Wellness Rituals

It was my pleasure to be part of the get shifted series with SAOR Studio - a movement studio in the Junction area of Toronto. The founder, Nathania Harrison and I talked all things wellness rituals and getting through this time of self- isolation with wellness habits in tact.  

I know it can be hard  - life right now is not what it was a few months ago.  Stress levels are high and we are wearing many different hats while home all day with our families.   Many of my clients are feeling the effects – what started as a couple weeks of overindulging because this isolation seemed a bit like vacation has become a couple months.  Symptoms are started to pop up – low energy, excess mucus, poor digestion, swelling, and like Nat, body & joint pain.  These are all signs of inflammation.  Signs that your body is giving you to let you know that it doesn’t like what’s going on.  Listen to your body.   You don’t want to go down this path for another month or more as you deserve to feel good in your body and inflammation leads to a host of autoimmune disorders. 

I also know that doing a strict diet overhaul at this time is challenging, so I shared some actionable tips to help support you and your health right now.  

 Practice mindful eating 

This involves really listening to your body and how it feels after you eat certain foods.  If something makes you feel tired, bloated, or sore then it likely isn’t a great food choice for you.  These symptoms can occur day of eating or even the next day.   I recommend keeping track of what you are eating and how you are feeling if you are having symptoms, but struggling to determine what is causing them. 

 Remove inflammatory foods. 

The top inflammatory foods are; sugar, alcohol, gluten, and dairy.  Here are some ways to reduce;

-Look at the ones that you eat most often and eat less of them

-Don’t combine.  For example if you are going to have wine one night, don’t have sugar at the same time. 

-If you are drinking daily see if you can reduce to every second day

-Cut out one of these groups entirely

Include more anti-inflammatory foods

 Think of the Mediterranean diet – lots of fresh fruits & vegetables, nuts & seeds, whole grains, and lean meat and fish.  

Eating on a schedule

We also talked snacking and how being at home makes it a lot easier to constantly graze.  This isn’t something we want to be doing as it will result in over eating and will throw off your blood sugar balance. To stabilize blood sugar and energy I always recommend eating on a schedule and sticking to it.    Here is what an ideal day would look like;

 Breakfast – 7-8am (within 1 hour of waking up)

Lunch – 11am – 1pm (eat lunch when you start to feel hungry)

Snack – 3-4pm

Dinner – 6-7pm (close the kitchen post 7:00 to allow your body to rest.

If it isn’t time to eat, don’t eat.  

Sleep

Don’t sacrifice sleep.   It might be easy to stay up late watching Netflix, but not getting enough quality sleep decreases immunity, energy, gut health and contributes to many autoimmune disorders.  Get to bed by 10pm each night.  Aim to get off screens an hour before bed.

 Movement

Some people are working out more these days than ever before, others aren’t exercising at all. With no more walks to school for drop off, commutes to work, movement around the office and rushing to activities most people have seen a decrease in movement.   See if you can get up and move around every hour.  Can you incorporate an extra walk?  Try to move more each day.  

 Your why? 

Lastly we discussed accountability.  Accountability is key – most people can find the information and know what they “should” be doing, but can’t do it alone.  The first thing I always recommend clients do is remember their why.  

Why do you want to feel better?   

What are your core values?  Family? Health? Career?  

Attach your why to your values – it always leads to better success.  For example if you value family and want to have more energy to run around with your kids then that is your why. 

I am also here for you to help keep you accountable and on track. I have launched a free Facebook group – The Vitality & Wellness Collective  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/552557722345999/ We will be discussing nutrition, movement, sleep & mindfulness.   I will be offering tips, education, trackers and recipes to help you.  I will also be there to answer any questions that you have and support you.  

Why do I need to take supplements?

Why do I need to supplement?  is a question I am asked all the time.  I wanted to start off with a little education on why we need to supplement before diving into the basic supplements that I recommend everyone be on.

This background will help you understand why your food isn’t enough even if it does contain the necessary nutrients.  

1. Soil Depletion

When plants are grown repeatedly on the same land the soil loses vitamins, minerals and microbes faster than can be replaced. Over time there are fewer nutrients to grow.  

2. Produce that isn’t local

Living in Canada it is very hard to only eat local fruits & veggies all year.  Most of the fruits and veggies in grocery stores are not harvested when fresh.  They are picked weeks before being eaten and ripen while travelling on trucks and sitting on shelves.  Fruits and veggies gain many of their nutrients during the ripening phase.  

3. Toxin Exposure

Everyday we are exposed to countless toxins – from plastics, to household cleaners, stress and even food toxins.  Our body needs nutrients to deal with these toxins so as you can imagine we are utilizing a lot of nutrients just to get through a stressful day before you account for food toxins and chemical exposure.  

4. Aging

As we age we produce less hydrochloric acid in our stomachs and digestive enzyme production goes down as well.  This results in us being unable to break down our food as well and absorb nutrients.  

5. Exercise

When we exercise our bodies require more nutrients for energy production and recovery.   

Here are 3 of the supplements that I recommend everyone take on a daily basis.  I would consider them to be non-negotiable.  

1.    Vitamin D

Vitamin D, known as the “sunshine vitamin,” is essential for the maintenance of our health and immune systems.  It also moderates inflammation and assists in calcium metabolism and bone formation.   Studies have shown that deficiency can lead to a number of health problems and contribute to chronic disorders, including high blood pressure, osteoporosis, depression, obesity, and diabetes.  Our main source of Vitamin D is from the sun  - for those of us living in the north this is difficult to get in the winter. 

What type: The best form to take is Vitamin D3 with Vitamin K

2. Probiotics

This is a big one – and really could be a future guest blog post all on it’s own!!  

Probiotics are bacteria that line your digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. Your body contains about the same number of gut bacteria molecules as it does cells for the rest of your body, so it’s no wonder your gut is so important to your health.

Probiotics benefits have been proven effective in supporting immune function, reducing inflammation, promoting healthy digestion, as well as maintaining beautiful skin.

Today, however, because of refrigeration and agricultural practices like soaking our foods with chlorine, much of our food contains little to no probiotics in the name of sanitation.

What type:  You want to be taking at least 15 billion CFU daily  - you also want multi-strains in one pill as they are more effective than single strain because the bacteria work synergistically together. 

After taking antibiotics, if you feel yourself getting sick I would recommend switching to a higher dose. There are also formulations for specific health issues. 

3.  Omega-3

Fish oil is a concentrated source of omega-3 fats. Fish oil contains two very important polyunsaturated fatty acids – DHA (docosahexaeonic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).  Our body cannot make them, they are essential which means we need to get them from food or supplementation.  

Omega3 fatty acids are essential to our health an well being, they are important to every cell in our body and most of us are lacking.   More of an issue is that most of us have an imbalance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.   A healthy ratio is around 2 omega-6: 1 omega-3, in reality most people have a ratio of about 20:1.   The deficiency of omega-3 really comes from the overconsumption of foods high in omega-6 – fried foods, packaged foods, fast food – those foods that contain vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, corn and soybean.  Consuming too much omega-6 fatty acids decreases your body’s ability to metabolize the healthy omega-3 fatty acids.  

Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids is really a daily essential to ensure that adequate amounts are consumed.  Omega-3 fatty acids are important for cardiovascular health, brain health, mood, skin, joints and more.  

What type: Ensure fish oil with EPA and DHA