Green & Healthy Living

October 18, 2014 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Lisa Virtue

Is Soy Really Bad for Your Health?

There we North Americans go again, enjoying too much of a good thing. I’m talking about soy products. But the Japanese have been eating soy for centuries, and they seem so lean and old, and healthy. This is true. However, upon further examination, we notice that the soy consumed in Japan is often fermented, in the form of tempeh, miso, natto, and soy sauce. Fermented soy is better for us, because the nice bacteria break down all the hard to digest phytic acid coating the beans. These troublesome phytates also block mineral absorption, leading to osteoporosis. But more good news:...

October 17, 2014 In Food, Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Lisa Virtue

Eat Like a Caveman: The Paleo Diet

We live in an era of information overload, especially surrounding nutrition. I personally have been overwhelmed and confused about food for most of my life. At times I thought I had the answer, after having followed a certain diet for months and months, only to be defeated by feeling sick and malnourished. I’ve tried The South Beach Diet, the vegan Thrive Diet, a basic whole foods organic diet, and a raw fruitarian-vegan diet After feeling highly unstable on my six month fruit kick, I began following a Paleo diet. Though it is just about the fourth month in, I can say that...

October 16, 2014 In Food, Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News By Vancouver Health Coach

Allergies and Food Introduction

Digestion and the immune system: How delaying food introduction can prevent allergies + eczema in your child Allergies are the 3rd most common chronic disease among children, and eczema is present in over 10% of kids. This epidemic of atopy, a person’s predisposition to developing allergic symptoms has caused health care practitioners to look beneath the skin for solutions for our children. Starting in infancy, parents can prevent the development of allergies and eczema in their child. Pregnancy During pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, mom’s should avoid foods that are highly allergenic (eggs, peanuts, cow’s milk), and any other foods...

October 15, 2014 In Emotional Health, Green & Healthy Living, News By Vancouver Health Coach

Do You Need Therapy?

Although you might enjoy therapy – who wouldn’t like having someone’s undivided attention and invitation to talk about themselves without need for reciprocation – do you need therapy? While deciding the answer to that question is an inside job each of us has to do for ourselves, if someone were asking me to answer it for them, I would want to know a couple of things: the nature of the issues they have experienced or are currently experiencing, and the quality of the support they currently have available to them. Ultimately, that’s what a therapeutic relationship is, high quality support to...

October 14, 2014 In Emotional Health, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Natural Methods for Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is more than just the “Winter Blues.”  It is a form of seasonal or temporal depression that typically affects people during the winter months of longer nights and less sunlight.  If you suffer from SAD, there are many alternative therapies that can naturally help you improve your mood and reduce depressive symptoms, even if you already use a light box for treatment. Improve your mood with food.  Certain foods have proven relationships to brain function.  Healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, amino acids, and lean protein are essential parts of a healthy diet...

October 14, 2014 In Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

When Does Alcohol Become Bad For Your Health?

Alcohol is one of the most commonly used stimulants.  Even with economic stress, bars were and have continued to run smoothly.  People can’t wait to have that post-work beverage after a long and challenging day.  I definitely don't disagree with this - I think moderate consumption of alcohol is fine.  But I am talking 2 glasses a week.  Why?  Don't be foolish - alcohol consumption has many, many short and long-term side effects in the body.  Yet people find it therapeutic at times.  This is because alcohol releases GABA, a neurotransmitter which has a calming affect.  Are there any foods...

October 13, 2014 In Emotional Health, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Stress and Digestive Issues

Did you know that the reason your gut may be rolling may be due in large part to stress? Whether it is Irritable Bowel Syndrome, ulcerative colitis, or simply a stomach ache before you are about to give that really important speech, stress may be playing a significant role in the health of your stomach. If you are hiking in the woods, you round a corner and come face-to-face with a grizzly bear, your body is not going to prioritize digestion at this moment. Instead, it’s going to go "Oh sh*#t" - quite literally! If you were given enough of a...

October 11, 2014 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Enzymes: You Are What You Digest

The raw food diet is a diet of fresh, whole food that has not been refined, chemically processed, denatured, or heated above 118°F, so its nutritional content is preserved, including the living enzymes. Enzymes are functional proteins essential to all living things that act as catalysts for numerous chemical reactions including digestion.  As Chief Nutrition Officer of Hail Merry, a company dedicated to making the healthiest and best tasting plant based snacks, Dr. Claudia Pillow is on a mission to demystify the concept of living enzymes in raw food and separate myth from fact.  Below is a reprint of an...

October 9, 2014 In Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

The Impossible Dream: Overcoming Insomnia

Current studies report up to 30 percent of North Americans are currently suffering from insomnia. Insomnia can be a difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Some people lie in bed for hours before properly falling asleep; others fall asleep only to wake up a short while later, unable to fall back to sleep. This is a chronic and severe problem in our society. One quarter of the population takes prescription and/or over-the-counter drugs to help them sleep. Insomnia drugs have many serious side effects including cognitive impairment, falls, tolerance and dependency, withdrawal, plus they tend to leave people drowsy and lethargic...

October 8, 2014 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Spring Cleaning Means Clean Eating

As you may know, our diet should rotate with the season.  Summer is the the time for light, refreshing food, while Autumn is the time for nourishing root vegetables.  Winter becomes the best time for hearty stews, meats and breads.  We are now in full swing of Spring, the best time for  cleaning and clean eating.  How can we clean up our diet?  What are some foods we should be consuming more often during these warming months?  I will discuss in detail a few important changes that are necessary for this time of year. Hydration:  We should always be drinking enough...