Nutrition

Whoa!  That’s a big claim!  
EAT MORE, weigh LESS.  
Yeah, Right!!   I hear you.  I thought so too.

I’m a qualified Nutritionist with a Masters and I struggled with my weight for YEARS.  NOTHING about weight loss is easy…or so I thought.

 

Let me get real with you.  A couple of years ago, due to me living in different countries with different work permit regulations, I wasn’t able to use my degree professionally.  All I wanted to do is help people lose weight and get healthy, but I was not legally allowed to work.

 

So, I blogged and I went on Facebook and fluffed around.  Another thing I did was put on weight.  YEP, I, the person you have come to, to help solve your weight issues, got pudgy.

 

We are all too often faced with a situation where we are hungry, but not hungry enough for a meal.  
It’s snack time.  
So, consider this scenario.
You are just about to leave work or school for the long commute home.  Dinner is a good 2 hours away but you need something NOW.  So you pop into 7-11 and try to find something that will satisfy that grumbly tummy.

You spy two options: A bag of Trail Mix and a Chocolate Bar.  Hmmm.  
You really WANT the Chocolate Bar with all it’s creamy chocolate and gooey caramel. But, instead you tell yourself that you should get something ‘healthy’ and you opt for the bag of trail mix.  By the time you get home, you have completely demolished the entire bag feeling smug that you made the right choice.  But did you?

Today I am going to dispel all the myths about Coconut Oil.  Is it the wonder food people on the internet claim it to be, or is it just a beat up?   First let’s find out exactly what is coconut oil and where it comes from.

 

You may be surprised to know that a coconut is not a nut at all. Coconuts come from the palm Cocos Nucifera and the coconut itself is the seed. Cocos plants grow in sandy soil along tropical coasts which explains why it is used abundantly in Asian cooking.    The sap of the tree can be used to make alcohol, the flower can be cooked as a vegetable, whilst the roots can be used to make a coffee substitute.  You can drink coconut juice from green coconuts which is high in electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium – however, as a side note, drink your coconut juice straight from the coconut, as nutrients are lost soon after it reacts with oxygen in the air. 

If so, what do you take?  

 

Did you know that most vitamin and mineral supplements may be a complete waste of money, because what they claim to have inside the bottle is not regulated and could be complete lies?

Added to this, vitamins and minerals and are not physiologically beneficial unless your body is deficient.

If you have been reading any kind of fitness magazine or website, you will probably have been told that you need to "eat more protein".  

In Australia (1) and the USA (2), the average person eats about 15% of their calories from protein.  

But do we really need that much protein?  

Before we answer that question, let's look at what protein is, and how the body uses it first. 

Unless you live under a large rock, you will know that plant-based anything is BIG business right now. 

Think Beyond Burger or Daiya vegan cheese. 

Companies are cashing in on the public's change to a vegan lifestyle. 

Buy why? 

Because people are aware of the environmental impact that farming livestock has on the planet. People don't want to feel responsible for widespread animal cruelty and global warming. 

But what about the health benefits?

The word ’superfood’ has been bandied around often these days.   Just look in your local supermarket and you’ll find food manufacturers claiming everything from coconut water to goji berries are ‘superfoods’.  

Blueberries,  according to Californian farmers’ conglomerate, Giant®, are the most super of all superfoods (2). But are Blueberries Super? Or are they just a yummy fruit?

Blueberries are part of the Vaccinium genus of plants that includes bilberries, cranberries and grouseberries.  Vaccinium are native to many parts of the world, including North America and Europe and are farmed in Asia and Australia (7). 

Blueberries are mainly grown in temperate and cool zones and are available all year round due to different growing seasons and climates across six Australian states (8).

Blueberries are a nutritious fruit and high in Vitamin.C.  One cup of blueberries contains about a quarter of an adult’s daily Vitamin.C requirements (9). 

How is that for a headline?

Did I get your attention?  

Well? Does Oatmeal give you cancer?  

Read on...

Whole grain oatmeal is a nutritious food that contains a good source of complex carbohydrates, iron, B vitamins, soluble fibre, protein, plant sterols, calcium, zinc - basically it’s a superfood. 

Eating a bowl of oatmeal every day can lower your cholesterol by reducing LDL (bad cholesterol) and circulating blood triglycerides (the fat in your arteries). 

Antioxidants in oatmeal assist in lowering inflammation - and if you know anything about disease progression, inflammation is at the root of all evil? 

I was on Facebook recently and a lady in a group I belong to was complaining of the extra pounds she had put on following menopause.  

She was 52 years old – just like me – so I offered her some general guidelines I use for keeping the fat at bay, hoping I could help her out.

But it got me thinking...

 Is adding pounds a natural occurrence after menopause?  

I always accepted it was just a normal part of ageing – and maybe of getting lazier as we age. 

 If hormonal changes contribute to excess adipose tissue (fat) then are we, as mature women, stuck with the muffin top?