Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category
Struggling with your weight? Get out into nature.
I was listening to a CBC documentary on The Current called Urban by Nature. It is about the beneficial effects of nature on the brain. In a search for scientific explanations for my outside-the-box methods of coaching weight loss, this one struck a cord.
Jonah Leher, neuroscientist and author, describes the prefrontal cortex as the executive center of the brain that controls focused attention, decision-making, analytical thinking and goal setting. It is also the seat of self-control and inhibition. This self-control piece is one to note if you have a tendency to overeat or overindulge in alcohol or any other substance.
In addition to its executive function and self-control elements, the prefrontal cortex is the place in the brain where all of the senses come together to be interpreted into action.
It seems that the sensory overload that comes from being in the city takes up so much processing power in the prefrontal cortex that we have little left over for self-control. We might set the goal to lose weight and get healthy but we need more prefrontal cortex power for the self-control piece that allows us to follow through on those goals. If our senses are constantly bombarded by the normal activity of city life, added onto the stresses of work, family, and everything else, there just isn’t enough to tackle self-control too.
It is in our biological nature to seek out pleasure and in the brain this translates into stimulation of the pleasure centers and an increase in the endorphins, the feel good neurochemicals. In a time of stress, when the prefrontal cortex is overloaded and self-control is at its lowest, we turn to the quick fix that will give us a rush of those endorphins. Comfort foods and alcohol do just that. However, the spike in feel-good is short lasting and the consequences are longer lasting. So we need other outlets to replace the food and drink. It will come as no surprise to those of us who are nature lovers, that trees and greenery can do just that.
It seems that in a region of the brain, the parahippocampal cortex, our evolutionary connection with nature is remembered when we view the beauty of a natural landscape. This part of the brain, rich in endorphins receptors, is closely linked to one of our pleasure centers. It is triggered by the presence of nature and it helps us handle stress, anger, and anxiety.
So add ‘time spent in nature’ to your arsenal of weight loss tools. According to research at the Institute of Landscape and Human Health at the University of Illinois even staring out the window at greenery can make a difference. Having said that, the more time spent with a wider variety of natural elements, the more prefrontal restoration and the more self-control you are likely to have.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/05/04/urban-by-nature-documentary/
Fruit and vegetable harvest times
Ever wonder exactly when produce is harvested in your area?
Here is a good reference site for Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and parts of Europe. http://www.pickyourown.org
Scroll to the bottom of the homepage to locate your area or the area of interest. Once you click on it, you will find your ‘harvest times’ chart.
Great resource for those of us who like to eat in season as much as we can.
Recipe: Walnut, date and cinnamon protein shake
Yum!!
I’m into protein shakes these days. Love them as a first morning meal and sometimes when working from home as a late afternoon snack. They are also a great inclusion for pre or post workout if you can make that happen. But I am a stickler for taste…and some of the shakes that I have tried from others’ recipes just don’t cut it for me flavour-wise.
Walnuts, dates and cinnamon are a classic combo so after a few tries, voila, I created a cinnamon-y masterpiece, if I say so myself. Try it for it’s great health benefits – rich in the essential omega 3 and 6 fats, antioxidants including vitamin E and of course protein. To top it off, cinnamon slows down the passage of the food out of the stomach which aids in blood sugar stability and it could increase the availability of the protein due to its slower digestion. Otherwise whey protein digests and gets absorbed within a short period of time (1 -2 hours depending on the variety and your personal biochemistry).
Walnut, Date and Cinnamon Protein Shake
Blend together:
- 4 ice cubes
- 1/4 large or 1/2 small banana
- 4 walnuts from the shell*
- 4 pecans from the shell*
- 3 pitted honey dates (or other date variety)
- 1 cup coconut water (100% unsweetened)
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
After blending the above to a smooth and mixed consistency, add:
- 2/3 scoop (20 g) vanilla protein powder**
- 1 tsp greens powder***
- 1 tb ground flaxseed
Blend for only a few seconds or long enough to mix thoroughly. (Too much mixing can destroy the structure of the protein. To be safe, I add my greens and flax at the end as well.) Serve.
* nuts, especially soft ones like walnuts, are fragile to rancidity – so whenever you can use them fresh from the shell
** my preferred choice for protein powder is Ergogenics New Zealand Whey Isolate (for quick absorption) or Concentrate (for a slightly slower absorption)
*** I use Trophic Pure-essential Greens Concentrate or Ergogenics Whole Greens
Pesticides on produce. Can they be removed?
I believe that vegetables can save the world.
This may sound silly – but if you consider the quality of the nutrition, the antioxidants, the alkalinity, the colours, the variety of flavours and texture, and the creativity that can be tapped into with almost no caloric cost, then veggies become the ‘superheros’ to a healthier world.
And most people don’t eat enough of them.
If people ate enough, most would be lighter, more emotionally stable, have more energy, and be substantially less at risk for illness and degenerative disease. Save the world, well maybe not… but save our health, absolutely.
But then we face the question of pesticides that reside on vegetables and fruit. Will they counter the goodness of the produce?
In a nutshell, no. The benefits from eating vegetables and fruit override the possible negatives of pesticides. But minimizing the ingestion of unnecessary chemicals is absolutely a plus. There are a few ways that we can do this.
Buy organic whenever you can. Yes, organic is generally more expensive and not always readily available. But if you can at least focus on buying the ‘dirty dozen’ organically, that will, according to the Environmental Working Group, who created the 2011 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/, reduce your overall pesticide intake by approximately 80%.
The dirty dozen, i.e. the most pesticide laden are:
- apples
- cerlery
- strawberries
- peaches
- spinach
- nectarines (imported)
- grapes (imported)
- sweet bell peppers
- potatoes
- blueberries (US)
- lettuce
- kale/collards
Go to the link above to see the 15 cleanest, i.e. the produce with the least amount of pesticides. These are the ones that are less crucial to buy organically.
So what if you buy non-organic and want to wash off the pesticides. Can it be done? In part, yes. But it is dependent on the chemical and physical nature of the pesticide, whether it is fat or water soluble, how long it is has been since it has been sprayed, and whether it is heat stable. Based on all of these factors, some pesticides can be almost completely removed some of the time. Other times, only a small percentage will be removed. Sorry that I can’t be more definite but like all other aspects of nutrition, it isn’t black and white.
Having said that, here are some steps you can take to reduce the pesticide load:
- As mentioned previously, buy organic whenever you can (especially for the dirty dozen).
- If you can’t buy organic, get it local – it means less time for the pesticides to weave their way into the plant fibres and more chance of removal.
- At the least, wash your fruit and veggies in plain water. In some cases that can remove as much as 50% or more of the water soluble pesticides. Hot water seems to be slightly more effective than cold.
- Peeling the produce that can be peeled will remove all of the pesticides remaining on the surface but of course, not those that are systemic. The disadvantage to this is that you miss out on some of the antioxidants and other nutrients that are in the peel itself.
- Boiling, blanching and steaming also help to remove the pesticides that are not heat stable. In some cases, this is the most effective removal method. The disadvantage is that you also lose some of the nutrients that were present in the raw food.
- A 5% salt solution in water increases the removal of some pesticides over plain water washing. The effectiveness varies from no more effective to being as much as 10% more effective. If you do want to do a salt water wash, you would need 2 heaping teaspoons in a tub of 2 quarts (80 oz.) of water.
- Although there is not a lot of evidence for vegetable soaps, they may increase the removal of water and fat soluble chemicals. One research review of organophosphate residues, showed that a water wash removed 45% while a detergent removed 56%.
- Eat a wide variety of different fruits and vegetables – specific pesticides are used for individual crops – so besides getting a variance of nutrients, you will be minimizing the load of any one particular toxin in your body.
I have had people ask me if vinegar or hydrogen peroxide work for cleaning pesticides off produce. Although I did see mention of each in the research, none were actually tested (in the reviews that I found). So for now, I can’t say that one would work better than doing what I have mentioned above. If I find out more about this, I will update you. Or if any of you know of some research, please share it with us in the comment box below.
