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The Highs and Lows of Cholesterol – What you should know!
Is Your Cholesterol a Problem?
If you are one of the many North American’s that have recently had their blood tested and found out they have elevated triglycerides, reduced HDL cholesterol and/or blood glucose imbalances, I am here to tell you there is hope. Nutrition can make a huge impact on cholesterol and help turn your health around before serious issues arise.
Foods that Can Make You Go Hmmm….
Valentine’s Day Natural Viagra
With Valentine’s Day around the corner many people are looking for ways to spice up their love life and make their Valentine feel special. February is Heart Health month at No Shoes Nutrition so what better way to keep your heart healthy but with some good love. Let’s discuss some nutritional ways to improve the libido and have a Happy Valentine’s Day.
Have You Fallen Off the Wagon??
Tips to Getting Back On Track
On January 1st most of us made promises to ourselves that 2019 will be different, promises like getting our eating on track, sticking to a plan, losing some extra weight and finally starting to feel better. How’s that going?
Healthy Swaps
Healthy Food Swaps
Now that you are well into the New Year, how are your nutrition and wellness goals going for you? Are you finding it challenging to prepare meals that are healthier? I know for me, it has been more effective to start with simple food substitutions that I can slowly build on. Exchanging a few ingredients in recipes could lead to big results. You may find that you start to like how these new ingredients taste and will actually crave more healthy options while cooking.
New Year - New Food
When Did You Last Try a New Food?
It’s the new year, we’re all resolving to get healthy and try to make this the year that we change our ways and hit our goals. So, my question to you is this, when’s the last time you tried a new food? I know, I know, you have your routine, you have your way of doing things, you are doing what works for you but, how’s that working out? I believe the definition of insanity goes some thing like doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Did You Resolve to the Same Resolution Again this Year?
New Years Accountability
by Penny DeJager and Megan Barefoot
It’s two weeks into 2019 and it’s time to check in and see if you are still following your resolution. I had one friend resolve to a “dry January” and has slipped up already. This friend didn’t just slip up, they have given up! Another friend was going cold turkey on sugar. They lasted ten days and gave in to half a chocolate bar to deal with the withdrawal headaches. Big goals can mean Big results but they might also need Big support!
Thank You - From No Shoes Nutrition
Anyone who has tried it knows that starting a business is no easy feat. There are SO many more things to think about than I was ever aware of starting No Shoes Nutrition. I have lucked into meeting some very knowledgeable people who have mentored me along the way and I have had the support of my amazing husband who has been there to help me figure things out. My little pet project of starting my own nutrition business has been one of the most life changing endeavors in my career and in my adult life.
Holiday Stress - Is it Adrenal Fatigue?
Are you stressed, tired and feeling like you just can’t get out of bed in the morning? Do you have an afternoon energy low that can stop you in your tracks? Well, there could be a reason for these symptoms if you are not sleeping well and experiencing high levels of stress in your life.
Having Trouble Sleeping? Here's Some Foods To Help!
Are you dealing with sleeping issues? Can’t seem to get to sleep because your mind is racing or maybe you are exhausted and fall asleep right away but wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. There are lots of reasons that sleep seems to elude us, but have you ever thought that some of the foods you eat at dinner or after could be the reason you can’t get a good night’s rest?
Could your Diet be Making you Stink?
Is the food you are eating making your body odor worse?
Have you ever been walking in a mall, crowded restaurant or party and get a whiff of body odor? Did the thought of “What the heck did that person eat?” come to mind? It’s a known fact that what you put in your body to process will affect your energy, weight, state of mind but did you know it can also affect your smell?
Feel your Feelings to End Emotional Eating
Let’s talk about eating our feelings.
Too often we use food as a physical weapon to conjure a happier feeling within ourselves when things aren’t going well. Most of us were never taught to sit and feel our feelings or understand that if you do have a bad day it’s okay to feel bad. We are scared to feel our feelings and being surrounded by social media where everyone only takes pictures of themselves living their most amazing lives, does not help things.
Are you Magnesium Deficient?
Could a Little Magnesium Solve Your Problems?
I have recently been learning more and more about the mineral magnesium. I have even been supplementing with it and have been finding the benefits are changing my health in great ways! As most of my readers know, I am a foods first holistic nutrition consultant. I will always recommend you try to get the foods high in magnesium before supplements but according to Health Canada nearly half the population is deficient in magnesium.
How Many Carbs Do I Need?
How Many Carbs Do I Need to Eat?
I get asked the question “How many carbs do I need?” on an almost daily basis. Our culture seems almost obsessed with carbohydrates these days and for good reason. Most of the convenience foods that we rely on when we’re busy and when we need a pick-me-up are made of mostly carbs.
The Myth of "Fresh" Food
How Fresh is Fresh?
So, you have decided to make a change this season and start investing in your health. You are going to make a BIG effort to buy your fruits and veggies fresh and eat them raw as you have read that this can be best for your health. But what does fresh mean and how fresh are the fruits and vegetables in the grocery store?
Are you Getting your Gut Bugs?
The Yogurt Culture
If you have been following my blogs and my feeds you know how much I love fermentation and the microbes, they contribute to our guts. Currently many of us find digesting dairy difficult but milk contains agents of extraordinary transformation. Bacteria. Bacteria that can produce a plethora of fermentation products that improve the way your body works. The same microbes that turn milk into yogurt, benefit your gut, brain, immune system and overall physiology.
Phyto whats? In Where? And Why?
Is there more than vitamins and minerals to think about?
When we think about the nutrients in food, we most often think about vitamins like vitamin C in oranges or minerals like calcium and magnesium to keep our bones healthy. Very rarely have I heard a mother say, “Eat those veggies because they are full of phytonutrients!” So, what are these phytochemicals and how do they contribute to our health?
Tis The Season!!
Are you Canning, Pickling and Preserving?
As traditionally done, its the season for the harvest to come in. We all know that there is much too much to eat during harvest and it’s going to be a cold winter so preserving the extra is needed. Most cultures have persevered foods by various methods to extend the shelf life of the food harvested in the fall.
Is Your Blood Pressure Rising??
Nutrition and Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure the blood circulating in your blood vessels exerts on your blood vessel walls. You will usually hear your blood pressure in a combination of one number over the other, for example 120/80 (which is considered a normal blood pressure).
Can Drinking Tea Make you Healthier?
Drinking Tea for Health
Drinking tea has become popular again recently. When I was growing up we used to think of tea as “grandma's” drink but now it’s new and trendy with just as many tea shops popping up as coffee shops. Tea has a history stretching back thousands of years and with many quality brews comes many quality nutrients that your body can benefit from.
Is Too Much Stress Making You Tired, Hungry and Fat?
Stress, Hormones and Getting Fat
We all have more stress than we should these days. There is traffic, school, career pressure, balancing family and friends with the rest of life and being about to pay for it all. This is not “real” stress, well, at least not in the sense that we are in imminent danger and about to plummet to our death kind of danger. I’m not even sure many of us have experienced that “true” primal stress but that doesn’t mean we haven’t tricked our brains into thinking we are in danger and about to lose everything.