen does live up to it’s name and I recommend giving it a try when you feel brave enough to face the crowds of downtown Santa Monica and the parking.

Early Lifestyle Intervention Key to Diabetes Prevention and Metabolic Memory

This year’s annual diabetes conference brought me to San Francisco.  I’ve attended it for the last 10 years, rotating one year in San Francisco and next New York.  Good thing it was in San Francisco since NY was blanketed with snow.

Previous conference years have provided cutting edge research on new therapies and drugs for diabetes.  Research is changing faster than ever which is why I attend.  This year’s theme came as a surprise.

EARLY LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION is the key to metabolic memory!  What exactly does that mean?

Many of us wait until the last possible moment when the doctor states those 3 dreaded words:  “you have diabetes.”  But why wait?  What’s the point of working too much, exercising too little or putting your health on the back burner?  I hear this sentence every day:  “I know I should exercise and work on my food but something always gets in the way.”

Fortunately or not our health does not go on vacation.  The studies clearly show lifestyle is the MOST effective treatment for the prevention of type 2 or adult onset diabetes.

When you eat “clean” or in an anti-inflammatory way and exercise on a regular basis the body builds up metabolic memories.  The great news is that these memories actually get reserved for a rainy day.  A recent diabetes study showed that good control of blood sugars through healthy lifestyle can cut the risk of heart disease in half.  Sounds pretty good to me!

Metabolic memory keeps the healthy and unhealthy behaviors in its memory bank- like credits and debits.  If your body has early healthy metabolic memories/credits it actually prevents and helps your body in the future – even if you have unhealthy behaviors/debits later on.  

Healthy Lifestyle behaviors now prevent later diabetes complications of the heart, kidney, and eyes.

Why mess with your body’s memory?  Why not start developing great health memories this moment?

The resolve to start Monday may come and go and the body’s metabolic memory is ticking away.  It is waiting and ready for you at this moment – the choice is all yours to live in the black.  Remember, it’s prevention, not prescription!