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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.

The holiday season is a great time of year. The stores are abuzz with people. Beautiful lights, trees and decorations abound.

Meeting old friends and getting together and sharing a meal are what this season is all about.   And that adds up to lots of parties and lots of food. They say the average person gains between five to seven pounds over the holidays, but that doesn’t have to be you!

How would you like to sail through the holidays without the extra worry and without the anxiety of having to watch what you eat? We know that everything in life is about balance. Developing some of these new habits will ensure that this holiday won’t leave you bloated and sorry that you had too many glasses of eggnog.

Here are my TEN TOP TIPS to have the merriest, healthiest season ever…without dieting!

1) You have heard it before, but drinking water is essential for maintaining a healthy weight. Water fills you up, curbs your appetite and clears toxins out of your body. Salty foods, eaten as a main staple at this time of year will cause your body to retain water. To determine the quantity of water you need: take your body weight, divide that number in half and convert to ounces. That is how much water your need to drink each day. For example, a 150 lb. person requires 75 ounces of water or 9 eight ounce glasses.

2) You’re at the party and there are so many appetizers to choose from. What to do? First, never go to a party with a voracious appetite. You’ll wind up eating all those little pastries filled with a lot of calories. Before you leave the house, eat some lean protein and you will easily avoid consuming all those tasty treats. I like to have some chicken, fish, or some almonds before I leave my home. Protein makes you feel satisfied very quickly. Avoid low fat foods. They are not filling and won’t make you feel satisfied.

3) If you are starving when you get to the party, go straight to the veggie table. Load up on those colourful veggies; there loaded with fibre and you’ll feel full fast, not to mention that they contain so many health giving properties.

4) Avoid all the white and beige foods:  Beige foods are trouble for anyone wanting to keep weight off. Those are the foods containing the high caloric calories. Instead eat 3 fruits and 7 veggies throughout your day. You will feel full and satisfied.

5) Start your day with a half a lemon squeezed in a glass of water. This gives you a hit of vitamin C, is detoxifying, and alkalizing. The more you drink, the healthier you will feel. The healthier you feel; the better food choices you make.

6) Have a BIG salad at lunch, topped with lots of protein. When dinner time comes around, you naturally won’t want to eat as much

7) If your indulging in alcohol, have one glass of water between each drink and you will drink less. Diet pop can actually cause you to gain weight, so avoid it and have some nice bubbly water

8) Start your day with a shake. Combine.2 tbsp. of ground flax seeds, 2 tbsp. of flax oil, a banana, half cup of berries and some protein powder and water in your blender. You will feel full and it will keep your bowels moving, an important element in weight loss.

9) Take a digestive enzyme at each meal and you won’t feel bloated and won’t suffer from gas. Enzymes help break your food down so your stomach doesn’t have to work as hard.

10) YES it is still really important to exercise every day.  Exercise keeps your metabolism humming and helps to burn those extra calories. My favorite is Hot Yoga because it aides in detoxification, and can burn upwards of 1200 calories in one class. You will feel fantastic!! Even a one hour walk a day is perfect.

Have a happy, healthy holiday season. Wishing you and your family health and happiness!

Jane Durst Pulkys BSc., CNP., RNCP
Holistic 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.

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!

Jane Durst Pulkys presents Toronto’s leading Live Blood Cell Microscopy Training program.
With 12 years experience as a holistic nutritionist and live blood cell analyst, Jane teaches health practitioners and those new to the health  profession how to incorporate live blood cell microscopy into their practices to use as a diagnostic aid.
Live blood cell microscopy, is a process where the practitioner takes a small sample of blood from a patients finger tip and then displays it on a monitor using a high powered dark field microscope. The practitioner is then able to see over 50 aspects of an individuals health and make dietary and supplemental recommendations to help improvement the state of a clients health.
In Jane’s 2 day intensive course, participants become completely certified in Life Blood Cell Microscopy and learn everything they need to know in order to fully integrate live cell analysis into their practice successfully.

For more information or to register for Jane’s next course dates visit https://creativehealth.ca/live-blood-cell-analysis-course/


Hi Jane Durst-Pulkys here from www.creativehealth.ca and this is video 2 in the ‘Balancing the 7 Chakra Energy Centres Video Series. If you didn’t watch video 1 then you can watch is here!

In this 2nd video I talk about the sacral chakra, otherwise known as Chakra 2. The sacral chakra lies in the area of your lower abdomen, and involves your kidney, bladder, reproductive organs and your adrenal glands. It gets affected if you have ever suffered from abuse of any kind, or if your feelings have been denied. If this happens and this chakra is out of balance then these people can become controlling, emotionally needy or fearful of change.

Watch this video to learn what you can do to restore balance to the sacral chakra including what foods to eat and activities you can do.

As a nutritionist and energy healer, I work with people helping them to overcome physical and emotional challenges. In my work I use a system called, Psychosomatic Energy Testing, which helps to detect imbalances in the chakra energy centres. I then use specific remedies to balance these chakras which then assist in restoring the individual to a state of physical and emotional balance. My clients have experienced extraordinary changes due to this process, which is why I want to share this important information with you.

Stay tuned next week for video 3 on the Solar Plexus Chakra, otherwise known as Chakra 3.

For more information on Balancing the 7 Chakra Energy Systems visit: https://creativehealth.ca/energy-healing/

I always wondered what I wanted to be when I grew up! Even at forty years old I still had no idea what my purpose was. During my search for that clarity a friend often asked me, “What do you love more than anything else in the world that you would be willing to do for free?”

As I began to explore this question for myself, I discovered my own unique purpose lay in something I’d always loved to do: cooking. Earlier in my twenties I’d attained a degree as a dietician, but after having three children, my attention turned to family and entertaining for family and friends. People always raved about my salads and special meals I prepared. That was a clue for me about what my true purpose is.

Later, my love of cooking and health drew me to get a degree as a nutritionist. Add a dash of this and that, I finally found my passion and my purpose. Eventually I married my purpose to my career to create an extremely fulfilling life.

Carol Adrienne, author of The Purpose of Your Life says, “The more you can actually experience the feeling of using a talent, the more you will attract opportunities for its expression.”

By using your talents and gifts, you will find yourself achieving more integrity within yourself.

Our purpose may not be our career, but in something much more intrinsic to our way of being. Life is a bit like a movie with a theme and characters. We may find that we are drawn along a certain theme in life to discover more about the purpose of the story we are in. Some of the themes that may guide us to our purpose are: travel, nature, environment, pets, food, mechanics or other themes that we have a strong passion for. Or we may find that a turning point in our life creates an urgency to explore health, finances or another area of life, therefore giving us more awareness about what we have a passion for.

Sometimes we are blind to our purpose because the idea of being different in the eyes of others is too much to bear. Perhaps we are meant to be a health practitioner, artist, writer or athlete but we allow the opinions of our family or friends to deter us from what would truly bring joy and happiness to ourselves and others. Too often we let another’s opinion dissuade us from investigating what we know in our heart may fulfill us.

One night while lying in my bed I asked myself, if I died today would I have any regrets? The answer was no! I’ve never let anyone else’s opinion get in the way of being the best me I can be. After many years, I did discover a way to serve in my career and in my life. Today each day is a joy as I serve life with my own unique gifts and talents as a nutritionist and coach.

Know that you have an important reason for being alive. You can make a difference. Begin now to explore the themes in your life and what brings out the best in you and others.  You can discover your own unique purpose through following your heart and trusting in that universal force within us all.

By Jane Durst-Pulkys