The title of this is an obvious fact. I’m sure that 100% of adults are aware of this. So why do we have such a hard time getting more fruits and vegetables into our diet?
There are two main reasons. Convenience and taste.
The first is just a function of our modern lives, filled with busyness that didn’t exist 50 years ago. We want or need, to save time anyway we can, and sometimes that means sacrificing nutrition for convenience.
Taste is the second reason. For most people, if they are hungry and there is a bowl of raw carrots beside a bowl of chips, most would choose the chips because our taste buds have been trained to crave those foods. You’ve been tricked over the years by very crafty manufacturers and now our taste buds are just looking for the ‘overdrive’ option and have a very difficult time ‘tasting’ natural foods.
This is the ‘why’ behind our lack of fruits and veggies. I’m sure you are not surprised.
Recent research underscores the importance of why more fruit and vegetables, and less processed foods and meats, can lead to better health outcomes. An August 2021 paper in the Journal of the American Heart Association identifies a diet rich in plants and with fewer animal products, showing a 52% lower rate of developing cardiovascular diseases. This was a thirty-year study with almost 5000 participants so the data is really good.
Knowing that your tastebuds have been hijacked by manufacturers using salt, sugar and fat, and that time is limited so we search for convenience, we can start to make some small changes…just for a start. Add on the hard facts that Plants = Health, literally, and we have a great foundation to make some change.
This is the action part. If you made it this far in this article, you know what you need to do. Now is the time to take one action (or more) to make a change.
My advice is to make it ridiculously simple. If you typically buy lunch, instead of a sandwich, go for a wrap with lots of veggies in it. Or go for a very tasty and substantial salad. This is a really easy way to introduce way more veggies into your diet.
This is one example of many, but the key is, make it really easy for yourself and over time, you will start to take back control of your tastebuds, and you’ll make more time for eating better. These positive habits build on one another.
The Time to Figure Out Your New Hybrid Lifestyle is Now…..
Written by: Dr. Stacy Irvine Bsc. Kin, M.Sc., D.C., C.S.C.S Co-Owner Totum Life Science
As things begin to slowly open and our lives return to the more interactive ways of the past, you could be wondering……” How can I best take advantage of some of the new technologies that have helped me from a work and lifestyle perspective over these past twenty months?”
The time to start organizing your new, and hopefully improved, work-life balance is now. It seems that a vast number of work opportunities in the future will use a combination of scheduling. Some workdays will be “in-person” and some workdays will be virtual. We should take some time to think about what this “Hybrid” life will look like and then figure out ways to make it work best for our performance, our health and ultimately our happiness.
There are a few questions to ask yourself as you address this process:
What things in your life do you enjoy doing virtually and what do you enjoy doing in person?
What things are not an option for virtual and how much time do you need each week to make sure you can accomplish these things in the best way possible.
How will these scheduling choices impact your health and where can you carve out time for activities and social life.
Like your work environment, you will now also be able to participate in many aspects of your health care virtually, along with many aspects of your regular fitness routines. It is important to develop an efficient strategy to make this new hybrid system work well for you from a health perspective. The most important part of this is understanding what you are comfortable with. Do you enjoy meeting with screens, or is it very stressful? Do your healthcare providers even give you this option now that things are opening up a bit more? What times of the day will work best for you to schedule health-related appointments? Maybe it is easier to schedule personal appointments that are closer to your home because you might have more flexibility on the days you work from home.
Like your work environment, there are parts of health care and fitness that do not work well virtually. For example, you may not benefit as much from a virtual massage, but seeing your doctor for a virtual appointment to renew a prescription could be very efficient and helpful. However, if you take the time to book a virtual appointment, and then find out you need to be seen in person, it can feel like you wasted your time with the initial appointment.
As a healthcare provider, if I was booking an initial assessment with a new patient I would always want to see them in person first. I need to be able to watch closely how they move, what their posture is like, and I also want to be able to assess their overall health unrelated to their injury. However, if someone I have been working with in-person wants to do a quick exercise review, this is a perfect type of appointment to do virtually. I can easily watch them do their exercises and make any corrections needed during a virtual appointment. Also, if you are travelling and you have an incident that causes an acute injury this could be a good time to book a virtual appointment with a trusted provider as opposed to trying to find someone in a location you are unfamiliar with. The initial management of an acute injury can be very influential on the long-term outcome, and I often find that people want to do the wrong thing because they are in pain and are looking for fast relief. If you can jump on a virtual call, you can often find some peace of mind along with a good plan to move forward safely.
I believe that fitness and many types of training can work well in a similar way. If you are starting a new class, with a new instructor I would suggest you begin in person. This way the instructor will get to know you and what your specific needs are. It gives you an opportunity to connect and understand what the goals of the class are and the types of things you will be working on. Once you have a good idea of these things and you feel comfortable performing the movements required on your own, it is a great time to try the option of taking the class virtually. Personal training is no different. Seeing someone in person is more effective, however, virtual is great for “homework” between in-person sessions.
Finally, we all need to understand, that from a health perspective, connecting with people in person has many additional and important benefits. Interacting with people enhances our hormones, our motivation, and our mental wellbeing in very positive ways. If you add to this the fact that, working from home drastically decreases our overall movement for the day, we need to make sure our plan takes these important concepts into account. To maintain, or possibly even improve your health and fitness you will need a good strategy. It could be as simple as meeting a friend for a walk and coffee on the days that you work from home. The planning is up to you, but the important thing is to have a plan that allows you to benefit from our new way of working and living.
Our immune system is composed of a robust front-line defence team. Our white blood cells and proteins called antibodies, all form an alliance to protect our body from foreign invaders. The immune system, after our nervous system, is the most complex organ system in the human body! So it’s important to understand what it takes to keep our immune system supercharged, so you can implement these tips on a routine basis.
“Evolution has arranged that we take pleasure in understanding – those who understand are more likely to survive.” – Carl Sagan
Our body’s defence against infection is composed of two components.
Your First Layer of Defence – Innate Immunity
Skin acts is a defense barrier
Mucus traps invaders
Stomach acid destroys invaders
Enzymes in sweat have antibacterial compounds
First and foremost, we need to stay hydrated. If we can keep our skin healthy, strong and intact, we’ve got a huge advantage in blocking anything from entering our body. Dried-up skin lacking in hydration cracks, and those cracks are direct openings into our body, giving outside bugs a free pass to slip on through.
Hydration is also important in producing mucus, especially in our nose, mouth, and gut. If the mucus is dried up, or too thick, it doesn’t coat our mouth and nose effectively, and bugs have another easy way in. Especially since the skin in our nose and mouth are very thin.
Stomach acid and enzymes also help in the defence system, and remaining hydrated helps both of those mechanisms.
Eight glasses of water are what is typically recommended, but to get more specific, read our article here on how to calculate your water intake. Remember, 20% of our daily water intake comes from our food, so enjoy your favourite fruits and veggies on a daily basis!
Second Line of Defence – Acquired Immunity
White blood cells like neutrophils engulf pathogens (think pacman).
Natural killer cells (another type of white blood cell) help put our cells out of misery if they become cancerous or infected with a virus.
Specialized white blood cells called B cells make proteins called antibodies.
Antibodies bind to invaders and can deactivate them, tag them for our natural killers to easily recognize and destroy, or coat them in a gooey coating, preventing them from invading our cells.
Our mucus membranes line our mouth, entire digestive tract, lungs, reproductive and urinary systems, inside breast glands, and even on our eyeballs. That’s a lot of surface area! In fact, our gut alone covers the size of half a badminton court (40 square meters, vs. skin at 2 square meters). So we’ve got a lot of surface area for infection exposure, and our mucosal layer is only one cell layer thick. Meaning we need to have a very effective defence team.
Luckily, we have our A-Team. Our mucosal membranes contain the antibodies Immunoglobulin A (or IgA). In a study, researchers found that those who ate cooked white button mushrooms every day for one week boosted their IgA production by 53% compared to those who did not have any mushrooms. In week two, this group stopped eating mushrooms yet sustained the benefit, and their IgA production measured at 56% higher than the control group, meaning the benefits were maintained for one week (but by week 3, the mushroom group fell back to baseline).
Boosting your A-Team’s numbers by incorporating mushrooms into your routine diet seems like an effective way to prevent foreign invaders from getting into our bodies. This study used regular button mushrooms, but there are others out there that can be even more helpful. Shiitake, oyster, maitake, and lion’s mane can be found in grocery stores and make delicious meals. Medicinal mushrooms for immune support also include chaga and turkey tail.
Last but not least, know that a healthy mucosal layer rests on top of your gut. This is where keeping our guts healthy can be one of the biggest players in our immune health. A healthy gut is able to produce antibodies and also houses 20% of our immune system fighters.
This is where a warm hearty cup of bone broth comes in handy. Easy to enjoy as is, or incorporate into any soup, stew, or curry dish! Bone broth can help keep your gut lining intact, as it is packed with proteins and collagen which are building blocks for your gut. There are also vitamins and minerals in bones which can help give your body an extra boost, but I often recommend adding vegetables when making your broth. This is an even bigger source of viable vitamins and minerals. Vegetables like garlic and ginger have their own anti-microbial properties (as do many herbs and spices), so don’t be afraid to flavour it up!
A recipe for your own homemade bone broth can be found here. If accessible, try to get your bones from healthy animals (ie. grass-fed beef, antibiotic and hormone-free chicken). Talk with local butchers in your area to understand the quality of the food you are purchasing.
BONUS NOTE:
Lymph helps transport antibodies and our immune cells throughout our body. Our lymph system is like a mirror of our circulatory system, a network of vessels and nodes. Unlike our circulatory system, however, it doesn’t have the heart to move the fluid around. Instead, our lymphatic system lies just under our skin’s surface and next to our muscles. This is one reason movement/muscle contraction can be so helpful in preventing us from getting sick. It helps us circulate our defence team. Another way we can help this process is by dry brushing, or for the brave – hot and cold showers!
Chronic inflammation resulting from sleep deprivation, regular intake of processed foods, fatty liver disease, or in our joints as (arthritis) can divert our immune system’s attention. This means we don’t have the full force to fight off infection and foreign invaders and this is why we can get sick more easily if we have underlying inflammation.
Check out our video on anti-inflammatory foods to find out how to reduce chronic inflammation so your protective force can focus its strength on keeping you from catching any infections!
Here’s to supercharging your immune system this fall!
We all hear that we should be drinking 8 glasses of water a day, but this standard advice is actually not supported by any evidence. You may have witnessed that water intake can vary dramatically between individuals.
Here are two ways to help you narrow in on what your individual body needs depending on your size, sex, and activity levels.
Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2
Multiply your result by the number below associated with your age range:
<30 years, multiply by 40
30-55 years, multiply by 35
>55 years, multiply by 30
Divide your result by 28.3 to achieve the amount of water you require each day in ounces (divide this by 33 to get your answer in litres).
Alternately, you can plug in your metrics on this hydration calculator which also factors in activity level, sex, and country. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include Canada yet, but you can put Spain or the UK as that shares our same latitude.
Another simple indicator is to look at the colour of your urine. We’re aiming for pale yellow or straw coloured. Anything darker tells us that we are dehydrated.
What about using thirst to help you determine hydration. The saying goes “if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.” This also hasn’t been substantiated by any evidence, but research does show that athletes who report being thirsty perceive higher levels of exertion.
Know that 20% of your water intake comes from food, especially high sources of your unprocessed foods. Your favourite fruits and veggies do the job nicely!
While caffeine is a mild diuretic, the net gain in fluid intake is larger than the loss. This can’t be said for alcohol, however, where there is a net loss.
Most of us are busy throughout the day, and staying hydrated can easily slip our minds. Here are some tips to help you build up the habit.
Visualize a river, a full flowing river in your body helps deliver nutrients that nourish and heal every cell, and organ in your body. If the river is dried up, it doesn’t matter how healthy you eat, none of the nutrients can get to where they need to be, they just sit on dry river bed. A dried river also cannot remove the waste, so toxins start building up in our bodies. This is why we need to keep our rivers flowing full and strong. To deliver nutrients to every inch of us, and to carry away the garbage so it doesn’t pile up and cause chronic inflammation.
Get a water bottle that’s at least 750 mL and have it with you throughout your day.
Set two alarms on your phone, pick a time that makes sense for your schedule. Make sure it’s a sound that is pleasant to you! Ex:
Alarm 1 = 12pm, finish your first bottle
Alarm 2 = 7pm, finish your second bottle
If your bottle is smaller, you may have your goals to finish two bottles by 12pm as an example.
Staying hydrated is the most accessible and extremely effective way to boost your health. It contributes to not just looking younger, but also keeping your immune system strong, supporting mental health, and reducing obesity.
At Totum, we often talk about ‘moving young’ for as long as possible. This obviously has an impact on those 60 and above, but it actually starts in your 20’s. Tennis, running, swimming, biking, golf, you name it. Your ability to perform any of these activities is lessened if your muscular power decreases, and that starts a lot younger than most people think.
Muscular power is pretty straightforward. It’s how quickly you can apply the greatest force. Any kind of jump is a classic example of human power in action.
In a recent article by Alex Hutchinson for Outside magazine, he examines research that focuses on why older athletes, and people in general, lose muscular power as they age. Here are the key findings:
Loss of power as we age is almost entirely related to a reduction in strength.
Muscular power has very little impact on activities of daily living, unless it drops below a critical threshold, after which getting out of a chair, or off the toilet, becomes difficult quickly.
Plyometric exercise helps to improve the messaging from brain to muscle, thereby allowing us to ‘move younger’.
Based on this information, we have the following tips:
Never stop challenging your muscles to be stronger. Lift weights, jump, climb stairs or hills, carry heavy stuff, etc.
If you, or someone you know, are in their 60’s or beyond, quality of life will largely be dependent on staying strong. No matter what your age is, strength can be built.
‘Bouncy’, jumping activities help to keep your brain-muscle connection strong. Note: If you haven’t done this type of activity for a while, take it slow to avoid injury.
Our experience over the last 25 years has shown us that no matter your age when you maintain or increase your muscular strength, you perform all physical activities at a higher level. Whether that’s winning the club championship or just being able to travel is up to you. Strength is critical in allowing you to do it all.
During lockdown, popular apps such as Nike free run, Couch to 5k, as well as many others, have been coming up with running workouts to help people start a new fitness journey. Getting people moving is great, but once the program reaches it’s natural end point, what do we do? How do we add more to these programs besides additional running? That’s where resistance training comes in.
We don’t run to get in shape; we need to get in shape in order to run. As we know, running trains our aerobic system and is great for our cardiovascular/ respiratory health. There is also repetitive impact on the body’s joints as we continue to run faster or increase our mileage. We suggest incorporating two days/week of strength training to your program. This will help you to get more out of the running you are working on, and, more importantly, help you minimize your risk of injury.
Each runner will have differences in capability of movement due to their training background, injury history, and experience. Understanding how your body works for the impacts of running will make it a much more enjoyable experience. A little planning goes a long way which it’s wise to assess your body’s functional abilities and your personal running style. This will help to guide the plan of action.
Progressive training has us prepare our bodies for the new work to come. Warm-ups are still important as are mobility and functional movement patterns. A proper plan of progress has a block of training that emphasizes these important areas in order to restore proper function before getting into strength training. Once again, being patient with this process helps to keep the injury bug away and also helps performance.
As we continue to improve our running, we can measure our performance by our economy. This refers to how efficient we are during each of our strides (how far we propel our body forward during each stride length). We leak energy and lose efficiency during our running if we do not have enough stability through joints such as our ankles, knees, and hips. Essentially this means we are more prone to injury during running, as well as missing out on opportunity to move further/ stride and run faster times or for longer distances.
Strength training routines do not need to be the traditional body building workouts or mean throwing around big weights. Strength training for runners should aim to increase functional stability and joint control. Through resistance training, increases in power and strength occur, as well as muscular endurance. That’s how your running economy is improved. An added benefit is this all happens without impact on the body.
Here is a sample program that any runner could benefit from!
We as humans, to a lesser or greater extent, crave routine. If you are like most people, your regular routine has probably been completely disrupted as you have been required to work from home. For most people, a change or absence of routine creates more stress. The majority of the population are still struggling with this and, unwittingly, creating more stress for themselves in an already stressful time.
In order to help you with this important and fairly straight forward stress reliever, here are some top tips.
Have a weekday schedule and a weekend schedule.
Monday – Friday, wake up at the same time, eat your meals at the same time and start and stop work at the same times.
Evenings and Weekends – this is your free time and you should treat it as you normally would.
Each morning (or previous evening) plan to accomplish a minimum of two tasks in the day. Ideally, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. The satisfaction of accomplishing these will provide you with a mental boost. If one of your tasks has a physical element, you have the added benefit of a physical boost as well.
Plan some sort of mental break into your day. Exercise, meditate, read or watch a funny clip on TV or Youtube. These mini ‘escapes’ will help to provide you with mental breaks and some variety in how you use your brain and/or body.
Go to sleep at the same time each night. Being consistent with your bed time (within 30min) will help you to get the next day started the way you like, thereby increasing the success level of your routine.
Try to limit your intake of Alcohol and junk food. Both of these things will deplete your energy and make you feel more lethargic the following day.
Take movement breaks as much as you possibly can. Remember that working from home will decrease your overall steps during the day. Eventually this has a negative impact on your health. Movement breaks can be as simple as going for a walk outside, or even standing up to do a few stretches.
Let’s make things more interesting…
’30 Minute Daily Movement Challenge!’
You are challenged to find a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity a day, over and above what you have been getting. This can be a walk, a run, stairs in your house, biking, or one or both of the virtual classes Totum is providing each day. It can be a 15 min stretch twice a day. Anything!!
So, if this interests you even a little bit, take action right now with these three simple success producing steps!
In the next five minutes, plan out how you will get that 30 minutes of extra movement each day next week. Build it in right now. It should take no more than five minutes.
Put a sticky on your bathroom mirror with what you have decided on so it’s front and center when you look there.
Just as importantly, let someone else know that you are doing it. As you know, the buddy system builds support and accountability.
It’s as simple as that. So, are you up for it? Great! Let’s get moving more this week.
The most important step is the first one. Take five minutes to decide on your Monday-Friday routine and start implementing it right away. You can adjust accordingly as you go forward, but it is important to give your routine a few days to settle in. If you have children, your family as a whole can benefit from the same sort of routine.
Stress Reducing Health Tip #1: Breathing – Alternate Nostril Breathing
Controlled deep breathing is known to induce calm and focus. Try this exercise to help reduce stress and/or to improve mental acuity before an important task.
Sitting comfortably, exhale completely and then use your right thumb to close your right nostril.
Breath in slowly and deeply for a minimum of 5 seconds and then close your left nostril with your right index finger while at the same time removing your right thumb.
Exhale slowly for a minimum of 5 seconds but ideally longer.
Inhale through your right nostril for a minimum of 5 seconds before closing it with your thumb and beginning while at the same time removing your finger from your left nostril.
Exhale slowly for a minimum of 5 seconds.
Repeat this cycle for a minimum of 6 times. Ideally 10.
Stress Reducing Health Tip #2 – A great habit change hack
Habit change can seem daunting. In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, he outlines an incredible approach to establishing habits that can help you in all areas of your life. It is a very good, inspirational approach to habit change. For the purposes of our health and wellness initiative, there is one clear concept that stands out. Begin with the start in mind and make it very, very simple. What exactly does that mean?
Psychology tells us that motivation actually kicks in or ramps up once you have gotten going. We get energized by the small victories in the initial stages of habit change. For this reason, a simple, easy first step is the most important one. Just getting going is the critical part. Let’s look at a couple of practical examples.
Yoga lover not finding time for classes: Simple start plan – Perform one yoga move each morning or evening for one week. Increase to two moves in the weeks following.
Team member wants to bring their lunches to work instead of always eating out: Simple start plan – bring a piece of fruit or some vegetables every weekday for a month. Increase the number of these small snacks in the following months.
Less screens before bed: Simple start plan – set a repeating alarm on your phone for each weekday of a month that is notifies you to turn your screen (phone, tv, games, etc.) off 5 minutes earlier than you normally would. Replace that five minutes of screens with a magazine or book that you are really interested in.
Do you have a habit you want to establish? What is your simple start plan of action?
Stress Reducing Health Tip #3 – Exercise is a great form of stress management
The title of this tip is likely not surprising to you. Let’s get right into it and look at an actual example to illustrate how this translates to real life.
Our daily commute into the office can sometimes produce stress that we didn’t anticipate. Crowding, interactions with irritable people around us and a fear of being late are all triggers to increase stress. If our day begins with some version of this and we are then thrust into a meeting where there is some pressure placed on us, our stress is compounded. Add into this personal stressors with family or friends, and you can see how by mid morning stress levels can be high.
Now it’s lunch time. It’s a sunny but cool day and you just need a break. You bundle up, put your head phones in with your favourite playlist or pod cast on, and you walk over to Nathan Phillips Square to spend 20 minutes skating in the sunshine. By the time you are done, you have had your 20min of skating plus 15 minutes of walking to and from. That’s 35 minutes of physical activity. Not only have you triggered physical responses that help to combat the stress of your morning, but you have literally taken yourself to a different place mentally and physically.
The type of activity you choose does not have to be vigorous as you can read in the reference article provided in this link. If you do decide to do something that perhaps makes your legs burn, you can be sure your mental focus will be on how that feels instead of what caused the stress in your day. Yet another way exercise helps to ‘reset’ mentally and dial the stress dial down.
The immune system is your body’s primary mechanism of defence, responsible for protecting you from potentially harmful invaders. It is made up of various cells, tissues, and substances including the skin barrier, red and white blood cells, microbiota, antibodies, and cytokines (cell signalling molecules). Your immune system consists of your innate immune system aka your first line of defence and the adaptive immune system which is highly specific against particular intruders. A dysfunction in the immune system may result in allergies, infections, tumors and autoimmunity.
A nutritious and balanced diet, good sleep, regular moderate exercise and stress mitigation techniques may help support your immune system.
Food First!
Vegetables and fruit offer a wide spectrum of antioxidants to support the immune system. These bioflavonoids, phytonutrients and other phytochemicals are unique and as such as eating a wide variety will over you the best support. They also contain vitamins and minerals needed to support a functioning immune system. Look for brightly coloured and dark green leafy vegetables as well as garlic, ginger and turmeric which have anti-microbial properties
Quality Protein
Protein contains the amino acid building blocks that our body uses to repair the body structure and create enzymes to carry out necessary functions. Deficiencies in protein intake can increase your risk for getting sick as these amino acids are the building blocks for creating anti-bodies to fight pathogens. Have protein with each meal, as well as post workout.
Vitamin D
Often only thought of in reference to bone health, this fat-soluble vitamin plays a vital role in our immune system and deficiency has been associated with increased risk of auto-immune conditions as well as protecting against respiratory tract infections. Found in salmon, mushrooms, fortified milk and milk substitutes, tuna and egg yolks. But supplementing with Vitamin D3 in the winter months can be helpful to get adequate levels. Best consumed with a meal / food containing food.
Vitamin C
Found in a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, Vitamin C plays an important role in immune function and fighting infections. Found in red bell peppers, strawberries, kiwi, oranges, dark cherries, kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Aim to get a vitamin food with each meal.
Zinc
Helps strengthen immunity by supporting helper T cells. Specifically zinc lozenges as coronavirus hangs out in the larynx before heading down into the lungs. Zinc is found in seafood, clams, oysters, mussels, firm tofu, lentils, pumpkin seeds, yogurt, oats.
Support your gut microbiome
Supporting a healthy gut microbiome through healthy foods is a major way to support your immune system. You have 10x more bacteria cells in your body vs human cells. Fermented foods (sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi and unsweetened kombucha) and fibrous vegetables can help provide a good environment for positive bacteria to thrive. Oral probiotics of the right type and amount for the specific issue have been show to help maintain immune health.
Prioritize Sleep
During quality sleep our bodies repair and recovery. Sleep deprivation has been shown to reduce immunity and increase risk of infection. Stick to a sleep schedule where you get at least 7.5 hours of sleep. Avoid caffeine after noon and avoid screens for at least 1 hour prior to bed. Sleep in a cool dark room.
Reduce Excess
Excess sugar and alcohol stress the system and contain very few nutrients. Eating large quantities of processed food maybe open up room for nutrient deficiencies due to their lack of nutrients. Also beware of any foods that cause allergy or sensitivity in your body and reduce those.
Hydrate
Adequate hydration is key for a healthy body and allows for the transport of nutrients and elimination of waste products. Be mindful that if you have fever, vomiting or diarrhea you will be dehydrating yourself quickly.
Moderate Exercise
Regular exercise helps improve circulation which may allow cells and components of the immune system to move through the body to combat invaders. Too much intense exercise may weaken the immune system immediately following exercise so allow adequate time for recovery.
Relax & De-stress
Too much stress drives the production of cortisol which decreases cells in your immune system. Take a break from screens, read a book, listen to music, mediated or practice mindfulness, go for a walk, take a warm bath.
Written by Tara Postnikoff, Hon B. A., RNCP/ROHP, CNP
While the current Covid-19 pandemic is changing many areas of our lives and no doubt increasing our stress levels, it is also providing us many opportunities as well. Spending time at home can be a struggle, especially with the kitchen and pantry open for business 24 X 7. Here are 5 tips for eating well while trapped at home.
Create a schedule. We do better with schedule and routine in our lives and if we stick to this, it can set us up for success. This means a sleeping schedule, an exercise schedule and you got it, an eating schedule. Write down your meal times and keep this visible so that the kitchen is off limits except for meal time.
Stock your fridge and pantry well. If you have a well stocked fridge and pantry it becomes easy to make healthy, nutritious and tasty meals with ease. Make a menu plan for the week and then make a shopping list before heading out to do your grocery shop. If eating and cooking at home is new to you, this might feel like a challenge. A good example of key nutritious staples are cans of organic beans. You can create a quick chilli or boost a soup or salad with extra protein and healthy complex fibrous carbs.
Prepare a veggie bucket. Before putting your produce away, take and extra few minutes to wash and chop veggies for easy snacks and use later. Put them in an air-tight container and then they are there if you need a quick something to munch on or prepping a quick meal. We often want the easy choice of we are tired and stressed and this allows us to make healthy choices more frequently. These good, nutrient dense options will help support our immune system, our brain and will help us feel better.
Stay Hydrated. There is a good chance you are not hungry but are actually thirsty. Have a glass of water or cup of tea and then re-evaluate your desire for food. Adequate hydration is key for a healthy body and allows for the transport of nutrients and elimination of waste products.
Distract yourself. If you start to feel peckish and its not time to eat, add some simple quick movement to get you up and out of your chair. This will help boost your feel good hormones and settle that need to snack. Try 20-30s of jumping jacks or burpees.
If you have more questions about what to eat or how to meal plan at this time, reach out to our amazing team of nutritionists and naturopaths. Now is a great time to focus on your overall health and wellness.
