Ketogenic Diet Guide.

Keto Guide.

Click Here.

 Keto Diet Principles

Can Carbs at Night Improve Sleep Quality? Will It Make me Fat?

I recently made an Instagram post where I mentioned that when people experience weight loss from eliminating dense carbs, it’s usually from a restriction of overall calories rather than just the carbs alone. I feel like I’ve been the defender of carbs lately and today’s post will only support this further. If you haven't checked out my previous take on carb intake, check it out here.

I almost feel entitled to speak on carbohydrates because I’ve experienced first hand what carb restriction can do to someone. I’ll cut right to the chase and say that carbohydrates are important to someone especially when training and can have some great beneficial effects on sleep. If you take that statement alone from this post then I’d be happy.

If you’re interested to know why carbohydrates can particularly help sleep quality, then keep reading.

I really only have two reasons why carbs can be beneficial to share today…

1.     Increased carbohydrate intake increases insulin secretion. When this happens, the body uptakes all other neutral amino acids except for tryptophan. Instead, tryptophan concentration is increased in the bloodstream instead of going into muscle cells allowing more of it to cross the blood brain barrier. Tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin, which is converted to melatonin (our sleep hormone).

2.     Blood sugar dips too low at night causing an increase in cortisol, which impairs overall sleep. The hormone cortisol has some important functions in our body, but it carries a bad reputation because of its tendency to be high in unhealthy populations. In this case, cortisol will cause the body to secrete its own glucose because its dipped at night, which can disrupt sleep quality.

Did I just justify your evening carb cravings? If you’re concerned about weight gain as a result of eating carbs at night, don’t be. As long as calories are distributed evenly throughout the day, there should be no issue with having some carbs at night.

Stay tuned for the #upgradedmacrosproject

Healthy Fast Food Options.

Sometimes we don’t have the time to cook and sometimes you need to eat and you need to find something fast. There’s nothing wrong with that. In today’s post I wanted to share with you some of my favourite “fast food” options.  Of course when tackling on a specific weight gain/weight loss goal, its better to be prepared, but ideal foods can be found outside the house if you do your proper research. The following “fast food” choices are based on taste, macronutrient content, the amount of time it takes to order and affordability. Here we go…

PHO: This is by far one of my favourite foods in general (fast or not). I opt for a rice dish, which is usually paired with a protein and some vegetables (most likely pickled radish and cucumber). Not in the mood for rice? Try the beef or chicken noodle soup (pho). Not only is the broth rich in minerals, but also the noodles are rice based, making it a great gluten free option.  It’s also worth noting that most pho dishes come with a good amount of mint and basil, which aid in digestion and contain anti-inflammatory properties. Side orders? Try fresh rolls. These are fresh herbs, lettuce and shrimp wrapped in rice paper. A typical meal at a Pho restaurant will usually run you about $10-12.

Pictured here: Fresh Roll platter

Burrito Bowls: I’ve named this "burrito bowls” but we all know that I’m talking about Chipotle. Whenever I’m dealing with a client, I’ll always refer to a burrito bowl from Chipotle as an ideal split of all the macronutrients. You have your rice (carbs), vegetables (fibre and micronutrients), beans (fibre and prebiotic), choice of protein and your fat (guacamole).  A meal at Chipotle will run you about $10-12. Another option is the Taqueria station at Whole Foods, which carries tacos, and burrito bowls as well!

Pictured here: Burrito bowl with rice, chicken, black beans, lettuce, corn, tomato, and guac.

Jerk Chicken: My next “fast food” option is jerk. I have one routine that I’ve implemented the last while where I’ll get a haircut, workout then have some jerk chicken (there’s a really good jerk place by my barber). Your carb option (rice and peas) makes a complete protein, so you’re already winning.  A typical meal for me at a jerk spot is jerk chicken, coleslaw, rice and peas. Sometimes I’ll get a side of plantain, but that’s for a high carb day. The thing I love about jerk is that its tasty but the herbs and spices used in the seasoning upgrade everything. Things such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger are all beneficial herbs and spices which aid in digestion making this “fast food” top notch.

Pictured here: Jerk chicken, rice and peas, coleslaw.

Some notable mentions include, Thai Food and Korean Food. They didint make the list becasue they are good outside options but aren't necessarily "fast". Fast food doesn’t necessarily mean “bad food”. Notice how all my food options here are foods that haven’t been covered in sauce nor has anything been heavily fried.

Enjoy!

Detox Programs That Actually Work.

The word detox carries a lot of meaning. To a health practitioner, it’s an intervention much more complicated then a 5-day juice cleanse. The hardcore practitioner will scoff at the idea of a juice cleanse and say that detox protocols are much more intense and calculated.

For the purposes of this blog post, let's just use the word detox and reset interchangeably and not get into the debate about what is a true detox. Alright, let's go…The body has 6 organs of elimination. These organs include the bowel, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, skin and the lymphatic system. Whatever we can do to upregulate and strengthen these organs should be the aim of any introductory cleanse or detox. 

With this being said, I’m going to outline some recommendations that will press the reset button and strengthen these organs.

1.     Open the doors. If we sweep a house, let us open the doors so that we’re not just recirculating the dust. In this case, toxins. Make sure you have enough fiber. 

2.     Make sure antioxidant intake is high. When mobilizing toxins, we need antioxidants to combat circulating free radicals. Antioxidants that I’ve used include spirulina and chlorella. A quality greens powder will do. 

3.     Drink plenty of water. If we want to take it to the next level, invest in some clean filtered water. High-end grocery stores like Whole Foods Market carry filtration systems that allow you to take home filtered water. Drinking contaminated tap water contradicts the idea of a detox. 

4.     Cut out stimulants like caffeine and alcohol (sorry wine and coffee drinkers). The word here is reset/detox. Let’s not build on dysfunction and allow our body’s signaling pathways to get a break.

5.     Get plenty of sleep. People often believe that since they are doing one thing right, they can afford to neglect another. Sleep will always be important regardless of you doing a detox or not.

6.     Utilize whole foods to reset. The explanation is easy. Without fibre, were not able to mobilize and excrete excess toxins and hormones. Quality and moderate protein is needed for most detoxification pathways.

If I was to invest in something buzz-worthy at the moment, it would be a meal plan service that would set me on the right track. Recently I utilized Living Kitchen, a collective of holistic nutritionists, chefs, and cooks that specialize in making people feel their best.

Not only did they save me the time of preparing my food, but they also offered a detox aimed at jumpstarting the body into a healthier lifestyle. Pssst. In case you didn't know, You can meet your macros with high quality/nutrient-dense foods too. 

Here's a picture of last weeks meal plan from Living Kitchen

"Another One" **Dj Khaled voice**

Best Breakfast Options For Fat Loss and Energy

There are multiple ways of achieving energy and fat loss. One way of jumpstarting the process is by utilizing a breakfast which consists of quality fats and protein. This is not to say that this is the only way of achieving fat loss and energy, but It's a tool to consider. Examples of these breakfast options include...

• Salmon and Avocado

• Eggs and Bacon (in moderation)

• Oysters and Almonds

• Beef and Brazil Nuts

The Importance of B12 and its role in Neuropathy and Anemia.

The stars have aligned on this post. The topic of B12 keeps coming up lately, and it was a sign that I had to put something up on the blog. The thing about writing is that it’s almost like a personal journal (…here’s what’s on my mind at this point in time and how I feel about it.)

In this case, Vitamin B12 is on my mind!

It’s involved in every metabolic cellular process in our body, DNA production and nerve function to name a few.

A good balance of all b-vitamins is important but B12 tends to get most of the attention because it is not absorbed into the blood stream the same way the other b’s are. B12 is usually more deficient than the other b-vitamins due to a deficiency in Intrinsic Factor. It also binds with “intrinsic factor” (It’s a specialized type of protein produced in the stomach). B12 must be bound to Intrinsic Factor. Then it is absorbed in to the small intestine (There are receptor sites for B12). You need to produce HCL in order to produce intrinsic factor. You also need to produce enough HCL to produce pepsin. Intrinsic (IF) is internally produced. On the other hand, B12 is the extrinsic (outside) factor produced.

Ok Marc. Tell me why B12 vitamins are important.

1.    It prevents Peripheral Neuropathy: The myelin sheath acts as an insulating cover over a nerve fiber. It’s through this nerve fiber that conduction impulses are produced and electrical signals are sent and received. Think of it this way, you touch something hot, once the sensation is felt, your nerves send a signal to your brain. This signal works on these conduction impulses. If you don’t know, now you know ***Biggie Voice***. 

Well B12 prevents the breakdown of the myelin sheath that covers our nerve fibers (also known as “demyelination”). When we hear myelin sheath, we usually associate this with the brain (MS). But, the myelin is also very important for your spinal cord’s nerve fibers. This damage leads to a condition known as peripheral neuropathy, in which symptoms include loss of coordination, sensory touch and eventual decreased muscle mass.  

It’s shown that B12 intake from food and supplementation can improve neuropathy conditions. With issues like tingling, muscular dysfunction and especially neuropathy, it’s best to have a specialist (Chiropractor, Physiotherapist) look at you and make a proper diagnosis. As a nutritional practitioner, my job is to support the physical intervention through nutrition once a person is diagnosed.

2.    The effects of B12 deficiency can cause irreversible symptoms: This is seen in Multiple Sclerosis (a degenerative disease of the nervous system). As with any tissue in the body, once it’s damaged, scar tissue forms (also known as Sclerosis).

3.    A lack of B12 can lead to Pernicious Anemia: This is a form of anemia caused by a lack of absorption of B12 due to a deficiency in Intrinsic Factor. B12 binds with “intrinsic factor” as I had mentioned earlier. Without B12 and Intrinsic factor, the membranes of immature red blood cells rupture, disintegration of the stomach lining can occur which can lead to autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease.

4.    It makes us happy: B12 plays an important role in supporting and assisting with the formation of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine production. And this, make us happy…

5.    B12 helps us recycle Homocysteine: Anyone out there with a history of cardiovascular disease will have some knowledge of homocysteine levels. If you don’t, then just know that homocysteine is created as a by-product of our body’s metabolism of methionine and cysteine.

Homocysteine isn’t all bad, it still gives us things like Cysteine, which is a precursor to glutathione (an amino acid known for its detoxification capabilities) and is important to the synthesis of Neurotransmitters. The only problem is that high levels of homocysteine are indicative of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. B12 is important in taking homocysteine and converting it back to methionine.

Ok…What do I do?

Before we get into the details of B12 intake, it’s important to note that all b vitamins including B12 are depleted in the body by things like stress, birth control pills and high intake of sugars.

1.     Some people can’t produce Intrinsic Factor. If this is the case, B12 shots are available. You’ll want to buy Methylcobalamin (the active form), not Cyanocobalamin.

2.     HCL (stomach acid) is required in order to take B12 from its protein carrier Intrinsic Factor. Refrain from antacids and supplement with Hydrochloric acid with betaine to improve stomach pH.

3.     If you’re simply deficient and looking for the next best thing to a shot, then a sublingual (under the tongue) is another alternative option. This skips the digestion process and gets right into the bloodstream. People looking to simply optimize or increase B12 intake can take a Vitamin B complex with a higher B12 content.

4.     B12 food sources: Liver, Meat Protein, Dairy, and Seafood (particularly shellfish).

5.     The liver has to activate B-vitamins. If you have an under functioning liver, then B-vitamins are not being absorbed. Support the liver, and the b-vitamins will follow!

6.     Supplements and B12 aside, it’s important to look at the root cause of demyelination (breakdown of the nerve fiber). In some cases, autoimmune conditions cause the self-destruction of the myelin sheath. Eliminating triggers that cause chronic inflammation (high sugar, poor diet etc.…) can prove to be your best prevention and early treatment. The entry of pathogens through the blood brain barrier affects the CNS, which in turn affects the peripheral system. Boosting your immune system can also be a great way to properly limit the amount of sclerotic tissue that forms. 

Here are my recommendations for clean pre-workout supplements.

Who says pre-workout supplementation can't be healthy? In this video I share with you some of my favorite workout supplements. 

Holly's "Fudgey" Black Bean Brownies

Photo Credit: @jaxxsuds

Holly's "Fudgey" Black Bean Brownies

Today’s recipe comes from my friend Holly Monster who introduced me to the wonders of the black bean brownie. Holly’s a Certified Eating Psychology Coach, Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert and Precision Nutrition Coach. On her off time she’s deadlifting heavy things, shopping for organic meat or hanging out on the dance floor.

Ingredients Needed…

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

- 1/4 cup cocoa powder

- 2 eggs

- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil

- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 tbsp. maple syrup

- 1 tsp. mesquite powder

- 1 tsp. lucuma powder

- 1/4 cacao nibs (optional)

Instructions…

- Preheat oven to 350F.

- Grease an 8”x8" glass baking dish with coconut oil.

- Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

- Spoon into baking dish and smooth out batter to edges.

- Sprinkle cacao nibs on top (optional but adds a nice crunch!)

- Bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out perfectly clean.

- Allow this to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: @jaxxsuds

Sinus Infections Suck. Let's Deal.

Allergy season is here… and I’m sick right now. I’ve recently been feeling the effects of a sinus infection. I used this opportunity to play around with herbs, supplements and foods in order to nail down a solid game plan the next time this happens. If anyone’s not sure what a sinus infection feels like, it’s usually associated with cold like symptoms with pressure felt in the nasal and frontal forehead area. Runny noses, coughing are all possibilities but don’t appear in all sinus infections. Right now I have some body aches that are also associated with sinus issues.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned throughout this whole experience is that my sinus infection is heavily tied with seasonal allergies. For anyone unaware of why we get allergies, the basic explanation is that the symptoms we get are a result of the inflammation that our bodies produce by our immune system responding to allergens. An allergic response will release histamines and inflammatory markers. The sinus infection follows after these symptoms. Swelling of the sinus and nasal membranes serve as the perfect environment for bacterial infection to fester.

There are three things we need to remember when tackling a sinus infection.

1.     Loosen up the mucous that’s stuck in the nasal region. Nothing scientific her. Break the mucous down so its easy to move and flush it out (Blow your nose, spit, whatever it takes)

2.     Reduce Inflammation. Remember that inflammation as a result of a histamine response (more specifically of the mucous membranes which line the nasal and sinus areas) is what got you here in the first place.

3.     Rest. This is easy. If your allergies have turned into an infection, then the immune system will need support.

So the big question is how do we fix it? Here are some of the things that I found that helped me in combating a sinus infection.

Supplements to consider:

When dealing with thick mucous, proteolytic enzymes also known as protein digesting enzymes, help break mucous down into a thinner consistency. These enzymes have the ability to break down complex proteins at the site of inflammation, while having some anti-microbial properties.

Bromelain (an extract of pineapple stem) – Helps to breakdown thick consistency of mucous.

Silkworm enzyme – in nature this enzyme breaks down the cocoon of silkworms and serves as an anti-inflammatory as well.

Goldenseal and Echinacea - These are herbs both used in immune boosting formulas and can serve you best with your cold like symptoms.

Quercetin: Quercetin decreases allergic response by keeping histamine in the cell.

Vitamin C: Pairs well with Quercetin as an antioxidant that also supports the immune system. .

I’ve also found that some physical intervention is required. While I was sick I used a neti-pot at night followed by some coconut oil mixed with peppermint up my nose. You can use your pinky finger to dab some oils into your nostril region.

Give the body some time to rest and you should be up and running in no time. 

Things to consider when attempting a detox

Did I ever tell you of the time I attempted to do a green juice detox in the middle of December?

It wasn’t good news. I should’ve made a rap song and dedicate the song around my experience with the detox. It would be a remix to Drake’s “0 to 100” except my song would be called “100 to 0” because that was basically what happened to my body temperature at the time. Boom! Who ever said Drake and the world of nutrition wouldn’t meet?

Jokes aside, my body fat percentage dropped, which many may believe, is indicative of health, but with all things, we have to look at the body in its entirety. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer of detoxification but I strongly advise against prolonged detoxes, especially in the winter.

Today, many people get caught up in the idea of detoxification and elimination, but forget about the tonification and rejuvenation that needs to happen after the detox. Think of it as “over-cleaning” your room.

Picture this…

Once you’ve finished cleaning your room, you start scrubbing the floors. Once you’ve finished scrubbing the floors, you look around, then you start scrubbing the walls. You look at the walls and say “I think there’s mold, let me bleach this rag and start wiping a little more. Eventually you start peeling the paint off the wall and what was once a fresh clean room, becomes a bare stripped down space of nothing. A little extreme, but you get the picture.

I remember in my undergrad, my cousin was getting ready for a trip to the West Coast. In her attempts to lose weight, she started a 1 week cleanse consisting primarily of cayenne, lemon, maple syrup, and water (known as the master cleanse). Once she completed her cleanse, the first introductory meal she had was at an Indian restaurant where she indulged in everything the menu had to offer. To say her body was shocked, was an understatement. She broke out in hives and she felt pretty bad for the next 3 days. The takeaway here is that the tonification stage in which you introduce foods that you were off of during your detox should be calculated and concise.

Here’s your most basic and/or reasonable detox:

• Detoxification happens on a daily basis. Understand that your body (particularly your lungs, liver and kidneys) is constantly working at detoxifying your body from toxins that you’re exposed to on a daily basis. Providing your body with the antioxidants and nutrients needed to support these organs is your best method of supporting detoxification.

• Support gut health with plenty of vegetables and fruits. A diet higher in fibre will facilitate the excretion of toxins while providing supporting nutrients to your liver and kidneys. Ideally, we should look to eat more seasonally. This means we shouldn’t be knocking back kale and spinach smoothies 4 times a day, 7 days a week. If anyone has tried a detox in the middle of the winter, they can back me up when I say, YOU WILL BE COLD.

• Reduce toxic exposure when possible. Reducing your toxic exposure allows your body to properly detox on a daily basis. If our body was a barrel, then look at toxic load as something that overfills our barrel.

• Don’t forget about tonification. Once you’ve completed a detox protocol, listen to your body. If you start to feel overly tired, try adding more healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, fish oil) back into your diet.

Are Beans All That Bad?

To tell someone whose staple diet includes legumes, that their diet is inadequate or anti-nutrient is plain stupid. Foods, diets, lifestyles are all relative. When it comes to beans and I, my relationship is conditional. I can definitely say that I have an upper tolerance to beans (which basically means I can eat a bowl of chili and enjoy it, but if I overdo it, I can start to feel gassy).

When I’m eating beans, I simply have to utilize the saying “in excess, anything can be bad for you”. With that being said, there are some benefits to adding the odd bean dish to your diet.

I won’t make you a long list of the benefits of beans in this post, but I will briefly explain to you something called “The Second Meal Effect”. This was something introduced to me by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. The premise is based on two facts. Firstly, when we eat beans along with a starchy carb, it can lower the insulin spike or blood sugar spike of let’s say rice.

This is simply due to the fact that beans are high in fiber and in most cases, fiber, when eaten with higher glycemic food, slows down the absorption of sugar. Want to lower the insulin spike of rice? Eat some beans with it.

Studies have also shown that eating a higher fiber-containing food and/or lower glycemic food at dinner can affect the glycemic load of what you eat at breakfast (It lowers the glycemic load in the morning).

Also, the beans we eat are not so quick to empty out of our digestive tract. Instead, it hangs out a little longer and feeds our gut bacteria (sort of like prebiotic food).

So are beans bad for you? Everything has to be looked at in context, but people looking for another tool to hack insulin levels may want to add this to the arsenal.

Beans Beans the magic fruit,

The more you eat,

The more you lower insulin and dietary fiber…. (See what I did?)

Video: How To Make Pho (Chicken)

Here's the recipe for the chicken pho that I've made in this video.

2 whole chickens feed around 5 people.

Step 1: Broth - Star Anise (4-5), Ginger (1), Onion (1), Cloves (1 tsp) and Cinnamon (1 Stick), Salt (1tbsp), Sugar (1tbsp), Pepper (1 tsp).

Step 2: Cook the chicken in boiling water for 30 mins (with the spices in step 2 added). Remove the chicken, remove the meat and place the bones back into the broth for at least another 30 minutes (the longer the better).

Step 3: Garnish - Basil, Cilantro, Chili Peppers, Lime.

Step 4: Rice Noodles (Soak them in cold water before putting into hot water).

Enjoy the benefits of this soup. It'll definitely keep you warm during the winter months, serve as a post workout meal or keep your heart warm during a cold break-up.

How Protein Can Support Liver Function

Detoxification is synonymous with holistic nutrition. I always find that when the topic of holistic nutrition comes up, a question or comment in regards to detoxification makes its way into the conversation. I’m ok with this because supporting the detoxification and elimination process is a large part of what we as nutritional practitioners do. The downside to this is that there are many misconceptions regarding liver detoxification.

Also, for some reason, a lot of people assume that I walk barefoot and put flowers in my hair while sipping kombucha as I talk to the birds because I’m involved with holistic nutrition. This I can live with because it actually sounds like a really cool thing to assume of someone. Anyways, in this post, I wanted to set two things straight.

First, I don’t walk barefoot in the streets, and secondly, I don’t believe a low protein diet is required in order to maintain a healthy liver. I guess I should address the second statement before someone assumes I’m applying “bro science” to detoxification.

I do believe that in some cases protein should be restricted when liver function is taxed and that fasting has its time and place in jumpstarting liver function. However, long-term protein reduction is definitely not the answer to everyone’s problems.

A little insight into how the body uses protein with regards to liver function (I promise this won’t bore you with this).

In the liver, toxins are neutralized in two phases. To keep things simple, just know that phase 2 of the liver detoxification entails something called “conjugation”. This is where the toxin that leaves the liver is accompanied by a conjugate before being excreted into our waste.

Think of a really drunk girl at the club. She can’t leave alone, she’ll need someone to accompany her out of the club, into the taxi and finally into the toilet. The same thing goes for toxins. Literally. See what I did there? Amino acids can serve as the friend that attaches to the toxin and out the body.

The liver uses glycine, taurine, glutamine arginine and ornithine (all amino acids). This is why a balanced diet of protein is actually required for normal liver function. It’s also an important aspect of methylation but we’ll leave that for another post.

The main point I wanted to get across is that protein is not all that bad! Normally, we’d be hard-pressed to find blog posts that preach about protein being a supportive macronutrient to the liver. I understand that we live in a society where overconsumption is more widespread than underconsumption, but amino acid conjugation is just one thing to consider when looking at the overall function of liver detoxification.

Some tips on choosing protein sources…

1. Opt for organic and sustainably farmed meats.

1. If organic is too expensive, keep in mind that you won’t be buying the same amount of meat if it were commercially farmed. Higher quality = better bioavailability (usability).

1. Avoid overconsuming protein. You can easily come up with your protein amount using apps or websites that will calculate Macros for you. Consult a nutritionist if you’re totally in the dark about the amount.

Eat your protein.

4 Tips to Consider when Supplementing with Iron.

Iron absorption isn’t the sexiest of topics, but the topic seems to have come up more recently for me. It also happens to be the number 1 deficiency on the planet.

I recently ran into a friend who mentioned that her iron supplement doesn’t make her feel any better or worse than when she didn’t take one. As such, I thought I’d share my recommendations for anyone who is not absorbing iron efficiently.

This post may be geared towards my female friends, as the need for iron supplementation isn’t as prevalent in males. Sometimes though, an iron supplement may be necessary for high-level athletes or anyone experiencing leaky gut.

It’s also worth mentioning that this friend of mine happens to lift heavy weights at the gym!

Here are some things to consider when it comes to iron supplementation:

What type of Iron Supplement are you using?

There are two types of iron forms (Ferrous and Ferric form). Most supplements use the ferrous form, as it’s most effectively absorbed and stored. However, the ferric form of iron isn’t useless altogether.

The ferric form acts as a transporter type of iron. This is because it binds to transferrin (iron binding blood plasma). Since iron shifts between the two forms - it might be worth your while to supplement using both forms and assess your symptoms.

Check your gut.

As with all minerals, iron requires an acidic environment. This point comes back to the gut. To effectively absorb food a healthy amount of stomach acid is needed and this is the same for proper iron absorption. Do you need to increase stomach acid?

Try a zinc supplement and pair your iron with a non-buffered Vitamin C. The use of Vitamin C is due to its ascorbic acid. Are you using over the counter antacids?

The overuse of antacids to counter things such as heartburn may affect acidity in the body as it has an alkalizing effect (something not beneficial in the case of low stomach acid). A digestive enzyme with HCL (hydrochloric acid) may also be helpful.

Do you even Paleo?

I know the topic of Paleo has been overdone and the health field has poured out tons of work on the pros and cons of the Paleolithic style of eating, but it’s definitely relevant in this case.

I’m going to add to this when I say that grains and legumes (frowned upon in the Paleo community) can be a possible factor in affecting iron absorption.

The reason? Phytates. Without drowning you with information on phytates, I will simply say that phytates inhibit iron absorption (and other nutrients as well), causing the body to excrete the mineral as waste before it is properly absorbed.

You’re anemic, but are you actually low in iron or are you just drama?

Why you always lyin? Why you always lyin? Ok Just kidding, you’ve done medical tests and you’ve concluded that your definitely iron deficient, but what if you’ve self-diagnosed yourself and display anemic symptoms?

Did you know that fatigue (something heavily tied with anemia) could be a cause of things such as b-vitamins, Zinc, Copper (which also plays a role in iron transport) and Vitamin C (to name a few)

Our bodies are complex. There’s definitely a lot more to iron absorption than what I’ve written here, but I hope this serves as a starting line in your pursuit for better iron absorption.

Aside from supplements, some good iron sources include…

• Liver (Beef, Chicken, Lamb)

• Steak

• Prunes

• Cooked Greens

Till next time,

Marc

Green Banana Benefits

We all do it. We go to the grocery store and when its time to pick up bananas, we make our picks of the bunch based on how yellow the bunch of bananas are or will be. Ingrained in our minds is the idea that the yellow ripe banana is the best banana. I don’t blame you. The ripe banana is sweeter and often tastier. If you’re struggling with high cholesterol and unstable blood sugar levels, then I’ve got news for you. Adding the green banana to your arsenal in the fight against high cholesterol and blood sugar could be worth your while. Here’s the short and sweet science behind it.

For My High Cholesterol Friends…

The less ripe banana separates itself from the ripened banana as it’s considered a “resistant starch”. Basically, this means that the starch “resists” being digested in the stomach or small intestine. By this occurrence, the banana isn’t completely broken down and doesn’t enter the bloodstream (This is worth noting if blood sugar management is a priority for you). Instead, the banana works more like a fiber. Here’s my tip of the week…. The key to lowering cholesterol is to pooh it out. One could argue that cholesterol-lowering medications could be avoided if regular bowel movements were maintained. Fiber = Regular Bowel Movements. Get the picture?

For My Diabetic Friends….

The banana in its green and less ripened state isn’t going to spike your blood sugar and insulin levels the way a ripened banana would. The riper the fruit, the higher it spikes your insulin levels. This goes for cooking fruits down as well. The breakdown of the sugar makes it more simple and faster when entering the blood. It’s also worth noting that the banana is a prebiotic, which means it feeds the good bacteria that exists in our gut. We can recolonize, but we should look to feed the colony as well!

Food is Medicine.

Dining at Hipster Restaurants (Life Hacks)

In this post, is a picture of a meal I had this weekend. It was tasty and I couldn’t get enough. Literally. The Queen St W area has been good to me for clothes, hats, shoes and all things fashion. However, the food situation can be scarce when your looking for a good hearty meal. I’m not implying that my intention is to stuff my face every chance I get, but sometimes your body just craves a steak after an amazing workout. This weekend happened to be one of those weekends where I was in search of a good steak (I call it "modern urban" hunting and gathering). I also happened to be in the heart of Toronto's Hipster culture. For those of you not familiar with the Queen St W area, its predominantly known as*cough* cough* a “hipster area”. Hipster restaurants usually consist of a very relaxed dressed code for waiters and waitresses who actually have no dress code, sport sailor tattoos, and opt to take your order at the top of their head as opposed to writing it down. The drink menu usually comes before the food menu and in the background you're listening to 90’s hip hop, 1950’s Motown, and surrounded by ironic pictures of moustaches.

Here’s a brief translation of everyday food into its hipster food form…

Hipster meal: 3oz slice bison ribeye cooked in duck fat with 8 straw potatoes with a little bit of truffle oil, with one withered kale leaf which would be a statement piece which represents the organic farmers market vs the large corporate farmers (if you couldn’t tell, I’m being very sarcastic and over dramatic, but its all in the sake of painting the right picture for you. Oh by the way, the dish is $18.99 and meant to be shared.

Translation: Steak and eggs.

Conclusion: Hipsters are lean because they’re calorie restricted.

Now to the meat of this post. Having become an expert in the hipster dining life, I’ve thought of a couple hacks in order to get the most out of your meal and help you opt for more nutrient dense foods whether your ordering from a hipster menu or taking food from a salad bar that charges by weight.

Tip #1. If protein is your priority (lets say you need to meet your protein macros for the meal), then go for red meat. Usually the steak, bison or whatever red meat option on the menu tends to be larger in portion or at least more fulfilling in terms of sustenance.

Tip #2. Nutrient dense options such as seasonal vegetables are a much better alternative to the bacon pancake or Jack Daniels that are usually served. Also note that when ordering at a “food to go” bar that charges by weight, its always better to choose your protein then compliment it with dark leafy vegetables if your trying to be cost efficient. Options such as kale and spinach are lighter in weight but pack a whole lot of nutrients as opposed to the three bean salad that seems to be stable at these types of things.

Tip #3. Don’t ask the hipster waiter “what has the most meat on the menu”. He’ll probably hate you.

Tip #4. Have your post-workout meal at home.

Don’t get me wrong here. Food is an art and I can definitely appreciate what some of these restaurants do in order to prep and cook their food. In most cases the food is well done and tasty. Food is also a social event and not every meal is meant to be smashed.  However if your trying to meet your macros or just in need of some home cooked food, then your best option is your home.

Till next time,

Post-Workout Nutrition Exaggerated

As I look at Instagram, I’ve noticed something trending amongst many fitness enthusiasts. Last year, gourmet hipster burgers and candied bacon seem to be the toast of the town, but something more enticing, fatty, and calorically dense has arrived.

The “post, peri, pre-workout” donut has arrived. I don’t know when it started but the donut has parked its beautiful one-eyed head in the fitness world for the time being. It’s almost become a cool thing to brag about how poorly you eat while lifting copious amounts of weight while maintaining ideal body composition.

Keep in mind the donut is being used as an example. Pizza and cookie ice cream sandwiches could be your weapons of choice when it comes to post-workout “feeding” as well. I think we’ve come along way from “whole wheat” and salad being staples of healthy nutrition.

Counting macros, carb-backloading, and ketogenic diets have shown us ways of manipulating our diet and calories so that we can eat like Vikings while not being featured on the next episode of My 600lb Life. Here’s my problem. I love all things pizza, donut, cookie ice cream, and the list goes on.

The reason why I can’t fall in love with the ideology of smashing crazy amounts of calories and spiking my insulin level with donuts and cookies is that it leads me into territory that I’m afraid I won’t be able to get out of later on in life.

I’d love abs and I’d love to attain them while eating donuts, but I also value the longevity of life. I know personally, if you tell me that pizza and ice cream were ok to eat on a daily basis, I’d find ways of deviating from moderation and it would affect my nutritional consistency.

I can almost guarantee that most people who have adopted IIFYM (macro counting) have one time or another questioned whether or not they should at least dial back on some of the donuts. Not only because of body composition but because they’re probably starting to feel the effects of suboptimal nutrition.

Measuring calories can be important, but the source of your calories matters just as much. 2000 calories of pizza vs. 2000 calories of salmon and rice are definitely difference makers.

Again, I’m speaking from personal preference and experience. I saw powerlifters crushing anything for there post-workout and I think myself along with many others jumped on the bandwagon. Here’s the thing, my squat isn’t 500lbs yet and I’m not deadlifting 800lbs either so it doesn’t make sense for me to knock back 800 calories post-workout just because I worked out.

At this point, I’m trying my best to match my nutrition with the amount of volume in the gym, so please don’t tease me with your bacon peanut butter donut. This post isn’t meant to be a rant. In moderation, I’ll have something extremely good after my workouts, but this post is more for the people in the fitness industry that forgot about the fact that this industry should be based on health and longevity.

Going down the post-workout donut road makes it hard to rebuild good habits as our goals change in the gym.

The solution is simple. If you're struggling with your weight or energy in the gym and you've adopted the macro lifestyle, then dial it back and rethink post-workout food sources. When you've reached a good baseline, then it shouldn't be an issue playing around with tasty things.

Just keep in mind that what you put in your body should help you in your goals in the short and long term.