naturopathic news

Volume 1, Issue 1
Fall, 2008

Maple Shores Health Centre
519.832.4500

leaf I’m happy to announce the arrival of another issue of “naturopathic news”. With the help of my web designer, Phil McDonald, I’ve decided to join the modern world and create an e-newsletter. This should help to make it easier to get them written more regularly. Please let me know at jennifer@haesslernaturopathic.com if there are any topics that you would like to see included in future issues.

For this inaugural e-edition, I have decided to include articles on healthy eating. This is a topic I discuss with people on a daily basis, whether it’s to help with hormone balance, blood sugar regulation, weight loss, energy boosting, sleep regulation...you name it. You will find articles on why it’s beneficial to eat a low glycemic diet, how to make sense of all the “health foods” we’re bombarded with, and a great recipe to help increase your fibre intake. I’d also like to take this opportunity to introduce Kerry Nichol, a Holistic Nutritionist, who will be joining Joni, Tony and me in the office. She has included an article to let you know how she can help you to get more benefit from your diet.

Until next time (and I promise it won’t be as long!)...stay well!

Jennifer Haessler
Naturopathic Doctor

The Low Glycemic Diet

This is taken from a handout that I frequently give to patients. I decided to include it in this newsletter since it contains information that everyone can benefit from.

The quality of the food you eat helps to determine your mental and physical woman health. Ensuring a proper balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats is essential to your overall health. Blood sugar is the fuel needed by every cell in your body to help make energy. Your body functions most efficiently if blood sugar stays at a constant level. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) can cause serious health problems.

Glycemic Index of Foods

The glycemic index is used to describe how blood sugar responds after eating a given food. Foods that produce high levels of blood sugar are called high glycemic index (GI) foods. When your diet consists predominantly of these foods, your body responds by producing higher levels of the hormone insulin than it would if you were to eat lower GI foods. When insulin levels are high, you store more fat, when insulin levels are normal, you burn fat more efficiently. High GI foods can also lead to carbohydrate cravings and an overall increase in appetite. In addition, they create an increased risk of developing certain chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.

What Foods Should You Eat?

A general rule of thumb to follow is to eat every 3-4 hours during waking hours. That means smaller, more frequent meals, instead of a few large meals that are spread out. It is also a good idea to combine protein and healthy fats with all of your meals and snacks. Following both of these guidelines helps to create a nice steady level of sugar in the blood, instead of peaks and valleys. Some examples of what foods are good to eat include:

Breakfast:
Protein Fruit Smoothie
Poached egg on toast
Oatmeal with nuts, seeds and berries

Lunch:
Salad with egg, meat, fish or legumes (chickpeas, black beans, etc.)
Soup with egg, meat, fish or legumes
Vegetarian Bean Chili

Supper:
Meat/Vegetarian Protein with vegetables

Snacks:
Nuts and Seeds
Cottage Cheese with Fruit
Apple (or other fruit) with nut butter
Veggie Sticks with Hummus (Chickpea spread)

By following these guidelines, you can help increase your energy level, achieve a healthy weight, and decrease the risk of developing the chronic diseases that can result from unbalanced blood sugar levels.

Debunking “Health Food”
Making Sense of the Marketing Hype
Written with help from Robin Walsh, ND

Yogurt
While fruit and yogurt are both individually very healthy, there is a lot of misleading advertising about these products in combination.
* Most of the fruit on the bottom yogurt is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup which is considered to be one of the main substances driving obesity and diabetes.
* It’s true that Activia yogurt has active bacterial cultures, but the 18g of added sugar is doing more harm than good at feeding the harmful bacteria and yeast in your intestines.
* Fat free yogurt may sound very appealing to people trying to restrict their calorie intake, but the artificial sweeteners, splenda or aspartame, that they contain are known to cause a wide array of adverse symptoms in the body, especially with long term usage.
Healthier Option – choose plain yogurt, and add your own sweetener to it in the form of fruit, stevia or honey. Another option would be to purchase Astro Jeunesse Naturally Sweetened Plain Yogurt which only has about 6g of sugar per serving.

Baked Beans
These beans are typically covered with syrup that is mainly brown and white sugar. One cup of baked beans contains approximately 24g of sugar which is equivalent to 8oz of regular pop.
Healthier Option – Use canned beans that are packed in water to reduce the sugar content. Also, look for brands in the health food section, like Eden Foods, that don’t line the cans with bisphenol A, a compound that has been found to have harmful effects on the hormonal system.
* An even better option would be to purchase dried beans and soak them overnight. Dried beans don’t contain the sodium and additives found in most canned beans, and have a higher nutrient content.

Granola Bars
Most of commercial granola bars contain hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup.
Healthier Options – Look for granola bars that are sweetened with brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup, like the President’s Choice Organic Granola Bars. Other options that can be found in the health food section of the grocery or health food store include raw food energy bars such as Vega, Lara, elev8me, and Perfect 10. Even better would be make a mixture of walnuts, almonds, kasha, sunflower seeds, and pumpkins seeds, and add in some raisins for a sweet treat. Have one handful morning and evening instead of using the more processed snacks.

Fat Free Salad Dressing
While the fat is eliminated to decrease the calories, the amount of sugar is increased to enhance the flavour. Removing the fat also decreases the body’s ability to absorb the fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K. Additionally, removing the fat speeds up the rate that the stomach digests food, which can cause you to eat more.
Healthier Option – Choose vinaigrette dressings made with olive or flax oil. Even better, make your own vinaigrette dressing to avoid the added sugar and preservatives found in store bought versions.

Peanut Butter
Most of the commercial peanut butters are sweetened with sugar, and the reduced fat versions often contain icing sugar to enhance the flavour. To help create the smooth texture that is so desirable, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is added, which is directly linked with cardiovascular disease.
Healthier Option – Natural peanut butter is available, and there is also almond, hazelnut, tahini and cashew butter available in the health food section of the grocery store or at the health food store.

Recipe Corner

Psyllium Breakfast Pudding
...a “regular” original
From Eating Without Heating, by Sergei & Valya Boutenko

Getting enough fiber is very important to help stabilize your blood sugar levels, keep your bowels moving regularly, and assist with a healthy weight by keeping you feeling full. This dish is hearty like porridge, but with a delicious lemon flavour.

Set out 5 medium sized glass bowls or cups and add a couple scoops or slices of your favourite fruits.

Blend well:
* 1 cup water
* ½ tsp sea salt
* ¼ cup of honey or dates
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* ½ cup almonds
* ¼ lemon with peel, seeds removed

Add 4 tsp psyllium powder while blender is running. Quickly pour onto the fruit in the bowls. You can make as many layers of psyllium and fruit as you desire. The pudding will solidify within minutes. Serves 5.

Win the Weight Battle for Good!
By Kerry Nichol, BRLS, RHN, RNCP

The truth is that there is “no one size fits all” when it come to nutrition and supplementation. As individuals we are all unique in our biochemical make up and therefore will have varying nutritional needs throughout our lifetime. “Achieve Balance” focuses on thorough investigation and assessment of the individual client to design customized nutritional programs targeting weight loss and improved health and vitality. One of the most important components of the programs is the one on one support and the continuous evaluations that take place to measure progress and help clients stay on track and achieve their goals. Changing our diet and lifestyle is not easy and it takes time to see and feel the difference. Clients who have the most success are continuously supported and motivated by a qualified Holistic Nutritionist.

Holistic Nutritionists are trained specifically in natural nutrition, supplementation and lifestyle education to help clients achieve their specific health goals. Many Naturopathic Doctors, Physicians and other health practitioners recommend and work in conjunction with Holistic Nutritionists to help create treatment programs and provide the ongoing support required to help clients restore health and achieve their goals.

What is Holistic Nutrition?
Holistic means “treating the body as a whole”. The holistic approach to nutrition utilizes a variety of assessment tools to examine current symptoms to determine the underlying cause. The goal is to correct the cause of the symptoms, not treat the symptoms alone. This is achieved by focusing on eating foods that provide high nutritional value and supplementing the diet with vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, probiotics and other nutrients in specific proportions to correct the deficiencies or imbalances that were the initial cause of the symptoms.

Outside of proper nutrition other lifestyle factors, such as exercise, stress management and proper sleep, are very important to the rebalancing process. The Holistic approach considers all realms of well being.

Many people seek the support and menu planning services of a Holistic Nutritionist to help create a program to address weight loss, sports nutrition, family nutrition, detoxification and cleansing, and to manage and prevent health issues ranging from blood sugar irregularities to allergies. While health optimization is the overall goal, one of the most profound side effects of improved nutrition and supplementation is also the improvement in the way clients look and feel! With fall just around the corner, the time is right for a fresh beginning and a commitment to “Achieve Balance” for life!

Kerry Nichol of Achieve Balance is a Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner and Lifestyle Educator specializing in weight loss programs. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Therapeutic Recreation and a Diploma in Natural Nutrition. Kerry is a member of the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants and as such is required to continuously upgrade her professional education while adhering to a code of ethics and professional conduct. For further information or to book a consultation, contact Kerry at the Maple Shores Health Centre 519-832-4500 or 519-386-6695. In office or in home appointments are available.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" — Hippocrates

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