Fat. So many people avoid it but did you know that we actually NEED fat. The right fats are needed for many functions in our bodies and our brains require it! Yes, there are beneficial fats and then there are detrimental fats. Since covering this subject of fat may be long and boring for you to read, I will just cover a small area here.
By now I'm sure that most people have heard about Omega 3 fatty acids. This is not the newest health kick out there, Omega 3 fats are so needed and are slowly getting pushed out of many fatty foods. The culprit behind this? Fats such as Omega 6's and 9's. These insidious little attention-seekers are found in animal products and most vegetable oils. Why are these fatty acids taking over these foods? Before the era of factory farms cows were allowed to graze on grassy fields and spent much of their days outside. This is what nature intended. Once people start messing with nature funny things happened. Instead of having the correct BALANCE of the fatty acids (i.e. Omega 3's, 6's, 9's) the balance become one sided and the content of the Omega 3's in cow meats and milk became lower and lower. The grasses, weeds and flowers that the cows graze on contain amounts of Omega 3's: when the cow consumes this, these highly beneficial fats are then found in the animal.
Makes sense, right? This is why some manufacturer's are including Omega 3's in dairy. And now, there are more and more small farms popping up (well, they were already there but society is finally taking notice) that are providing us with grass fed beef and dairy. I've been ordering meat from Burgundy Farms, a local farm that sells grass fed beef that is pretty much organic. It's very difficult for farms to get the USDA Organic Certification (lot's of red tape, etc.) but I consider this farm to be organic. You can both TASTE and SEE the difference! I love this farm. The great thing is, there are many, many more small, family farms throughout North America that can provide you with excellent products such as this!
As my readers know, I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis for just over 13 years now. RA is an autoimmune disease in which the body basically attacks itself. When I was first diagnosed my doctor believed me to have an aggressive form and wanted to immediately put me on medication. I was actually trying to get pregnant with my second child at the time and wasn't able to take the meds. That was a good excuse on my part because I wanted to avoid medication as much as possible. So I went on a quest to find out what could help me. This is why I became a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and, with diet and other modifications, I have been able to avoid medication and am able to live a pretty healthy life. Why I'm explaining this to you is this: I truly believe that many diseases come down to inflammation in the body. I believe that if we can keep inflammation down this is a positive and proactive step in our personal health and longevity. One of these ways is to consume beneficial fats like Omega 3's.
Omega 3's are also found in fatty fish such as salmon (most fish actually contain some amount of Omega 3's). The great thing about fish is that the Omega 3's are already converted to DHA and EPA, long chain fatty acids that our bodies can readily use. The rare person may not be able to convert Omega 3's properly so this is why fish is a great option. Walnuts, flax seeds, grass fed beef and dairy, salmon and sardines are excellent sources.
For ways that you can personally reduce inflammation in your body please contact me at inspiredbynutrition@gmail.com or click on the link to the right to find me on Facebook.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
What is Health to You?
"Health is the greatest of all possessions; a pale cobbler is better than a sick king." ~ Isaac Bickerstaff
What is health to you? Is it a number on a scale, is it how you look or feel, is it the absence of disease? What is it to you? For me personally, health is how I feel, it is the absence of disease, it is in breathing clean air, it is my energy levels, it is having a positive mindset, it is having good friends to talk with, and it is having a personal relationship with God. Health and nutrition go hand in hand and I believe that every human being has the right to good nutrition. Lately, however, I have been getting so discouraged over how the media (and our society) portrays good nutrition.
Good nutrition is not taking out an entire macro nutrient, let's say for example, carbohydrates, and replacing that with meat. Whether grass fed or not, it is still meat. I have written before about the importance of carbohydrates and that our daily intake should constitute about 50-60% of our daily diet. Carbohydrates are our main source of energy and include fruits, vegetables and grains. People have been eating grains for thousands of years and grains provide many vital nutrients; it is discouraging to me that so many people are currently anti-grain. Like anything, this latest trend will pass, however, soon to be replaced by something else. Now I'm certainly not against meat and it is a personal choice whether or not you choose to consume it. I do think that meat should constitute a much smaller percentage of our daily diet than carbohydrates and having a meatless meal once or twice a week is a healthy thing. A serving of meat is generally about 4 oz for women and 5 oz for men (about the size of a deck of cards). Too much meat/protein and not enough carbohydrates can lead to the body producing something called ketones. Ketones are toxic to the body, and so the kidneys begin to flush out these toxins. This will lead to water loss in the body, which is hard on the kidneys and also puts stress on the heart. Although this water loss will look like a reduction in weight you will also lose muscle mass and bone calcium.
There are some parts of the Paleolithic (Paleo) diet that I do agree with: no refined carbohydrates, no processed foods, no refined sugars, consuming grass fed beef or wild game, and eating healthy fats. Of course - these are all components of a healthy diet. However, grains (whole grains) and legumes are also integral components of a healthy diet and these are avoided when eating Paleo.
In my opinion, the "ideal diet" is one that mimics the Mediterranean way of eating. The principal aspects of this lifestyle include a proportionally high consumption of olive oil (used for salads, cooking, bread), legumes, fruits, vegetables, unrefined whole grains, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as yogurt and cheese), moderate to low wine consumption and low consumption of meat and meat products. This is a very clean way of eating and provides the body with healthy fats, great complex carbohydrates, and loads of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Within this "ideal diet' there is so much room for personal choices. As well, the ideal diet will adapt and fluctuate: daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly according to our own individual needs. Each person is different, and each person's needs vary. Nutrition and diet is often portrayed as a confusing mess of "which diet do I choose this month?" when it shouldn't be. Keep nutrition simple: consume food that "remembers" where it came from, shop the perimeter of the store, don't eat foods that your great-grandmother wouldn't have recognized, avoid processed foods and avoid boxed goods with ingredients that your 8 year old can't pronounce.
Good nutrition is not taking out an entire macro nutrient, let's say for example, carbohydrates, and replacing that with meat. Whether grass fed or not, it is still meat. I have written before about the importance of carbohydrates and that our daily intake should constitute about 50-60% of our daily diet. Carbohydrates are our main source of energy and include fruits, vegetables and grains. People have been eating grains for thousands of years and grains provide many vital nutrients; it is discouraging to me that so many people are currently anti-grain. Like anything, this latest trend will pass, however, soon to be replaced by something else. Now I'm certainly not against meat and it is a personal choice whether or not you choose to consume it. I do think that meat should constitute a much smaller percentage of our daily diet than carbohydrates and having a meatless meal once or twice a week is a healthy thing. A serving of meat is generally about 4 oz for women and 5 oz for men (about the size of a deck of cards). Too much meat/protein and not enough carbohydrates can lead to the body producing something called ketones. Ketones are toxic to the body, and so the kidneys begin to flush out these toxins. This will lead to water loss in the body, which is hard on the kidneys and also puts stress on the heart. Although this water loss will look like a reduction in weight you will also lose muscle mass and bone calcium.
There are some parts of the Paleolithic (Paleo) diet that I do agree with: no refined carbohydrates, no processed foods, no refined sugars, consuming grass fed beef or wild game, and eating healthy fats. Of course - these are all components of a healthy diet. However, grains (whole grains) and legumes are also integral components of a healthy diet and these are avoided when eating Paleo.
In my opinion, the "ideal diet" is one that mimics the Mediterranean way of eating. The principal aspects of this lifestyle include a proportionally high consumption of olive oil (used for salads, cooking, bread), legumes, fruits, vegetables, unrefined whole grains, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as yogurt and cheese), moderate to low wine consumption and low consumption of meat and meat products. This is a very clean way of eating and provides the body with healthy fats, great complex carbohydrates, and loads of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Within this "ideal diet' there is so much room for personal choices. As well, the ideal diet will adapt and fluctuate: daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly according to our own individual needs. Each person is different, and each person's needs vary. Nutrition and diet is often portrayed as a confusing mess of "which diet do I choose this month?" when it shouldn't be. Keep nutrition simple: consume food that "remembers" where it came from, shop the perimeter of the store, don't eat foods that your great-grandmother wouldn't have recognized, avoid processed foods and avoid boxed goods with ingredients that your 8 year old can't pronounce.
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