Back-to-School Food

Posted on September 10, 2015 by admin

Healthy-Foods-Back-to-School

It’s that time of year again! With the school year starting back up, life can start to feel really busy and perhaps a bit stressful. Parents and students alike experience feelings of increased stress around this time each year. Fortunately, there are easy ways to offset and avoid the back-to-school blues and stress. Exercising daily, taking time to relax, or talking with a friend or counselor are tried-and-true ways to keep calm and centered. However, there’s another technique for combating stress and fatigue that is extremely under-utilized but just as (if not more) effective -our food.

Superfood Oatmeal

Posted on May 27, 2015 by admin

Oatmeal is one of the most versatile, nutrient rich, and energizing foods around, making it one of my absolute favorite go-to meals. We all lead busy lives, so fueling properly at breakfast is nonnegotiable if you’re looking to sustain steady energy levels throughout the day. Fatigue, headaches, mental “fogginess”, and inability to stay focused may seem like common, unavoidable side effects of everyday life – some of you may even experience one or more of these issues daily. I am here to tell you that feeling your best, even in the midst of a chaotic, busy day, is possible, and it begins with what you’re putting into your body.

Bowl of oatmeal

What makes this oatmeal recipe an ideal breakfast option is the combination of healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and high-quality protein. This triad of elements is referred to as a ‘macronutrient balanced meal’. Meals consisting solely of carbohydrates, even good-for-you complex carbs (such as a fruit & vegetable smoothie), provide fast-acting energy, but will ultimately leave you feeling hungry and low-energy shortly after. Meals high in fat and protein without complex carbs to balance them out are often too heavy on the digestive system, and will leave you feeling tired and sluggish. By creating a balance between these three nutritional elements, your body is provided with both immediate and long-lasting energy while keeping hunger and cravings at bay. Though every body is different, this tends to be a universal rule among everyone.

Solar-Powered Health

Posted on April 28, 2015 by admin

taking-in-the-sun

So many of us are caught up with work, school, to-do lists, and social obligations that spending time outdoors tends to be saved for vacations or special occasions. According to a recent government estimate, the average American spends 90% of their life indoors. This is a grave (but easily avoidable) mistake on our part. By neglecting to incorporate the natural environment in our daily lives, we are not only missing out on the resulting health benefits, but may actually be experiencing some consequential negative health effects.

Improve Your Health

There are several scientifically proven reasons why regularly getting outside will improve your health, but vitamin D tops the list. Vitamin D is unlike any other vitamin in that our bodies actually produce it, but only in the presence of sunlight. There are very few vitamin D-rich foods, so to ensure that your body has enough of this essential vitamin you need to expose your skin to sunlight regularly. Keeping in mind that the average individual spends the vast majority of their life indoors, it’s not surprising that an estimated 75% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D.

Every tissue in the body contains vitamin D receptors, including the brain, heart, muscles, and immune system – vitamin D is needed at virtually every level for the body to function properly.

Doctors and researchers have found that vitamin D: