Plant-based diets have been highlighted as one of the top food trends of 2019. Population studies suggest that following a plant-based diet which is rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals may help lower blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol, reduce your risk of diabetes, help maintain a healthy weight and lower your risk of heart disease.1 But, population studies can’t tease out how diet may cause disease or specifically impact your health. Continue reading
Intermittent fasting is the practice of eating little or nothing for some periods of time. On fasting days a person might eat nothing or no solid food or they might eat less than a quarter of the food that they normally would. Some alternate days with eating with days of fasting. Others eat normally five days a week and fast for two days. A third option is to fast for a set time every day – no food after 3pm, for example.¹ Continue reading
America’s latest bottled health-craze, Kombucha, has consumers reaching for a fizzy, sweet-and-sour drink made with black tea. Some fans genuinely enjoy the vinegar-like smell and fermented taste while others include this beverage in their diet for its many purported health benefits. The jury is still out; is kombucha really worth all of the hype? Your Food Coach explored the topic and is bringing you the facts. Continue reading
It’s the craze! It’s all over social media, in the office– everyone seems to be curious about this diet. People who are overweight might benefit from some initial weight loss on the Ketogenic Diet but it avoids some of our healthiest and tastiest foods. When you avoid carbs, you give up a lot, making it monotonous pretty quickly. And, it’s not a new thing. Remember Atkins? This low-carb diet started in the 1970s and has been a hot topic ever since.1 Continue reading
Do you eat breakfast? If you answered no, you are not alone. Only 44% of Americans eat breakfast daily¹. The rest of us skip breakfast for a variety of reasons, such as lack of time and lack of options due to poor planning. Schedules continue to get busier, which limits the amount of time for preparing and eating. It may seem impossible to include breakfast in your busy routine, but it’s not. A little planning can make all the difference. Eating breakfast daily can be easy and beneficial for your health. Some easy strategies shared later in this post can help you fit breakfast into your day.
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Inflammation is one of those “buzz” words. It is usually seen as a “villain” and is blamed for certain health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. But, first we must ask, what exactly is inflammation? Is all inflammation created equal? Can the food we eat affect inflammation? How can we eat to promote health and avoid chronic inflammation? And, what can you do to stay as healthy as possible? Let’s begin at the beginning.
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Sugar is poison. High fructose corn syrup causes cancer. Just google it.
Putting sarcasm aside, too much sugar is a bad idea and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) isn’t better. But neither is inherently good or evil. Despite what the media may say, a little added sugar isn’t going to instantly kill anyone. Continue reading
Wow! Is it possible? Ginseng slows aging, increases mental capacity, and increases sexual performance. Stinging nettle has been thought to fight urinary tract infections, kidney and bladder stones, and rheumatism1,4. Echinacea is used to prevent colds. This all sounds pretty great! But what are the promoters of herbal supplements not telling us? Continue reading
These days it seems that conflicting messages come at us from all different directions. Choose a lucrative career, but make sure it’s your passion. Live life to the fullest, but don’t be irresponsible. Love your body size but don’t get too big, it’s unhealthy. For anyone who’s struggled with weight, this last one can be incredibly painful to hear. The confusing advice on weight loss and dieting only makes change even harder. In the last quarter century, the nutrients blamed for weight gain and glorified for weight loss have varied between fat and carbohydrate. Most recently, the Paleo and Whole 30 diets mark a shift towards a low carb/high fat approach to weight loss. But are they all they’re cracked up to be? Lets find out. Continue reading
Lately, it seems like everywhere you go you will see some sort of advertisement for a protein supplement in one form or another. Have you ever wondered if you need to supplement your protein intake? You may have noticed that many of these supplements claim to help boost your performance, increase muscle mass, speed up your metabolism, or have some other catchy phrase declaring some benefit. But, how true are these claims? Do you need to take a protein supplement? How much protein should you be getting? Why do you even need protein? I will try to address these questions. Continue reading