Very Well Nutrition Counseling

If you are feeling under the weather, try this!!

Pair this with garlic soup, you'll be healthy all winter!

Preventing and Treating the Flu - The Weston A. Price Foundation In all, flu vaccines have too many problems to recommend them against an illness that should be fairly straightforward to overcome.

I don't know about the "destroy ANY virus" claims....but it certainly HELPS stave off colds and infections so frequent at this time of year.
I heart GARLIC!

This Garlic Soup Recipe Can Defeat Colds, Flu and Even Norovirus Forget the flu shot. A soup based on more than 50 cloves of garlic, onions, thyme and lemon will destroy almost any virus that enters its path including colds, flu and even norovirus.

So cute! Couldn't resist

Simple Happy Kitchen is an illustrated guide for plant-based life. Find more cute information like this on our Kickstarter! http://simplehappy.kitchen/kickstarter

Interesting!!!!
Today's athletes are on board with this idea. Look at athletes like Brendan Brazier, Venus Williams, Scott Jurek, Carl Lewis and many others
Thoughts?

Plant Protein Found to be Better than Animal Protein for Building Muscle New research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that both plant-based protein and meat build muscle equally well however because plant-protein comes with less 'baggage' in the form of harmful components it's the more beneficial protein source to use.A study published last…

Very Well Nutrition Counseling updated their address.

Very Well Nutrition Counseling updated their business hours.

Yep! I totally agree with the entirety of this list.
I'm not gonna lie; I eat granola on my oatmeal though....Homemade granola!! Stay tuned for my secret granola recipe!

It's Official: The Protein Experts Say You Need to Stop Eating

I have an avocado seed germinating in my window right now!
So much more than guacamole!

Why You Should Eat Avocados Every Day!

I've been on sabbatical for a while due to health issues of my own; I'm back!!

Speaking of health issues, need a vegetarian iron boost? Take a look at these beauties!!

Beets: Health Benefits Nutrition and health benefits of beets plus recipes from The Old Farmers Almanac

My number one recommendation for people suffering from chronic inflammation is to try a nice warm cup of "Golden Milk" at bedtime.
THIS, however, is also a great idea as a special treat!

Golden Milk Ice Cream - Minimalist Baker Vegan golden milk ice cream with a coconut milk base and ginger, turmeric, vanilla, and cinnamon. A creamy frozen dessert with health benefits!

Especially over the winter, eat a rainbow of colours to stay healthy!

Wondering what could be causing achy joints and swelling?
I know for myself, even without digestive upset, my fingers will swell and become stiff and sore within about 12 hours if I ingest gluten.

What may cause inflammation?

http://glutenfreeresourcedirectory.com/

I love this list for making people even THINK about the environmental aspect of food choices; however nutritionally speaking, I cannot support it 100%. Broccoli, for example, is NOT in season year round. It is a fall season food. It is AVAILABLE all year round, but not IN SEASON. Asparagus is also a perennial...which requires less work in subsequent years, where planting broccoli is a repeated labour intensive process every year.

And tofu over lentils?? Uhhh no. Hello fibre!

And the reality of advocating cottage cheese over block cheese is a bit ridiculous in practicality. Do you think large industrial farming corporations are actually going to downsize their dairy farms and produce ONLY cottage cheese to be more environmentally conscious? Again...uhhh, no.

And my last criticism of this article; why is Palm oil not on this list and up for discussion??

Switch Out These 6 Less-Than-Eco-Friendly Ingredients We know you're trying hard to be healthy: You desperately want to like the taste of matcha, you avoid GMOs whenever possible, and you're even dabbling in the weird world of meat alternatives. But do you ever stop to think about the health of the big, blue-and-green planet you call home?

"Gluten free" is not synonymous with "healthier". Just like organic doesn't necessarily mean sustainable, ethically grown or local.
Watch out for marketing scams and know what's in your food and where it comes from!

GREAT write up explaining the benefits of eating a Paleo Diet!!!
It is a grain/dairy/free, plant-based diet with the addition of lean, high quality & organic grass fed meats, fish and poultry.

I personally still eat legumes and beans and some gluten free grains, because I believe in "everything-in-moderation" as long as your body can handle it!

Ugh. I am so sick and tired of media articles that critique the Paleo diet while simultaneously completely misrepresenting what the diet actually is!

In the last week alone, I've seen articles calling the Paleo diet a zero-carbohydrate diet (like the ridiculous attacks on Chef Pete Evans), and articles lambasting our red meat consumption (like the Op Ed piece in the New York Times this morning). I'm going to say something that the media probably doesn't want to hear: the paleo diet is a plant-based diet.

You already know how passionate I am about nutrient-density, and that this includes not only including offal and seafood in our diets, but a large amount of vegetables (at least 8-10 servings daily). If fact, you may also be familiar with the hasthag which has its roots in the fact that a typical Paleo diet consists of about 70% vegetables (by weight/volume) which is considerable more than standard vegetarianism.

High vegetable consumption is supported via a variety of arguments, including the vitamin, mineral and phytochemical contributions vegetables make to our diets, fiber, and the fact that the most powerful correlate between health and diet is vegetable consumption: eating plenty of veggies reduces your risk of every chronic health problem.

Every study that looks at the correlation between meat consumption and cancer shows that correlation completely disappears as soon as they correct for vegetable consumption (of course, not all studies correct for vegetable consumption, which is why this is an important statement to make). Those are correlative studies of course, and can only tell us so much. Fortunately, researchers have also identified two mechanisms to explain how vegetable consumption negates the carcinogenic effects of meat consumption.

The first benefit comes from chlorophyll, the component in plants that makes them green and absorbs energy from sunlight. Chrolrophyll prevents the metabolism of heme (an iron-based protein that is especially rich in red mean) into toxic products in the gut known to increase risk of cancer. Simply the act of eating something green with your steak completely changes how your steak is digested and whether or not that steak.

The second mechanism comes from the benefits of a healthy gut microbiome. L-carnitine is an amino acid that is particularly rich in red meat. Certain gut bacteria metabolize L-carnitine into TMAO, which has been strongly linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, probably by promoting inflammation (there's some research to support that the vitamin choline can also be metabolized into TMAO). However, the types of bacteria that do this are the ones that a diet rich in grains and devoid of vegetables support. Even without giving up grains completely, but incorporating far more vegetables, cuts the numbers of these bacteria back so dramatically as to be moot (Dr. Jeff Leach from the Human Food Project did a brilliant blog post about this).

There's some other reasons why vegetables may be protective too. The phytochemicals in plants are mostly powerful antioxidants, which lowers risk of cancer. Plus veggies are rich in important vitamins and minerals used by the immune system.

Fiber also has a huge range of health benefits. Fiber is the main food for the 70-100 trillion microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. And when you eat plenty of fiber, it's harder for pathogenic bacteria to grown in your digestive tract. This is because the fermentation of vegetable and fruit fiber by probiotic bacteria create a variety of organic acids that lower the pH of the environment inside your intestines. This makes for a very hospitable environment for the good guys who are supposed to live there and at the same time makes it hard for the bad guys to survive. Plus those organic acids help make the cells that line your intestine healthier!

There's more and more research pointing to vegetable and fruit fibers as being optimal for feeding the right kinds of microorganisms in your digestive tract. In contrast, fiber from grains seems to feed a different set of bacteria, ones that aren't linked to health benefits or that may even be linked to health problems (like making TMAO as discussed above). Yet another reason to replace that pasta side dish on your plate with some broccoli and sweet potato!!!

Having a healthy diversity of gut bacteria is known to help regulate the immune system, reduce inflammation in the body, alter genes in the liver that control fat storage and metabolism, and even influence the neurotransmitters produced by your brain with the effect of boosting your mood and reducing stress! And when it comes to the Neu5G mechanistic link between red meat and cancer (the only mechanistic link for which the contribution of vegetables to the diet have not been investigated), this may be an extremely important aspect of how vegetables contribute to health.

Fiber is also an important signal for suppression of ghrelin when you eat. Ghrelin is a major hunger hormone, basically the counterpart to leptin. When ghrelin increases, it signals hunger, and when it's suppressed after eating, it tells your brain that you're full. Ghrelin is also an immune modulating hormone, so having both highs and lows of ghrelin (good spacing between meals and big balanced meals when you do eat) is known to be important for a healthy immune system.

A variety of studies of hunter-gatherer diets show that most hunter-gatherers consume between 40g and 100g of fiber per day (with some populations eating as much as 250g per day!!!!). And that's with only 20-35% of their calories coming from plants!!!!!

Yes, the majority of hunter-gatherer populations around the world consume an average of 35% of their calories from plants, and the other 65% from meat and seafood. But, when you adjust for the fact that plants are mostly much lower caloric density than meats, it correlates to between 2/3 to 3/4 of your plate being veggies and fruit, and a mere 1/4 to 1/3 animal foods.... yep, that same 70% veggies and fruit discussed above.

This is also why any description of Paleo as being zero-carbohydrate is absolutely absurd. The median is a diet in the 150-300g range (of course people experiment with these numbers to figure out what's best for them), which is simply lower carb than typical Western diets (which tend to be in the 300-600g range).

Yes, on a Paleo diet we eat red meat. We eat animal protein (meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs) with every meal. And this is important because there's nutrition in meat and seafood that we just can't get adequate amounts of from non-animal foods. Including animal foods means we're getting complete and synergistic nutrition. But, we balance this intake with plenty of veggies and some fruit. And we support the environment by buying local, pasture-raised and wild as often as possible.

This is why I think of the "base" of the "Paleo Food Pyramid" as being vegetables and fruit. To me, that's the majority of what I eat. And this is why I encourage you to share your meals on Instagram or myPaleoPal or here on Facebook, and help dispel the myth that Paleo is all meat. Let's show the world what Paleo really is.

Come in for yoga and stay to chat with one of our alternative practitioners!

Our Yoga Schedule!!!!

There is great debate over milk in the nutrition world. Do you still drink milk because "it keeps your bones strong"??
Maybe this article will change your mind.

Dairy milk is singled out as the biggest dietary cause of osteoporosis ...because more than any other food it depletes the finite reserve of bone-making cells in the body.

Thinking about going vegetarian?

Most people just switch out any and all animal proteins with soy protein (tofu) which has been touted for years as a "health food". While some fermented soy products may be beneficial, keep reading to learn about why soy and soy products might not be as healthy as you thought!

*Soybeans contain phytoestrogens, which mimic the body’s natural estrogen hormones. For men, this can lead to a testosterone imbalance, infertility, low s***m count, and increased risk of cancers. For women, it can cause estrogen dominance, which has been linked to infertility, menstrual troubles and cancer.

*These phytoestrogens are so strong that a baby consuming only soy formula is consuming the equivalent hormones of 4 birth control pills a day!

*The high levels of phytic acid in soy inhibit the body’s ability to absorb important minerals, including zinc, calcium, copper, iron and magnesium.

*Soy contains protease inhibitors, which can block the enzymes that are necessary for the digestion of certain proteins.

*Soy has potent anti-thyroid compounds that can lead to endocrine disruption and thyroid disorders.
Infants on soy formula have a much higher risk of autoimmune thyroid disease.

*Soy is often promoted as an alternative food for celiac and gluten intolerant people, but its lectins can be harmful to the intestines and prevent healing even when gluten is removed.

*Consumption of soy foods increases the body’s need for Vitamin D, Vitamin B-12, calcium and magnesium.

*In addition to being harmful to our bodies, soy production is harmful to the planet and to livestock who eat it as well. Almost all soybeans grown today are genetically modified and “Round-up ready.” They contain a gene that allows them to be directly sprayed with pesticides without dying. There is evidence that this gene can mutate and create a pesticide-like toxin in the body.

*This mutation means that soybeans can be (and are) sprayed with large amounts of pesticides and herbicides during their cultivation. In addition, soybeans strip the soil of many nutrients, leaving soil depleted.

If you still want to try going vegetarian, here is a great list of 100 vegetarian recipes that do NOT include soy products.

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/special-diets/blog/top-100-vegetarian-recipes-without-tofu/1165/

Top 100 Vegetarian Recipes Without Tofu | foodnetwork.ca Top 100 Vegetarian Recipes Without Tofu