Winter Squash: Fuel For Training That’s Sugar Free and Gluten Free

by Joan Kent | Sep 8, 2014 | Engage Your Students, Health and Wellness, Master Instructor Blog

It’s squash season! Winter squash — almost all of them — are among my favorite foods. They’re an excellent source of starchy carbs, which are necessary for training, and don’t add the undesirable elements of sugar or gluten.

People ask how I cook squash, and my answer is shocking but true. I microwave. (As mentioned in previous posts, I’m a lazy cook but determined to eat healthful foods.) One safety note: larger squash, such as butternut, can be difficult to cut when raw. Most roasting/baking instructions require cutting the squash in half before placing it in the oven, so be careful. If you decide to be lazy like me, you can microwave without cutting first.

Acorn squash seems to be everywhere these days. It can be eaten as part of a quick pre-training meal. The meal could include any protein source you choose, from dinner leftovers to vegetable protein powder. Reheat the acorn squash, if desired, and top it with some raw, organic coconut oil. It’s a fast, healthy meal and can get you through a tough workout.

Stuffed acorn squash makes a nice dinner side dish. You can, of course, use virtually anything you like to stuff it. One combination I’ve played with is brown rice, wild rice, chopped vegetables, and pine nuts. If you go easy on seasonings, this could also serve as part of the pre-training meal above.

Another terrific squash is delicata. It can be substituted for acorn squash in either dish above and offers a little variety.

And how about spaghetti squash? It can be eaten just like any other squash, seasoned whichever way you prefer. But it also has that added fun-factor because it can be used exactly like spaghetti and topped with your favorite sauce to make a gluten-free “pasta.”

My favorite squash dish combines two winter standards. Butternut has a fantastic flavor but is often watery. Kabocha (aka Japanese pumpkin) has a drier, firmer texture but tastes bitter. Combining the two is easy. Cook both, let them cool, and discard the seeds. Scoop out the squash from each one, place it in a bowl, and use a potato masher to blend them. It’s really quick. Pour out the water from the butternut squash as necessary.

The taste of this combo is good enough to be eaten plain with no seasoning. But, obviously, you can season it if you want, with any seasonings you choose.

Whether you already like squash or try it for the first time it this season, you might miss it (as I sometimes do) the rest of the year. Here’s one way around that. A few years ago, I discovered canned, organic pumpkin. Look for a brand that contains pumpkin and absolutely nothing else. You can treat it exactly the way you would oatmeal or quinoa in my no sugar, no-bonk breakfast suggestion from a previous post. Season it according to your preference. I tend to use cinnamon at breakfast, but sea salt, freshly ground pepper, allspice, nutmeg, curry, and many other seasonings can work quite well anytime. If you stock up on several cans, you’ll have it year-round.

My plan this year is to try some of the squash varieties I’ve never tried before. If you have a favorite recipe, please feel free to pass it along to us. And please let me know how squash works as part of your pre-workout meal.

The Unfairness Of Sugar Addiction: Why It Affects Some More Than Others (And How You Can Help)

by Joan Kent | Sep 2, 2014 | Engage Your Students, Health and Wellness, Master Instructor Blog

Have you ever noticed that some of your students react more strongly to sugar than others? That they seem to want it more often, crave it frequently, and want more even after they’ve eaten some? The reasons are genetic. I love that because it takes all the “blame” off the person and de-personalizes the reaction by making it chemical. We can’t be blamed for something we can’t control, right?

As an indoor cycling instructor, you may hear all about students’ problems with sugar. You’re also in a unique position to help them. Your students know you, trust you, and follow your recommendations.

So what is this genetic, chemical thing that goes on in people who are susceptible to sugar addiction? It’s in two parts — carbohydrate sensitivity and sugar sensitivity.

Carb sensitivity simply means exaggerated insulin secretion to sugar and some other carbs. The extra insulin can cause glucose to drop, causing cravings. The cravings are typically for foods that will raise glucose quickly. Sugar is an obvious culprit in that regard. The glucose drop can also trigger hunger, so it’s likely that the carb-sensitive person will crave sugar, eat it, and eat quite a bit of it.

Who’s likely to be carb sensitive? Typically people with a family history of one or more of these: alcoholism, diabetes (including mature-onset), hypoglycemia, hypertension, or obesity. Another factor is central adiposity (apple-shaped body). That apple shape is the typical characteristic of men, but women with that body type are more likely to be carb-sensitive.

The other aspect — sugar sensitivity — is about neurochemistry. People who are sugar-sensitive seem to have low baseline levels of several brain chemicals — beta-endorphin (or endorphins), dopamine, and serotonin. To simplify (oversimplify!), the fact that those 3 chemicals are lower than normal makes these people feel crummier than normal.

Who is likely to be sugar-sensitive? People with a family history of alcoholism, other addictions, depression or other mood disorders, or a personal history of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Let’s return to sugar. When we eat sugar, we get a brain release of beta-endorphin. That triggers a dopamine response because the two tend to go together. But when a sugar-sensitive person eats sugar, the beta-endorphin response is greater than normal — and so is the dopamine release.

Their serotonin will be exaggerated, too — because of carb sensitivity and the high insulin release. The more insulin we secrete, the more tryptophan (the amino acid used to make serotonin) travels to the brain, and the more serotonin we produce. It’s pretty linear. So carb-sensitives — who release extra insulin when they eat sugar — end up making a lot more serotonin.

And what does all of this have to do with addiction?

Dopamine and beta-endorphin are involved in the good-feeling, reward part of addiction (including sugar addiction). That means people who are sugar-sensitive may feel rotten without sugar, but hugely better than normal when they eat it. Obviously, that’s pretty reinforcing. It encourages repeat behavior, both in animals and in humans.

Then there’s serotonin. Serotonin is involved in seeking behavior — how much trouble we’re willing to go through to get the addictive substance we want. Once again, the exaggerated response comes in here. Extra insulin leads to extra serotonin, and that leads to stronger seeking.

To recap, it kinda works like this for a carb-sensitive, sugar-sensitive person: She/he may feel crummy without sugar. The giant-sized reward caused by extra-high dopamine and beta-endorphin makes Ben & Jerry’s seem pretty appealing in the middle of the night. Reinforcement from eating it may provoke that desire on many nights, while the extra serotonin is what makes someone drive to the store in a bathrobe at 2:00 am to get it.

What I love about this hormonal and neurochemical viewpoint is that it takes all judgment off the person, who can’t fight those genetics any more than we can fight our eye color. There’s nothing wrong with feeling compassion, rather than judgment, for someone’s compulsions. Judgment never helps anyone, although compassion certainly can.

What besides compassion can help your students? Changes in nutrition are most important, but if you’re not comfortable tackling addiction, you can still help. Don’t underestimate the organized, structured workouts you offer in your classes.

You may already know that workouts increase brain levels of beta-endorphin, dopamine and serotonin. (More on serotonin and training in a future post.) Encourage consistent participation from your sugar-addicted students, especially any who are in recovery from alcohol or other substances.

Even if they don’t want to work out some days, your class will help them that day AND in the long run — and make you feel great that what you do so well can be so beneficial for them.