Why a Food Combining Diet Makes Sense: Six Dos and Don'ts
Health, Healthy Eating, Dear Healthy Foodie
Dear Healthy Foodie,I've recently had an allergy test done and my diet now is free of the foods I'm allergic to but now I'm wondering how important is food combining? Is there a basic rule to follow when combining foods?
Thank you,
Corina
Hello Corina,
Food combining is an important step on the road to your ideal state of health, but in my opinion, it isn't something one should be required to do forever. Certain concepts from food combining should carry over into your daily meals, but I see strict food combining as a nutritional therapy and something not necessary for everyone all the time.
Food combining is a term used to describe an approach to eating where foods that require different digestive environments are eaten separately. Your body processes protein, carbohydrates and fats, as well as acidic foods and alkaline foods, differently. In order to have truly efficient digestion, these different types of foods need to be eaten separately so that they don't interfere with each other's ideal digestive environment. Eating bad combinations of foods can lead to gas, upset stomach, heartburn or even diarrhea.
Digestive Problems? 3 Tips to Combat Constipation and Gluten Sensitivities
Advice, Happiness, Health, Healthy Eating
Each week, holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy tells us about a common health problem she's seen in her practice and how she came to a solution.
This week's client: Josh, a 34-year-old cafe owner and social networking butterfly.The Problem: Josh had never been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disorder, but he was convinced something was wrong as he was often on a cycle of one week constipation and the next week diarrhea.
Not surprisingly, he was at his wit's end having tried everything (or so he thought) from over-the-counter meds to colon cleanses, but nothing seemed to improve his very delicate digestive state. In his own words, "I'm OK for a few days and then BAM, just like that, I'm sitting on the toilet for an hour." Apologies for the graphic.
Josh's concerns are not uncommon. Digestive problems are the main reason clients come to see me and the issues are widespread and universal (constipation accounts for about two million doctor visits per year in the United States). Pharmaceutical companies are getting rich from our digestive disturbances and make more profit from stomach remedies than any other drugs, according to according to Elizabeth Lipski, PhD, CCN, and author of Digestive Wellness. The problem with these drugs is they merely suppress the symptoms, but do not address the root cause. So while you may have stopped your diarrhea for a week, you haven't got to the health issue to blame for the digestive upset in the first place.
Solution after the jump
Post-St. Paddy's Hangover Cures, Jennifer LH's Relationship Advice and More
Each morning, we dish out a few links we love. Feeling a little green today after some St. Paddy's Day revelry? Here are a few hangover facts to help ease your aching head.
Had a recent break up? So did Jennifer Love Hewitt, and she's written a book about it -- here are her top tips for getting over it and moving on (which she seems to do a lot)
Usually, when you have a goal weight in mind, it's less than your current weight. Not so for this 600 lb woman -- she's determined to almost double her size.
You probably don't want to copy her style, but in case you're interested in copying her fitness plan, here's how Lady Gaga gets in shape for her energetic shows.
Expecting a new arrival any time soon? Don't forget to pack the birth bag!
Yoga Benefits: Home vs. Group Practice
Advice, Happiness, Fitness, Fit Yoga
My very first introduction to yoga was taking a class with a friend at a yoga studio in my neighbourhood. (I wrote about my experience in the post called Health Benefits of Yoga: 5 Tips To Get You Started). While practicing in a studio is highly recommended for beginners, there is something to be said for practicing yoga at home, as well. But before attempting to wing it on your own, it's important to learn the basics. Build your practice upon a strong foundation. Once you feel comfortable and have a set of poses under your belt, you can start to practice at home safely and properly.Benefits of Practicing at Home
Practicing at home can be tremendously beneficial because it allows students to cater to their own needs. When you're attending a class of twenty students, it's challenging for a teacher to help every person. Your needs will be different from the person beside you. A teacher can only guide you so much in a class -- to have the optimum yoga practice that is best suited for you, you will need to create your own practice. A home practice allows you to move at your own pace, and create a practice that best supports your needs at that moment; this is especially helpful for students practicing with injuries or physical limitations.
Calorie Counts - Can You Trust The Labels?
Losing weight is really just about math -- the calories you take in need to be a bit less than the calories you burn. And while most good dieters know to check the labels on the foods they eat to make sure they are waistline-friendly, new research suggests that those labels may actually be deceiving you. In fact, they could be off by as much as 25 percent. In some cases, this is good news. Nutrition experts in Britain are adamant that most nutrition labels over-estimate the number of calories in certain foods because the methods used to determine the caloric content are outdated. If foods were subjected to more recent and innovative form of analysis, the numbers would be more accurate they argue, and in most cases that figure would be less than previously advertised. For instance, a vegetarian lasagna, which is claims to have 400 calories, may actually only have 367 calories, a difference of 33 calories.
Parenting Isn't a Enough of a Workout: Moms Should Still Hit the Gym
Friends & Family, Advice, Fitness
Parenting is hard work. But it's not as hard as you think, at least from a physical perspective. While chasing after small kids and doing countless hours of housework might feeling like it's burning off all your last remaining reserves of energy, new research shows that parenting is not actually as much of a workout as we tend to think. That's the conclusion reached by researchers from Central College in Iowa. They monitored 58 mothers of young children to see how much exercise a mom actually gets throughout the course of the day.
Most of the mothers assumed they were getting at least an hour's worth of moderate physical activity throughout the day, but in reality, that number was more like 30 minutes. "There was this ongoing theme of the women reporting more activity than they actually were getting," said study author Kelli O'Neil. The participants wore a device to measure their physical activity throughout the week and also answered a questionnaire.
Want to Improve Your Sex Life? Start Exercising
Sex, Advice, Fitness, Ask a Fitness Expert
It is a common assertion that "sex sells," which begs the question, can sex be used as motivation to get people more active? Some of the recent posts published by the Exercise Psychology Unit team have talked about some of the social benefits of being physically active. For example, physical activity not only improves a person's body image and self-esteem, but other people also tend to perceive physically active people to be friendlier, more sociable, and more attractive. So being active may be giving individuals greater opportunities to develop social contacts and relationships -- but with sexual implications? While it may be superficial, physical attractiveness is one evolutionary quality in choosing a partner. So after all the sweat and tears of physical activity to look and feel better, does it have a positive effect on one's sex life?
Swiss Chard: A Leafy Green Packed With Nutrients
Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This
Last week I suggested, chlorella as a great green way to nutritionally participate in St. Paddy's Day (particularly to detox after too much green beer), and in continuing with our green theme, I would like to introduce a favourite leafy green: swiss chard.
Swiss chard is actually a member of the beet family, although, unlike beets, we only tend to eat the greens rather than the root. Swiss chard is an excellent source of manganese, magnesium, vitamin K,vitamin E, folic acid, selenium and has about as much vitamin C as an orange. It's also a good source of calcium, potassium, iron and zinc. Swiss chard is a good source of the B vitamin niacin, which is helpful in keeping that cholesterol count low and those energy levels up.
Leafy greens, including Swiss chard, are great sources of a phytonutrient category called carotenes. This includes beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A and an antioxidant in its own right. Swiss chard also contains the carotene phytonutrients zeaxanthin and lutein, both vitally important for eye health and found to decrease chances of suffering macular degeneration. Lutein has been shown in studies to prevent and reverse, to a certain extent, issues with immunity, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Green Fitness, the Good Thing About Balding and More
Each morning, we dish out a few links we love. Happy St. Paddy's Day! Before you start guzzling green beer, the National Post recommends that you balance it out with some 'green' exercise.
Got a shiny noggin? There's some good news -- new research shows that baldness is linked to good health.
If you're a teenager in Scotland, you might see an interesting new subject on your school schedule -- they're teaching teens how to sleep properly after news emerged that many weren't getting nearly enough shut-eye each night.
They may be a double blessing, but studies show that parents of twins are more likely to divorce than parents of singles.
Want to look younger? Here are 10 simple secrets to a young complexion that you should know and follow.
Exercise, Sleep and Cancer Prevention: How the Former Thwart the Latter
Advice, Health, Fitness, Fit Family Guy
Sitting on the couch doesn't prevent cancer.
Some people think they are a ticking time bombs when it comes to cancer, but it turns out that genetics only plays a small role in contracting the disease; it's lifestyle that really matters. A 2008 review determined that only 5 – 10 percent of cancers are related to genetics. The study reported: "The evidence indicates that of all cancer-related deaths, almost 25–30 percent are due to tobacco, as many as 30–35 percent are linked to diet, about 15–20 percent are due to infections, and the remaining percentage are due to other factors such as radiation, stress, physical activity, environmental pollutants etc." I should note that the majority of the cancers caused by infection are related to sexual activity (HPV and HIV/AIDS), so you may wish to be discerning in your choice of partners.
So, don't smoke, eat healthy, choose your bed partners wisely, chill out, avoid chemicals, and get some exercise. Can you remember all that?
Oh, and I forgot to add: get enough sleep.
An interesting study presented at the 2008 Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research suggested that regular exercise can decrease a woman's risk of cancer; if she gets enough sleep, that is.
Find out more after the jump
