How to Make Lasting Change

Happy New Year!

And as we move into 2022, many of us are setting intentions / resolutions / goals with a fire in our belly because THIS is the year we are actually going to achieve them!

But in order to do so (sadly approximately 80% of people fail in achieving what they have set out to achieve), we need to understand that much of what we accomplish (or don’t accomplish) revolves around our habits.

I was watching the news last night, and feeling sick for all the businesses that have had to close down because of the latest rise in COVID cases. There was a photo of an empty gym, and my immediate reaction was that gyms will really be hit hard because they are missing out on their biggest month of the year – January – when everyone signs up and the gyms are packed… for three weeks.

When it comes to our health, more often than not we know what we are “supposed” to be doing. And if we don't, we have all the information we need at our fingertips. And then some.

This is the crazy part – even when we are suffering and have all the information we need:

We. Still. Don’t. Do. It.

Why is that?

Because change is hard! We are creatures of habit, even when we are uncomfortable. In the book, Change or Die, one example cites 1.5M people in the US with heart disease having undergone traumatic heart surgery to unblock arteries, and being told afterwards that if they didn’t change their lifestyle, the heart disease (which would eventually come back) could kill them.

90% of those people didn’t change their lifestyle.

The thought of change can be overwhelming. And we know we aren’t alone because so many books have been written on habits (critical for change), two of the most recent being the best selling books Atomic Habits by James Clear and Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg.

Back to setting New Years resolutions…

One (of many) things in Atomic Habits that resonated with me was James' perspective on the setting of goals (resolutions), and I’m hoping this perspective might be helpful for you going forward this year with respect to your health (or any area of your life).

Think about a health goal that you have set for this year. It could revolve around sleep, weight, exercise, stress reduction, nutrition… anything. And if you don’t have a health goal, then choose any goal you might have.

Goals vs Systems

From James’ perspective, goals are great at setting direction as they represent the result you want to achieve, but they aren’t necessarily helpful in achieving those results. It’s the systems you put in place that are key.

Systems are the processes you create that lead to the results you want. Not only that, systems build lasting change, aka new habits.

A goal is effectively a one-off solution - a momentary change.

For example, let’s say you set a goal of losing 10lbs in a month. You pull out all the stops - cut way back on food intake, start exercising daily, no wine for a month, etc. And bingo - you achieve it! Everyone notices of course – they comment on how great you look – and you feel like a million bucks. And yet slowly but surely the weight creeps back.

That’s because you haven’t made any real, lasting change. You haven’t really created any new habits over that short period of time. Not only that, there is a good chance you have felt deprived during the month and can’t wait for that first glass of wine (or two)!

Let’s try to lose 10lbs with a system (a realistic system) in place. Obviously systems are very personal, but it may include no snacking in the evening, going out for a 20 min walk every morning and following the 80/20 rule when it comes to eating a meal (eating until you are 80% full). And for good measure, you may include having a strategy for what happens when you miss a day or two of these small, incremental changes you are making.

Over time, you will lose weight. You may not notice after a month, but perhaps after three months it becomes apparent. People will assume it all happened suddenly, but you know that’s not the case. That’s what your system was all about - small, purposeful, incremental changes.

Small incremental changes

In order to effect meaningful change, it’s very tough to “go big”. For most people, it’s best to incorporate small, incremental changes over time as part of “system” or set of processes to achieve what you want to achieve.

These small little habits appear to make no difference in the short term, but over time (and what can appear to the outside world as “suddenly”) a breakthrough occurs. It’s like compounding interest –the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them.

The dreaded plateau

But here-in lies the challenge – the fact that these small, incremental changes don’t reveal their benefits in the short term. If we are fixated on a goal (losing 10lbs) and after 3 weeks we haven’t seen any change, then it’s easy to give up. You want to throw in the towel.

Here again is where having a system is key. If you are solely focused on the goal, you will think you have failed and potentially give up. But if you have stuck with the system you have put in place, then trust you are going in the right direction and it will pay off in the long run. Ultimately, habits need to persist long enough to break through the plateau.

The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. James Clear has done the math – if you can get 1 percent better each day for a year, you will end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Not only that, you will have created new habits that are there forever – and like any habit you do for long enough, you won’t even think about it.

I can say all this because I’ve been there and experienced it. I spent years and years going on every diet imaginable, and it was only when I stopped my bouts of dieting (in between the bouts where I would either graze all day or binge eat) and implemented a system of eating three meals a day. That's it. And over time, everything started to fall into place. And then I made some more incremental changes - but only when I was ready for them.

Note this could be about starting a business, writing a book, running a marathon, or learning a new language.

So as we move into 2022, and are excited about all the goals / intentions / resolutions we have set, remember that it’s the systems we put in place that are key. They will help us develop the new habits critical to our success, and at the same time create lasting change.

Let's do this!

Gillian xx
PS - for those of you in Toronto and surrounding area, my Walk & Talk Wellness Reset is up and running. It's a fantastic way to get the therapeutic benefits of a walk in nature while getting personalized nutritional and lifestyle recommendations. Let me help you set some goals and put some systems in place to make 2022 a stellar year!

Permission to take the path of least resistance. Really.

Life is busy.

And when you combine our hectic lives with the overwhelm of health information coming from all directions, we often end up taking the path of least resistance (or perhaps even the path of no resistance!), especially when it comes to our health.

The good news is that there are a number of things we can do to move the needle forward that take minimal time and energy. Spoiler alert – none of this is new (well, hopefully not). BUT, I urge you to read below because sometimes all it takes is a second (or third) nudge to embrace simple hacks towards better health.

Note - what inspired me to share some of these is the item at the TOP of my list… something I want to shout from the mountain tops to everyone that will listen.

USE UNSCENTED LAUNDRY DETERGENT!!!

(Yes, the use of caps is me shouting from the mountain tops).

First off, a small caveat – I am highly sensitive to scents and they give me headaches almost immediately depending on the strength, so I can pick up a mile away when someone is using a scented laundry detergent - whether it’s sitting in a restaurant and the “offender” is three tables over, or I’m out for a walk and someone is walking ahead of me (well ahead of me).

But this morning was the final straw. I received a courier package, and it reeked of laundry detergent. Seriously.

The fragrance of scented laundry products (including dryer sheets) are not natural, nor are they regulated. They are chemicals, many of which are endocrine disrupting compounds (aka hormone disruptors).

Note that the words “natural”, “non-toxic” and “green” can be used indiscriminately. They may mean something, or they may not.

But I digress… back to fragrance. As mentioned, fragrances are loaded with hormone disruptors (toxins). We both inhale these chemicals and absorb them through our skin.

They can affect our cognition, our respiratory function, metabolic function (diabetes, obesity) and oncogenic function (cancer, especially breast and prostate). For me, they trigger migraines. We are surrounded by these toxins, from the carpets in our homes to the clothes that we wear (flame retardents) and the food that we eat (pesticides). So the more we can do to decrease them, the better.

If you want more detailed information, check out this research, or, for help decoding terms on packaging, check out this. EWG (Environmental Working Group) is a great place to start to find information on personal care products (and food) - the good, the bad and the ugly.

If nothing else, buy unscented laundry detergent. And truth be told, think about unscented everything (especially deodorant). I’m not suggesting that you have to buy expensive alternatives that are free of all chemicals (although that’s always an option) rather, for the easiest path of less resistance suggestion, simply look for unscented products.

And ditch the dryer sheets immediately. Like right now.

“Fast” for 12 hours

There is so much talk about intermittent fasting / time restricted feeding, and for good reason. There are a myriad of benefits, one of which is to give our digestive system a break. We were never supposed to eat/graze non-stop throughout the day and evening.

Fasting also challenges the body, which engages stress response pathways, ultimately strengthening our overall system.

And yet the whole idea of fasting and/or longer time restricted feeding windows (ie - 16:8) can seem (and be) overwhelming. But you don’t have to go to extremes to get some benefits.

Do a 12-hour “fast”.

You may actually be doing this without realizing it. If there are 12 hours between the end of your last meal at night and the beginning of your next meal the following day, you are already there. For example, if you finish dinner at 7:30pm, then don’t have anything to eat until 7:30am the next morning, you're doing it.

The challenge for many? No snacking at night. Would it help if I said that every circadian rhythm specialist and sleep specialist would agree that snacking at night is not a good thing?

Our bodies (and brains) go through a cleansing / detoxifying process at night – food in our system disturbs this. Snacking at night can also impact weight gain, inflammation and sleep quality.

If you feel you must snack at night, make sure it’s a high fat food, such as macadamia nuts, olives or avocado, and hydrate alongside (with water or herbal tea). I will say though, like anything, over time your body will get used to not eating after dinner. This strategy also helps with sleep - ideally we don't want to eat anything three hours prior to bed (especially anything that raises our blood sugar).

A 12-hour "fast" is the easiest way to derive some of the benefits of time restricted feeding, which include:

• Improved gut microbiome

• Weight loss/management

• Improved sleep

• Improved circadian rhythm

• Reduced inflammation

• Increased cell maintenance and protection

• Removal and replacement of damaged cells

• Healthy longevity

It’s definitely something to work towards if you aren’t already doing it.

Move

I know. I sound like a broken record. But I can’t help myself. Hopefully I am preaching to the converted and this will be the last time I touch on this subject for a while.

But I am getting very lonely walking up the subway stairs on my own.

Do you know that movement is at the top of neurologist Richard Isaacson’s list when it comes to Alzheimer’s prevention/risk reduction? That’s before nutrition and sleep. He calls exercise “miracle grow” for the brain.

If daily exercise is not an option at the moment, there are other EASY ways (aka path of least resistance) to start incorporating movement into your life: take the stairs; walk to the store; stand up every 25 minutes from your desk; put on some music and dance; do squats or lunges while your coffee brews; do exercises while brushing your teeth (knee bends, squats, balancing on one leg); park in furthest spot in a parking lot… anything to get the blood flowing to your body and brain.

And if you can take it to the next level, get your heart rate up while you move – incorporate a hill or stairs on your daily walk, walk up and down the stairs in your house consecutively a few times/day, do 20 squat jumps two to three times/day; buy a skipping rope and start skipping 1-2x/day… heck do squats while you are reading this on your phone!

Why is movement important? It delivers oxygen and nutrients to our brains, improving mental health and cognitive function; it delivers oxygen and nutrients to our organs, improving our bodily functions; it improves our cardiovascular system, lowering blood pressure (which leads to a myriad of other benefits… did you know that high blood pressure is one of the “precursors” to dementia?); it improves our moods (literally and physically), it gives us increased energy and it decreases stress.

Ok. I think I've made my point ;-)

The Physiological Sigh

Again, we’ve been here, but I am stating again because this small but mighty tool needs to be in your toolbox.

Stress in our lives is pervasive nowadays. One of the easiest ways to decrease stress and engage our parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest system) is to breathe.

I’ve spoken in the past about the physiological sigh, and I’m mentioning it again because it’s free, easy, accessible, takes no time and very effective. It’s a pattern of breathing that involves two inhales and a long exhale, done 1-2x, sometimes 3.

Total time to do three rounds would take you under 10 seconds – probably the fastest, most effective de-stressor out there.

Not only can this breathing exercise help us sleep, as well as help engage our feelings of relaxation, but it can also help our bodies digest food by engaging our parasympathetic nervous system (aka rest and digest system), increasing absorption of nutrients and potentially lowering digestive issues. When we are in a chronically stressed state, blood leaves our digestive system and moves to our extremities (prepping us for fight or flight mode), hence decreasing our ability to digest food effectively.

Supplement with Vitamin D

Not doing this yet? I really don’t like to push supplements, but vitamin D is super important on many levels, especially as we age. It is one of the easiest vitamins to become deficient in. It’s critical to get tested to see what your levels are at. In Ontario we have to pay for this lab result (approx $35) but it's worth it.

Vitamin D helps protect us from acute respiratory tract infections, including colds and flu (note that cold and flu season is upon us), and has also been related to a lower risk of COVID-19 infection.

It has been shown to treat and prevent osteoporosis (a mostly silent disease) as our body needs vitamin D to help the absorption of calcium. Note that D works synergistically with vitamin K2 to aid this absorption, so try to get a supplement that has both Vitamin D and K2 (they come in drops as well).

Along with bones, it makes sense that vitamin D is also essential for healthy teeth – possibly one of the most important nutrients for our teeth.

And if that’s not enough reason, Vitamin D also has a huge impact on the health and function of our cells. It reduces cellular growth (which promotes cancer) and improves cell differentiation (which puts cells into an anti-cancer state).

Anywhere from 2000 to 5000 IU’s is recommended for daily use, although you will want to confirm your personal needs with a health professional. Again, get your tests done first to see what your levels are at. Note that you should take vitamin D with food containing fat to get all its benefits, as it is a fat-soluble vitamin.

The Power of Water

A few key facts:

• Our brain is up to 80% water. Even mild dehydration can trigger cognitive issues

  • water is needed by the brain to make hormones and neurotransmitters

  • every chemical reaction in the brain depends on water

• Our heart is 73% water - dehydration strains the heart

• Our lungs are over 80% water, our muscle and kidneys are 79% and the skin is 64%

Water helps deliver oxygen to our bodies and brain. It is essential, and most of us don't drink enough. Generally, use the eight cups a day rule (2L/day) as a guideline. And keep in mind that fruits and vegetables are mostly water - if you are loading up on them, that counts!

Suggestions include keeping a jug of water on your kitchen counter; a glass or stainless steel water bottle on your desk (or a pot of herbal tea), and/or a water bottle in the car, especially if you spend a lot of time driving.

In the mornings, try to have a glass or two first thing, before your coffee, because we wake up already dehydrated. Even better - drink it warm (or at least room temperature). Warm water is more hydrating than cold because of its vasodilating effect, which promotes absorption.

Water is key to the metabolism of both our body and our brain.
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So there you have it – six things with high impact you can easily incorporate into your daily routine that take minimal time and effort. Hopefully you are incorporating at least some, if not all of these now. If you are, keep up the good work! Your body will thank you in the long run :)

Remember – the average life span is getting longer, but not necessarily better. We want to ensure those extra years are as productive as possible. In order to do this, we need our health. So let’s start thinking more in terms of “health span” rather than “life span”. What's the point of a long life if we feel like crap...?

Thanks for reading.

Gillian xx

PS – if you need help navigating anything to do with nutrition, sleep, cognitive health, stress management or ways to incorporate more movement into your life, let's chat :)

Listen to your body

Don't ignore the signs.

We so often take our health for granted, and only notice how much we take it for granted once it starts to go.

The good news is that our body is great at signalling when there is something amiss. The problems arise when we ignore the signals.

Below are some "symptoms" we need to pay attention to as we age, to ensure we don’t set ourselves up for serious problems (ie - a chronic illness, autoimmune disease, cancer, etc) down the road.

The dreaded belly fat

Obviously we realize that belly fat isn't ideal, but we need to be aware of the TYPE of belly fat we have.

Fat that is accumulated in the lower body (pear shape) is subcutaneous fat, whereas fat around the belly is considered visceral fat. Generally speaking, subcutaneous fat you can pinch; visceral (belly) fat… not so much. It can be seen and measured, but not pinched. I clarify this because many women will experience a little bit of extra belly fat leading up to and during menopause – and that’s normal (ie – as long as it can be pinched ;-).

Visceral fat, on the other hand, is not normal. It can actually be thought of as an organ unto itself because it acts like an organ, secreting unwanted hormones and other substances that can profoundly affect our health - and not in a positive way.

The best way to deal with visceral fat is (hold your breath!)… diet and exercise.

With diet, start to focus on:

• Portion sizes - using smaller plates and bowls always helps with this

• Snacking habits – both how often you snack as well as what you snack on make a difference. Our digestive system needs a break (you should be able to go at least three hours without food) in order to work effectively. Suggestions include:

  • Avoid any snacking after dinner – ideally, you want a minimum of 12 hours between when you finish eating during the evening and when you have your first bite the next day. This includes any drink other than herbal tea or water

  • Try to always have a vegetable and protein/healthy fat on hand as a “go to” snack (instead of the sugary snack or simple carb that will spike your blood sugar and start you on a blood sugar roller coaster which only enhances the visceral fat)

    • try to avoid protein bars (or anything similar)

  • Put a sticky note on the fridge saying, “Are you truly hungry, or just bored?” Then have a glass of water or herbal tea instead ;-)

• Food choices – very simply, emphasize complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruit, whole grains), proteins and healthy fats; get rid of processed foods; and minimize sugar intake and simple carbs (white bread, muffins, bagels, crackers, too much pasta, etc).

• Drink more water

For exercise, it's suggested that moderate to intense physical exercise at least 30 min/day will help towards scaling back the visceral fat. I know this is a "big ask" for many people, especially those who are quite sedentary. Ease into it, and do your best. Any sort of movement is better than no movement at all.

Joint pain, body aches, eczema, hives, rashes, face blotching, bloating, headaches, brain fog, allergies, anxiety...

Don’t ignore these! They are clear signals that inflammation is lurking somewhere in your body - an ongoing irritant that your immune system keeps reacting to. If the irritants aren’t dealt with, it results in the body being flooded with inflammatory defence cells and hormones, causing inflammation that can manifest itself as any of the symptoms listed above.

This irritation could be any number of the following:

• Sugar (highly inflammatory)

• A food allergy (wheat and dairy are at the top of the list, followed by soy, eggs and corn)

• Certain fruits

• Histamine rich foods – fermented beverages, fermented foods, dairy products

• Environmental factors – mold (a big one), chemicals we put on our body, air we breathe

• Stress

Regarding food, one method is to try an elimination diet. This involves either eliminating everything that potentially could be inflammatory for 2-3 weeks, and then slowly introducing foods back in individually (this one is tough). Another option is to delete one food group at a time for 2-3 weeks and see if there is any difference. Both take time, but are worth the effort. The inflammation is not going to go away on its own. It will just get worse. Note that often it's one of your favourite foods that is causing the problem :(

Another option is to get tested for sensitivities and allergies thru your doctor, naturopath or a functional doctor. If you go the route of a naturopath or functional doctor, you can also access many more blood tests (see "Know your numbers" below) that aren't available through the government funded channels.

Regarding stress, read this for some ideas on what you might want to consider.

To help narrow things down, remember what Hippocrates so eloquently said 2500 years ago - that "all disease begins in the gut". That pretty much stands today. Even stress impacts our gut function. So always start there.

Bone health

A silent and stealth issue...

Unfortunately, unless you have a history of broken bones (or have had a break where the bone seemed to break quite easily relative to the impact), the signs/signals of osteoporosis are really non-existent. But it needs to be addressed, especially because there are no symptoms. Bone health is critical, and we need to be on top of this as we age. One big reason is because our reproductive hormones decrease dramatically during menopause, and estrogen is key for bone health.

I know doctors won’t be happy when I suggest this, but push to get a bone density test while in your mid 50s. Right now, 60 is the recommended age for women to get this, but 60 is almost too late. If you have issues, you want to know sooner rather than later. I have two friends in their 50's who were blindsided by their osteoporosis diagnosis.

Things to consider:

• Do you have a family history of osteoporosis? If yes, get checked sooner rather than later.

• Are you actively doing weight bearing exercise, such as walking, running, tennis, etc?

• Do you do resistance training (ie – weights)?

• Do you take a vitamin D supplement?

• Do you know how much calcium you are getting a day? What about magnesium?

All of the above are very important for bone health. As an aside, try to avoid calcium supplements if you can, and get it through food. Or, if necessary, get your calcium through a bone formula. Straight calcium supplements can sometimes do more harm than good.

Magnesium can also be attained through many food sources, but is also very safe to take as a supplement, if necessary.

Mouth health

I know. It sounds weird. But I can't stress enough the importance of a healthy mouth. Your mouth mirrors what's happening in your body, and vice versa. Our mouths have their own microbiome (called the oral microbiome). Similar to our gut microbiome, if it's out of balance, with bad bacteria dominating (or, as biologic dentist, Gerry Curatola states in the Mouth-Body Connection, "If the bacteria is behaving badly..."), it can negatively impact the rest of our body. Signs of an imbalance include:

• Chronic bad breath

• Off-white plaque film on your teeth in the morning

• Bleeding gums

• Frequent tooth decay

What can lead to this? Two of the top culprits are:

• A diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, which produces acid that eats away at the enamel and causes tooth decay; and

• Stress, which causes a decrease in salivary flow - saliva is the "lifeblood" of the mouth, essential for keeping our oral immune system strong and the continuous remineralization of our teeth.

Finally... Sleep

The signs are pretty obvious when it comes to lack of sleep. I’ve written about sleep a couple of times (referenced below), but a quick reminder never hurts.

We all know how critical sleep is, but many of us still accept the status quo (ie – we have poor sleeps and assume this is just the way it is). I can not stress enough how important it is to work on sleep if you aren’t getting enough. Check out this blog to see what the repercussions can be and why it needs to be taken seriously.

A few basic reminders:

• Try to get the early morning sun in your eyes (from outside, not through a window) within the first hour after sunrise. This helps reset our circadian rhythm. Don’t wear glasses if you don't have to, and obviously don’t look straight at the sun.

• Try to also get the sun later in the day, within the hour prior to sunset (for the same reason as above)

• Maintain a regular sleep schedule – turn off your light at approximately the same time every evening and get up at approximately the same time every morning

• Avoid blue light in the evening two hours before bed – specifically from cell phones and computers. If necessary, wear orange/red blue light blocking glasses.

• Don’t have anything to eat 2-3 hours prior to bed

Check out this blog for further tips

Know your numbers

One of the first things you can do if there are certain things happening in/on your body that don't seem "normal", is to get your blood tests done. Get all the standard ones (complete blood count, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc), but also include:

• B12

• Vitamin D - unfortunately we have to pay extra for this but it's important to know

• Ferritin / iron

• TSH plus T3 and T4 (if they will do them for you) - T3 and T4 specifically if you struggle with weight, lack energy, are cold all the time, have joint pain (see here for more symptoms of an underactive thyroid / hypothyroidism)

• CRP test - this stands for C Reactive Protein, which increases when inflammation is present in your body (although I'm not sure all doctors will do this. But it never hurts to ask)

• Ask for anything else that relates to how you are feeling

Net net - ask for as many tests as you can get – the more information the better. It also gives you a baseline to work with.

Don't take the path of least resistance

Our body is truly incredible. It does everything in its power to maintain balance. And when things are out of balance, it tries hard to let us know.

Where things tend to fall apart is when we bury our heads in the sand and "hope" what we are experiencing goes away. News flash! These things don't just "go away" on their own. And believe me, it's much better to catch things early than waiting until the problem is much bigger.

We need to stop taking our health for granted. All I ask is that you start listening to your body. And if things aren't quite right, take steps to find out what is going on.

Thanks for reading.

gillian xx

PS - if you need help navigating anything to do with nutrition, sleep, cognitive health, stress management or ways to incorporate more movement into your life, reach out for a free 30 minute Discovery call. I'd love to chat.

Transform your life (seriously) through better breathing

Do you snore? Do you wake up parched, desperate for a glass of water? Are you always feeling congested? Have you been told you may have sleep apnea? High blood pressure? Chronic insomnia? Or, do you know someone who suffers from these things? If so, you might want to keep reading…

We all take breathing for granted. Of course we do… just like our heart pumping, breathing is part of our autonomic nervous system. We don’t have to think about it.

But many of us need to start thinking about it. How we breathe can be transformative for our health on many levels… much more than just keeping us alive.

There are many different areas to focus on with respect to breathing, but for this newsletter I have focused on one area in particular that can have extremely negative consequences on ones health - mouth breathing (although at the end I will touch on the healing effects of deep breathing, along with a quick stress release trick :)

But back to mouth breathing - so many people are suffering from chronic sleep issues (as well as many of the symptoms I've listed below), and often the reason is due to habitual breathing through ones mouth instead of their nose.

As an aside, I want to highlight that for those of you with young children, the harmful effects of mouth breathing in children are much greater. It's during these formative years that their breathing mode helps shape their facial structure and airways, and left untreated can lead to years of lifelong respiratory problems.

As Patrick McKeown, author of The Oxygen Advantage states, “Noses are for breathing, mouths are for eating.” (1)

The first question to ask is... are you a mouth breather? Or do you sleep with one?!

It’s important to note that you may not even know you breathe through your mouth (vs always breathing through your nose), especially during sleep. I've included a list of tell tale signs below, some being obvious and others not so much. Brace yourself:

• Chronic insomnia

• Snoring

• Sleep apnea

• High blood pressure

• Significant loss of body fluids (up to 40%), hence the parched mouth upon waking

• Increased stress

• Weight gain

• Inflammation

• Lack of energy

• Lack of concentration and focus

• Moodiness

• Gum disease and cavities (a dry mouth causes acidification of the mouth)

• Bad breath

• Erectile dysfunction / lack of sexual stimulation

• Poor blood circulation, including dizziness and numbness in the fingers

• Crooked teeth, in need of orthodontics

• Sunken cheekbones

• Narrow jaws

• Smaller nasal cavities

Just to name a few ;-)

This is not a new “discovery”

Thinking about the way we breathe isn’t new. James Nestor, author of the book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art (highly recommended), states that the written word as far back as 1500 BCE offered a description of how nostrils were supposed to feed air to the heart and lungs, not the mouth.

Jump forward to the 1800’s where Nestor describes a gentleman named George Caitlin who studied Native American tribes. Members of the tribes explained to Caitlin that “breath inhaled through the mouth sapped the body of strength, deformed the face, and caused stress and disease. On the other hand, breath inhaled through the nose kept the body strong, made the face beautiful and prevented disease.” (2)

What I found most fascinating is that the mothers in these tribes literally trained their children to breath through their mouths – they would close their baby’s lips with their fingers after each feeding. And at night, they would stand over their sleeping infants and gently pinch mouths shut if they opened.” (3) Caitlin went on to write a book, aptly titled, "Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life."

Benefits of nasal breathing

Better sleeps
As mentioned, one of the biggest challenges for habitual mouth breathers is getting a good nights sleep. Simply breathing through your nose could be the answer. We all know by now the importance of sleep, but as a reminder, this IG/Twitter post below, by Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology and Opthamology at Stanford University, expresses it quite succinctly:



(A nootropic, btw, supports brain health. Specifically, it’s a “substance” (in this case, sleep) that enhances memory, cognition and learning).

Nitric Oxide boost
Nitric oxide is an essential gas for the maintenance of good health. Our sinuses release a huge boost of nitric oxide (aka when we breathe through our nose).

Nitric oxide plays a critical role in supporting our cardiovascular system, increasing circulation in our bodies and getting oxygen to our cells (think increased energy, among other things). The amount of nitric oxide in our body also influences our weight, our immune function, our sexual function and even our moods.

Breathing through our nose can boost nitric oxide sixfold, which is one of the reasons we can absorb about 18 percent more oxygen when we breathe through our nose instead of our mouth (4).

Additional benefits (of many) include the fact that our noses remove a significant amount of germs and bacteria from the air we breath in, and breathing through our nose enhances physical performance during exercise.

So what to do?
This is where things get a little complicated, but there is hope.

Mouth taping
If you are fortunate, this might be all you need. It sounds scary, but is really quite simple. Many people have cured their snoring and breathing problems (including some apnea events) with mouth taping, and doctors have helped rehabilitate their patients who had swallowing and breathing disorders.

Note that when the nose is denied regular use, it atrophies, and nasal obstruction can ensue. Basically, use it or lose it. Fortunately, it can come back to life, often with mouth taping, although for some it may take a bit of time and patience.

For James Nestor, it took three nights to get back on track from his supervised mouth breathing experiment (although he had to do more than just mouth taping for his chronic mouth breathing); for Ann Kearney, a doctor of speech-language pathology at the Stanford Voice and Swallowing Centre, it took six weeks. But she swears by mouth taping and helps many of her patients using that method.

So… do I just tape up my mouth with masking tape?
Nestor spoke to many "mouth tapers", and learned that there is no one perfect way to apply mouth tape (or “sleep tape”, as it’s often referred to). Rather, it’s a personal preference. He conducted his own “self study” (there is a very funny account of his experience in the book) and felt that all anyone really needs is a postage-stamp size piece of tape at the centre of the lips. And after much “trial and error,” he settled for 3M Nexcare Durapor durable cloth tape. I will leave in your hands.

You can check out this link for more information on mouth taping.

And what if that doesn’t work?
Sleep apnea and snoring, asthma and ADHD - they are all linked to some type of obstruction in the mouth (5). Obviously, mouth taping will not solve all of these problems. That’s because one of the core issues of mouth breathers is that their mouth is too small for their face.

Yup. A bit more complicated.

But before you raise your arms in dismay, thinking there is no hope, know that there very much is hope. Just ask James. It's just a "bit" more involved than mouth taping. Having said that, I’m not going to be the one guiding you on this. Rather, this is where I take a step back and suggest you read The Oxygen Advantage or Breath for further information. They are both excellent books, although I will say that Breath is a much easier (and dare I say fun) read. But it’s not nearly as technical or science based as the other.

Healing your body - deep breathing vs shallow breathing

I wanted to end on a more positive note, and very briefly touch on an area of breathing which can help reduce stress in the body and brain.

Healing only happens when the body is in a parasympathetic state (rest and digest). The best way to achieve that is through deep, diaphragmatic breathing (think belly breathing).

Unfortunately, most of us are shallow breathers (especially true for mouth breathers), which means we only breath into our upper chest, engaging our sympathetic nervous system (stress / fight or flight).

On average, we tend to breathe 12-18x/minute, whereas in a perfect world, we would be breathing five to six times per minute. Think about that! It's not easy. If you try, be sure to breathe as much as you can into your abdomen, vs your chest - it's not about puffing up your chest. Even slowing your breathing down a few times a day to the five to six minute pace (ie - when you are driving, walking, etc), is helpful to get your body into a more relaxed state.

Again, this is not new science. Some of the world’s oldest practices, such as yoga, tai chi and qui gong, are all focused around breathing.

A quick relaxing technique called The “Physiological Sigh”

One way you can quickly get to a relaxed state is following Andrew Huberman’s suggestion of the physiological sigh. This is a pattern of breathing that was founded by physiologists in the 30s, and recently rediscovered.

It consists of a double inhale, followed by an extended exhale. Interestingly enough, it’s something we do automatically when we (children especially) are sobbing inconsolably. The reason it works so well to relax us is that it gets rid of a whole lot of CO2 all at once (stress involves a buildup of CO2 in our bloodstream).

Here’s what to do:

• Breath in deeply through your nose (into your belly as much as possible) – almost as much as you can take in

• Then take another breath on top of that, again through your nose – basically sneaking a little more air in on top of the first big breath

• Then release in an extended exhale, either through your nose or mouth

Andrew’s laboratory research has shown that just one, two or three of these physiological sighs can bring your levels of stress down very fast.

Summary

I have just scratched the surface here – there is so much incredible research available regarding all the different types of breathing techniques (Wim Hof is probably the most well known one at the moment) and the many positive health benefits they can provide (and breathing is free!) . But I will save that for another day. In the meantime, the above two mentioned books are great resources should you want to delve into this subject further.

I hope this has been helpful!

Stay healthy and breathe well :)

Gillian xx

PS - if you need help navigating anything to do with nutrition, sleep, cognitive health, stress management or ways to incorporate more movement into your life, reach out for a free 30 minute Discovery call. I'd love to connect.

(1) McKeown, P. (2015). The Oxygen Advantage. HarperCollins Publishers.
(2) Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Riverhead Books.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.

Disclaimer: the information provided on the site is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional if you are seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.

Harness your inner power

Yes, it’s been a while :) I hope the summer has treated you well, and you are ready to hit the ground running this fall. I sure am.

I find, like many of us, that September is really the start of our new year. We tend to (hopefully) indulge ourselves during the summer - a little more lounging, reading, playing, eating, drinking… even avoiding the headlines. Whatever it is that gives us that dose of well-deserved pleasure or indulgence.

Then, as September approaches, our headspace starts to shift. It’s as if we have a clean slate in front of us. Ideas are swirling and new goals are set – and for some reason it seems like everything is at our fingertips for the taking.

Interestingly, the spiritual meaning of September is linked to the refocusing of our inner energies and inner power. As one site says, it's a period to see how we have acted to date, and then to organize ourselves to face the rest of the year with the best possible attitude.

So with that in mind, I am challenging you to harness this inner energy, and come up with one thing you want to focus on (or achieve) this fall. It could be a creative project, something educational, learning a new skill, or improving your health (you knew that was coming, right?!).

Seriously, though, whatever moves you. As George Lucas once said,

“Your focus determines your reality.”

My focus is twofold - the health of my brain (and hence yours), and how I can live a productive life. By productive, I mean having the health (mental, physical, purposeful, spiritual) I need to accomplish everything I want to achieve, both for me and for others.

It's said that today, the aging spend more time dying than they do living. Basically, that we are moving into old age in a very sick state. How depressing.

So as we head into September, harnessing our inner power and energy, let’s not forget about taking care of ourselves. Whatever it is that we throw ourselves into, remember that having our health is paramount.

On that note, I am looking forward to helping you keep on track this fall with the most up-to-date information available on how you can achieve that.

Thanks for reading!

Warm regards,

Gillian xx
PS – make sure you buy wild blueberries while they are still around this September. Yes, they are expensive, but if you are able to afford them, treat yourself. They truly are a superfood for your brain and body.

The Secret to a Better Memory

Forgot where you put the keys? Forgot why you ran upstairs? Forgetting names, losing your train of thought mid sentence? You know what I’m talking about.

There is no question that as we age, we notice signs of memory decline (I’m talking late 40's, 50's and 60's… not 80's!).

For women, perimenopause and menopause are partly to blame, but did you know that being sedentary plays a big role?

The secret to a better memory? Moving more.

Exercise and movement provide greater blood flow to our brain, especially to the hippocampus, a region that’s crucial for memory.

Blood flow to the brain

Healthy blood flow is a necessity for our brain – and our body – as it transports oxygen and nutrients to every cell in our body, as well as flushes out toxins.

It’s important to understand that it’s not our neurons that age more quickly as we age, rather it’s the blood vessels that feed our neurons that start to age faster.

It’s critical to keep our blood vessels healthy if we want to keep our brain healthy, our mind sharp and our mental health strong for as long as possible.

Does this include preventing/minimizing Alzheimer’s Disease?

Absolutely. It is one of the reasons that exercise is close to (if not at) the top of the list when it comes to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) prevention, or at the very least the postponing and/or minimizing of AD.

Richard Isaacson, a neurologist and Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell University, in an excellent podcast with Dr. Peter Attia, states that exercise should be at the TOP of the list for people, starting when we are younger, in our 30s, right through to our 90’s.

Isaacson (and others) say that although not one size fits all, aerobic exercise and resistance/strength training are key. Ideally, a minimum of 150 – 180 minutes/week, with 2/3 cardio and 1/3 strength. He goes on to say that HIIT (high intensity interval training) is the only type of exercise that can move the needle in terms of certain aspects of cognitive function in people with the APOE-4 variant.

I am digressing here, though, because right now, I just want you to move more. Our bodies were made to move, and yet we are leading more sedentary lives than ever before.

Movement is a gift, not a punishment

Most of us take movement for granted. We often only appreciate things when they are gone. Songs have been written about this!

So what exactly does movement give us with respect to our brain function, specifically our memory function?

• As mentioned above, it can increase the size of our hippocampus, our memory centre.

  • One of the ways it does this is protecting our hippocampus from stress-related hormones, such as cortisol. One of the long term effects of consistently elevated cortisol levels is the shrinking of our hippocampus.

• It stimulates the production of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor)

  • BDNF has been referred to as the brain’s Miracle-Gro protein, as it encourages the growth of neurons. It influences both learning and memory, as well as body weight and energy.

• Movement/exercise decreases the formation of beta-amyloid plaque, the clumps of protein found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

• It improves mood. Movement and exercise act as anti-depressants. Muscles pump out specific chemicals (myokines) into our blood stream that can cross the blood brain barrier, changing the structure of our brains in ways that make us more resilient to stress.

• Lowers blood sugar levels, reducing the risk of diabetes (note that Alzheimer’s disease is often referred to as Type 3 Diabetes);

• It improves the quality of our sleep, which we know has a direct impact on our memory function

I could go on and on. But in reality, it doesn't matter how many amazing benefits I share here. We all know that movement and exercise are good for us, but as per Darryl Edwards, founder of The Primal Play Method and a physical activity, health and play researcher, why are only 5% of people in the UK actually doing the 150 minutes of movement/exercise they need a week?

Exercise is not normal

Just ask Daniel Lieberman. He'll tell you that exercise is “not normal.”

Dr. Daniel Lieberman is a Paleo Archeologist and Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, and researches cultures around the globe to explain the science of how and why we move today. He states that one of the big problems is that many people actually do view exercise as punishment. And that this is part of normal human behaviour.

Lieberman has written a book titled Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding (here is an article that gives you a quick overview of the book).

He says that knowing 150 min of exercise a week has multiple benefits/gifts for us often isn’t enough to overcome our natural instincts - the instincts that constantly tell us NOT to exercise. These instincts, from hunter-gatherer times, are deep and powerful. That’s because they only expended energy when they had to - approximately 2.25 hours/day looking for food and shelter. The rest of the time (9-10 hours a day), they were sedentary (just like us), because their natural instinct, which we still carry today, was to conserve energy.

Net net - the concept of hunter-gatherers going out for a run “for exercise” would be completely ridiculous!

So for those of you who beat yourselves up over your lack of motivation to exercise, you can stop now. Your lack of motivation is normal :)

So being a couch potato is good? I'm so confused.

No, being a couch potato is not good. Our bodies have evolved to move. It is essential for our well-being. And given we are all naturally living longer, it's important to strive to live those extra years in good health.

Hence there is still the issue of how DO we motivate ourselves to exercise/move? Because just knowing that exercise and movement are good for our memory and so many other things obviously isn’t enough.

Things to get you off the couch

• Do something you love – dance, yoga, walk, play sports, swim, tai chi, anything that makes you happy. I have a client who just signed up for rowing lessons – she has wanted to learn to row for the longest time, and finally just did it. Do you love animals? Check out a dog shelter to see if you can volunteer to walk a dog.

• If being social is important to you, find someone to move with. It's much more pleasurable to have company. They can also be your accountability partner.

• Know that more often than not you WILL have to overcome resistance, and that’s normal (Daniel Lieberman runs very early every morning. In one interview I listened to, he stated that he has never once been excited to jump out of bed and go for a run… and yet he does it, every morning, and has 25 marathons under his belt. His advice is to be compassionate and understand that those resisting voices inside our head are normal, even for “exercise addicts.”

• Change your mindset - don’t feel you have to set aside 45-60 minute blocks of time to “do” exercise. Do little bits throughout the day:

  • Do pushups against the wall while waiting for your coffee to brew

  • Do a balancing exercise while you are brushing your teeth, morning and evening

• Sit “more actively” - get up from your desk and do 20 squats every half hour; or just get up from your desk! Go get a cup of tea, walk up and down the stairs a couple of times. As per Leiberman, these frequent interruptions turn on our muscles and other aspects of our metabolism just enough to lower levels of blood sugar and fat, as well as counteract the other negative effects of being sedentary.

• And if you are keen and looking for simple ways to get your heart rate up, pick up a jump rope, incorporate walking up and down a hill or a set of stairs during your walks, do some jumping jacks.

• Too tired for any of this? Remember, movement and exercise actually increase our energy levels.

• Too busy…? Realize that 150 minutes/week translates to just 21 minutes/day. In the scheme of things, that’s not a lot, especially if you break it up during the course of the day.
  

  One final note that will take us back to where we started… how movement improves our memory.
  
  Researchers Arthur Kramer and Kirk Erickson conducted a one-year study of 120 people in their 70’s, splitting them into two groups – one group did moderate aerobic activity (a 40 minute walk around a track 3x/week) and the other group did stretching and toning only.
  
  After a year, the aerobic exercise group demonstrated an increase in volume of their left and right hippocampus, relative to the stretching and toning group, which showed a decrease in hippocampal volume. The aerobic group also showed improved memory function, as well as increased amounts of BDNF in the blood.
  
  This study proved that the atrophy of our hippocampus is NOT inevitable later in life. Daniel Lieberman would even argue that physical activity becomes more important, not less important, as we age, in part because being sedentary deprives us of all the anti-aging mechanisms that are activated by movement.
  

“You only get old when you stop walking; you don’t stop walking when you get old.”
Neuroscientist Shane O’Mara

Thanks for reading! Now get moving :)

Gillian x

PS - if you need help navigating anything to do with nutrition, sleep, cognitive health, stress management or ways to incorporate more movement into your life, reach out for a free 30 minute Discovery call. We can determine together if I can help.

How are you feeling?

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, so I thought I would share some suggestions on how we can keep our own spirits up, and maybe even lift someone else’s.

We all go through our ups and downs, some more than others, some deeper than others. I don’t profess to have all of the answers (no one does), but I do have some strategies that can help.

Take a time out
Just sit and be still. No phone, no TV, no distractions (lock yourself in the bathroom if you have to). I’m not talking about meditating, rather taking the time to just stop. For women especially, we have this habit of being energizer bunnies, never stopping, and that’s often because our To Do list is never ending (spoiler alert: it never ends).

One of the best ways to re-energize ourselves, both mentally and physically, as well as provide some often much needed perspective, is to take a time out.

So when you feel you are spiralling, sit down, close your eyes, and take five.

Breathe
Many books have been written about breathing (The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown and Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor are two excellent and very popular ones), so as you can imagine it’s difficult to summarize in a paragraph (!) how important breathing is for our mental and physical well being.

But, a couple of highlights. First, many of us breath through our mouths, which can have a very negative impact on our health. I strongly suggest reading Breath for further information on this if you are a mouth breather (note that you may not even know you are mouth breathing, so start paying attention, especially at night).

Secondly, most of us tend to breathe too shallow a breath, which only hits our upper lungs. But it’s the lower lobes of our lungs, when we breathe into them, that can help keep us calm. If we are breathing properly, our abdomen/belly should rise and fall with each inhale and exhale. This forces us to breath deeply into our lungs as well.

The great news is that using breathing as a tool to calm ourselves from anxious thoughts and worry, is both easily accessible and free. Some simple examples are as follows:

Deep belly breathing – this is easiest done lying down, but one can sit or stand as well. Note that this may feel awkward at first. Take a deep breath in through you nose, first filling your belly, and then deep into your lungs, and exhale slowly through your mouth (note that this is one of many variations ). One great habit to get into is to start and end every day with 5 deep belly breaths – and both of these sets can be done in bed, lying down.

4-7-8 breathing – I’ve spoken about this before. Breath in deeply through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds (with your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your front teeth). Repeat this 3-4 times. I often use this to help me get back to sleep in the middle of the night if I am tossing and turning.

Alternate nostril breathing – this involves blocking off one nostril at a time, as you breathe through the other nostril, alternating back and forth in a regular pattern. It’s best to do this sitting down.

And if you want to take it to the next level, there is an excellent app called Inward Breathwork. There is a monthly fee, but one can do a 7-day free trial. It has been part of my daily practice for over a year and I couldn’t imagine not doing it.

Stop the comparison game
On a very different tangent from above, every so often it’s important look at what we have, instead of what we don’t have. We ALL have lives that are coveted by others, and yet we will always be surrounded by those who have more. It’s very easy to get caught up in the treadmill of more, even though we know intuitively that more doesn’t necessarily mean better or happier.

A philosophy called Stoicism incorporates this into one of their practices. It’s called Negative Visualization.

Stay with me here ;-).

Let’s say we are unhappy because we are aware of a gap between what we have and what we want. In Stoicism, that is referred to as the Gap Theory of Happiness. The obvious thing to do is to get what we want, and close the gap. The problem is that we have a profound capacity for wanting things, so when we get what we want, we may close the gap temporarily, but then the wanting powers up again. And as we know, the more we want (and get), the less satisfied we ultimately will be. And the treadmill just gets faster.

One way of getting off this treadmill, and closing the gap, is to want what we already have – yes, you heard that correctly! That is, to embrace the life we already have; to develop the ability to accept, appreciate and savour the life we are already living.

So how do we do that? This is where negative visualization can play a role. Think about your life, your relationships, your circumstances – and pick one thing that plays an important role – ie - job, spouse, children, etc. Now take a few seconds and imagine that thing disappearing from your life. Fired from your job, your spouse leaving you, something happening to one of your kids. Don’t dwell on it, but visualize it briefly. And you may just find that these flickering negative thoughts, rather than making you sad, will contribute to your happiness, by changing your perspective on your circumstances.

You may just realize how fortunate you are to have what you have (maybe call it reverse gratitude!).

Almost always, our situation could be worse than it is – keeping this in mind can help us cope with our circumstances and keep an upbeat attitude as we do.

Look in the mirror
On your good days, what do you love (or like) about yourself? Think of at least three things (we all have at least three). Then on those days you are feeling low and worthless, look in the mirror and say those three things back to yourself, as many times as you need to.

Maybe it’s: “I am a kind, loving, caring person who wants to make a difference in the world”, or, “I am a beautiful, smart and capable human being who can achieve anything I set my mind to”.

We all know the power of words. The problem is that we spend too much time using negative ones to describe ourselves. And then we believe them.

It’s time to start using positive words. And then embrace them.

Help someone else
Finally, one great way to lift ourselves out of a rut, a funk or a dark place, is to help someone else. There are so many people struggling right now – people we know and strangers we pass on the street. There are many small (and large) gestures we can do to help others. And in doing so, we also help ourselves.

We have all experienced that feeling of joy when we do something for someone else. A few examples could include:

• Make or buy an extra batch of soup, cookies, lasagne, anything (just thinking comfort foods here) for someone you know would appreciate it

• Pick up the phone and call someone

• Send an email with the subject, “Thinking of you” or “Just checking in”

• Send a card

• Smile, make eye contact and say thank you to the grocery store clerk (or anyone serving you)

• Smile at everyone you pass on the street (mask or no mask!)

• Stop and talk to a homeless person on the street – even better, ask them their name (see why in the last paragraph, titled Connect More, of this blog I wrote in January 2020)

• Listen more – some people simply need to be listened to

• Get involved in a charity – I have a friend whose job basically disappeared during this pandemic, and she has spent her time finding opportunities to help others (and is loving it)

Kindness is contagious – in both directions.

There are many different strategies we can use to boost our spirits – I have only touched on a few. A great example of gratitude, which I haven’t touched on, is with a friend of mine who is going through radiation treatment at the moment. She mentioned recently that she has “worked hard on mentally embracing the goodness in the procedure and practicing gratitude”, including bringing cookies for the technicians to thank them for their efforts. She went on to say that she hasn’t found the whole process as challenging as she thought she would. A coincidence? Who knows.

Sending positive thoughts your way 😊.

Thanks for reading.

Gillian x

PS – If you’ve been reading my blogs, you also know that food and lifestyle play a key role in our mental (and physical) well being. If you or someone you know needs some nutritional guidance, and/or help with putting a healthier lifestyle plan in place, please reach out for a free Discovery Call. We can spend 30 minutes and determine if I can help.

8 Anti-Anxiety foods you want to know about

The fact that there is a branch of psychiatry called Nutritional Psychiatry pretty much lays to rest the impact food can have on our mental health. Of course, NP is used as part of a complete treatment program that can include supplements, psychotherapy and other solutions, but food plays an integral role.

I’ve written a lot about the relationship between our gut and our brain, and feeding our gut microbiome the food it needs to keep our good/friendly bacteria happy. This also helps minimize the bad bacteria, which, when let run rampant, is one of the main reasons for so many of the chronic illnesses we see today.

With healthy gut flora, our digestive system is able to absorb the vitamins and minerals from the foods we eat that are essential to the proper functioning of our bodies and our brain.

Today I want to highlight some research-backed, anxiety-fighting foods, all easy to incorporate into your daily eating plan. But first, a few brain tidbits, just as reminders.

Brain facts we need to know

• Our brains have the highest nutritional needs of any other organ in our body… some say 10x higher than any other organ.

• Our brains are more prone to damage from a poor diet than any other organ in our body.

• Our brain is ~2% of our body’s weight (~3lbs) but uses 25-30% of calories we consume… it is the most expensive, busiest, most metabolically active organ in our body.

So what can we do to support our brain and decrease our anxiety levels, which for many are at an all time high…

8 Anti-Anxiety Foods

Asparagus
Who knew?!!! Well, we have actually known for a while that asparagus is a great prebiotic food, meaning it ferments in our colon and is an excellent source of food/fibre for our good bacteria. It is also high in potassium, chromium, and vitamins A, C, E (all key antioxidants tackling inflammation), as well as vitamin K, deeming it a strong anti-anxiety food.

In fact, in China, an asparagus extract has been government approved as a functional food for its anxiety-reducing effects.

Just remember, eat asparagus alongside some sort of fat to get the full benefit of its three fat soluble vitamins (A, E and K). You are probably already doing this without even realizing it. For example, if the asparagus is steamed or roasted, the fat used would most likely be butter or olive oil. But, if you like to snack on it raw, dip it in hummus or tahini, or have a few nuts alongside, just to ensure maximum absorption of the nutrients.

The good news is that asparagus is in season at the moment so you will see it everywhere right now... buy local!

Fatty fish
Not exactly a newsflash that fatty fish is excellent for our brains (and body) because of its omega 3 content. SMASH is a good acronym for these particular fish:
S = Salmon
M = Mackerel
A = Anchovies
S = Sardines
H = Herring

Ideally, we should be eating two servings of fatty fish a week for maximum brain health benefit. But sadly, fish is becoming more and more demonized based on what is going on in our seas (especially if you’ve seen Seaspiracy, although recently it’s being accused of promoting false and misleading information).

If you are a fish eater, it's important to do the research to find out how your fish got to its final "resting place", and then determine your comfort level with that. It’s also important to note that, from the perspective of mercury in fish, the smaller the fish, the better. So if you are a fan of anchovies, sardines and/or herring, and comfortable with the fishing practices, eat away :).

Regarding supplementation of omega 3s, in a double blind, placebo controlled study in Brain, Behaviour and Immunity, medical students who supplemented their diet with omega-3 experienced a 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms.

On that note, Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and Director of the Women’s Brain Initiative, Assistant Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, and author of The XX Brain, suggests that regardless of how many servings of fish we have a week, that all women over 50 or in menopause should supplement with fish oil for brain health.

I will leave in your hands. At the end of the day, it’s important that you do what you feel is best for you alone.

Avocados
Rich, buttery avocados are high in B vitamins, which are involved in the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, both of which influence mood. In many people, B vitamin deficiencies have been associated with an increase in anxiety.

Note that at one point in the UK, before seeing a mental health professional, patients were put on a round of B vitamins first to ensure they weren’t simply deficient in their “B’s”. I don’t know if this is still a requirement, but I do know that if you are suffering from poor energy levels, brain fog, sluggishness, poor concentration and/or low mood, you may want to consider looking at what you are eating to ensure you are getting enough B vitamins, or consider taking a B Complex supplement.

Try this the next time you crave an avocado for a mood boost:

• 1 avocado, in small cubes

• 1 radish, thinly sliced

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

• zest and juice of ½ lime

• sprinkle of salt and pepper

• Toss and eat. Yum :)

Fermented Foods
A 2019 review of 34 controlled clinical trials in Psychiatry Research found that probiotic (fermented) foods had significant anxiety reducing effects. Earlier research has found that probiotic foods are particularly helpful for social anxiety (a condition where people experience extreme fear and discomfort in social settings).

Sauerkraut, kefir, tempeh, miso, kimchi and natto are all great sources of fermented/probiotic foods.

Eggs
Eggs have made a definite comeback over the last few years, although how many eggs per day/week is still hotly debated.

Among the many benefits of eggs (choline comes to mind immediately, which is great for memory and cognition), is they contain the amino acid tryptophan, which is involved in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. And we know that serotonin plays a role in the regulation of anxiety and mood.

So get cracking … within reason ;-)

Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are packed with anti-anxiety nutrients, including magnesium, B vitamins and zinc. They are also a great source of protein and healthy fat – an excellent, all round food, that can be eaten alone as a satiating snack; in salads; to garnish soup; added to home made granola, or simply alongside berries on top of granola and yogurt.

Best to buy them raw (no salt, no roasting) – the less they are processed, the more nutrients they have. If you prefer them roasted and salted, do it yourself so you are in control.

Dark Chocolate
We’ve heard this before, and it honestly sounds too good to be true (if you’re a chocolate lover), but it does seem that dark chocolate, with high amounts of cacao (70%+), really is good for us.

Studies are showing that the higher the level of cacao, the more positive impact it has on our cognition, memory, mood, stress levels, inflammation and immunity. The flavanoids in cacao are extremely potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

Woo hoo!

Dark chocolate also contains the neurotransmitter phenylethylamine, which is involved in regulating moods and releasing feel-good endorphins in the brain.

Just remember, as mentioned, stick to 70% cacao or more, and don’t feel you have to eat the whole bar for “added” benefits (unless you want to watch your waistline grow exponentially). A square or two should do the trick. And if you have a hard time sleeping at night, don’t have it too late in the day.

Chamomile
Chamomile tea has been hailed for centuries for its relaxation properties. This herbal tea helps promote sleep, and in a 2016 study in Phytomedicine, chamomile significantly reduced moderate to severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

So the next time you are in the grocery store (or shopping on-line, as life would have it at the moment) be sure to include a few of these items in your cart. Not only will your brain thank you, so will your body.

Happy eating and thanks for reading :)

Gillian xx

PS – just a reminder that for anyone in the Toronto area interested in a Nutritional and Lifestyle Reset with personalized, actionable recommendations, check out my Spring Walk & Talk. It’s on hold at the moment, given our current lockdown, but happy to schedule you in for early May!

What DIET really stands for...

I came across this piece recently, and it really resonated with me. The underlying premise is simple... the power of food.

D.I.E.T. = Did I Eat Today?*

• Did I eat today for more energy?

• Did I eat today to feel good all day long?

• Did I eat today to balance my hormones?

• Did I eat today for better skin, hair and nails?

• Did I eat today to improve my memory?

• Did I eat today to stimulate my libido?

• Did I eat today to scavenge cholesterol from my blood?

• Did I eat today to lower my triglycerides?

• Did I eat today to feel more joy?

• Did I eat today to reverse my autoimmune disease?

• Did I eat today to solve my blood sugar issues?

What I love about this is that it isn’t dictating what we “should” be eating – rather, it is simply stating how food impacts what goes on in our bodies. Food as medicine.

While every meal can damage, every meal can also heal.

It’s also implying that we need to eat! That deprivation is not the way to go to get healthy. Truth be told, deprivation is not even the way to lose weight.

Finally, it takes a positive approach. In fact, it would be a great list to have on a fridge just as you open the fridge door, but starting instead with, “Am I eating today to balance my hormones?” or “Am I eating today to solve my blood sugar issues?” Just a little reminder that the choices we make have an impact.

It’s about nourishment
There is so much talk about self-care nowadays, especially given the stress faced by many. Self-care is essential - I just wish food was on the table (yes, pun intended!) as one form of self-care. In fact, I would probably put food at the top of the list.

It’s nourishment for our bodies, our brains… our livelihood. “Did you eat to feel good all day long? Did you eat today to feel more joy.” Yes, food can do this for us.

The challenge
Of course, it’s never that simple. The challenges of change are many:

• new habits are hard to develop

• lack of time to think about it, let alone prep

• not knowing where to start

• being mislead by “healthy” claims

• doing it alone when the rest of your family isn’t onboard

But when you look at the DIET list, you realize that the choices we make on a daily basis will either help us or hurt us. Period. So what to do?

Start small
The trick? As with any new habit or change, start small. Choose one thing. And then stick with it. For example:

• Add one more vegetable to your daily intake

  • by doing this you can put a check by everything on the D.I.E.T. list

• Remove one thing that you know is affecting how you feel (think: sugar and refined carbohydrates)

  • Again, you can √ everything on the D.I.E.T. list

• Include protein at breakfast – eggs, greek yogurt, nut butters, legumes

  • Yup... check everything off the list

• Think about timing of eating – eating an earlier dinner (ending 2-3 hrs before bed) with no snacking before bed can improve blood pressure and blood sugar (also much better for sleep and weight loss)

• Make a goal to have leafy greens every day (if you don’t already) – tip – make a simple lemon vinaigrette at the beginning of the week to use with your leafy greens all week. Or toss greens in a smoothie. Just remember – think rainbow/variety

  • √ – especially when it comes to brain health

As we age, we need to be more vigilant about our health. If you lack energy, are having more memory issues, have sore joints, feel arthritis creeping in, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, perhaps stubborn (and growing) fat around your waistline, or gaining weight in general… these are things that need to be addressed now, not later.

What you choose to feed yourself can make a lifetime of difference… what kind of difference is up to you.

Happy eating and thanks for reading :)

Gillian xx

If you need help navigating anything to do with nutrition, sleep, cognitive health or stress management, reach out for a free Discovery call to see if I can be of service.

Or, if all you need is a reboot, I have relaunched my popular Spring Walk & Talk program for those of you in Toronto – an hour long, socially distanced, walk in nature where we discuss your past and present health, your challenges and your goals. You leave with recommendations you can implement immediately, followed up with a personalized action plan. A great launch into spring :)

*credit goes to Haylie Pomroy and her book Fast Metabolism Food Rx, who conceived of D.I.E.T. = Did I Eat Today? (although I did add a line of my own ;-)

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

I grew up in a generation where how you looked and "showed up" in life was very important. This has had lasting effects on me… some good, but mostly not so good.

Because of the “not so good”, the piece below has always resonated with me. My gut says that it will also resonate with many of you, given that so many of us have been, or are, weighed down with things that keep us small.

I thought that sharing it with you on International Women’s Day would be timely, given its liberating nature. My only caveat is that we don’t need to wait until we are old women to wear purple ;-)

Promise me you won’t wait.

Warning
By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Here’s to starting now :) Happy International Women’s Day!

Warm regards,

gillian xx
gbwellness.ca
gillian@gbwellness.ca

PS - Note that my interpretation of this poem is a bit different from from what inspired the author, Jenny Joseph, to write it. But that's the beauty of these things... we each take away what feeds us most.

Minimize oxidative stress on your brain

I heard a couple of interesting stats earlier this week:

• 7x as many people are now living over the age of 85, relative to 1960

• 10,000 people a day are turning 65

Net net - we are living longer. The key question is:

Are we aging well?

Sadly, there are many signs that we are not aging well. I don’t know about you, but if I am blessed to live to a ripe old age, I want to do everything I can to be of sound mind and body.

Our brain is the powerhouse of our bodies. It:

• Supervises over 600 muscles in motion

• Balances dozens of different hormones

• Pumps blood at a rate of 2000 gallons per day

• Regulates the energy of billions of brain cells (thank goodness we have that many!)

• Digests food

• Excretes waste

• Fights illness

• And the list goes on…

If our brain doesn’t age well, nothing ages well.

We need to give this powerhouse some tender loving care. Thankfully, there are many things we can do, and at the same time potentially prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. I will eventually cover them all, but today I want to focus on just one.

Oxidative stress

Aging, of course, is a natural process. And yet, we often look only at the physiological signs - the outward physical process of aging – wrinkles, grey hair, thin skin, dry skin, middle age spread, weakened muscles, etc (and we lament them all).

But we don’t really think about how our insides are aging – specifically, how our cells are aging. As we age, oxidative stress increases and triggers inflammation in our bodies, damaging our cells, proteins and our DNA. This of course can lead to disease and chronic illness down the road, all seemingly silent in their approach (they're not, but that is for another newsletter).

Of all our organs, the brain suffers the most from oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is what happens when there is an imbalance between free radicals and the production of antioxidants. Free radicals are unstable molecules produced as a by-product of our body’s normal metabolism.

But oxidative stress is also caused by external factors, such as diet (you know the culprits), medications, tobacco, alcohol (sadly), toxins, pesticides, obesity, chronic stress… even intense exercise can cause oxidative stress.

So, how do we keep these free radicals in check?

The most obvious way is to avoid everything on the list above, but that’s not being overly realistic. Plus, our body simply produces more free radicals as we age, no matter what we do.

The next best way? Boost our antioxidants.

Anti-oxidants to fight oxidative stress

The good news is that we produce our own antioxidants, the most powerful one being glutathione. The bad news is that glutathione decreases as we age (of course it does ;-). The best (and easiest) way to combat this oxidative stress is through a diet rich in antioxidants.

Foods containing polyphenols, which are plant compounds packed with antioxidants, top the list. And as crazy as it sounds, one of the highest sources of antioxidants are dried spices - even better than their fresh counterparts in most cases (at least the ones we use more on a daily basis). Cloves come in at the highest (ok perhaps not daily use with cloves ;-), followed by allspice, peppermint, basil, oregano, cinnamon, rosemary, sage, tarragon and saffron. Think about using cinnamon and/or rosemary in your smoothies, be liberal with your dried spices, adding to everything from scrambled eggs to roasted vegetables and salad dressings (dried tarragon is great in a simple lemon vinaigrette).

Having said all that, blueberries still reign when it comes to the most powerful antioxidant (followed by blackberries). Use them in smoothies, with yogurt, on granola, as part of a chia pudding, puree them (from frozen best) or just eat a handful. I tend to use frozen for the winter, as most of the time the fresh ones don't even taste like blueberries.

Cocoa is another great antioxidant, due to its being a great source of polyphenols. That is why a square of dark chocolate is often recommended as a "go to" sweet. Another good way to incorporate cocoa is in this Chocolate Avocado Mousse (I know - it sounds awful, but trust me... it's really good. If I can get my son, a diehard classic chocolate mousse fan, to enjoy it, then anyone will!).

The other great antioxidants are vitamins A, C, E, and the minerals selenium and zinc, commonly referred to as ACES + zinc. I’ve provided a list here of the various sources of these vitamins and minerals, but lists tend to make my eyes glaze over. So, to make it easy, think of key elements from the Mediterranean diet, including:

• Lots of colours and variety of vegetables and fruits, esp berries

• Ideally, 7-8 servings of vegetables and some fruit (serving = ½ cup, except raw greens = 1 cup)

• Mostly plants

• Nuts and seeds

• Fish, especially oily fish

• Meat (preferably in moderation)

Finally, check out the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen to see which fruits and vegetables you might want to consider buying organic, if possible. This can help cut down on pesticides, one contributor to oxidative stress. As an aside, try to buy body products (shampoo, soap, creams, etc) that are free of chemicals (which increase oxidative stress). I read an article recently published by a functional dermatologist who spoke about a client breaking out in a rash on the sides of her face, as well as on her forehead and down both sides of her neck. It turns out it was her shampoo that was causing the inflammation, and the rash followed the path of the shampoo.

Antioxidants also improve certain immune responses in our bodies, which is exactly what we need these days. In addition, by increasing your intake, you might find that your brain fog lifts, your memory improves and you have better sleeps. Just saying…

Supplements are always an option (ACES+zinc is a good one) but remember, a supplement simply supplements our diet. It doesn’t replace it – you need the foundation first. Plus foods are synergistic… often 1+1 = 3 when it comes to the health and protective benefits of whole foods.

Overall, the key is to remember we have a choice as to what we put in (and on) our bodies. Yes, we are getting older and signs of aging are going to happen no matter what we do. But we can definitely slow down the clock. And one of the best ways to do that is to ensure this incredible brain of ours, which controls pretty much everything in our bodies (see above list), is given the nutrients it needs to function at peak performance.

Warm regards,

gillian xx
gillian@gbwellness.ca
gbwellness.ca

P.S. - My Walk & Talk Nutritional Reset will be starting up again as soon as lockdown is over. It consists of a one-hour, socially distanced walk, where we discuss your health history, current lifestyle, your expectations and your goals. You will leave with recommendations you can implement immediately, followed up with a personalized action plan. Note: these walks are based in midtown Toronto.

P.P.S. - if you are looking for additional guidance re: nutrition, lifestyle and/or coaching, call or email me for a free 30 min consultation and we can go from there :)

Switching it up for 2021...

Happy New Year!

So how are your resolutions coming along?

What about me, you ask? Thankfully, this year has been different. In past years, I typically pulled my classic three day “gung ho” approach, and then, like clockwork, started to see cracks (big cracks… holes actually). It wasn’t pretty.

But, this year, I was prepared. I had decided before I made resolutions to put a safety net in place. Specifically, that when I fell off (because I will), rather than berate myself, I would have tools in place to get back on.

We are 10 days in, and so far so good. Yes, I know - it's early days ;-). But it doesn’t matter how many times I fall off (there already have been a few scrapes) because I am determined to get back on. I’m tired of getting to the end of the year (hah… the end of the week!) and feeling that I haven’t achieved certain things I’ve set out to achieve.

One thing I know for sure is I’m not alone in this. Most people struggle with something in their lives they want to change, especially when it comes to food and exercise. My challenges happen to lie elsewhere (although it hasn’t always been that way), but it doesn’t matter. According to Charlie Gilkey, author of Start Finishing, they all come down to the same five elements to achieving your goals/resolutions/targets… whatever word you use.

• Intention

• Awareness

• Boundaries

• Courage

• Discipline

I share all of this with you for two reasons. First of all, as a wellness coach, it’s important to understand the challenges my clients are up against. And I know first hand how challenging it can be to make long-term changes, especially when it comes to food and lifestyle. As I alluded to above, I have been there.

The road to long-term change includes a clear understanding of what you want and why, combined with unwavering commitment; knowing there will be highs and lows; knowing how to get back up when you are down, and always celebrating the small wins. Having a clear plan and a cheerleader on your side also helps :)

The second reason I shared the information at the beginning is because I want to let you know about one of my goals for 2021.

Switching things up
This year, gbwellness is shifting gears.

gbwellness is now dedicated to optimizing brain health and longevity for women over 50, empowering them/us to lead a life full of vitality and clarity.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off 2021 - our brain is our powerhouse. It dictates every movement we make, every thought we think, every breath we breathe, every word we speak, every memory we have. It’s the big boss – literally the most metabolically active organ in our body, needing more nutrients than any other organ in our body.

With respect to aging, we are living longer, but not necessarily healthier. And let me tell you, if you feel crappy now, it’s only going to get worse if no changes are made.

Our behaviour either accelerates or decelerates the aging process.

Chronic diseases are rampant, including diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), high blood cholesterol, asthma, heart disease and strokes, among others.

Chronic diseases are also generally progressive. For example, hypertension could lead to heart disease or diabetes. Note that heart disease is the leading cause of premature death for women in both Canada and the US.

And of course, Alzheimer’s disease, affecting two times as many women as men, and starting in our brains decades before symptoms appear.

But there is good news!
The good news is that chronic diseases are lifestyle diseases. How is that good? Because it means we have the power and control to make the necessary changes.

The key is to start now.

If we want to live out this next phase of our life full of vigour, vitality and clarity, we need intention, awareness, boundaries, courage and discipline.

And for those of you under 50, please don’t think I’m abandoning you! Everything I share will be relevant for all women. Having said that… if this ends up not being your gig, I totally understand.

These newsletters at times may be shorter and delivered more often; other times, depending on the subject, will remain the same… a little longer and more detailed.

What I promise is that everything I send will be relevant and meaningful, with the underlying premise of ensuring you have the most up to date information on how to live your best life going forward, while taking care of the most precious organ in your body… your brain.

Thanks for reading!

gillian xx
gbwellness.ca
PS - I would love to help if you need a plan to follow, a cheerleader on the sidelines, an accountability coach to keep you focussed… whatever it takes to help you get back on track and set the stage for a life full of vitality and clarity. Reach me here.

Smiling eyes :)

Smile more :)

I looked in the mirror this morning with my mask on. I wanted to see if people could tell if I was smiling behind my mask.

A smile is like a little dose of kindness. And yet these masks put a dent in our ability to connect with others, at a time when we need connection more than ever.

The good news? All those lines around my eyes crinkled up enough (oh the beauty of aging) to let others know that I really am smiling at them underneath my mask.

We all know the stats on loneliness and the importance of connection. Yes, we are busy, but let’s not be too busy to give a big smile (aka crinkly eyes) and a big hello to everyone we come into contact with or walk by on the street.

Even better, be the first to smile. Don’t wait for the other person to “go first”.

Laugh lots

It’s true… laughter is medicine. It decreases cortisol levels, forms social bonds, releases endorphins (our feel good chemicals), protects our heart, and acts as an antidepressant.

There is even a study on the positive impact of Laughter Yoga (yes, you read that correctly) on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and how laughter helps reduce anxiety levels in people suffering from IBS.

I’ll be honest… just watching two minutes of a clip of people following Dr. Madan Kataria, the founder of the Laughter Yoga movement, in a round of laughing yoga (not sure where the yoga fits in) made me giggle.

There is even a five-minute TEDx laughter yoga segment by Liliana DeLeo, founder and president of Living Laughter. She says that our body can’t differentiate between fake laughter and real laughter, but if we start off with fake laughter, our body and emotions eventually follow suit.

It reminded me of a photographer years ago who I had hired to take pictures of me for my website. She wanted to get photos of me laughing, and told me to… just start laughing. It felt completely weird at first, but it eventually turned into a real laugh, and after each “laughter session” for the various shots, there was no question that I felt better… lighter and happier.

Many of us would benefit from laughing more – myself included. Watch a funny movie or a comedy series, surround yourself (at a distance!) with people who make you laugh, or experiment with laughter yoga. You will notice a difference - I promise.

Be thankful

We have so much to be thankful for. Many people keep gratitude journals, others do gratitude meditations. It’s a very personal practice. I have tried but struggled with both the journaling and the gratitude meditations, but found something recently that really resonates with me.

It’s called Gratitude Breathing and it’s very simple. There are a few versions - this is mine. You can do whatever works for you:

• Put your hands on your heart and close your eyes

• Bring your awareness to something/someone you are grateful for

• Deeply breathe in the gratitude, and hold your breath for 5-10 seconds

• While holding your breath, let that positive feeling flow throughout your body

• Then slowly exhale your gratitude out… out into the world.

And on that note, wishing you all a holiday full of smiles, laughter and gratitude.

Stay healthy.

gillian xx
gillian@gbwellness.ca

Why you need to move more

I’ve been writing and talking quite a bit recently about the impact of food on our brains, with respect to our moods, longevity, and critically, its impact on Alzheimer’s… years before symptoms show.

But what about movement?

I want to switch gears for a moment, and talk about brain health through the lens of movement (or physical activity).

Yes, we all know that physical activity is “good for us”. But as we move into the depths of winter, with many people already suffering from anxiety and social withdrawal, I feel it’s critical to understand how physical activity can truly help us through the long dark days of winter.

In a nutshell, physical activity can change our brain chemistry, and in doing so, change our outlook on life. And this is above and beyond the benefits to our body.

The Joy of Movement

In Kelly McGonigal’s new book, The Joy of Movement, she talks about how science shows that our brain actually rewards us for moving, dating back to early times when people had to do challenging things to just survive.

In present day, when we engage in everyday activities using our bodies, every system of the body “reads” movement, and we are rewarded - not for doing exercise to make us healthy – rather, with rewards such as more energy; with chemicals that give us optimism, joy and courage; and with chemicals that literally help us with our social interactions.

This includes working in the garden, playing with our kids, or any activity that has us moving.

Our brain reads movement as, “I am engaged with life; I am doing something that matters”.

McGonigal goes on to say that in order to get the full benefits of the “brain’s rewards” (mood enhancers, if you will), ideally we need something that keeps us in movement for a minimum of 20 minutes - our heart rate goes up a little, our breathing deepens, we may even break a sweat. Hence there does need to be some moderate activity in order for our brain to release its mood enhancing chemicals.

Your brain on drugs

One reason for these positive feelings is due to endocannabinoids - the chemical in our brain mimicked by cannabis. These endocannabinoids have the potential to decrease stress, increase feelings of peace and joy, and increase energy (which is often why the back half of any physical activity or workout can seem easier).

These feelings can be very powerful antidotes to loneliness, social anxiety, depression and even grief. Physical activity is one of the few things that creates a brain chemistry that makes us more open to connecting with others and experiencing happiness.

What if I don’t feel like moving?!

Good question. How to we get over our often natural resistance to movement/physical activity/exercise? Many of us are living much more sedentary lifestyles now, and it’s hard to get motivated - even thought we know we “should” be doing something. And winter is going to make it even more challenging.

Four full proof ways to get you moving!

Four ways to get you out of your chair or off the couch…

• Number one no fail trick? Put on some headphones and listen to music that gets you energized. Seriously… you will be hard pressed NOT to move (make sure you are already standing when you start listening!)

• Have a scheduled time either daily or a few times per week where you do some sort of physical activity with someone else – aka your accountability partner. Do a brisk walk or jog outside, or find a set of stairs or a hill, and walk up and down a few times. Jump on a swing set for crying out loud! If you can’t get outside, do something online such as a dance class, a weight class, a yoga class, a spin class… anything. Then connect with them afterwards for a couple of minutes to “check in”.

• Or, do what I just started doing about a six weeks ago… getting a small group of two or more people to commit to certain exercises/movements during the course of a day.

  • Exercises don’t all have to be done at once, nor do they need to be done at the same time as everyone else.

  • Even better, you don’t have to get into workout clothes to do them!

  • But, you do have to send the group a ✅ when you have completed them (I get checkmarks from others anywhere from 5:45am to 10:45pm :-). We may not be getting in our 20 minutes consecutively, but we are moving throughout the day and I guarantee you will feel a difference. And damned if I’m not going to get my ✅ off daily (our rule is we have to double up the next day if we forget)

• Or, simply hire a trainer :)

No matter what, if you are doing a movement that is safe for your body, and gets your blood flowing, it will not only energize you but also give you a sense of purpose, and in turn increased optimism. You will feel good about both yourself and the world around you.

Trust me. It works.

Get outside!

So, back to winter… ideally, to get enhanced benefits, we want to be outside. With all of the extensive research being done on the effect of nature on our moods, our mental well being, and our ability to think (to create, plan, daydream, focus and remember), getting outside is a win-win situation for our brains.

And the icing on the cake? Our brains are stimulated by navigational physical activity outdoors.

Huh? Let me explain.

Dr. Grafton, a neuroscientist, practicing neurologist and author of Physical Intelligence: The Science of How the Body and the Mind Guide Each Other Through Life, argues that physical activity has the largest effect on our mental health and our brain structure when it comes to longevity (1).

One of the key reasons for this is based on the idea that at its most fundamental level, the brain is a giant problem-solving machine, and that our brains thrive when they are challenged by having a (physical) problem to solve.

Grafton goes on to say that the area most stimulated with the physical navigating of unfamiliar surroundings is our hippocampus, critical for memory formation and retrieval. In addition, the biggest impact happens when we are outside, interacting with our environment.

For example, every minute you spend walking on an unpaved/uneven trail, you are making countless little micro-adjustments to foot pressure, angle and pace. These adjustments, according to Daniel Levitan, another neuroscientist and author of the book Successful Aging, stimulate the neural circuitry of our brains in the precise way that it evolved to be used… to solve problems (2).

Our brains were built to navigate in unfamiliar surroundings.

So, in an ideal world, instead of hibernating inside our homes this winter, strap on snowshoes, skis, cleats/spikes/crampons, or whatever it is that will get you outside, and start moving.

Whatever you do, I can’t stress enough the importance of movement to maintain our sanity this winter. Our body and brain will thank us. If nothing else, the old adage still rings true - if you don’t move it, you lose it. And research is showing us we lose a great deal more than just our mobility.

For that reason, for those of you in the Toronto area, I will be running my popular Walk & Talk program throughout the winter - a one-hour nutritional reset while walking in nature, followed up with a detailed action plan. Call or email for specific details as my walking parameters have expanded. And of course, if you would like more in depth nutritional guidance and/or coaching, reach out for a 20 minute free consultation and let's see if I can help.

Warmly,

gillian x
gbwellness.ca
gillian@gbwellness.ca

1. Levitan, D.J., (2020), Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives, Penguin Random House Canada Ltd.

2. Ibid.

Your brain on food.

Having been immersed in brain “stuff” for the last couple of weeks in preparation for an interview I did recently (Food and Mood: The Gut Brain Connection), I felt compelled to share some highlights with you for two reasons.

The first reason is COVID-19. That's because looking after our brain helps develop the resilience many people need to continue soldiering along. The second reason? Because as women in midlife, the information below is critical for our mental wellbeing, above and beyond COVID-19.

First, a few brain tidbits
Our brains have the highest nutritional needs of any other organ in our body… some say 10x higher than any other organ.

Our brains are more prone to damage from a poor diet than any other organ in our body.

Our brain is 2% of our body’s weight (3lbs) but uses 25-30% of calories we consume… it is the most expensive, busiest, most metabolically active organ in our body.

And yet, all is not good in brain land, especially for women.

The not so good news
One in eight women in the US have depression. And within that, women aged 40-59 have the highest rate of depression of any group based on age and gender (1).

Women are two times as likely to have anxiety and depression as men.

Women are over three times more likely than men to be diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, including those that attack the brain, such as MS.

Women are up to four times more likely to suffer from migraines and headaches than men.

And the kicker? As Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and director of the Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medical College so eloquently puts it, “There is a silent and looming epidemic brewing that is going to impact women greatly – one that most people are unaware of. Of all the challenges to brain aging, nothing compares to the unprecedented scale of Alzheimer’s disease” (2).

As women, especially women over 40, we need to sit up and pay attention. Depression hits us hardest, as does Alzheimer's (we are 2x as likely as men to get it). In fact, Alzheimer's starts decades before symptoms start to show.

The good news!
Not only is there good news, we can actually feel hopeful.

First, because we are in the drivers seat when it comes to our health.

Secondly, researchers are moving away from what Mosconi calls “bikini medicine” (that women are just men with reproductive organs) and finally starting to pay attention to the female brain.

And finally, anything we do for our brains, starting now, will positively impact our moods, anxiety levels and memory, as well as susceptibility to depression, auto-immune diseases, and the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease.

So how can we not only protect this wonderful brain of ours, but ensure we live a life full of vigor and vitality going forward? In a nutshell,

Lifestyle.

#1 Eat smarter

The next time you reach for a cookie instead of an apple, know that whichever one you choose will become part and parcel of how your brain will function. Period.

Not only that, the food we eat, over time, has the ability to turn on and off the many genes we have, determining which diseases get triggered (including Alzheimer’s) and which don’t (including Alzheimer’s).

In very simplistic terms, our digestive system (affectionately known as our “gut”) is made up of friendly and not so friendly bacteria, knowns as our gut microbiome. We want to feed our friendly bacteria because they positively impact everything from our immune system, our cardiovascular system, our weight and energy levels, all the way to our mental state.

If our diet is out of balance and we spend too much time feeding our bad bacteria (sugar, refined carbohydrates, processed foods), our gut microbiome will be out of balance. Chronic inflammation can set in, which, over time, can lead to anything from joint pain, eczema, low energy, auto-immune diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity all the way to anxiety, depression and Alzheimer’s.

Embrace fibre

• Fibre is THE food source for our good gut bacteria - vegetables should make up at least half our plate at any given meal.

• Anywhere from 5-9 servings a day is our goal (a serving is ½ cup, except leafy greens which are 1 cup)

• Legumes and whole food starches (such as sweet potatoes) are an excellent source of fibre

• Embrace whole grains (minimize white flour, white pasta and white bread)

• Minimize sugar - it feeds our bad bacteria, along with refined carbs

• Diversity is key to ensure our many strains of friendly bacteria all get fed. When it comes to vegetables, think the rainbow.

A diet rich in antioxidants
Oxidative stress is the production of harmful free radicals in our body and brain. Our brain suffers the most from this type of stress, which increases with aging. Much of it is natural, created internally with all our normal metabolic processes, and our body produces its own antioxidants to combat this.

It's the oxidative stress from our diet, our sedentary lifestyle, environmental toxins, pesticides, medications (and more), that can cause the most harm, especially when our antioxidant levels are low. Oxidation can wreak havoc in our bodies, from damaged cells, accelerated aging, activation of harmful genes and an overloaded immune system. Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals associated with oxidative stress.

Think ACES + zinc when you think antioxidants.

• Vitamin A – liver, fish, dairy, plus betacarotene sources, with sweet potato, winter squash and kale topping the list.

• Vitamin C – coloured peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, papaya, blackcurrants, kiwi, +++

• Vitamin E – nuts and seeds, including their oils, avocados

• Selenium – brazil nuts, seafood, organ meat

• Zinc – oysters, meat, beans, nuts

Protein power
As women, we tend to not eat enough protein. But, in order to manufacture two of our key mood neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine (plus for a host of other reasons), we need to ensure we have protein circulating in our body throughout the day (not just at dinner).

Try to eat at least 25g of protein at each meal. Check out this site to determine number of grams associated with different foods. Think nuts, seeds, beans and lentils, quinoa (all good sources of fibre as well), soy (organic), hummus, nut butters including tahini (my “go to”), nutritional yeast, and of course dairy, eggs, fish, meat and poultry.

Fish for fat
We all know by now about omega 3 fats and how they are essential for our brain. Two servings of cold water fatty fish a week (salmon, mackerel, trout, anchovies, herring, sardines, caviar) should be a part of your weekly menu.

If you are vegetarian or vegan, flax, flax oil, chia seeds and walnuts are all good options, but it is recommended that you supplement with an omega 3 fish oil due to the conversion process these foods must go through in your body (where up to 70% of the omega 3’s can be lost).

Lisa Mosconi also recommends that if you are in menopause, or over 50, even if you eat fish, you should consider supplementing – always with a good quality fish oil (3). Look for one with high DHA.

B for the Brain
B vitamins are essential for brain health. Fortunately, we can get most in our diet. There are a few B vitamins that I want to highlight, though – choline, B6 and B12.

Choline is essential for the manufacture of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is critical for memory and learning. Eggs are the best source, but consider lean beef, soy (organic), chicken breast, codfish and quinoa.

B6 is necessary for the manufacture of the neurotransmitters dopamine (the body’s “natural” antidepressant), serotonin (linked to mood, memory and learning) and GABA (calms our nervous system). We need B6 on a daily basis – top sources include fish, chicken, tofu, beef, sweet potatoes, bananas, potatoes, avocados and pistachios.

B12 plays an essential role in the prevention of strokes and dementia. It’s also very important for the production of serotonin. Foods include shellfish, fish (salmon, trout, mackerel, fresh tuna), chicken, eggs, beef, dairy products. It’s suggested that vegetarians, vegans and “older people” (I will leave in your hands ;-) and people with digestive issues take a supplement.

Final thoughts
It’s important to know there is no one perfect way of eating, and we never want to take away the pleasure we get from food. My mission is simply to help women understand the power food can have on our physical and mental wellbeing, especially over the long term.

Obviously, my focus here has been on food. Future blogs (I will make them shorter, I promise!!!) will revolve around other elements critical to the health of our brain.

In the meantime, know that as we age we need to take action sooner rather than later, especially given that Alzheimer's starts years before symptoms show. Whether it be digestive issues or simply chronic low energy – it often means something is going on, and can take a toll on our brain health. If you need help to get back on track, let’s have a Discovery Call and we can discuss your situation.

Or, if you are in Toronto, book my popular Walk & Talk (masks mandatory at this point) for a one hour nutritional reset while getting exercise and fresh air, followed up with a personalized action plan.

Thanks for reading :)

Warmly,

gillian x
gillian@gbwellness.ca
gbwellness.ca
PS - if you have any burning issues you want to learn more about as a topic for these blogs, or if you have any feedback/comments, please reach out!

1. The US Centre for Disease Control

2. The Brain XX, by Lisa Mosconi

3. The Brain XX

Achy joints? Read on.

Joint pain affects many women in their 50’s and beyond, for a variety of different reasons.  Sometimes joint pain can be debilitating, other times it's a constant, annoying, underlying pain. I know so many people who are impacted by it, so I wanted to cover some of the main reasons why this happens, and possible steps one can take to alleviate the pain.
 
First of all, joint pain is inflammation of the joints, and could include osteoarthritis, arthritis or even rheumatoid arthritis (but not necessarily).
 
So what actually is inflammation?
 
Good question!
 
Inflammation is a word that gets tossed around a great deal, but with limited understanding.
 
In very simplistic terms, it’s a release of chemicals and proteins from our immune cells, whose role is to defend the body and attack “foreigners”. At the same time, these chemicals and proteins also irritate and can cause damage to our tissues. Think of a splinter. Inflammation is a natural response to the injury, which gets red, and often warm/hot, but eventually settles down and “turns off” once the splinter is removed.
 
This is all normal and part of the healing process.
 
All good, right? Not so fast.
 
Chronic inflammation is different. It doesn’t turn off. It means that somewhere in our bodies there is an ongoing irritant that the immune system keeps reacting to (let’s say the splinter is never removed). This can manifest itself in a whole multitude of ways.  
 
If the irritants aren’t dealt with, it can result in the body being flooded with inflammatory defence cells and hormones that damage the tissues (whether it be in our gut, our joints, our lungs, our skin… wherever). The body never gets a chance to recover.
 
Free radicals can also cause inflammation in the body (more commonly known as oxidative stress) if not held in check. They are produced in our body both internally, as part of our normal metabolism, and from external sources such as cigarette smoke, medications, pollution and radiation. Plus certain foods are more likely to generate free radicals in our body (you know the ones ;-). 

How do I know if I have chronic inflammation?
 
Early symptoms could include:

• Fatigue

• Foggy brain

• Joint/body aches

• Knee and hip issues

• Eczema, hives, rashes

• Bloating, constipation, diarrhea, etc

 
So what are these irritants?
 
This is where it gets a bit challenging… figuring out what the irritant is. It could be:

• Sugar (highly inflammatory)

• A food allergy (wheat and dairy are often at the top of the list, followed by soy, eggs and corn)

• Alcohol, coffee or chocolate

• Histamine rich foods (fermented beverages, fermented foods and dairy products)

• Environmental factors, such as mold, first or second hand smoke, chemicals that we put on our body that get absorbed into our skin, heavy metals such as lead, etc.

• Stress (sadly)

• Hormonal imbalances, such as underlying thyroid or blood sugar imbalances

• Poor diet in general

• A combination of some/all of the above

 
So where does one start?
 
Again, a bit tricky. Ideally, one needs to figure out what the irritant is.
 
If you feel you are eating well overall, then one method is to try an elimination diet. You could either eliminate everything you think could be inflammatory based on my list above, for 2-3 weeks, and then slowly introduce foods back in individually; OR, you could delete one food at a time for 2-3 weeks and see if there is any difference. Both take time, but are often worth the effort.
 
One challenge is that the digestive system takes a while to heal if it has been aggravated, but often one can still notice a difference over a short period time if they remove an irritant. 
 
A much faster and easier, albeit more expensive method, is to get tested for any sensitivities or allergies you might have. 

Are there any helpful foods to relieve inflammation/joint pain?
 
Ok… you know me by now, so of course you know my first answer is to start with a whole food diet, full of colourful vegetables and fruit :) 
 
Vegetables and fruits are not only high in antioxidants, which neutralize the free radicals, but also create a more alkaline environment in our body, which can help reduce inflammation.  An acidic environment in our bodies makes us ripe for inflammation.
 
I’ve included a list below of some of the top vegetables and fruits with high antioxidant levels, but honestly – don’t get caught up in lists - simply increase your vegetable (and some fruit*) intake.
 

• Wild blueberries + blackberries

• Goji berries

• Tomatoes

• Carrots

• Sweet potatoes + squash (try delicata squash right now - so good - just slice and roast!)

• Pomegranates

• Strawberries

• Cilantro

• Kale

• Broccoli

• Grapes

 
*Just a note that even though fruit is full of nutrients and fibre, it also contains sugar and can be over-consumed. If you feel you already eat a lot of sugar, definitely look at your fruit intake as well.
 
Finally, certain nuts are also high in antioxidants, the highest being walnuts, pecans and chestnuts. And wild caught salmon (sockeye has the highest) is also a good source.
 
Natural anti-inflammatory’s include:

• Turmeric - curcumin is the active ingredient

• Ginger - also rich in anti-oxidants – make ginger tea, add to your salad dressing (recipe at bottom), or toss in a smoothie

• Ashwaghanda

 
Many people will start their day off with warm/hot water, apple cider vinegar (acidic outside body / alkalizing inside body!), turmeric (powder or root), ginger root and a splash of honey… a great way to cleanse your body first thing in the morning and get in some anti-inflammatory foods at the same time.

What about Omega 3 fats?
 
Omega 3 fats are also excellent to combat inflammation, the best sources being cold water fatty fish, including salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel and herring.
 
A good quality fish oil is worth trying for those suffering from joint pain and inflammation (just remember that simply taking fish oil and not changing any other part of your diet doesn’t make sense). Carlson Labs and NutraSea are both respected brands. The one caveat is the jury is still out as to the true effectiveness of fish oils. If you can stick to food, do. I take fish oil to cover my bases, with the hope that it works :)

You mentioned our environment could cause inflammation… how?
 
With respect to environmental factors, this of course isn’t as straightforward, but start becoming more aware of your surroundings (mold is becoming much more recognized nowadays as a serious issue in people’s homes), as well as what you are putting on your body (aside from all the toxic elements that are in many of our beauty and cleansing products, scents are also huge irritants for people, as they are made up of so many chemicals, none of which are regulated).
 
Seriously… stress???
 
Finally, one of the toughest issues to deal with is stress, where cortisol promotes a loss of minerals and increases the inflammatory acid load in our bodies. I’ve talked about meditation in past blogs (I would now add the Sam Harris’ Waking Up app to the list), but I’ve been doing a lot of research into breath work and will be writing on it soon. What I love about breath work (aside from its proven effectiveness) is its accessibility (you can practice it almost anywhere, it’s free, and you can incorporate it in little bits throughout the day).  If you are interested, you can try out Inward Breathwork, using the code INWARD30 (at checkout) to get the first month free.

Oh... and keep moving!  Keep those joints lubricated!

I know from experience that trying to do these things (or any diet/lifestyle changes) on your own can at times be overwhelming (and lonely). If you feel you are someone that needs help to stay motivated and on track, reach out today. We can chat and see if I can help. And based on enthusiastic feedback, I am also continuing my Walk & Talk Program right through the fall, and possibly winter, so if you simply need a nutrition and/or lifestyle reset over the course of an hour walk in nature, let's connect.

Thanks for reading :)

gillian x

Ginger salad dressing 
(From Brain Food by Lisa Mosconi)

• 2 small garlic cloves

• One 2” piece of fresh ginger, peeled

• 2 tbsp tamari or nama shoyu saude

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tbsp tahini

• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

Put all the ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender and blend until creamy.  Great for a Buddha bowl, or with some greens, mandarin pieces and sliced almonds.  Or just greens!
 

Link between Osteoporosis, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2

Vitamin D is known in some circles as the wonder supplement, even touted right now as eliminating the risk of ICU admission due to COVID-19. But I’m not going to touch that one!
 
On a much more “well studied” level, vitamin D has been linked to reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, deaths related to heart disease, cancer, immune system function, brain function and bone health. 
 
Yup… it is kind of a wonder drug.
 
Today, though, I want to focus on bone health. Specifically, on the critical role of vitamin K2 and its inseparable relationship with vitamin D when it comes to bone health (and by default, cardio vascular disease). 
 
A bit of background…
 
Vitamin D
 
Of course, the best place to get vitamin D is through direct sunlight, as it’s made in our skin from UVB exposure to the sun. This leaves many of us vulnerable to low levels -- sunscreen, working inside, fear of skin cancer (understandable), our northern latitude, wearing clothes, etc. Hence many people are prone to vitamin D insufficiency*.
 
Other people that are prone to insufficiencies are:

• older adults, whose skin isn’t as efficient at producing vitamin D

• people with dark-coloured skin (which impairs vitamin D production)

• people suffering from obesity, whose excess fat stores sequester the vitamin

• compromised digestion causing inadequate absorption of vitamin D

You can obtain small quantities of vitamin D through food, such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring – all great sources of omega 3s btw), egg yolks and certain foods such as milk that’s been fortified with vitamin D), but often supplementing is recommended if a daily 5-30 min dose of sunlight is unavailable (yes, a big range - there are simply too many confounding factors)

Vitamins K1 and K2
Vitamin K1 (which we generally refer to as vitamin K) is considered the “dominant” K vitamin, and is readily available in leafy green vegetables, its main role being for blood clotting.
 
Vitamin K2 is a relatively recent discovery. It’s very different from K1, with completely different food sources and different roles.
 
Its primary role is moving calcium around to bones and teeth, and removing it from areas where we don’t want calcium. There are many subtypes of K2 – the most important ones to date being MK-4 (dominant in the brain) and MK-7 (dominant in our liver). MK-7 is the one that is synergistic with vitamin D (which I will simply refer to as K2 for purposes here).
 
The best food source for K2 is natto, a fermented soy. Liver is another good source, along with fermented dairy. Both gouda and brie cheese have modest amounts. Ultimately, it's not readily available in our diet.

Vitamin D's role in bone mineral density
Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption from food. It also controls the amount of calcium in our blood. Together with calcium, vitamin D protects older adults from osteoporosis. Without sufficient vitamin D, our bones can become thin, brittle and misshapen (1).
 
Calcium is an electrolyte. Aside from bone health, it’s used in a number of different ways in our body, including muscle contraction and neuron signaling in the brain. The amount of calcium in the blood is very controlled – so much so, that if there isn’t enough calcium in our blood, vitamin D will activate cells that break down our bones to draw calcium from our bones.
 
Yes, you heard me correctly… it will literally take calcium from our bones. Hence think decreased bone density over time, possibly leading to osteoporosis.  So make sure you get enough calcium in your diet! 

So where does Vitamin K2 come in?
Vitamin K2 controls where calcium goes in our body.  Specifically, it ensures that calcium is deposited into the hard tissues, where it belongs, like bone and cartilage.  Hence it’s critical for bone formation, bone mineralization, our skeleton and our teeth.
 
On the flip side, K2 ensures that calcium stays away from our soft tissues, such as our blood vessels and kidneys where it doesn’t belong. A build up of calcium in our kidneys leads to kidney stones, and in our blood vessels leads to atherosclerotic plaque (think heart attacks and strokes).
 
Net net…
Basically, vitamin D makes sure there is enough calcium in our blood (a reminder if it didn’t sink in the first or second time, it will take calcium from our bones if there isn’t enough in our blood), and then vitamin K2 directs the calcium to our bones and cartilage.

So… does that mean I have to supplement with both D and K2?
 Ugh – the million dollar question.
 
The consumption of a well balanced diet is key for primary prevention of any sort of disease.  In a perfect world, we want to get everything we need from nature and food.  Nutrients automatically work synergistically in our body.  Sadly, many of our foods have been deprived of essential nutrients based on soil depletion, forced ripening and travelling long distances.   
 
We also have to consider the state of our digestive system. If things aren’t working well, our small intestine won’t be effective at absorbing nutrients into our blood stream. As well, K2 is made by specific strains of our gut bacteria, and our digestion needs to be in tip top shape for this to happen...

• Do you have a well balanced diet?

• Are you eating 5-7 servings of a diverse number of vegetables a day?

• Are you eating fermented foods? 

• Are you getting enough sunlight? 

• Is your digestive system working properly (ie – do you have any bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, general malaise, etc?  If so, things may be amiss)

Regarding supplementation, according to medical physicist Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD , there is growing evidence that we want to supplement vitamin D and K2 together to support bone health and prevent osteoporosis, but there is not enough science showing exactly how much K2 to take relative to vitamin D.
 
She goes on to say studies show that if one is taking less than 800 IU/day (considered a low dose) of vitamin D, then they don’t’ need additional K2. If over 800 IU/day, many scientists feel it should be packaged with vitamin K, especially if one is high-dosing vitamin D (generally anything over 5000 IU).
 
First and foremost, it's important to get your vitamin D levels checked. If you have insufficient levels, then start supplementing, and get tested again.  
 
What levels should we be aiming for vitamin D?
In terms of “adequate” blood serum levels, the numbers vary. Some say that 20-30 ng/mL is a good level, but Sarah Ballantyne says 50-70 ng/mL. This wide range makes it challenging. Being aware that symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can be low energy, feelings of anxiety/depression, feeling down in general or having a weak immune system could be tell tale signs. 
 
On the flip side, if one feels some of the above symptoms and starts supplementing, they might notice after a few months that they have more energy and are in a better mental state (assuming they are vitamin D deficient).
 
What about levels of K2?
K2 is much more difficult to measure. Most people don’t have signs of insufficiency, rather have to "hope" they are getting enough to reduce the risk of long term problems (osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease).  With K2, though, there is no upper limit of toxicity (unlike vitamin D), so there are no evident risks with supplementing.
 
Ultimately, it’s up to you. Lots more research needs to be done, but based on early studies, when it comes to bone health, especially in postmenopausal women, I, personally, want to make sure I’m covered. I take a supplement in the fall, winter and spring that has both vitamin D (1000 IU’s) and K2 (120 mcg)… no high dosing, just maintenance levels. 
 
In addition, I would recommend anyone now in menopause to ask for a bone density test (if you haven't had one) in order to get a baseline. Osteoporosis is NOT something we want to have as we age, as we know our estrogen levels decrease, and bone mineral density becomes an issue. 

On that note, weight bearing exercise is great prevention for osteoporosis as well, as is being outside in sunlight... GB Wellness Walk & Talk is the perfect opportunity to combine those elements with a nutritional reset!   Email me, check out my website or give me a call if you are interested in a free 20 minute consultation, and/or would like to take advantage of this amazing fall weather and go for a Walk and Talk.

Thanks for reading :)

gillian x
gillian@gbwellness.ca


 *Insufficiency vs deficiency – insufficiency means lower than adequate levels, but not low enough to cause symptoms (rather, negative effects happen over the long term); deficiency means levels are so low you are showing symptoms. For example, if you were deficient in K1, you could have nose bleeds, bleeding gums, heavy periods and/or bruise really easily. 

(1) https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

The ONE thing I would recommend...

People often ask me the ONE THING I would recommend when it comes to food. I find it a loaded question, because there are so many different variables. We need vitamins, minerals and fibre from fruits and vegetables (although those on the carnivore diet would beg to differ); we want protein at every meal for a whole variety of reasons; some experts would say it’s more about WHEN we eat, not necessarily what we eat; and others would argue it’s all about mindset, as it doesn’t really matter what we put in our bodies if our stress levels (aka cortisol levels) are through the roof. And what about our eight glasses of water a day… SO important!

Did I mention it’s a loaded question?!

Everything above is important. But based on the ever evolving research of the trillions of bacteria we have in our gut, commonly known as our gut microbiome, and the profound impact these bacteria have on our body and our brain, I do have an answer to the question above – the ONE thing I would recommend.

Why is our gut microbiome so important?

Depending on how we treat these bacteria, they can make life pretty great, or can make things pretty bad. 
 
We have anywhere from 75-90% of our immune system in our gut. Think about that. Research shows our gut bacteria directly influences our immune system - potentially providing us (or not, depending on the make-up of our microbes) protection against COVID-19 and the many other pathogens that exist.
 
Studies are also telling us that microbiome diversity is a good indicator of a healthy gut.  And in addition, that there are links between our gut microbiome and a host of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, diabetes, obesity, Crohns, irritable bowel disease, Parkinson's and more.  On the flip side, other studies are showing the link between the Standard American Diet and its negative impact on our cognitive brain function (via the gut-brain connection).

In the elderly population, there is a clear relationship between the composition and diversity of their microbiome, and their health outcomes.   Specifically, elderly people with more diverse microbes had less indications of frail and cognitive health.  Conversely, those on a bland, processed and repetitive diet (sadly, the food served in many retirement homes), had a shrinking in their microbiome.

There are even recent studies reflecting compromised gut bacteria in individuals who became infected with COVID-19.
 
So what are you recommending?
 

Plant diversity.   

 
(Sorry… I wish I could make it sound more exciting).
 
But seriously, results coming out of the American Gut Project are showing that the number of plant species consumed is strongly associated with the diversity of our microbiome. Note this is MORE than following a particular way of eating, such as being “vegan” or “omnivore” - meaning it’s not associated with any particular diet, but simply the diversity of the plants we eat (including legumes).   
 
Further, plant consumption is also associated with a reduction in certain antibiotic resistant genes. Specifically, individuals who consumed more than 30 types of plants a week compared to those who ate 10 or fewer types of plants per week had significantly reduced abundance of antibiotic resistant genes.
 
Imagine microbes as little factories producing a huge variety of beneficial chemicals that enhance our health, or inflammatory chemicals that do the opposite. What we feed these microscopic entities is critical. 
 
It is estimated that there are anywhere from 500-1000 species of bacteria in our gut, with varying dependence on different plant species, so just eating broccoli or kale every day and thinking we are covering our bases isn’t really correct. We want to broaden our palate. Just focussing on so-called "superfoods" is great... but we want to think bigger.

So do I have to start eating 30 different plants a week?  Ugh.

No! Don’t be overwhelmed by thinking you have to start eating copious types of plants a week. First of all, it would be overwhelming. And secondly, we never want to radically increase our vegetable and fruit intake "overnight" - that can cause severe bloating and other discomforts. Rather, think more about how we tend to fall into our favourite “vegetable patterns”. For example, a friend said to me recently that he was a “broccoli guy”. Broccoli for lunch, dinner and even sometimes in his scrambled eggs for breakfast. Yes, he eats other vegetables, but broccoli was his “go to” vege.
 
I would hazard a guess that many of us fall into this pattern.  It’s awesome we are eating this healthy food, but like exercise, if we do the same exercise day in and day out (let’s say running), we’re missing some key parts of our body that need to be worked out as well (ie – weight bearing exercise for our upper body to develop muscles and help keep osteoporosis at bay). Plus the law of diminishing returns eventually comes into play.

I need ideas!

Slowly start increasing the number of vegetables that you buy and cook. I’ve included below a few examples of how you can incorporate them into your daily meals:

• Load up your salad –

  • mix up your lettuces

  • add grated carrots, raw beets or radishes

  • add green, red or vidalia onion

  • add cucumber, mushrooms, coloured peppers, sliced fennel

  • add lentils, white kidney beans, or black beans (ANY bean for that matter… yes they count as plants, and are great protein at the same time)

  • add roasted vegetables (see list below)

• Simple little things like adding onion and celery to your egg salad sandwiches (or enjoy your egg salad on a romaine lettuce leaf)

• Load up your smoothies

• Add sautéed spinach, onion, garlic, peppers, etc to your breakfast scrambled eggs (just sauté in the same pan then add the egg liquid)

• Sauté greens, etc and put poached eggs on top

• Roast almost anything – beets, sweet potatoes, squash (butternut great and you can buy already cubed), broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, cabbage (so good), any kind of onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, eggplant

• Sauté beet leaves, swiss chard, kale, cabbage

• Steam broccoli, cauliflower, the greens just mentioned above (the sweetness comes out in cabbage and is amazing with some butter and salt on top... so simple)

• Sauté vegetables, starting with sliced onions (no need to dice) and garlic as the base (great prebiotics, which your microbiome loves), adding zuchinni and/or peppers and/or fennel... whatever you have.  Then perhaps toss in frozen peas or baby spinach or arugula at the end.

Honestly, don't think it through too much.   Just add more/different vegetables whenever you can.   As I've mentioned before, one of the easiest ways to cover your bases when you are shopping (and cooking) is to think of a rainbow of colours when it comes to selecting your vegetables.   

Given our times right now, we want to increase our immunity. Supporting our gut microbiome by eating a diverse number of plants, based on current research, is the way to go.   We also get all the added benefits of the diverse array of vegetables and fruit - vitamins, minerals, energy, fibre, antioxidants and phytochemicals (over 5000 of them!). Note that each fruit and vegetable has its own profile. And in the process, we not only help protect ourselves from disease, we support our brain health at the same time.

And in the interest of staying healthy, I am launching 🌿gbwellness Walk and Talk, starting the week of  September 14th.  My goal is to get people out from behind their screens for a walk in nature while getting an hour of personalized nutrition coaching.   If you live close to midtown Toronto (or are willing to make the trek!), stay tuned... more to come next week.

As always, thanks for reading :)

Food is Not a Game of Perfect

Happy summer! I hope everyone has been able to take advantage of the incredible weather we have been having, using it as a distraction for both the pandemic as well as the distressing events that continue to take place both here and around the world.
 
I, for one, have been distracting myself with the very time-consuming and frustrating game of golf, hence the title of this blog, which is based on the book Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, by Bob Rotella.
 
I read this book recently because of a few mindset challenges I was having on the golf course, which of course were reflected in my game, and it dawned on me that I used to do the same thing with food.
 
Years ago, I tried "every diet in the book,” only to fall off in either a few days because of a “slip-up”, or after a week because I didn’t notice any difference in my weight and gave up. This of course was accompanied by a constant negative inner dialogue. Hence, not only did I sabotage what I had set out to achieve, I made myself feel so poorly that it affected every area of my life.   
 
Perfection is not achievable, it’s not realistic and it’s destructive. It sets us up for constant disappointment, as well as the propensity to be quite cruel to ourselves. And then we give up. It’s amazing how good we are at both (women especially).
 
With habits and behaviours around food specifically, it is about much more than just the food on our plates. The emotional baggage can be so complex, and for many can infiltrate every aspect of our lives.

Strategies

So what are some strategies we can employ to move ourselves in the right direction if we are struggling with weight issues or health issues, and feel that our habits and behaviours around food need to change?
 
One way we can help manage the downward spiral is to avoid setting ourselves up for inevitable failure in the first place, which happens with an "all or nothing" approach (perfection in disguise).  
 
Another way is to move away from short-term thinking, because change takes time. If you’ve gotten to where you are over a long period of time, how could you expect major change to happen in a week? It won't.
 
We also need to give ourselves a break when we have “slip-ups”- which, by the way, I refer to as “life happening” (as in, life happens!). Are you going to be “perfect” at that birthday party/wedding/the Sunday night dinner with your favourite dessert of all time? No! Life is too short for that. BUT, it's important to not fall into the trap of feeling that you’ve “ruined everything” when you have indulged. To avoid that feeling, go back to strategy number two above ---> think long term. "Life happening" here and there is not going to mess anything up in the big picture. I promise.

This leads into my next point... moving towards a goal or achievement is not a straight line. There are always setbacks. Don't let them drag you down. Just keep moving forward as best you can, knowing it won't be a straight line and yet knowing overall you are going in the right direction.  
 
It's also important to reframe our experiences, and focus on what we have achieved, instead of what we haven’t achieved. It’s the self-flagellating that can be so destructive to our sense of well being.  And that, in turn, starts the downward spiral. So the next time you hear that little "voice" inside your head putting you down after you've over indulged (or, had yet another bad golf shot ;-), become aware of that negative voice. And rather than letting it drag you down to the depths, start thinking about all the positive things you HAVE done. It takes practice, but the more you catch yourself, the easier it becomes.  

Finally, building on this strategy above, realize that these habits we have around food (or any habit we want to change) are actually serving us by meeting a need. So instead of bullying yourself, be kind instead, and then sit for a few minutes and let that awareness help you uncover what your unmet need might be. For example, do you eat when you are bored? When you are sad? When you are angry? When you are lonely? Getting to the root cause can help loosen the grip on that habit.

In summary:

• Avoid the all or nothing approach

• Think long term - lifestyle changes takes time

• Be kind to yourself when "life happens" 

• Understand that moving toward your goal won't be a straight line, and that's ok. Just keep moving forward.

• Focus on what you HAVE achieved, not on what you haven't achieved

• Determine what needs are being met with your habit

Most importantly, remember that food is not a game of perfect.

And if you happen to struggle with any of the above, let's chat for 15-20 minutes. We can then determine if I am the person to help set you in the right direction.

Thanks for reading :)

gillian

Food Insecurity / Battle the COVID-19 Bulge

As much as I feel the tips included below on how to battle your bulge are important, given what's going on in the US (and beyond), I debated whether to send this. 

It seems decadent, especially because when it comes to food, so many of those protesting right now are from marginalized communities where food insecurity is rampant (food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food). More than 800 million people live every day with hunger or food insecurity as their constant companion.

 It's an insidious, systemic situation that simply isn't acceptable.

So if you would like to save the Battle of the COVID-19 Bulge tips for future reading, and instead learn about how you can help out with this more pressing situation, I invite you to read the latest newsletter from The Stop. It includes a number of links which will direct you to some interesting articles as well as links to organizations that need support.

The Stop’s mission is to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds health and community, and challenges inequality; that nutritious food is a human right for all. The Stop serves these marginalized communities day in and day out, even now, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is because of The Stop that I am a nutritionist. Having volunteered there for five years made me realize that I could help change people's lives through food, and I continue to serve these communities on a weekly basis.

I have never known hunger or racism or what it feels like to be scared to go running every time I put on my running shoes, so I can't begin to comprehend the emotions involved in what is going on south of the border right now (and to a lesser extent, here in Canada and the rest of the world). But I can be compassionate and kind; I can listen and I can learn. We all can.

______________________

Battle of the COVID-19 Bulge
 
After bumping into two people this past weekend who were lamenting weight gain around their middle, even though they felt they had been doing “everything right” (lots of exercise, eating the “right” foods, etc), and then reading an article in Monday’s Globe and Mail on the same subject, I felt it was time to do a refresh on tips to avoid the dreaded COVID-19 bulge. 
 
Sadly, that bulge becomes harder to get rid of the older we get, especially when combined with hormones associated with menopause.
 
So, in no particular order...

DO:  Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper
This old adage has science to back it up when it comes to weight mgt.  Studies have shown that calories are treated differently depending on when you eat them.  Those who ate the exact same food early in the day vs late in the day (ie – flipped their meals) gained more weight when eating the larger amount later in the day.  
 
DO:  Change your mindset
Eating one or three cookies doesn’t mean you’ve “wrecked everything” and now need to eat the whole bag.   This is called the “what the hell” effect.   Or being excited about losing weight on your first week of trying, so excited, in fact, that you celebrate by eating more.  This is called the “because I deserve it” effect.
 
Both effects are very real!
 
DON’T:  Overeat good fats
 We keep hearing “Fat doesn’t make you fat!”  Well, yes, it does, if you eat too much of it.  As Leslie Beck alluded to in her Globe and Mail article on Monday, just because they are good for us doesn’t mean we won’t gain weight if we eat too many. No food is a free-for-all (except vegetables ;-)
 
DO:  Have a carb, protein and fat at every meal and snack
Aka balance your blood sugar. This is key. Note when I say carbohydrates, I mean vegetables, fruit and/or whole grains.  Carbohydrates raise our blood sugar more than protein and fat.   By pairing them together, it keeps us fuller longer and avoids cravings.    
 
Starting the day with juice, toast and jam, or bagel or cereal can start us on a day-long blood sugar roller coaster, leading to constant cravings, low energy and brain fog.
 
DO:  Feed your good gut bacteria
Our gut flora has a huge impact on our cravings, and ultimately our weight (when we give into cravings and eat more).  If we keep our good bacteria fed properly, our cravings for sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods will eventually go down.   And as an added bonus, our brain health will go up.
 
Our good bacteria love:

• All vegetables

• Prebiotics – includes onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, dandelion and Jerusalem artichokes (slightly undercook them)

• Resistant starches - includes plantains and green bananas; beans, peas and lentils (white beans and lentils are the best); whole grains including oats and barley, and cooked and cooled white rice

DO:  Get junk food out of the house
If it’s not there you won’t eat it.  I can promise that ;-)  Just make sure you have other food to grab if you let your blood sugar drop too low and you become ravenous.  But if you are eating a carb, protein and fat at every meal, and you eat at 3 hour intervals, you shouldn't hit that ravenous stage.
 
If you are craving a sweet after a meal, slice up half a banana and add almond butter to every slice.  Or, if you can swing having dark chocolate in your house without eating it all in one sitting, then have a square after lunch and/or after dinner. 
 
DO:  Have “go to” snacks
Have handy, easy accessible snacks that you know will benefit your body so you can avoid grabbing the slice of cake, the muffin, chips, ice cream or a piece of toast.
 
Think:  apple (or celery or carrot or any vege) with nut butter. My latest is tahini from bulk barn… full of vitamin C but more importantly, I love it and there is no prep. Or greek yogurt with berries and shredded coconut on top.   Or the sliced 1/2 banana and nut butter I mentioned above.
 
DO:  Pause
 So often we go to reach for food but we aren’t really hungry.  Put a note on the fridge, “Am I really hungry, or am I … " (fill in the blank here:  bored, angry, sad, scared, etc).  And then pause for 5 seconds.  If you aren’t hungry, go get a glass of water instead and while sipping, start to address the real issue.  Or go for a walk :)
 
DON’T:  Think of exercise as a weight loss tool
 Exercise (although I much prefer the words movement or activity), is critical for us on so many levels.  And we need some form movement/activity daily.
 
BUT, it really doesn’t contribute much to weight loss.  In fact, it can sometimes lead to weight gain because people feel it gives them a license to eat more.  And it’s pretty much a given they will eat more than the calories burned. 
 
DO:  Remember that alcohol is sugar
 Remember to count alcohol as part of your daily “food” intake.  If you need/want that gin and tonic or glass of wine at the end of the day, then think twice about that piece of dark chocolate you were going to reach for after dinner. 
 
Also, be aware that alcohol has a negative impact on our sleep. See next point.
 
DO:  Take your sleep seriously
 Poor sleep disrupts our hunger hormones and because of that, significantly contributes to cravings, weight gain, and can set us on a path towards Type 2 Diabetes.  Recall the last time you had a poor sleep and what foods you reached for during the day.  And then multiply that by all the times you have slept poorly.  
 
See my blog on sleep for sleep hygiene tips. 

DO:  Practice de-stressing techniques
Sadly, stress is one of the biggest contributors to our mid section bulge, partially due to the role of cortisol.  For more details, see my blog on Stress and Weight Gain.
Other suggestions include:

• Sleep – take your sleep issues seriously and start incorporating key sleep hygiene practices

• Get outside!

• Move more

• Meditate – Sam Harris’ Waking Up App is my go to at the moment

• Breathing exercises, such as Dr. Weil's 4-7-8 

Hopefully one or more of these will resonate with you as we head into summer and the too often dreaded swimsuit season.   

... and yet, if putting on a bathing suit is our biggest fear at the moment, then life is good.   Very good.  

Thanks for reading.

gillian xx