The gyms are full of people who have been eating nutritious foods for a week, determined to get healthier in 2020! With new year’s resolutions fresh on their minds they are extra motivated. Many will follow fad diets until they burn out, while a few will make lasting changes that will impact their health in a positive way.
It is my desire to support those who want to make real lasting changes to their health by eating real food. This includes lots of fresh veggies, fruit, healthy fats, and quality proteins. Most people would especially benefit from increasing the amount of vegetables in their diet.
Juicing is a great way to get many more servings of vegetables than we would typically consume. Let’s explore the benefits of juicing and learn how to incorporate it in the most beneficial way!
What is Juicing?
“When you drink fresh, live juice, it's almost like receiving an intravenous infusion of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes because they go straight into your body without needing to be broken down. Since juicing is essentially ‘mainlining’ live nutrients, it's no surprise it can produce rapid and profound health benefits.” - Dr. Mercola
Juicing is a process in which the natural liquid, vitamins, and minerals are separated from the pulp of raw fruits and vegetables.
Many people associate juicing with a cleanse, detox, or juicing fast. That is not what I am recommending here! I find that it is extremely beneficial to add juicing to a nutrient-rich diet of whole foods.
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It can be extremely hard to make healthy choices throughout the Holidays! In this week’s guest blog The Nutrition Doula will share some simple tips to help you stay on track AND enjoy this holiday season. Alasen Zarndt is not just the Nutrition Doula, she is also my friend. I can tell you she is passionate about helping women fuel their bodies so they can feel their best.
As a health, wellness, and nutrition coach, Alasen specializes in coming alongside new mothers during their pregnancy and postpartum years. However, the philosophy of using real, everyday foods to care for yourself and your family is applicable throughout every stage of life!
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As the weather gets colder, many of us turn to a warm cup of tea for a bit of comfort. This can become a lovely ritual at the beginning or end of the day. It can provide a moment of solitude when paired with reading a book, watching a show, or writing in a gratitude journal. For others it may be an opportunity for connection by enjoying it in person (or even over the phone) with a friend or loved-one.
But the benefits of good quality tea can go beyond that of simple comfort. Many herbs have incredible healing properties that can support many systems in the body. Let’s take a look at one of these herbs today and learn how stinging nettles can improve your health.
What are Stinging Nettles?
Urtica dioica is known as common or stinging nettle. It is a perennial flowering plant native to Europe, as well as parts of Asia and North Africa. Not all of the plants are stinging, but those that do have trichomes on the leaves and stems. These hollow stinging hairs act like hypodermic needles, and inject histamine and other chemicals upon contact. When this happens it produces a stinging sensation. As unpleasant as that sounds, when harvested and prepared properly stinging nettle has many health benefits.
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Fall is upon us, and the holidays will be here before we know it. Approaching the season with a solid nutritional base, will enable us to enjoy the holidays without letting them derail us!
Let’s take a look at some of the top nutrition blog articles, and use them as a checkpoint to make sure we are on track.
Quality Protein
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“Intermittent fasting (or time-restricted feeding) is a method of limiting the time window you eat each day to a consistent number of hours and a consistent time each day. Between 8-10 hours of (an) eating window is considered optimal in humans, which leaves 14-16 hours for your body to fast. This period allows your organs a break from digesting so they can heal.” -Dr. Satchin Panda
What Is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is an approach where individuals intentionally limit the time window in which they eat and keep those hours consistent. Done properly research has found many benefits to allowing the body time to rest from digesting food in this way.
Benefits of IF
- Blood Sugar Regulation
- Weight Loss
- Better Sleep
- Reduce Leaky Gut
- More Energy
- Increased Nutrition
- Improvement in Blood Pressure
A Look At The Science
In 2012, a study came out that would expand our knowledge of how our eating patterns affect the body. Until this point most professionals believed that the quality and quantity of food were the main issues surrounding nutrition. This new knowledge would show us that when we eat impacts our health as much as what we eat and how much we eat.
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Omega 3 and Omega 6 are essential fatty acids that the body can not make on its own. Omega 3 is thought to have many health benefits, while omega 6 is known to cause inflammation.
It is very important for your health to have the right balance of these acids. People who are deficient in omega 3 may notice dry patches or bumps on their skin, brittle hair, dandruff, or nails that break easily. Inadequate levels can also negatively affect concentration, mood, energy, and sleep.
While it is possible to achieve this through diet, many professionals recommend getting a good quality supplement. Let’s take a look at the dietary impact of fatty acids and the benefits of getting the balance right to discover if a supplement could be a good choice for you!
Historically
Research suggests that our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed around a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fats. It also indicates that these hunter-gatherers did not struggle with many of the inflammatory diseases that our culture does (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.).
Modern culture’s push for convenience foods, as well as the food industry’s attempt to lower cost has had a significant impact on these ratios. Today, the average ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 is between 10:1 and 20:1, with some individuals as high as 25:1.
If you eat out or consume processed foods it is likely that you are exceeding the amount of omega 6 that your body can handle!
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