Author: The Nutritional Reset

April 7, 2019

Tips for Satisfying Slumber

In last week’s post, Don’t Snooze, You Lose. Sleep to Your Health!, I discussed the health implications of insufficient sleep. This week, I cover how you know if you are getting enough sleep and provide some tips for satisfying slumber to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep.

Before we dive in, I’d like to offer one last tidbit of food for thought on how important sleep must be for us as a species. Did you know that when you are in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep all the voluntary muscles in your body are completely paralyzed? Think for a moment about how vulnerable this makes us during sleep. We require 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. So for 20% to 25% of that time (approximately 1.5 to 2 hours) we are completely vulnerable to attack by predators. This would make no sense from an evolutionary perspective unless sleep conveyed some very important advantages. Something to sleep on!

So how do you know if you are having truly satisfying slumber?

March 30, 2019

Don’t Snooze, You Lose. Sleep to Your Health!

Diet, exercise and sleep are often grouped together as a sort of “holy trinity” of wellness. Being a nutritionist, I focus largely on diet but, as a holistic nutritionist, I also counsel my clients on how important quality sleep, stress reduction (be the stress physical, mental or environmental) and appropriate exercise is for health.

To me, however, sleep is more than just one third of the trinity. Sleep is the absolute foundation of wellness. A chronically under-slept person is unlikely to have the time or energy to make sound nutritional choices or exercise. And, as you will see, poor sleep leads to a cascade of physiological effects that significantly impair health.

As a result, it is one of the first things I discuss with my clients. “Sleep to your health”, I say (in place of the old adage “drink to your health”)!

So often, being told to do something (like eat more vegetables) because “it’s good for you” is not enough. Sometimes you need scare tactics to drive the point home. I didn’t religiously wear my night guard to protect my teeth until my dentist casually mentioned my molars might crumble. Now that had impact! So, in that spirit, I lay out the myriad reasons why, if you don’t snooze, you lose.

March 24, 2019

Dishing It Up for March 2019

Dishing It Up serves up a selection of stories, studies & so on from the world of wellness & nutrition each month.

In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

Kale is a Surprise on 2019’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ List
It Won’t Be an Egg That Kills You
Stay Away From Sugary Sodas, Spare Your Heart
Bigger, Saltier, Heavier: Fast Food Since 1986 in 3 Simple Charts
6 Moves to Relieve and Prevent Wrist Pain

Here’s a taste of each from the sampler platter…

March 7, 2019

A Duo of Dreamland Dinners

So many people come to me looking to improve their sleep that I decided to devote the blog post coming later this month to the significance of slumber. Just as there are foods and beverages that disrupt sleep (hello spicy and fatty food, caffeine and alcohol!), there are foods that promote a restful night. To whet your appetite, I have dished up a duo of dreamland dinners (à deux) serving several foods that may help you drift off to sleep. Sign up to receive the recipes.

I hope this leaves you hungry for my upcoming blog post, Don’t Snooze, You Lose, where I will discuss why quality sleep is so vital to our health and well-being. I will also offer nutrition and lifestyle tips for a better night’s sleep. In the meantime, enjoy the recipes (just not with wine or coffee if you want some satisfying shut-eye) and I invite you to share them with family and friends!

A Duo of Dreamland Dinners

Dinner 1

Slow Cooker Lamb & White Bean Stew (because this is made in a slow cooker, the recipe serves 4 – enough to serve up a second time). Before serving, I like to chop up some chard or other leafy greens and stir them in to the stew just until they wilt. This adds colour and amps up the magnesium content and magnesium is great for relaxation!
Warm Apples with Cinnamon

Dinner 2

Roasted Butternut Squash Harvest Bowl (vegan main course option)
Sunbutter Oat Cookies

Join The Nutritional Reset community here to receive this month’s menu today (as well as each month to come)! And read on for some nutritional tidbits about a few featured foods from the recipes…

February 19, 2019

Dishing It Up for February 2019

Dishing It Up serves up a selection of stories, studies & so on from the world of wellness & nutrition each month.

In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

Uncovering a “Smoking Gun” of Biological Aging
Eating Processed Foods Tied to Shorter Life
A 3rd Poultry Producer Recalls Chicken That May Contain Rubber or Wood
9 Good Things That Happen From Drinking A Daily Glass of Wine
All the Ways We’ll Beat the Winter Blues This Season

Here’s a taste of each from the sampler platter…

February 7, 2019

Fasting Forward into February

As a holistic nutritionist, I am constantly reading to keep abreast of the latest science in nutrition, health and wellness. I have been focusing on fasting recently. Many of my clients are concerned about metabolic issues such as too much weight around the middle, elevated blood sugar, high triglycerides and so on. As there is compelling evidence that fasting is an effective way to remedy these issues, I took a deep dive, fasting forward into February.

Throughout January, I binged on fasting, gobbling up every word of several books, articles and studies. And as I never recommend anything to my clients that I haven’t done myself (so I can better understand and support their efforts), I also did a month of twice-weekly 24-hour fasts. My lucky husband was part of this experiment as well! On Mondays and Wednesdays, we did not eat until 24 hours after we had finished eating dinner the night before. So after my month of feasting on the research and fasting from food, this is just a brief look into the fascinating world of fasting …

February 2, 2019

Fasting Mimicking Menu for February

I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting throughout January as part of my research for my next blog post, Fasting Forward into February. So I am tempted to joke that February’s Menu of the Month is “nothing”, but I wouldn’t want to let you down. 🙂

Instead, I’ve created a sort of fasting mimicking menu for you. You can sign up here to receive the recipes. I say “sort of” since this isn’t in accordance with the Fasting Mimicking Diet that you may have heard of. What it does do is mimic an aspect of fasting in that it reduces the release of insulin in your body.

Insulin is the hormone needed to move the sugar that comes from the food you eat from your blood and into your cells where it is used for energy. Insulin also directs the storage of excess sugar to regulate blood sugar levels.

All foods stimulate the release of insulin. When you are fasting, there is no insulin release because you aren’t eating any food. When you consume fat, however, there is very little insulin release.

So this menu is pretty fat-forward (I guess I should have called it Fat-Forward into February). I hope this leaves you hungry for my upcoming blog post, Fasting Forward into February. I will discuss why it is so beneficial to lower both the quantity and frequency of insulin released by your body. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these recipes. And do please share them with family and friends!

Fasting Mimicking Menu

Breakfast: Overnight Paleo N’Oats (N’Oats as in “no oats” – this is all nuts & seeds)
Lunch: Cream of Broccoli, Kale & Spinach Soup (the creamy coconut milk and high fibre content of this soup makes it very satisfying)
Dinner: Creamy Spinach & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken (where the recipe notes offer suggestions for more carbs, for this purpose just don’t do it…if you must, the cauliflower “rice” from January’s menu is the way to go)
Fasting instead of feeding? Pressure Cooker Bone Broth (bone broth is recommended during fasting protocols to meet electrolyte requirements and prevent dehydration)

January 19, 2019

Get anti-gravity glutes & a functional booty

I can’t recall which comedian said “By the time I turned forty, I finally had my head together…and then my ass fell apart” but I do recall thinking it was hilarious at the time. By the time I turned fifty, I didn’t think it was so funny any more. And now that I am beyond fifty (how much beyond is a state secret), many of my cohort are lamenting the state of our fallen asses and are ready to take action to achieve anti-gravity glutes.

So I thought I’d ask one of my fan-tastic Pilates teachers to give guidance on how to achieve anti-gravity glutes. When I learned that Amanda’s Instagram handle was @assbyamanda, I knew our asses were in good hands. All puns intended. 😉

January 15, 2019

Wind down winter with the Yoga Warrior Restart

Wishing winter would end sooner rather than later? Wanting to do your body some good?
Then consider winding down your winter, and winding down, with the Yoga Warrior Restart in beautiful Bucerias, Mexico.

Yoga Warrior Robin Riviere is hosting this week-long yoga retreat from April 6 to 13.

Warrior Restart is for yoga warriors over 40. Whether you began Ashtanga yoga early in life or are just learning, Robin will show you how to find the yoga warrior within. So if you are looking to take time for yourself, restart your yoga practice and renew your commitment to healthy lifestyle choices, Warrior Restart is for you!

For a limited time, registration includes my Shrink it in 6ix program…

Even better, right now (and for a limited time), Robin is offering registrants the gift of nutrition. Sign up to Warrior Restart and her gift to you is Shrink it in 6ix, my one-on-one program designed to reduce weight in a safe and sustainable manner and promote optimal health. This program includes six private sessions and three weekly meal plans (a $600 value). This is one appetizing add-on! Find out more about Warrior Restart here and Shrink it in 6ix here. Hola!

January 13, 2019

Dishing It Up for January 2019

Dishing It Up serves up a selection of stories, studies & so on from the world of wellness & nutrition each month.

In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

How to Stop Eating Sugar
One Cardiologist’s Mission to Reduce Statin Use for Cholesterol
Will a No Booze, Dry January Help Your Health?
Fitness Snacking (it has nothing to do with food)
Flu Rides the Subway, Too

Get a taste of each from the sampler platter…