• Apr
    • 18
    • 2013

3 Reasons To Love Vitamin K2

Most people have heard of Vitamin K. However, few people realize that Vitamin K is actually a group of fat-soluble vitamins called naphthoquinones.

These naphthoquinones are divided into three groups and known affectionately as K1, K2 and K3.

K1 and K3

Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) generally comes from plants and is highest in dark leafy green veggies (kale, spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, parsley, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus and avocado). Vitamin K1 plays a primary role in blood coagulation

Vitamin K3 (menadione) is a synthetic version of the vitamin and is generally considered unsafe and unnecessary for general use.

Vitamin K2

Menaquinone (the scientific name for those that, like me, geek-out on this stuff) has received a lot of press in the medical world recently as it has been discovered to be tightly tied to things like bone health and arterial plaque.

K2 is in part the product of a fermentation process carried out by our intestinal bacteria (one of the reasons probiotic foods and supplements are so important) when we eat dark leafy greens. This is due to a natural conversion of K1 to K2 by the body. However, this process only happens at a rate of 10:1 and since most folks don’t eat enough of the green leafy foods we are left with a big K2 deficiency in Canada.

There are other trace sources of K2 like meats and dairy products (particularly grass-fed pasture-raised animals – especially butter and organ meats). However, they pale in comparison to the much touted mega-source of K2 called natto, which is a traditional fermented Japanese dish consisting of sticky soy beans that offers a powerful nutritional punch but a rather limited flavor appeal to those born outside Japan.

Natto is commonly eaten at breakfast in Japan. In contrast we eat sugar laden breakfast foods and we wonder why they are healthier (and don’t even get me started on their high levels of omega-3 consumption, veggie intake and almost wheat-free diet).

The recent body of research on Vitamin K2 underscores the idea that K1 and K2 should be appreciated as separate nutrients with distinct physiological actions and benefits. As I mentioned before, K1 is known for its key role in directing blood clotting in the body and has also shown anti-inflammatory properties.

Bone Health

K2 on the other hand appears to be especially key in maintaining bone mineralization and limiting the formation and lifespan of osteoclasts, which are cells that break down bone. Researchers are increasingly optimistic about K2′s potential for those with or at risk for osteoporosis.

Again I look to the Japanese who have some of the lowest rates of osteoporosis in the world despite consuming less calcium than those of us here in the West.

Heart Health

One of the problems with heart disease in that free calcium attaches to plaque in the arteries (arterial calcification) making it almost impossible to get rid of. Actually there is compelling evidence that suggests that large supplemental calcium intake is associated with an increase in heart disease.

What if I told you that Vitamin K2′s ability to assist in bone formation helps reduce your chances of heart disease? Well it does!

Vitamin K2 tells the free calcium in the body to go to the bone for storage right? There is a growing understanding that shows that K2 may aid cardiovascular health by helping to prevent, and actually even reverse arterial calcification, which is a known contributor to cardiovascular disease.

Thanks to K2 the free calcium now gets stored in bone instead of causing arterial calcification. And that is good news!

But wait there’s more!

Wrinkles

It has long been recognized that Japanese woman have skin that ages very gracefully.

Is it genetics? Maybe.

There is new research (originally presented in Boston by the Endocrine Society in 2011) to suggest that adequate dietary vitamin K2 prevents calcification of our skin’s elastin, which is a protein that gives skin the ability to spring back. This smooths out lines and helps to stop wrinkles.

As it turns out Vitamin K2 is necessary for activation of matrix proteins that act to inhibit calcium from being deposited in elastin fibers of our skin. This inhibition keeps these fibers from hardening and causing wrinkles.

On top of all that Vitamin K2 is also necessary for the proper functioning of vitamin A- and D- dependent proteins.

Sources

I am so impressed K2 that I am now taking a Vitamin K2 supplement. If you live in Woodstock you can purchase it at the “InsideU” health food store which is located at 682 Peel St (to shop online click here).

You can get K2 supplementally in capsule form and it is fairly inexpensive.

If you are looking for a supplement that will target bone health, heart health and skin health all at the same time – then K2 is for you!

I am also planning to make my own natto since it is hard to find outside of Japan. I plan on getting a natto starter kit and fermenting some at home. Yum!

For the maximum Vitamin K2 experience you need to eat your green leafies, and eat natto. If you can’t find, or make, natto then you might what to consider supplementing since it is inexpensive.

Until next time – Eat Healthy. Train Hard. And Smile

[appeared in the Oxford Review April 18th, 2013]

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    • Mar
    • 11
    • 2013

Omega-3 For Vegetarians

Just because you have decided to become a vegetarian doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t seek out foods that are high in omega-3 essential fatty acids. The reason that omega-3s are called essential is because we cannot make them inside our bodies. We have to get them from our food.

Walnuts
My favourite nut of all time – walnuts are incredibly high in heart healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids. We usually associate walnuts with Christmas time and even I remember cracking the walnuts open each Christmas when we would get a big bag of mixed nuts.

What I find most interesting is that walnuts actually look like a brain when you crack them open. Turns out that that isn’t just an idle comparison either. Walnuts are amazing for your brain health and contain a very high amount of the brain boosting omega-3 called DHA (docasahaexanoic acid).

It a number of studies walnuts have been found to increase cognitive and motor function. Besides brain health they have been found to help the vascular system as well by decreasing endothelial dysfunction due to inflammation, and also to increase fat oxidation. Increasing fat oxidation means that walnuts help you lose weight.

Walnuts contain the most omega-3 compared to other nuts. They also contain an amazing about of protein as well.

I use walnuts as part of a veggie shake (and raw cacao) and they add an amazing flavour component. If you haven’t tried walnuts as part of a shake I suggest you give it a try.

Chia
This seed has become a staple in the non-grain cereal business (I have been using it for almost 10 years now). It has a neutral taste and adds not only omega-3 to your meal, but also a boatload of protein. It is one of the most potent seeds you can eat and it actually made an empire of people possible.

The chia seed became a cornerstone nutrition staple for the vast Aztec empire. It was used by the Aztecs to sustain them on long and arduous hunting and trading expeditions and in battle. Runners would relay messages throughout their immense kingdom relying only on chia for nourishment.

If you remember those commercial on TV for the Chia Pet then you have heard of chia before. Only this time you aren’t growing a plant you are nourishing yourself. Eating chia will provide you with an amazing amount of nutrients – actually it is so high in nutrients that it is worth a try. Also remember that Chia has the most fibre of any food including wheat bran. Frankly it has amazing bang for your buck.

Purslane
It is not growing in your lawn now, but it will be this summer.

Purslane is a green mucilaginous plant that goes wild here in Ontario and is the forgotten omega-3 salad green. In North America most people consider purslane a weed. However, in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Mexico this plant powerhouse is considered a valuable food and is used extensively. The stem, leaves and flower buds are all edible. Due to its mucilaginous nature purslane can be eaten raw, sautéed, and is also suitable for soups and stews.

You won’t find purslane at many grocers. You will have to grown some yourself. In fact, you might have some growing in your house right now and not even know it. I was lucky enough to have a very good friend of mine from Stratford, named Grace, help me to start my very own purslane garden this past summer. I can’t wait for a crop this summer!

Purslane contains more omega-3 than any other leafy green vegetable at about 300-400mg per 100 grams. Some of the omega-3 found in purslane is of the EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) variety. Actually, purslane has an extraordinary amount of EPA which is usually only found in fish oil.

It is a must for all vegetarians.

Flax
This amazing little seed has been used as a food source in the Middle East for thousands of years. You can purchase it in almost any grocery and health food store. It has a very pleasant nutty flavour and can be added to almost all breakfast cereals and plain yogurt.

The key to getting the most out of your flax is to make sure you grind/mill it. A coffee grinder works best. Using the ground flax as soon as possible is best as this limits oxidation.

Flax is loaded in the omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and has been shown to help with anxiety, stress and cortisol levels in human studies. Flax also comes loaded with protein, fibre, and lignans. It also contains some amazing natural phenolic glucosides, which have been shown to combat arteriosclerosis and diabetes.

A lot of people choose vegetarianism for health reasons. If you are one of those folks I implore you to do it right and get your omega-3s everyday!

As always – Eat healthy. Stay fit. And Smile.

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    • Dec
    • 28
    • 2012

Get The Ball Rolling

With New Year’s day just around the corner I thought it might be a good idea to get the ball rolling on the whole New Year’s resolution thing.

Resolutions come and go, but one thing remains the same – we continue to make them every year.

Thus, in the spirit of the almighty resolution I thought it might be a good idea to lay down a few principles of change and how we can all make them stick.

Yoga For Me
Most folks have a New Year’s goal of increase vitality and health. Ironically, my goal this year is also along those lines. As I get older, I find myself a little less flexible so I have decided to participate in Yoga twice a week this year (I will be going to Stepping Stone Studio).

Your journey and decisions will be different that mine, but always remember that you can do many things to help make yourself be, and feel, healthier. It is true that redesigning your lifestyle can be daunting, but it is also so rewarding.

Two Things Two things make a resolution work. The first one is making your resolution realistic. That means picking something that is actually doable and will set you up for success.

The second thing is called complacency resistance. That means being resistant to no doing the resolution suggested – or said another way – let nothing come between you and your resolution. Do not become complacent. In fact, sometimes when I do not feel like doing a particular task I often remind myself that I always engage in complacency resistance!

Getting Started There are a variety of healthy habits you could start with. For example, you may want to add exercise, take vitamins, try certain foods or adopt a positive way of thinking. Some things you may want to avoid include cigarettes, alcohol, drugs or junk foods. You may wanted to consider getting a consult with a professional if you need help implementing healthy changes.

The key to making this work is found in five steps. You must start small and get focused. Be resistant to quitting and give yourself a hug when you keep going! Here are the five steps:

Five Steps Step 1 – Make a list of healthy things that you want to add to your life. It could be physical, emotional, financial, or spiritual. Keep them simple.

Step 2 – Laser focus on a few things by narrowing down the list to two things that you think you could implement now. Although running 5 miles every day may be a good long-term goal, it may be unrealistic to start with that task.

Step 3 – Pick one of the two resolutions from the list and make it a priority. If it is a daily task, such as exercising, set an alarm on your phone or make a note on your calendar to remind you to complete it every day. What that means is that you must create the time to make it happen. When you don’t feel like doing it always remember why you wanted to do it in the first place. Remember – complacency resistance!

Step 4 – Take the plunge and spread the word. Tell your family and friends about the healthy change you want to make. Encourage your family and friends to hold you accountable if you start to slack off. If you do not feel comfortable sharing your plans with family, find a support group. You might be surprised how many people have the same goal as you.

Step 5 – Stick to one healthy addition at a time. When your new goal becomes a habit, you can start on the second one of the list.

Props Give yourself the proper respect when you have resisted complacency and completed what you set out to do. Reward yourself for sticking to your goals and making healthy changes. If you started to go to religious services weekly or exercise every weekday for a month, allow yourself a special treat. Rewards can help you continue to work toward your end goal.

Remember to focus on why you are doing it and how you can become the most resistant to complacency.

If Yoga is one of your goals I just might see you around.

Remember – Eat Healthy. Exercise Well. And Smile.

[as seen in the Oxford Review December 27th 2012]

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    • Dec
    • 20
    • 2012

Fight The Flu With Kung Food

Kung Fu Panda

Food has some pretty strong Kung Fu when it comes to fighting the flu. It is my first line defense before, during and after flu season. Basically I eat nutrient rich, illness-fighting foods all year round to protect myself and as a result I rarely ever even catch a cold.

I do have a confession to make at this point: I don’t get the flu shot.

Not before you think I am taking sides regarding vaccinations – I’m not. It is what my personal choice is and therefore is not meant to be a broad statement of policy regarding vaccinations. There are times and populations for whom vaccinations are certainly indicated. Okay, now that that is out of the way, let’s get into the good stuff shall we?

There is a lot you can do in your own kitchens to help fight off disease and build a strong immune system. I am living proof of that. When I was younger I was often sick and was hospitalized on more that one occasion with an upper respiratory tract infection that just wouldn’t quit. As I moved into adulthood and started to give my body the nutrition and raw materials it needed to build me a robust immune system my bouts with illness steadily declined. I am now at a point where, if I do catch something, my turn-around time is measured in hours not days (currently 24 hours or less).

pumpkin-seeds-lg

The scientific field of nutritional immunology is growing by leaps and bounds and scientists in that field are unveiling new evidence of the complex role that nutrition plays in fighting off infectious diseases like influenza. For example, a diet rich in nutrients such as vitamin A, found in colorful fruits and vegetables, and zinc, found in seafood, nuts and pumpkin seeds, can provide the critical ingredients the body needs to fight off disease, heal injuries, and survive illness when it does strike.

The immune system is a very complex dynamic interdependent and intradependent system. Scientists continue to study the interrelationships of those systems and the nutrients that interact with it work together. Frankly, there is still much that we don’t know, but scientists do know that certain vitamins and minerals can improve the body’s ability to fight off infection.

The benefits of good nutrition may have been recognized first by Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician who declared “let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” That is the way I live my own life and I think if you were to adopt any New Year’s resolution that would probably be a good one!

Supplement Savvy
I have always held that you must first get your nutrition from real whole foods. Work diligently to eat a wide variety of vegetables first, then fruit (keeps the insulin load in check) nuts and seeds. However, there are times when life gets in the way and that just isn’t feasible. That is when it is time for an insurance policy.

I, for example, do take some additional zinc, magnesium and B-vitamins. I have suffered from migraines in the past and the magnesium seems to stop them dead in their tracks. Additionally, research has shown that zinc is probably the most valuable additional nutrient you can take and a recent study showed that taking zinc (60mg per day) right at the onset of flu and cold symptoms significantly decreased the time spent under-the-weather.

New-Roots-Magnesium-Bisglycinate

My favorite whole food sources of zinc are pumpkin seeds and my favorite source of magnesium is anything alive and green – like a nice spring salad mix. When I need a little boost I take the supplements to make sure I am getting all I need (if you want to take a magnesium supplement I would recommend magnesium bisglycinate as it is very absorbable by the body).

Antioxidants
Scientists have long known that some vitamins, minerals and other nutrients can play a key role in the immune system by acting as antioxidants. These protect and repair cells from oxidative stress, the damage caused by molecules known as free radicals.

But nutrients work in ways beyond acting as antioxidants. Take for example vitamin A (the precursor, provitamin-A, is found in orange things like sweet potato) can enhance the immune system by stimulating specific proteins necessary for immune function by activating specific genes. It is easy to see that if you have a deficiency in eating orange and red foods you may not be getting enough immune support from vitamin A.

An additional study shows that a deficiency of vitamin B-6, which helps maintain the health of organs that make white blood cells (think immune system cells), can decrease antibody production and suppress the immune response. Some of the highest sources of vitamin B-6 are sunflower seeds and spinach.

All nutritional experts generally agree that the best way to get the right balance of nutrients is a balanced diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Boosting-Immunity

In order to maximally boost your immune system I think it is best to avoid processed foods, to eliminate trans fats and to get whole real food in your diet each and every meal. And remember that during this hectic and fun time of year, if you need a little insurance policy to keep your immune system at its best you can take some supplements, like zinc, for a boost!

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    • Dec
    • 18
    • 2012

Short On Veggies?? Try Juicing!

Juicing is one of the keys to giving you a radiant, energetic life and truly optimal health.

The very first Vitality Plus podcast done with Travis Blum (my wingman) is now live. The subject of our first podcast is the health benefits of juicing fruits and veggies.

Listen to it here:

There are valuable and sensitive micronutrients that are damaged when you heat some vegetable foods.

Cooking and processing veggies can destroy some these micronutrients by altering their shape and chemical composition. Juicing allows you to eat the veggies raw without actually eating them. Not all cooking is bad – but getting raw veggies is of critical import these days!

There are three main reasons why you will want to consider incorporating vegetable juicing into your health program:

Intestinal Health

Most of us have compromised intestines as a result of less than optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body’s ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to “pre-digest” them for you so you will receive most of the nutrition rather than having it go down the toilet.

Not Eating Enough

Most folks just are not eating enough veggies. It is a common problem and I even fall prey to it from time to time. Vegetable juicing allows you to accomplish this, as you can eat more vegetables than you would normally. By incorporating the juice into your eating plan you will easily be able to reach this goal.

Bunch-Of-Veggies

More Than Salad

If you eat the vegetables like a salad then you will be having far too many salads. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food.

Hardware

If you are new to juicing, it’s best to start out with an inexpensive juicer. The benefit to this is that if you decide you do not want to continue you will not be out a large amount of money. There are some things to watch for, however. Inexpensive centrifugal juicers produce low quality juice and are very loud, which may contribute to hearing loss. They are probably fine for short-term use. I have a twin-gear juicer that is brilliant.

Some Tips

Many of my clients felt they would have a problem with juicing, but they found that it was much better than they thought it would be. This is partly related to the fact that you should only start by juicing vegetables that you enjoy eating non-juiced. The juice should taste pleasant and not make you nauseous. (A key point a good friend learned from juicing too many leeks!)
It is very important to listen to your body when juicing. Your stomach should be very happy all morning long. If it is churning or growling or generally making its presence known, you probably juiced something you should not be eating at this time. Personally, I’ve noticed that I can’t juice large amounts of ginger, but if I spread it out, I do fine.

Breakfast Drink

Vegetable juice is a great breakfast food, However, please remember that vegetable juice and fruit juices are two completely different substances in terms of nutrition. I am confident that large amounts of fruit juices, for the most part, should be avoided. Although vegetable juice is processed, it doesn’t raise insulin levels like fruit juice might.

Eat The Pulp

When you juice, you will produce pulp. What should you do with it? It’s best to mix it in with the juice and consume it. In my experience with clients when they first start juicing, they would juice every day, and their stools would at times become loose. Once they started adding the pulp fiber back into their juice, this problem went away. There is a benefit to eating the fiber, as it serves as fertilizer for the good bacteria in the colon. I cannot stress enough that the pulp is one of the things that feed the good bacteria in your gut.

Eating the pulp increases the time it takes to consume the juice, but it is healthier. One can gradually add the pulp back in over time to get used to it. If you add the entire pulp back in, the mixture becomes almost like a green vegetable porridge that can be eaten with a spoon.

The method I currently use is to drink about 75 percent of the juice and then pour the other 25 percent of the juice back into the pulp. I add some ground seeds like chia or flax into the mixture, stir it up and eat it like porridge.

Try it both ways.

As Always – Eat Healthy. Train Hard. And Juice!

[this article appeared in the weekend edition of the Oxford Review on November 16, 2012]

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