Monthly Archives: July 2009

How to Read Food Labels

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There is a lot of confusion around labels, and what is actually good for you. We went through a whole low fat craze, which actually in turn made people more fat!! Now we see many labels making claims…like high fibre, low sodium. The problem is, we need to be label savvy as a lot of this is great marketing. They replace one bad thing with another and trick us into thinking the product is good for us.

So, here is what to look for…

Serving Size

On the nutritional facts, there will be a serving size listed. For cereal or grains it might say 1/2cup, for bars it might say 1. This is important to note, as most of the higher calorie items are 2 cookies, or 10chips.  This isn’t a lot of food for this many calories, which is why these foods must be limited. They are called empty calories, meaning they hold very little nutrition for their caloric punch

Fats

Fats are a very confusing topic for most people. I still get many people in my office that are afraid to eat things like nuts or avocado for fear of getting fat.

These good fats actually help your body to burn weight…not put it on.

The inflammatory or toxic fats are the ones we want to reduce, but we need to increase our consumption of the good fats.

Fats to Avoid – Many processed foods, will also contain processed fats. These are fats that help to add flavour and stabilize the shelf life of the food.  We want to avoid the following fats as much as possible – hydrogenated fats, partially hydrogenated fats. We want to greatly limit things like vegetable oil, corn oil or soybean oil as most of the time they are highly processed. So, if you see a product that claims to be high in fibre, but also has these fats in it…this is not something that you should be eating every day

Fats to include – things like nuts and seeds (except peanuts), avocado, olive oil, hemp seeds/oil, flax seeds/oil, olives, fish. These products contain the good fats, that will help us with cardiovascular function, weight loss and management, skin health, brain health and much more.

Sugar

Many of the processed foods will replace fats for sugar, or they add sugar to compensate for the increase in fibre (to still allow the product to taste great). White sugar is very inflammatory in the body and in increased quantities contributes to lowered immune system, weight gain and insulin resistance. When looking at a product it is important to make sure to look at the amount of sugar per serving as well as the type of sugar used.  Healthy products will use less than 9g of sugar per serving.

Healthy sugars to look for are things like brown rice syrup, agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, dates, dried fruit, organic cane sugar.

Sometimes when you look at some of the natural bars you will see that they have more sugar in them than 9g/serving.  If they are more, but they contain the natural sugars as oppose to white sugar, they are okay to consume. Lara bars are a good example of this

Sodium

Don’t be fooled…even some of the soups in the health food section of the grocery store contain more sodium than they should. Sodium in excess quantities can cause problems with water retention and blood pressure. It is advised to keep your daily sodium intake to 2400mg, with an individual product being around 200mg. Most of the convenience food like frozen dinners and packaged soups can contain up to 700-900mg of sodium per serving.  Therefore it is best to cook your own food, or make sure that what you are eating on a consistent basis is not too high in sodium.  Celtic sea salt is not processed, and the trace minerals are not stripped like in regular table salt. Therefore it does not have the same effect of blood pressure and water retention. If you are going to use salt, you can use sea salt sparingly, but also try to find other ways to spice your food like lemon juice or herbs.

Having the ability to be able to understand labels, will help keep you and your family healthy.

The Straight Facts on Sunscreen

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Here we are again, the time of year most of us wait for…those hot, hazy days of summer.  While summer brings us so much joy, it also comes with one of the most controversial topics….Sunscreen.

The incidence of skin cancer, and sun related skin damage is very real and also very preventable. It is important to understand what to look for as it will become apparent that all sunscreens are not created equal.  In this article, I hope to clear up some of the confusion around sunscreen and give you tools to help protect you and your family.

SPF (Sun Protection Factor)

SPF is a measure of a sunscreen’s ability to prevent UVB from damaging the skin.

As a general rule, if it takes you 20minutes for your unprotected skin to turn pink, then you take 20min and times by SPF 15, which gives you about 5 hours of protection.

Here is another way to look at it:

  • SPF 15 blocks approximately 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays.
  • SPF 30 blocks 97 percent; and
  • SPF 50 blocks 98 percent.

They may seem like negligible differences, but if you are light-sensitive, or have a history of skin cancer, those extra percentages will make a difference. And as you can see, no sunscreen can block all UV rays. (skin cancer foundation website, 2009)

Problems With This Model

  1. Because of stability issues, no sunscreen should be expected to work for more than 2 hours without reapplication
  2. Reddening indicates the damage from UVB rays, but doesn’t tell you about the damaging effects of the deeper penetrating UVA rays. Plenty of damage can be done to the skin without it ever turning pink or red

It is important that you use at least SPF 15, and preferably SPF 30.  Many sunscreens are now coming out with SPF 55-100 however most of these block just 1-2% more sunburn (UVB) radiation than an SPF 30 sunscreen and aren’t required to block UVA. Compared to an SPF 30 sunscreen, they also require 2-3 times more active ingredients, many of which absorb into the body.

Many all-day moisturizers advertise SPF protection, but 1 in 5 offer little protection from harmful UVA rays.  A surprising new government report attributes an increasing incidence of malignant melanoma among people who work indoors from UVA rays shining through windows onto unprotected skin (Godar 2009).

UVA/UVB Rays

UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply and are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other effects of photo aging.  They also exacerbate the carcinogenic effects of UVB rays, and a growing number of studies are showing that they are being seen as a cause of skin cancer on their own.

Most sunscreens protect from UVB sunburn radiation, and far fewer brands protect against UVA rays. Currently, there are no FDA regulations for UVA protection in suncreens.  The good news is that in the last couple of years, the number of manufacturers adding UVA protection to their sunscreen has increased.

Here are the current UVA filters approved by the FDA:

  • Avobenzone
  • Mexoryl
  • Titanium Dioxide
  • Zinc

It is important to make sure that in addition to a higher SPF (which will protect from UVB radiation) that your sunscreen is also protecting you from these harmful UVA rays.

Most active ingredients in sunscreen work by absorbing the suns energy, breaking it apart and releasing that energy to react with other chemicals in the sunscreen or kicking off free radicals. Some active ingredients are more stable than others, but nearly all break down to some extent in the sun.  In fact, it has been shown that many ingredients break down in the sun in a matter of minutes or hours causing UV radiation to be exposed to skin. Many products on the market contain ingredients that may be unstable alone, or in combination with other ingredients in the product.

Instead of absorbing the suns energy, the zinc oxide and titanium dioxide actually reflect or scatter the sunlight making it a more stable choice.  Because they are white earth minerals, the sunscreens tend to be more opaque and white in appearance instead of clear.  Little to no amounts of zinc or titanium dioxide are absorbed into the skin making them safer choices than some of the other UVA filters.

Environmental Working Group “found that consumers using sunscreens without zinc and titanium would be exposed to an average of 20% more UVA radiation — with increased risks for UVA-induced skin damage, premature aging, wrinkling, and UV-induced immune system damage — than consumers using zinc- and titanium-based products. Sunscreens without zinc or titanium contain an average of 4 times as many high hazard ingredients known or strongly suspected to cause cancer or birth defects, to disrupt human reproduction or damage the growing brain of a child. They also contain more toxins on average in every major category of health harm considered: cancer (10% more), birth defects and reproductive harm (40% more), neurotoxins (20% more), endocrine system disruptors (70% more), and chemicals that can damage the immune system (70% more)” (EWG 2007).

Toxic Ingredients

Sunscreen is known to contain active metabolites that are readily absorbed by the body and are known to cause many toxic side effects in the system.

Here are a few of the most common toxic ingredients in the most common and popular sunscreens on the market:

Oxybenzone – This is now the most common active ingredient in sunscreen since PABA was discontinued.

It is known to cause:

  • high absorption through skin
  • high rates of allergic reactions
  • growing concerns about hormone disruption

Octinoxate (octyl methyoxycinnamate)

It is known to cause:

  • sensitize skin
  • Estrogenic effects are noted in laboratory animals
  • disruption of thyroid hormone and brain signaling.

Paba ester/octyl dimethyl paba – A derivative of the once popular PABA.

It is known to cause:

  • this chemical releases free radicals
  • damages DNA
  • estrogenic activity
  • allergic reactions in some people.

What to Look for in a Sunscreen

  1. SPF 30 to 45
  2. Doesn’t contain the toxic ingredients
  3. The sunscreen has been tested for stability of ingredients
  4. Contains UVA protectants like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide

What Is the Best

After much research on this, I believe that Badger Sunscreen is the best and meets all of these requirements. Because of the zinc and titanium dioxide which are natural inert white compounds, this sunscreen tends to go on very thick and often white. While badger still does this, I find it goes on better than most.

Even many of the natural sunscreens on the market contain these toxic active ingredients, which is why for your convenience we are selling Badger in our clinic this summer.

To see how your sunscreen matches up, please visit

www.ewg.org

www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

Sun Safety

In addition to wearing sunscreen, please also follow these important guidelines:

  1. Avoid sun during peak times of 11-3pm
  2. Wear a hat and UVA/UVB protective eye wear
  3. Take extra care of children
  4. Wear sunscreen at all times even in the shade as up to 40% of the UV radiation can reach the earth on a completely cloudy day
  5. Apply sunscreen 30min before going into the sun and then every 2 hours after that (regardless of SPF)

Much of the information in the article was from www.ewg.org. Please visit this site for more information.

Do You Want More Energy?

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Most people will reply YES!

Since energy is in such high demand it’s important to explore where our body’s energy comes from so we can figure out how we can get more.

Where does energy come from?

Energy is produced by the trillions of cells in our body, therefore in order to gain more energy we need to address the health of our cells.

There are three essential components that determine how well a cell functions:

  1. Oxygen
  2. Water and
  3. Elimination of Waste.

Oxygen

Oxygen is the source of all energy in the body. Without oxygen our cells wouldn’t be able to do any work. All metabolic processes in the body such as assimilation (absorption), elimination of waste, respiration, circulation and digestion requires energy.

So how do we get more oxygen?

The answer is simple, we need to breathe better, and by this I mean real deep diaphragmatic breathing – commonly practiced in yoga and meditation. Deep Breathing is simple and just practicing 10 deep breaths twice a day is a great start that only takes minutes out of your day, yet leaves you feeling much more energized.

To help you learn how to breathe deeply you can pick up CD’s or take yoga classes. You can also look on the web for videos that demonstrate diaphragmatic breathing. There are two videos that I found to be helpful in getting you starting on diaphragmatic breathing.

The first video explains the location of the diaphragm in the body and how it moves in relation to other organs.

The second video is a one minute demonstration of diaphragmatic breathing.

In addition to giving your cells an essential ingredient to make energy, diaphragmatic breathing is an excellent way to relax and calm down the nervous system. When you’re feeling stressed or anxious you can stop and take 10 deep diaphragmatic breathes essentially anywhere – your office desk, your car, in the elevator and so on.

Water

The second ingredient necessary for your trillions of cells to produce energy is water.

Water is the most abundant substance in the body. Up to 70% of our body is made up of water; furthermore 70% of our planet is also made of water, so it only makes sense that we need a substantial intake of water daily for optimal cellular function. Water is the medium in which all cellular reactions occur, thus if we are dehydrated even slightly it reduces cellular function, hence reducing our overall energy.

The recommended daily intake of water is one half your body’s weight in ounces. For example, if you weight 200 lbs, half your weight would be 100 lbs, thus you would need 100 ounces of water daily. There are 8 ounces in one cup of water, or 32 ounces in a litre. Therefore a 200 lb individual would need to drink 3 litres of water daily to stay well hydrated.

So how do we get more water?

The best way to tackle your hydration is by observing the colour of your urine. If you urine is clear or faint light yellow and odourless you are well hydrated. If you find your urine to be darker yellow and has an odour it’s a good indication that you are dehydrated.

If you find yourself thirsty it’s an indication that you are dehydrated. Don’t wait to feel the thirst to drink water. You body usually sends out thirst signals well after the fact of dehydration.

In addition to drinking water you want to consume approximately 75% of your diet in the form of raw uncooked food due to its high water content. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and cold pressed oils.

Use freshly cut lemon or lime slices to spice up your water, oranges slices are very zesty and work well too. Over the summer months you can increase your water consumption through the use of herbal iced teas. As a rule of thumb, half of your daily water consumption should be in the form of pure water and half can be in other forms such as herbal or green tea.

Dextoification

The last component to producing optimal cellular energy is the ability of the cell to eliminate waste, also known as Detoxification.

Every cell in our body produces a natural waste as a bi-product of the work it does, and in order for the cell to be able to continue function optimally it has to remove that waste to make room for future waste. One of the biggest obstacles to detoxification and waste removal is that in addition to the natural waste our body produces, it’s also faces with environmental toxins and toxins from the food we eat and the water we drink, making it twice as hard to keep up with the detoxification process.

One of the most important components to waste removal is our lymphatic system. Stay tuned for the next blog which will discuss the lymphatic system in detail.

In order to support detox you need to:

  1. Do a couple of really good cleanses each year with the fall and spring being the best seasons to embark on a cleanse.
  2. Be putting healthy cleansing practices into everyday use to keep up with waste removal.

Some quick and easy tips on daily cleansing include:

  • Increase green leafy vegetable intake (green smoothies are fantastic – check out Newsletter 14 for recipes on green smoothies)
  • Eating whole foods
  • Drinking lots of water
  • Daily movement/exercise
  • Hot Yoga or Infrared saunas
  • Good quality fats – fish, nuts, seeds or supplements with a fish oil

In addition there are several things you want to avoid that hinder detoxification:

  • Processed foods
  • Fried foods and unhealthy fats
  • Sugar
  • Toxic exposure – chemical products such as house hold cleaner & beauty products, toothpaste, deodorant etc…

In Summary

In summary, if you want more energy and you want to get more out of your day with better focus and more motivation you need to respect and support all the trillions of cells in your body by increasing oxygen supply, water intake and supporting the removal of waste through daily detoxification!