Holistic Nutrition

What's in Season? ~ Dandelions Taraxacum officinale "Fairy Clock" My favourite flower bouquet from my girls, picked with love. Nature gives us dandelions just when we need them most. A fresh spring tonic to help our bodies transition from winter to spring. The long winter can leave us feeling dull, lethargic, fatigued, and heavy. Introducing bitter and pungent foods may aid digestion, detoxify the kidneys and liver, and stimulate bile flow from the gall bladder to support healthy cholesterol levels. Dandelions are a natural detoxifier and spring cleanser. Pick tender green leaves that have not been sprayed with chemicals. Choose leaves with thin stems and avoid yellowing, limp leaves with larger, thicker stems. Use the leaves the way you cook with spinach, either raw (added to salads) or steamed. Juice the leaves or add to a smoothie. Enjoy a cup of organic dandelion root tea. Freshly picked dandelion leaves can be rinsed in cool water, dried thoroughly, a...

While driving through the city, I keep noticing new self-storage facilities being built.  While there are legitimate reasons to require extra storage, Storage Wars on A&E demonstrates the fact that often people later realize they really do not need the "stuff".  In fact, they often simply stop paying the rent and leave the items, or do not bother to sell or reclaim the storage items if they no longer can pay the rent. Similarily, Hoarders on A&E and Hoarding: Buried Alive on TLC explore the psychology behind the compulsion to accumulate nonessential items. The Mayo Clinic's definition of hoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them.  While we may not all hoard excessively, we may still be overwhelmed with clutter.  Clutter is energy constipation ~ draining our energy, and adversely affecting our health, congesting our body and mind. Like hoarding, constipation may reflect a person's inab...

Bleeding Heart ~ Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra spectabilis) An ancient doctrine, The Doctrine of Signatures ,  suggests that plants were given a "signature" or "mark" and their shape, color, texture, habitat, and taste were a clue to the plant's healing properties.  For more information ~ Doctrine of Signatures, Deborah Treijs, MH .  For example, Tomatoes   are red and have four chambers like a human heart.  They contain lycopene, an antioxident, that may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Walnuts resemble a human brain with a left/right hemisphere, upper/lower cerebrums, wrinkles/folds like neocortex, and contain omega 3, which is essential for normal brain function. Carrots , when sliced, resemble the human eye, with pupil/iris/radiating lines.  Carrots contain beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, an important nutrient for eye health. Grape clusters are heart-shap...

Is your child tired all the time, unable to focus in school, constantly whining, constipated, experiencing headaches or suffering from chronic colds? If so, your child may have a nutrient deficiency that can be easily corrected with a proper diet.  A holistic nutritionist can help you plan lunches that will enable your child to concentrate in school, have the energy to participate in sports, build their immune system, as well as improve their mood and behavior.  A child's lunch needs to include several key nutrients: Proteins ~ Children require protein to repair muscles damaged during play and sports, to boost the immune system, and to keep hair, skin, nails, bones and organs healthy.  Sources include meat, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, nut butters, cheese and yogurt. Carbohydrates ~ Children require carbs for energy.  Complex carbs elevate blood sugar levels slowly and provide a longer lasting form of energy than simple carbs (candy, soft dr...

Holistic nutrition treats the whole individual, emphasizing your environment, emotions, diet, as well as physical symptoms.  By analyzing your health status utilizing a lifestyle and nutritional assessment questionnaire, a nutritionist can help you improve areas of deficiency or imbalance by assisting you to make positive diet, supplement and lifestyle adjustments.  A holistic nutritionist will customize a step-by-step nutritional program to meet your individual health needs. Diabetes, Blood sugar imbalances PMS, Menopause, Hormone imbalances Acne, Eczema, Rash, Psoriasis Weight loss, Weight gain Stress, Anxiety, Depression Chronic colds/flu, Asthma High blood pressure, High cholesterol Thyroid and Adrenal glandular issues Pre- and Post surgery Detoxification, Allergies, Arthritis ADD/ADHD Digestive disorders, IBS, Constipation MAINTAINING HEALTH All these conditions and many more can benefit from nutritional coaching.  Take the first step toward positive ch...

"For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Thanksgiving weekend reminded us to count our blessings.  Research shows that an attitude of gratitude improves our health ~ gratitude initiates a positive healing effect in our mind and body.  It shifts our focus from negative thoughts and emotions that cause disease to an attitude that accelerates physiological and biochemical healing.  While I am truly grateful for my family, my health, and my home, I am also thankful for the little things in my life ~ for sunshine on the long weekend, for my tiny dog that thinks he is my bodyguard, for the full double rainbow I saw last week, for hugs, for the colour of the fall leaves, for printers that work properly, and for heartburn... ...for heartburn ?  Well, I have to look at it positively.  Heartburn is a clear sign that somethi...

The olive is: low in cholesterol high in dietary fiber, iron, and copper rich in essential fatty acids (Omega 9 monounsaturated) and calories a good source of Vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that neutralizes damaging free radicals, along with polyphenols and flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory properties. Eat olives in moderation if you are interested in: weight loss (low-fat, low-calorie diet) avoiding salt or vinegar (olives are high in sodium due to the brining) avoiding iron (hemochromatosis) The timing of the harvest determines the color ~ they are green when picked before they are ripe and deep purple if picked when ripened.  Many black olives are blackened after harvesting and then the color is 'fixed' with ferrous sulfate/ferrous gluconate, often used to treat iron-deficiency anemia.  If you suffer from hemochromotosis (when the amount of iron stored in the body is too high), you may wish to avoid olives black...