Adult Acne Treatments: Diet and Supplements for Clearer Skin

Acne is a disorder resulting from the action of hormones on the skin's sebaceous glands (oil glands), which leads to plugged pores and outbreaks of lesions commonly called pimples or zits. Acne lesions usually occur on the face, neck, back, chest and shoulders. Although acne is not a serious health threat, the blemishes and scarring are no doubt harmful to self esteem and social life. Adults are also affected by acne as well as acne rosacea.

A specific cause for acne has yet to be determined, however there are various postulated exacerbating factors like fluctuation in sex hormones, certain skin products or cosmetics, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid hormone deficiency, stress, diet and genetics. Topical treatment can be sufficient for most persons with acne. Systemic treatment, however, is often required for deep acne with nodules and cysts, or acne associated with symptoms of hormonal imbalance like stress, hypothyroidism, anxiety, PMS, polycystic ovarian disease, male pattern baldness or hirsutism.

What can contribute to adult acne?


1. Sex hormone imbalance
Women often experience a flare-up of acne symptoms from a few days to as much as a week before the onset of their menstrual period. This occurs as progesterone, which tends to worsen acne, is naturally highest during this time of the cycle. Estrogen, highest in the first half of the menstrual cycle is typically beneficial for preventing acne. Due to this, birth control pills higher in estrogen can be useful in the treatment and prevention of acne, while some women experience acne for the first time only once they stop taking the pill. The use of the birth control pill for acne is not without side effects, including increased risk of blood clots, depression, weight gain, and some sources may suggest a slight increase in the risk of certain types of cancer with long-term use.
If any of these patterns apply to your acne prone skin you may want to consider the following options methods to balance estrogen and progesterone:

* Have one serving of soy product per day as well as 2 -3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed for phytoestrogenic effects in the body, which can help to prevent breakouts.
* If you are coming off the birth control pill, indole 3 carbinol is a must for you. This compound, an extract from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, helps to correct estrogen balance against certain forms of cancer such as cervical, breast and in men, prostate cancer. Typical dose is 200mg twice per day and it is best to take this product for 3 consecutive months.
* The herb vitex may be useful for the treatment of hormonally related acne, especially blemishes associated with PCOS.
* Vitamin B6 may also be of benefit. Taking 250 – 500mg per day is useful in both men and women.

Acne is also often considered to be an androgen-dependent condition. Androgens are male sex hormones that include free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). Low sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels (SHBG binds to testosterone rendering it less bio-available, reducing its effect in the body), as well as high androgens, have all been implicated in acne. This is because androgens control sebaceous gland secretion, thus exacerbating blemishes when elevated.
Higher levels of androgens may be treated with the herb saw palmetto in both men and women. If higher levels of androgens are a result of too much being produced by the adrenal glands, then herbs or products to reduce further stimulation of the adrenals may be of assistance. These include ashwaganda or hydrolyzed milk protein (look for a product called Destress from Biotics or Nusera from Metagenics). Note that I would not recommend Relora, a herb commonly used for stress support in this situation, since it may actually increase levels of DHEAs, which can worsen the problem.

2. Stress hormone imbalance
Cortisol has been implicated in female adult acne and it is suggested that it is also responsible for most age-related damage to the skin. To reduce cortisol, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin C and the herb holy basil can be useful. In this instance, Relora may be beneficial as it has been found to reduce cortisol levels. Lifestyle is essential here and you should be sure to adopt healthy stress management techniques. Be sure to get adequate rest, exercise, downtime and sunshine.

3. Thyroid hormone
In my practice, I have seen men and women experience acne when their thyroid is underactive. You can rule this out with blood tests (TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Thyroid antibodies and reverse T3) through your doctor. Another simple test that you can do at home is to take your temperature under your arm every morning before getting out of bed with a basal body thermometer. If your temperature is consistently below 36.4 degrees Celsius you may have a sluggish thyroid and further testing is recommended.

4. Cosmetics
Products containing retinoic acid may be useful topically, but you should see your dermatologist. Tea tree oil is a natural astringent and antibacterial, so you may want to consider products containing this. Some cosmetics, night creams and heavy moisturizers may actually block oil glands, worsening existing lesions and causing new ones. Try to find products that are oil-free, water-based, non-comedogenic, or speak to your doctor for specific recommendations. Try to limit the use of products with antibiotics, as they are not without side effects too.

The basic treatment plan for acne and healthy skin
Selecting one or more of the treatment options above will help you get to the cause of your acne. Along with this, there are fundamental dietary guidelines and supplements that should be included in any treatment plan for optimal results.

* There is controversy over whether or not dietary habits have any influence on the frequency or severity of breakouts. So many references say there is no correlation between the two, however in my practice I have found that the removal of dairy products, caffeine, reducing the intake of chocolate and avoiding sugar as much as possible are all effective.
* Eating a healthy ratio of protein and carbohydrates with each meal and snack can also balance blood sugar and subsequently stress hormones, both of which may reduce acne. Finally, be sure to include natural anti-inflammatory, healthy fats in your diet such as olive oil and fish oils. Avoid unhealthy oils like peanut, soy, vegetable or hydrogenated oils which will increase inflammation in the skin and worsen the problem.
* As far as supplements are concerned, regardless of the cause of your acne one should include zinc 25-50mg per day, vitamin A 10,000-50,000IU per day (not to be taken by women who may be pregnant or attempting to conceive), vitamin C 1000-3000mg per day, and MSM 2000-4000mg per day for healing, collagen formation and tissue repair.


We've just launched the New Year – New Healthy Glow You package at Clear Medicine. You can achieve a healthy glow while working from the inside and out in just four weeks! Please visit here to learn more.

The Pros and Cons of Sports Drinks

Over at MSNBC, they've unpacked the pros and cons of using certain sports drinks to quench your post-workout thirst. The candidates include electrolyte drinks, enhanced waters, coconut water, cherry juice, chocolate milk and good, old-fashioned, regular water.

Here's what they had to say.

1. Electrolyte drinks (including Gatorade, Powerade, Accelerade, etc.) might be capable of boosting performance, shortening recovery time and keeping you hydrated, but they're high in carbs, calories and sugar and can upset some stomachs.

2. Enhanced waters (including Vitaminwater, Lifewater, All Sport, etc.) can be tasty and sometimes contain sodium and potassium, but their ingredients can vary significantly. The claims made by some of these drinks have been questioned and the drinks are also often high in sugar and calories.

Our expert weighs in, after the jump...


3. Coconut water is a natural product with a light, less sugary taste and decent nutrient content, but it might not hydrate the body as quickly as other products.

4. Cherry juice has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties and it's another natural drink, but positive research is based on tart cherries, not sweet cherries, and it's also not suited for drinking during a workout.

5. Chocolate milk's combination of carbs and protein helps to protect and repair muscles after a vigorous workout, and it's relatively inexpensive, but it's not great to drink before or during a workout and the amount of sugar and calories you consume (even if you're drinking low-fat milk) can add up quickly.

6. Water is easy to find, cheap and is quickly absorbed by the body, but it doesn't have any sugar or electrolytes, which are key for endurance events and exercise in very hot conditions.

We asked fitness expert Kathleen Trotter to weigh in on the story and make some suggestions about consuming sports drinks.

"I think the most important message that the we need to make people understand is that there is no 'one size that fits all' for hydration requirements. Your hydration requirements both before, during and after a workout depend on many variables, including length of workout, intensity of workout and your weight.

That being said, the average person going to the gym does not need the added calories or electrolytes these sports drinks offer. If you are exercising moderately, for a duration under roughly one hour you simply need to make sure you are getting roughly ½ to 2 cups of water for every 15-30 minutes of exercise -- depending, of course, on your weight and level of intensity.

If you are exercising for longer than an hour, or your workout is particularly intense, you probably need more then just water to replenish the calories and electrolytes lost during your workout. Sports drinks do help replenish electrolytes, but they are also filled with tons of added colours and flavours. One can get the same benefits they offer from natural sources. Try mixing some juice into your water bottle with a pinch of sea salt. The mixture should be roughly 8:1 (water to juice).

As for products like Vitaminwater, save your money. In our society, we tend to rely heavily on quick fixes. We want to be able to buy a product and have it magically replace the healthy food that we did not eat. Most of the time these products are not actually healthy, and they contain lots of added sugar and calories. Just go pick up a piece of fruit and have a glass of water."

For more tips on sports drinks, check out these related That's Fit posts:

* Holistic Recipe of the Week: Homemade Sports Drink
* Vitamin Water: Health Drink or Soft Drink?

Healthy Snack Ideas to Replace Office Sweets

When I used to work in an office setting, there was constant temptation to eat sweets that people would bring in (probably because THEY didn't want to eat them at home!) such as boxed chocolates, leftover desserts from a weekend party and candies, candies, candies. I know whenever someone brought food into my office if there was anything labelled 'FREE,' it would be gone in half a day! In fact, it didn't seem to matter what it was -- the sweeter it was, the faster it would mysteriously disappear, so long as it was a freebie.

This always made me chuckle, because I somehow managed to avoid these little calorie-drenched temptations. I had a secret strategy that I'm going to share. Co-workers would always say "Joy, you are so good, how do you resist?" But little did they know my strategy was pretty simple and it kept me on track. It was a two-step process that I followed every day and this enabled me to be in control of my cravings and my waistline.

My two-step solution, after the jump...


Step 1. Eat breakfast (specifically, a healthy breakfast). Eating in the morning is only half of the equation, but what you eat is what truly matters. Taking 10-15 minutes each morning to eat a balanced breakfast will ensure your blood sugar is in check and your energy is stable throughout the day. This will help you avoid cravings that would normally send you straight to the freebie sweets in the office lunch room.

Step 2. Eat healthy snacks to keep your metabolic engines fired and your fat-burning potential high. The body is smart, it will always crave the quickest source of energy. So, if you are starving and the easiest quickest option is to eat chocolate, then what do you think you are going to end up eating? Yes, you got it, that freebie chocolate that you told yourself to avoid! Unless, of course, you have eaten breakfast (as per Step 1) and you have healthy snacks on hand.

The key to healthy snacking is making sure that the snack you packed is balanced. You want to create your snacks from the three macro-nutrients (just like your breakfast): complex carbs, protein and good fat.

Here are some good examples of healthy snacks to help you avoid those office sweets.

* Veggie sticks (celery & carrots) and 2 tbsp hummus
* Handful of raw, unsalted nuts (such as walnuts, pecans or almonds) and 5 dried apricots
* 1/2 cup organic kefir or yogurt and a handful of berries
* 1 scoop chocolate hemp protein powder and 1 cup of almond milk
* No grain, gluten-free, dairy-free muffins -- these are incredibly delish!
* Fruit (such as an apple or pear) and handful of nuts

Ideally, you want to eat every 3-4 hours to keep that metabolism running efficiently and your blood sugar balanced. I plan my snacks out when I grocery shop each week. Staying organized is yet another strategy for avoiding those office sweets, because if your bring your snacks to work each day, you are much less likely to end up snacking on something you later regret.

If you find the temptation to eat those calorie-rich snacks won't go away, despite your best efforts to eat a healthy breakfast and bring snacks into work, then you can resort to these 2 tips:

1. Ask yourself: "If I eat that piece of leftover cake, am I going to feel better for doing so?" Probably not.
2. Tell yourself that you are going to wait 20 minutes before eating those chocolates and if the craving is still there, you can give in and have one. (But most likely, it won't be!)

Of course treating yourself once and a while is perfectly fine and life wouldn't be as sweet if we didn't have treats every so often. But if your office is like mine used to be and there is a constant supply of freebie sweets, then you now have strategies for avoiding the weight gain that sugary snacks can cause! And you don't even have to tell anyone your secret, it's safe with me.

Will a Wii Really Help You Get Fit?

You might think that the solution to improving your physical fitness lies in that shiny new video game just steps away from your couch. And you're certainly not alone, because fitness video games are undeniably popular. From the Wii Fit to the EA Sports Active, it's hard to resist the idea of playing your way to a smaller waistline. But do these games really work? That question is what led researcher Scott Owens (along with a team at the University of Mississippi) to try to determine if fitness-oriented video games can actually increase exercise and help combat obesity. The study's results, reported in ScienceDaily, indicate that the Wii Fit might not be as effective as you think.

The study's most interesting findings, after the jump...


1. The six-month study followed eight families who were loaned a Nintendo Wii for three months. Their fitness level was charted for the three months prior to receiving a Wii Fit, and then for the three months with it in the household. During that six-month period, each family was evaluated based on aerobic fitness, balance and body composition; in addition, the families' movement and physical activity was measured by an accelerator.

2. The study found that, over the three-month period with a Wii Fit in the house, children did display significant increases in aerobic fitness, but no significant changes in daily physical activity, muscular fitness, flexibility, balance or body composition for families as a whole.

3. Wii Fit use per household was minimal and declined significantly after the first six weeks, from 22 minutes per day to four minutes per day.

The researchers at the University of Mississippi concluded that Wii Fit ultimately had little impact on daily fitness. For a lot of families, getting a Wii Fit sounds an awful lot like getting that gym membership you don't really want -- after the novelty wears off, you're back to the same old habits. For a better alternative, try these six steps from fitness expert Kathleen Trotter for incorporating more exercise into your daily routine.

10 Nutrition Essentials to Keep Your Body Young

Many of us, especially women, dread the thought of aging. The changes in our hair, skin and body allow for only one conclusion: gravity is a cruel and nasty thing. But here is another, though more subtle, sign of aging that sneaks up on you: the switch from being called 'Miss' one day to 'Ma'am' the next. It's a change that leaves you wondering, "is it my clothes, my 'air' of responsibility or my darn crow's feet?"
Generally, not aging well means you look older than expected for your age. It is also safe to say that if you do not appear to be aging well on the outside, your insides are not aging well, either. Ultimately, this affects not only the way you look, but your natural body processes like reproduction and elimination, as well as your risk for diseases like cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

10 steps to help you look and feel younger, after the jump...


How you age has a lot to do with genetics, but the newest research suggests your environment and lifestyle may have just as much influence as your genes. Taking the necessary steps to prevent premature aging is crucial -- not only because of your appearance, but also for your bones, your brain and your vital organs like your kidneys, heart and liver.

Using these tips will not only help to prevent premature aging, but they may also help you look and feel younger than you currently do -- no matter what your condition. So start thinking fresh to keep your body and mind vibrant this year!

1. Eat a calorie restricted diet. This is proven to be the number one way to slow the aging process. Several studies have found that eating a highly nutritious, calorie restricted diet slows the aging process. Include foods such as broccoli, berries (especially blueberries), salmon, avocados and apples that are full of antioxidants and fabulous for your skin.

2. Maintain a healthy muscle mass with resistance training. After the age of 30 we lose approximately one pound of muscle per year without resistance training. Thank goodness the new trend in resistance training is a short workout! Only 20 to 30 minutes three times per week is truly all that is required to build muscle and chances are, you will stick with this type of workout because it is so short and enjoyable. But, this also means doing cardiovascular activity most days of the week may be too much. Make sure that you are performing the proper amount of cardio versus resistance training to maintain your muscle mass and metabolic rate.

3. Take antioxidants vitamins like A, C and E and minerals like selenium and zinc. These help to prevent cellular damage from free radicals, which are linked to the aging process. My new favourite supplement for anti-aging is Resveratrol Extra from Pure Encapsulations. This wonder substance appears to turn of the genes that cause aging and it prevents weight gain even while consuming a high fat diet! In fact, it works so well researchers in the United States are currently working hard to make a drug out of the supplement.

4. Eat a diet that is 80 percent sugar free. Also, limit your intake of starches like breads, pasta and rice to one serving a day the size of your fist. Sugar and carbohydrates cause an increase in insulin. Insulin is the hormone which allows sugars to enter your cells to be used as fuel or stored as fat if they are not burned off. It also tells your body not to release any stored fat. High levels of sugar and insulin results in "carmelization" of body tissues and accelerates the formation of wrinkles. You can use a supplement of alpha lipoic acid to reduce the negative effects of insulin and sugar on your body in addition to eating in hormonal balance.

5. Skip the java. Caffeine in coffee and tea causes dehydration, increases the secretion of stress hormones and causes loss of minerals like magnesium. Choose green tea instead. It is a potent antioxidant and also improves blood sugar control. Coffee also makes you more acidic, which is damaging to body tissues like your bones and joints. To find out if you are acidic, purchase pH strips at your local health food store or online and measure your saliva daily. A salivary pH of 7.2 to 7.4 is optimal.

6. Take essential fatty acid supplements to keep your skin supple and inflammation low. Fish oils are great, natural anti-inflammatory compounds. They assist in fat loss and they also help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Consider using coconut oil topically if your skin is dry.

7. Drink water. Dehydrated skin looks older! Joints stiffen up with insufficient water intake and constipation related to dehydration will only make you more toxic. The best water to consume is reverse osmosis water or spring water-not distilled, which is devoid of minerals.

8. Eat your veggies. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and unsaturated fats has been found to increase immune system function and ward off wrinkles. Skin-friendly foods include green leafy vegetables, beans, olive oil and nuts. Try drinking vegetable juice or taking a green food supplement if you are having trouble getting your greens into your diet.

9. Be happy and don't forget to breathe. Stress kills-and it accelerates the aging process. Cortisol, the hormone released under chronic stress, damages bones, the immune system, the brain and your mojo! Laugh every day and surround yourself with positive people. If your work environment or home environment is negative, look at what you can change. Remember: you cannot change other people's actions, only your reaction to them.

10. Don't smoke! Smoking is the worst thing you can do for your skin and overall cellular health. Along with being high in toxins, it causes a decrease in the blood supply to the skin. Puckering your lips will eventually cause the lines to remain. I recommend this book to help you quit: The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr.

Learning to Love Exercise: How to Adopt a Permanent Lifestyle Change

You probably took one look at that title and said, "What the Hell?"

The ganja-loving Beatnik I refer to is John Lennon, because the Beatle had some good insights that can be applied to your New Year's fitness resolution: "All you need is love."

Before you say "What the Hell?" a second time, allow me to explain.

Love may not be all you need, but developing a passion for the physical activity you engage in is critical for long-term success. People who get up early to run in the cold, adapt their schedules to go to the gym, push themselves to the limit in exercise classes, or cycle to work every day all have one thing in common: they don't hate what they're doing.

Purveyors of bogus fitness products sell a quick-fix miracle cure for getting in shape, but not only are they lying about the effectiveness of their products, they perpetuate the mistaken idea that exercise is a punishment to be endured, not enjoyed. That's why they say things like "Just minutes a day..." Unfortunately, those who see exercise simply as means to an end rarely last more than a few months.

How do you learn to love exercise? It helps if you start off by not hating it.




Don't go into a new exercise program with the attitude that it's going to suck. Instead, minimize your discomfort by understanding some important keys to motivation. I'm not referring to the Tony Robbins pseudo-scientific "Awaken the Giant Within" crap, but the real science of cognitive behavioural change. This includes the work of Dr. Albert Bandura, the Stanford University psychologist who in 1977 developed an important behaviour modification model called self-efficacy. This model implies that you should do the opposite of Nike's famous "Just do it" tagline. Building self-efficacy follows more along the lines of: learn, plan, prepare, then do.

Bandura determined that self-efficacy is a situation-specific form of self-confidence that can be developed to give people a sense of comfort prior to engaging in a new behaviour and increase their likelihood of persevering.

Here's an example: you've never lifted weights before and someone advises you to start going hard with the iron tomorrow (Just do it!). You go to a gym and have no clue what you're doing. You're a total spaz at lifting, maybe you hurt yourself; you hate it and never want to go back. Alternatively, you build self-efficacy by reading about lifting weights, hiring a personal trainer, getting a plan and some nice workout clothes together, and then go to the gym. You might not love your first workout, but there's a better chance you'll stick to it.

It may sound negative to talk about people hating exercise, but if it were easy to love then a lot more people would be doing it. Another way to minimize the discomfort of adopting a new exercise routine is to start slow. Don't be in a rush to get in shape; instead, choose a level of intensity that is only moderately uncomfortable and increase the amount and intensity over time.

Going slow at adopting exercise is a difficult mindset for people who want to lose weight fast, which is why you need to put these types of goals out of your mind for a while. The most important goal you can have is not losing a certain number of pounds, building muscle, or decreasing cholesterol. The critical objective for a new exerciser is adopting a permanent lifestyle change. If you accomplish that then all other related goals are more easily achieved and maintained.

Sticking to it
Bandura's advice helps you prepare for and act on your goals and the work of renowned psychologist Dr. B. F. Skinner helps you maintain with his reinforcement studies, called operant conditioning.

You not only want to start exercising but want to keep doing it for years to come, correct? Skinner discovered that there are different types of events that can take place after a new behaviour that influences the likelihood of that behaviour taking place again in the future. The most important of these, and the most relevant to getting in shape, is "positive reinforcement." If something good happens during or immediately after exercise then you will be willing to do it again. This is why losing weight is such a lousy motivator, because the reinforcement comes so much later than the activity. Instead of thinking about getting healthy or burning fat, focus on why exercise is enjoyable now. Some ideas for positive reinforcement are: get into the social aspect of exercise, relish in the sense of accomplishment, enjoy the rush of endorphins, and even take pleasure in how a hot shower feels after a run in frigid temperatures.

There are many ways to develop a love for exercise, but a key element is simply having the knowledge that it is important for success. If you approach exercise with a positive attitude and the understanding that you will learn to love it, then eventually that love will find a way.

Oh, and I advise against taking up pot-smoking. It would suck going for a run and having to stop to cough your guts out.

High Fat, High Sugar Diet Turns On 'Fat Genes'

Everyone knows that a diet high in sugar and bad fats may lead to obesity. But what they may not know is that an unhealthy Western diet is actually causing obesity on the genetic level. A new study published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (online at the FASEB Journal) reports that eating a high fat, high sugar diet actually turns on genes that cause the body to store more fat than it needs.

From the press release, "In the research report, scientists show that foods high in fat and sugar stimulate a known opioid receptor, called the kappa opioid receptor, which plays a role in fat metabolism. When this receptor is stimulated, it causes our bodies to hold on to far more fat than our bodies would do otherwise."

The research was done on two different groups of mice -- one group who had had their kappa opioid receptor artificially deactivated and the other group unaltered. Both groups were fed an energy-dense, high-sugar, high-fat diet for 16 weeks. What the researchers found was that, while the mice with the unaltered receptor became obese, those with the altered receptor remained lean.

Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal speculates that this receptor may have served an important role at certain points in human history when food was more scarce. "In times when food was scarce and starvation an ever-present threat, an adaptation that allows our bodies to store as much energy as possible during plentiful times was probably a lifesaver."

The implications of this study are fascinating, although the direction in which this will inevitably lead the research is somewhat disturbing. This finding should serve as another reason to avoid the unhealthy high-sugar, high-fat diet, but the FASEB Journal looks at the significance of this research as a step toward developing new "skinny drugs"; drugs that prevent obesity or help obese people slim down. "By taking that opioid receptor off the table, researchers may have found a way to keep us from eating ourselves to death."

I'm not sure a skinny drug is really the thing missing from the human equation at the moment. While obesity is one effect of eating an unhealthy diet, it certainly isn't the only one. It is unlikely that removing obesity -- the cosmetic inconvenience associated with an unhealthy diet -- from the equation will do nothing to lessen the incidence of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and any of the host of other degenerative diseases and disorders found to go hand in hand with excessively "energy dense" eating. However, removing the taboo of obesity may be removing one of the prime motivating factors for eating healthy in the first place.

A skinny drug would, no doubt, sell like hotcakes, even though the risk factors associated with unhealthy eating won't be directly addressed. It is unlikely that a magic pill will ever be invented that will let you eat whatever garbage you wish with no ill effects, yet it seems that won't stop the scientific community from trying.

5 Strategies to Fit Exercise Into Your Life

If you caught our recent posts on exercise, you must be delighted to now know that regular fitness actually makes you happier, smarter and younger - science says so! I love it when studies prove things that we already intuitively know is good for us. And these facts can really motivate us to lace up our running shoes and hit the gym because it's not just about looking good, it's about creating a healthier mind and emotional state too.

If you are feeling a little overwhelmed with the craziness of life -- career, kids, spouse, family and errands, you are not alone. Studies prove that when women are stressed, the first two things they sacrifice are sleep and exercise. And it's no wonder we are stressed because these are the very things we NEED to help us better manage stress.

Finding time to exercise doesn't have to be a chore. Try these five strategies for making it a priority in your life...

1. Get organized: Choose one day week where you take 10 minutes to look at your calendar and literally schedule exercise into your day for the remaining week. If you spend 30 minutes watching TV, surfing the internet or reading celebrity gossip mags, then you definitely have time to fit exercise into your life. Make it a priority over less important things.

2. Fit it in where you can: If the thought of hitting the gym bores you to tears, then instead get more active all throughout the day so you can avoid the dreaded treadmill. Here are some simple ideas: Take the stairs up to your office, get up from your desk and walk to the washroom and stretch once an hour, park your car a few blocks away from your office and walk to work, go for a power walk at lunch, buy an exercise DVD and do 20 minutes in your living room either first thing in the morning or as soon as you get home from work, take swimming lessons once a week, carry ALL your groceries to the car instead of using the cart -- the ideas are endless.

3. Start simple: You don't have to follow a specific exercise regime and commit to a program -- this can be overwhelming if you are starting out from scratch. Begin each day by making a commitment to yourself that you are simply going to be more active and fit it in where you can with the ideas in strategy number two.

4. Get a buddy: The buddy system never fails. If you have a friend with similar goals, this is a great motivator because when one of you wants to bail on exercise, likely the other one will be the motivator! Keep it simple, just like point three. Rent a bunch of exercise DVDs and do them with a friend two times a week in your basement.

5. Eat well: When you eat well, you feel well and when you feel well, you tend to participate in activities that create a healthy body and mind, such as exercise. The two go hand-in-hand, exercise and good nutrition go together like almond butter and jelly. To get the most of your workouts and provide the basis for feeling energized during activity, what you put in your body, you will get out. A burger and fries is not a post-workout meal and won't make you feel very joyous, but eating all three macro-nutrients -- complex carbs, protein and fat such as brown rice, asparagus and grilled salmon is a step in the right direction.

Now that you have five strategies for getting up off the couch and finding time to make exercise a priority, you have no reason not to do it. And you don't have to wait until the new year to start. You could start tomorrow -- remember start simple and stick with it!

Do Sugary Drinks Really Make You Fat? 3 Healthier Drinks

We've been told for years that sugary soft drinks have played a significant role in the increasingly problematic obesity epidemic. Schools have even gone so far as to remove sugary drinks from their premises, and some nutrition experts suggest that simply cutting out soda pop will help you shed pounds. But according to a recent study at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, as reported by Reuters, the link between sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain might not be as clear as previously thought.

Here are some of the study's key findings.

* The connection between sugary beverages and obesity risk is unclear, particularly in youth. Researchers studied over 2,000 ethnically diverse, male and female teens, and found no link between between weight gain over five years and drinking sugary beverages.



* When the teens were 15, more than half reported drinking soft drinks, sugar-sweetened punch and apple or orange juice each up to six times a week. A little under half reported that they consumed seven or more servings of white milk weekly.

* The researchers found no overall link between consumption of sweetened beverages and teens' weight gain over five years, but they did find that drinking little or no white milk was tied to greater gains in body mass index (BMI) -- and that the opposite was true for teens who drank white milk nearly every day.

* Interestingly, the study did find a correlation between drinking diet soda and gaining weight -- something researchers attributed more to overall diet practices than the value (or lack thereof) of diet soda. In other words, if you're drinking a lot of diet soda -- which is full of synthetic ingredients -- you're probably not being particularly conscientious with the rest of your diet.

So what to make of all of this? Sugar beverages might not encourage weight gain, but they do fill you up without providing your body with any vital nutrients. Here are three alternatives to both quench your thirst and give your body what it needs:

1. First thing in the morning and last thing at night, try drinking a cup of warm water with lemon -- it will help flush out your system and get things moving in the morning.

2. Smoothies have been billed as the answer to all of your nutritional needs over the past few years, but they really are a great way to get your daily fruits and vegetables in one delicious mix. And if you have trouble getting your daily count of leafy greens (like I sometimes do), sneak a half cup of spinach, kale or parsley into your fruit-filled smoothie. The fruits (especially raspberries and blueberries) will help mask the taste. Here's a Breakfast Smoothie recipe from That's Fit's Doug DiPasquale -- but remember, you can throw whatever you like into your own recipe.

3. Instead of drinking plain water, rotate teas on a daily basis. Red, green, black and white teas -- along with many herbal teas -- are extremely good for you and are full of antioxidants and other immune-boosting properties. If you can, instead of sticking to the typical supermarket boxes of dried, uninspiring tea, consider investing in a proper tea pot and visiting a tea shop -- you'll be amazed at the varieties and tastes available. I recently picked up a rooibos (red tea) with whole black currants, lavender and rose petals, and a black tea with whole pistachios and chunks of papaya. If you prefer cold beverages, make a batch or two and then pour it into a pitcher you can keep on the counter or in the fridge -- many teas taste great chilled!

Detoxing After the Holidays: 5 Tips

Now that the holidays are over and we're all back in our regular routines, you may be taking stock of the celebrating you did over the past month or so. And you might be thinking, detox! I think this is the reason we all make our resolutions on New Year's Day - because we tend to let things slide during the holidays at the end of the year.

Here's a few suggestions for ways to get yourself back on track in the post-holiday haze of over-indulging regret.


1. Probiotics - A good way to undo some of the damage done over the holidays is to revitalize your inner ecosystem. A vibrant and healthy gut leads to a vibrant and healthy you. Probiotic foods or supplements help curb cravings for sugar that may be cropping up again if you indulged too much during the holidays and they'll boost your immunity and aid your digestion to boot.


2. Eliminate Processed Foods - This is where most people have a lot of trouble. It's difficult to make the transition to whole foods when you're used to just grabbing something ready-made, and chances are you were reaching for more of this than you normally would over the holidays. But the fact is those processed foods are not contributing to your health in any positive way. Get back on the wagon of eating whole unprocessed foods today - the sooner you get back into the habit, the easier it will be. Try investing in a slow cooker - you can throw in a bunch of ingredients, cook it over night and have your lunch or dinner all ready for you when you need it.

3. Learn Some New Recipes - One way to turn your eating around is to try making healthy eating fun. And what's more fun then trying something new, learning a new skill or eating foods you've never tried before? Thatsfit.ca is a good place to start for holistic recipes, but there are literally thousands of holistic, real food recipes out there on the web. Just google it!

4. Replace a Meal With a Smoothie - This one comes from Kevin Gianni from the Renegade Health Show. Throwing whole fruits and veggies with a few supplements into a blender is how I start every day and it's a great way to make sure you're at least starting your day with healthy whole foods. Experiment with different recipes or combinations to find one that tastes great so that you're more likely to stick with it (there's only so many non-tasty breakfasts that you can eat before you throw the whole idea out the window).

5. Physical Activity - Probably at least half of you out there have made a resolution to be more active this year, whether it be spending more time at the gym, picking up jogging or just doing everything possible to lose that extra 10 pounds. But the experts tell us that unless you enjoy the physical activity you're doing, the chances of you sticking with it are slim to none. So rather than hitting the pavement by sheer force of will, why not resolve to find a physical activity that you enjoy? Maybe you need to have a sense of competition to get you off your butt. Maybe you need to incorporate music or audio books into your jog. Whatever motivates you, make sure you're actually looking forward to your activity. This will up the staying power of that resolution.

Looking for more detox ideas? Check out these posts from That'sFit.ca:

Liver Detox Salad Recipe: Quick and Delicious!
Is Detoxing Necessary? Time to Clean Your Liver
Detoxification to Lose Weight Fast
10 Ways to Detoxify Your Life, Your House and Yourself

Morning Banana Diet: Good or Bad?

The latest diet "craze" to come through my inbox is a bit light on the crazy, for a change. It's called the Banana Diet or the Morning Banana Diet and it basically involves eating bananas. The diet took off in Japan in 2008, when a pharmacist from Osaka instituted the diet for her boyfriend who reportedly lost 17kg (about 37 pounds)! From there the diet, known in Japan as the Asa Banana Diet, became an internet sensation, circulating mostly by word of mouth on one of the country's most popular social networking sites called Mixi.

Realizing the potential boost to banana sales, Dole Fresh Fruit Company, a subsidiary of Dole Food Company Inc., announced its plans to launch a campaign to make North Americans aware of the hidden weight loss potential of bananas. It remains to be seen if banana sales will experience a boost on par with what they did in Japan, as the popularity of the banana diet there lead to reported banana shortages.

It's a fairly simple diet, as far as diets go - eat enough bananas in the morning to get you about 80 percent full, then eat a "normal" lunch and dinner. If you're still hungry after eating bananas, wait 30 minutes and then you can eat something else. In Japan they would normally eat rice balls but North American dieters have recommended oatmeal. There's a little more to it than this, which you can check out on the rules page, but this it the gist.

What do I think of the Morning Banana Diet? I think it's a good thing that a diet is focusing on whole food consumption instead of lowered calorie processed foods. Overall, I don't see anything wrong with eating bananas for breakfast as long as you're not reacting to them in some way (remember, not every food is right for every person; a fact that, to its credit, the Morning Banana site points out). Bananas are a healthy fruit, containing high levels of potassium as well as fibre, vitamin B6, vitamin C and manganese.

In a world where a new diet comes along 15 minutes after the previous one with an approach completely contradictory to the last, the Morning Banana Diet is deceptively simple. But with no real limits on what else you're eating aside from the bananas, the diet is likely not addressing the issues around why someone would be overweight in the first place. Switching out one processed low-nutrient meal for a healthy fruit, from Fruit Loops to bananas for example, may in fact lead to weight loss. But don't make the mistake of thinking this is all you need to do for a healthy and sound eating plan.

At its core, the Banana Diet is a weight loss diet, and makes no other claims. As a holistic nutritionist I look for a lot more than weight loss as a means for judging a healthy eating protocol. The holistic approach focuses on health, which will inevitably include weight loss if you're overweight, (or even weight gain if you're under weight - imagine that). After all, being infected with parasites, having undiagnosed celiac disease and straight up starvation will make you lose weight too, although I wouldn't recommend these as approaches to healthy eating. The Morning Banana website even states itself, "the Morning Banana Diet is to help you lose weight, not make you fit, unclog your arteries, or whiten your teeth". Or make you healthy, I would add.

That being said, I can see the Morning Banana Diet as one step you could take toward healthier eating, although I would definitely recommend some alterations. Having a whole food breakfast is a great idea, but eating only fruit is giving you a bit too much of a sugar hit and there's no complete protein. Protein is important in the morning. Why not incorporate that banana into a smoothie and add in some nuts and greens?

Bottom line - we're all different, so one size fits all diets are never going to work for everyone. I would say that eating only bananas for breakfast is going to cause some imbalances in the long term, but chances are it's a lot better than what the majority of North Americans are currently eating for breakfast. At the end of the day, weight loss should be a pleasant side effect from adopting a healthy lifestyle, not the payoff to temporary dieting. And, in my opinion, this one is better than the cookie diet.

Are Obese People In Denial About Their Weight?

While many of us are aware of every single pound we gain (and, more importantly, the effect on how comfortable our best pair of jeans feel) it seems that weight awareness might not figure as prominently as the numbers on the scale exceed the healthy limits. Recent research found that obese people often aren't aware that they're obese, and many even classify their weight as perfectly normal.

Findings by the Dallas Heart Study show that in a study involving over 2,000 obese people, eight percent of participants claimed to be satisfied with their weight or even thought they could stand to gain more. And of those who had underestimated the severity of their weight problem, 44 percent hadn't seen a physician in the past year, suggesting they're living in a serious state of denial. Furthermore, while obese people who were honest about their need to lose weight were likely to engage in regular exercise, obese people who were satisfied with their weight didn't work out at all.

Needless to say, the fact that nearly 10 percent of unhealthy-weight people don't know the danger they're in is a problem. "That is a sizable percentage who don't understand they are overweight and believe they are healthy," says study author Tiffany Powell, M.D. But since many don't visit their doctor, whose responsibility is it to warn them of the dangers of excess weight?

There's no easy answer to this one, says Powell. "We have to help people understand that despite loving what you look like, if you are obese you are at risk," she told ABC. "We walk a fine line in helping people understand the impact of obesity without making them feel bad about themselves." But just how obesity awareness can be spread without causing mass offense remains to be seen.

Very Simple Advice on How to Live Longer and Healthier

According to a recent report released by the MacArthur Research Network on an Aging Society, North Americans living in the next 40 years will be much older than many current predictions. "The significance of this study is that it not only brings up the topic of length of life, but quality of life. People living longer want to live healthier for longer," said Dr. Steven Joyal, Vice President of Science and Medical Affairs for the Life Extension Foundation, the largest non-profit organization dedicated to research on extending the healthy human lifespan.

Here, Dr. Joyal imparts very simple advice on how to live healthier, longer.

Q: Do you have a sense of what average life expectancy in Canada and the U.S. will look like in 50 years?

A: With the current advances in nanotechnology, gene therapy, stem cell research and artificial intelligence, there is every reason to believe that children born at the turn of the new millennium will live, on average, to 100 years of age and well beyond.

Q: What role does nutrition play in enhancing quality of life as we live longer?

A: The most validated strategy for significantly extending mean (average) lifespan to date is caloric restriction (CR). Consuming, on average, 20 percent to 30 percent less calories than you would normally eat may be the best strategy for reducing age-associated morbidity due to disease.

Q: And exercise?

A: Exercise mimics many of the beneficial physiological effects of caloric restriction (CR) including improvements in cholesterol and lipids, insulin and fasting plasma glucose. In addition, exercise has beneficial effects on stress management, and exercise has been shown to be at least as effective as pharmaceutical Rx (prescriptions) treatment for mild to moderate depression.

Q: Do you have any behavioural tips for how to live healthier longer?

A: Eat less calories, exercise frequently, minimize stress, and if you currently smoke and drink to excess, stop!

Daily Exercise: One Large Dose vs. Several Shorter Spurts

With rates of obesity and obesity-related illnesses climbing in the Canadian population, it's suggested that Canadians strive to build more activity into their daily lives in order to stay healthy or improve health. Most of us know that an active lifestyle is good for our health; the problem is that our lives keep getting busier and busier. So how does one find the time to get their daily dose of physical activity?

What if you had the choice, let's say, to accumulate short bouts of activity throughout the day rather than slog it out on the treadmill for 30 minutes? Performing multiple, shorter bouts of activity over the course of the day might be a more realistic (and perhaps enjoyable) option for you, given that lack of time is a frequently reported barrier to physical activity among adults. But would health-related benefits differ according to the way in which you built activity into your day? And how long would these activity bouts need to be to confer health benefits?


A recent review of the scientific literature looked at the effects of similar amounts of exercise performed in either one continuous bout (i.e., 30 minutes), or two or more accumulated bouts (of less than 10 minutes), on a range of health outcomes in adults. After comparing results from sixteen different exercise training studies, the authors concluded that shorter bouts of accumulated activity appear to be as equally effective as longer, continuous bouts of activity at improving cardiovascular fitness and blood pressure, as long as the total duration is the same. For other health outcomes such as body fatness, there were mixed results; the authors suggested that more evidence was needed to determine whether accumulated exercise is as beneficial as the more traditional, continuous approach.

A Matter of Time
It seems that accumulated activity can bring health benefits. But do these accumulated bouts need to be at least 10 minutes long? Can even shorter bouts bring health benefits too? A recent study I conducted looked at the physical activity patterns of children living in the UK, and discovered that the association between physical activity and aspects of health (body fatness, aerobic fitness and vascular function) were similar regardless of how the child accumulated the activity (i.e., in short (less than 4 s) bursts of activity or longer (less than 5 minute) bouts). Although the research has yet to be conducted in adults, it certainly provides a rationale for looking at whether the accumulation of very short activity bouts offers adults certain health benefits too.
We know that physical activity is instrumental in maintaining healthy, functioning bodily systems. Healthy physiological systems are complex and can adapt to unpredictable stresses (for example, increasing heart rate and breathing rate during exercise, and increasing blood flow to exercising muscles). When the complexity of the body's physiological systems breaks down and the ability to adapt worsens, this signals the transition to a diseased state. Getting activity in short bouts throughout the day would force the body to frequently adapt to these physiological stresses, while one continuous bout would require adaptation at a single time point. It's therefore especially interesting that the total number of activity bouts per day was positively related to vascular health in UK children. As you increase the number of bouts of activity in a given day, what you are doing is breaking up the time you spend being sedentary and it's this behaviour that may be responsible for protecting aspects of cardiovascular health in adults. Perhaps the key message then is as simple as "spend less time sitting and spend more time moving". As the Public Health Agency of Canada suggests, think about building physical activity into your daily life at home, at school/work, through play, and on the way!

What Should We Be Aiming For?
The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends getting at least 60 minutes of light intensity activity into each and every day, and gradually progressing to activities of moderate or greater effort. As the intensity of the activity increases, the amount of time decreases. If you're performing moderate-intensity activity, then scientists recommend attaining at least 30 to 60 minutes per day. If the activity is vigorous, then aim for at least 20 to 30 minutes per day. To differentiate between these two intensities, ask yourself: How does the activity feel? How warm am I? What is my breathing like? If you're just starting to feel warm and there's a slight increase in your breathing rate, then it's a good chance you're performing an activity of a light effort (i.e., light walking/easy gardening/stretching). As you start to get warmer and your breathing rate accelerates, you're getting into moderate intensity activity (i.e., brisk walking/biking/raking leaves). You might start to perspire a little, but you should still be able to carry on a conversation. You'll know the activity is vigorous or hard when you start perspiring heavily and become more out of breath, and carrying on a conversation becomes increasingly difficult (i.e., aerobics/jogging/basketball).

Key Messages:

* As long as you're getting the same amount of exercise, you should expect to see similar improvements in aerobic fitness and blood pressure, regardless of whether you get your activity in shorter, accumulated bouts or a longer, continuous bout
* The jury is still out on whether accumulated or continuous exercise is better for reducing body fatness, but it seems likely that a given amount of exercise would induce similar changes whether it is performed in single daily bouts or one continuous bout
* Very short bouts of activity accumulated over the course of the day appear to be health beneficial in children, and there's reason to believe that breaking up sedentary time with "bursts of activity" throughout the day is critical to protecting your cardiovascular health

Some tips for getting activity into your life:

* Make yourself an example of active living
* Be the exception. Take the stairs and avoid the crowded escalators. You might actually reach the top first and you'll feel better for it! Who knows, you might even start a trend.
* Instead of surfing the net on your lunch break, throw on your coat and mittens and head outside for a walk. Grab a friend/colleague on the way – they could probably use an "active break" from work too!

Final thoughts
Building physical activity into your day might be hard to do with the Canadian winter upon us, when the temptation to hibernate like a bear seems as good an idea as any! As discussed last week, Canadians tend to be less active during the winter season. Yet the decline in physical activity is actually rather modest, which infers that many Canadians do find a way to keep moving despite the chilly temperatures. As suggested, bundle up warm and embrace the outdoors. Try your hand at a new winter activity (snowshoeing perhaps?). Go for a walk in the snow. Dig out your skates. Explore. Play. Laugh. Have fun. Feel invigorated. And be healthier!

Junk In The Trunk Is Good For Your Health

Shaped like a pear? While you're probably not overjoyed by the fact that you have a bit of extra padding in your tush and thighs, new evidence shows that you should actually be grateful for your build. Research from Oxford University in England states that those who carry a little extra weight in their backside and thighs might be healthier than those who carry their extra weight in their gut.

The reason? Fat carried in your belly is different from the fat you carry in your butt and thighs. Stomach fat is easier to break down than than the other kind of fat, but this process results in a build-up of cytokines, which can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The fat on your backside, on the other hand, actually produces hormones that can protect against these kind of diseases. While you should still make sure you're maintaining a healthy weight, the researchers also concluded that carrying some fat in this region is very important for your health because it gives the body a place to store essential fatty acids -- and if these acids are stored in organs, it can lead to heart disease.

The bottom line? Like J-Lo, don't be afraid to show off your shapely backside, it tells the world of your potential for a long and healthy life.

Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?

While it may seen counter-intuitive to many, the idea that people can be both healthy and overweight - and sometimes even more healthy than people who are thinner - is gaining both traction and attention. Several years ago, a number of studies demonstrated that people who are slightly overweight but who exercise have less risk of developing cardiac disease than people of normal weight but who are sedentary. This led to a recommendation that overweight individuals spend more time focused on their blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels than on the numbers on some scale.

Well, that idea is now being revised. The New York Times' Well blog recently took on the issue, reported by Gretchen Reynolds, weighing the scientific evidence and giving voice to a number of experts. The details and final assessment?

1. Swedish researchers recently published findings of a study in which they examined the medical records (spanning 30 years) of more than 1,700 middle-aged men. The men were measured and tested when they reached the age of 50 and then periodically over the next 50 years. They were grouped according to body-mass index and metabolic profiles, which is a good overall indicator of physical health and fitness. The findings? Even though being fat and having healthy blood work puts you at less risk of cardiac disease than someone who is thin and has lousy metabolic parameters, being overweight still leaves you with a 50 percent greater risk of developing heart disease.

2. Another study looked at activity levels in women to assess health and fitness and came to pretty much the same conclusion. Researchers determined that women with a higher BMI, even if they were active, had an elevated risk of coronary heart disease compared to women of normal weight who engaged in the same amount of activity. In other words, being active can lessen the health risks of carrying extra pounds but can't eliminate them.

3. So why, if we're been told that levels of fitness are the ultimate issue, do a few extra pounds continue to present such a problem? Some have speculated that fat itself is unhealthy tissue that can interfere with muscle function, and also release inflammatory molecules that increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease (two ailments frequently linked to overweight and obese individuals).

So what's the answer? Staying active and keeping your weight down to a healthy number. Not exactly an earth shattering conclusion, I know, but that seems to be the best solution both science and common sense have to offer. If you're looking for a way to get started on your path to fitness, try some simple exercises that can be easily incorporated into your routine. Also, here are some tips for keeping your weight down using natural supplements.

Are You Eating Toxic Foods? Tips on Detoxing

Q: What commonly makes foods toxic?

A: Foods can be deemed toxic if they contain things such as pesticides, heavy metals and other environmental toxins such as PCB's and dioxins found within them. Unfortunately, our food is more toxic than we think. Even seemingly non-toxic organic food can be high in heavy metals, causing a number of health concerns.

Foods can also be considered toxic if they are difficult to digest by an individual. A common culprit is wheat products. Most people now have difficulty digesting wheat because this grain has been altered over the years to become more pest-resistant. For this reason, it can cause digestive ailments for many of people. Packaged food containing a number of preservatives is also toxic. We should focus on eating whole foods as much as possible to stay healthy and prevent disease.

Q: What affect can eating toxic foods have on our health?

A: Toxic foods can cause a whole host of health issues ranging from digestive complaints to cancer. Toxins accumulate in our organs and unless we do something to remove these toxins (such as regular detoxification), they can cause ailments. This is especially true for heavy metal toxins such as mercury found in fish. Mercury is toxic to the kidneys, brain and nervous system and can cause diseases such as Alzheimer's and heart disease. Environmental toxins such as PCB's and dioxins are toxic to the liver and kidneys and can cause diseases such as cancer and auto-immune disorders.

Q: What types of toxic foods do we eat on a regular basis?

A: Some of the most commonly consumed toxic foods include sugar, caffeine, wheat, fish and dairy products. Refined sugar is not natural by any means and is toxic to our digestive tract and pancreas. Caffeine is healthy in small doses, but many are addicted to caffeine and have more than one serving a day (which I usually tell my patients is OK). Coffee, in particular is toxic to the liver and can cause a lack of energy and nausea. Dairy products can also be toxic because of the antibiotics given to the cows to ward off infection. Hormones found in milk and dairy products are also a problem if we over-consume these foods daily. More than one serving of dairy is usually too much and I advise my patients with chronic colds and sinusitis, or children with chronic ear infections to avoid dairy all together.

Q: How can we avoid consuming toxic foods?

A: The first step is to become more aware about the sources of toxins in foods. In my book, The Healthy Millionaire, I go into great depth about the sources of toxins in food and our environment and how to avoid them. It is always best to eat whole foods and less processed foods. Processed foods are more toxic because they typically need to be preserved for a longer shelf life, and preservatives are toxic.

If you do feel the need to give your system a cleaning, check out these helpful posts:

Delicious liver detox salad

A naturopath's tips on detoxing

5 tips on cleaning up your diet after the holidays

Detox to lose weight: 8 tips on foods to eliminate

5 Steps to Prevent a Cold or Flu: What to Eat, What to Avoid

five steps to help prevent and treat colds and flu.

Q: We always talk about treating a cold or flu, but are there ways to prevent one in the first place?

A: Prevention is key in keeping a healthy immune system. As naturopathic doctors, we don't like to use the word "strengthening" as an immune system that is too efficient causes a whole host of auto-immune disorders.

There are five key steps in both preventing and treating the cold and flu:

1. Antioxidants are the key to healthy cells and a healthy immune system. Whole food antioxidants contained in superfoods, such as pomegranates, goji berries, blueberries, blackberries, acai berries, and cranberries, help to fight the free radicals that are toxic to our systems and deplete our immunity.

There is a list of fruits and vegetables that are highest on the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scale. This means that these fruits and vegetables are rated highest in their ability to naturally quench free radicals. The above named fruits rank as some of the highest. In the vegetable category, kale ranks highest. Spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and carrots are also great choices and have a high ORAC value.


2. Avoid too much sugar, which suppresses the immune system. Bacterial and viral organisms thrive when they are fed sugar. It is important to stick to natural sugars from fruits and vegetables, rather than refined sugar products including white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup and glucose.

3. Make sure to supplement in the winter months with a good form of vitamin D. Living in Canada, we need to ensure adequate amounts of vitamin D throughout the winter, when we typically do not have direct sun exposure to our skin. I usually recommend 400-1000IU of Vitamin D in a liquid emulsified form that is best absorbed and available from most naturopathic doctors.

4. Limit stress. Stress off-sets our entire endocrine system, thus preventing our immune systems from functioning optimally. We all have stress, but it is what we do with our stress that makes a difference as to how much it affects our health. I often recommend my patients have a healthy outlet for stress, whether it is punching a pillow, regular exercise or yoga andmeditation. Whatever stress we do not process becomes a toxin to our body and can have negative healthy consequences, including lowered immunity.

5. Regular detoxification of the major internal organs helps to flush out accumulated toxins. The five major detoxification organs include the liver, kidneys, lungs, digestive tract and skin. Regular detoxification of these organs is necessary to keep their function optimal and to combat toxins in our environment, food and water that we are exposed to daily. Certain detoxification supplements exist on the market. Be sure to choose a detoxification supplement that targets all the internal organs listed above. This ensures that the toxins that are released from one organ do not become lodged in another. After over ten years of working with my patients in various detoxification protocols, I formulated VitaDetox from VitaTree Nutritionals™ to ensure detoxification in a gentle yet effective way, focusing on all five major detox organs at once.

Why Calorie Counting Won't Help You Lose Weight

I've generally been quite critical of the calorie model of health in my writing. Science has shown time and again that it is far too simplistic a model -- calories in equal to calories out does not always ensure that no weight is gained, and consuming fewer calories than are burned does not guarantee weight loss. Nevermind that weight gain and loss is a rather poor measure of overall health (remember that starvation, parasite infection and hundreds of other diseases lead to weight loss, too).

For an in-depth look at this, here's a fascinating video of Gary Taubes, scientific researcher and author of Good Calories, Bad Calories (a title he admits is inappropriate but that he adopted it, bowing to pressures from American marketing people; the book is called The Diet Delusion in the UK). In the video, Taubes explains the failings of the calorie model, and more specifically, how wrong our conception is that obesity is caused by eating too much. It's a long video (one hour), but it is quite illuminating and well worth watching.

One of my biggest complaints about calorie counting is that it distorts our conception of food. Calories are energy and energy is a good thing. It's how we fuel ourselves, all our actions, our ability to think, emote and interact with the world. Yet, since its inception, the calorie counting diet craze has encouraged us to look on calories as the bad guy -- you want to eat, but you want to minimize your calorie intake, according to the "health experts." As if eating is a pastime, and calories are an unfortunate side-effect.

Only this type of thinking could have brought us to the idea of the "diet beverage." It's got all the sweetness of a sugary beverage, but no calories. It also has no nutrients, no food value and no real explanation for why one would want to drink it, but that doesn't seem to stop this stuff from leaving grocery stores by the case. After all, who wouldn't want to indulge in the delicious sweetness of a soda with absolutely zero consequences?

Ironic, then, that in a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association called Artificially Sweetened Beverages: Cause for Concern, Harvard professor David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, pointed out that artificial sweeteners not only confuse our taste buds and change our appreciation for a range of tastes, but they also lead to weight gain. Ludwig cites studies showing that by dissociating the taste of sweet with our body's natural expectation of calories, the no-cal sweetener consumer may disrupt the system that regulates hunger and body weight.

The author also maintains that, in nature, sweet foods are normally nutritious. We've introduced foods into our diet that don't exist in nature, that are sweet but give no fuel, and this interferes with the body's complex pathways of weight regulation. "Although many synthetic chemicals have been added to the food supply in recent years, artificial sweeteners in beverages stand out in their ability to interact with evolutionarily ancient sensorineural pathways at remarkably high affinity," writes Ludwig. There is bound to be some side effects in messing with our foods in this way.

Ludwig also illustrates that we don't really know what the long term effects of artificial sweeteners are in regards to obesity. Studies have tended to focus on cancer and other chronic disease, whereas few have looked into long term weight gain. "If trends in consumption continue, the nation will, in effect, have embarked on a massive, uncontrolled, and inadvertent public health experiment". I would argue that this experiment is already well under way.

I think this is simply more evidence that the calorie counting model, along with all the processed, artificially manipulated foods it seems inseparable from, is just too simplistic a model to be utilized. How many more years of ineffective low-calorie dieting must we endure before we realize that it just doesn't work? There are far too many other factors to take into account, the biological effect of artificial ingredients among them. The end may be just around the corner in our search for the reasons for our rising obesity rates, but first we need to ditch the old model.

5 Ways to Improve the Health of Your Feet.

Last week I went out to dinner and decided to get all dolled up for the occasion. It's a rare event for me to wear high heels, but I got all glammed up and went for it. Fast forward to the end of the evening, after my shoes had been removed, and I'm shaking my head in dismay at toes all squished together like sardines and red indentations from the shoe straps. The pressure of all one hundred and thirty pounds of me weighing on the ball of each foot definitely can't be good. I tucked the heels away and won't be taking them out for a very long time.

We don't give our feet enough credit for all the work they do. Think about the fact that for a good part of our day they serve as our body's foundation and our connection to the earth. And as our body shifts from walking to sitting to running to jumping, our feet need to be balanced and strong to help facilitate that movement.

And we do awful things to our feet! Specifically, we wear restrictive footwear such as high heels, cleats, ski boots, ballet points, rock-climbing shoes and cowboy boots, which all significantly contribute to the weakening of our feet. Many of our foot problems can be attributed to shoes. It's understandable that three out of four people will develop a serious foot problem in their lifetime.



Five ways to keep feet happy and healthy after the jump.


The result of such blatant disregard for our precious paws are fallen arches, flat feet, bunions, hammertoes and claw toes. And problems in our feet can then manifest in our bodies and we may experience misalignment and pain in our knees, hips, back and shoulders. Then there is the tension we hold in our feet, which we will also feel in our bodies.

Just as any standing structure relies on a strong foundation, our yoga practice also cannot flourish without healthy, balanced feet. In yoga, rooting our feet into the ground is pivotal for standing poses. If our feet are wobbly, this will translate into a wobbly pose. When we don't feel rooted into the ground, the rest of our body senses that, which makes it really hard to let go and trust that we will be fully supported.

This also rings true for our day-to-day living, when we lose our connection to the earth, it is challenging for us to trust and let go. We hear people often say, "I need to get grounded", referring to their lack of stability and security. Who knew that our well-being so heavily depended on our feet. And when you look at it that way, healthy feet are crucial to our happiness.

Here are five ways to bring life back into your feet and keep them happy and healthy.

1. Tennis ball: This is a cheap and effective way of massaging the bottoms of our feet. While standing, roll the bottom of your foot on top of a tennis ball. Find a few sweet spots. You may stay in one particular area for a longer period of time working out the knots and releasing the tension. Make sure to roll the ball under the arch of your foot too; your feet will feel brand new.

2. Massage: Use oil or lotion (without parabens!) and give your feet a rubdown while watching TV. Don't forget to do the tops.

3. Toe stretchers: I can't speak highly enough about toe stretchers. They align, stretch and strengthen the foot muscles and bring awareness back to our feet. I have a pair of toe stretchers that I love to wear when I'm at home working on the computer, cooking, reading, watching a movie and I've even worn them taking a nap. When I wear my toe stretchers, instantly, I feel every part of my foot rooted into the ground.

4. Walking: Of course walking is great exercise, but have you ever considered the benefit to your feet? Probably not. Next time you decide to ditch the car or transit for a walking commute, think about your feet and give them a workout.

5. Rocking from heel to toe: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and as you bring your arms up, slowly start to come up onto the tips of your toes, hold for five seconds, and then slowly start to come down, first placing the balls of your feet on the floor and then the inner and outer heels. Repeat ten times. This helps bring awareness to all areas of your feet, and also strengthens the muscles.

Why You Should Run Outside, No Matter How Cold It Is

Summers are short in Canada and if you hate winter then you live in the wrong country.

Winter is here; what are you going to do about it? Are you a fair-weather runner who relocates to a treadmill? Does the cold and snow make you want to move all of your exercising efforts inside? Do you want a blankie and a cup of hot chocolate?

Seriously, with some planning, preparation and mental fortitude you can make the shift from fair-weather outdoor runner to all-weather workout warrior. Admittedly, having access to treadmills with TVs you may wonder about the benefits of getting outdoors when it's cold enough to freeze Russian vodka, but read on and wonder no more.

Biomechanical and Metabolic Differences

Many articles have been written about the biomechanical and metabolic differences of treadmills vs. outdoor running, and the general consensus is that the contrasts are small. The primary mechanical advantages of running outdoors are the addition of wind resistance, and the ability to build muscles specific to going downhill, around turns and on harder or uneven surfaces. Overall, however, a 2008 study by Patrick Riley et al. in the journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise determined that the kinetics of treadmill vs. outdoor running is very similar.


Psychological Differences

In contrast, the psychology of running outside is very different. An October, 2004 study by Rick LaCaille in Psychology of Sport and Exercise found some telling evidence that convinces me that I'm not actually crazy when I lace up my running shoes at -30C. The research revealed that people who run outside vs. those on treadmills run faster yet have lower perceived exertion, and they also report the "highest levels of positive engagement, revitalization, tranquility and course satisfaction..." In other words, the people outside like it more and work harder. I should note that the tests were conducted during warm weather, but I would argue that similar results could be expected once a person has acclimatized themselves to all-weather running.

From a practical standpoint, one major advantage that outdoor running has over treadmills is the inability to simply quit at any time. If you run five kilometers away from home, then you've got to get back somehow. Unless you feel like hitchhiking or calling a cab, then you've got to run those same five kilometers back. Simply put, with outdoor running you only need to be motivated for the first half. With a treadmill, you can hit stop and step off the instant your motivation lags, and considering how many people believe that treadmills are boring, motivation can start to lag quickly.

There is also the time management aspect. If you rely on using a treadmill at a gym then you need to actually get there. If it's freezing cold then there is the pain in the butt factor of warming up your car, sweeping off the snow, and driving through poor road conditions, then doing it all again to get back home. Getting properly geared up and just running out the door is far more convenient and saves time as well.

Crazy vs. Tough

Exercise adherence is frequently an issue of perceived enjoyment, and running outside is seen by most as more fun than being stuck inside. It's a known fact that those who enjoy exercise are more likely to stick with it and work harder.

When lacing on runners in -30C there are those who will call you crazy, but it's not that they're more sane than you, but that you're tougher than them. Use Canada's harsh winters to test yourself, and you can push your mind and body to new limits and achieve things you didn't think possible. The feeling of accomplishment from a freezing cold run is greater than the same distance in moderate temperatures or on a treadmill, and this feeling of mental toughness can spur you to new levels of physical fitness.

When it comes to cold, I don't have a "cut-off temperature" where I won't run. Instead, I see each miserably freezing cold day as another chance to test my limits. I'll be running outside this winter. Care to join me?

NOTE: Running in extreme temperatures requires proper gear and clothing. Be sure to check out my next article to learn more about this.

Exercise Won't Make Up for Your Sedentary Habits

Like most healthy-minded office dwellers, you probably do your best to make up for long days spent sitting at your desk by getting active on your own time -- you go for walk, head to the gym on a regular basis and even try to take the stairs when you're feeling energetic. You put in a good effort to work against your sedentary lifestyle ... but is it enough?

Probably not, according to recent research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. While exercise plays an important role in improving and prolonging your health, the dangers associated with sitting for long periods still exist independently of your exercise habits. In fact, studies found that a woman's chances of developing metabolic syndrome -- a condition that can lead to diabetes -- rises by 26 percent for every hour she spends watching TV, regardless of how much exercise she gets when she's off the couch. Ouch!

So what can you do to protect your health? If packing in your desk job to go work as a labourer on a farm isn't an option, researchers recommend lessening the amount of time you spend sitting in one spot. Consider breaking up your day with several five-minute bursts of activity. Take a walk, take the stairs -- as long as you do something, anything, that gets your heart pumping just a little bit.

Is a Low-Carb Diet Slowing You Down? 7 Tips for Healthy Bowels

Carbohydrate restriction is a proven way to stimulate weight loss; removing foods like bread, pasta, cereals, rice, muffins and other grain products from your diet for a period of time assists with "retraining" and improving your body's response to insulin, the ultimate key to any effective weight loss plan.

Keeping insulin levels low is the rationale behind being carb conscious (I prefer this over "low-carb") and the reason I recommend the Glyci-Med way of eating in my book, The Hormone Diet. But this lifestyle can have drawbacks. Some people feel a slight decrease in energy or in mood when they limit carbs, and because these foods are a source of fibre, removing them often causes a nasty case of constipation.

Why is constipation so bad?


If things are not "moving along" properly at least once (optimally, 2-3 times) per day it is tough to feel healthy, let alone slim. Obvious negative issues associated with constipation include feeling bloated, pain in the abdomen, occasional cramping and abdominal distention.

Not only is constipation unpleasant, it is not without repercussions on other aspects of your health. Simply stated, the longer waste remains in your large intestine, the longer undesirable byproducts of digestion and elimination will be permitted to reabsorb into your system. This can result in headaches, fatigue, increased menstrual pain and cramping, acne and other signs of toxicity. Chronic constipation can increase the risk of certain types of cancers; breast and colon cancer rates have been found to be higher in women with a history of chronic constipation. I encourage you to do something today if this is a pattern of constipation in your past or if you experience an acute response to reducing grains in your diet.

Why are laxatives not your best option?
In my opinion, it is always better to ease constipation without the use of laxatives, even avoiding herbal laxatives like senna and cascara if possible. Dependency on laxatives is common with chronic use and some laxatives can be irritating to the digestive tract lining. Laxatives can also act as a diuretic and cause loose stools. This leads to fluid and electrolyte loss, placing stress on the body's ability to maintain hydration and may result in muscle cramps as potassium and magnesium are depleted. Over time, dehydration and electrolyte imbalance results, putting stress on all the internal organs.

What can you do?
It is not always necessary to add more grains into your diet to correct the problem. There are highly effective ways to re-establish healthy bowel function while continuing your carbohydrate-conscious diet. Many supplements and foods have beneficial effects on the process of digestion as well as other aspects of your health, making them a great choice when you need a little extra "encouragement." These include:

1. Acidophilus: The friendly bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus lives in our digestive tract. Healthy bacterial balance in our digestive tract is easily affected by poor dietary habits and by the use of medications, such as birth control pills, corticosteroids and antibiotics. Everyone can benefit from the use of probiotics for healthy digestion, regular bowel function and immunity.

Acidophilus has also been found useful in the treatment and prevention of skin conditions such as eczema and also allergies. Studies have found that school children and adults who supplement with acidophilus get colds and the flu less often. Finally, healthy bacterial balance is essential for the breakdown and elimination of estrogen. If a bacterial imbalance is present, estrogen may not be properly broken down and removed from the body, resulting in symptoms like PMS and other hormonal imbalances. Look for a supplement with 10 to 15 billion cells per capsule and take it on rising, before breakfast.

2. Flaxseed: Add two to three tablespoons of ground flaxseed to your daily smoothie. It is a cheap and effective source of fibre and healthy oils. It is a potent protector against breast cancer because it contains lignands and also helps to prevent excess production of estrogen. Flaxseed acts like a natural aromatase inhibitor, the new class of drugs currently used in breast cancer treatment.

If you purchase ground flaxseed, ensure it is stored in a vacuum-sealed package and keep it in the freezer. Alternatively, you can grind it yourself with a coffee grinder. If you grind it yourself, prepare only enough to last a few days and keep it in the fridge. Once flaxseed is ground, the oils are exposed and may become rancid if not properly stored.
3. Essential fatty acids: Oils like fish oil, evening primrose oil, borage oil or hemp oil are great for healthy bowel function, natural anti-inflammatory protection, assisting with a healthy mind, memory, mood as well as smooth and supple skin. A tablespoon or three to four capsules per day may be all that is required.

Here's another tip: avocados can help protect against cancer due to their high levels of the antioxidant glutathione. Furthermore, researchers at Oxford University found that avocado extract inhibits glucose uptake by tumor cells by 25 to 75 percent and inhibits the growth rate of certain cancer cells. Try adding avocado to your salads or sandwiches for a dietary source of essential fatty acids.

4. Magnesium citrate: Magnesium is a natural muscle relaxant. It reduces sugar and chocolate cravings and is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body. Many people tend to hold tension and stress in the muscles of the abdomen and digestive tract. Taking magnesium (starting with a dose of 250 to 300mg twice per day) can reduce tension and cramping and may ease constipation without creating dependence. This is a much better choice than milk of magnesium.

5. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is absolutely crucial for a healthy immune system, collagen synthesis and repair, antioxidant protection and wound healing. It is also essential for support in times of stress. Taken in slightly higher amounts, it is a great natural laxative. The laxative effect of vitamin C will be reached in different people at different doses. Begin by taking 1,000 mg twice per day and increase the amount until you obtain the desired effects. It is best to take the vitamin C in divided doses throughout the day rather than all at once.

6. Consider a fibre supplement: Fibre not only promotes health, it can reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases like colon cancer, breast cancer as well as heart disease. Fibre may help lower LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and total cholesterol and can help lower blood sugar, allowing better treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes. It also may assist in weight loss. Insoluble fibre helps prevent constipation and promotes regular bowel movements. Foods like green beans, flaxseeds and cauliflower are high in insoluble fibre. A supplement of psyllium may also be helpful; it contains a mix of both insoluble and soluble fibre.

7. Water: Always drink two litres or more of water each day, between meals.

With any weight loss program it is always more important to concentrate on wellness rather than just a drop in the number on the scale. This means maintaining healthy bowel function; getting a balanced intake of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates; exercising; getting optimal sleep and managing stress. Always remember that it is loss of fat that you desire-not muscle, our metabolically active tissue.