Welcome to Our Blog. I look forward to staying connected! xoxo Gina

Thursday 12 December 2013

It’s Time To Set the Record Straight – 

Veganism Revisioned

By  

Recently, the health movement has shifted back to an animal-based diet, moving away from a plant-based diet. A lot of this has to do with people seeking something new in the realm of health, longevity, and vitality. As an intelligent, well-informed human, I’m sure you’ve heard of the new diet craze: Paleo. There are a few different versions, and the advocates have been very convincing that it is the optimal diet for humans to be eating.
Before I get into it, I want to be clear that this article is not intended to persuade anyone to become vegan or vegetarian. It is only meant for those of you who want to remain vegan or vegetarian for your own personal reasons: environmental, ethical, spiritual, etc.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with someone choosing to eat whatever they want. I find that the freedom of choice in diet is a beautiful part of the human experience. If you want to be an omnivore, cool. If you want to be a vegetarian, cool. If you want to be a vegan, cool. If you want to eat processed food, that’s fine. If you want to drink tap water, your choice.
fred2I have developed an aversion to people giving unsolicited, fear-based advise. For me, it is difficult to hear that someone has been told they have to eat meat as the only option for being healthy. This is simply not true and is a gross simplification of what a person most likely really needs (which in a lot of cases is an element or two found in animal flesh, but not exclusive to it).
So to get to the “meat” of this article (pun intended), I’ll start with a bold yet simple statement: YOU DO NOT NEED TO EAT ANIMAL PRODUCTS TO BE HEALTHY, TO THRIVE, OR TO ATTAIN ANY PHYSIOLOGICAL GOAL YOU HAVE.
No matter what anyone has told you, no matter how much of an authority they are in your life for whatever reason, no matter what your life situation, you can thrive as a vegetarian and most likely as a vegan as well.
And I’m going to tell you how.
The first thing you should understand is that the “protein fear” is a story fabricated to get people to consume more animal products. Yes, everyone needs a certain amount of protein in their daily diet. Amino acids have many functions in the human body including tissue repair, neuron firing in the brain and nervous system, and as enzymes to perform the seemingly infinite bodily functions going on every second of every day. But do we need so much that we need to be eating animals to get it?
In a lot of diet books the word or category “protein” refers to animal products, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Just about every food on the planet contains amino acids. And on top of that, the body will store amino acids until you consume the right complimentary amino acids to create the necessary polypeptide chains (proteins). An extremely easy way to get all the protein you need is by incorporating a known high protein source in every meal you eat and creating variety in your sources.
Some examples of vegan foods that contain higher levels of protein (and are realistically able to be incorporated in the necessary quantities) would be:
Chlorella and Spiralina: algaes are legitimately the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet and contain a whopping 50-60% protein as a whole food. The highest protein source food on the planet.
Hemp seeds: A known complete protein that contains healthy fats as well
Chia seeds: More healthy fats than protein, but a great source non-the-less
Quinoa: Also a complete protein, but lower in a few amino acids
Legumes: Makes up for the amino acids you may be missing if only eating grains or quinoa
Moringa: a superfood with a complete amino acid profile. Also extremely nutrient-dense with tons of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients
fred3And besides these complete/whole foods, there are many different vegan protein supplements for those of you that need more protein based on your metabolic dieting type (more on that in an upcoming article)
A few that I have used and like are Synchrogenesis, Healthforce Warriorfood, Sunwarrior Protein, and Garden of Life.
Protein aside, as it is probably the least of your problems but the biggest of your concerns with being vegan or vegetarian, there are smaller elements that may be preventing you from being in optimal health on a vegan/vegetarian diet.
The number one reason you may be experiencing feelings of depletion or low energy and the number one reason why people who were vegetarians or vegans went back to eating animal flesh (because they “felt so good and had so much more energy”) after eating meat again is not protein; it’s B-12.
As an advocate and supporter of the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle for those who choose it, I feel obligated to tell you that there is no known vegan source of vitamin B-12, period. This may be contrary to what you have learned, but it is the truth.
Luckily there are ways to remedy this massive missing piece in a vegan diet. The easiest of which is to supplement with B-12 or a comprehensive B vitamin that contains B-12.
If you do not believe in supplementation… that’s a whole other topic. Which I will cover at some point in the future, I promise.
Another important element to consider in the vegan/vegetarian diet is DHA (docohexionic acid). DHA is probably the single most important fatty acid in brain function. It is found to have an effect on fetus and new-born brain development, on eye sight, on mood and depression, and on nerve synapses. Most people are depleted of this vital nutrient. To make matters worse, eating rancid, over-processed fat can actually block the uptake of DHA. This means that even if you are eating a diet that has adequate amounts of DHA, you may still be deficient if you are consuming fried foods, cooked animal fat, or anything that contains trans fatty acids (almost all processed foods).
An easy way to make sure you are not depleted in this vital nutrient, again, is to supplement it. There are a few vegan DHA supplements derived from algae. Premier Research Labs makes a great one.
The intention of this article was not to prove that we should all be eating vegetarian. Nor was it to inspire people to become vegetarians. The intention of this article was simply to support and give confidence to the people that are choosing to be vegetarians or vegans. No matter what your motivation, whether it be ethical, environmental, spiritual, or physiological, I want you to know that you can do it and thrive in this life.
In summary, 3 things you can do to thrive as a vegetarian/vegan:
1.) incorporate high-quality protein sources into every meal
2.) supplement with B-12
3.) supplement with DHA
Keep in mind this is an extremely simplistic approach to maximizing your success on a vegan or vegetarian diet. You can go down the rabbit hole as far as you like.
I’m a firm believer in empowering people to choose whatever experience they want in this life. It’s what makes the human experience so exciting. I also believe that there is no right or wrong in life. There is function and dysfunction, and the discernment to know which is which is completely circumstantial and therefore can never be judged as good or bad.
So keep in mind that even if someone does eat animal flesh or any animal products, it’s their choice. And they are making that choice based on their own personal experiences. Also know that when you talk to people about diet and nutrition, they are coming from a place that is very different than your own. What works for one person, does not work for EVERY person.
We are unique, both in our physiological make up and in our ethical/spiritual beliefs. It would be wise to treat each individual person accordingly.
In optimal health,
Fred Lucas
Contributing Writer, Simply Raw
Fred Lucas is a nutritionist, a chef, a restauranteur, and a chocolatier/chocolate maker. His nutritional focus for the past four years has been helping people remain in optimal health on a vegetarian or vegan diet. The restaurant and elixir bar he is soon opening in Santa Fe, NM reflects his extensive knowledge base for optimizing health and wellness.

Wednesday 13 November 2013


Hi!
As I have mentioned many times, over the past few years, I LOVE reading about how to stay healthy and prevent disease. I recently sat down and put together a list of some of my favorite books. I hope you enjoy! Let me know!




Never Be Sick Again, Raymond Francis
One of my all time favorites. Great explanation of why we get sick.




The China Study, T. Colin Campbell
Not an easy read, but details the relationship between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.



The Beauty Detox Foods, Kimberly Snyder
I love this girl and this book. She explains the relationship between food and beauty.




Food Combining and Digestion: 101 Ways to Improve Digestion,  
 Steve Meyerowitz
A book everyone needs to read! All food digests at different paces. When we eat certain foods together, it literally creates an explosion in our stomach.




The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Dr. Joseph Murphy
Anything is possible!



Anticancer: A New Way of Life, David Servan-Schrieber, M.D., Ph.D.
Read how a medical doctor healed himself naturally from cancer.


Hippocrates Life Force, Dr. Brian Clement
Learn to go from toxic and self destructive, to healthful and life affirming!




Super Immunity, Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
I love this nutritional guide to living happy and disease-free.




The Ph Miracle, Shelly Redford Young and Robert D. Young
Understand how to keep your body health by putting foods in it that create an alkaline environment.



Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics- A Philosophy for Achieving a Radiant Mind and a Fabulous Body, Jessica Porter

Enough said!!

Wednesday 26 June 2013

NUTRITION...Taking it to the Next Level

Thursday 6 June 2013




Saturday, May 18th, was one of the greatest days of my life. For me to write that, it  must have been extraordinary. Most of my days are pretty darn good!

I love my friends from Platoon Fitness and with them I completed my first adventure race. CMC, Civilian Military Combine. Google it. It was a 6 mile race up Camelback Mountain and back down.

Our training started back in January. On Sunday mornings Mike Smaltz, from Platoon, would lead a group of us on trail runs through Valley Forge Park. The mornings were beautiful! We lucked out with perfect weather every week. We met at 7:30am. There would usually be about 20 of us. Each Sundays run was different. There were 4 trails that we ran. My favorite ones were when we combined 2 trails through the mountain. One Sunday we did 9 miles.That was amazing! I never run 9 miles.  The runs that were the most painful for me were when we would  run flat, straight out 3 miles and then turn around and come back.  So painful, so boring, but all part of the training. I was lucky to run with a few girls  I really like and who ran my same pace.  I loved the Sunday runs. I believe they elevated my fitness level and  kept me behaving on Saturday nights!

Morning of the race we met at Platoon Headquarters and followed each other up to Camelback. I slept pretty good the night before but my stomach was filled with butterflies. My friend Ben drove me and two other girls up. We arrived about 2 and a half hours before we were supposed to begin. That is a lot of time for me to just hang out but I went with the flow and enjoyed it.  We had set up a tent and there were 2 massage therapists giving us massages to loosen us up before the race.  After we registered a few of us girls were walking around checking out the beginning of the course and the PIT, where it started. I was so nervous. I  am not kidding when I say I went to the bathroom 10 times. My friend Julie went 20!

Fast forward 11:00am start of the race.

We began in what was called the PIT. We were there for 7 minutes. During those 7 minutes we did 7 push presses, 7 kettle bell swings, 7 burpees and 7 box jumps. You were to try to do as many rounds as you can in those seven minutes. Your score was part of your overall score. I did 109 reps which is a little over 5 rounds. I was happy but a little bummed because my first few times over the box did not count because he said my feet did not clear the box correctly.  We each had someone assigned to us who was counting our reps. 
I believe one goal of the PIT is to tire you out a bit and make it more of a level playing field because there were a lot of good, fast runners.

After the 7 minutes we exited the PIT and went directly to the starting line.  There is a 3 minute break, then the whistle blows and we were on to the course.

First thing we encountered was a wade pool. We walked in and had to get to the other end of it. I believe it was 5 feet when you got across and  there were ropes on the side we had to climb out of.   We started the race soaked. If it was cold I don't remember, too much adreneline flowing. But I do remember having my breath taken away. Frightened me at first.

Then on to the trail which was filled with all kinds of obstacles. We were constantly pulling ourselves over things and crawling under things. We were wet and covered in mud. What sticks out to me most was how much upper body strength was required. There were a few times during the race when I almost psyched myself out and did not think I could do something. One time I could not climb over an A frame obstacle and a random guy was up top of it and yelled at me to "come on, try again." I did and he helped pull me over. Another time we had climbed up something and had to take a fireman pole (slide) down. I was scared. Mike Smaltz happened to be at the bottom and told me to just come on and do it. So I did. Toward the end of the race we had to climb up and down an unstable metal ladder. At this point it was raining, everything was slippery and I was getting tired. Another friend, trainer, from Platoon, Kat, who had finished the race was watching, saw me, and yelled "its  a ladder Gina just climb over it." So I did.

I loved getting to the very top of the mountain (bear crawling) and having the woman at the top tell us only 1 and a half miles to go and it was all downhill. 

The race ended walking about a quarter mile or so through a waist high pool.

The finish line was filled with people who had finished before me and cold beer.

I finished the race in 1 hr and 41 minutes. I felt amazing and totally prepared. There were 85 women in the masters category (over 40 years old.)  I finished 29th. My ego wishes I had finished 15th, buts that's ok.

After we dried off we spent the next few hours in the parking lot hanging out and tailgaiting. For me that was the best part of the day. I loved being around all those inspiring people and getting to know everyone better. Of our Platoon group Marty came in #2 of all racers. 1400 people! Jenny came in #1 for all females. That is awesome. My good friend Julie came in #1 for female masters. These people are amazing athletes!

Since then I have felt a real sense of accomplishment. Doing it made me feel so healthy and alive. I  want to keep up that level of training. My body and spirit love intensity. I heard there was another one in the fall which I may do. I will definately do the one next spring. My goal will be to beat my 29th place.









Thursday 9 May 2013

My Thoughts on Dairy



I have been procrastinating writing this for weeks. Not because I am not sure of what I write, I have studied the issue and know the truth. I hesitate because I am finding this is such an emotional issue for people to learn that dairy is not a health food. ...."you mean my yogurt is not good for me? What about greek yogurt? I saw a commercial...."....."I thought milk helps to build strong teeth and bones?"......"I only put a little milk in my coffee"......"I have cottage cheese in the morning, I heard it was good for me."......"Where will I get my calcium?"....etc.... etc.



We have only been hearing publically one side of the story. The side of the American Dairy Association.


My body has always known dairy was not good for it. Thankfully my mom never really pushed it on us. I could never eat ice cream or drink milk. Did not agree with me. I would immediately get cramps and soon after would need the bathroom. As an adult I notice when I have cheese and crackers, the next day I am very bloated and I will have dark circles under my eyes. The dark circles, I have learned, are the toxins my body is trying to get rid of. (do you have dark circles? Or your kids? Most likely it is dairy coming out.) Dairy is extremely toxic and very hard for your body to digest.

I am not trying to bum you out! I am a total moderation girl. I LOVE to have fun. The reason I am presenting what I know is because as we get older, we need to keep our digestive system in great shape. Perfect health, and maintaining youthfulness and beauty begins with good digestion. I also don't want you to kid yourself when you eat dairy and think you are doing something healthy for your body. I challenge you to start listening to your body.

Milk has a reputation as a healthy food. It is a reputation that is not deserved.


* Elson M. Hass, MD states in his nutritional book Staying Healthy with Nutrition "lifelong use of milk is among the biggest misconceptions and mistakes in nutrition".  But, dairy is BIG business.  
* 70% of the world's population does NOT drink milk.  
*The World Health Organization states that the countries with the highest milk consumption have the highest rates of osteoporosis, breast cancer, allergies, and diabetes.
* Humans are the only species that consume milk past infancy and the only ones that consume the milk of another animal.  If you really think about it, it is against the laws of nature. There are thousands of studies on the ill effects of dairy.  
* The main protein in cow's milk is casein which makes up almost 90% of cow's milk. Of all the animal proteins casein consistently and strongly seems to promote cancer. Casein is also linked to the astronomical rise in autism and related disorders.
* It has been reported that casein can be broken down into casomorphin, a peptide fragment with opioid qualities, which has been suggested to increase the release of histamine. It is also thought that casomorphin is responsible for aggravating the symptoms of autism and because casein and gluten are so similar, many children with autism spectrum disorders are on a casein and gluten-free diet.
* Please read The  China Study.  Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a professor in the Division of Nutritional Studies at Cornell University wrote the book and found a strong link that casein "promoted all stages of the cancer process".
*Casein has been used as an ingredient in wood glue because it is a strong binder (does not break down/digest easily)
* A Harvard review of research for 2001 found that dairy has been found to double the risk of prostate cancer. My husband had prostate cancer 5 years ago.  We worked with a nutritionist and were told to immediately give up dairy, sugar, all meats and alcohol to begin healing.
* Menstrual cramps, infertility, allergies, chronic colds, ovarian cysts, kidney stones, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer, bone spurs, gout and atherosclerotic plaque are all linked to our body not being able to digest milk.  Ridiculous amounts of growth and sex hormones in cow's milk has lead girls to getting their periods at ages 9 and 10.  
* Yogurt contains casein, is pasteurized and mucus forming.
* Dr. Hiromi Shihya, Chief of the Surgical Endoscopy unit at Beth Israel Medical Center and Clinical Professor of Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine states in his book The Enzyme Factor " I have yet to meet a person who eats yogurt on a daily basis and still has good intestinal health"
* Yogurt is marketed as a tool to prevent constipation and promote weight loss. This could not be farther from the truth. Mucus is a natural secretion that your body produces to protect the surface of membranes. When the body is filled with excess mucus toxins become trapped in the mucus and are not able to leave the body.  Everything going through your intestines begins slowing down and produces build up on the intestinal walls.  
* It is a huge burden on the body to try and get rid of the excess.  As the body tries desperately to rid itself of dairy, it can come out as phlegm, mucus, or pimples. Teenage acne is probably caused by dairy.
* Mentally and spiritually milk is very cloudy, think about it - it is obvious.  It creates cloudy thinking, brain fog and you are not able to be tuned in.





What about calcium?

Yes, cow's milk does have calcium in it, more than human milk BUT..cow's milk has a large amount of phosphorous which binds with the calcium already in our digestive tract and makes most of the calcium indigestible.  Lactase is an enzyme specifically designed to break down lactose, the sugar contained in milk, and our guts let go of lactase after we are weaned from our mother.  This loss is natural,  just like the loss of our baby teeth and contributes to the inability to digest milk. Notice that baby cows continue to build strong bones, muscle mass and produce milk without drinking milk past infancy.  

* Cow's milk is pasteurized which destroys nearly all of the nutrients and creates toxins.
* Osteoporosis is less about a lack of calcium and more about ingesting foods that create acid in our blood which require stored calcium to buffer it.  Acidic foods/substances include coffee, alcohol, soda, vinegar, sugar, dairy and meat.
* When acidic substances are eliminated from your body, calcium and other minerals will stay.
* Sources of absorbable calcium include leafy greens, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains.

If you still are not convinced that dairy is not your friend, consider this:
* Because the body cannot rid itself of dairy it tends to stick to your problem areas - belly, upper arms, hips, face, and thighs.



Give up dairy and see if you are able to lose those last 5 pounds!