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October 11, 2014 In Fitness, News, Workouts By Vancouver Health Coach

Tennis Warm Up (Upper Core & Arms): Part One

Whether you're getting ready for a match or just hitting with friends, following the advice below will help you optimize your on court time and prevent injuries. Part 1 of this 3 part series outlines upper core and arms warm-up. Part Two will outline lower core and legs warm-up and part 3 will outline on court warm-up strategies and post play stretching tips. Always Warm up to play or practice, don't play to warm up.   Since most of the effects of warm up are temperature related some form of general warm-up should be done before hitting a single ball. Slowly but...

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 10, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Gluten-Free and Vegan Pizza Crust

Dear Gluten-Free Fans, what are you craving? Sometimes I just want a pizza and beer! TGIF! And good news, now we can have our pie and eat it too! Plus, the gluten-free beers on the market keep getting better and better (yes, most regular beer is made from barley hops and contains gluten). I love this easy to make pizza crust for the crispness, the omega-3 fatty acids, and the normalcy of sharing a gluten-free pizza and beer with loved ones on a Friday night. N4AO- kids will happily eat it up but hold the beer. Vegan or Gluten Intolerant?...

October 10, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News By Crystal Di Domizio

Quinoa: The Super Grain

In an effort to eat a healthier diet, most people turn to brown rice as a substitute for white rice. If you’re ready to explore and expand your options beyond brown rice quinoa is a very valuable addition to your diet. Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) hails its super grain status from its rich nutritional content. Grown for thousands of years in the South American Andes it was called “the mother grain” by the Incas. Although commonly referred to as a grain, pseudo grains such as quinoa are actually seeds with grain-like qualities. There are hundreds of varieties of quinoa, ranging in color...

October 10, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News By Vancouver Health Coach

What’s All the Fuss About Trans Fats?

Fat is a major source of energy for the body and aids in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K and carotenoids. Both animal and plant-derived food products contain fat, and when eaten in moderation, fat is important for proper growth, development, and maintenance of good health. As a food ingredient, fat provides taste, consistency, and stability and helps us feel full. In addition, parents should be aware that fats are especially important source of calories and nutrients for infants and toddlers, who have the highest energy needs per unit of body weight of any age group. Trans fat...

October 9, 2014 In Food, Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

A Diet for Balancing Pitta

The diet to balance pitta corresponds to the many of the so-called “balanced” diets out there, such as the Mediterranean or Indo-Mediterranean diet, that display a mostly balanced ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. In Ayurveda this diet is good for people that have an average metabolism, neither very fast nor slow, providing a balanced source of energy. In particular, this diet is good for people that have a hot temperament, and tend to get warm easily. Some of the recommendations of this diet are contraindicated for people suffering from excessive coldness. Pitta-reducing diet A pitta-reducing diet is predominant in sweet,...

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 News, Spotlight, Yoga By Vancouver Health Coach

Yoga: Practice How You Feel

Compare your most prevalent underlying state of being with the yoga routines you find most comfortable, and chances are there will be some parallels. Passive personalities tend to feel at home with gentle flows, while those who tackle life's issues head on gravitate towards power yoga. And the similarities can be looked at even closer when analyzing your level of comfort during specific postures. Child's Pose, for instance, is a restorative posture in which one feels safe and supported. This is so because your heart is protected, and your face is hidden from the world. It's natural to enjoy being in...

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...

October 7, 2014 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News By Vancouver Health Coach

Food Bars and Shakes vs. Regular Wholesome Lunch: Video Interview with Keri Gans, Registered Dietitian

Here is a video interview with Registered Dietitian and author of The Small Change Diet, Keri Gans on how a busy person can eat healthy. The video interview was broken into 3 parts. Here is part 1 on food bars and shakes versus a "regular wholesome lunch". About Keri: Keri M. Gans, MS, RD, CDN - Keri Gans is a Registered Dietitian and has had a private practice in Manhattan for over ten years. She is a Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association Spokesperson (ADA), an ADA Delegate for New York State Dietetic Association (NYSDA) and a Past President of NYSDA. Keri...