A Healthier You, One Step at a Time
Add some healthy toppers to any salad & throw extra nuts- almonds and toasted walnuts into the package. Edamame Power adds not only protein but fibre and healthy fat, no cholesterol..with a bit of carbohydrate.
Edamame Power is for those who want to increase the choline, protein, fibre, calcium, iron and flavour in their meals.
There are many ideas/recipes for toppers- a topic for another post…suggest avocado, feta cheese, mint leaves, with a yummy balsamic vinaigrette!
I was inspired when I listened to Dr. Byrne from Lifestyle Rx, a virtual 12 week program to reverse diabetes being interviewed by Dr. Helm.
So excited by the program, I encouraged a client to enroll, she didn’t have a family physician and needed a better way of measuring progress to inspire her to believe that change was possible and effective.
As a previous certified diabetes educator, I listened to the podcast, intended for clients with diabetes or metabolic syndrome. The program measures insulin resistance as c-peptide & fasting blood glucose, (calculated by an algorithm that determines degree of insulin resistance). This is based on a theory of reducing fat storage in the liver & pancreas and weight loss around the midline which will reduce insulin resistance, and improve organ function. Maintaining blood sugar balance and burning fat are of paramount importance. The villain is insulin resistance because it increases insulin production, fat storage and an upward spiral of weight gain.
The Lifestyle Rx program is based on reducing the glycemic load (low carbohydrate diet), building muscle to burn fat with more exercise, being kind to your liver by reducing alcohol and fructose, maintaining gut health and eating whole food with adequate fibre. The goal is to restore fat burning and reverse insulin resistance. Its also important to improve sleep and stress recovery to lower cortisol levels and reduce insulin resistance. The program encourages intermittent fasting for improving the gut microbiome, and reducing food intake along with 150-300min exercise weekly.
People with diabetes are at higher risk for heart disease and metabolic syndrome (increased waist measurement, fasting blood sugar, and triglycerides), fatty liver and insulin resistance.\
I think this program can be a life changing program, I’m quite impressed!
Do you have symptoms of gas, bloating and GI discomfort, and suspect that you are reacting to gluten products? Classic symptoms of gluten intolerance include abdominal distention, pain, chronic diarrhea, irritability, weight loss, muscle wasting, low iron, folate, anemia, dental enamel defects, vomiting, abnormal liver enzymes, arthritis, osteoporosis, osteopenia, delayed puberty, and infertility.
Additional symptoms include neurological complications…unexplained ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, depression, anxiety, fatigue, brain fog, headaches, migraines and dizziness.
Never make the assumption that you have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity without being screened with the IgA Tissue Transglutamininase (tTG) antibody test, and IgA , these are free screening blood test, before you start eliminating gluten products, because avoiding gluten for 4-8 weeks may invalidate the test, first ask your physician to screen you with the tTG test.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, linked to genetics, is non-discriminating with genders, ages, global, if undetected, can damage intestinal villi and reduce nutrient absorption resulting in bone loss, iron and folate deficiency, arthritis, etc. .
Presently the only known treatment for celiac is following a gluten free diet with strict adherence which means you avoid wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten contamination of oats is tested two ways- a purity and optically free test, if the product is verified on the product label as gluten free, it’s safe to eat. The gluten free diet for celiac disease is rigorous, avoiding all microforms of gluten and cross-contamination.
If you have gluten sensitivity, not an intolerance, wheat, barley and rye are avoided, with sour dough breads often being tolerated in small quantities.
Celiac Canada is encouraging that we make no assumptions about intolerance to gluten, testing of IGA and tTG are free of charge, if diagnosed with celiac disease, its encouraged that you test annually with the tTG test and all first degree relatives should be tested, and maybe retested every 2-3 years with a tTG antibody test. As well, there is genetic testing (23 & me) identifies if you carry the gene (DQ2 or DQ8 risk version of the HLA gene).
As we know, a healthy gut important to avoid inflammation which can be a root cause of many chronic diseases. For many of my clients, we suspect gastrointestinal dysbiosis, which is often related to unhealthy microbiome or SIBO, symptoms include bloating, gas, cramps and gastrointestinal pain. Perhaps we should be more vigilant in our screening for celiac disease and test the tTG, before we trial a low fodmap diet which can be helpful to identify food sensitivities.
Nutrition Counselling with Jan Stephens, R.D
Promoting a healthy relationship with food and whole food choices, Jan will individualize food plans for digestive, metabolic and chronic diseases, encouraging lower carbs, healthy fats & proteins to improve lean body mass, and she will provide guidance for microbiome & Fodmap Diet if needed. Suggest testing your DNA with nutrigenomics to tailor a diet specifically for you, become aware of your genetic predispostion and compensate for it now! Encouraging healthy lifestyle with adquate fluid, fibre, sleep and physical fitness & weight control.
Counselling by a Registered Dietitian is covered by most medical plans, consider making an appointment soon!
jan@cornerstonenutrition.ca
604 741-7307