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Should I Eat Fats? Truths and Myths

In this article I aim to shed light on some of the common misconceptions about fat. Our society has been wrongly led to believe that consuming fats are bad for us. Not only is that untrue, it’s dangerous. Good fats are needed by our bodies for a number of reasons. Here are just some of the more common myths we hear and why they’re simply untrue.

Myth: Eating Fat makes you Fat

Fat is an essential part of every single one of your cell membranes and is also required in order to properly digest fat soluble vitamins. We need good quality fats as a source of energy and to help manage inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation is one of the main reasons why we have so many diseases today. Eating “good” fats make us feel fuller quicker and longer – craving less of the foods our bodies don’t need. The real culprit to gaining unnecessary weight are sugars and refined carbohydrates (think white, processed foods) – when we eat sweets our blood sugar and insulin levels spike. Three things happen when we have too much insulin in our bodies: we’re constantly hungry, we block our body’s ability to burn fat – contributing to aging, and our body stores sugars as fats and we actually end up craving even more. By eating good fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, olive and coconut oil, we are less likely to have these cravings.

 

Myth: Saturated Fat is Bad for you

“Simplistic and inaccurate half-truths that serve advertising and sales efforts have created confusion. We need clear, factual information in simple English.” – Udo Erasmus, Fats that Heal – Fats that Kill

Not too long ago we were wrongly told that all fats are bad. People still make the untrue connection that eating fat leads to being fat; this is simply untrue and can have horrible health consequences. Saturated fats are needed by our bodies for a number of reasons. Study after study have continued to show that there is no correlation between consuming saturated fats and cardiovascular diseases.

Saturated Fats also help promote your liver health as they aid as protection from alcohol, drugs, and medications. Your lungs also benefit; your lungs are coated in a surfactant which is 100% saturated fatty acids. By not eating these fats, this layer can collapse your airspace and distress your respiratory system.

Saturated fats are also essential to your nervous system and ultimately the signals responsible for your metabolism and managing insulin releases. We also need saturated fats in our white blood cells to maintain strong immune health, and finally – our brains. Our brains are made mostly of fat (60%!) and cholesterol . We now know that we need essential fatty acids (like in your salmon) for proper brain and nerve function, but the bulk of the fatty acids in your brain are indeed saturated – we need to feed our brain these fatty acids!

 

Myth: Margarine is Better for you than Butter

There’s an old saying – You should never eat a food that has to pass through a chemistry lab on the way to your mouth. As we just touched on, Margarine was born when doctors started wrongly claiming that saturated fats were a no-no. True butter has one ingredient – churned cow’s milk. Margarine is highly processed and is primarily made with vegetable oil which is normally a liquid at room temperature. To make it solid, margarine usually is hydrogenated,  turning some of the oil into harmful trans fats which interfere with your normal biochemical processes. Even if margarine is labelled as trans fat free (they can make the claim if there’s less than 0.5 grams per serving), the oils margarine are made with are often high in Omega-6 fatty acids – which we already consume too much of. Other studies have even linked the consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils with a host of other problems; cancer, violence, and yes… even heart disease.

 

Myth: Low-fat Foods are Better for you

When fat is taken out of food, the taste often goes with it. Food companies replace this with sugar – which as we described above is actually worse for gaining fat than consuming fats in your diet. Many low fat foods are heavily processed and very low in essential vitamins and minerals. Relying on these foods can lead to deficiencies and many other health problems. On top of being full of additives and sweeteners, low-fat foods are usually laced with high fructose corn-syrup!

 

Myth: Eating Fat will Raise your Cholesterol

Recent evidence does not support this old claim that has been engrained in our society. We have anywhere from 1,100 to 1,700 milligrams of cholesterol in our bodies. Upwards of 75% of that can be produced inside of our bodies by our liver, the rest comes from our diet. Most people actually don’t see spikes in cholesterol from consuming cholesterol, and if they do, they are usually very short lived. The majority of the cholesterol in our foods actually can’t be absorbed by our bodies, and our bodies are really good at regulating our cholesterol levels; when our intake goes up our body simply produces less.

 

Myth: LDL Cholesterol is Bad

Low-density lipoprotein is known as the “lousy cholesterol”, as high levels are known to increase your cardiovascular risk. However, LDL cholesterol also acts as an antioxidant and is needed to waterproof cells and keep cell membranes fluid – our bodies do still need an adequate level, it’s when levels get too high that we have issues. Niacin (or vitamin B3) can actually lower our natural production of LDL which helps to keep our blood fats low. When this happens, we see an increase in cell metabolism which burns more glucose and prevents sugars and starches from turning to fat. You can supplement your diet with sun-dried tomatoes, paprika, bran and chicken to get a good dosage of B3.

 

Myth: Your Body Doesn’t need Fat

As we touched on above, our bodies simply need fats. But many of us are consuming too much of the wrong types of fats. The average North American’s daily caloric intake is comprised of roughly 45% calories from fat, whereas it should be 25-35%. Good fats like Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are fats the body needs to build important structures like cell membranes.

 

Myth: Coconut Oil is Bad for you

Coconut oil is high in medium-chain triglycerides which help boost metabolism. They also contain lauric acid which converts to monolaurin – together these have positive antibacterial properties; fighting off bacteria, fungi and viruses. Coconut oil is also extremely heat stable unlike many other vegetable oils, making it ideal for high temperature cooking. Additionally, coconut oil can turn to ketone in our liver which provides energy to our brains. In one study, women who consumed coconut oil versus soybean oil actually reduced waist circumference.

 

Myth: Avocados are Fattening

While most calories from Avocados do come from fat, two thirds of those fats are the heart healthy monounsaturated fats (which are also found in olive oil). Monounsaturated fatty acids which help increase HDL and lower LDL. Avocados have been noted as one of the key contributors to the healthy Mediterranean diet. Not only do they contain healthy fats, avocados are high in fiber, beta carotene, folate and potassium. Plus they’re delicious!

Many of the above misconceptions have been big contributors to North America’s obesity epidemic. I’ve recently begun introducing my clients to a revolutionary diet program which aims to adapt and regulate your diet to bring your hormones and metabolism to their ideal balance. Click here for more information on Metabolic Balance.

What are your thoughts on consuming fats? Share your comments below

 

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Being Beautiful and Confident From the Inside Out


Everyone admires a rightfully confident person as they have something that we all want. They seem to walk through life effortlessly. But is confidence taught or is it caught? Being beautiful from the inside out is a process. Many confident people have created habits for themselves which they reinforce every single day. In this article I would like to talk about the first of ten habits that I use every day which maintains my sense of self and fills me with joy and a lust for life.

From early childhood I struggled with confidence and it took me years to feel good about myself. I observed the habits of others, questioned them, and began to adapt and make small changes in how I carried myself. I focused not on the negative, but on the positive. I began to create positive habits in my life without worrying what habits I should drop, as they began to disappear and found no room in my new found outlook.

There are so many things we can do for ourselves and our confidence. It is really up to you as no one else can do this for you. If you want change in your life then take these steps as life passes us pretty fast. Ideally each of us wants to be confident and never feel that we can’t do it. You can. I love to watch the Olympics on TV for two reasons. First, their athleticism is incredible and those who win knew they were going to win! They saw the gold medal in their mind’s eye and believed in it from a very early age. So it’s no surprise to me when they are the ones standing on the podium!

 Keeping your Eye on the Prize

When I was a teenager I was sitting on a dock in the summertime and I observed a seagull circle above the water. Around and around he went and then finally he splashed into down into the water and pulled out a fish in a seemingly effortless fashion. He kept his eye on the prize. This is what we need to do. First, know what you want and secondly never take your attention off of your goal.  Maybe you don’t know what you want? Then ask yourself: if you could wave a magic wand in your life what would you like to happen right now. Think about that. Maybe it is a new job or relationship. Life is like a restaurant; we have to put our order in. Once you know what it is, it is there for the taking – but how do you do that?  Your thoughts have energy and everything is energy. When you put energy into something it draws it closer to you.

15 Times a Day

The first exercise I would like to share with you is the 15 Times a Day Exercise. Write your goal down 15 times a day by hand every day until it becomes a reality. If you want a mate but don’t leave the house you will never meet anyone, so you have to do your part. By writing it 15 times a day magical things begin to happen. It can be a goal or a statement of how you want to perceive yourself; it could be “I am beautiful”, “I am Happy”, “I am confident”, “I am in a loving relationship”, “I am getting a raise”… When I first started this myself I was at a crossroads and did not know what to do. Someone told me about this exercise and I began to practice it. Mine was really long and it took me a long time to write it, but it was worth it.

It was, “I am happy, healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and live in an abundant spiritual and emotional world”.  Today my business is growing beyond my expectations and I am grateful for having so many loving and amazing people in my life. One week after I started this exercise I had an offer to join a medical team and two weeks later my father knocked on my door and handed me a gift of money. He told me that my 8 siblings and I were all getting the same amount. I was floored. My parents had never done anything like that before. When I wasn’t writing it I was saying it over and over in my head. Maybe it was by chance, but believe it or not six months later I won five thousand dollars in the Canadian Cancer Society Lottery. By repeating your goal over and over to yourself, you become a magnet – attracting things that help you make it a reality. It is so simple – you just have to do your part. If you want change then make change happen. No one can do it for you. You are going down a new road and so many surprises await you. Just watch what happens.

Have an attitude of wonderment and let the universe fill in the blanks. Set your goals, expect the best, allow for the unexpected and be grateful for the gifts that come your way.

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Energy: What is your Vibration?

Did you know that the average human vibrates at a rate of 62 to 68 MHz. This vibration is literally your electrical charge, which translates in energy. Bruce Tainio created a frequency monitor called a BT3 Frequency Monitoring system that measures the frequency and or the vibration of the body. The rate in which your body vibrates is affected by many variables however there are ways that you can consciously increase our vibration in very simple ways.

Often people think that those with “lots” of energy are just lucky but they make very specific life choices which increase their energy. Eating well, exercising and taking time off has such a positive affect on ones energy . Eating fast, frozen, fried junk and processed foods will deplete you as they have no energy left in them.

Emotions also have vibrations. When you are feeling happy or joyful you vibrate at a higher level. On the other hand when you are sad or angry you will vibrate at a lower level. Your immune system will drop when your vibration drops. When someone has a cold or flu they will vibrate at 57-60 MHz. Your body is even more susceptible  to cancer when the vibration is 42MHz or lower.

A negative mental state can drop your vibration by 10-12MHz and a positive mental state can increase your vibration by 10-15MHz. If one wants to increase their vibration then eating fresh ripe fruits, organic vegetables and drinking freshly squeezed juices will change the vibration. You can actually feel it when you eat these foods. These foods are raw and they contain great enzymes and energy absorbed from the sun.  Foods that contain medium amounts of energy are nuts, seeds, maple syrup, sprouted grains, cooked vegetables and raw sheep dairy. Foods that contain the lowest amount of energy are cooked grains like muffins. pancakes and any thing made from white flour. A BIG MAC has vibrate at a rate of 5 MHz vs. green vegetable which are 70-90 MHz; higher then your own body!

It is important to eat food in its most natural state. Your dinner plate should be full of colour. The more colour the more alive the food is and the more alive you will feel. Microwaving your foods will diminish the energy as well. So take some time to reevaluate your energy. You want to wake up feeling like a 10 and go to bed feeling like a 10.

Take the challenge…. eat whole live foods for the next 21 days and see how much better you feel!!!

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Metabolic Balance Coaching!

Food is life. Food is medicine. Metabolic Balance understands this at its core. The MB program is backed with over 25 years of scientific studies and wisdom that ancient cultures have known for centuries. Toronto nutritionists like myself are beginning to recognize this wisdom, which is why I recently became a certified Metabolic Balance Coach.

This shtick-free, long-term weight loss program focuses on all-natural, food-based nutrition to permanently kick yo-yo dieting. MB’s unique weight-loss and health roadmap based on personalized nutrition plans is what attracted me to the program. When I learned that the personal nutrition plans were customized for each user based on their unique bloods values, medical history and personal food preferences, in order to create the biochemical changes needed for weight management—I was hooked.

As a Toronto Nutritionist I am now able to bring this unique, scientific, biological nutrition road map to Toronto, and my clients.

The Metabolic Balance Roadmap
The MB roadmap consists of four distinct phases, that fall into either “body chemistry” or “food chemistry”, which together will balance your hormones, enzymes, insulin production and bio-chemistry.

Using an in-depth analysis I can help determine the best foods for you, not based on caloric or fat content, but on foods effect on your body’s hormonal system. These properly-selected foods will regulate your insulin levels (amongst other things), which will avoid the food cravings and burn-out that leads to yo-yo dieting.

By balancing and strengthening your complete hormonal system your body will find its ideal weight naturally. Users who are overweight often experience a speedy weight reduction, losing anywhere from 3lbs to 6 lbs a week—while improving overall health and energy levels.

The Proof is in the Pudding (and no—you can’t have pudding)
A recent year-long study that was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism (Vol. 2010, Article 197656) concluded that “relevant blood parameters as well as Health-Related Quality of Life improved significantly” in people following a plan created by a certified Metabolic Balance coach.

Can it Help Me?
Clients who have heard about my newest certification are asking me, “Jane, can it help me?”. I am a firm believer that this program can help all of us improve our overall health. If you’re curious, simply give me a ring—as a Toronto nutritionist I’m excited to share this with my clients.

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Juicing 101-Toronto Nutritionist

Hello friends! Many of you have heard about juicing and it’s array of health benefits. I love juicing and make sure to make fresh juices several times per week. Because of it’s amazing effects on the body I decided that I would create a video to help those of you who are new to juicing get started. In this video learn about a great tasting juice recipe that will increase your energy levels, help to strengthen your immune system and give your body a dose of vitamins and minerals.

Juicing Instructions

Equipment:

1 Juicer
1 Cup
1 Knife
1 Cutting Board

Ingredients:

4 Carrots
4 Celery Stalks
1 Lemon
1 Apple
1/2 Beet
1/2 Bunch of Parsley

Directions:

Add vegetables and fruit to juicer, to make 1 cup of fresh juice. Drink straight away.

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Avoiding Metabolic Syndrome-Toronto Nutritionist

With our five new food groups: fast, frozen, fried, junk and processed, is it any wonder that one in five Canadians have Metabolic Syndrome? Your health is in your hands and understanding what Metabolic Syndrome is can save your life.

Your waist circumference is a good indicator of health issues. Abdominal girth is the predictor for your risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity and hypertension and more. When your waist circumference is greater than 35 inches for a female and 40 inches for a male, Metabolic Syndrome is likely present.

All of this leads to inflammation in the body. Part of the problem is that toxins are being absorbed from the gut causing inflammation, which results in abdominal fat. One-way to determine if you are at risk is to have your doctor perform a C – reactive protein test, a simple blood test to determine if inflammation is present in the body. The best tool to reverse inflammation is not a drug but the food you put in your mouth.

In a world where Diary is the Queen and Burger is the King, it is no surprise that so many people today have major health issues.

Growing up in the sixties and seventies, it was rare to have an overweight classmate.  It was an oddity to see young people with abdominal fat hanging over their jeans. Today, we see overweight people everywhere.  What changed?  Our food manufactures have modified food so much with additives and artificial flavours, that our bodies are no longer getting the simple nutrients they require. These modified foods are addictive and alter the chemistry of the body while whole, live foods like fruit and veggies are becoming the rarity.

It is a misnomer that fruit contains too much sugar! Fruit raises your glucose level slowly, whereas processed foods spike your glucose levels. The real problem is the glycemic index of our foods. Simply put, food burns fast or slow. “White foods” are the real problem. Those foods are muffins, cakes, donuts, pasta, white rice, ice cream, bagels .pancakes, deserts, cookies that make up 80% of the average person’s diet.

Blood glucose is the primary nutrient for all nerve cells, which is regulated by insulin. Sugar is a treat not meant to be consumed in large quantities. Your pancreas can become overwhelmed by the constant surge of insulin caused by too much sugar, which can create an insulin insensitivity. The increase in insulin concentration leads to high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high adrenalin high cholesterol and hemostasis (which means your blood can clot faster leading to strokes). All these symptoms lead to Metabolic Syndrome.

Prevention is the key in a world that is so busy and where food preparation is no longer a priority. As a busy person, I understand that when a person is hungry, the urge is to eat compulsively, often making poor food choices.  Making conscious choices is the start to health and avoiding Metabolic Syndrome.

Preventing health problems begins with what you put into your mouth. If man made it, don’t eat it. If it comes in a bag, box, pick up window, it probably is processed and high in sugar. If it has passed a chemistry lab on the way to your mouth it will be a problem as well.

Go back to nature. Add those five to seven veggies a day in salads, stews and soups. Eat two to three fruits a day. Add oatmeal and ground flax to your diet. Grab a handful of almonds and walnuts before that biscotti. Add two tablespoons of flax seed oil to your diet. Eat eggs; they are so good for you. Quinoa takes only fifteen minutes to cook and is one of nature’s perfect foods. Eat avocadoes and watch your skin glow. Bypass the coffee shops treats. Instead eat an apple.

Make nutrition fun and colorful and enjoy your newfound energy. Lastly, exercise is the final touch to your vibrant health. If you don’t use it you lose it. I recommend a minimum of one hour of exercise a day. That can be as simple as a walk, swim, bike ride, or yoga class.

Take charge of your health and remember let food be thy medicine!

In health,

Jane Durst Pulkys!

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Toronto Nutritionist – Winning Practices for a Healthy Body

Jane Durst Pulkys, www.creativehealth.ca, talks about the 5 winning daily practices for maintaining a healthy body weight.

In her video Jane explores the 5 key daily components that the successful people use to keep themselves at their optimal body weight; nutrition, exercise, hydration, sleep and stress management. Jane gives easy to follow tips for each practice to help viewers easily incorporate these essential habits into their daily lives.

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