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How to figure out YOUR perfect diet

11/6/2013

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Your best friend is raving about her new raw diet, so you decide to give it a try. But it doesn't work for you. Maybe it made you tired, or gain weight, or more health issues showed up suddenly. Why is that? Because your friend and you are completely different individuals.
Or perhaps, what worked for you in the past ten years, suddenly isn't. Why? Because each of us evolve, our body changes, our lifestyle changes, our jobs, or our location even. All of this plays a major role on our health and our body needs for nutrients.

So here's what you need to consider when it comes to YOUR diet:
  1. What is your ethnic background? 
  2. Are you always cold? or always too hot?
  3. Do you produce a lot of mucus and have greasy skin or hair? Or are you more on the dry side?
  4. Where do you live? A damp place or a cold dry one?
  5. What is your lifestyle? Do you exercise, or you sitting at work all day? 
  6. How is your health in general? Is your immune system okay?

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Depending on your age, by now, you hopefully have figured out a few things that work, when it comes to your digestive system. Maybe you know certain foods give you heart burns, or diarrhea, or headaches. But you're still searching for a healthy diet that works for you. Try to aim for a diet that makes you feel energetic, clear minded and prevent you from getting sick. No matter what, the basic rule is to eat a wholesome real food diet, to buy local and in season.

Now, let's figure out YOUR best diet:
  1. Your ethnic background will determine what foods suit you best. If you're from an asian descent, dairies will probably not agree with you, as the asian diet does not contain dairy. If you're from a danish or german descent, very spicy foods may not agree with your system. So look at your ancestors diet and stay close to it, for the most part.
  2. Are you often cold, when others are just fine, do you live in a cold place? Avoid icy drinks and raw foods, add more warming foods instead. Are you hot all the time? Maybe menopause is playing havoc with your body, then avoid alcohol, and spicy dishes, add cooling foods instead.
  3. If you're someone who has tendency to have excess mucus (nasal drip, stuffy nose, greasy scalp & skin, yeast infections, stuffy chest, cysts…), you may need to avoid all mucus forming foods for a while (i.e.: dairy, wheat, sugar). Add clear broth soups, lost of greens, asparagus, and kale. On the other hand, if you're dry (skin, stools, hair, dry mouth especially at night), then you may need watery foods such as cucumber, watermelon, apples, pears, and lubricating foods such as nuts and seeds, fatty fish (Salmon, halibut), and avocado.
  4. Your lifestyle also can dictate what diet suits your body. For sedentary people (desk job, students, bus driver), eating small meals throughout the day is best. But if you're on your feet all the time (landscaper, hairdresser, delivery person), then have 3 sitting down meals/day. 
  5. And finally, look at your overall health, are you tired, do you get sick often, are headaches plaguing you daily? If your body is out of balance, you may need the help of a professional to get you back into optimum health. Talk to your acupuncturist, naturopath, chiropractor, massage therapist or family doctor. You may need to tweak your diet, add supplements, and/or therapy in order to feel at your best again.

Life is a constant ebb and flow cycle. Adapting to change and listening to our bodies, will in the end benefit us tremendously. If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to contact Healing Cedar Wellness or Clara via e-mail or phone.

Clara Cohen
Registered Acupuncturist, DTCM

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Delicious Summer Salad

5/30/2013

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Coquitlam acupuncture
This is an easy to make salad, perfect for summer.
It is full of nutrient dense vegetables, and can be enjoyed by meat or fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike. It is gluten free and dairy free. I always make a big batch as it keeps for a week in the fridge. Your family will love it!

Makes 5 servings as a complete meal

Ingredients: 
- 1 1/2 cup of cooked and drained chickpeas
- 1 bunch of asparagus 
- 1 red pepper cubed
- 1 orange pepper cubed 
- 2 cup of white mushrooms  sliced
- 1 bunch of cilantro chopped
- Olive oil
- Fig Balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic vinegar)
- Sea salt
- Choice of the following depending on your preferences: 2 chicken breast, or 6 oz of salmon, or 8 oz of tempeh, cut to bite size.

Directions:
Steam the asparagus until tender, then cut into bite size.
Sauté the mushrooms, asparagus, and the meat, fish or tempeh, until tender with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of fig balsamic vinegar.
In a salad bowl, toss the red & orange pepper, the chickpeas, the cilantro, a dash of sea salt, and 1 tbsp each of olive oil & fig balsamic vinegar. Add the sautéed mixture and toss again. Voila!

Clara Cohen
Registered Acupuncturist at Healing Cedar Wellness in Port Moody


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3 Tips To Healthy Meal Planning (With recipes)

3/2/2013

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I assume you know what a nutritious diet consist of, so I won't talk about healthy nutrition. We are all aware of what's good and what's bad for us in terms of food (at least, I hope so). All we need is to be prepared. 

Here are 3 tips to help you be prepared:

1- Meal Planning: this is the hardest one for people, but it pays off tremendously in the end. My husband and I spend our Sunday evenings cooking for the week (okay I cook, he keeps me company). We drink a glass of wine and have great conversations, our bonding time if you will. For about 2 hours, I cook our weekly meals. I make 3 to 4 different dishes (see below for ideas) and put them in containers. I hard boil eggs. I cook meat and fish which can be paired with a salad as a quick meal. We both bring our food with us to work. We eat real, nutritious food, and also save money!

2- Keep snacks handy: if you're hungry and you're away from home, the easiest thing to do is stop somewhere and grab food. Unfortunately, there aren't many healthy options around. Keep water with you at all times; have nuts or seeds handy (they make a quick, healthy and fulfilling snack, and don't need a fridge); and make your own trail mix, ensuring you keep a bag in your car or purse. 

3- Eating out: you need to be mentally prepared for this one. There are healthy choices at most restaurants and coffee places. Not perfect choices, but at least options. Order foods that are wholesome, such as grilled and sautéed meat or fish, with vegetables, and with the least amount of sauce.  No bread, no dessert, but enjoy a glass of wine if you wish. Remember, you're there to enjoy the people you're with. At the coffee shop, have a tea, coffee or any natural beverage, no food unless you brought some nuts to munch on. At the convenience store, fresh fruits and unsealed nuts or seeds are probably your only healthy options.

Here are some healthy menu planning ideas:

Breakfast:
  • 2 Brown Rice Cakes with almond butter, 1 apple & Green tea (this one is for people that just need a light start to their day);
  • 1 Cup of cooked quinoa, with 1/4 cup of almond milk, chopped walnut, cinnamon & chia seeds (this is for people that have tendency to feel cold easily);
  • Smoothie with one avocado, an apple, 1 juice of a lemon, kale, spinach and celery with ground flax seeds (this is for people who have tendency to feel warm often);
  • 1 omelete made of 2 eggs & 2 egg whites, chopped mushrooms & grilled asparagus, sea salt and pepper & green tea (for those who like some savory food upon waking).
Lunch & dinner:
  • Thai Coconut Chili
  • Cooked quinoa with sautéed veggies (asparagus, garlic,mushroom, red & yellow peppers all chopped), add sea salt, paprika and olive oil. Option to add cooked chopped chicken or salmon
  • Grilled meat or fish, with a big salad (mixed greens, sliced tomato, sprinkle goat cheese, sunflower seeds, olive oil & lemon juice)
  • Ratatouille Gluten free lasagna
  • Salad as a meal: arugula, chickpeas, tomato, red & yellow peppers, walnuts, add chopped grilled tofu, meat or fish to it, dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and Italian seasonings).
Snack:
  • Handful of nuts or seeds with a fruit
  • 2 hard boiled eggs with cucumber slices (perfect for a warm summer day)
  • Almond butter on apple slices
  • Plain goat yogurt with berries
  • A glass of wine with a piece of dark chocolate (great evening snack)
  • Mashed yam with cinnamon & nutmeg & cashews (great for the cool winters)
  • Smoothie: parsley, beets, strawberries, and almond milk.

You've heard it before: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Once you start being prepared for most of your meals, eating healthy won't be that difficult. 
To health!

Clara Cohen
Registered Acupuncturist at Healing Cedar Wellness in Port Moody 

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3 Clues you think you're eating healthy, but you're not!

11/29/2012

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What is a healthy diet? It's all relative, really. To some, it means not eating out, to others it might be eating fruits and vegetables daily. But really, how good are your eating habits? Here are clues indicating you're not eating that healthy after all.

1- Your recycling box is full
Great, you contribute and do your part for the planet, but it also means you eat a lot of packaged food. Most of these are processed and not whole. Here's a list of not so healthy packaged foods:

Cold cereal: if you cook quinoa or steel cut oats, then great, anything else has been processed and stripped of nutrients.
Juice box: eat the whole fruit and get the full spectrum of vitamins. Unless you juiced it yourself, this is pure sugar.
Yogurt container: you can make your own, or at least buy the natural organic kind, not the fruit or flavored ones.
Cracker box: even though it maybe advertised as organic and low fat, it is still processed, unless it's raw or you baked it. 

2- You're eating whole grains and buy natural organic food.
Patients often tell me they eat whole grains, mostly consisting of bread (which still has sugar in it and preservatives), crackers, whole wheat pasta, and whole grain cereals. Most of these are often processed with white flour and other ingredients, and most don't contain much fiber or nutrients. Eating organic is a good choice, but some of these products are not fully organic and sometimes still contain preservatives which are not natural or easily absorbed by the body.

3-You're vegetarian, eating low fat, gluten free...
Being vegetarian is relative to what you eat. It could mean eating fries, pancakes and cookies all day long. As long as you eat healthy and whole foods, it doesn't matter if you eat meat, fish or are vegan.

The low fat craze of the 80's is not as prominent anymore, but some people still believe that eating avocado, nuts and seeds, and adding olive oil to their salads will contribute to weight gain. These foods are full of nutrients and provide essential fatty acids required by the body to stay healthy.

You've chosen to eat gluten free, perhaps because you have been diagnosed with Celiac disease, have a sensitivity to wheat, or simply think it is healthier for you. However, it won't provide perfect health unless you eat real wholesome food. There are many gluten free products out there that are processed and stripped of fiber and nutrients, which basically negates any health benefits.

So what else are you supposed to eat? Is there anything left? Sure, and here's some help.

I believe in the 80/20 diet. Eating healthy 80 % of the time and having a little less good food for the rest.

80% of the time, eat the following:
  • Nuts and seeds: raw, roasted, sprouted or even making milk out of them.
  • All fresh fruits and vegetables: cooked, steamed, raw, stir fried, grilled...add spices, olive oil, sea salt, or cook them in wine (I'm French, after all).
  • Fresh wild fish, wild meat or organic meat (Free of hormones).
  • Quinoa (not a grain by the way), brown or wild rice, buckwheat, sprouted grains.
  • Sweet: raw honey, stevia.
20% of the time, consider some of these:
  • A glass of wine.
  • Dairy: hard and older cheeses (goat is best), goat yogurt, raw milk.
  • Brown rice cakes, home made granola bars.
  • Dark chocolate, at least 75% cocoa.
Look for recipes that are simple, quick and delicious, and enjoy the benefit of a healthy diet. Start slow, introduce new foods and eliminate one processed food each week. Plan ahead. Before the start of the week, hard boil a few eggs, grill salmon, cook some quinoa, and make a veggie stew. Bring nuts and seeds everywhere so you're never caught without options to eat healthy when out of the home. It will become a habit in no time, and you will reap the benefits of optimum health.

Clara Cohen
Reg. Acupuncturist at Healing Cedar Wellness

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