Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

5 Healthy Snacks to Get You Through Your Day

Are you on Team Snacker or Team Anti-Snacker? I have to admit right from the get go here that I lie somewhere in the middle depending upon who I am working with and their health goals and lifestyles.  The fact remains though that in all situations, snacking should not be a source of empty calories. So wave goodbye to the office vending machine and drive right on past the corner donut store because no matter what team you are on your food choices should be nutritious and health promoting. But this is easier said than done when it comes to snacks because quite often we are looking for quick, tasty and portable options to bridge meal times. With all of these qualifiers it’s no wonder that the most common question I get when putting together a nutritional protocol for clients is “Can you please give me some good snack ideas?”

So here you go. These are my top 5 go-tos when it comes to healthy snacks.

  1. Trail Mix

Trails mixes are great! Make them with your favourite nuts, add some healthy seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and hemp and then kick it up a nutritional notch with goji berries. Protein, healthy fats and fibre in every bite!

  1. Mason Jar Veggies with Hummus

Grabbing a good quality, ready-made hummus at your local grocer is just fine if you don’t have the time to make your own. Divide it in to a few mason jars then add your favourite veggies on top like carrots, celery, broccoli and red pepper. Lid it up and you have a simple, nutritious snack that’s easy to travel with.

  1. Apples

wholefoods

Please do not undervalue simplicity when it comes to snacking. Apples come in many varieties and are a great source of fibre, phytonutrients and antioxidants.  Prepackage and ready to go, apples area a great snacking choice.

  1. Soup

Searching for a good healthy snack can be as easy as looking to yesterday’s lunch or dinner.  I make a lot of soups and love to pack them in a thermos and sip them when I need a boost during the day. The variety of soups is endless so you will never get bored!

  1. Hard-boiled Eggs

Make these ahead of time and then grab them on the fly. Hard-boiled eggs are a punch of protein and good fats and are also a good source of the nutrient choline.

If snacking is a part of your routine, these nutritious options can help to support your health goals and are very easy to incorporate in to your every day life.

Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

Start Your Day with Sole (Solay)

I have a new addition to my morning ritual and it’s called Sole.  Sole (pronounced Solay) is essentially water that has been fully saturated with a natural salt, preferably Himalayan salt.

Himalayan salt contains approximately 84 naturally occurring trace elements in their natural mineral form.  A few of these include sodium chloride, sulphate, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.  And because of their structure, the minerals in this salt are very easy for our cells to absorb.

The benefits of Himalayan salt (and of course using Sole) are many and include the following:

  • Promotes bone strength
  • Supports vascular health
  • Promotes blood sugar health
  • May aid in peristalsis and improve digestive health
  • Supports healthy lungs and respiratory function
  • Promotes healthy sleep patterns
  • Prevents muscle cramps
  • Increases hydration
  • Improves circulation
  • Increases energy
  • Helps to detoxify the body of heavy metals

Making Sole (solay) is easy and I have include the process for you below.

Making Sole

  1. Fill the jar about 1/4 of the way with Himalayan salt crystals or ¾ full with Himalayan chunks.
  2. Add filtered water to fill the jar, leaving about an inch at the top.
  3. Put on lid and gently shake.
  4. Leave on the counter overnight to let the salt dissolve or chunks to soak.
  5. If using salt crystals and there is still some salt on the bottom of the jar, the water has absorbed its maximum amount of salt and the Sole solution is ready to use. If using chunks it is assumed that solution is saturated.
  6. If all of the salt crystals are absorbed, add more salt and continue doing so each day until some remains. At this point water is saturated and you now have a Sole solution.

Using Sole

Consuming Sole is best first thing in the morning and on an empty stomach.  Add 1 teaspoon of Sole to 250ml of good quality water and drink.

 

microbiome
Author avisha Categories Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

“Live Dirty, Eat Clean!”

“Live Dirty, Eat Clean! is the mantra of Dr. Robynne Chutkan.  Dr. Chutkan is an Integrative gastroenterologist, microbiome expert and author of the book Gutbliss.   Her mission is to bring to all of us the understanding that what we feed our microbiome determines our health.  More specifically, what we eat determines that bacteria we grow and in turn these bacteria turn on and off specific genes that guide our health down one pathway or another.

I found it very interesting to listen to what she had to say in this brief talk especially in light of the fact that many people are turning towards high fat as the underpinning of their daily diet.  In my opinion perhaps one of the most overlooked and undervalued components of a healthy diet is adequate fibre intake.  Fibre is the indigestible part of plants that passes pretty much unchanged as it goes through the digestive system. The more common understanding of the value of fibre is it importance for a healthy digestive tract.  A lesser know reason for the importance of fibre however is it’s function for maintaining a healthy microbiome.  As explained by Dr. Chutkan the microbiome is:

“all microbes that live on or in the human body… and all their genes…making you more microbe than human…(they are an) essential part of our ecosystem and they’re vitally important for keeping us healthy”

As we become more and more aware of just how many aspects of our health are affected by our microbiome, it becomes imperative that we understand how to propagate its health.  And the first place to start is with a plant-based diet.

I’ve included the link to her talk below.  Do take a few minutes to listen to it.  It’s both interesting and informative.

Live Dirty, Eat Clean! with Dr. Robynne Chutkan

Author avisha Categories Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

5 Ways to Help Avoid Constipation

Constipation is not only uncomfortable it is also unhealthy. Defecation, bowel movements, pooping or whatever else you might want to call it, eliminating toxins and waste regularly from our body is vital for good health. Optimally we should be pooping at least once a day. When the infrequency of a bowel movement hits the 3-day mark this is considered constipation. At this point any bowel movements are often dry and hard and very hard to pass.

Quite simply we poop to eliminate what our body doesn’t want and the inability to poop can cause short-term issues like bloating and abdominal pain while chronic constipation can lead to hemorrhoids, anal fissures and rectal prolapse. Further to this, if our bowels are not cleared, our colon can become a breeding ground for bacteria that can have the effect of weakening our immune system.

Understanding now the importance of ‘being regular’, here are 5 tips to help avoid constipation.

1. Poop properly!

If you are not in to squatting to poop, as most westerners are not, then elevate your feet to position all of your parts in to the ideal pooping position. In our household we have just invested in Squatty Potties to help us ease our passages. Another factor of a good poop is to take your time when the moment arrives. Stress can inhibit what your body needs to get done so when nature calls, don’t rush the process.

 

2. Keep Yourself Well Hydrated

drinkwater

Water helps to keep our intestinal tract in good physical shape and aids in digestion and the passage of the food we eat. As a guideline, drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.

 

 

 

 

3. Ensure Adequate Fibre in your Diet  

I encourage 30-40 grams of fibre a day. There are 2 kinds of fibre that we need in our diet to form stools and move them along. Soluble fibre, which dissolves in water and creates bulk and insoluble fibre that doesn’t dissolve but instead acts as a mover and a shaker to pass stool through the colon.

4. Exercise

As we move, so does the food that we ingest. Exercising helps to move the food that we eat through our intestinal tract. As food moves through our intestines water is absorbed back in to the body. The slower the pace then the dryer the stool. This can contribute to constipation. Walk, run, jog whatever!  Just make exercise a part of your routine.

 5. Remove Foods that You are Sensitive to from your Diet

This can be a hard one to get a hold of but it is extremely important. Food sensitivities can contribute to constipation. If you experience things like bloating, fatigue or pain after you eat something this is a good sign that you may be intolerant to it. Keeping a food journal is a great tool to hone in on foods that may not be ideal for you. If you suspect intolerance, remove that food from your diet.

I have had great success with implementing the FODMAP diet for clients who suffer from constipation. The FODMAP diet eliminates various foods containing short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols to help calm symptoms of IBS.

FODMAP

Diet and lifestyle adjustments can go a long way in preventing and alleviating constipation and implementing the above tips can help make bathroom trips a happy and regular event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FODMAP
Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

What is a Low FODMAP Diet? Find out here and grab some FREE Low FODMAP Smoothie Recipes

The FODMAP diet is used to help alleviate gastro intestinal symptoms such as gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea.  The diet was developed at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.  FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These are all types of carbohydrate molecules that some people have trouble digesting and can cause the symptoms mentioned above.  So high FODMAP foods are removed from the diet to see if they help alleviate these symptoms. What is almost counter intuitive though is that many of the offending foods, those high in FODMAPs, are healthy foods such as onions, garlic, asparagus, cauliflower and celery.

If symptoms are alleviated while on this diet the question becomes, why can’t these foods be digested and absorbed? One reason is the lack of enough good gut bacteria.  So if you are following the FODMAP diet, it is also very important to improve  your gut health as the ultimate goal is to be able to eat the high FODMAP foods with no distress. Many high FODMAP foods are prebiotic foods which are foods that feed our good gut bacteria. They are removed however to see if symptoms are alleviated.  But there are many prebiotic foods that are allowed on the diet. While wheat is to be avoided, grains such as corn, brown rice and oats are allowed, as are potatoes and small amounts of corn. These contain resistant starch, an important prebiotic.

It is important to remember that the only reason to avoid these foods is to see if it helps you with symptoms. Follow the plan while working on your gut health.  You may need to include specific supplements as well.  When you feel better, try adding a food that you have been avoiding back in to your diet and see if it bothers you. If it doesn’t, then it does not need to be avoided any more.  Continue in this manner with all of the foods that you have eliminated adding them back one at a time with several days in between.

To get you started with the low FODMAP diet I have a gift of health for you.

Click HERE or on the picture below to grab your FREE Low FODMAP Smoothie recipes.

 

 

 

 

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