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.
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
Journal Prompts for ED Recovery
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...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Phosphorus
Phosphorous is the second most plentiful mineral in our bodies. The average adult has approximately 750 grams of the mineral in their body. But what exactly does this mineral do to keep us healthy? It turns out, quite a lot. Role of Phosphorus in the Body Our bodies...
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Copper
As a trace mineral, copper is often overlooked when we think about all the micronutrients that our bodies need. However, this micronutrient plays a huge role in supporting our health. Role of Copper in the Body Our bodies need copper to build many enzymes that are...
Micronutrient Monday: Selenium
Unlike most vitamins and macro-minerals, you probably have not heard too much about selenium before. Selenium is a micro-mineral. Meaning that our body only needs small amounts of it. There are two different forms of selenium, organic and inorganic. Now, this is not...
Supporting Your Immune System with Food
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
Vitamin B5 is also known as pantothenic acid. Like all other B vitamins, pathogenic acid is a water-soluble vitamin. Keep reading to learn more about this essential vitamin including where to find it, and how it supports our health. Role of Vitamin B5 in the Body...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Vitamin B3 is also commonly known as niacin. It is another one of the eight water-soluble B vitamins that our bodies need to function at their best. Vitamin B9 also comes in different structures including nicotinic acid, nicotinamide or niacinamide. You can learn more...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B9 (Folate)
Vitamin B9 is also known as folate. It is one of eight water-soluble vitamins that are part of our diet. Although there are 8 B vitamins, they are not numbered 1 to 8.
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Iodine
Iodine plays an essential role in the production of thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Our bodies use these thyroid hormones to regulate many reactions, including building proteins and metabolism. Additionally, thyroxine and triiodothyronine are required for the proper growth and development of skeletal and nervous systems in fetuses and young children. Research also suggests that iodine supports our immune response to infections.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Iron
Iron is another mineral that our bodies need to carry out a lot of functions that keep us healthy and plays a central role in our ability to do our day-to-day tasks.
Antioxidants, Simplified.
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Zinc
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Chloride
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.
Chlorophyll Drops: A Waste of Money?
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,...
Micronutrient Monday: Calcium
Calcium isn’t a vitamin, but an important mineral that supports many tissues, organ systems and functions throughout our body.
Role of Food in Mental Health: Our Second Brain
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Magnesium
Magnesium is another one of the essential micronutrients that support our health. Magnesium can be found inside our cells and bones, which can make it hard to assess our magnesium status. Additionally, there are many sources of magnesium including in our food, dietary supplements and through some medications.
Micronutrient Monday: Sodium
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.
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.
Everything You Need to Know About Fats: The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Potassium
Not all micronutrients are vitamins, some are minerals such as potassium, sodium and iron. Minerals are sometimes referred to as macro-minerals and trace minerals based on how much we need of them in our diet. Potassium is one of the macro-minerals. Role in the Body...
Reasons Why You NEED Fibre in Your Diet
I’m sure many of you have heard at one point or another, that you should eat more fibre. But what is fibre? What are the benefits of fibre? And why should we be eating more of it? Fibre is a carbohydrate that is resistant to digestion and helps to promote gut...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1, commonly known as thiamin, was the first of six B vitamins to be discovered. Like all other B vitamins, thiamin is a water-soluble vitamin that is not stored in the body in large amounts.
Sustainable Eating Habits and the Many Benefits
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin K
Vitamin K is the one of four fat-soluble vitamins. You can learn more about all the other fat-soluble vitamins by checking out the Micronutrient Monday series.
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is one of eight B vitamins. B12 is often cobalamin due to the cobalt found at the centre of the vitamin’s structure, and helps prevent the development of anemia.
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin A
Vitamin A is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). Unlike water-soluble vitamins, excess amounts of fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body, and if consumed too much, can reach dangerous levels.
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.
5 Tips for Finding a Good Online Weight-Loss Program
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B2
Vitamin B2 isn’t nearly as popular or trendy as vitamin C, but it’s still an important micronutrients for keeping us healthy. Often known as riboflavin, vitamin B2 is a water-soluble naturally found in some foods, added to some food products, and...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin C
At some point in your life, someone has probably suggested you take vitamin C to fend off a cold, or prevent you from getting one in the first place.
But what is this miracle vitamin thats protects us from all these germs?
Vitamin C (sometimes called L-ascorbic acid) is one (of many) water-soluble vitamins that we require to stay healthy. It can be found abundantly throughout our diet, and developing a deficiency is quite rare.
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.
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 (also known as pyridoxine) is one of eight B vitamins. Our bodies are not able to produce vitamin B6, so we need to get this vitamin from our foods and supplements.
Unlike vitamins D and E, vitamin B6 (and all the other B vitamins) is water-soluble. This means that excess amounts of the vitamin are not stored in the body, but rather lost in urine.
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.
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...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin E
Vitamin E is one of four fat-soluble vitamins. vitamin E is not one vitamin but rather a collection of eight fat-soluble compounds with distinctive antioxidant functions that support our health.
Making Nutrition Facts Easy: Is It Really Healthy?
I’m forever looking for new snacks or products to try out. The other day I found myself browsing through the supermarket and picked up a bag of chips that sounded healthy — I mean, it had “veggie” in its name. The brand name itself suggested that the...
Micronutrient Monday: Vitamin D
Vitamin D is one of four fat-soluble vitamins we need to maintain our health. In addition to vitamin D’s well-known role in maintaining strong bones and teeth, it also promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorous and supports our immune system. %...
3 Reasons to Work with a Dietitian This Summer
When there’s so much nutrition information out there, why work with a dietitian? Well, there’s plenty of reasons people with dietitians, from as simple as accountability and support to knowledge growth and management of chronic diseases. 3 Reasons to Work...
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...
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,...
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...
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.
“I’m Eating Healthy But Not Losing Weight
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...
Benefits of Eating In-Season
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...
Fuelling YOUR Body
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....
5 Reasons You Should Be Meal Planning
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Your Mood and Microbiome
Improve Your Mood with Food: Starting with the Microbiome Let’s unpack some of the exciting (and preliminary) new research about the link between gut health, mood, and stress. This week we’ll talk about your friendly resident gut microbes, probiotic foods, and...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Managing Your Weight with Hypothyroidism
Thyroid problems can cause several seemingly unrelated issues throughout the body. These include changes to your weight, energy, digestion, and mood. These are all linked to the thyroid because it directs important processes that happen throughout the body and makes...
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...
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...