Filed under: Advice, Health, Healthy Eating, Don’t Eat This
A couple of years ago, Bisphenol A (BPA) was in the news on a daily basis. People were concerned that this chemical, a building block in certain types of plastics, was found to be toxic to human life. In 2008, after several governments issued reports … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
The following is an email conversation between one of our participants in the 30-Day Challenge, Carole and the Healthy Foodie. It’s presented here so others participating in the challenge can get some helpful tips and advice. If you missed our other … Read more
Filed under: Advice, Healthy Eating, Dear Healthy Foodie
Almost a year ago I wrote a post on an ingredient added to almost every supplement on the market – magnesium stearate. My question at the time was, although it seems to to have a strongly negative effect on a small segment of the population, is … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This
Looking for a superfood that is as effective at lowering cholesterol as cholesterol drugs, but with none of the associated side effects such as joint pain, muscle atrophy and degradation, weakness, liver or kidney failure? Look no further than … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Dear Healthy Foodie
If you’ve visited Thatsfit.ca recently, you’ve heard about the 30-Day Challenge in which three participants have signed on to eliminate all sources of gluten, dairy, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods from their diets for 30 days to see how they feel at the end of it.
One reader following the challenge sent me a very good question about meat-eating during the challenge. She writes: “I’m quite surprised you have not eliminated meat from the 30-Day Challenge. Meat, even free-range or grain fed (organic), once out of the stomach, sits in our intestines for 24-72 hours depending on the type (chicken, beef pork), producing very toxic acids that many cancers feed off of. Dead meat in our bodies is very toxic and causes a number of ailments. What’s the reason for not adding the elimination of meat to the 30-Day Challenge?”
There are a lot of myths out there surrounding the issue of meat consumption. Much of what you read about meat is simply not true. Firstly, meat does not sit in our intestines for 24-72 hours. A healthy digestive system eliminates all foods within 18-24 hours, from the time you swallow it. You can test this by eating beets with your meat and then keeping an eye on the toilet. If anything is “sitting” in your digestive tract, you have a much bigger problem than meat consumption. And although protein foods do have an acidifying effect on the body, this can (in fact, needs to) be countered by alkalizing foods. And while cancer is said to thrive in an acidic environment, acidifying foods cannot be eliminated completely or else you would not be getting any protein. The key is balance.
Continue reading Eating Meat: Myths About Meat Digestion
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
On Monday, three of That’s Fit.ca’s readers kicked-off their first day of our 30-Day Nutrition Challenge. Here, we check-in with Erika, to see how she is doing a few days into her gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, caffeine-free, alcohol-free and processed foods-free existence.
Erika: So far, so good! I had some quinoa with dried blueberries, almond milk and cinnamon for breakfast. And I started that off with a big glass of water with the juice of half a lemon in it for a liver detox. Is freshly squeezed orange juice an option?
Healthy Foodie: This is a good breakfast. Mind you, while fresh-squeezed OJ is fine within the parameters of the challenge, I recommend you curb your intake a bit. Juice has a high sugar content, even unsweetened juice, so perhaps avoid having it every morning. Also, it’s best for digestion if you drink juice about 20 minutes before eating other foods. Fruit juices, because of their sugar content, can play havoc with your digestion when mixed with other foods.
Continue reading Skip Orange Juice at Breakfast: Erika’s Progress on the 30-Day Challenge
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
Kerrin, 21, is the third participant in That’s Fit.ca’s 30-Day Nutrition Challenge. While Kerrin is an avid exerciser (yoga, Pilates, running, lacrosse) who watches what she eats in an effort to maximize athletic performance by balancing protein and carbohydrate intake, she’s lately been experiencing unrelenting fatigue and wonders if a food sensitivity is causing the problem.
I asked Kerrin a few questions about what she normally likes to eat and gave her some tips and ideas on what she could eat instead during the 30-Day Nutrition Challenge. If you missed our other posts and want to follow the challenge here are some resources to get you started:
Benefits of eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods.
What you can and cannot eat
Getting started and getting off coffee
Recipe ideas and resources
Healthy Foodie: What do you normally have for breakfast?
Kerrin: Boost or Ensure nutritional drinks
HF – I recommend moving away from these sorts of nutritional shakes and moving towards making your own smoothies. Although these drinks have a good balance of macronutrients, they’re skipping all the finer points of whole food nutrition and generally have a lot of sugar. Get yourself a protein powder like rice or pea protein, add in some low sugar fruits and veggies and blend up your breakfast. Including a greens supplement like spirulina, chlorella or a green blend is also great as it’s loaded with B vitamins for natural energy and is a complete protein.
HF: And what’s for lunch?
Continue reading Going Dairy-Free on the 30-Day Nutrition Challenge: Tips and Substitutions
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
Erika is a 39-year-old office administrator and receptionist who quit smoking cold turkey on January 1, 2000 and wishes she could apply the same willpower to her diet and exercise.
I asked Erika to give me a snapshot of her eating habits and in return I gave her some tips and ideas on how she could modify her diet during That’s Fit.ca’s 30-Day Nutrition Challenge. If you missed our other posts and want to follow the challenge here are some resources to get you started:
Benefits of eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods.
What you can and cannot eat
Getting started and getting off coffee
Recipe ideas and resources
Healthy Foodie: What do you normally have for breakfast?
Erika: It varies. I’m big on having egg whites though!
HF – Breakfast can be a tricky one but I’m fond of recommending smoothies. Add some fruits and veggies to a blender with water and you’ve got yourself breakfast. Throw in rice protein, a greens supplement like chlorella or spirulina and some flax seed oil and you have yourself a superfood breakfast.
Eggs are a good breakfast too, as is porridge made of grains like quinoa or gluten-free oats. One thing about eggs, though: Eat the whole thing!. The media has done a great job of convincing us that eggs are bad for us, but they are not. I always recommend eating whole foods and that includes whole eggs! The yolk of the egg contains almost all of the nutrition including the essential fats, vitamin A, B12, D, E, K and folate. Don’t be scared of yolks.
HF: And what about your average lunch?
Continue reading Eat More Good Fats: Erika’s 30-Day Challenge
Filed under: Advice, Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
Carole is a 68-year-old retired woman and “snowbird” who spends half her year in Florida. She suffers from fibromyalgia and arthritis and hopes to get some relief from the constant pain. She also has three children and an eight-year-old grandson who … Read more
Filed under: Advice, Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
Have you been feeling less than 100 per cent? Perhaps you are low on energy, have had headaches or digestive issues or are carrying around a few stubborn extra pounds, all of which is dismaying as you think of yourself as a fairly healthy person. And … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
What is the 30-Day Challenge?
The challenge is simple enough to describe, but more difficult to put into practice. Over thirty days, our challengers are going eliminate all sources of gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine (green tea is acceptable), … Read more
Filed under: Advice, Health, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
The official start day of the 30 Day Nutrition Challenge is April 12th! That being said, you can start your own challenge at any time. Just make sure you give yourself 30 days to remove these foods from your diet.
Before you start there are a few … Read more
Filed under: Advice, Healthy Eating, 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
So where can one look for recipes that adhere to the tenets of our 30-Day Nutrition Challenge? I’ve already told you what you can and cannot eat. And given some advice on how to ween yourself off coffee, sugar and the other off-limit foods of this … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This
You’ve just had a great workout. You really worked up a sweat and you know you did some good damage to those muscles. Now, you’re thirsty, hungry and fatigued, so what should you reach for?
If you’re like millions of North Americans, you’ll probably go for a fluorescent-coloured “sports” beverage because the advertising campaigns have convinced you that they’re better than water. It seems most of us have bought the line that these lab creations are superior at hydrating than the stuff created by nature that we’ve been surviving on for millennia.
But ask yourself this: Are sugary, artificially-coloured and flavoured, processed beverages really the best thing for your body after you work out? Are they good for you at any time? You obviously care about your body or you wouldn’t be sweating so hard to keeping it healthy – so why feed it something that’s hindering its healthy function?
Fortunately, there alternatives to these flashy sports drinks.
Continue reading Workout Recovery Food: Four Alternatives to Sports Drinks
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This
Would you like to avoid cancer? Silly question, I know – who wouldn’t? Well, a new study done by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has found that those who consume higher levels of vitamin K2 are 14 percent less … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Don’t Eat This
If you were to believe advertisements for antacids and other over-the-counter digestive relief treatments, you would think stomach acid is a bad thing. Commercials show animations of stomach acid creeping up your esophagus causing glowing red nodes … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Dear Healthy Foodie
Hi Doug,
I recently tried to cut coffee out of my diet completely and so I switched to green tea. But I didn’t realize how much caffeine was in green tea! I kind of feel like I failed on this. I’ve read your posts before and know that you feel … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This
Longevity is a hot topic these days, which isn’t surprising considering the largest generation of the last 100 years, the baby boomers, are beginning to hit their golden years. In response to that, more and more interest in how we can live longer has come to the fore and analysis of centenarian’s lifestyles and eating habits has become common front page coverage. And, of course, anti-aging beauty products are flying off the shelves. If fighting the sands of time is one of you priorities, here’s some good news to aid in your battle.
A new study conducted at Canada’s McMaster University, published in the current issue of the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, found they were able to extend the lifespan of mice by an impressive 10 percent using thirty different vitamins, minerals. and herbs. They based the carefully chosen nutrient subjects on dosages recommended for humans and adjusted for mouse body size.
Unlike past studies of this type, the researchers decided to look for “youthful markers” as well as lifespan. In this way they were really looking at quality of life while aging rather than just how long the mice lived. They looked at declining physical movement as a biomarker of aging and mortality risk.
Continue reading A Vitamin Cocktail to Live Longer and Healthier
Filed under: Advice, Health, Healthy Eating, Don’t Eat This
A friend emailed me recently asking me what I thought about the ANDI scoring for foods and was surprised I hadn’t heard of it. “I would have thought you’d be into,” she said. “I think kale is close to the top of the list.” I did a little research and … Read more
Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This
A new study out of France has found that men supplementing with the essential trace mineral selenium decreased their risk of abnormal blood sugar metabolism. The mineral shows the potential to protect against diabetes, according to the study … Read more