3 Ways to Eat to Manage Stress

‘Tis the season of work parties, gatherings, and I hate to say it…stress. While the holiday season can be a favourite time of the year, our schedules can suddenly become jam-packed and we start to feel sick and tired. Sugary treats, alcoholic drinks, longer hours, and stress-filled days start to become the norm. Chronic stress can also reduce your immune system and set the stage for that annoying cold or flu that’s going around the office or your child’s school. Diet can play a huge factor in how your body manages stress. Food can support your body and help it through this stressful time, or it can tax the body even more and can become another burden on the body. With just a few small changes you can support your body and enjoy this time of year again!

1. Breakfast

This is a meal that is often skipped when we start to feel rundown, but this is a very important meal to start your day off right. By skipping breakfast or by having a highly refined breakfast you’re setting the stage for a day of sugar cravings and blood sugar crashes. Those cookies that your colleague brought into work will be very, VERY attractive.

On the other hand, a healthy breakfast high in protein and healthy fat can help you feel satisfied all morning and can keep you away from those sugary treats at your fingertips. Organic 5% fat (or higher) yogurt with berries or a soft-boiled egg (or two) with sprouted grain toast will start your day off right.

2. Reduce Foods that are “Energy Drains”

Energy draining foods are ones that need precious B vitamins and minerals from your body to digest them. Nutrient poor refined sugars, refined flours, and large amounts of caffeine are in this food category. During stress your body needs these nutrients to support your adrenal glands, and will become depleted quickly if you add just a few sweet treats to your day. In particular, stay away from caffeinated sugary drinks. These will stress the body and leave you craving sugar all day. Drink water, teas, and even an organic black coffee (but no more than 2 per day) instead.

3. Increase Nutrient-Dense Foods

These are foods your body will thank you for! Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains (like quinoa or brown rice) are chockfull of nutrients that will support your adrenal glands and keep your energy high right through the holidays. Also keep in mind seasonal vegetables as the weather cools, they will warm you up and they are great at reducing “comfort food” cravings. Squashes, potatoes, carrots, and kale are all abundant in this season.

By reducing energy draining foods while including more nutrient dense foods into your diet, your body will be able to manage the stress easier. Be kind to your body this season and your body will reward your efforts with fewer colds and the energy to enjoy yourself with your family and friends.

Lisa Kilgour is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She provides one-on-one consultations and teaches workshops in the Okanagan. To find out the underlying cause of your symptoms, or to find the diet that will help you feel your best, visit www.EatMoreRealFood.com.

Copyright © 2008- 2013 EatMoreRealFood.com. This article is of the copyright of EatMoreRealFood.com and the author; any reproduction, duplication and transmission of the article are to have prior written approval by EatMoreRealFood.com or the author.

Brain Fuel for School

Should we consider our child’s diet as a tool for learning? Absolutely! Leading nutritional researchers are learning more every day about the power certain foods have on growing bodies. A healthy diet helps to build a better brain and a stronger immune system. As well, it can supply school-aged children with the focus needed to sit through math class, enjoy a good book, or have the energy to play a fun game after school.

Breakfast

This is a meal that can make or break your child’s day. A good breakfast will fuel your child’s energy and mind, but a high carb/high sugar breakfast may lead to energy lows and mood swings all day. Instead, start your child off right with a healthy, higher protein breakfast.

A good breakfast includes a good source of protein, whole grains, and is balanced nutritionally. Some examples of great breakfasts include: a poached egg on sprouted grain toast, 5% fat yogurt with homemade granola, and long-cook oatmeal with hemp seeds and berries.

Lunch

The best lunch for your child is always one you pack yourself. A sandwich made with sprouted grain bread, leftover meats, lettuce, and hummus makes a fantastic balanced lunch. Some carrot sticks or an apple rounds it out nicely. Juice packs and sugary drinks can cause an energy dip at the end of the school day. Pack water instead, or dilute 100% fruit juice with water.

After School Snack

Growing kids need more than 3 meals a day and an after-school snack is a must. This is also a great time to give them another serving of fruit or veggies that are a great source of vitamins and minerals to help support a healthy immune system. Vitamin C can help the body fight off colds and infections. Oranges, strawberries, and bell peppers are great sources of Vitamin C. Alternatively, a sugary snack after school may lead to problems sleeping, weaken his/her immune system, and make your child more prone to getting a cold.

Dinner

The best dinner for your child is one eaten with the family. This is a wonderful time to talk and come together as a group. It is also a great way to expand the palate of your picky eaters. It can take 8 – 10 introductions to a new food before your child begins to enjoy it, so be patient and keep trying. Prepare a healthy meal full of quality protein, a variety of colourful vegetables and whole grains, and he/she will get all of the nutrients requires for a strong body.

Overall, spend some time watching how your child reacts to different food choices. What meal choices keep his/her energy steady, mood balanced, and body strong? Provide a healthy variety of food for you and your family and you’ll child with have fewer sick days and better concentration through this school year.

Lisa Kilgour Headshot

Lisa Kilgour is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She provides one-on-one consultations and teaches workshops in the Okanagan. To find out the underlying cause of your symptoms, or to find the diet that helps you feel your best, visit www.EatMoreRealFood.com or call 250.869.9434.

Copyright © 2008- 2013 EatMoreRealFood.com. This article is of the copyright of EatMoreRealFood.com and the author; any reproduction, duplication and transmission of the article are to have prior written approval by EatMoreRealFood.com or the author.

Top 10 Food Facts

1) Look at the ingredient list INSTEAD of the nutritional profile.

Look for real food in the ingredient list, and as always - if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. It's not real food.

2) Fat doesn't make you fat

- studies have found

no

 correlation between saturated fat intake and heart

disease. BUT! They have found a connection with low-fat foods, where the naturally contained fat has been replaced with sugar. Eat food the way it is meant to be eaten...with all of the yummy fat.

3) No trans-fat or processed oils

- A product that contains 0.5 grams of trans-fat or less per serving can claim it has none...and many of these products are foods we'll eat multiple "servings" of per meal - the trans-fat can add up fast! Eat fat and oils in their natural form - butter, olive oil, etc. Stay far away from margarine, including the "healthy" margarines.

4) Any emotion around hunger isn't actually hunger, it's your blood sugar crashing

- Be aware of how food makes you feel 1 – 2 hours after eating. Are you tired? Irritable? Incredibly hungry? Your last meal wasn’t balanced and has caused your blood sugar to crash.

broccoli

5) If food says it's healthy, it probably isn't

- Real food (fruits, vegetables, etc) don't have marketing companies telling you they’re healthy. Any food with a slogan (low-fat, high in fibre, etc) is a product and is no longer a whole food.

6) Eat food your great-grandmother would recognize

- Our diet has changed dramatically in the last 50 years, and by looking at the state of our collective health, it hasn't changed for the better. Your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize cheez whiz, margarine, and many other foods on the grocery shelves.

7) Chew! Your stomach doesn't have teeth 

– Digestion starts in the mouth, take the time to chew properly…it’ll go a long way towards healthy digestion and a healthy body.

8) Water - drink it, and it doesn't need to be fancy

- Staying hydrated isn’t about counting each glass of water per day. Look at your urine, if it’s clear or pale yellow – you’re hydrated. If it’s dark yellow – you’re dehydrated. Simply remove the chlorine (carbon filter) and fluoride (check with your municipality) from your water and enjoy!

9) Life can be sweet

- Use healthier, unprocessed sugars like honey and maple syrup. These are easier for our

honeycomb

body to metabolize and for most of us it won't cause our blood sugar to crash.

10) Add fat (butter or olive oil) to your vegetables

– Your body needs fat to absorb the fat soluble vitamins in your veggies, like Vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene), Vitamin K, and Vitamin E.

Copyright © 2008- 2013 EatMoreRealFood.com. This article is of the copyright of EatMoreRealFood.com and the author; any reproduction, duplication and transmission of the article are to have prior written approval by EatMoreRealFood.com or the author.

Take Control Of Your Allergies!

It would usually happen around this time of the year. I would wake up in the morning and suddenly become a giant ball of mucous. Yes, it was really that attractive :). For most of the spring I would sneeze and sneeze and then have a bit of a break in July...until August hit. Oh, ragweed season. Itchy, watery eyes joined my sore, runny nose for August and most of September. It wasn't a nice way to spend the summer.

sneezing

All of this ended about 5 years ago when I gained control over my allergies. You see, when our immune system is over-stimulated, it gets confused and stops being able to recognize the difference between a virus/bacteria and pollen/dust. This causes our immune system to react to things we inhale...things that shouldn't stimulate our immune system. On the other hand, when your immune system is balanced and happy, it can tell the difference between pollen and a virus and we can enjoy our spring and summer. How do you balance your immune system? For many of us, it's through food.

Food, specifically undigested protein, looks just like a virus or bacteria and our immune system creates an antibody to it. We see this in life-threatening reactions like anaphylactic shock to nuts or shellfish. We can also have a much quieter, non-life threatening reaction to an undigested protein, which can over-stimulate our immune system and lead to seasonal allergies, eczema, and many inflammatory conditions. These are usually referred to as food sensitivities. What I've seen over and over again in my practice is that once we discover the foods that you aren't digesting properly you can gain control over allergies, eczema, and many inflammatory conditions!

You don't need to suffer this summer, take control of your health today!

6 Weeks to Allergy-Free

happily allergy-free

Are you tired of spending your summer dealing with allergies? Are you dealing with the horrible itch of eczema? Join me for 6 weeks to discover your food triggers and balance your immune system.

I will take you through the protocol of discovering your food triggers and balancing your immune system. When you join this online program, you will get:

- The allergy protocol - Weekly healthy, whole food meal plans and recipes - email advice and support - Information on how to continue the program long-term and begin to reverse your food sensitivities*

*This only includes food sensitivities. True food allergies, ones that stimulate an anaphylactic reaction should be removed from the diet permanently.

Investment: $100 for the online program

Contact me to answer your questions and to register for this program.

What is Heartburn?

Indigestion….it seems like a simple and harmless symptom that we may suffer from occasionally, but for some it has become a daily annoyance. In my practice I help people who’s indigestion is more than just an annoyance…it effects every moment of their day. Ranging from heartburn to painful bloating and diarrhea, my clients are desperate to find relief. Can you believe that over 30% of us suffer from one or multiple digestive issues? This may seem like a surprisingly high number, but indigestion isn’t usually seen as proper dinner conversation (except in my house) and most suffer in silence. Over the next few months I’m going to highlight different forms of indigestion and we’ll look at how they develop, how they affect the body, and how to reverse these symptoms. Let’s take it from the top and start with heartburn…otherwise known as Acid Reflux or GERD.

Many of us suffer from heartburn, and sadly, we’re led to believe that our acid levels are too high and we need to reduce the acid to find relief. The problem is the majority of heartburn symptoms are actually from having too little acid in the stomach.

There is a sphincter at the top of the stomach that closes when the stomach becomes very acidic (around a pH of 2). What happens to many of us is our stomach contents stay at a higher pH (i.e., around 4), which is still quite acidic, but not acidic enough to close this sphincter. All it takes is a bit of movement and the contents of our stomach splashes up.

Common symptoms of low stomach acid are:

1. A heavy feeling in the upper abdomen after eating
2. Heartburn and/or food traveling up the esophagus
3. Acidic feeling stools
4. Multiple mineral deficiencies – specifically calcium, iron, and zinc.
5. Gas and bloating that aren’t helped with a good quality digestive enzyme.

Antacids provide temporary relief of the burning feeling and if used occasionally they don’t cause any harm to the body. Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are frequently prescribed for long-term heartburn sufferers and they work by “turning off” some of the acid production in the stomach. This stops the immediate symptom, but it makes the underlying issue more prominent – which is your stomach acid is too low.

Many with low stomach acid will find they have weak nails and/or hair, have trouble fighting off infections, develop seasonal allergies and immune reactions to foods (more on that in the next article), and develop multiple mineral deficiencies.

You may suddenly develop heartburn, but it’s a condition that develops over time, over decades of bad habits. The most common causes are:

1. Eating quickly without chewing properly – when you overfill your stomach your digestive juices can’t keep up.
2. Drinking liquids with meals – liquids dilute the acid in your stomach and this reduces the overall acidity.
3. Eating while stressed or distracted – You’re either stressed OR you’re digesting. Stress “turns off” digestion so your body can react properly to stress.
4. “Drinking” food – otherwise known as smoothies or protein drinks. Ever felt overfull or nauseated after a protein drink? The chewing motion in the jaw sends a signal to the stomach to start producing acid. No chewing = no acid production.
5. Chewing gum – Chewing = acid production. But, this acid is wasted if you don’t swallow. Give your stomach a break and stop chewing gum!

Indigestion is more than just an annoyance, it’s a sign that you’re not digesting and assimilating your food properly. Every cell in your body is made from the food you eat, you really are what you eat, digest, and assimilate. A strong digestive system = a strong body.

Lisa Kilgour, Registered Holistic Nutritionist from EatMoreRealFood.com is a digestion specialist.

Lisa has clients from all over Canada and consults in person, and via phone and Skype. Contact Lisa today and take the first step towards good health!

Why We Don’t Eat What We “Should” Be Eating

I need to start with a spotlight on the word “should”…it’s a big pet peeve of mine. We’re constantly weighed down with what we “should” or “shouldn’t” be doing. We “should” all over ourselves! This is not helpful. The moment we use the word “should” we judge ourselves.

Look at these two sentences:

1. I should be eating more vegetables.
2. I could be eating more vegetables.

The latter is a statement, while the former has a big weight of judgment added to it. After a while, all of these “shoulds” we fill ourselves with start spilling out and we start to tell others what they “should” be doing.

“Should” doesn’t help us move forward, it holds us down. When it comes to diet we all know what we “should” be eating, but few of us do it. Let’s throw away the unhelpful word “should” and replace it with non-judgmental words like “could”, “can”, or even “will”.

Ahhhh, that feels better :). So, why don’t we eat the healthy diet that we could be eating?

Chocolate chunks

Our daily diet is made up from a collection of decisions, and I feel that to get to the core of our dietary dilemmas we need to look at what drives these decisions. My hypothesis is that our state of mind when we are choosing what to eat drives what we choose to eat. Let me give you some examples:

Scenario 1: You come home from work and you’re STARVING! You could eat almost anything that’s put in front of you. You’re craving a fast hit of sugar or carbs, and you want it now. Your energy is low and the prospect of spending the next hour chopping, cooking, and waiting for dinner is very unappealing. So…what do you do? Make a big healthy meal, or just grab some chocolate from the cupboard? Or, do you just pick up something quick for dinner on your way home?

HEFEA10305_A.RGB

Scenario 2: You come home from work and you're feeling a bit hungry. You feel like you could eat in the next hour or two. Your energy is pretty good and you would really like to eat a big pile of vegetables (yes, this scenario is possible). You look in the fridge and put together a gorgeous coconut milk curry full of veggies, chickpeas, served over brown rice. The process is enjoyable and ready in about 40 minutes.

What is the difference between Scenario 1 and 2? You might say #2 is almost impossible, or only happens once in a blue moon…or only happens for super-healthy people who don’t eat anything close to a “normal diet”. …what if I said you’re dead wrong?

What if the difference between Scenario 1 and 2 is simply the difference between an imbalance in blood sugar and balanced blood sugar? What if Scenario 2 was possible for everyone with only a few small changes to your diet?

We tend to think of blood sugar issues only in relation to Type II Diabetes or Hypoglycemia, but the fact is many of us are dealing with mild-to-moderate blood sugar issues every day. These are imbalances we feel, but don’t turn up on blood tests. These blood sugar issues lead to weight gain, low or fluctuating energy, sugar/carb cravings, and a lack of motivation. They affect our life every day and are the driving factor behind poor food choices.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you feel Scenario 1 at least one time per week?
2. Is hunger immediate? Do you need to eat relatively quickly (within the next hour) when you feel hungry?
3. Do you have energy dips throughout the day?
4. Do you crave sugar, carbs, or sugary drinks throughout the day?
5. Do you carry food with you all the time just in case you suddenly feel hungry?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your blood sugar isn’t balanced.

Balancing your blood sugar is surprisingly easy and it allows you to make better decisions with your diet. Imagine having one hour or more to make a meal when you feel hungry! If you had this time, what would you make? That big healthy meal sounds more appealing now, doesn't it :)?

The first step towards finding balance is to look at how food makes you feel. How do you feel immediately after eating? How about after one hour? How long can you go before you feel like you're “starving”?

Balanced energy, weight-loss, and a healthy diet are all within reach with just a few small changes! Starting today, stop thinking about what you “should” be doing, and look at how your current diet is affecting your decisions.

Lisa Kilgour Headshot

Lisa Kilgour, Registered Holistic Nutritionist from EatMoreRealFood.com, loves to help others find balance and be happy.

Lisa has clients from all over Canada and consults in person, and via phone and Skype. Contact Lisa today and take the first step towards good health!

3 REALISTIC Ways to Change Your Diet

Many of us start the year with the best of intentions...and after a few months we've found ourselves off-track. We can see the person we want to be (fitter, more energy, a healthy glow) and the path to get there (eat better, exercise regularly, reduce stress)…but frequently we get sidetracked. Why? Because change is hard! Changing our everyday habits can seem very overwhelming, especially at the very beginning.

There are many obstacles that can stand in front of us, and the one I hear all the time is, “I want to change my diet, but my husband/wife/partner/family keep pulling me off track”. Sorry, that's no excuse. Creating a healthy diet doesn’t need to be difficult and it isn’t something you are “on” for a few weeks at a time.

Let's just throw away the word "diet" - eating healthy is a way of life, and you CAN work around your partner or family’s eating habits!

How? Try this:

1. Stop thinking your diet is either on or off, black or white – A healthy lifestyle lives in the “grey”, it doesn’t need to be 100% perfect to be healthy. A treat in the morning is no excuse to eat junk food all day!
2. Change the meals you eat alone FIRST! – Dinner (the meal most of us share with our family) is only one meal of the day…what about the other 2 meals and snacks? A healthy lifestyle can be created without ever touching dinner! Plus, dinner tends to be the healthiest meal of the day for many of us as most of our eating pitfalls happen in other meals and snacks.
3. Eat consciously, whatever you’re eating– Sit down, relax, and enjoy your meal…no matter what it is you’re eating. A meal eaten consciously is healthier than a meal eaten on the run, no matter the quality of the food. Plus, it’s impossible to overeat while eating consciously (try it, I can guarantee you’ll be too bored to eat too much). Sit quietly, relax, chew well, and ENJOY what you’re eating! There’s no prize for finishing your meal first…well, except if you count indigestion.

Your ideal way of eating can’t be found in a book and it won’t be the same as your neighbour. We are all unique, and it makes sense that what our body needs for fuel is also unique. When you find YOUR healthy lifestyle you feel great, are full of energy, and you don’t feel deprived or hungry. You just feel good!

In my practice as a Holistic Nutritionist, I’ve seen many people make dramatic changes to their diet and lifestyle…and happily without too much difficulty. Together we have a plan as to how they’ll reach their dietary goals, and we work through it step by step. Within a few months their energy is up, they’re feeling great, and they’re still right on track!

Take a few minutes to imagine yourself 4 months from now. How do you want to feel? Do you want to feel energetic? Full of life? Fit and strong?

By making a commitment to yourself and by making a few changes to your diet and lifestyle, you could be well on your way to health goals. Do you feel sluggish? Do you spend your day on a blood sugar rollercoaster, feeling your energy and mood go up and down all day? Do you suffer from frustrating digestive symptoms like heartburn, bloating, pain, or gas that take a toll on you everyday? Make 2012 your year to regain your health! It’s easier than you think!