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Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Dietary Lifestyle for Attaining and Maintaining Weight Loss

/9 June 2020/ All MFN blog/

At the beginning of our Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE) coaching sessions, Alison was a 64-year-old woman who weighed 235 pounds and wore a size 3x. A former businesswoman turned professional meditation practitioner, Alison’s obesity began as a teenager. She had tried many “diets-du-jour” over the decades. Each time she would lose some weight—sometimes a lot; then she would return to her preferred “go-to” foods and gain back the weight…

organic food

Everything You Need to Know About the Benefits of Organic Food

/5 June 2020/ All MFN blog/

With the recent rising health concerns and increasing awareness for the benefits of organic produce, organic products have become more popular in recent years, especially considering the ongoing battle with obesity and diabetes faced by a large population of the United States. There are so many benefits to choosing organic products.

What does organic actually mean?

Organic products are grown under a natural agricultural system without the influence of synthetic fertilizers or chemicals (1). The regulations vary from country to country, but generally speaking, organic farming means growing crops without the use of any synthetic pesticides, GMOs, and certain toxic fertilizers; for raising livestock for meat, eggs, or dairy, the livestock must be fed organic products, have regular access to natural outdoor areas, and they cannot be given any growth hormones or antibiotics.

Monocropping

Monocropping is the term for planting a single crop type in a large area of farmland, which is a widely used technique in non-organic agriculture. This leaves this crop very vulnerable to being quickly wiped out by a bug or a disease. Consequently, farmers must spray chemicals to kill these diseases/bugs, filling the crop with these toxins which are not designed for human consumption.

Organic farmers practice planting a variety of different crops in one area to attract a range of bugs and other wildlife, which will naturally keep the plants healthy.

Norma Brault, a food blogger at Big Assignments and Research Papers(2), states “Herbicides and pesticides aren’t able to differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ insects, so simply wipe out everything but the crop. Organic farming practices do not use these toxins, so they don’t negatively affect biodiversity and promote healthy growing techniques to maintain the living organisms the crops need to grow and keep the soil healthy and rich in nutrients.”

Pesticides, Insecticides, Fungicides, Herbicides…

Such toxic chemicals are commonly used in more conventional, non-organic agriculture and can end up being ingested when we eat these foods. The residues of these chemicals end up in the food we eat.

Environmental Impact

Organic farming is unquestionably better for the environment, by reducing pollution, energy usage, water usage, and soil erosion, and increasing soil health and fertility.

Local food production and markets are also better for the environment by reducing emissions and unnecessary plastic packaging.

Organic agricultural techniques don’t harm the community surrounding the farmland, it keeps harmful toxins out of the air, the soil, and even the drinking water – protecting the farmers, local people, and wildlife.

These chemicals will even end up in the ocean (3) – as everything eventually does – whether by leaking through the soil into aquifers, blowing into nearby bodies of water, or running off into the sea in the rain, and can be damaging to ocean life.

Keeping Livestock Healthy and Happy

Livestock raised organically are never given animal byproducts, growth hormones, or antibiotics, which keeps them much healthier and happier and at lower risk of diseases and infections. They are also given plenty of space to roam outdoors.

David Green, a health writer at  Boomessays and Studydemic (4), says “It’s well-known that the meat of stressed animals tastes worse – organic practices ensure the meat tastes as best it can, since the livestock is well taken care of.” The same also applies to crops! Healthy, happy crops will taste better than monocropped, herbicide-filled crops.

Better Tasting Food!

Organic farming produces food that is richer in nutrients, so it is much better for your health and wellbeing. The soil is nutrient-rich as a result of sustainable farming practices, while farmers are forced to spray chemicals on crops in non-organic agriculture, since the soil is not naturally being replenished.

There are countless benefits to organic produce, helping improve the health of the earth, the sea, drinking water, local wildlife, the environment, farmers, local communities, and you and your family. By choosing to eat organically produced and certified organic food products, you are actively choosing to help keep the world healthy.

 

References

(1) https://ota.com/organic-101/how-organic-food-grown

(2) Norma Brault, food blogger at Big Assignments and Research Papers

(3) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080216095740.htm

(4) David Green, a health writer at Boomessays and Studydemic

 

Photo credits: Fuzzy Rescue; Elle Hughes

Sliced-steak

The Naturopathic Chef: Grilled Steak Salad

/1 June 2020/ All MFN blog/

The main reason to eat meat of any kind is the top quality Heme-Iron that isn’t present in plants (Non-Heme Iron).

Beef also contains a big dose of stress-reducing B vitamins as well as Zinc. Anytime we eat foods high in Zinc, our bodies produce Super Oxide Dimutase, or SOD. This is a supercharged anti-aging antioxidant! And, your body does all the work for you.

virtual-personal-training

Taking Your PT Business Online

/27 May 2020/ All MFN blog/

With most, if not all health clubs and fitness facilities closed, or in a quasi-opened state, thank God that we live in the age of technology. For many of us, being “quarantined” does not have to stop us from conducting business as usual.

We know for a fact that exercise can help boost the immune system. This should be reason enough for EVERYONE to be moving, not using this time as…

Human Osteoporosis

Does Low Bone Mass Mean Osteoporosis?

/26 May 2020/ All MFN blog/

Nearly 30 years ago when I was in school, I wrote an exercise physiology paper on exercise and osteoporosis.

At that time there wasn’t much research available. But even then, the studies I found on tennis players, astronauts, and bed rest pointed in the direction that weight-bearing exercise could help maintain the bone density you have and even promote bone growth. I was intrigued. I’ve followed the research over the years and even created an osteoporosis exercise program.

In working with my clients, I often hear the question, “What’s the difference between osteoporosis and low bone mass (osteopenia)? And what can I do about it?”

Well to answer these questions, I have to start at the beginning.

Osteoporosis is a disease, which, over time, causes bones to become thinner, more porous and less able to support the body. Bones can become so thin that they break during normal, everyday activity. Osteoporosis is a major health threat. 54 Million are at risk, nearly 80% are women.

Postmenopausal women are particularly at risk because they stop producing estrogen, a major protector of bone mass.

As we age some bone loss is inevitable. Women age 65 or men age 70 should get a bone mineral density test. If you have a family history of osteoporosis or other risk factors, you may need a BMD much earlier.

The test is completely painless, non-invasive and takes only a few minutes. It compares your bone mineral density to that of an average healthy young person. Your results are called your T score. The difference between your score and the average young person’s T-score is called a standard deviation. (SD)

Here is how to interpret your T score:

  • Between +1 and –1: normal bone density.
  • Between -1 and -2.5: low bone density (osteopenia).
  • T-score of -2.5 or lower: osteoporosis.

Until recently it was thought that if you had low bone mass (osteopenia) you were well on your way to getting osteoporosis. But it’s now known even at this stage bone loss can be slowed down, stopped and even reversed. You and your doctor will have a number of options depending upon your particular condition.

Many MDs like to start with a calcium and vitamin D rich diet coupled with weight-bearing exercise. For many of us, that’s all we need. Others will require medication and there are many bone-building medications available.

Remember it’s never too early to start taking care of your bones. The more bone density you have as a young person the less likely to end up with osteoporosis later in life.

EASE IN, BECOME MOBILE, GET STRONG, LIVE LONG!  May is Osteoporosis Prevention Month! It’s Never Too Late To Take Care Of Your Bones!

Mirabai Holland MFA, EP-C, CHC is one of the foremost authorities in the health and fitness industry. Her customer top rated exercise videos for Health issues like Osteoporosis, Arthritis, Heart Disease, Diabetes & more are available mirabaiholland.com. Join her NEW Online Workout Club at movingfreewithmirabai.com. Mirabai offers one-on-on Health Coaching on Skype or Phone. Contact her at askmirabai@movingfree.com.

family meal

Food, Athletes & Joy of Eating

/15 May 2020/ All MFN blog/

Once upon a time (before WWII), daily life revolved around structured meals: enjoying a hearty breakfast, dinner (at noon), and supper (at night). When women entered the workforce, eating patterns changed — lighter breakfasts and lunches, with bigger family-focused dinners. Fast forward to pre-COVID 2020, youth sports and life’s busy-ness totally disrupted dinner-times; structured meals got lost in the shuffle.

Today (week #8 of COVID shut-down), our stay-at-home lifestyle has gifted many of us with time to cook breakfast, enjoy lunch, and have family dinners. Yet, many athletes are feeling confused and/or uneasy about how they are eating:

“I’m sleeping until 11:00 a.m. Should I eat breakfast — or lunch — when I get up?”

“I now have easy access to food given I’m working at home. I spend too much time grazing. Seems like I am hungry all the time.”

“My eating habits are weird. How should I be eating? What is “normal” eating?”

Sound familiar? To add a supportive framework, joy to meals, and answer the question What is normal eating?, I turn to eating authority Ellyn Satter, author of Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family (a book every parent should read; EllynSatter-Institute.org).

Here is her definition of “normal eating”:

Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it — not stopping eating just because you think you should.

That is, did you stop eating breakfast today because the oatmeal in your bowl was all gone? Or were you truly satiated? At the end of lunch, did you stop at your one-sandwich allotment, even though you wanted more? If you are “feeling hungry all the time,” you likely ARE hungry; your body is requesting more fuel. Trust it. You’ll end up eating more sooner or later, so please honor that hunger and eat more now.

Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. That is, have you put yourself in food jail and banned “fun foods” like cookies, cupcakes, and chips, out of fear of over-eating them? Ideally, your meal plan includes 85-90% quality foods, with 10-15% fun foods. You need not eat a perfect diet to have an excellent diet. Some “fun food” in the midst of a pandemic can be, well, fun!

Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad, or bored, or just because it feels good. Yes, food is a way we celebrate, mourn, and entertain ourselves. Sometimes we even need a hug from food, despite being not hungry. One bowl of ice cream will not ruin your waistline nor your health forever. That said, routinely overindulging in ice cream as a means to distract yourself from life’s pain will not solve any problem. If you are using food as a drug, to not start eating can be easier than stopping once you have started.

Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. Most athletes require fuel at least every 3 to 4 hours. Those who “graze all day” commonly under-eat at meals. If you stop eating because you think you should, not because you are satiated, you will feel the urge to graze. Solutions: eat the rest of your breakfast-calories for a mid-morning snack, eat an earlier lunch, or better yet, give yourself permission to eat enough satiating food at breakfast. Living hungry all the time puts a damper on your quality of life, to say nothing of impairs athletic performance.

Normal eating is leaving cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. If you are banning fun foods from your house because you can’t eat just one cookie, think again. Denying yourself permission to enjoy a few cookies boosts the urge to eat the whole plateful. I call that “last chance eating.” You know, “last chance to have cookies, because tomorrow I am back on my cookie-free diet.” Depriving yourself of cookies leads to binge-eating. Try planning in forbidden foods every day. They will soon lose their power.

Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Yes, even normal eaters overeat. It’s normal to have too much birthday cake, too much Sunday Brunch, too much ice cream. When competent eaters overeat, they listen to their body’s signals – and notice they take longer to get hungry again. That is, if you have a hearty brunch, you will be less hungry that evening. Trust me. Rather, trust your body.

Hunger is your body’s way of telling you it has burned off what you gave it, and now it is ready for more fuel. You want to honor hunger and eat intuitively, like kids do. Kids eat matter-of-factly; they stop eating when they are content. Adults (especially weight-conscious athletes), don’t eat when they are hungry, then don’t stop when content. Rather, they “cheat” and guiltily stuff themselves with forbidden foods —last chance before the diet starts again!

Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life. If you are spending 90% of your time thinking about food, you are likely hungry 90% of the time. (If humans didn’t think about food, they would never think to eat.) If you eat until you are satisfied, you will stop incessantly thinking about food. That said, food-thoughts can be a way to distract yourself from stuff you really don’t want to think about. In that case, talking with a counsellor might be helpful. Smothering your feelings with chocolate will not solve any of your problems.

In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food, and your feelings. Many athletes very rigidly eat the same foods every single day. A sports nutritionist can help add variety (more nutrients), flexibility, and more joy to eating. Food can and should be one of life’s pleasures, both when training and in the midst of the pandemic.

Boston-area sports nutritionist Nancy Clark, MS, RD counsels both casual and competitive athletes, helping them learn how to eat competently. Her best-selling Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a helpful resource. For more information, visit NancyClarkRD.com.

Doctor and patient

Health Coaches Don’t “Diagnose or Treat Disease”: Those Words and Others Don’t Belong in Our Vocabulary

/11 May 2020/ All MFN blog/

It is nothing new that there’s inevitable overlap between the practice of medicine and providing sound health coaching. Ideally, there should be a seamless continuum between the two endeavors, but that could only exist where there is a continuum of cooperation and respect. Health Coaches need to be careful with how we describe and present our work. While health coaching is a vibrant movement, it is still a junior partner to “traditional medicine” and for self-preservation; we should seek to avoid direct “turf wars” with Physicians.

The most balanced approach requires continuous consideration of the distinctions between these complementary fields. While there will always be principled differences, the practical applications change steadily along with knowledge and technology. The most prudent approach is for Health Coaches to simply concede medicine’s proprietary terms. We need to understand them, and can use them, but anytime we do we must draw distinctions that educate our clients about the difference in objectives and procedures of these complementary endeavors. In that sense, there are no “forbidden words”, but there are plenty of places where lack of clarity in purpose and practice can cause problems. Some of the major terms that should be conceded include:

Patient, practice, diagnosis, cause, disease/pathology, prescribing, medicine, treatment, management, effectiveness, intervention and cure.

Health Coaches should strive to embody in our mission what comes from consideration of those terms. We develop relationships with clients, we are not in the practice of seeking responsibility for treating patients. We are helpful guides in exploring the vast, common sense resources of the field of wellness, not prescribing proprietary agents or using medical modalities to treat disease. We act as individual guides on a quest that prioritizes personalized discovery and anecdotal utility, not practitioners who prescribe antidotes approved by impersonal population-based investigations.

Health Coaches are about beings, synergy, elasticity, balance, flourishing and optimization.

We look for associated (natural) influences that can combine to re-establish balance, not for a cause or diagnosis that be controlled by the use of a foreign/artificial agent. Health Coaches are about beings, synergy, elasticity, balance, flourishing and optimization. Medicine predominantly lays claim to systems that don’t display those features.

“The doctor of the future will give no medication but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

Each term, of course, could be expanded upon greatly as time permits. Back in 1903, Thomas Edison said that “The doctor of the future will give no medication but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Edison was simply wrong. Health Coaches should focus on care of the human frame and diet which are the wellsprings of function and flourishing. That’s a big task that requires ever-increasing knowledge and wisdom.

Unfortunately, the human “machine” is inevitably subject to decay of various sorts and severities. Medicine will always have a very important place in providing resources for comfort where nature has been pushed to failure – which is not an uncommon occurrence. The line between those positions shifts over time, but until utopia breaks out, reality will maintain a vast market for both types of emphasis. For now, it is up to the junior partner to hold up their banner while keeping the peace.

Originally printed on the FDN blog. Reprinted with permission.

Reed Davis is a Nutritional Therapist and has been the Health Director and Case Manager at a wellness clinic San Diego for over 15 years. Reed is the Founder of the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Certification Course, offering functional lab training, data-driven protocols, tools and leadership you need so professionals confidently solve your client’s health issues and grow your career.

brain-neurons

Parkinson’s Disease and Exercise

/6 May 2020/ All MFN blog/

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease.  Unfortunately, the incidence of Parkinson’s disease has not declined, and its impact is seen in all races.  This is due in part to the fact that the population of the world is greater than ever before and increasing. In addition, people are living longer than in previous generations, and the baby boomer generation, one of the largest generations in history, has reached old age.

Risk factors for Parkinson’s disease include:

Age: Risk of Parkinson’s disease increases with age.  The average age of onset for this disease is 55 years and the rate of incidence increases steadily until the age of 90.

Gender: Men have a higher risk for Parkinson’s disease than women.

Family history: Individuals with a family history of Parkinson’s disease are at a higher risk for Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, it is said that those with affected first-degree relatives double their risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Agricultural work: Individuals exposed to pesticides and herbicides have a greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Drinking well-water and living in rural areas have also been associated with an increased incidence of Parkinson’s disease.

Head Trauma: Head trauma can be a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease as is seen in the case of boxers. One study showed that trauma to the upper cervical region, head, and neck was a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease. However, in some cases it took years for these symptoms to appear.

The exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown.  Regarding the molecular events that lead to the development of this disease, there is still some uncertainty in terms of what causes the neurodegeneration seen in Parkinson’s disease. The current hypothesis is that Parkinson’s disease may result from the interaction between environmental factors and genetic susceptibility.

The primary symptoms for PD are deficiencies in motor performance due to the loss of the dopamine pathways in the brain. Decreased dopamine production in the substantia nigra in the brain causes the 4 primary motor symptoms:

  • Bradykinesia: described as slowness in the execution of movements while performing daily activities.
  • Rigidity or Stiffness: caused by an involuntary increase in tone of the limbs and axial musculature.
  • Resting Tremor: Found primarily in the arms and hands and can be socially bothersome. Resting tremors are less disabling since they often vanish with the initiation of activity (especially in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease).
  • Postural Instability: manifested in a slow speed of walking, shortened stride length, narrowing of base of support, and leaning towards one side.

Exercise should be targeted for the primary motor symptoms with exercise and occupational therapy to improve quality of life. Recommended program components include:

  • Posture, gait, mobility
  • Fall risk reduction
  • Cardiorespiratory health
  • Strength and function
  • Depression and Anxiety
  • Joint health

Exercise prescription for clients with PD includes: (ACSM)

  • An individualized program
  • Cardiorespiratory: use guidelines for healthy adults
  • Muscular Fitness: use guidelines for healthy adults
  • Flexibility: slow, static exercises for all major and minor joints in the body including the upper torso, spine, and neck.
  • Neuromotor Exercises: help with balance, gait, and postural instability. Clinicians use a gait belt or parallel bars to ensure safety depending on the severity of the symptoms.  Include functional exercises to improve ADLs and quality of life.

PD exercise therapy includes intervention with many kinds of exercise modes. Both personal training and group fitness have been successful in helping to manage the disease and reduce the symptoms. There is not strong evidence at this point to show that exercise prevents PD, but it is believed that exercise may play a role.  Exercise is however the mainstay for symptom management and slowing disease development.

 

June M. Chewning BS, MA has been in the fitness industry since 1978 serving as a physical education teacher, group fitness instructor, personal trainer, gym owner, master trainer, adjunct college professor, curriculum formatter and developer, and education consultant. She is the education specialist at Fitness Learning Systems, a continuing education company.

References and Resources: