Month: June 2018

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‘MEDs’ 4 Nutrition

MINIMAL EFFECTIVE DOSES that will keep you healthy and happy

1. Movement

2. Nutrition

3. Mindfulness

NUTRITION

  1. Eat as organic as possible, as local as possible and as in season as possible.
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  2. Eat 3 servings of cold-water fish a week.
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  3. Don’t eat more than 3 servings of red meat a week.
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  4. Eat 4 cups of 4 different vegetables 4 times a week.
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  5. Eat for your Gut Health
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Before we get to the topic of “Nutrition for maintaining a healthy body weight” let’s first take a look at the science of habit formation.

… Ever heard the statement that it takes 21 days to form a habit?

Unfortunately, this statement is slightly misleading… In general people overestimate what they can accomplish in one year and underestimate what they can do in 5 years.

In fact, this research states that it ranges between 18 and 254  days to form a habit! (depending on one’s motivation / and how pleasurable the habit you are trying to form is) An expert in motivation and habit formation, James Clear, references this very study. He states it takes about 66 days to form a new habit.

 

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The first thing you have to know about nutrition is that it is extremely variable

– it varies from person to person and is age dependent.

Here are two things you need to consider when searching for an ideal diet:

  1. Your Genes
  2. Your Microbiome

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  1. Genetics

You are right in believing that your DNA is inherited from your parents, however the environment has a huge influence on how your DNA is ‘expressed’.

When chemicals are introduced into the body some may attach to, or alter how your DNA is expressed. Altered gene expression can change how you respond to certain stimuli. This can include how you use and metabolize food!

What Can You Do About This?

  • Know That, what works for you might not work for others. What worked for you in the past may not work for you in the future.
  • Eating Local, Organic and In-season food can reduce the amount of harmful chemicals your DNA comes in contact with.
  • Do not follow a fad diet blindly. One way of determining if you are on the right track is if you actually ‘feel’ healthy.
    • Analysis of this study shows that self-rated health is a valuable way of predicting “subsequent mortality.”

If a certain food makes you feel crappy, avoid it most of the time.

If a food makes you feel great, consume in moderation.

  1. Microbiome

The human body is made up of trillions of bacteria that interact with each other and the environment (food) in just as many different ways – all of which directly affect our health.

In fact, There may (or may not) be ‘gut types’ which would allow us to tailor medicines and diets at an individual level.

Microbiologist Zhao Liping, found that adding certain fermented poebiotics into his diet allowed him to lose 20 kilograms in 2 years. (I have some issues with this study but it proves the point!)

The takeaway:

  • Eat For Your Gut Health & Play The Field – try out as many fermented, preserved and probiotic foods as possible. Just make sure they have not been processed, pasteurized or are full of sugar.

 

Here are a few gut health ‘MEDs’ that can help improve your waistline:

  1. Eat as organic as possible, as local as possible and as in season as possible.

  2. Eat 3 servings of cold-water fish a week.

  3. Don’t eat more than 3 servings of red meat a week.

  4. Eat 4 cups of 4 different vegetables 4 times a week.

 

Obviously you want to be consuming healthy fats, however that does not mean you should be eating spoonfuls of grass fed butter all day – Your microbiome can produce beneficial fats as a byproduct of breaking down oligosaccharides found in certain vegetables.

However, if you are prone to bloating / irritable bowel – consider an anti-inflammatory or FODMAP diet. Those types of vegetables mentioned above can have a irritable effect on some individuals – like I said, the best diet is extremely variable from person to person.

 

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Interested in learning more about ‘How your microbiome can help you burn fat’?

This book will point you in the right direction.

Here are 2 companies that have cornered the market on providing individualized diet and lifestyle suggestions:

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Before we finish,

One last thing on habit formation:

Habits have 3 parts:

  1. Reminder / trigger

  2. Routine / the habit itself

  3. Reward (every habit requires a reward for it to stick)

In fact, up to 40% of our daily activities are done habitually. They are context dependent and occur at the level of our subconscious – that means we cannot tell if we are in a habit loop until we stop and really think about it.

If you want to understand more about habits and how they affect our daily life check out this book by Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit

  • Here is an interview with the author.

Keep in mind,

I AM NOT a doctor. However your health (and your waistline) begins with knowing, but knowledge is only power if you act on it!

If you have questions about this information, set up a consultation with me,  I would be grateful to help straighten out your habits.

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Martin Colangelo : “The Better Movement Specialist”

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