"Ayurveda" is a word that often comes up on spa menus, but it's actually an ancient Indian practice that encompasses many different aspects of life to promote health and well-being. Here, Felicia Marie Tomasko, an Ayurvedic practitioner and yoga teacher, explains some of the basic tenets.

Q: What is Ayurveda? Can anyone follow an Ayurvedic plan, or is it better for some over others?

A: Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word that means science of life. The science and philosophy of Ayurveda contains information related to how we can live a life in balance with our true nature and with the cycles of the natural world around us and within us. Part of the essence of Ayurveda is that we are all unique individuals and different types of routines, relationships with food and even the numbers of hours of sleep that we need or ounces of water we need to drink is related to that uniqueness. From this point of view, there isn't one right plan or program that works for everyone the world over, at every age, in every climate or geographic location. In some ways, this frees us.

If the latest diet plan didn't work for us, no matter how much we stuck to the letter of the law, it could mean that we did not choose the routine that worked best for who we are --our own true nature. What often happens is that someone finds a way of eating, or sleeping or being that helps them feel healthy, or allows them to cure a long-standing disease or imbalance and then they try to teach it to everyone, everywhere. It works for some people, but not for everyone.

Starch seems to be getting a lot of flack as of late. With the popularity of the glycemic index and glycemic load, people generally consider starchy foods to be little better than sugar. The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how much blood sugar and insulin rises as a result of eating a particular food. Because insulin reacts to carbohydrates, starch has a strong tendency to make blood sugar rise.

The low-carb people, including the increasingly popular Paleo-dieters may knock starches for this very reason, but importance placed on the GI of foods may be overblown. There's a lot more to a food's healthful qualities than how much it affects your blood sugar. High starch foods actually have less of an impact on disease than many low-GI foods like high-fructose corn syrup or agave for instance. Plus, traditional cultures that ate high-starch diets at the turn of the century (before the scourge of the western diet had reached them) were observed to be in perfect health without any incidence of diabetes or blood sugar issues.

One major reason that starchy foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, legumes or rice should still be high on your list of good foods is the fibre they contain. Oh, fibre. This again. You're going to make me have to suppress my gag reflex while you tell me the importance of adding bulk to my stool, aren't you Doug. Well, yes, there's that. But fibre is important for reasons other than just providing, ahem, bulk to the stool and adding to the feeling of fullness so that you don't overeat.

Dear Sarah,

What's the deal with being ravenously hungry after swimming? I've been spending a lot of time in my backyard pool followed by a lot of time in front of the kitchen fridge. I fear I am undoing all the good of my pool workout.
Nada

Dear Nada,

While your post-swimming hunger may be because you put in a good workout, there are two main reasons why hunger strikes upon leaving the water. One, your body's changing temperatures as you move from land to pool and two, dehydration.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

Trying to lose weight? Start by looking at the foods you're regularly eating -- especially those that you buy regularly and stock your kitchen with. Variations in the amount of protein, carbs and fats in your favourite products might surprise you, and understanding nutrition labels will help you be carb-smart when you shop, cook and eat. Just follow these guidelines for optimal health both in and out of the kitchen:

1. Read the ingredients: If the product contains any hormone-upsetting ingredients such as aspartame, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oil, soy oil, shortening or margarine, or if it has too much added sugar, put it back on the shelf.

2. Move on to the nutrition label information and check the serving size allocated for the nutrition info: A serving size of five potato chips may only have 50 calories, but who stops after just five? Sometimes foods look as though they're a good choice, but in reality it's only because the serving size used to report the nutrition values is completely unrealistic.

If you're trying to lose weight, you're going to have to start paying attention to your calorie intake. Large quantities of them can be hiding in places you don't expect and you probably aren't burning as many of them as you think you are.

Reality sucks.

This reality, however, doesn't mean that you need to be really anal about your diet and exercise regime to lose weight. For most people, keeping a meticulous ledger of all the calories you consume and burn in a day is unnecessary.

For a short period I counted calories. I lost about 25 pounds of fat then plateaued for a few years. Although I had a mild desire to be slimmer, I wasn't really trying to lose any more weight. Then about four years ago I decided that seeing my abs might be a cool thing and was determined to lose another 20 pounds. The process took five months and I counted calories for the first two. Over those two months I was able to get a feel for things so that eventually I could just sort of tell if I was over, under, or had hit the perfect balance between calorie intake and burning for the day. This approach has kept me hovering between a two-pack and four-pack abs ever since then, without writing anything down.

Good enough.

Enough about me; let's talk about you.

You already know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You also know that you are what you eat. So chances are you tend to save greasy bacon-and-eggs breakfast binges for special occasions, opting instead to start your days with some fruit, a cup of yogurt, a bit of cereal and maybe a slice of toast. You're making the healthy choice by starting your day off with something light and nutritious, right?

Not so fast, say researchers -- instead, they're suggesting that a fried breakfast might be the ideal way to begin your day. A study on lab mice found that the animals who ate a breakfast high in fat were able to break down fat more effectively throughout the day than the ones who started off with a carbohydrate-rich breakfast. They concluded that a morning meal rich in carbohydrates prepares the body only to break down more carbs, whereas eating fat in the morning helped rev the metabolism more effectively.

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.

Do you find yourself eating mindlessly or shoving cookies into your mouth every chance you get? According to Judith J. Wurtman, author of The Serotonin Power Diet, it doesn't have to be that way. Here, she offers her opinions and tips on how to eat to turn off your hunger.

Q: What role does serotonin play in how and what we eat?

A: It plays an extremely important role. The most important and overlooked thing is that serotonin will shut off your appetite. When it's working properly, it makes you feel satisfied. You can eat less food than you would like to eat, and you can decrease your portion sizes if you need to lose weight, but triggering serotonin will make you feel full. My co-author, Nina T. Frusztajer, and I use this example all the time: You go to a restaurant for dinner, and you're very hungry, and while you're waiting for dinner to be served, you munch on some bread and a little salad. Twenty minutes go by before your dinner arrives and when it finally does you say, "Gee, I'm not hungry anymore." It's not from the roll or the bit of lettuce, it's because once you digested those carbohydrates your brain makes new serotonin and sends a message that you're not that hungry. It's a natural appetite suppressant.

Canadian fitness expert Brendan Brazier, author of Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimum Performance in Sports and Life, strives to fill his diet with foods for optimum fitness. Here, he fills us in on good carbohydrates that will boost your workouts.

Q: What's the difference between good carbs and bad carbs?

A: Bad carbs are anything coming from highly refined sources. Some people call sugar a bad carb, but I don't think it is if it's from a good source. Sugar can be a great source of energy when it comes from fruit, like dates and bananas. But I would also eat those things with protein and fibre, which will slow down the rate at which the sugar enters the bloodstream. This prevents a sugar spike, followed by a crash. That's why smoothies are really good; you blend things with hemp protein or flax and other things that have fibre and essential fats.

Wondering when and what to eat before and after working out? Elisa Zied, registered dietitian, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, provides some helpful tips.

Q: Should we eat before working out? Right after working out?

A: I think everyone's body is different. I cannot work out unless I've eaten beforehand; but some athletes and recreational exercisers workout on an empty stomach and that works for them. It's definitely a good idea to eat a meal or snack a few hours before you exercise; some can have a snack right before they exercise and that works for them, while others may prefer to eat an hour or two before they exercise. Know your body and do what feels best for you. I personally have breakfast at 7 and exercise around 8:30 or 9 am and that works for me (I have energy, don't feel sluggish or bloated, and don't feel hungry). Find what works for you and do that.

More tips, after the jump...

Dr. Jaty Tam, of Toronto's Body of Knowledge Healing Arts, specializes in women's health. Here, she outlines some of the key fitness and diet requirements for healthy women.

Q: How do women's and men's fitness requirements differ?

A: Fitness requirements vary greatly among individuals, depending on body type and fitness goals. So the main difference between men's and women's fitness requirements is due to the differences in body type. Men tend to carry more muscle. The more muscle you have, the more energy is required to work that muscle. Muscle is maintained through adequate protein intake, so men who are weight training are likely to require more protein than women who are weight training. This is similar with cardio or aerobic exercises. As men tend to be larger and carry more weight, they will expend more energy during any type of movement. Energy is provided through carbohydrates, so men doing aerobic exercises are likely to need more carbs in their diet than women doing similar aerobic exercises. The key message here is to know your body and your fitness goals. Know what the nutritional requirements are to maintain your body's energy and health while working on attaining your exercise targets.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

Have you ever been caught grabbing a bit of shut-eye at your desk? What was your excuse to your boss? New sleep research may be your best answer.

A 2002 study from Harvard University considered worker burnout over four days of training and the effect of napping. As the four days of training wore on, the workers began to experience burnout. But the good news is - the study found that workers who were allowed to take a 30-minute nap on the second day of a four-day training session experienced less decline in visual tasks. A one-hour nap was actually found to return performance back to normal in the last two sessions.

That is not to say that curling up for an hour or so at the office should be sanctioned, but keeping it to less than 30 minutes might not be so far-fetched. It seems that half-hour naps should not only be recognized as acceptable by companies, but also beneficial. This is old news to many European countries where afternoon siestas are standard practice and many shops close for an hour or so each afternoon.

Afternoon drowsiness is a major problem for many corporations: it is estimated that lost productivity costs billions of dollars every year. A possible solution is to allow 20 to 30 minutes of napping per day when it is deemed necessary, creating a work environment that may actually help boost workplace productivity rather than hinder it. In today's fast-paced society and tough economy, however, most companies frown on napping in the workplace rather than encourage it.

Can't squeeze in a nap? Use these nine tips to boost your energy and productivity during the day:

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

The quest for the perfect body is never-ending, and many of us will use whatever means necessary to achieve it. While there has been little doubt that exercise and proper diet are essential for a healthy body composition, the use of supplements for weight loss continues to be a source of great debate.

Unfortunately, many products marketed for weight loss do not have research or results to support their claims. There are, however, a few products available that may actually work to increase fat burning and boost metabolism. These supplements can be found at your local health food store or online; for many of the selections visit my online store.

1. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA): According to a study published in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, CLA was one of only a few researched supplements that was found to reduce body fat and assist in increasing lean muscle mass. These results were discovered even without a change in caloric intake. It seems CLA directs fats away from storage in fat cells while also increasing fat burning in the skeletal muscle. It has also been found to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties and is useful in reducing arterial disease. The dosage required is 1500 mg two times per day with food.

Dr. Richard Beliveau and Dr. Denis Gingras are the authors of Eating Well, Living Well, translated by Valentina Baslyk along with their bestselling books Foods That Fight Cancer and Cooking With Foods That Fight Cancer.

It is easy to avoid blood sugar overloads by simply modifying certain (bad) eating habits.

1. Drink water instead of sweet drinks and, above all, avoid soft drinks containing large amounts of sugar. Many recent studies indicate that consumption of these drinks is playing a key role in the obesity epidemic currently afflicting the population. In addition, beware of the many "energy" drinks flooding the market. The industry targets adolescents and young adults who don't understand the harmful consequences of these products. They are nothing but sweetened drinks containing an astronomical amount of caffeine (almost 100 mg per can) – the equivalent of a very strong double espresso. These drinks, which have nothing energizing in them, are just stimulants!

2. Pay particular attention to breakfast cereals.