Processed and Enriched Food, Depression, and Changing Your Family- Jillian Michaels Podcast Summary - September 30, 2011

Jillian discusses the advantages of eating real food, whether you can change your family's negative eating habits, and dealing with depression and feelings of isolation.

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Jillian recently went to the store with a friend who bought Egg Beaters. Her friend thought they were healthier, leaving Jillian horrified. Jillian's concerned that we've bought too much into advertising claims that chemicals and science can outdo mother nature. Egg Beaters may contain real eggs, but they also contain coloring, vegetable gum, and flavoring, among other additives. Real eggs are "nearly complete" foods. There is more HDL (good cholesterol) than LDL (bad cholesterol). Eggs lower cholesterol because of HDL. Jillian says the saturated fat in eggs shouldn't scare you. Saturated fat has not been conclusively linked to heart disease, while trans fats and diets high in sugar are linked to heart disease. Eggs are nearly a perfect food because they are only missing Vitamin C. Jillian eats the entire egg. If you're dieting and looking for volume to fill you up, you can use 10 egg whites for a healthier alternative.

Products enriched with vitamins and minerals are usually highly processed, garbage food. We don't really understand how the body processes nutrients. Broccoli has lots of vitamins and minerals. The combination of nutrients may be the key; or maybe each nutrient stands on its own. We just don't really know. So those franken-fortified-foods? They can't improve on nature. It's either a ploy to save money or a marketing gimmick.

Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" (great book, in my opinion) discusses the marketing, cost-savings and politics of real food in more detail.

Jillian gives us some examples of how labels on processed foods can be deceiving.

• Inulin fiber is processed grains (not whole grains) with added (enriched) nutrients. If inulin is on a label, it doesn't work in your body the same as whole fiber and naturally occurring foods do. "Fiber enriched" is not the same as eating a whole food. It means "processed."
• Omega-3 enriched food is generally enriched with cheaper Omega-3s, specifically ALA fats. The more expensive Omega-3's are the ones with the health benefits: DHA and EPA. These are the Omega-3s that come from fish. Omega-3 enriched won't give you the same benefits.
• Corn oil may be labeled as "heart healthy," but read the fine print on the label. It says the FDA says there's little scientific evidence supporting the claim. Corn oil is high in Omega-6. Omega-6 is linked to an increased risk in coronary heart disease. Omega-6 is only a problem when it's not balanced with Omega-3's. Given the amount of corn in the American diet, that balance is usually way, way off (Jillian says 50-1 when it should be 1-1).
• MSG-free may not mean the product is actually MSG-free. MSG has many names, all of which are listed in Jillian's Master Your Metabolism book. Hydrolyzed protein is another form of Glutimate (the G in MSG).
• High Fructose Corn Syrup is now called corn sugar on labels.

Bottom line: don't believe science can improve on nature. If a processed food has a health claim, don't believe it.

Corrie calls and tells us her parents' eating habits are atrocious. They eat McDonalds out every weekend, they don't exercise, they eat dessert every night, etc. Her grandparents died young because of obesity. Her parents say she's annoying when she nags them. Should she stop nagging them?

Jillian says stop nagging; it's not working. Corrie is afraid of losing her parents and is frustrated that she's not important enough for her parents to change. Jillian says instead of nagging, have a candid, vulnerable conversation explaining that she's worried and that it hurts her to think about them not being here. Jill says to focus on Corrie's behavior and feelings and not put them on the defensive. Don't go into the conversation with expectations.

Jillian says if they listen, that's great. They may reject it. And if they reject it, know that it's not her fault or about her. It's deeper. She needs to channel that passion into her future family and friends and loved ones who will hear you.

You can't change people. You can only change the way you approach someone. The rest you can't control. It's not about you. It's sad, but you just can't change them if they aren't ready.

Jillian had a conversation with her mom the other day. Jillian sent her younger sister, who is eighteen, to college. She got the bill. Her father is wealthy. She thought she'd resolved the issues about her father, but when she got the bill she was furious. She wanted to write an angry letter to her father. Her mom asked what she wanted to happen from writing the letter. To make him feel bad? To get a different outcome? She was still hoping he would change, so they could all stop being hurt by his abandonment.

She says you let out the emotion. Cry. Then you move on. Because you can't change him.

Kerry says she's a huge fan of Jillian's book Unlimited. She re-reads it and listens to the audio book to avoid falling into her old habits. Kerry hates her job. She feels like it's the only job she can get. She's going back to school and quitting the job, but she's struggling with depression. She's recently started an antidepressant. She's having problems with her insurance and can only have eleven therapy sessions. Her game plan is to get on the medication and get comfortable with talking to a therapist, and then transition to a low-fee therapist.

Kerry also hates her city. She hasn't made many friends since moving there two years ago. Her husband is gone a lot because he's in the military. They are stationed in San Antonio and can't leave yet. Since living in San Antonio, she has been less active. It's hot and she's been getting migraines when she works out in the heat.

Jillian asks if she can leave San Antonio while her husband is deployed. Kerry says that's not an option. San Antonio makes her feel like an outsider. As a kid she felt like an outsider because of her red hair and freckles. Jillian says the lesson is to turn it around. Life brings us lessons to learn, and if we don't learn them they just keep coming back stronger and stronger until you conquer it.

The reality is that there are good people and bad people everywhere. It's a matter of how you attract them. Jillian says the way that Kerry is talking about this place is reaffirming that she hates the city. The problem is that she's cementing that hatred in her thoughts and sending those thoughts out into the world, which is affecting her behavior and is picked up by strangers, who react to it. It's a cycle. The cycle just makes that hatred grow as people react to you.

Jillian says to change the way you think and talk about the place (your neuro-linguistic programming or NLP). You can't change it, you have to change the way you think about it.

Kerry says she's tried that and is a huge fan of NLP, but she's finally admitting it to herself now that the depression has grown. This does not dissuade Jillian. She says Kerry has to keep reaching out and expanding.

Kerry says she's tried all this but it's gone on so long that she's giving up. She's learned to recognize the warning signs of depression, but it's gone on so long that she just doesn't have the energy. Jillian still doesn't give up. You cannot disempower yourself due to depression. You have no choice. Your choice is misery or try. You have to get out of bed and try. Even if it's just a small step. You can't just give up.

It will get better. Just don't give up.