Are Dairy Products Healthy & Do I Eat Them?

Ah dairy products! This is one food group that I find people are either very attached to, or the opposite, they can give it up without much effort at all. Some people love dairy products, others not. I believe this is not only about tastes and preferences, but also where someone grew up, their ancestry and cultural background, and if foods made with dairy were eaten amongst their family and community.

Personally, I always like to approach diet from a place of balance, and take into consideration that not one diet fits all. I don’t believe in cutting out food groups unnecessarily, and this includes dairy products. For some people eating dairy products causes all sorts of havoc and distress in their body, but for others they have no reaction to it at all, and in fact for many vegetarian this is their primary source of vitamin B12, protein, and essential fats. So before deciding whether dairy products are for you or not, let’s talk about who should not be eating dairy products, and why.

Who shouldn’t eat dairy products:

 

1- Dairy Allergy Or Sensitivity

If you have a dairy allergy or sensitivity, you shouldn’t be consuming any dairy products. Symptoms of a dairy allergy are diarrhea, stomach cramps, bloating, gas, constipation, skin rashes, and chronic sinus congestion.

If you think you have a dairy allergy, you can always go to a doctor to have an allergy test, or you can do an elimination diet.

Some people with dairy allergies might also have allergies or sensitives to other animal milk products like goat’s milk. I also find that many with dairy allergy also have a sensitivity to soy milk. So if you have an allergy to dairy, and you switched over to soy milk, and you’re still not feeling great, I would strongly recommend having homemade nut milk instead (almond milk, cashew milk, etc.) or homemade rice milk. I believe homemade nut, seed, or rice milks to be a MUCH BETTER alternative to soy milk.

2- Acne, Breakouts, Cystic Pimples, Psoriasis, Eczema, etc.

If you have acne, chronic breakouts, or cystic pimples, I would strongly suggest you stop eating all dairy products. I would say 80-90% of acne sufferers notice either huge improvements in their skin, or complete clearing up of their skin when they eliminate dairy products, and all milk products from their diet.

Also for those that have eczema, psoriasis, or other skin issues – usually the elimination of dairy products and milk products will decrease or eliminate flare-ups. It’s worth it to take a break from dairy and milk products for a few weeks, maybe a month, and see if this helps improve your skin!

3- Chronic inflammation

If you have chronic inflammation, have aches and pains from arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, etc. — take a break from dairy. For many inflammation sufferers, this can help a lot. Dairy products and milk products are known to contribute to inflammation, and if you want to eliminate one of the causes of your pain or ill health, take a break from dairy and milk products to see if it helps.

4- Chronic sinus infections and mucous build-up

There’s not doubt that dairy products can be very mucous forming for many people. If you suffer from chronic sinus issue or even have a bout of a cold, runny nose, or even a sore throat,

Can A Cleanse Heal You?

I’m asked quite often about cleanses, and if they can heal health conditions, illnesses, and diseases. I think cleanses are great at kick starting a healthy diet and giving someone a good break from foods that are causing inflammation, imbalances, and disease in the body. But I don’t think a short term cleanse will heal anyone unless they make permanent changes to their diet and lifestyle after the cleanse, and figure out what might be contributing to the problem to begin with.

If you have a health condition or illness and are contemplating doing a cleanse (fasting or a dietary cleanse), I have some suggestions to make it a worthwhile experience. Cleanses and fasting are great, but what’s even better is learning from them – learning more about yourself, and what is contributing to your health, and what is standing in your way.

Two types of foods that contribute to most illnesses and health issues:

Allergenic Foods & Inflammatory Foods

The reason why people feel so great on a cleanse and have such wonderful healing results is because of what is eliminated while being on a cleanse. I like to class these eliminated foods into two groups: allergenic foods and inflammatory foods. Many or all of the foods in these two groups are usually eliminated during a cleanse, and this is why people always feel much better while they are fasting or following a restrictive cleanse

1- Allergenic Food

Allergenic foods are foods that some people have an allergy or a sensitivity to. Examples of these foods or ingredients are dairy or milk products, wheat, gluten, soy, corn, shellfish, tree nuts, food additives like MSG, etc. If someone has an unknown sensitivity or allergy to any one of these foods (or a combination of them), eliminating them will automatically make them feel a lot better! Sometimes just a few days without an allergenic food can have a big impact on someone’s health and help them to start clearing up surface issues like digestive distress, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acne, skin rashes, congestion, sinus issues, respiratory infections, aches and pains, etc. Later, as someone continues to go without a food they have an allergy or sensitivity to, deeper imbalances and problems like malnutrition, inflammation, and chronic immune response that could be causing other health conditions, diseases, and illness, can start to balance out, and the body can heal.

2- Inflammatory foods

Sugar, alcohol, processed foods, refined foods, artificial ingredients, food additives, chemicals, preservatives, and even an over-consumption of animal products and meats causes inflammation in the body (and so does stress!). Too much of this stuff makes people ill! Like with allergenic foods, once anyone takes a break from inflammatory foods, they always start feeling a lot better, and there body begins to heal.

What to take away from your cleanse

If you do a cleanse and feel fabulous at the end and notice all sorts of healing and an elimination of health issues you’ve been dealing with for years, it’s most probably because there’s at least one thing in your diet that is causing havoc on your health. If it’s already obvious to you what needs to be eliminated so you can continue to enjoy the results from the cleanse, then do so.

If it’s not so clear what could potentially be causing all your health issues, I suggest after the cleanse is done to do an entire month with as little inflammatory food as possible to see if that is the cause of your issues. If after a month, you don’t feel that much improvement like you did when you were on the cleanse, then I suggest experimenting with an elimination diet.

Elimination Diet

An elimination diet I find is one of the surest ways of figuring out what foo...

Silent Day / Nyepi Day – The Balinese New Year

Tomorrow is Balinese New Year (Nyepi Day). How the Balinese celebrate the new year is by having a day of silence – for 24 hours, no one is to use electricity or fire (no cooking, no lights, etc.), no going outside, no working, no entertainment. Even the airport is closed for 24 hours and no one is allowed on the streets. By sun down, the entire island is dark and quiet! This is a day of contemplation, a day of reflection, a day to be with your family. I love Nyepi Day! Perhaps the next time you do a fast or cleanse, you incorporate some of these elements (how about a technology fast?!!!).

Ready to let go of the sugar and processed food once and for all??!!

Join the NEW 7 Day Whole Food Challenge starting Monday, March 23, 2015! For 7 days you’ll be on a 100% healthy, real food diet! This program is an online program, so once you sign up you’ll immediately receive an ebook with over 75 recipes, program guidelines, sample menus, lists of meal ideas, etc..) and once the program begins you’ll have access to a private online forum for support, and daily education & motivational videos to teach you everything you need to know about eating a healthy, whole food diet. Click Here to sign-up now!

Do you have dark circles under your eyes and it’s not coming from a lack of sleep?!

As a kid I suffered from dark under eye circles, in fact my mother would put me to bed earlier and earlier hoping it would go away! The dark circles had nothing to do with a lack of sleep, or how rested I was. It was only until she took me to a doctor, did we find out I had bad environmental allergies, especially to dust which was causing the problem. Even today, after all these years, I still have to take extra pre-cautions to make sure my home is free of dust, and other airborne allergens.

Based on my own experience and those of others, dark circles under the eyes can be caused by many things from fatigue, allergies, eye strain, dehydration, diet, deficiencies, health conditions, and even one’s facial bone structure.

Here’s a bunch of suggestions I have if you have dark circles under your eyes: 

 

1- Go for a check-up

Always best to check-in with a doctor or naturopath and have them take a look at you, and do the appropriate tests (like blood tests). Dark circles under the eyes can be caused by deficiencies like an iron deficiency (anemia), or it could be a sign that you have a thyroid issue, adrenal issue, etc.

2- Boost your nutrition by eating nutrient dense foods

Eat more vegetables! Not only eating more, but having more variety, plus cooking and preparing your vegetables in different ways will ensure you are getting a good variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Some nutrients are better absorbed when the food is cooked, others are more absorbable when the food is raw– so best to have a good combination of both! Personally, I like to  prepare my vegetables in all different ways like having salads, soups, smoothies, freshly pressed green juices, raw veggies and dip, steamed or sautéed vegetables, baked vegetables, etc– this ensures I have a lot of variety, cover my nutritional needs, and I continue to enjoy my healthy food!

Drinking freshly pressed green juice (daily) and/or wheatgrass juice (regularly) will also give you a nutritional boost. Many people have noticed that over time of adding fresh juice to their diets, dark circles and puffiness around the eyes go away. If you don’t have access to fresh juices, you can always try a green powder – personally I will always say that “fresh is best,” but I also know that not everyone has immediate access to fresh juices, so in the time being, you can add a good quality green powder to your diet.

Like freshly pressed green juices, homemade bone broth is also a fantastic addition to your diet, not only for the minerals but to boost your body’s collagen production as well, which is always good for having a more youthful appearance and healthy skin.

3- Avoid eye strain

Don’t be staring into computer screens, tablets, and phones for too long. Make sure to be reading in well lit areas, and most importantly, take breaks! You eyes need rest too!

4- Sleeping in an environment that is clean, dust-free, clutter-free, and even hypo-allergenic

When you sleep at night, make sure there is fresh air and good air circulation. If possible, open a window slightly to get some good, clean air in. If using an air conditioner or central heating, make sure the vents are clean, free of any mold, dirt, or dust.

Make sure your sleeping area is clean, dust-free and doesn’t have too many objects around it that can accumulate dust. Best to clean your bedroom and especially your sleeping area at least once or twice a week, change bed linens and pillow cases regularly, and also flip your mattress and pillows regularly. All these things can make a big difference, not only on your under eye circles, but the quality of your sleep,

How to lose weight while working overnight!

Recently I did a blog post/video about losing weight while you sleep. The video was talking about eating early and going to sleep early. I recieved a few questions about what to do if you work the night shift (late at night or overnight) and you can’t go to sleep early– what do you do??!!! How would one lose weight in this type of situation?

I will start off by saying that it’s always best to be sleeping early at night. It is healthier, but not everyone has this option. Either they have to work late into the night, or even over night. I myself have been in this situation while I was a university student. Back then, I went to school during the day, and bartended at night, and my shift ended either at 3am or 5am. I did this for about four years, it was brutal, but I was young at the time, and I survived!

Strategies on how to lose weight while working at night:

Get proper sleep to keep your appetite in check.

If you work at night, that means you are sleeping late into the morning, or all day. Make sure you are getting good quality sleep, and enough sleep. If you work the night shift and you’re tired, this can cause cravings and over eating. If you are too tired at work, you might compensate by eating too much. Getting enough sleep when you can will help to balance out your appetite and ward off cravings, and the need to overindulge in sugar and caffeine.

Even if you are working late at night or into the early morning, stop eating at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep.

To lose weight while you sleep, make sure your last meal is at least 2-3 hours before you go to sleep, this applies also to those working the night shift. You don’t want to be eating a big meal right when you get home from work and then going straight to sleep. Instead, if you want to lose weight while you sleep, you need to eat your last meal at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed. One thing that people overlook is the amount of time it takes to get home from work and how long it take to unwhind from work before going to sleep. Once you know the average time it takes from leaving work until you go to sleep, you’ll be able to figure out the optimal time to have your last meal.

Experiment with the size of the last meal you’re eating before going to sleep – you might be able to get away with eating less!

For some people, their last meal before going to sleep might need to be a good size meal, whereas others can get away with just having a light snack. Best to experiment with what works best for you. I would recommend first seeing what it’s like to eat a light last meal, and if it feels good, you don’t get hungry an hour or two later, and you have no problem falling asleep, then continue eating a light last meal. If you do get hungry soon after your last meal, or you are hungry by the time you go to sleep and it’s disrupting your sleep, then definitely increase the quantity or portion of your last meal. Pretty much you are aiming to have your last meal at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep, and that you don’t go to sleep hungry or needing a snack before going to sleep (you also don’t want to go to sleep too full either, so watch the portions, the less you eat before sleeping, the better!). Do some experiments to see how much food you really need!

Absolutely no snacking in between meals while working overnight!

I also recommend not snacking while working on the night shift, eat real meals, and no snacking in between! Also, never eat while you are working or doing things. Best to stop everything and be present with eating your food, you’ll eat much less.