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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Toronto Naturopathic Doctor shares 3 Secret Nutrition tips help Weight loss and burn fat

CONSUME FOODS THAT BURN FAT

Fat creation can be caused by all foods; but specific foods can actually assist in burning fat. Some of the foods we consume contain vitamins and minerals that increases metabolism and perform as virtual fat burners. We have foods with bad calorie that burn off excess calories during digestion process. Some other foods, when eaten in little amount gives a feeling of satisfaction with a very minute calories. Holding on to the ideal complete foods will gradually remove your body fat profile.

When fat burning foods are eaten in the correct quantity and right time, the fat profile of the body starts to depreciate. Eat foods that inhibit fat deposition in your body for an added boost. The lists of secret fat burners which are daily foods are as follows:

Organic Poultry 
Chicken, an example of poultry possesses the ability to accelerate metabolic rate of the body which consequently lead to burning off extra fat. It is also low fat, carbohydrate and the protein content is excellent. The body needs a great amount of energy to digest proteins, and needed more to store the proteins as fat. Poultry chicken is also a perfect source of iron, zinc, and niacin. To get the excellence results, de-skin poultry before consumption to prevent extra fat.


Wild caught Salmon & Tuna
Another good protein sources are Salmon and Tuna. They supply the body with healthy fats derived from the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Salmon and tuna have low unhealthy saturated fat and energy. Consuming salmon positively induces production of leptin, which is the hormone that functions in calories storage and burning. The body stores fat under high levels of leptin. Salmon and tuna functions as leptin reducer, giving boost to your body metabolism to burn calories.

Other Lean Proteins
Like other proteins, scientific finding has confirmed that proteins of all macronutrients have the highest thermic effect. For digestion and processing, protein needs nearly 30% of its calories. Lean proteins also act as appetite suppressor which decreases the propensity to overeat. Though poultry has a lesser fat profile, lean red meats like lean sirloin, game, top round and other white meat possess a position in a fat burning diet.

Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits while providing a big dose of vitamin C, a chemical utilized in fat burning process raises metabolism. Citrus fruits are positioned as the best fat burning foods you can consume. Apples, oranges, grapefruit and likewise tomatoes have these qualities fat burning qualities. You can mix several varieties out of the large varieties to get different flavors and taste. Citrus fruits efficiently deplete fat deposited around the waist and hips.

Apples
One apple a day holds away the fat. Apples have a substance known as pectin which limits the cells from taking in fat and helps in absorbing water from food. Pectin also helps in pushing deposits of fat from the body. Antioxidants present in apples may also decrease excess belly fat caused as a result of metabolic syndrome. There is also a high level soluble fiber in apples which assist you manipulates hunger pain.


Berries
Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries - choose any. Fruits generally contain vitamins and minerals. Fruits have low calories and high water unlike refined foods. Berries are great sources of fiber and they increase metabolism, thereby disintegrating food and fats. Sweet and delicious even with adding nothing, a significant quantity of berries will keep you feeling satisfied longer and assist in eliminating the thirst for sugar-full glasses of unnaturally flavored, empty calories            .

Oatmeal
A greater part of oats calorie profile is soluble fiber. Soluble fiber aid blood sugar control and assists you feel satiated longer. Oatmeal also reduces the chance of heart disease plus lowering cholesterol. Select from the obsolete or steel cut oatmeal and consume with fresh fruit. During diet phases, carefully watch your serving sizes.

Vegetables
Majority of vegetables (excluding yams, potatoes and sweet potatoes) hold low calories, but still have necessary vitamins and minerals which are important in the body’s metabolism improvement. Vegetables like spinach, cabbage, broccoli, artichokes and carrots do contain very low carbohydrate levels and have no fat. In fact, fat burning is aided because the body uses more calories for vegetables digestion than the calories they produce. So the additional calories needed to disintegrate food are gotten from the fat reserves of the body. For instance, a serving of Brussels sprouts contain 50 calories but the body requires 75 calories to digest. This means that the body burned 25 calories of body fat because of a serving of Brussels sprouts.

Beans
Beans are rich in amino acids, minerals and are low in calories. Lentils contains amino acids that functions in body fat reduction, building muscles, and also regulation of blood sugar. They are rich sources of dietary fiber making you feel full longer, and reducing the feel to overeat.

Eggs
Eggs are natural super-food, and they densely contain most of the important nutrients like other foods. Their high protein levels boost metabolism and assist you to burn fat. Eggs are no doubt one of the best fat burning foods. Amidst other protein-rich foods, egg contains mix essential amino acids the most. Even with the low calories they have, vitamin D, vitamin B12, selenium and choline can still be found in them. Proofs have shown that eggs don’t add to bad cholesterol, but they improve the good cholesterol which is needed for a healthy body. Eggs contain all nutrients necessary for good health.

Almonds & Walnuts
Almonds and walnuts are great sources of the healthy fats that the body’s cell structure need to function smoothly. An ounce of almonds can provide 12% of daily protein allowance and has folic acid and calcium. Additionally, vitamin E form in walnuts is healthful. A reasonable quantity of nuts is a crunchy and tasty to quench your hunger pains.
Pine Nuts
Based on the findings of scientists, pine nuts have many healthy fatty acids. They help in the removal of fat deposition in the abdominal regions. Pine nuts increase hormones of satiety with the gains of reducing fat.

SECRET #2: ADD FAT BOOSTERS TO YOUR DIET

Consuming the correct food will boost your metabolism and will also aid in burning your undesired fat. Join fat burning foods with those that boost fat to accelerate your metabolism.

Mustard
Very small mustard seeds are endowed with nutrition which includes: the omega-3 fatty acid, tryptophan, selenium, manganese, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc and niacin. Little protein and fiber can also been found in them. Spicy Asian and Mexican varieties of mustard for a short time speed up metabolism such as the ephedrine or caffeine in a harmless and natural means. Spicy mustard gives flavor to your food when added and also improve fat loss.

Onions
Onions have flavor and aroma, and they are low in calories. Onions also can help in losing of weight. Chromium, also a nutrient can be found in onions. Chromium is known to improve insulin to regulate stable blood sugar. Therefore, onions assist in stopping crashes of blood sugar and the consequences of the munchies.
Coconut Oil
Coconuts increase the energy of the body. Unlike shortening and margarine, coconut oil has greater quantity of medium-chain fatty acids which are also useful in immediate fuel supply. Apply coconut oil to your cooking to accelerate metabolism, improve thyroid functioning and intensify fat burning.

Hot Peppers
The spice-giving chemicals in hot peppers safely accelerate the heart rate. There are some people who are able to burn more than 1000 calories daily from pepper consumption. Chillies and peppers for example activate your body to burn fat. Hot peppers as diet food are one of the best when it comes to flavor and fat burning attributes.

Green Tea
Green tea decreases the total fat in the waist and skin regions significantly. Green tea contains the antioxidant catechins which are known to increase rate of metabolism. This now signifies that fat burning activity in your body will be longer and it will be continuous. Catechins have been shown to interact with green tea caffeine. Green tea which has high levels of antioxidants is the best substitute for coffee.

SECRET #3: INCREASE INTAKE OF WATER
There is reduction of body fat deposits when more water is taken. The kidneys will function inefficiently when enough water is not taken. When the kidneys are not functioning well, the liver takes up some of work load of the kidney. This will reduce the fat metabolizing function of the liver and consequently lead to the increased fat accumulation and burning of fat standstill. Therefore, drinking the ideal quantity of water improves metabolism and maximally perform fat burning. Water also flushes out poisons and also increases the ability of the body to stay healthy.



Osteopathic Practitioner in Toronto writes about Listening to your Body's Signs and Symptoms for Clues

Don’t be afraid to listen to your body!
If you’re like most of us we tend to ignore the one person that matters the most..yes that’s YOU!
Life is crazy busy and sometimes we ignore the whispers from our bodies that something is wrong.  Most of us wait till it hits us over the head with a brick then it is an uphill battle to change and become well again.
Here are 5 tips to help you listen to your body and become more aware of how you feel.
1.     Every morning while in bed check in with your physical body by gently moving, wiggling or stretching your various body parts starting from wiggling your toes and squeezing your calves, all the way to blinking your eyes. Anything feel tight or not right? A visit to your massage therapist may be the treatment your body needs.
2.     Notice if you are licking your lips or feeling parched throughout the day, you may not be getting enough water.  So drink up!
3.     Take a few deep breaths in at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, which will help you de-stress and check in with how tense or wound up you may be! Perhaps a night of yoga or meditation is just the ticket you need.
4.     In the most stressful part of your day take a moment count to 10 and check in with how you are feeling emotionally and physically. Do you need time alone? Or need someone to connect with?
5.     When you have finished your day take a moment to write 3 pros of the day and 3 cons of your day and see what comes up. Do the same things keep coming up in the cons? Perhaps a change is needed in your life or career.

Try it for a few weeks and let me know how you do. Any advice for the rest of us?


Article submitted by , one of our teams’ movement specialists’

Christianne James
DO(MP)., RMT., CMAP., BAH., BSc.

Osteopathic Practitioner & Educator
Registered Massage Therapist
Medical Acupuncture Provider


Monday, April 28, 2014

Leading Toronto Naturopathic Doctor speaks about Pain and your Natural Alternatives

this post was originally done for the OAND blog: 

Are you suffering with pain, ever wonder what life might look like without it? Imagine if you will, finding an effective natural solution? Read more to find some alternatives and know that natural approaches have helped thousands heal or diminish their pain. Everyone's story is different but there is help.

Very few of us ever escape the human experience of pain. In its most simple form, pain is a signal to the body to withdraw from the source of pain, protect itself for healing or avoid the pain source or stimulus for the future.  Most pain resolves once the stimuli has been removed. Sometimes pain occurs or persists in the absence of stimuli and can be chronic in nature.  This is when pain as a syndrome becomes relevant and very complex to define and manage. 

Neuropathic pain is the most common type of pain that is seen in the general practice of both naturopathic and conventional physicians alike. This pain no longer serves that protective, defensive instinct and is characterized by “plastic” change in the autonomic nervous system as well as the central nervous system.

Trauma and inflammation are the main causes of pain. It is this inflammatory response that creates those cardinal signs in tandum with pain: swelling, redness and heat.

 Ideally, when inflammation is  working for us the result is a complete remodeling and cleaning up of damaged or traumatized tissue and ultimately a resolution of pain.  When the inflammatory process remains longer than it should, changes in the tissue create a worsening of the circulation, causing scar tissue or damage to the area.

A naturopathic approach to pain then involves ensuring first and foremost, proper assessment and diagnosis of the pain syndrome and that the underlying disease is being treated.  For example, pain of the shoulder blade, may in fact be representative of an internal organ imbalance of digestive origin.  Our treatment goals are to provide symptomatic relief, douse the fire of inflammation, and encourage healing.  
In my practice, I approach pain management from a multi-discipline perspective. Nutritionally, I encourage patients to eat more whole, unprocessed foods and avoid refined, packaged foods - especially foods that are pro-inflammatory; these are foods that are especially high in their acid- ash breakdown and include foods such as cow dairy, citrus, and red meat. Other promoters of the inflammatory cascade are the nightshades which include: potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant. Supplements that I prescribe in order to decrease overall inflammation include the omega-3 fish oils, the proteolytic enzymes, and the extracts of curcumin found in tumeric.  The mineral magnesium has profound effects on inhibiting the pain signal in the body and deals with any accompanying muscle tension.

Physical therapies in the practice include electromagnetic, ultrasound, and TENS; these technologies deliver different energy and wave fronts in order to stimulate the tissue. The application of hot and cold (hydrotherapy) may also be suggested for home care. There are naturopathic doctors that also utilize body work therapies such as massage of muscle,  and spinal manipulation.

I also use mesotherapy for the majority of my pain patients. Mesotherapy, which hails from France in 1952 is the injection of nutritional and homeopathic substances into the skin of the affected or painful area. It uses small specialized needles. Patients experience dramatic results with this technique, in as little as 1 to 3 sessions.

Acupuncture is also a viable alternative and can also induce a calming effect on the system as a whole

Finally, it is also important to note here that in my practice, I encourage patients to take a more active role in their healing of pain. This includes the consideration of how one's thoughts and beliefs create physiological imbalance or the possibility of how one's emotions might be held in the body. In this arena, education is the key. Lifestyle modification, sleep habits, stress management, deep breathing, and relaxation are a few topics that may also be included in our discussion.

Although, pain is a complex concern, there are solutions.  Your naturopathic doctor can help you by providing a truly holistic approach.

Dr. Michael Rahman, B.Sc., N.D.





Saturday, April 26, 2014

Naturopathic Doctor Toronto writes about Herbs to Stimulate your Mestabolism - stay Healthy and Active in Toronto

Are you looking for some really effective herbal teas that are helpful for digestion and to help stimulate the absorption and assimilation process, so that the metabolism overall improves?

The teas below are from the Healthy and Active process:

What is healthy & active?

Your individual nutritional program
  • Healthy weight loss
  • Metabolism optimization
  • Hormone system balancing
  • Improved vitality

The following tea mixtures can be used for stimulating the appetite and in cases of lacking stomach-acid formation or general weak digestion. They’re also useful in various digestive dysfunctions such as bloating and flatulence.
Metabolism tea 1                                            Metabolism tea 2
25 g     common centaury                               35g      angelica root
25 g     wormwood                                           35 g     yarrow
20 g     gentian root                                         10 g    
common centaury
20 g     Seville orange peel                            10 g     wormwood
10 g     cinnamon stick                                     5 g      anise, crushed
                                                                             5 g      basil


Preparation
Pour 150ml simmering water over 2 Teaspoons of tea mixture, cover, and leave to brew for about 5-10 minutes, then strain. Drink one mug of freshly prepared tea moderately warm several times a day half an hour before meals.

Note: Occasionally people who are sensitive to bitter substance can experience headaches.