Lose all the weight you want, get all the nutrition you'll ever need for life, be healthier than everyone else in the world, it will only cost you blah blah blah.
I hate nutritional products.... no scratch that, I hate fad diet products pretending to be nutritional products.
I am not a big fan of supplementation in general. It has it's place- if for whatever reason you can't get what you need from food, supplement! I think everyone who lives in Canada should be supplementing with Vitamin D, because we don't get enough and the quality of what we get from our sun, isn't as much as it should be. I'm okay with multivitamins to get your nutrition up, or for kids who sometimes don't eat as much as they should.
I hate all these companies trying to sell people on their health products that is "guaranteed" to help you get healthy, lose weight, and be happy!
If you want to lose weight, get healthy and be happy- eat healthy foods you love, do exercises that you love, and be happy!
My biggest problem with a lot of the products (shakes especially) is that they typically try to jam all your daily nutrients into one shake... why not just stab your liver and kidneys with a knife? Your body isn't meant to get all it's nutrients in one dose, or one hour, or several hours... that's why people are supposed to eat small portions frequently throughout the day. If you bombard your body all at ones, first of all you're not going to absorb the nutrients. That's basic biology. That's why most people have glowing pee after a multivitamin. Bye bye nutrients! You will absorb some of it, but the rest of it is just wasted. Your body can only deal with so much at a time... not only deal, but use. The rest of it, it has to get rid of- this puts unneeded stress on your body- your kidneys, liver and intestines especially.
Also shake or liquid dependent diets are screwing up your digestive system. There's a reason we chew food- it releases enzymes, it sends signals to your vagus nerve that we should start digesting, it does a lot of great stuff! People will tell you that shakes and juices are good for your body- it takes stress off your intestines, your gallbladder doesn't have to work as hard, etc etc... guess what? Our bodies like to work, and while they don't like being over stressed, they also don't like having nothing to do. Know the saying Use it or Lose it? Our bodies take that seriously. If you aren't using something, most of the time your body will divert it's energy into doing something else. Not using that enzyme? no more enzyme for you! (That's one of the reasons people who are vegetarians for years and years will get sick if they eat meat, or why Jewish people or Muslims will get very sick if they accidentally eat pork, they don't have the capability to digest it properly).
These diets are not nutrition based. They are scams dressed up pretty that prey on people who want to be healthier.
Being healthy is free (plus the cost of food ;) ).
I went on a 2 hour walk today, it was lovely, it didn't cost me a dime.
(As a side note: I do pay $10/month for a gym membership, but there are even ways around that. It's really just pure laziness on my part when it comes to strength training. It's just easier to use the machines at the gym... although lifting babies and toddlers is a pretty good workout in itself!)
Fresh fruits and vegetables are CHEAP if you buy in season. Farmers Markets are plentiful. I spent $30 at the grocery store and have enough food for at least a week (and that included $6 for organic free range eggs), grains are cheap if you purchase from a bulk store, meat... yeah I can't help you there, but meat is something that you should spend money on to get good quality, if you eat it. Better cuts of meat equal better nutrition.
Be cautious, be wary, everyone knows there's no such thing as a quick fix... so don't fall for things that promise it. Even if you lose weight, it isn't healthy.
Stay Healthy!
The Healthy Rants of a sometimes healthy mature University student.
Monday 19 September 2011
Sunday 4 September 2011
The post where I blab about being a Nutritionist.
One of my favourite things about my job as a Nutritionist, is doing Vitamin and Mineral deficiency assessments. It's just so cool.
It was my favourite part of my program to learn. To be able to figure out what someone is likely deficient it, and why is just so interesting to me.
I fell in love with the fact that it's done through software, since bloodwork doesn't test for everything. It looks at what you are eating, any signs and symptoms you have, and compares the two against each other. You then have to use your many hours of education to analyze the results and make recommendations. I like seeing the trends though. People with similar lifestyles tend to be deficient in the same things.
Stressed out, overworked people, need more Bs, Calcium and Magnesium usually. Those are some of your biggest stress vitamins and minerals, so it makes sense, but seeing it on paper (or computer screen) just reinforces that.
I would say about 80% of people I see are deficient in Calcium, Magnesium or Potassium. Sometimes all 3!
Every time I analyze a teenager, I always wonder at their deficiencies. It almost always contains at least one or two "weird" (or less common) minerals. I think it's mostly because teenagers tend to eat a lot of the same things over and over again. They know what they like... or more importantly, they know what they don't like. I feel like a lot of adults will make some concessions to eat things that we don't necessarily like, but that we know are good for us. (an adult will eat a tomato on a sandwich or burger, even if they don't like it, whereas a teenager or child wont let that tomato anywhere near their plate if they don't like them).
Some of it is the idea of the food too. One of the boys I nanny for HATES, HATES, HATES tomatoes... but loves tomato sauce (pasta sauce, pizza sauce), or if it's chopped up inside of a quesadilla... pretty much he hates tomatoes... unless he doesn't know they are there. I think it's more the idea of a tomato than the actual tomato (although he also hates ketchup so there's some consistency there. If you ask him if he wants ketchup, he looks at you as though you were offering him cyanide.)
I do vitamin and mineral deficiency assessments on myself every few months, because I change my eating habits every few months. It's always neat to see how my own needs fluctuate with the seasons.
I definitely recommend them to everyone. It's important to make sure you are giving your body all the things it needs to be happy, and...
Stay Healthy.
It was my favourite part of my program to learn. To be able to figure out what someone is likely deficient it, and why is just so interesting to me.
I fell in love with the fact that it's done through software, since bloodwork doesn't test for everything. It looks at what you are eating, any signs and symptoms you have, and compares the two against each other. You then have to use your many hours of education to analyze the results and make recommendations. I like seeing the trends though. People with similar lifestyles tend to be deficient in the same things.
Stressed out, overworked people, need more Bs, Calcium and Magnesium usually. Those are some of your biggest stress vitamins and minerals, so it makes sense, but seeing it on paper (or computer screen) just reinforces that.
I would say about 80% of people I see are deficient in Calcium, Magnesium or Potassium. Sometimes all 3!
Every time I analyze a teenager, I always wonder at their deficiencies. It almost always contains at least one or two "weird" (or less common) minerals. I think it's mostly because teenagers tend to eat a lot of the same things over and over again. They know what they like... or more importantly, they know what they don't like. I feel like a lot of adults will make some concessions to eat things that we don't necessarily like, but that we know are good for us. (an adult will eat a tomato on a sandwich or burger, even if they don't like it, whereas a teenager or child wont let that tomato anywhere near their plate if they don't like them).
Some of it is the idea of the food too. One of the boys I nanny for HATES, HATES, HATES tomatoes... but loves tomato sauce (pasta sauce, pizza sauce), or if it's chopped up inside of a quesadilla... pretty much he hates tomatoes... unless he doesn't know they are there. I think it's more the idea of a tomato than the actual tomato (although he also hates ketchup so there's some consistency there. If you ask him if he wants ketchup, he looks at you as though you were offering him cyanide.)
I do vitamin and mineral deficiency assessments on myself every few months, because I change my eating habits every few months. It's always neat to see how my own needs fluctuate with the seasons.
I definitely recommend them to everyone. It's important to make sure you are giving your body all the things it needs to be happy, and...
Stay Healthy.
Thursday 1 September 2011
Greenwashing
I am going to deviate a bit from Nutrition for a minute here, and talk about Greenwashing.
Natural Products are often geared towards people who eat well, since it's become a lifestyle for a lot of people. One of my many jobs is working for a wonderful all natural laundry detergent company... and in doing so I have become more educated... and more angry about the so-called "Natural" product industry.
Greenwashing is when a company tells you their product is All Natural, or Green, but it still has harmful chemicals.
There is a very popular company in Canada (it's actually an international company) that likes to market their products as All Natural, Vegetarian, Ethical and environmentally-friendly. I once got into an argument with a girl at said company because I politely declined to try one of their products. When asked why, I (still polite at this point!) said it contained Parabens. She replied by saying "Oh you're allergic to them?" in a slightly condescending way. When I went on to explain that I was against the use of Parabens in cosmetics because they are Xenoestrogens, she continued (much more condescending at this point) to say "Oh like blueberries". I went on (at this point no longer polite and used a tone even more condescending than hers) to say "Uhh no, those are PHYTOestrogens, not Xenoestrogens). The fact that she is trying to compare something that is potentially harmful to the body with something that is beneficial to the body, in order to sell a product pisses me of.
So lets talk about Xenoestrogens for a minute. Xenoestrogens are foreign estrogens, usually industrial in nature. Parabens, Phthalates (being phased out in Canada), BPA (Now banned in Canada), PCBs (Mostly banned due to their Toxicity classification and endocrine disruption).
Parabens are used as a preservative in cosmetics and beauty products. They do a great job at preserving! There are inconclusive studies about the effects Parabens on the reproductive system. There are studies proving that Parabens have a estrogen activity, but whether or not they can be linked to things like cancer and endometriosis have not been proven... they also haven't been disproved either. Women with reproductive cancers are typically told to avoid parabens and other xenoestrogens to be safe... To. Be. Safe. So why isn't everyone avoiding them as a precaution? A recent study in Texas showed paraben traces inside of breast tumours. This study has launched additional research into what the link is between the two.
Health Canada says "Phthalates are a family of chemicals commonly used as plasticizers that have a large number of industrial and commercial applications." and that "Research shows that phthalates may adversely affect reproduction and development.". Health Canada is working to restrict CERTAIN phthalates. Check out: Health Canada's Fact Sheet on Phthalates to see which ones they have declared health risks (then check your cosmetics, some of them are used in perfumes, nail polish, lipsticks etc.)
SLS/SLES: sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Sodium laureth sulfate/sodium lauryl ether sulfate( SLES). There are studies going on about it's health risks. Neither are currently classified as a carcinogenic. Both are known irritants (So why would you put them on your skin... or in your mouth?) SLS has also been shown to alter taste perception and cause Aphthous ulcers (Canker sores). SLES is not classified as a carcinogenic but products with SLES are also shown to contain 1,4-Dioxane which is classified as a "Probable human carcinogenic".
So these all sound like chemical ingredients that should have no place in a NATURAL product right?
Parabens can apparently be found in natural sources... the internet gives me a list of various plants that contain minute amounts of parabens... none of them are sites I would call reputable and I can't find any studies on pubmed so I am not going to list any. I will say blueberries come up on this list, so maybe the girl was right(ish) to compare xenoestrogens to blueberries. Regardless of if the parabens are "natural" or synthetic, they are still parabens, and are obviously concentrated enough to call them parabens. Part of the reason blueberries are good for you are that it's low levels of natural estrogens, Xenoestrogens are higher levels that your body can't deal with properly. If you take all those low levels and make them into a high level, you're going to give your body a rough time.
However, if you extract a phytochemical from a natural source and concentrate it to use in your product, you can apparently call it natural. (Why isn't Bayer marketing Asprin as natural if that's the case? ASA was originally developed from willow bark. Pharmaceuticals have better regulations, that's why).
SLS can be derived from coconut oil (you may also see coconut derived surfactants... that typically means SLS.... and even though it's from a natural source, it's still SLS with all it's health risks).
Just because it's natural, doesn't always mean it's healthy... Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy) is natural, I'm not about to bathe in it though.
Greenwashing is trying to market something as good for you, even though it contains products that are not good for you, just because those products may be derived from natural sources.
Do your research and make your own decisions. I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I avoid as many potentially bad things as possible.
I still don't get why there are freaking skin irritants in beauty products... I don't care if they are cheap... they're freaking irritants.
Stay Healthy,
Natural Products are often geared towards people who eat well, since it's become a lifestyle for a lot of people. One of my many jobs is working for a wonderful all natural laundry detergent company... and in doing so I have become more educated... and more angry about the so-called "Natural" product industry.
Greenwashing is when a company tells you their product is All Natural, or Green, but it still has harmful chemicals.
There is a very popular company in Canada (it's actually an international company) that likes to market their products as All Natural, Vegetarian, Ethical and environmentally-friendly. I once got into an argument with a girl at said company because I politely declined to try one of their products. When asked why, I (still polite at this point!) said it contained Parabens. She replied by saying "Oh you're allergic to them?" in a slightly condescending way. When I went on to explain that I was against the use of Parabens in cosmetics because they are Xenoestrogens, she continued (much more condescending at this point) to say "Oh like blueberries". I went on (at this point no longer polite and used a tone even more condescending than hers) to say "Uhh no, those are PHYTOestrogens, not Xenoestrogens). The fact that she is trying to compare something that is potentially harmful to the body with something that is beneficial to the body, in order to sell a product pisses me of.
So lets talk about Xenoestrogens for a minute. Xenoestrogens are foreign estrogens, usually industrial in nature. Parabens, Phthalates (being phased out in Canada), BPA (Now banned in Canada), PCBs (Mostly banned due to their Toxicity classification and endocrine disruption).
Parabens are used as a preservative in cosmetics and beauty products. They do a great job at preserving! There are inconclusive studies about the effects Parabens on the reproductive system. There are studies proving that Parabens have a estrogen activity, but whether or not they can be linked to things like cancer and endometriosis have not been proven... they also haven't been disproved either. Women with reproductive cancers are typically told to avoid parabens and other xenoestrogens to be safe... To. Be. Safe. So why isn't everyone avoiding them as a precaution? A recent study in Texas showed paraben traces inside of breast tumours. This study has launched additional research into what the link is between the two.
Health Canada says "Phthalates are a family of chemicals commonly used as plasticizers that have a large number of industrial and commercial applications." and that "Research shows that phthalates may adversely affect reproduction and development.". Health Canada is working to restrict CERTAIN phthalates. Check out: Health Canada's Fact Sheet on Phthalates to see which ones they have declared health risks (then check your cosmetics, some of them are used in perfumes, nail polish, lipsticks etc.)
SLS/SLES: sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Sodium laureth sulfate/sodium lauryl ether sulfate( SLES). There are studies going on about it's health risks. Neither are currently classified as a carcinogenic. Both are known irritants (So why would you put them on your skin... or in your mouth?) SLS has also been shown to alter taste perception and cause Aphthous ulcers (Canker sores). SLES is not classified as a carcinogenic but products with SLES are also shown to contain 1,4-Dioxane which is classified as a "Probable human carcinogenic".
So these all sound like chemical ingredients that should have no place in a NATURAL product right?
Parabens can apparently be found in natural sources... the internet gives me a list of various plants that contain minute amounts of parabens... none of them are sites I would call reputable and I can't find any studies on pubmed so I am not going to list any. I will say blueberries come up on this list, so maybe the girl was right(ish) to compare xenoestrogens to blueberries. Regardless of if the parabens are "natural" or synthetic, they are still parabens, and are obviously concentrated enough to call them parabens. Part of the reason blueberries are good for you are that it's low levels of natural estrogens, Xenoestrogens are higher levels that your body can't deal with properly. If you take all those low levels and make them into a high level, you're going to give your body a rough time.
However, if you extract a phytochemical from a natural source and concentrate it to use in your product, you can apparently call it natural. (Why isn't Bayer marketing Asprin as natural if that's the case? ASA was originally developed from willow bark. Pharmaceuticals have better regulations, that's why).
SLS can be derived from coconut oil (you may also see coconut derived surfactants... that typically means SLS.... and even though it's from a natural source, it's still SLS with all it's health risks).
Just because it's natural, doesn't always mean it's healthy... Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy) is natural, I'm not about to bathe in it though.
Greenwashing is trying to market something as good for you, even though it contains products that are not good for you, just because those products may be derived from natural sources.
Do your research and make your own decisions. I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I avoid as many potentially bad things as possible.
I still don't get why there are freaking skin irritants in beauty products... I don't care if they are cheap... they're freaking irritants.
Stay Healthy,
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