The Un-Diet: Say NO to Dieting in 2014

So you're on a diet, eh? Undoubtedly the most popular New Year's Resolution is to lose weight, meaning going on a diet. I hate diets and completely disagree with them. You could say I am an old fashioned Nutritionist when it comes to making changes in your life. If you've read yesterday's post, New Year, New You - 5 Tips to Help you Stick to your New Year's Resolution you'll see that I am a believer and advocate on finding balance in your life. For the sake of this blog post I will be using the word diet, as in what you eat. If your New Year's Resolution is to lose weight then please consider not going on a diet and instead making a lifestyle change. Concentrate on getting healthy and naturally the excess weight will come off.  Please take it from me when I say dieting does not work! Have you heard the phrase, easy come, easy go? It also applies to dieting. Drastically cutting calories will give you weight loss but as easy as it came off the easier you'll pack it on, and some. So say no to dieting, will ya? No more grapefruit diets, master cleanses, cabbage soup diets and all that other garbage. Just eat, and eat well. Here's how...

Eat Whole Foods – This means eat foods that are closet to their natural state or closet too natural state. For instance, eat a baked sweet potato as opposed to a bag of potato chips, which has been processed, striped of its nutrients and saturated in oil and salt. Enjoy a crisp apple as opposed to packaged applesauce which in most cases contains refined sugar and preservatives. Choose sprouted or multi-grain breads over refined wheat where the bran and germ (the reservoir for vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids) have been removed.

Choose Certified Organic – The term organic simple means foods that have not been exposed to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, fertilizers and other harmful chemicals during their growing stages. More organic in the diet means less toxic material entering the body, therefore less work your body has to do to get rid of it and less damage to your body. Your body is an organic being and needs organic, natural foods to be well. Certain organic foods can be pricey and others are quite comparable to non-organic. Find a ratio of organic and non-organic foods in your kitchen that fit your household budget. Fact: If you are healthy and eating all fresh, organic foods you should have no body odor. Body odor is a sign of toxicity. See: Spring Cleaning: Your Body for more information on toxicity in the body.

Choose Foods that are Dense in their Nutrients – When making food choices concentrate on picking foods that are dense in their nutrients. For example, eat oranges for their vitamin C and Kale for its calcium. Also, go for more nutritious foods; romaine lettuce over iceberg lettuce, yams over white potatoes, brown rice over white rice and lean cut meats over organ meats and pork.

Moderation, Variety and Rotation – We are all human and sometimes you just want to go out and have a burger and a beer with your bff. Let yourself have a cheat day and don’t feel guilty about it. A cheat day is an example of having moderation in your diet. Remember this: Everything in moderation, even moderation. Don't be too laid back, you must own your lifestyle change to stick with it. Variety is just as important. A good rule of thumb is to buy brightly coloured fruits and vegetables to ensure you are getting a variety of different vitamins and minerals in your diet. Remember this: Similar Colours = Similar Nutrients. Lastly, make sure to rotate your foods every day. Eating the same foods day after day can result to food intolerances.

Drink Water – Drink fresh spring or distilled water everyday. Your body is 55% body after all so it just makes sense! How much you ask? Divide your body weight by 2 and then divide by 8 to get the number of 8oz glasses of water you should drink per day.

Balance – Find a diet that is realistic and complements your lifestyle that way it becomes a part of your life and not just another fad. Balance in nutrients, food groups, flavours and colours, prevents boredom and nutritional imbalances. For more information on realistic goal setting read: New Year, New You - 5 Tips to Help you Stick to your New Year's Resolution 

Pledge that 2014 will be the year you finally say NO to ridiculous dieting. Eat, eat well and be well. Don't make it complicated because it's not. 


You may also find these articles I wrote helpful:
Tips on Healthy Snacks
Sports Nutrition: Pre-Workout
Sports Nutrition: Post-Workout
Top 5 Healthy Sugar Substitutes 
5 Stress-free Stress Busters



The information presented here is not intended to replace professional medical care when needed. Consult a qualified healthcare practitioner for disease diagnosis, therapy choice, medicine selection and dosage. 

Originally posted on January 2, 2012. 

Earth Day 2012: 10 Reasons Why you should choose Organic

The term ‘organic’ simple means foods that have not been exposed to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, fertilizers and other harmful chemicals during their growing stages. More organic food in the diet means less toxins in our soil, air and water and less toxic material entering the body, therefore less work your body has to do to get rid of it and less damage to your body.

Choosing local reduces carbon emissions from planes, trains and automobiles and supports your local farmers. When these non-local foods ride in trucks for a few days they lose some of their nutritional quality and taste. You should also keep in mind that local produce for instance is harvested at its peak whereas non-local is picked when it’s not even fully ripe. This ensures the produce will not rot on its way to the supermarket.

Top 10 Reasons to Eat Organic

 

Healthier

Organic food contains higher levels of vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Contains more nutrients

Organic farming practices create higher-quality soil that produces more nutritious crops. Organically grown crops are more nutrient dense and contain more antioxidants.

GMO free

Eighteen percent of all genetically-modified seeds are engineered to produce their own pesticides. Research shows that these seeds may continue producing pesticides inside your body once you’ve eaten the food grown from them! Organic certification standards prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms.

Tastes better

Organic farming starts with the nutrients of the soil which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and ultimately our palates.

Organic farming works in harmony with nature.

Britain's Soil Association reported that organic farms have five times as many wild plants with 57% more species, 44% more birds and twice as many butterflies as non-organic farms.

 

Organic farming is better for the soil.

Organic farming techniques help to build soil on an ongoing basis thereby preventing topsoil erosion and organic soil contains up to twice as many beneficial microbes, earthworms and insects as non-organic soil.

Organic farming can feed more people.

A 2002 Greenpeace report showed that organic farms in Ethiopia produced 3-5 times more food than non-organic farms; corn production increased by 20–250% on Brazilian organic farms and in Peru organic crop yields increased by 150%.

Certified organic food carries a guarantee

Any food product that bears an organic certification label is your guarantee that it has been grown and handled according to strict organic production standards and that absolutely no toxic chemicals have been used.

Organic farming is climate-friendly

Studies have shown that organic soil stores up to 33% more carbon than non-organic soil, which directly helps in the fight against global warming.

Organic foods are supportive of growing children’s brains and bodies 
Children’s growing brains and bodies are far more susceptible to toxins than adults. Choosing organic helps feed their bodies without the exposure to pesticides and genetically-modified organisms, both of which have a relatively short history of use (and therefore safety).

The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Most Heavily Sprayed Crops

FDA and USDA research shows high levels of pesticide and chemical contamination in these common foods:

1) Beef, Pork and Poultry

2) Meat, Cheese and Butter

3) Strawberries, Raspberries  and Cherries

4) Apples and Pears

5) Tomatoes

6) Potatoes

7) Spinach and other greens

8) Coffee

9)  Peaches and Nectarines

10)  Grapes

11) Celery

12) Red and Green Bell Peppers

Earth Day 2012: 6 Easy Ways to Improve your Diet and the Environment

Earth Day is a week away and in it's
honour and in appreciation to our bodies here are 6 easy ways to improve your diet and the environment.

We all know that natural nutrition is essential in preventing disease and bringing our bodies to a place of balance. Little tweaks in your current diet can make all the difference in the world to your health.

But did you know that these changes to what you put on your plate can have an impact on the environment?

Follow these 6 easy tips and enjoy your ride to optimum health and a greener earth through natural nutrition.

 

Eat Whole Foods

This means eat foods that are closet to their natural state or closet too nature. For instance, eat a baked sweet potato as opposed to a bag of potato chips, which has been processed, striped of its nutrients and saturated in oil and salt. Choose sprouted or multi-grain breads over refined wheat where the bran and germ (the reservoir for vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids) have been removed. Try This: Close your eyes and imagine what a “whole food” looks like. Does a cereal box with a picture of a toucan come to your mind? (If so, you definitely need to continue reading) Or does the words “whole food” bring a picture of freshly harvested fruits, vegetables and whole grains?

Most “food” products, if not all, that come neatly packaged in colourful boxes and plastics have been made in a factory where pollutants are being pumped into our air and waste is being spilled into our oceans. Whole foods do great things for your body and even greater things for our earth.


Choose Local and Certified Organic

The term ‘organic’ simple means foods that have not been exposed to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, fertilizers and other harmful chemicals during their growing stages. More organic food in the diet means less toxins in our soil, air and water and less toxic material entering the body, therefore less work your body has to do to get rid of it and less damage to your body.

Choosing local reduces carbon emissions from planes, trains and automobiles and supports your local farmers. When these non-local foods ride in trucks for a few days they lose some of their nutritional quality and taste. You should also keep in mind that local produce for instance is harvested at its peak whereas non-local is picked when it’s not even fully ripe. This ensures the produce will not rot on its way to the supermarket.

If you’ve ever eaten a tree-ripened peach I don’t need to tell you how it bursts with flavour and juices over the truck-ripened peach which is dry and bland. Ideally you want to eat food that is both organic and local.

Choose foods that are dense in their nutrients

When making food choices concentrate on picking foods that are dense in their nutrients. For example, eat oranges for their vitamin C and Kale for its calcium. Also, go for more nutritious foods; romaine lettuce over iceberg lettuce, yams over white potatoes, brown rice over white rice and lean cut meats over organ meats and pork. A package of frozen french fries is not dense in its nutrients because of the chemicals, fats and salt added to them.

Making your own homemade French fries reduces waste in the landfills and air pollutants spewed from the factories. And of course, they will taste a million times better and will be so much healthier than the packaged kind.


Moderation, Variety and Rotation

We are all human and sometimes you just want to go out for a burger and a beer with your bff. Let yourself have a cheat day and don’t feel guilty about it either. A ‘cheat day’ is an example of having moderation in your diet. But remember a ‘cheat day’ meal is not an ‘everyday meal.’

A Smithsonian study estimates that the need for grazing land and grain feed leads to the destruction of a land area equivalent to seven football fields in the Amazon basin every single minute. This means that if you eat a hamburger from a cow raised in South America, you’re meal has contributed to 55 square feet of rain forest destruction. (1) Still want that Baconator?

add variety to your plate

A good rule of thumb is to buy brightly coloured fruits and vegetables to ensure you are getting a variety of different vitamins and minerals in your diet. (similar colours =s imilar nutrients).
Lastly, make sure to rotate your foods every day. Eating the same foods day after day can result to food intolerances.

Drink Water

Drink fresh spring or distilled water every day.  Divide your body weight by 2 and then divide by 8 to get the number of 8oz glasses of water you should drink per day. Your body needs water to live, detoxify, metabolize fat, transports nutrients and oxygen to cells and moisturize and protect your organs.

Soda pop and so-called nutritious boxed juices come in a variety of plastic, tin and tetra materials which overflow our landfills. Substituting these non-foods with clean drinking water will help reduce landfill waste. Be sure to invest in a glass or stainless steel water bottle to reduce plastic bottle waste in the landfills.

I like: DAVIDs TEA Noble Glass Travel Thermos as it's not only for your loose leaf tea but can also hold your water, smoothies and post-workout shakes.

 
Say NO to GMO

Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) and Genetically Engineered Microorganism (GEM) refer to a living organism that has been genetically altered using molecular genetics techniques such as gene cloning and protein engineering, making them more stable and resistant to drought, disease and pesticides. Studies have shown that the B.T. gene used in the GMO crops caused death in organisms such as the monarch butterflies (1).

An article published in Lancet examined the effects of GMO potatoes on the digestive tract in rats (2)(3) This study claimed that there were significant differences in the intestines of rats fed GMO potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes which led to pre-mature death. “Would you like to super-size your fries?” Not unless they’re Certified Organic!

On Earth Day 2012 make an effort to find a diet that has balance in nutrients, food groups, flavours and colours. A varied diet will prevent boredom and nutritional imbalances. Be sure to keep it realistic and complementary to your lifestyle that way it becomes a part of your life and not just another ‘fad.’

By incorporating even one of the 6 tips you will not only be nurturing your body but also making a positive difference in preserving our beautiful precious earth. Remember, we only have one Earth and once it’s gone it’s never coming back.

(1) Smithsonian Institution, “Smithsonian Researchers Show Amazonian Deforestation Accelerating,” Science Daily Online, 15 Jan. 2002.
(2) Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae (Nature, Vol 399, No 6733, p 214, May 1999)
(3)Effect of diets containing genetically modified potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine (Lancet, Vol 354, No 9187, pp 1353-1354, Oct 1999)
(4)Safety of genetically modified food questioned: Interview with gene scientist, Dr Arpad Pusztai(http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jun1999/gmo-j03.shtml )
For more on GMOs visit: http://www.saynotogmos.org/scientists_speak.htm

Some of the photos in this post belong to Melissa Macchione.
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Beat the Heat

If you live in Toronto or North America for that matter, you are smack in the middle of a heat wave. If you are air-conditioner-challenged as my family is you are probably experiencing sweat in places you never knew existed. What exactly is sweat and how do we produce such a yucky excretion.

Believe it or not, sweating is the body's most effective way of cooling itself. During exercise or when exposed to a hot environment, heat is released by the body and body temperature rises. The rise in body temperature causes an increase in sweating and blood flow to the skin. As a result, heat is removed by the evaporation of sweat from the skin, radiated from the body to the cooler surroundings, and is lost by convection to moving air.



If you’re like me and don’t own an air conditioner (save on utilities and better for the environment) or a cabana boy, here are a few tips on keeping cool and how to replenish nutrients lost through sweat.


5 Tips to Keep Cool

Water: Drink it, bathe in it or jump in a pool. The relief is almost immediate and keeps you cool for at least an hour. Make sure you are drinking adequate water throughout the day. Divide your body weight by 2 than divide by 8 to get the number of 8oz glasses of water you should drink per day.

Fans: Keep the air flowing with ceiling fans, desk fans, box fans, whatever you’ve got. In the evening, open windows and use fans to create a cross-breeze, circulating cooler evening/night air through the rooms.


Turn the lights down low: Turn off the lights, stove, computers or other sources of heat. Instead of using your stove to cook opt for simple raw dishes. See In the Kitchen for inspiration.

Shut the blinds: Draw your blinds and curtains during the day to block the sun and nosy neighbors.

Sit still: If you are like me and always seem to have something to do, just stop, sit down, relax and enjoy a cold beverage. The heat will just exhaust you and in the end you won’t get much done anyway. Use the heat as an excuse for a lazy day.


Replenish Nutrients

Make sure you replenish electrolytes, such as magnesium, potassium and sodium, are lost through perspiration and must diligently be replaced.

Low magnesium levels can acutely contribute to fatigue, nausea and muscle cramps. This is why so many of us feel nauseous when it’s too hot.


The Most Common Electrolytes lost in Sweat 

Sodium 
Found in small amounts in all foods.
Most comes from table salt and processed foods.

Did you know? Sodium helps cells retain water and prevent dehydration.

Tip

An easy and healthier way to replenish sodium is through a sports drink such as Gatorade or adding an Emergen-C packet to your water.

Potassium 
Best food sources: Citrus fruits, bananas and potatoes

Calcium 
Dairy products (opt for Organic), green leafy vegetables, legumes

Magnesium
Nuts, legumes/beans, whole grains, green leafy vegetables

Chloride
Found in a variety of foods but comes mainly from table salt Even most vegetables contain small amounts of salt, which they absorb from the soil.

Coming Soon! Check out In the Kitchen for simple, fresh, raw summer dishes.

The information presented here is not intended to replace professional medical care when needed. Consult a qualified health care practitioner for disease diagnosis, therapy choice, medicine selection and dosage.