9 Unhealthiest Store-Bought Ice Cream Bars to Avoid Right Now.

by HealthNutrition

9 Unhealthiest Store-Bought Ice Cream Bars to Avoid Right Now.

Claremont Colonic Newsletter

Experts share the ice cream bars that are too high in sugar and saturated fat.
When you just want a quick and easy treat, whether it’s in the afternoon or after dinner for dessert, sometimes an ice cream bar is the perfect choice. You can of course chase down the ice cream truck in your neighborhood to grab one, but the easiest way is finding your favorite kind at the grocery store and stocking up. But with all of the options out there, it can be overwhelming to find ones that you like that won’t also completely derail your health goals. For this reason, we talked with dietitians about some of the most unhealthy ice cream bars available in stores right now.

One of the nutritional benefits of going for an ice cream bar over something like a regular pint of ice cream is that you already have a dessert that is portioned out for you, so you don’t have to worry about portion control or about mindlessly finishing off an entire pint. However, even something that is pre-portioned can be too high in sugar, fat, or saturated fat.

Read on to learn about some of the unhealthiest ice cream bars according to dietitians, and for some more grocery tips, make sure to check out the Worst Grocery Chains for Produce, According to Customers.

1. Magnum Double Caramel Bar

Per bar: 270 calories, 17 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 70 mg sodium, 29 g carbs (1 g fiber, 25 g sugar), 3 g protein

According to both Lisa Young, PhD, RDN and Melissa Rifkin, MS, RD, CDN the Magnum bars are some of the unhealthiest you can find at the store. “The Magnum Double Caramel Bar is loaded with 17 grams of fat and 12 grams of saturated fat,” says Rifkin.

“While it is rich in flavor, don’t be fooled, because per serving this ice cream bar contains high-fat and sugar content, which can contribute to weight gain and increased risk of health issues, including tooth decay and diabetes,” says Young. She adds that “This bar offers minimal nutritional benefits with high-calorie intake and lacks essential nutrients.”

2. Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Crunch

Per bar: 320 calories, 23 g fat (13 g saturated fat), 50 mg sodium, 21 g carbs (1 g fiber, 18 g sugar), 5 g protein

When you’re craving a quick ice cream bar but don’t want to go overboard on sugar or saturated fat, you may want to steer clear of the Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars.

“This ice cream bar lacks the nutritional value of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, and it is high in saturated fat and sugar, contributing to an unhealthy diet, and high intake increases the risk of weight gain and heart disease,” says Young. She ads that if you can, find bars that are smaller, “which can help manage calorie and sugar intake.”

3. Snickers Ice Cream Bar

Per bar: 250 calories, 15 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 75 mg sodium, 25 g carbs (<1 g fiber, 21 g sugar), 4 g protein

We get it, a Snickers candy bar full of chocolate, caramel, and peanuts made into an ice cream bar is quite enticing, but our dietitians warn that this ice cream may be a bit too high in saturated fat and sugar for just one dessert.

“This ice cream bar has extremely high sugar content compared to other options due to the combination of peanut, caramel, and chocolate coating,” says Young. “Consistent consumption can lead to weight gain and an unhealthy diet as it lacks vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and should be treated as just an indulgent snack from time to time.”

4. Klondike Bar

Per bar: 250 calories, 14 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 65 mg sodium, 29 g carbs (<1 g fiber, 23 g sugar), 3 g protein

One of the most classic ice cream bars—the Klondike Bar—is also one of the unhealthiest, according to our dietitians. “The Klondike bar is small, but it comes with a mighty load of sugar—23 grams to be exact, plus 14 grams of fat with 11 g saturated!”

At first glance, 11 grams of saturated fat may not seem all that bad, but the American Heart Association recommends limiting your daily consumption to no more than 13 grams—meaning this bar would get you close to your daily limit.

5. Creamsicle Pop

Per bar: 110 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 30 mg sodium, 20 g carbs (0 g fiber, 12 g sugar), 1 g protein

Rifkin also puts Creamsicle Pops on the list of unhealthy ice cream bars, even though it has less sugar and fat than most of the other bars on the list. Even though 12 grams of sugar may not seem like much at first, this bar also has zero grams of fiber and only one gram of protein, which means it’s more likely to cause a spike in your blood sugar.

6. Outshine Creamy Coconut Fruit Bar

Per bar: 100 calories, 2.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat), 40 mg sodium, 17 g carbs (0 g fiber, 16 g sugar), 3 g protein

“When it comes to ice cream bars, don’t fall victim by the small size or the fact that it’s fruit-based,” says Rifkin. “The Outshine Creamy Coconut Fruit Bar has only 100 calories but comes with a whopping 16 grams of sugar,” she says. Similarly to the Creamsicle Bars mentioned above, eating 16 grams of sugar with zero fiber can spike your blood sugar and leave you with an energy crash and more sugar cravings afterward.

7. Good Humor Reese’s Bar

Per bar: 180 calories, 11 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat), 115 mg sodium, 20 g carbs (<1 g fiber, 11 g sugar), 3 g protein

There isn’t much out there that is more tempting than the combination of Reese’s Peanut Butte Cups and ice cream. But if you’re going to try the Good Humor Reese’s ice cream bars, you may be better off leaving it as a once-in-a-while treat, instead of a daily dessert.

If you want the flavors of chocolate and peanut butter in the form of a healthier option, you can try something like the Kind Frozen Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Bar, which has 4 grams of protein, 8 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of fiber to help manage blood sugar spikes.

8. Little Debbie Nutty Bars

Per bar: 210 calories, 13 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 55 mg sodium, 19 g carbs (1 g fiber, 15 g sugar), 3 g protein

It’s not surprising that when you take a Little Debbie Nutty Bar and make it into an ice cream bar, it would be a delicious treat that is unfortunately high in saturated fat and sugar.

The Nutty Bars Ice Cream Bar has 9 grams of saturated fat per bar, which comes too close to the 13-gram limit recommended by the AHA. You’ll also get only one gram of fiber, which isn’t enough to counteract the 15 grams of sugar per serving.

9. Biscoff White Chocolate Bar

Per bar: 300 calories, 20 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 115 mg sodium, 29 g carbs (0 g fiber, 24 g sugar), 2 g protein

Biscoff Cookie Butter is a treat loved by many, and it doesn’t get much better than when you combine it with white chocolate and ice cream. But even though they’re a satisfying treat, the Biscoff Ice Cream Bars are high in fat, saturated fat, and sugar, and only provide 2 grams of protein and zero fiber.


Contributor: Samantha Boesch – Eat This, Not That!

If You Have These 6 Characteristics, You Are a Mentally Strong Person

by HealthLifestyle

If You Have These 6 Characteristics, You Are a Mentally Strong Person

Claremont Colonic Newletter
Mental strength is vital to living a useful and fulfilling life, and some would argue that it is the difference between being an ordinary or extraordinary person. It is also important for resisting stress and depression. It is, in short, the thoughts and behavior that affect the overall quality of your life, and it involves being aware of your emotions, learning from pain, being able to train your brain to think in a helpful way, and managing the way your emotions influence how you think and act.
When you imagine a mentally strong person you probably imagine a mountain climber, or a passionate public speaker and prominent figure. And while these people certainly have elements of mental strength, all-around mentally strong people often go under the radar. They tend to have the following characteristics:

1. Not aspiring to be happy all the time

Seeing happiness as a necessary permanent state can lead to an unhealthy and unrealistic attitude towards negative emotions. Mentally strong people accept both positive and negative emotions — an attitude which is key to having a realistic view of a situation, and to building resilience. Australian social researcher Hugh Mackay argues that a “fear of sadness” is dangerous. “Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are,” he said.

2. Being persistent

Psychologist Angela Lee, through a range of studies, found that perseverance or “grit” was the most important characteristic — more so than emotional intelligence, IQ, appearance or physical health — in the success of students, teachers and professionals. Grit, she explained, involves mental stamina and having a passion for long-term goals. Perseverance also requires consistency in achieving goals and not giving up easily when facing adversity.

3. Believing in yourself

Researchers have found that believing in yourself is vital for helping athletes overcome seemingly impossible obstacles, and the same applies to non-athletes.

4. Being able to bounce back from setbacks

Ten elite sports performers were asked to define mental toughness — a component of mental strength. One thing they all highlighted was the mental ability to use a set back rather than to be negatively affected by it. Likewise, mentally strong people are not necessarily free of things like anxiety or depression, but they know how to take advantage of such difficult emotions or states. They can, for example, channel their nervous energy into creativity and appreciate the heightened focus that comes with anxiety.

5. Having experience and being older

Mental strength isn’t something we are born with; it is acquired with constant practice, over very long periods of time. Researchers have found that mental strength increases with age. There is also a direct correlation in athletes between practice time and mental strength levels — and the same would apply to non-athletes.

6. Embracing change

As the saying goes, change is inevitable. Therefore, it is important to be flexible and able to adapt to new circumstances, as fearing change can be paralyzing.

How to increase your mental strength:

Increasing your mental strength involves a lot of hard work, often in the most difficult circumstances. Here are a few things that, if done consistently, will help:

  • Focus your mental energy wisely: Let go of things you have no control over (like the weather) and refocus on things you can control (preparing for a storm).
  • Be productive: Practice constantly changing negative thoughts to productive thoughts. This isn’t the same as being positive; it means focusing your energy away from what is wrong over to what you can do.
  • Handle discomfort: Accept your feelings without letting them control you, and be prepared to step out of your comfort zone.
  • Reflect: At the end of each day or week examine what you’ve learned about how you think, handle emotions and behave, and consider what you’d like to do better the next day.

Contributor: Tamara Pearson – TheAlternativeDaily.com

Pooping Only Every 3 or More Days Linked with Cognitive Decline, Research Finds

by HealthLifestyleNutrition

Pooping Only Every 3 or More Days Linked with Cognitive Decline, Research Finds

Claremont Colonic Newsletter
In the first research to look at constipation’s impact on the aging brain, scientists have found some concerning links.
Being chronically constipated, defined by the authors as having a bowel movement only every three or more days, has been linked with a 73% higher risk of subjective cognitive decline, according to research presented Wednesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam.

“Our study provided first-of-its-kind evidence that examined a wide spectrum of bowel movement frequency,” said Dr. Chaoran Ma, the research’s first author and assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, via email. “We were surprised at how strong the associations were, especially for those with very infrequent bowel movements.”

About 16% of the worldwide adult population experiences constipation, but it’s even more common among older adults due to age-related factors such as lack of exercise and dietary fiber, and the use of medicines that can cause constipation as a side effect.

Chronic constipation has been linked with inflammation and mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, but there have been many unanswered questions about the relationship between digestive health and long-term cognitive function, according to a news release.

Cognitive function refers to a person’s mental capacity for learning, thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, remembering and paying attention.

To find clues to these queries, the authors assessed more than 112,000 adults who had participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The first two studies investigated risk factors for major chronic diseases among women in North America, while the latter study is looking into the same topics but for men. The authors of the latest research collected data on participants’ bowel movement frequency from 2012 to 2013, participants’ self-assessments of cognitive function between 2014 and 2017, and details on some participants’ objectively measured cognitive function between 2014 and 2018.

Compared with people who pooped once a day, constipated participants had significantly worse cognition equivalent to three years more of chronological cognitive aging, the authors found. Increased risk was also found among those who pooped more than twice daily, though these higher odds were small.

“The more we learn about the gut-brain access, the more we understand that it’s just so important to ensure that (preventing or addressing cognitive decline) is a system approach,” said Maria C. Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, who wasn’t involved in the research. “The brain is not completely isolated from what’s happening in your blood flow.”

Bowel movements and the brain

This research wasn’t “designed to test the causal relationship between bowel movements, the gut microbiome and cognitive health, so we cannot firmly draw conclusions regarding the precise causal sequence underlying this association,” Ma said.

But bowel movement frequency and subjective cognitive function were also linked with the participants’ gut microbiomes, the authors found. Among those with infrequent bowel movements and worse cognitive function, there was a depletion in good bacteria that produce butyrates, fatty acids which support the gut barrier that prevents bacteria and other microbes from entering your bloodstream, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Butyrates also significantly aid in digestive health by providing the main energy source for colon cells. Those can be found in high-fiber foods, fiber supplements, prebiotics and full-fat dairy products — eaten in moderation — such as butter, cheese, milk or ghee. Ghee is clarified butter, made by isolating pure butterfat from the milk solids and water in butter.

Those who pooped twice or more per day and had worse cognitive function had a higher amount of species that promote inflammation and are related to dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut microbes associated with disease.

Other research presented at the same conference Wednesday had similar findings. In one abstract of 140 middle-aged adults, having lower levels of neuroprotective gut bacteria Butyricicoccus and Ruminococcus was associated with elevated levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers.

In another, of more than 1,000 adults, those with poor cognition had abnormally high amounts of the bacteria Alistipes and Pseudobutyrivibrio compared with other participants. Alistipes bacteria have previously been linked with anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression and hypertension.

“It makes sense that individuals that are having those movements so much less frequently are going to have less of the good bacteria and more of the bad bacteria that’s caused by inflammatory conditions,” Carrillo said.

“Further studies are needed to identify the microbes involved, and their function,” Ma said concerning her research.

Regarding neurological and digestive health, “good food not only feeds our brain, but it also promotes healthy bowel movements,” Carrillo said.

Eating enough fiber from vegetables, fruits, whole grains and nuts can prevent constipation. Total fiber intake should be at least 25 grams per day, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. And being hydrated enough softens stool so you can pass it without straining.

Exercising at least a few times per week and managing stress can also help.


Contributor: Kristen Rogers, CNN

Elle Sez Series: Know Your Body – The Exocrine System

by Health

Elle Sez Series: Know Your Body - The Exocrine System

Claremont Colonic Center Newsletter
Your exocrine system includes a series of glands all over your body. These glands secrete substances that help your organs function, including sweat, breast milk, mucus and oil. Your exocrine system is different from your endocrine system, in that it secretes these substances through ducts. Conditions that affect your exocrine system include cancer, inflammation and hair loss.
Overview

What is the exocrine system?

Your exocrine system consists of glands all over your body that carry out many functions. It’s part of your autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions supporting your well-being.

Glands are tiny organs that secrete substances that trigger certain biologic processes. For example, your salivary glands produce saliva to keep your mouth moist.

What is the difference between the endocrine and exocrine systems?

  • Your endocrine system: Endocrine glands secrete hormones and release them directly into your bloodstream. Your bloodstream then delivers hormones to target tissues.
  • Your exocrine system: Exocrine glands secrete substances into ducts, which carry the substances onto the surface of target tissues.


What areas of the body do the exocrine glands support?

Exocrine glands control specific functions in your:

  • Breasts.
  • Mouth, specifically, saliva production.
  • Pancreas.
  • Skin and hair.
  • Small intestine (duodenum).


Function

What is the function of the exocrine system?

Exocrine system glands take on a variety of functions.

  • Mammary glands produce milk.
  • Mucinous glands produce mucus to line and protect delicate tissue.
  • Sebaceous glands produce an oily substance on the surface of your hair and skin.
  • Serous glands produce watery substances, such as sweat and saliva.


What are the functions of the exocrine system glands?

Exocrine system glands serve many essential functions based on their location:
  • Breasts


Mammary glands, which are modified serous glands, support breastfeeding (chestfeeding). They produce milk that nourishes babies and boosts their immune systems.

Mouth

  • Serous glands produce saliva in many areas of your mouth. Saliva lubricates and protects your mouth and throat. It also initiates the digestive process by breaking down carbohydrates.
  • Mucinous glands are also present in your mouth and play a role in lubricating the substances you swallow.


Pancreas

Your pancreas functions as both an exocrine and endocrine gland.

  • As an exocrine gland, it releases substances that neutralize stomach acid. It also secretes digestive enzymes that break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
  • As an endocrine gland, your pancreas secretes hormones, insulin and glucagon, that regulate blood sugar levels.


Skin and hair

  • Serous glands help you sweat. There are two types of sweat glands. Eccrine sweat glands are in nearly every area of your skin’s surface. Apocrine sweat glands secrete a fatty substance that slows evaporation so sweat keeps you cooler longer.
  • Sebaceous glands secrete oil that produces moisture to protect your skin and hair.


Small intestine

  • Mucosal glands, known as Brunner’s glands, release a substance that protects your small intestine from stomach acid. It also activates enzymes that break down sugars in food and absorbs nutrients.


Anatomy

What is the anatomy of the exocrine system?

The anatomy of exocrine system glands includes:

  • Acinus: Tiny sacs containing cells of exocrine system secretions that the duct hasn’t yet released. An acinus may house many different types of cells depending on the type of secretion the duct is responsible for.
  • Duct: Passageway that transports cell secretions to the inner surfaces of organs throughout your body.


Conditions and Disorders

What conditions and disorders affect the exocrine system?

Exocrine system diseases and disorders include:

Mammary gland conditions

  • Breast cancer.
  • Breast pain (mastalgia).
  • Ductal carcinoma in-situ.
  • Fibroadenomas of the breast.
  • Mammary duct ectasia.
  • Mastitis.


Pancreas gland conditions

  • Pancreatic cancer, including ductal adenocarcinoma.
  • Pancreatitis.


Salivary gland conditions

  • Salivary gland cancer.
  • Sjögren’s syndrome.


Skin gland conditions

  • Hormonal acne.
  • Hyperhidrosis.
  • Body odor (bromhidrosis).
  • Hair loss (alopecia).
  • Ear wax buildup and blockage.


Small intestine conditions

  • Rare, noncancerous tumors, including Brunner’s gland hamartoma and Brunner’s gland adenoma.


Care

How do I care for my exocrine system?

Taking good care of yourself is one of the best ways to keep your exocrine system healthy.

You can do this by:

  • Staying physically active. Eating a diet that’s high in protein, fruits and vegetables, but low in saturated fats and processed foods.
  • Drinking plenty of water.
  • Limiting alcohol consumption.
  • Quitting smoking if you use tobacco.
  • Seeing your healthcare provider for regular check-ups.
  • Staying current with screenings, including mammograms for breast cancer.


A note from Cleveland Clinic

Your exocrine system includes glands all over your body. They secrete oil, mucus, saliva and milk that aid in organ function. Various conditions can affect your exocrine system, including tumors, inflammation and blockages. Taking good care of yourself can lower the risk of experiencing these issues.


Contributor: ClevelandClinic.org