Are You Eating the Right Breakfast?

 I don’t know if the old saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is true. It may not be the most important meal. But it certainly is an important one. Starting off with the right breakfast raises your blood sugar gradually and keeps you full for hours. It’s like armor protecting you from the tempting, junky foods that surround us all day.


The great news is that there isn't just one perfect breakfast. Many foods can make up the “right” breakfast. Here are the 4 important characteristics of the “right” breakfast (and some food ideas):

1. Produce: I highly doubt that you’re surprised that I ‘m recommending that you include fruit or vegetables in your breakfast. That’s likely why you get your Green Earth Organic boxes! Most of us could use to eat more and so why not get a serving or two in at the start of the day? Eat a piece of fruit, top your oatmeal with berries, add some spinach in your omelet, or warm up last night’s stir-fry leftovers.

2. Protein: Here’s something that toast or cereal eaters often miss. Including protein will help your blood sugars be stable for longer, which means no mid-morning crashes and cravings for donuts. Sprinkle hemp hearts or chia seeds on your cereal, spread nut butter on your toast, or enjoy a couple of eggs.

3. Real whole grains. This one is optional. You may just want to include protein and produce and you’ll be doing great. Others (me included) do better with some real whole grains at breakfast. What do I mean by “real” whole grains? I mean minimally processed grains. Something that you really have to chew. There’s a lot of highly processed breakfast foods that claim to be whole grain and/or high fibre. I recommend avoiding anything that’s super light-weight, like a lot of breads and puffed cereals. They digest really fast and your blood sugar starts to drop quickly. Instead look for something that needs a lot of chewing, like steel-cut oats and is heavy to hold, like many sprouted grain breads.


4. Sugar: Again no surprises here (except where it can be hidden). Have as little added sugar as you can (ideally none). Watch out for it in “healthy” cereals, take-out smoothies made with fruit drink concentrates, and in “fruit”-on-the-bottom yogurt.

The Goods on Garlic and Carrots!

Garlic

Ever heard the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" The same goes for garlic! One clove of raw garlic contains more than 100 sulphuric compounds - enough to eliminate bacteria and infection. Garlic also provides protection against heart disease by helping to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. It is an excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C, as well as the trace minerals manganese and selenium.

Carrots

This powerful antioxidant is packed with Vitamin A and beta-carotene which help produce healthy hair, skin and nails. Carrots are also known to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles, acne and other skin blemishes. They are also helpful to eat to promote good vision, especially night vision, as well as protecting against macular degeneration and cataracts.

Dr. Ashely Gordon is a Squamish-based Naturopathic Physician and owner of Garibaldi Health Clinic, an integrative health care facility offering safe and effective care including Naturopathic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Massage, Midwifery and Physical Therapy. Dr. Gordon’s treatments focus on the whole person, from the physical and mental to the emotional and spiritual realms. To learn more about what Naturopathic Medicine can do for you, or to make an appointment, visit www.garibaldihealthclinic.com or call 604 898 1999.

The Goods on Bananas!

Bananas are a great source of Potassium, Magnesium, Dietary Fiber, and Vitamin C that can help improve your mood, lower your blood pressure, aid digestion as well as keep you alert and energized. Bananas also help alleviate the unpleasant symptoms of nausea often associated with morning sickness. 
 
Bananas make a healthy non-dairy alternative to ice cream! To make your own, cut 4-5 ripe bananas into bite size pieces and freeze for 4-6 hours. When frozen, pulse with a food processor until creamy and enjoy.
 

Dr. Ashely Gordon is a Squamish-based Naturopathic Physician and owner of Garibaldi Health Clinic, an integrative health care facility offering safe and effective care including Naturopathic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Massage, Midwifery and Physical Therapy. Dr. Gordon’s treatments focus on the whole person, from the physical and mental to the emotional and spiritual realms. To learn more about what Naturopathic Medicine can do for you, or to make an appointment, visit www.garibaldihealthclinic.com or call 604 898 1999.

An Often Overlooked Step for Weight Loss

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to do nutrition mini-consultations with a number of women. All of these women had several things in common. They were:

• Intelligent
• Successful in high-demand, fast-paced careers
• Busy. Very, very busy.
• Unhappy with their weight.
• They also had something else in common. Something that is often overlooked when trying to lose weight – building up their self-care toolkit.

I brought up self-care toolkits for two reasons:

1)Alternatives to Emotional Eating: We eat for more reasons than just fuel for our bodies. Eating can soothe our emotional needs. Think of the terms “treats” or “comfort food”. Enjoying such foods can be a way of taking care of ourselves. The problem comes when it’s the only tool in your toolkit. Or when you over-use this tool.

2)The Stress-Weight Connection: Mainstream medicine is coming to understand what many traditional wellness systems have known for a long time. Our mental/emotional/spiritual health and physical health are connected. Specifically related to weight, we’re learning how chronic stress creates a cascade of hormones that cause weight gain – particularly belly weight.

It’s this second point that I brought up with the women last week. And, I particularly want to share with you. So many of us function so well in our high-stress lives, and that high level of stress is so constant, that we don’t even see the stress anymore. We’ve become stress-blind. But our bodies haven’t.

The way to counter frequent emotional eating and chronic stress is to have a wide variety of tools in your self-care toolkit. And, to use them daily.

What do I mean by a “self-care toolkit”? I mean ways to take care of your mental, emotional, and spiritual health. The fantastic news is that there are an unlimited number of tools out here. You just need to find out which ones work for you. And use them! Examples include:
Meditation
Prayer
Exercise
Listening to or playing music (including singing)
Art
Knitting
Cooking
Journaling
Gratitude practice
Acupuncture
Massage
Chatting with supportive friends
Sleep
Counselling/ Therapy
The list goes on and on.

It may seem counterintuitive that taking up art therapy (or substitute another option) is a way to lose weight. But now you know why it’s important. Now you know why I recommended daily use of self-care tools / expanding the tools in the self-care toolkits to each of the women whom I met last week. And, now you know why I recommend it for you too!  

For ideas of how to change what you’re eating, check out my free resource: How to Eat Healthy to Boost Your Energy: 10 Steps that Even Healthy Eaters Miss at www.KristenYarker.com/womens-nutrition (Guys: head over to www.KristenYarker.com/mens-nutrition)

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