working with a dietitian
It can be hard to know where to start when you’re new to journalling, but don’t let that blank page stop you. You can find journal prompts to get to started below. Benefits of Journalling There are many benefits to journaling both in day-to-day life and...
Cooking for COVID-19 Long-Haulers
Did you know that chloride was one of the essential nutrients our bodies need to function at their best? Chloride can sometimes be an overlooked mineral as it can abundantly be found in our diet and rarely requires supplementation.
Craving Change? Consider Emotional Eating Therapy
Did you know that Craving Change is Canada’s #1 CBT program for problematic eating? No more guessing why you can’t make the changes, or they won’t seem to stick! Discover why! You’d rather eat the carrot cake than the carrot You go to buy milk and...
nutrition counseling in Parksville
Seeing your health practitioner virtually used to be reserved for accessing specialists remotely but now you can meet many of your health needs online these days. Tele-health is still a relatively new approach to health care, but has been shown to be very effective...
Contemplating Changing Your Eating Habits?
In this series we are talking about what to do when a new diagnosed health issue comes up, and what are the things you are going to need to do to create the best plans of action, in order to create the best outcome for your health as possible. You’ve Gotten a...
COVID-19 and Vitamin D
If you want a controversial vitamin, vitamin D takes the cake. It isn’t even a vitamin in the sense that most vitamins are co-factors where this special vitamin is a prohormone that the skin can make itself with exposure to sunlight. Very weird. Vitamins are...
Choosing the BEST Weight Loss Diet
It is that time of year again when many of your friends and family are researching the best weight loss diet or exercise program. Whether it’s trying to lose weight gained over the holidays or making a New Years’ resolution to be healthier, It’s easy to feel pressured into doing the same. This blog post discusses some of the most popular weight-loss diets and highlights the best way to lose weight.
Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss
There is no shortage of information available to the public regarding various forms of intermittent fasting and the health benefits of such practices. In contrast, there is a shortage of evidence-based support for Intermittent fasting that can be used to generate...
Controlling Your Blood Pressure with Nutrition
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on many aspects of our physical, mental and emotional health. Research shows that there has been a steady rise in blood pressure during the pandemic. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can have an impact on many...
How Much Coffee is Too Much Coffee?
For some people, coffee is what makes the world. It is the sun in the morning and the moon at night. Without it, life just would not be the same. Especially mornings, they would be a lot longer without a daily jolt of caffeine.
The Stages of Change with a New Health Diagnosis
This has been a stressful year for many. With stress comes new health issues, or underlying health issues that have come to the surface. There are also many people who have been scared to go to their doctor or to emergency when they aren’t feeling well, and this in...
Surprising Benefits of Frozen Meals
Frozen meals are often dubbed as “unhealthy”, ultra-processed foods that you should avoid in a healthy diet. But in some ways, frozen foods do play a role in supporting a healthy diet. Many frozen meals contain high amounts of nutrients that we typically want to...
Managing Your Weight with Hypothyroidism
Thyroid problems can cause several seemingly unrelated issues throughout the body such as changes in energy levels, weight, digestion and even mood. The thyroid helps control many important processes throughout the body, including metabolism, which can make weight...
Taking Action and Choosing Food like a Dietitian!
Shifting Gears from Preparing to Act to Action to choose Nutritionist Food The next step in our process of healing is taking action to get yourself some nutritionist food! During the preparation stage, we were getting our life organized to take the steps we need to...
Are Carbohydrates Bad?
What are Carbohydrates? Are They Bad for You? No, carbs aren’t inherently bad (more on this below). Carb is short for carbohydrates. Carbs are one of the three main macronutrients in the diet. Macro, as in large, means they’re large components of your diet. Just like...
Top Reasons Why You’re Still Hungry
Do you find you’re still hungry after eating a meal? There are a couple reasons why you might still be hungry.
Healthy Carbohydrates for Weight Loss
What is the Ideal Amount of Carbohydrates for Weight Loss Changing eating habits are hard and even harder when hearing about all the diets available. There’s a lot of online buzz about low carb diet for weight loss Some say they are amazing for weight loss. Others...
Vegetarian Choices for Pre-diabetes: Excellent for Stable Blood Sugar
Explore dietary strategies for pre-diabetics with a vegetarian focus. Learn how to manage your health!
Demystifying Nutrition Information
Nothing drives me crazier than people being taken by scam artists. It hurts my heart. Many websites are out there spreading disinformation. Dr Joe Dispenza’s website with this meme provides a good example. When a guru like Dr Joe Dispenza quotes nutrition...
Should I Be Using a CGM?
What is a CGM? A CGM is a continuous glucose monitor. It is a small system that monitors your blood glucose (sugar) levels in real-time. This means it can show you how your blood sugar changes in response to different foods and meals. Benefits of a CGM CGMs were...
Impact of Weight Stigma on Eating Disorders
How many times have you been screened for an eating disorder before being told to lose weight? None, right? Unfortunately, this is a very common practice. People are often told to lose weight without first being assessed for a history, or presence, of an eating...
Eating Disorders in the BIPOC Community
As I mentioned in an earlier article, eating disorders can affect anyone. They don’t discriminate against age, gender, socioeconomic status or even your genetic predisposition to being slim. However, we are being to find that there are higher rates of eating disorders...
Need a Weight Loss Dietitian? How’s Your Thyroid?
Can a Weight Loss Dietitian Help If I Have Hypothyroidism? You might be asking yourself: How to lose weight? Sometimes it’s hard to lose weight because you have a thyroid problem because it can cause several seemingly unrelated issues throughout the body. A...
Why Your Healthy Diet Isn’t Helping Your Weight Loss
Many people often associate eating healthy foods with weight loss. Healthy foods are thought to give our bodies what they need to stay healthy while limiting “junk” or “bad” foods that cause us to put on weight. But healthy eating and weight...
Building an IBS-Friendly Breakfast
Has your breakfast been causing some uncomfortable bloating, or stomach cramping? You’re not the only one. In fact, many people with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) avoid breakfast because they are trying to avoid the symptoms that start shortly after. But, what many...
How to Conquer Your Nutrition Goals
Table of Contents Toggle What are SMART Goals?Make a SMART ResolutionExamples of SMART Nutrition GoalsHow a Registered Dietitian Can HelpEstablishing Your Goal Identifying Areas Identifying To Work OnProviding Tools and KnowledgeAccess to Accountability &...
Eating for Gut Health and Mental Health
The link between foods in our diet and our mental health actually begins in our digestive tract. Our digestive tract is also known as the “second brain” due its rich network of nerves and variety of neurochemicals produced by our gut bacteria. These neurochemicals made in our gut are used by our brains to regulate both physiological and mental processes — including our mood.
How Does Your Diet Affect Your Mental Health
How Does Diet Affect Our Mental Health? Although we don’t know the exact recipe for eliminating anxiety from our lives completely, there is plenty of evidence showing the impact of our diet on our mental health. A review of 21 studies found the typical Western...
Discover Safe Foods to Eat with Celiac Disease
Gluten-Free Diet
Learn about celiac disease and how to start a gluten-free diet. Schedule your consultation today!
Do I Have an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are behavioural conditions that are characterized by irregular eating behaviours, thoughts and attitudes towards food, eating and body image. Eating disorders may be used as a way to feel in control or to cope with difficult situations. Eating...
Eating Breakfast with IBS
Many people with IBS avoid breakfast because they are avoiding the symptoms that begin shortly after. What people don’t realize is that certain foods that are prone to give you IBS symptoms are very commonly eaten at breakfast.
Benefits of Exercise for Heart Health
Learn about the benefits of exercise on improving your heart health and reducing your risk of chronic diseases.
Making Heart-Healthy Choices
There are a few different tests that your doctor looks at when determining your heart health. Some tests are physical, such as stress tests or electrocardiograms (ECGs), while measures require you to complete blood work. Some of the parameters measured using blood...
How to Choose Healthy Fats for Your Diet
Learn about the types of fat found in foods and how to choose healthy fats for your diet to reduce your risk of chronic diseases.
Foods for Depression
When you feel down what do you feel like doing? Binge watching your favorite series (again)? Calling a trusted friend? Having a nap? Grabbing comfort foods? Any of these strategies can make you feel better and temporarily boost our moods, as they often do. But, what...
Finding FODMAPs in Your Food
There are many different foods that contain high amounts of FODMAPs. For those individuals living with IBS, or other GI-related conditions, limiting the consumption of these foods and drinks may help relieve symptoms and support gut healing. For more information on...
How to Choose a Weight Loss Diet
When we are looking for a weight loss plan or a weight loss program, we need to take the time to research, do our homework, and learn what are the bad diet red flags to choose a diet that works for us as an individual. Sounds like quite the task doesn’t it? It is true...
Low FODMAP Diet Decoded
The low FOMDAP diet essentially removes foods with high contents of FODMAPs from your diet.
5 Reasons You Should Be Meal Planning – delete this
We’ve all said we’re going to give meal planning a try, but how many of us actually follow through with it? Meal planning sounds like a whole ton of effort that results in restrictive eating habits, but that’s far from true? On top of making us feel...
3 Things You Need to Know About FODMAPs
Over the past two years, many of us have found a new appreciation for our immune system. Our immune system protects our bodies against infections from bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Without it, our bodies would become overrun with foreign materials which may...
Tips for Managing Bad Body Image Days
How many times have you been screened for an eating disorder before being told to lose weight? None, right? Unfortunately, this is a very common practice. People are often told to lose weight without first being assessed for a history, or presence, of an eating...
Making Nutrition Facts Easy: Is It Really Healthy?
Table of Contents Toggle Why It’s Important to Read Nutrition Facts LabelsSteps for Reading Nutrition Facts Labels1. Check out the Serving Size2. Check the Calories3. Look at the Macronutrients FatsCarbohydratesProtein4. Look at the Micronutrients5. Check the...
Delicious Zucchini Recipes: A Guide to Nutritious Low-Calorie Meals
Zucchini is not only a versatile vegetable but also a powerhouse of nutrition, making it an excellent choice for those looking to maintain a low-calorie diet and stay hydrated.
Note: written with help of AI and not yet verified.
Brain-Boosting Foods
Our brains are the command centre of our bodies. They play a role in essentially everything we do from simple movements to storing memories and our personalities. This is why it is so important to keep our brains working at their best, and our diets can play a role in that!
Addressing Anemia with Your Diet
You probably know that anemia is a condition where you do not have enough healthy red blood cells to move oxygen around your body. But I bet you did not know that there are more than 5 different types of anemia. Additionally, anemia itself is not a disease but rather...
Managing Your Mood with Carbohydrates
Changing eating habits are hard and even harder when hearing about all the diets available. There’s a lot of online buzz about low carb diets. Some say they are amazing for weight loss. Others warn that they can increase your risk of heart disease. And who isn’t...
Brain Food for Mood
The gut and brain are interconnected more than we previously thought—new research is proving it. These discoveries have huge potential to help people with gut issues by feeding it the best brain food. And help people with mental health or mood issues with help from...
Satisfy Your Appetite with Food Delivery
Please note I make a commission if you decide to make a purchase using my affiliate link. I am affiliated with HelloFresh because I use HelloFresh myself and I love it because it keeps ready to prepare meals coming to my door each week. Get Your Hello Fresh Box on...
Holiday Hacks: 3 Time-Saving Kitchen Tips
The holidays look a lot different for most of us this year: holiday parties, school concerts, family gatherings, shopping, and vacations may not be happening quite the same way – yet somehow we will all still be VERY busy. Give yourself the gift of taking some...
New Year’s Resolution: 30-Day Challenge
Welcome to 2021. As the year wraps up, as tradition calls for it, you need a resolution! Your #pandemic15 weight gain didn’t budge and the time is now for your 2021 diet challenge! Are Your Ready for Your 2021 Diet Challenge? You are motivated to make the...
Clear Your New Year’s Resolution Nutrition Confusion
Confused About Nutrition? Start Here. Nutrition can be confusing. There is so much information out there, and much of it is flawed, misinterpreted, or flat-out false. Why do nutrition and food myths exist? Some reasons relate to who is putting the nutrition...
Leafy Greens
5 Not-So-Basic Leafy Greens When it comes to leafy greens, most of us rely on the basics like romaine, leaf lettuce and spinach week after week – and while all of these provide health benefits, there is a huge selection of leafy greens in the produce aisle that...
Preparing to Change Your Diet
The third blog in this series involves the step of contemplation when we are diagnosed with a new illness or disease. The question is what are the steps involved in the contemplation process, what comes first? Do I move into the preparation stage just by changing my...
Eating for Health
So now you are at the action stage where you are eating for health. You are at the stage that you have put all your systems together and are going full steam ahead. You have decided on the different health care professionals you are going to continue to work with, you...
Tips for Reading Food Labels
Reading food labels can be a chore. How often do you plant your butt against the side of the aisle and inspect your food choices. Sometimes it is by necessity we have to because we have an allergy or an intolerance to a certain food, and other times it is just because...
Nutrition Claims and Marketing
Be Careful of Marketing Nutrition Claims Promising You Better Health Have you ever noticed all the marketing nutrition claims that are out there? Typically, when you see a health claim on someone’s marketing there is something misleading right in the headline that...
Personalized Nutrition: Why Eating for Your Needs Matters
Almost all of us have had a friend, family member, or co-worker suggest a diet or exclusion of a particular food based on personal experience. But despite their good intentions, what worked for them will not necessarily work for you. This is because we are all unique....
How Stress Impacts Our Eating Habits
By now most, if not all, of us know that mental stress can have an effect on our physical health. It affects many different areas of our physical health, from changes in blood pressure to teeth grinding and breakouts. It can even have an effect on our diet — and it...
The Nutritional Value of Eating Food You Love
Did you know that foods we enjoy can be more nutritious than foods we don’t like? It’s true! Get comfy and buckle up — this blog post is quite the ride. Our digestion (and absorption) of food is influenced by many different factors. Including what we ate,...
Low Calorie, High FODMAP
Normally, low-calorie sweeteners pose no risk to us (unless consuming in huge amounts) but, they can be troublesome for individuals with GI conditions. But for some, this could be aggravating GI conditions and triggering unpleasant symptoms.
Why Can’t I Stop Eating?
Have you found yourself munching on snacks all day long? Or snacking on foods that you don’t even like, just for the sake of snacking? You might be emotional eating. What Is Emotional Eating? In simple terms, emotional eating is eating when you’re not...
5 Ways to Make Your Diet More Heart Healthy
Did you know that heart disease is the 2nd leading cause of death in Canada? Diet can play a big role in reducing the risk and preventing heart disease.
Top 5 Foods to Avoid for Weight Loss
Weight loss doesn’t just happen overnight, and any diet promising to help you drop 10 pounds in a week is definitely too good to be true. Weight loss takes time and changes in not just your lifestyle but also your diet too.
Sustainable Eating Habits and the Many Benefits
There’s so secret that diet plays a huge role in keeping us healthy, as well as in the management of many chronic conditions.
There is more to sustainable eating habits than simply eating well-balanced and nutritious meals all the time.
Are Chlorophyll Drops a Waste of Monday?
Social media has been buzzing with chlorophyll drops. Many influencers have been encouraging people to add these green drops to their water and other drinks to boost their health. But as many people know, influencers aren’t the best source of health information,...
Creating SMART Nutrition Resolutions
Creating SMART goals will help you to make sure you have everything you need to start, continue and accomplish your New Year’s health goals.
What is RED-S, and How to Spot It.
RED-S is short for relative energy deficiency in sport and was previously known as the female athlete triad. It is a disorder that is characterized by low energy levels, amenorrhea and low bone mineral density, and is diagnosed by a healthcare professional. This...
Plant-Based Sources of Micronutrients
If you are considering shifting to a more plant-based diet, you may be wondering if you are going to get all the vitamins and minerals that your body needs without meat. In short, the answer is yes! Meat and animal-based products are the primary sources of some...
Your Mood and Microbiome
Discover how your gut microbiome affects your emotions as research reveals that the microbes in your digestive system play a role in both digestion and mood. By supporting these helpful microbes with a balanced diet full of probiotics and prebiotics, you can improve your mental health and strengthen the connection between your body and mind. Try new recipes that highlight these ingredients, making meals a source of joy and energy while nurturing your gut-brain connection.
Tips for a Healthy Holiday Season
The holiday season brings in many things, including parties and get-togethers (even when they look a little bit different). Food can be a very stressful aspect of the holidays with all the parties and get-togethers, especially for people who are managing chronic diseases, intolerances or allergies. So, I’ve pulled together some of my favourite tips to help you have a healthy holiday season!
Discovering Healthy Restaurants Near You, With Love, Canadian-Owned
Healthy Restaurants
Explore healthy restaurant options tailored to your nutrition needs. Start dining wisely!
Benefits of Eating Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
You might be wondering what “eating in season” is, or “even whats the big deal about it?”. Well, “eating in season” means to eating foods that are seasonably available. A simple example would be, eating berries in berry picking...
How to find Canadian-Made Foods for a Healthy Diet
Canadian-made foods
Explore healthy Canadian-made foods for a nutritious diet. Discover seasonal options and meal ideas!
Note: not verified by a dietitian.
What Is IBS and Why Does Your Diet Matter?
It is currently estimated that 10 to 20% of the world’s population experience IBS. Studies report that women and people under the age of 50 are experiencing higher rates of IBS, with Canada reporting one of the highest rates of IBS across the globe. Additionally, research has shown that women with IBS are more likely to experience symptoms during their periods.
