High-wage earning food marketers have successfully convinced most people that eating yogurt is vital for good health. Several brands promote their yogurts as a probiotic-containing superfood. Yogurt is also loaded with calcium, vital for bone density. So is yogurt a superfood?

Yogurt is most often a gluten-free food. It would make sense to incorporate yogurt into a gluten-free diet for gut health (thanks to the probiotics).

Greek yogurt, barely a blip in total sales of yogurt a mere handful of years ago, now accounts for roughly 35% of all yogurt sales, and the number continues to rise.

Creamier and thicker, Greek-style yogurt is now produced by all major yogurt brands, not only by specialty-niche yogurt purveyors. Is Greek healthier than regular yogurt? If you’re sensitive to lactose (milk protein), Greek yogurt may be more amenable to your digestive tract because, at least in traditional Greek yogurt preparations, whey, one of the major milk proteins, is strained out through a cloth.

If you truly love yogurt, Greek-style or not, and have no trouble digesting it (yogurt causes bloating in some people, not merely the lactose-intolerant), continue to eat it. However, most yogurts’ nutritional profile do not reflect the superfood status bestowed by marketers.

Sugar Negates the Benefits of Probiotics

Most yogurts have lots of sugar. Single serving cups contain as much as 25 grams of sugar (that’s a lot). Any flavored yogurts (anything other than plain, even vanilla) contain lots of added sugar.

If you’re going to eat yogurt, eat the whole-fat variety and plain. Whole-fat will keep you full longer and contains the least amount of sugar. Add a handful of berries and raw stevia to naturally sweeten your yogurt. Throw in some raw sliced almonds. The natural fat from the nuts will also slow down the release of insulin caused by the milk sugars.

Pasteurization Kills the Natural Probiotics

The main selling point of yogurt is its probiotic profile. Yes, yogurt does have cultures (living microorganisms that help us digest our food and prevent bad bacteria from overpopulating the gut). But all commercial yogurt is made from pasteurized milk.

Pasteurization, once a God-send in the age of pre-refrigeration, preventing food-borne pathogens, is nonetheless the equivalent of a nuclear bomb exploding on dairy. The process does not distinguish between good bacteria and bad.

Though it’s difficult to tell if added cultures to yogurt are as effective for gut health as unpasteurized (‘raw’) dairy, in most cases natural foods are far superior than lab-produced varieties.

Formerly isolated traditional villages in the Swiss Alps (up to the early 20th century) produced their own raw yogurt and enjoyed lifetimes free of chronic disease. Truly healthy yogurt was handmade in small batches and from unpasteurized milk.

Because raw milk is illegal to buy in most states, it’s wise to eat other fermented foods for good health (read this Miracle Noodle blog to learn more about fermented foods).

For those with compromised immune systems or digestive tracts (the two are often linked), the probiotic count in conventional yogurt, whether Greek-style or not, may be insufficient. Ask your naturopathic care provider if a probiotic supplement would be recommended for your health.

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One of the biggest complaints about going gluten free is the cost. Gluten free foods are usually more expensive than their wheat flour counterparts. Gluten free pretzels are at least a few more bucks than regular ones. Same goes for cookies, bread, bagels, waffles...you name it.

But are gluten free diets always more expensive? Does a gluten free diet absolutely have to leave you with less money in your wallet at the end of the month?

No...but only if you know what to shop for.

The easiest way to eat an inexpensive gluten free diet is to buy lots of fresh vegetables, especially green ones, like broccoli, kale, asparagus, spinach, green beans, etc….

If at every meal, including breakfast (be it in an omelette or juice) if you fill up on veggies, getting most of your calories from them, you won’t be spending any more money than you would on a regular gluten-filled diet. You may even save money.

Lean, wild, pasture-raised and organic meats and fish are all gluten-free. These items are usually expensive but because they are gluten-free they aren’t costing you any more than a non gluten-free diet. If you eat very small portions of meat/fish, say, the size of one fist, a pound of humanely-raised meat or fish can be split up into several portions.

Nuts and seeds are gluten free as well. A handful of walnuts, almonds or cashews can keep you going in between your major meals for several hours. You can also combine nuts and seeds with a half-serving of fruit, another gluten-free option. Half an organic Granny Smith apple with some nuts packs a nutrient-dense gluten-free caloric punch.

If you must eat bread, this might be the one item you’ll have to be willing to pay a little extra for. Beware, though of gluten-free breads that have their primary ingredients as corn or potato starch and include maltodextrin. These breads usually have very little fiber and get digested too quickly, leaving you craving more and more high-starch foods. (For more on gluten free breads, read this.)

Learn to make and bake your own bread using almond or coconut flour to save lots of money. Almond flour is high in protein.

If you buy lots of gluten-free snacks, yes, you will end up spending far more money than you would. But if you eat at least 2 meals a day (breakfast and lunch) that are packed with lots of low-starch vegetables, healthy fats like avocado, olive oil and nuts or seeds, you can eat a lighter dinner consisting of a salad or soup (like our Miso Marvellous Instant Noodle Soup) and a little snack of cheese, yet another gluten-free food that won’t break the bank.

Eating nutrient dense foods at every meal and snack will curb cravings for salty or sweet foods. Even if it’s gluten-free, remember, that doesn’t mean it’s healthy...for your body and your wallet.

To your health, 

The Miracle Noodle Team

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Are you taking high doses of probiotics every single day? Billions and billions of CFU’s (colony forming units)? Not sure? Think you might be because you eat yogurt often? Think again. If you’re not 100% gluten-free, probiotic supplementation could help you digest gluten.

As more and more studies reveal the nature of the human biome, the collection of tens of trillions of microscopic critters that live in our bodies rent-free, and outnumber our human cells by at least a factor of ten, researchers are now armed with data that demonstrates certain bacteria strains’ ability to digest gluten.

In the infancy of human biome decoding, ‘way back in 2008,’ a study published in Clinical and Experimental Immunology concluded Bifidobacterium lactis bacteria inhibit the toxic effects induced by wheat gliadin.

In other words, what this promising (albeit small study; the researches advocated further testing) suggested was that this specific strain of friendly bacteria helps break down one of the major proteins found in wheat that is responsible for many symptoms of gluten sensitivity.

But even if you’re eating yogurt regularly (read this about yogurt on another gluten-free blog), the amount of probiotics might not be enough to colonize your gut with enough friendly bacteria.

Traditional cultures, lacking probiotic supplements of the modern age, innately knew that fermented foods, such as sea vegetables and miso paste (an ingredient in Miracle Noodle’s Miso Marvellous instant noodle soup; only 40 calories) are good for the gut.

One Miracle Noodle customer who is a reader of this gluten-free blog recently emailed us and told us how he started taking at least 1-2 multi-strain probiotic capsules, each with 10 billion CFU’s. He started doing this a year ago, he claimed. Prior to taking the probiotics, he reported getting chronic sinus infections, bloating in the belly, congestion and mental lethargy; lots of caffeine was required in order for him to function at work.

Today, our happy Miracle Noodle customer writes that after a year-plus of religiously taking probiotics, in other words, never skipping a day, even while on vacation, he doesn’t suffer at all from congestion or runny, itchy, watery eyes, which were frequent symptoms post-gluten consumption.

Does that mean you can eat all the gluten you want and as long as you are supplying your gut with enough probiotics to fend off the bad bacteria (researchers currently say that the optimal balance is 80 percent good bacteria)?

Probably not. The only way to make sure you don’t experience gluten sensitivities is to eat a 100% gluten-free diet.

But the new research is promising. Even those with autoimmune disorders from gluten, i.e. Celiac’s Disease, can benefit from probiotic supplementation.

Miracle Noodle, although founded by a doctor, Jonathan Carp, M.D., is not in the business to recommend which brand of supplements to take, nor which strains would benefit your individual biochemistry. We cannot diagnose what ails you or what would make you better.

But the research is out there. It is promising. After years of suffering from gluten allergies and sensitivities, we are perhaps about to enter a new paradigm where our general physicians may prescribe probiotics for us. In the meantime, consult with a trusted health professional who has a thorough understanding of functional medicine and nutrition.

To your health,

The Miracle Noodle Team

Of all the dozens of recipes that have been cooked with love and documented on our recipe page--both Miracle Noodle’s own and those supplied by our loyal customers--which low-calorie shirataki pasta creation do you think is most popular?

Fettucini Chicken Alfredo?  Maybe….

Pad Thai? Perhaps….

Ricotta & Sun-Dried Tomatoes? Drool. Yum. Definitely a strong contender….

Mac ‘n’ Cheese …… Hungry yet?

And the winner is ….

Truth be told, all the above are in the running for “Most Popular Miracle Noodle Recipe of All Time.”

But if we had to pick one, based on our following on Facebook, Instagram, other social media hangouts and emails we get, if you held a pack of low-calorie noodles to our head and made us choose the most popular….

Hot or Cold Sesame Noodles is the winner!

Pictures often speak louder than words, so the saying goes, especially true with gourmet food.

We think this Instagram photo says it all.

Looks delicious, does it not?

Here’s the recipe. Eat well and never feel guilty again...the Miracle Noodle way.

Ingredients (serves 4):

Approved Diets: Atkins, South Beach

3 tablespoons peanut oil

1 cube Dorot Crushed Garlic

4 tablespoons sesame seed paste

3 cubes Dorot Chopped Chili

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 bag of Miracle Noodles

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the peanut oil, garlic, sesame seed paste, chili, soy sauce and sugar.

2. Rinse the Miracle Noodles in cold water and combine with sesame oil to prevent them sticking together.

3. Add the Miracle Noodles to sauce and mix well.

4. Ready to serve.

Nutrition Info:

food item; fat grams; calories; carbohydrate grams; protein grams

peanut oil 42 375 0 0

garlic 0 10 2 0

sesame seed paste 12 180 4 8

chili 0 10 1 0

soy sauce 0 30 6 6

sugar 0 45 12 0

miracle noodles 0 0 0 0

sesame oil 4 45 1 2

total per meal 58 695 26 16

total per serving 14.5 173.75 6.5 4

Enjoy!

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What’s your favorite comfort food?

If you survey 10 people and ask them what’s their favorite food to eat after a long, frustrating day of work, you’ll get a sizable majority voting for spaghetti.

Spaghetti, like other comfort foods such as pizza or doughnuts, elicits a serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter chemical released in the brain that elevates our mood after we eat something satisfying.

Whether we have it with a homemade marinara sauce or a garlic-olive oil blend, spaghetti is indeed fun to eat and often brings the family closer together.

But how do you feel after eating spaghetti? If you’re like most people, you don’t limit yourself to the portion size that nutritionists recommend, say, a fist-sized serving of spaghetti. A fist size? You gotta be kidding! Who has that kind of will power?

Most people are hard-pressed to limit their spaghetti serving size to two big handfulls.

Second- or third helpings are common.

As a consequence, how do most people feel after eating regular spaghetti?

--bloated

--tired

--mentally foggy

--fat

--not sexy

So what to do if you love spaghetti?

Great news! As of March, 2014, Miracle Noodle introduces Organic Shirataki Spaghetti!

Now you can cook your favorite spaghetti dishes without the guilt.

Here are some guidelines to cook a quick, healthy spaghetti meal using Miracle Noodle Organic Spaghetti.

--use low-sugar sauces

--dry roast the spaghetti

--add fresh whole basil leaves; add them in during the last minute or two of cooking

--add broccoli as it contains lots of antioxidants, has a huge crunch factor and fiber to help you feel full

--add pine nuts for extra protein

--add pink Himalayan sea salt, a healthier version of salt than white (processed table salt)

--add kelp flakes (available at natural markets) which is an excellent source of iodine

The possibilities are endless. Drizzle with a healthy oil like olive or avocado. Also optional is to add a tablespoon of coconut oil for a rich flavor. These oils are healthy fats and will also help you feel full and prevent cravings, unlike regular pasta.

Are you excited to try Organic Spaghetti?

You’re doing everything you’re supposed to do in order to lose weight: eating a low-glycemic diet comprised of lots of organic vegetables, exercising 5-6 days per week and replacing high-carb pasta with Miracle Noodle. You’ve also learned how to manage stress. So why are you having trouble losing weight? Here are 3 reasons it might not be your fault….

Sluggish Liver

Say that for the last 6-12 months you have adopted healthy habits. You quit smoking, stopped drinking alcohol (at least excessively), started exercising and eating better. Goon for you! But all the years and perhaps decades of eating junk food and consuming toxins has created gridlock in your liver that’s worse than an L.A. freeway tie-up in rush hour.

Accumulated toxins causes the liver to be sluggish. The liver is your main detoxifying organ. Chronic consumption of sugars causes the liver to store fat. Perhaps even with a now healthy regimen, you’re not able to lose those last stubborn 10 pounds because your liver is not functioning as optimally as it could.

If you don’t use truly organic skin and hair care products, that could be another reason why your liver is clogged, thus preventing weight loss. Harsh chemicals like sodium lauryl sulfate--a common ingredient in every skin and hair product that’s not organic; it created the ‘sudsy’ effect--are readily absorbed by the skin. Heavy metals and other chemicals are stored in the liver.

Use caution, though, when buying hair and skin products that use the word ‘natural’ or even ‘organic.’ The FDA does not regulate these products. Do your research before purchasing a truly organic line.

Hormonal Imbalances

Menopause and other life-altering biological markers, as well as chronic stress, can throw hormones out of whack. Since every system in the body is interconnected, hormonal imbalances will also cause the liver to become sluggish. But the endocrine system itself, which governs the complicated system of hormone production and regulation, is affected in the following ways….

Most people are familiar with the concept that postmenopausal women are usually deficient in estrogen, but what may not be as well known is that women, even perimenopausal women, can also be deficient in testosterone. Testosterone, though commonly known as the male sex hormone, plays an important role in female physiology as well, helping to burn fat.

Chronic stress, which causes hormonal imbalance, can disrupt testosterone production. (New research is also shedding light on estrogen’s important role in male physiological function; many men may be too low in estrogen.)

Exercising too strenuously

Body image is relative. Perhaps you’ve been training hard, perhaps even for years, but when you look in the mirror, you still see a soft belly. “Maybe I’m not training hard enough?” you ask yourself. But maybe the question should be, “Maybe I’m training too hard?”

High intensity endurance training can be incredibly good for long-term health and disease prevention. But at a certain point, doing it excessively offers diminishing returns. Boot camp style workouts may get you in great shape, but for some people, at the expense of putting even more stress on the body. The body does not distinguish between, say, financial stress and physical stress. Stress is simply stress to the body. Perhaps your normal, healthy fat-burning furnace (metabolism) is revving too high. Ease off the high-intensity endurance training.

If you’re used to high-intensity training sessions of 60+ minutes, try switching to several bouts of short (1-2 minutes) high-intensity movements.

Solutions

In addition to doing more sane workouts, try unclogging your liver by taking all-natural liver support supplements such as milk thistle. Not recommended is drastic liver flushes or cleanses. That will cause a flood of toxins in your bloodstream. Also try occasional fasting, which can be just the metabolic reset your body needs.

Also continue to avoid processed sugars and grains. If you think you may have a hormonal imbalance, visit a naturopathic doctor or another trusted medical professional.

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Mom was right when you were a child and implored you to eat your vegetables, but the blanket, one-size-fits-all recommendation to eat your veggies needs to be taken with a grain of salt as some vegetables are high in starches and thus convert into sugar rapidly, potentially leading to a bigger belly.

In fact, some starches get digested so quickly that they raise your blood sugar levels higher than white table sugar.

And sorry, ketchup, even though the U.S. Congress deemed it one, is not a vegetable. (Never mind the fact that unless you’re a ketchup junkie, there are tastier sauces to cook with Miracle Noodle; stay tuned for an upcoming blog: what are the healthiest--and tastiest--sauces to cook Miracle Noodle with.)

Before divulging which starches cause bulging and the others that can promote weight loss, let’s define what a starch is. Quite simply, starches are molecular chains of simple sugars. They are odorless, white carbohydrate (energy) storehouses that are found in plant matter.

Though baked goods like bread, pastries, and the like are not considered vegetables they do contain flour, which is a starch, and because all vegetables are derived from plants, veggies also are starches. All carbohydrates--veggies are carbs and so,too, are breads and other baked goods, regular noodles, and fruits--so it’s critical to understand that not all starches are created equally.

The refinement of processed foods causes the structure of the starch to be broken down quite rapidly, often burned up well before they reach the large intestine. These kinds of starches raise blood sugar levels and should be avoided by anyone who wants to control their weight or improve their diabetes.

Vegetables that have gotten a bad rap, but are safe to eat in moderation

Some vegetables are relatively high in sugar but because they have a significant amount of fiber, the conversion of the starch into sugar is much slower than, say, mashed potatoes.

Carrots are probably at the top of the list. Vilified by extreme dieters (bodybuilders, models and other carb-o-phobes), carrots are jam packed with beta carotene, a precursor to Vitamin A. Try cutting tiny dime-shaped pieces of carrots and lightly cooking them with Miracle Noodle. They provide a savory juxtaposition of crunchy with soft, silky Miracle Noodle.

Beets are also a no-no according to some diet ‘gurus,’ again for their relatively high sugar content. But it’s not like beets have the same amount of sugar as a Big Gulp. A moderate portion of beets (tasty in a salad or sauteed in a Miracle Noodle stirfry) can help cleanse the liver.

The best of the best vegetables to cook with

Nutritionists recommend eating a variety of colors in the vegetable rainbow, such as red peppers, black/purple eggplant, orange raw carrots, etc….But in general, the healthiest vegetables are green. Think: spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, and green onions, collard greens, green beans, edamame, asparagus and zucchini.

These vegetables, as long as they are not overcooked in your Miracle Noodle favorite dish (click here for a free download of the Miracle Noodle 82-page Recipe Book) contain the most powerful phyto- (plant) nutrients in the vegetable kingdom.

Steaming green vegetables or lightly sautéing them is the healthiest thing to add to a Miracle Noodle dish along with a lean protein.

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Gulp a cup of coffee in the car, stuff a donut in your mouth, or, if you’re feeling slightly healthier, inhale a piece of toast with butter in a mad dash commute to work. Maybe weekends allow you to eat more for breakfast: eggs, bacon, orange juice, 3 cups of coffee… can you relate?

Most people have to be somewhere early morning Monday-Friday, be it a corporate job or dropping off the kids to school. Five hours go by and you’ve been running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. You realize you’re starving so you scarf down a turkey sandwich at the local deli or office cafeteria. Perhaps you think that your sandwich is healthy: you opt for wheat bread (you assume that wheat is healthier, but read this blog for a different view) with a modicum of veggies (dubious in health like conventional pesticide-treated tomato and nutritiously-deficient iceberg lettuce).

Within 45 minutes of inhaling the turkey sandwich, you feel an intense desire to go curl in a ball and take a nap. Your energy level has crashed. But somehow, you power through the rest of the day--an energy drink or perhaps multiple cups of coffee--and although you still feel somewhat off kilter, you manage to get home, clean the house, pick up the kids, cook dinner and finish all the myriad menial tasks it takes to keep the engines running (even though on the inside, you’re running on fumes).

Though you might think you do not have time to keep one, maintaining a food journal is actually easy, especially with high-tech versions (apps) available on smart phones. A food journal will help you see patterns in your diet, providing clues as to why you’re experiencing energy crashes.

If you like the idea of having rock-steady energy and unfluctuating, mentally-stable moods throughout the day, a food journal is the best way to achieve these desired superior traits of well-being.

Record everything that goes down your throat

Achieving steady energy requires more than simply recording what foods you eat on a daily basis. Before explaining what else you should record, however, it should be noted that many people who keep a food journal often forget to record the little ingredients that can possibly lead to depleted energy. Here’s an example: instead of jotting down ‘green salad,’ also include what type of dressing. If the dressing was something other than a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and instead was a huge helping of Caesar’s dressing loaded with processed ingredients and sugar, the dressing could be the culprit for a later energy crash.

Another example: you think you’re eating a healthy hamburger because the beef is organic/pasture-raised/grass-fed/kosher. The bun is gluten-free (might not be healthy after all; read: The Dangers of Gluten-Free foods on the Miracle Noodle blog) and topped with a slice of organic tomato and avocado.

But the food journal forgets to include a popular brand of ketchup that contains high-fructose corn syrup, which interferes with the appetite hormone (ghrelin) signaling the brain not to eat anymore. Your appetite, despite the healthy beef, is insatiable because of the high-fructose corn syrup in the ketchup.

So make sure you record every little seemingly innocuous ingredient, and if possible, the brand name.

Food journals have feelings, too

To fine-tune your diet and thereby achieve steady energy, include the following parameters in your food journal:

• --energy level before meal

• --mood before meal

• --hunger level before meal (1-5 with 5 being starving)

• --these 3 parameters after the meal

Taking it a step further, record your energy, mood and hunger levels 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours after a meal. If you think that’s asking too much, you can simplify by recording ‘general well-being’ after meal.

Perhaps within 20 minutes after a meal, you feel satiated and in a good mood, but 30 minutes or so later, you have a craving for something salty and sweet. You’ve also noticed that your mood has swung to the irritable side.

Macronutrient portion sizes are critical

For lunch, you’ve just eaten what you thought was a healthy meal: Miracle Noodle with stir-fry veggies. Within the hour, though, it feels like you didn’t even eat lunch; the problem is that you did not add enough protein to the meal.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner should include protein sources--and natural fat--to regulate blood sugar levels. In other words, a proper balance of carbohydrates (mostly vegetables and a little bit of low-glycemic grains), protein and natural fat acts as the proper fuel for your fine-tuned engine of a body.

Figuring out the correct proportion of macronutrients at each meal will take some fine tuning and trial and error. Some people might thrive on larger portions of protein while others require more natural fat and/or carbohydrates for optimal energy.

Even though life might seem like one stressed-fill episode after another, in other words: too busy to pay attention to how you feel after a meal, keeping a detailed food journal will help you over time, get in touch with how powerful food is in affecting your moods and energy levels.

Time is of the essence for a food journal

Other things you might want to record in your food journal is how you slept the previous night and at what times you began every meal to learn what patterns give you the best energy. Also record how much water you consumed throughout the day. Remember, in addition to noting every condiment, also record everything you drink.

Maybe the bottle of wine you shared at dinner last night is the reason why you’re running on empty today!

Miracle Noodle can help you achieve steady energy. Eat more of it while saving almost 15% Every Time!

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