Month: January 2018

I stepped off the plane for three days with virtually no agenda. Yes, my type-A, planning self took a backseat for once. I definitely see the value in planning, but there is nothing more freeing (and sometimes scary) than arriving in a new place with no “next step.”

Of course I had booked an Airbnb and told my friend, Ann, which terminal I would arrive in, but beyond that…our weekend was an open book.

After Ann generously picked me up, we wandered over to a nearby coffee shop and just caught up a bit, relaxed, and enjoyed steaming cups of coconut tea.

After sitting down and getting ourselves together we decided we only had a few goals for the day:

1) visit Halo Top Creamery (only my goal since Ann is vegan haha)

2) visit Venice beach and Santa Monica

Goal 1: Accomplished

Goal 2: Accomplished

We enjoyed a beautiful walk along the beach and then the most touristy Pier. No doubts we got those 10,000 steps in!

After our long walk of course we were hungry so we looked up a few places in the area and ended up at Flower Child (it’s affiliated with True Food Kitchen). The food was delicious, and the vibes were everything you could want from So. California.

After dinner we decided to go see a movie so we killed time shopping before we the showing of “Shape of Water.” I personally love the movie, but Ann was not the biggest fan-in fact she didn’t like it all, aside from how beautiful it was.

After the movie, we went back to our adorable Airbnb and passed out from exhaustion.

We are both morning people, so the next morning we woke up around 7:30/8 and enjoyed a relaxed morning with hot tea and getting dressed up for…the SAG Awards! One of my dear friends interned for them this year and was generous enough to get me two tickets to attend (SO KIND!). This was the only real plan in our whole trip. We made a quick detour to Whole Foods for snacks and then got all dressed up for the red carpet event.

We arrived at a parking garage and waited with about 100 other people to go through security and attend the red carpet.

It all felt beyond surreal; now I’m not a People-reading star-crazed fan, but seeing celebrities in person is pretty cool and exciting.

A kid from Stranger things…

The guy from Lady Bird and Call Me By Your Name:

Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn:

You get the gist–endless stunning celebrities. I left feeling grateful to be just a normal person; seeing the paparazzi really showcases the dark side of fame. While harassment is slightly too strong a word, the comments many of the photographers made were certainly over the top, and often rude.

After the show, we stopped to take a few more pictures then headed to M Cafe in Beverly Hills (just a block from Rodeo Drive).

I got this delicious Macro bowl with Miracle Noodles and it was SO good and filling. It was overflowing with tofu, pickled radish, kabocha, potatoes, kale, carrots, nori, and herb-baked tofu. I highly recommend this place!

After dinner we were both tuckered out so we went home and watched “Mudbound” on Netflix–it was a (intense) great movie!

The next morning we got up pretty early, packed up from our Airbnb, and headed to a cozy, quiet little coffee shop in Beverly Hills. Ironically, moments later about 50 people starting pouring through the doors–loud as can be. We learned that this was the monthly Beverly Hills “Walk with the Mayor” group and thy happened to choose that same coffee shop this month…what’re the chances?! Luckily, we found it all amusing and one nice participant in the walk gave us a free drink because he could see we were attempting to work. Luckily, they stayed for only 30 minutes before they were on their way!

After the coffee shop, we relocated to Whole Foods and I worked from their for most of the afternoon. A quick work stop at Starbucks later and it was time for me to visit Quest Nutrition HQ. My friend generously dropped me off and drove back home. I was brimming with excitement as I entered into Quest and everything was as I had imagined. The amazing team, Alyssa and Clark, showed me all around the building, introduced me to the team, and even let me play in their show kitchen:

Thanks for giving me a tour!

It was so much fun. Next stop: airport.

I got to the airport with about 3.5 hours until my flight; flying Virgin Airlines I know they have lots of flights between LA and SF so I asked if there was an earlier flight–and lo and behold, there was! I got Home an hour earlier, curled up in bed, and felt nothing but gratitude for the amazing time I had in LA! A great lesson in leaving some “plans” up to fate!

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Have you planned all of your best trips? Or have you let fate take a leading role?

I think this is such an important topic today. People brag about getting too little sleep, but there is so much research showing its great importance in how we learn and live. Growing research supports that it is critical for learning, but also for preventing diseases like Alzheimer’s. Watch the talk below to learn more about why you shouldn’t neglect your sleep.

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Do you get enough sleep? Did you know that sleep was this important for learning?

This TED talk is much shorter than usual, but it is very interesting and entertaining! The intricate and bizarre history behind things we don’t pause to question never ceases to amaze me. There are so many pieces of our lives that simply “are” without explanation or exploration; talks like this remind to always ask questions and always keep asking why.

 

 

 

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Are you surprised? Are you fascinated by such seemingly arbitrary questions?

Like any area of research, there is not complete consensus on whether using artificial sweeteners over sugar is good or bad.

Research done by dentists supports the use of sugar alternatives, particularly xylitol which is protective for teeth, because sugar directly causes cavities [1]. As many of us know from neuroscience research done in the past decade, sugar also lights up the circuits in our brain associated with pleasure–with addiction. Our brain is hard-wired to see sugar as reward, which makes sense when you think about our ancestral history. Fruit that tasted sweet was fuel that could keep us alive. This parallel has been confirmed with sugars, but only recently have scientists started investigating no-calorie sweeteners effects on the brain. From early studies, it seems that calorie-free sweeteners create the same addictive loop in the brain as sugar. Despite the same addictive qualities, no-calorie sweeteners still have a slight, but significant, advantage for weight loss and weight management. [2]

When you delve deeper into the broader research, there are certainly concerning findings with almost any sweetener, other than stevia. In fact, stevia has been shown to actually provide health benefits. There is evidence that stevia is anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, and anti-viral, among other benefits. [3]

All of the sweeteners you hear about–sucralose, aspartame, saccharin–are all chemically unique. [4] While certainly some of these sweeteners pose negative long-term health effects, I am doubtful that all will lead to cancer or metabolic disease. We have enough research to know that sugar is dangerous–it is high in calories, addictive, and inflammatory. We also have research that shows potential dangers in certain no-calorie sweeteners: microbiome disruption, addictive qualities, and increased cancer risk (in extremely high quantities).

So what is the take-away message?

Well, we are human. We like sweets. It is in our DNA, our brain to love the taste. The research has too few long-term studies with human subjects to base our choices solely on the existing science. Sure, if you feed rats one hundred times the typical intake of sucralose they will develop cancer–we know eating one food or chemical in excess is dangerous. In saying this, I don’t support sucralose consumption, but I am taking an objective eye to the facts.

I believe we should decrease sugar intake–we know the dangers there. How you choose to fill the gap with no-calorie sweeteners depends on your opinions and your body. If you like stevia, that is certainly the healthiest option according to science toady. If you want to drink your can of diet soda, go ahead. Just don’t drink 20 in one day! So what it comes down to is moderation. Find the balance that makes your body happy.

References:

1: Sharma, V. K., Ingle, N. A., Kaur, N., Yadav, P., Ingle, E., & Charania, Z. (2015). Sugar Substitutes and Health: A Review. Journal of Advanced Oral Research/May-Aug, 6(2).

2: Murray, S., Tulloch, A., Criscitelli, K., & Avena, N. M. (2016). Recent studies of the effects of sugars on brain systems involved in energy balance and reward: Relevance to low calorie sweeteners. Physiology & behavior, 164, 504-508.

3: Saad, A., Khan, F., Hayee, A., & Nazir, M. S. (2014). A review on potential toxicity of artificial sweeteners vs safety of Stevia: a natural Bio-sweetener. J. Biol. Agri. Healtheare, 4(15), 137-147.

4: Roberts, A. (2016). The safety and regulatory process for low calorie sweeteners in the United States. Physiology & behavior, 164, 439-444.