How to Limit/Eliminate Excess Sugar in Your Diet

Sugar, including all the fancy/tricky named relatives and friends of it, is one of the worst things you can eat. It's poisonous. It's as addictive as nicotine. Ever tried to quit smoking without Jonesing like a madman for a lung dart? It consumes your thought process, your body goes through withdrawls...the idea that something we can eat could do that to us...well, that's just crazy to me! Here are just a FEW things that sugar can do to your body. Keep in mind, there are several more...these are just the ones I think are the worst.

Sugar actually suppresses your immune system. WTF?!! It can cause behavioral problems in children, including hyperactivity, temper tantrums, anxiety, and an inability to concentrate. I wonder if all these kids that have been diagnosed with ADHD have a lot of sugar in their diets? If they're typical North American diets with processed foods and sugary "fruit snacks"...well, you do the math. Sugar causes significant increase in triglycerides (aka =FAT...and not the good kind!) and also creates food allergies, and several other diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancers, obesity and arthritis. Again - these are just a FEW of the many horrible things that sugar does to your body. Read "The Sugar Blues" by William Dufty. Your heart will drop into the pit of your stomach.

Because this sneaky little bugger finds its way into almost every food you could possibly think of, you need to look for it in the foods you buy. I actually found sugar in the ingredient list on a perogy filling a while ago if you can believe it. First, you need to know what some of its many names are:

• Sucrose, fructose, dextrose, glucose, (basically anything ending in "ose") and ESPECIALLY glucose-fructose (another name for HFCS in Canada)


• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)


• Cane sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, organic sugar...it's all still sugar and as far as your body knows, it doesn't recognize any of them as healthy.

Syrups like corn syrup and brown rice syrup are also sweeteners and cause an increase in your blood sugar levels, but some not as fast as regular sugar.

If you're reading labels, you often see a number types of sweeteners in one item. For example, it's not uncommon to see things like molasses, honey, brown rice syrup, or cane sugar all together. That doesn't mean it's good for you - it means you need to know that all these things are sweeteners and if there are that many in one item, put it back, walk away and pretend it does not exist. It's especially important for people who are diabetic to know the different names of all these sweetening agents, and that they can cause a significant increase in your blood sugar levels.

Here are some tips for cutting out sugar/limiting your intake

Don't add sugar to your food or coffee.

If you're holding on to any extra weight and stop putting sugar in your cereals and coffee, you'll probably notice some weight loss quite quickly. I don't have sugar anywhere in my house, I'm not even kidding. I've got a friend who comes to my house prepared with her own coffee fixin's whenever she stops by because she knows all I have for adding to coffee in my house is ground cinnamon. She left some of her sugar chemical "creamer" at my house when she was over last weekend, and when she arrived this weekend she was shocked to find that I had thrown it in the garbage. You can't keep the stuff you're poisoning yourself with in my house! By the way - that flavored coffee "creamer" stuff everyone is on to is just not right, and did you know that you can light coffee mate on fire? For reals! FIRE, MAN!! That can't be good for you!

Limit Fat Free and Lite foods. Fat free and lite do not mean "no calories" or "good for you". In fact, they've got more sugar in them than full fat foods. Why? Because when the fat is removed from food, it tastes like crap. In order to get you to eat it, it needs to taste better. Enter: Sugar. And by the way - any of those "snacks" or things in packages pretending to be food are total garbage anyway. Remember, Fat Free & Lite are very different than "lean" when describing protein.

Read Your Labels: Now that you know what sugar is called in every language, you've got to become vigilant about reading labels. I can't stress it enough. Not only are you looking to avoid ingredients you can't pronounce or couldn't see growing in a field somewhere, you're looking for that little Nazi, sugar. It is in everything from bread, to cereals, yogurts, and all sorts of other things you assume are healthy for you. You do not need sugar in your bread, or your mayonnaise - these things taste perfectly fine without it. One of the reasons food industries put this in our food because it is addicting - you will eat more of it and that means more cashola in their pockets.

Avoid fruit juices and sugary drinks: Fruit juice, while it may be 100% pure juice, does not have the fibre in it that the actual fruit does. What that means is that it goes straight to your bloodstream as sugar as it doesn't get digested the way fruit does. It's drinking calories, and that's just such a waste. In general, not a good idea for any of us. And soft drinks are junk - period.

At first, cutting sugar out might seem like things have no taste, but mark my words - once you cut it out and have a taste of a salad dressing that's got sugar in it, you'll notice immediately how horrible and sugary it tastes. This process doesn't take long - give it a week or two. It also doesn't take long to get used to eating sugar again, so pay attention to how much you consume. Most of our taste buds are used to sugar because it is in so many things, but when you get rid of this crap in all your foods, you start to taste the beauty of food - real food. It has so much flavor to enjoy, and doesn't need the garbage added. I'm not saying that we should NEVER eat sugar, because Lord knows I love me a good dessert once in a while - but it's once in a while. It's called Moderation.

Here are some interesting links about the evil that is sugar:

Nancy Appleton - LOADS of information & research about the dangers of sugar.

http://nancyappleton.com/

Amazon - The Sugar Blues

http://www.amazon.ca/Sugar-Blues-William-Dufty/dp/0446343129

And a recent article about how HFCS causes High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38046950/ns/health-heart_health/

I've started a petition to have HFCS banned in Canada and am in the process of collecting signatures. Contact me if you're interested in helping out, or check out the website we have dedicated to this cause.
www.banhfcs.northsun.ca

10 Reasons to Shop at Your Local Farmers Market

I've always been a big believer in supporting local businesses; partly because I think huge corporations like those in the food industry are the devil and will do anything, including poisoning people with chemicals and toxins to make a buck. No-likey! But supporting local businesses are important for many reasons to me.

I've always loved the idea of walking into some funky little store and buying something from the person who owns it. You can always tell when they love what they do, and they're usually pretty interesting people when you talk to them. I am in love with the idea of being able to wander through a market knowing that the produce I'm buying is from a Canadian farmer, and that my purchase in some small way is contributing to keeping him - and his staff - employed. I love that the more of us there are who do this same thing, the more likely he is to succeed and keep providing us with healthy fresh foods. I've just loved watching my friends open their own tea shops, granola businesses, fossil and dinosaur shops (for reals!) hair salons, and on-line Earth friendly baby product stores, seeing them grow and become successful at what they're passionate about. They turn your purchase into an experience in some way and it just FEELS different on so many levels to spend your money with them. With my friends, they all care about something specifically, whether it's the environment, dinosaurs, or providing healthy foods to people. When it comes to making your purchases locally, you'll find that passion is the norm, not the exception (like it is when you go to big stores).

Farmers markets are hands down, one of my favorite things. You get to spend the day outside shopping instead of in the mall, so it almost feels like you're out of town for a couple hours. There are no crazy people mowing you down with shopping carts in a frenzy to get to the cashier before you. People are just nicer to each other at the market; I don't know why that is, but I really like it. Everyone at the market is enjoying a leisurely stroll as they visit each booth, stopping to take a peek here and there at what kinds of gems are next. Home made jewelry and baby clothes (how awesome is that?!), jams and preserves, bunches of flowers, gourmet olives (my favorite!), BC Cherries (my other favorite), organic breads made from all types of flours, and dried fruits. There is always a fantastic variety of fresh produce.

Here are 10 reasons to shop at your local Farmers Market:

1) Fresh fresh fresh seasonal produce! So yummy! So healthy, and so good for you!

2) Lots of organic, whole real foods and local items.

3) The business owners know EXACTLY what is in their food & where it came from. Want to know where their farm is? Ask. Want to know if they've used any pesticides? They'll tell you. Want to know what's in their honey? Ask them. They probably made it with their very own hands and love, so they know the answers.

4) Buying products from the vendors at the farmers markets mean you are keeping a Canadian employed. You're also helping to keep any staff they've got employed. You're helping our economy :-)

5) Lots of yummy, free samples. Farmers Market food just tastes better.

6) You can buy real, homemade perogies from a legit Baba! Everyone knows Baba makes the best perogies, and you know she isn't putting anything like sugar in the filling!

7) You get to try different creations people have made that you've never heard of, and that taste delicious! Things like Pecanuk. Know what that is? It's a delicious, healthy pecan snack one of my friends makes at her granola business. She & her brother (how adorable is that?!) sell these at farmers markets in the Edmonton area. Places like the Farmers Market give them a chance at getting their healthy snacks out to people to try.

8) You get to walk = more exercise, AND you get some sun =Yay vitamin D! And, you might even get a tan (for those of you who are not ghastly white little blonde girls who don't have any skin pigment so can't get a tan, whose friends ask her if she is wearing white nylons when she is wearing a skirt and merely exposing the natural color of her legs. Thanks Carly! )

9) You can pick up almost everything you need for groceries for the week at home in one place (that is, if you're eating healthy, and not looking for boxes of frozen convenient pizzas). The supermarket might be convenient, but so is the Farmer's Market. They have pretty much everything that you need.

10) You get to experience buying something from someone who made, grew or picked their products with their very own hands and heart. You're not only getting food, you're getting food that was made with love, instead of something that was processed by machines and robot ninjas, or people wearing surgical masks. Actually, it would be pretty cool to see a robot ninja make dinner, I'm not going to lie to you, but they just can't love what they do like a real person does.

So, next time you're getting your grocery list ready and heading out to pick up your food for the week, make your first stop at the Farmers Market, and check it out. You'll be supporting local businesses, and it's a great place to find whole, real foods. Here's a link to the Farmers Markets in Alberta, but if you're not from here, just do a search on-line and find out what's going on in your neighborhood.
http://www.albertamarkets.com/

Mindful Eating and Weight Management

As a personal trainer (and a former fat chick!) I can tell you that the biggest obstacle when it comes to people managing their weight is by far, diet. Not being ON a diet, as by know you have probably figured out absolutely NOT a fan or supporter of any diet of any persuasion, but diet period. Diet, by the definition I refer to as "the usual food and drink of an animal or person". Usual is the key word here, and how a person normally eats. What we normally eat on a day-to-day basis. Habitually, regularly, usually...whatever you want to call it.

As a society we are completely obsessed about our weight - not because we are concerned with being a HEALTHY weight for our bodies, but because we're concerned with how we look. We freak out about how much we weigh (which is why I have not stepped on a scale since I was 19 years old and I wanted to DIE!), obsessing about every pound lost & gained, wondering if we're going to be able to wear the bikini this summer, and making ourselves feel guilty if we indulge in foods that we know are fattening. We eat the lousy food, beat ourselves up, hate ourselves even more, and then do it again tomorrow and repeat the cycle. Then we sign up with RIDICULOUS weight loss programs where we eat these packaged, processed, low calorie boxes of things pretending to be food, all in the name of weight loss, because some celebrity did it, and lost 40 pounds. That celebrity got paid to sign up for that program and be their spokesperson, to make you a consumer. They were not paid to care about your health - that's your job.

Okay seriously - let's get over this nonsense already!! I'm not going to lie to you - we all know there's nothing quite like looking at yourself in a pair of jeans and feeling smokin' hot in them, but being a healthy weight is about so much more than the way we look. Along with the vanity, there's a ton of health benefits to being a healthy weight and exercising. Being an unhealthy weight and eating a diet that contributes to it can lead to being at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, premature death, stroke, breathing problems, and social/psychological issues as well. Having excess visceral fat (abdominal/belly fat) puts you at higher risk for these diseases. For women, a waist circumference of 35 inches signals that danger zone, and in men, it's 40 inches. If you think about it, 35 inches really isn't that big. In my opinion, the health risks associated with being an unhealthy weight are a bigger motivator to stay fit, healthy and strong than being obsessed about a number on a scale.

If you want to lose or manage your weight, there is no secret: it's called EXERCISE and EATING RIGHT. Period. For reals, no tricks. Yes, there needs to be a "calorie deficit" if you want to lose weight (by this I mean you need to burn off more calories than you intake if you want to lose weight), but it's not about calorie obsessing. Exercising off the box of Oreos doesn't erase the damage done to your liver, and the inflammation to your arteries that occured when you ate them. By eating right, I mean eating real food. No packaged, processed crap that does not have any nutrition, even if it only has 100 calories. Those 100 calorie packs of food are just empty and nutrition-less - you'd probably find more nutrition in a piece of paper, and you know what - the paper might even taste better! Just exercising 4 times a week and then eating crap doesn't help you either.

Here are some things that help you both lose excessive, unhealthy weight, and maintain and manage a healthy one:

• Exercise. You can't get away from it! Working out with weights specifically keeps your metabolic rate up, and helps you burn fat more efficiently. This is why I am a HUGE fan of circuit training. I just love it, and man, has it changed my body.
• Eat a real food diet built around lean protein, lots of vegetables, and no flour, refined carbohydrates or sugar.
• Keep your starch levels low (they have a high glycemic index), and get your starch from things like oatmeal, legumes and beans.
• Eat more veggies. Their fibre will fill you up, they taste great, and are beneficial to your health for at least 50 bazillion other reasons.
• Eat low sugar fruits like berries, grapefruit and apples. I also love cherries - they've got a low glycemic index and there's no arguing they're deee-lish!
• Eat fibre and then some more. Please, don't eat those fibre bars - have you seen how much sugar is in them?! Toss some flax seeds into your meals. You'll load up on fibre and Omega 3s. Bonus!
• Drink your 8-10 glasses of water a day. See my last blog about water? SO IMPORTANT!
• Don't eat late at night - my personal rule is 9:00 PM. Your body & metabolism slow down at night to prepare your body for rest, and the restoration that occurs overnight. While you're blissfully sleeping away dreaming about your fantasy life, your magnificent body is healing itself, keeping your systems going and getting ready to do it all over again tomorrow. Seriously awesome thing, the human body. We're so lucky!

Remember, the purpose of eating is to provide your body with NUTRITION. Your body needs that nutrition to do its job for you. It is an awesome, sophisticated machine that will do all kinds of things you can't imagine - if you just give it the nutrition it NEEDS. Exercising and eating mindfully will help make you strong, fit and healthy. Get yourself to YOUR healthy weight - the one that's right for your body, and let's all try to focus on being well instead of beating ourselves up over a stinking number on a scale.

The Benefits of Drinking Water

We all know we're supposed to drink lots of water, and that the human body is about 60% to 70% of it, but we never really hear much more than this, other than "drink 8 glasses a day". I thought I'd share with you a few great reasons to increase your water intake and ensure you're getting enough for your body - and what your body needs it for. A person could live without food for about a month - without water - about a week. That's how important it is.

Drinking water is about far more than just quenching your thirst. Your body needs water for virtually everything you do and most of its systems. For example, just the act of breathing and using your lungs uses water - somewhere between 2 and 4 cups a day. What would you do without your breath, and your respiratory system? Umm...I'm not a doctor, but I'm guessing the answer is "die". It's important for all of us to drink water, and the more physically active you are, the more you need to drink. Obviously, because you sweat when you're exercising you're ripping through your water supply, but did you know that because lean muscle has more water than fat tissue does, it requires more water to keep functioning properly? Love your muscles and your gun show? Drink your water, baby.

Here are some quick facts about water and how it works in your ridiculously AWESOME body-machine:

• Your blood is made up mostly of water, and that blood carries nutrients throughout your body. Thank you, blood!
• Your body uses water for digestion, and being properly hydrated can prevent constipation. Reach for some H20 instead of that chemical stuff next time you can't poop. And eat your veggies!
• Water helps all of your organs function properly.
• Human cells need water and without it - they die. Think of the hundreds of trillions of cells in your body, and every one of those needs water to do their job. Come on, man. Hook them up! Look what they're doing for you!!
• Water flushes out bacteria and toxins that are floating around in your body, thereby contributing to all around better health.
• Water helps transport waste out of the body.
• Drinking water can significantly reduce joint or back pain for many sufferers. Please note: if you have severe or chronic joint or back pain, you should see your chiropractor or doctor for a proper diagnosis.
• Water helps regulate your body temperature, and is essential for proper circulation.
• Water helps increase your energy levels. If you're tired - you might just be dehydrated. Drink up, Buttercup!
• Water helps maintain a healthy body weight by regulating your appetite and metabolism
• Water naturally moisturizes your skin, leaving it with a beautiful healthy glow (it's way more effective than your night cream, ladies!)

For those of us who are exercise fanatics, the day after an intense workout can mean you're feeling some serious accumulation of lactic acid build up in your muscles. AKA - it burns!! My clients and class participants are familiar with this term being called "feeling the love", and I tell all of them to keep moving, and...drink more water. That water helps flush it out, which means you're feeling better sooner.

So - how much water should you drink every day? Well, it depends on how active you are, but in general it's suggested that men drink 3 litres per day, and women drink 2.2 litres a day. If you are physically active, are breastfeeding, are in hot climate - you need to increase those numbers. I've attached a link here to the Mayo Clinic & some guidelines they provide to help you figure out if you're getting what you need.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/nu00283

And, if all this isn't enough to get you drinking more water, I've got one more for you. Water is calorie free! CALORIE FREE, PEOPLE!!!

Nutrition and PMS (yes, as in Premenstrual Syndrome)

Ah....PMS. The Monthly Monster that hijacks most of us women, and takes us on a completely undesirable trip to Crazytown. Once we arrive at our destination, we can expect to see our good friends Mood Swing, Crampy Magee, Mr. Migraine, the Backaches, Complete Exhaustion and many others. While I don't have any official scientific studies to back up what I'm about to share with you, if you (or your Jekyll/Hyde wife who you really love most days) suffers from symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, you might be interested in reading a little further about my "unofficial/official findings" with my supplement customers and me with regards to minimizing and in some cases, completely eliminating symptoms of PMS by taking proper supplements. Sounds like an urban legend...not suffering from PMS...but it's possible!

Just about 3 years ago, I started taking USANA supplements (I loved them so much, I started selling them) because I was feeling tired all the time. The vitamins I started taking helped sort all of this out for me, but one of the most noticeable differences I experienced was with PMS. Symptoms had minimized, and some completely disappeared within two months. The only thing that had changed in my diet was the supplements, so I decided to ask another lady I knew was on the supplements if she'd noticed any similar changes since she'd started. Indeed, she had.

Since then, every female client or customer I have that has made these supplements part of their daily routine either no longer suffers from PMS, or their symptoms have become far less intense or disappeared. All of us are taking essentially the same supplements (multivitamins, multi minerals, calcium, and a special PMS tablet designed by USANA), with some individual exceptions based on needs, etc. Some of these symptoms were breast tenderness, being bloated, tired/lack of any energy, ridiculous cravings for horrible food, cramps, irritability/mood swings/semi-psychotic episodes, crying for no reason or at fast food commercials, migraine headaches, back pain, general hatred for their spouse, occasional urges to run over jaywalkers, and the list goes on. One of my girlfriends used to get migraines for an entire week - suddenly, they're gone. She also noticed that her husband and children were "much less annoying" than they usually were for a week out of the month. Hmm...I'm guessing all of the other people in the house didn't all get together and say "hey! let's be less annoying this month!" Coincidence with the proper nutrition? Oh, I don't think so.

I started thinking...so many of us suffer from PMS and have always felt we could do nothing about it. We'd grab a bag of Cheetos, put on our fat pants, sit on the sofa feeling sorry for ourselves and bitching at who ever is breathing next to us because they're louder and more irritating than normal, wondering when they would just stop it already, crying, and being mad while we stuffed our faces and wished for the week to be over. Dudes who clearly do not fear for their own lives say things like "it's just an excuse to be a bitch", usually not within ear shot of their wives. Feeling this way is totally not cool - for us, or for those around us. The reality is, that some women have a terrible go of things each month, and that is no joke. It can make for some funny stories in retrospect, later on, when the PMS is gone and there is no chance of others being harmed, but really - it's so much easier to just feel better than to go through that all the time.


So, while I don't see anyone doing any official research anytime soon on how adequate nutrition and vitamins can help ease or eliminate signs and symptoms of PMS anytime soon, I can say it's worked for me, and several others in my circle. I personally believe that people who are eating a balanced, healthy diet, exercising, listening to their bodies, being mindful, and taking good quality supplements (since most of our food simply doesn't have the same nutrition it used to: GMO much?) will live in much healthier, happier bodies. I've personally experienced changes in my health by living this way.

As part of the Sisterhood, I believe it is my responsibility to share that bit of info with all of you, especially considering something as simple as proper supplementation is what fixed things for me and my friends. You're free do to with it what you like. If you'd like to know more about what we're taking, send me a message and I'd be happy to share it with you & help you find what you might need. If you're one of the lucky beeatches who's never had PMS - you are a legend, and the envy of all of us. And, if you're happy with being miserable once a month then dig out your fat pants & cheeto on, man!