From time to time life can just get the better of us, working hard, late nights, the kids are getting to much, and of course its winter, the cold freezing nights are just an invitation to have something warm and comforting. We all love are comfort food! And truly, at times we just deserve to treat ourselves.

But imagine a comfort food without the guilt! That’s right, comfort food that is actually nutritious for you!

Well my friends at the Tonic Superfood team have just come up with the perfect comfort food with a high nutritional value. Its called cauliflower Maca mash. And let me tell you, its a treat! I will provide the link for everyone to see the recipe from the Tonic Superfood site. But before your go and make this lovely food i just want everyone to see what kind of nutritional value this food has.

Cauliflower provides the body with optimal doses of vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. As well as plenty of fiber, folate, selenium and vitamin c for increased immune function, and we all know how important vitamin c is in winter.

Maca, which is one of the main ingredients in the cauliflower Maca mash is a powerful superfood containing high levels of essential minerals including selenium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, it also contains high levels of amino acids to help repair muscle tissue and improve recovery from exercise.

Well as if that was not enough to convince you to try this comfort food. Please check out the link and have a go at making the cauliflower Maca mash and reep the rewards of good taste and some much needed nutrition!

click the link underneath for the full recipe and how to make cauliflower Maca mash thanks to Tonic Superfoods.

http://www.toniclifestyle.com/2010/07/cold-weather-comfort-food.html

Since I was a young boy my parents always told me that fruits had natural sugars and that it was healthy for you because it was natural, unlike table sugars such as sucrose. And don’t get me wrong, natural is a better way to go, but like many other life lessons I have learned growing up, too much of anything can be bad for you. And this article is referring to fruits, or to be more specific, the fruits natural sugars “fructose” and how high consumption of fructose can have negative metabolic effects on the body!

Fructose can be categorized as a monosaccharide sugar that is found in several different fruits. Many people define fructose as a “healthy sugar” generally because it’s found in natural foods and even though it’s classified as a simple sugar, it does not have a significant effect on blood sugar.

But on the other hand, fructose has a different enzymatic system where instead of being processed as glucose, where glucose usually enters the bloodstream and is used as energy, fructose is broken down by the liver. When consumed in high amounts, the liver has trouble metabolizing all the fructose and instead any unwanted fructose is converted back into the blood stream as dangerous blood fats also known as “triglycerides”.

Not only is fructose found in many fruits, but it’s also disguised in many shelf and packaged foods as “high fructose corn syrup”.  This syrup is pretty much 40 to 50% fructose and the other half glucose or sucrose. High fructose corn syrup can have many harsh effects on the body including

-increasing chances of syndrome X or insulin resistance, which further leads to type 2 diabetes

-unexplained increases in uric acid levels, which can be an early indicator of metabolic syndrome

- increasing mercury levels in the body, which in turn can shut down thyroid function and damage the brain. 

-increase levels of blood fats in the body, which in turn increases risk of heart decease

-according to Laura Dolsen, a former health and nutrition teacher out of California who has been studying low-carb eating and low-glycemic eating for over decade, stated that fructose ends up  circumventing the normal appetite signaling, so appetite-regulating hormones aren’t triggered, and your left feeling unsatisfied.  

What is a safe amount of fructose to have?

According to nutrition expert Robert Crayhon, an average couch potato should consume no more than 5-10 grams of fructose a day. A very active individual (someone who does physical training and competes in sports) can consume up to 20 grams of fructose a day.  One apple equals about 5 grams of fructose.  

How to avoid having to much fructose and high fructose corn syrup?

-limit fruit intake daily, stick to low G.I fruits with thin skin, such as apples and berries. (Thin skin fruits have more antioxidants because they have to protect themselves from the sun as they grow in the wild; therefore they have to store more antioxidants to survive, as opposed to thick skin fruits such as bananas)

-Avoid eating packaged foods from supermarkets, especially sodas, biscuits and other sweet snacks as they contain huge amounts of high fructose corn syrup. Instead eat more natural organic foods free from packaging.

-Make sure every meal has a good quantity of animal protein, healthy fats, and high fiber vegetables such as green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower and so on.

-Always read the label when you’re buying something from the supermarket.

-use good fats such as almonds, macadamias, and Brazil nuts as snacks instead of fruits. As these healthy fats will keep your blood sugar level stable and avoid any insulin spike.

Should I stop eating fruits overall because of fructose?

No! Definitely not. Fruits Contain many important nutrients that you cannot find in other foods, such as different antioxidants. It’s a matter of balancing quantities and not having too much. If you are a healthy individual who is active, eats the right foods for their metabolic type, and is low in total body fat %. Then you can surely eat fruits. However if your insulin resistant or are quite high in total body fat% then you should cut out fruits and work on doing a protein and vegetable boot camp which includes no sugar for 14 days. To find out if you’re having insulin issues or you want to know what your body fat % is then you should try my bio signature modulation test. This will tell you if you’re having problems metabolizing sugars and how high your overall body fat% is.

When it comes to the subject of weight loss I’m sure we all love to here about the “fat burning foods” and “fat burning nutrition”.  And if you don’t know by now that fats are a much more nutritious counterpart than sugar, you have been tucked away in a cave somewhere. But have you ever wondered about fats that actually burn fat! Can your number 1 enemy in your fat loss conquest be just as helpful as a hard workout in the gym? Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain, or simply just be plain healthy, nutrition plays a vital role in any sort of body composition goals. And as a personal trainer and health coach that’s where I see most people fail.

Getting your regular good fats into the day is not really that hard. Good fats are not only responsible for keeping your body’s cells healthy, but they keep your blood sugar levels at an optimal standard and help prevent any sugar spikes which can cause unwanted fat storage and insulin resistance.

There are many types of good fats,

Omega 3’s-(found mainly in wild meats and seafood, as well as dark green vegetables)

Omega 6’s-(found mainly in different types of nuts and seeds, as well as olive oil and other meats)

Omega 9’s-(Also found in nuts and avocados and olive oil)

Saturated fats-(raw organic butter, coconut)

Remember fats are good for you but in a health standard they must be consumed in small amounts, a good resume for healthy fats such as nuts can be up to 6 servings a day. 6 to 10 nuts (must organic  unroasted and unsalted) are aloud each serving, as well as ¼ avocado each serving up to 6 times a day, no more.

But let’s get on to the fat burning fats! I have chosen these 3 fats because not only are they beneficial for your health and well being but they all contain properties that will aid and accelerate your fat burning furnace!

Omega 3 essential fatty acids- A long long time ago, in a land far far away, the caveman era was probably the most healthy and fit generation of our ancestors. Back then your most common health threats such as heart decease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke were all non existent, and do you know why? Well not only were harmful chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers not around that are present in our conventional farming today, but the foods we consumed were rich in vital nutrients. And probably the most important nutrient that we consumed was from wild meat. And that’s omega-3. You see in today’s society animal meats are depleted in omega-3 essential fatty acids. This is due to the poor upbringing and farming and lack of nutrition fed to the animals. Think about it for a second? In the cavemen ere thousands of years animals were free to roam around in there natural environments, stress free movement, accompanied with good nutrition such as grass and leafy vegetables, and you have one healthy animal full of nutrients. But in the neo era our basic supermarket meats contain only probably a quarter of the nutritional value then a healthy raised, grass fed, organic animal. Not to mention the other krap that is put in to these foods, which the names of the ingredients I can’t even pronounce.

And one key missing nutrient that has been pretty much scrapped from most of our meats (unless its offcourse it’s organic or grass fed) is omega -3.

Not only is every disease known to man positively affected by omega-3, but it has many fat burning properties that would make any weight loss client tingle with excitement. Here they are,

According to world renowned health and strength coach Charles Poliquin, omega 3 essential fatty acids

-Turn on the human genes for burning fat, which will allow for a greater fat burning effect

-Turn off the human fat storing genes to avoid fat storage

-increase insulin sensitivity, which means if your insulin resistant you can increase you insulin receptor sites and help your body metabolize sugars and carbs more efficient and burn more fat each day.

According to www.bodyincredible.com

-Omega-3s increase the heat of your cellular “furnaces”, which are otherwise known as the mitochondria and the peroxisomes. Omega-3s make these organelles burn more and more energy, thus turning you into a fat-burning machine.”

-they allow the body to burn fat in situations where fat burning is turned off, such as after a high-carb meal or after high-intensity exercise (where the body preferentially burns glycogen).”

Good sources of omega 3 essential fatty acids are from

-Organic and free range meats (particularly red meats)

-Dark green leafy vegetables

-fish (stay away from tuna and big types of fish as they contain high contents of mercury, stick to more smaller oilier fish)

-eggs

-high quality fish oil supplements (Poliquin range or metagenics)

So I would definitely rate omega-3 as the best fat burning known to man. Here are some other great articles on omega-3.

www.bodyincredible.com/why-omega-3-is-the-smartest-fat-for-burning-fat

www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=54

coconut oil-Thinking of cooking up a beef stir fry, or maybe a nice salmon steak, well you cant go past coconut oil and its numerous health and weight loss benefits.

Before I go on about coconut oil let me squash any negative talk about the saturated fat content and saturated fats over all. Coconut oil contains medium chain triglycerides, which in fact are not hazardous to your health, but good for you. Saturated fats that have been altered from its original form (hydrogenated) are the bad fats. Raw, organic, clean saturated fats are healthy for you.

The fat burning benefits from coconut oil come from the high content of lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid. Daily consumption of coconut oil is known to

-raise the body’s metabolism which in return helps to boost thyroid function. And from there on lead to greater weight loss.

-contribute to lowering LDL cholesterol which is the bad cholesterol that causes heart disease.

-enhances the immune system to help the body fight infections, diseases, bad bacteria and yeast invasions. Lauric acid is known to be anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

Coconut oil is also one of the rare oils that does not oxidise under high temperatures such as when cooking or frying, it remains in a medium chain fatty acid state and does not turn into a Trans fat unlike other oils such rice bran oils and vegetables oils which are more commonly used today.

So it’s your best bet to use coconut oil next time you decide cook.

A good coconut oil can be purchased at any health food shop. The best quality would be unrefined and organic.

Olive oil-By now you should know olive oil is great when it comes to flavour and adding abit of zing to your salads and foods. But the weight loss benefits tend to be forgotten. First of all you should consume olive oil as raw as possible. And it should be a good quality organic extra virgin olive oil.

Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats. These fats help to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. As well as reduce inflammation and other harmful blood fats. It is a great antioxidant and is also anticancer, due to the compound Oleic acid, which helps to destroy cancer cells.

Recent study has shown that people who substitute olive oil with other fats were able to lose a moderate amount of weight with out additional food restrictions or physical activity.

Also recently last year I was at the CHEK holistic lifestyle coach certification program, and there world renowned health and well being guru Paul Chek stated that regular consumption of olive oil boosts your metabolism.

Olive oil has great flavour; I advise adding it to your salads and meals, but remember don’t fry with olive oil in high temperatures as it can oxidise and turn into a Trans fat.

Since the cholesterol scare of the 1990’s eggs have been down graded and labeled as a food that can cause heart, cholesterol, and COD (cardiovascular decease) problems among the general society.  But what we don’t understand is that the press, media and uneducated food critics do not take into account good and bad fats. They believe fats are fats, and cholesterol is cholesterol. One free range egg contains an optimal healthy fat omega 3-omega6 ratio which is 1:1 and 1:4. Omegas 3’s are needed in the body to aid healthy cell and cardiovascular function, as well as calm down inflammation in the body.  Eggs also contain vital amino acids, vitamins and minerals. One of the nutrients contained in eggs is called lecithin. Lecithin has many health promoting benefits. In studies Lecithin has been proven to lower the build up of bad cholesterol and fats in the wall of the heart, therefore preventing onset of heart disease, it also helps maintaining healthy liver function. The amino acids taurine, cysteine, methionine, are present as well in the eggs. These nutrients are strong antioxidants and liver detoxifiers.  

We must understand though like anything too much is bad. So don’t start consuming eggs in ridicules high amounts. Stick to an optimal amount of two hard boiled or poached eggs a day. A study made by the University of California found that the consumption of two hard boiled eggs did not raise cholesterol in healthy patients.  Also when shopping stick to organic and free range eggs. Reason being that chickens who live there natural life designed by Mother Nature seem to have a better fat and protein profile than a commercially raised egg.  Chickens that are kept in a cage will not produce as healthy as a chicken that can move freely and be stress free.

Cooking the eggs plays a big part in how well it’s taken into the body. Most quick on the go café’s and breakfast restaurants cook eggs in bad oils. When oils are heated it oxidizes and becomes a trans-fatty-acid. This is the unhealthy dangerous fats. So always stick to pure hard boiled or poached eggs.  And don’t be fooled by people telling you to remove the yolk. By doing that you cut down the density of the nutrients because the yolk contains the healthy fats. It’s like drinking water and removing all the minerals.

So remember eggs are a pure source of protein and healthy fats! But they must be consumed in healthy amounts.

Profiles taken from georgiaeggs.org

We all enjoy a good meal right! After a stressful day at work, or where out with our friends and family, or
sometimes where just hungry and we want to fill our bellies with something satisfying. But do you know many of the problems that occur in our body start from digestion. Some of the more common consequences of bad digestion are:

-Burping
-Heartburn
-Bloating
-Gas
-Stomach pain and cramps
-Bowel irregularity
-Headache
-Constipation
-Diarrhea

These are all irritable symptoms of a dysfunctional digestive system, and I’m sure we all hate every one of these!

But lets talk what we can do to start aiding our digestion and eliminate these roadblocks to a healthy body.
Raw Green leafy vegetables, our mom always told us to eat them as a child, but lets face it, back then we hated the taste and never took the time to consume them. But these greens actually are a wonderful and highly nutritious food that we all must have in our diet.

Reason being that when these Raw green leafy vegetables, (spinach, rocket, mint, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage) are eaten, they increase what you call enzyme activity in your digestive system, this will support the production of HCI (hydrochloric acid) which is produced in the stomach wall. HCI breaks protein into smaller nutrients called amino acids. As well as kill any harmful bacteria, germs, fungi and parasites.
A smooth digestion all depends on HCI and enzyme activity.

So before you eat any meal make sure to start by eating raw leafy vegetables, this will surely improve your digestion, just try it out. But remember the leafy vegetables must be fresh and RAW! If they are cooked the nutrients and enzymes will be destroyed! Try having raw organic spinach, rocket or lettuce, just wash and serve in a salad.

So there you go guys get stuck into the leafy vegetables before each meal and watch your digestion improve dramatically!

I will be also be writing a part 2 on simple ways to improve digestion Thanks everyone and stay healthy.

Michael Keon
Certified Personal trainer and Holistic lifestyle coach
Contact me for a free phone consultation on fitness and nutrition on 0435 062 081