Nutrition and Supplements

Diets and eating patterns are not one-size-fits-all. Everyone is different and you have to find what works best for your body. For some, eating six small meals a day may work great. For others, eating a few larger meals, practicing fasting a few times per week or even having a cheat meal might be a better option. A healthy eating pattern is also important. Good nutrition can also boost your mental abilities and performance. The foods to eat and avoid for optimum functioning may surprise you. Everyone says a balanced diet is best, but what exactly does that mean?

Balanced diet:

· Proteins – meats, legumes, dairy – needed for the production of many enzymes and proteins that regulate processes and systems in our bodies.

· Carbohydrates – whole grains, vegetables, fruits and veggies - loaded with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, all of which play an integral role in overall health. Nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains also contain carbs, but also pack a wealth of other micronutrients into each serving as well. 

· Fats - healthy fats fit into a well-balanced diet, but they’re also linked to a long list of health benefits, including improved heart health, increased insulin sensitivity, and decreased weight gain. A diet lacking in these essential fatty acids can pose detrimental health effects, causing symptoms like dry skin, increased hunger, low energy levels, and brain fog. Be sure to include in your diet a variety of heart-healthy fats, such as extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, and dark chocolate.

· Salt - Sodium is necessary for maintaining electrolyte levels, regulating nerve function and ensuring that your muscles can work efficiently. Low levels of sodium can cause serious side effects, including fatigue, nausea, headaches, and irritability. While this doesn’t mean that you should start loading up on the salt, it may not be necessary to cut it out of your diet completely, especially if you have normal blood pressure. The type of salt is an important part of the health equation. Most commercial salt is processed so that the nutrients are removed, which contributes to the negative effects. Using sea salt, or large chunk Himalayan salt that you grind yourself is filled with iodine and nutrients that make it an option that is used by your body in the way it was intended.

· Probiotics - fermented foods like sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, natto, and yoghurt that add to the health of your gut biome.

· Prebiotics - prebiotic foods can increase numerous probiotic microorganisms - foods high in prebiotics include chicory root, dandelion greens, leeks, garlic, raw or cooked onions, raw jicama, raw asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, dandelion greens, under-ripe bananas, and acacia gum (or gum Arabic).

Stevia has many beneficial effects for health, while giving the sweetness many people desire without the calories. For those with high blood pressure, stevia is beneficial for lowering blood pressure, and can be added to herbal tea or lemonade for a healthy drink.  It is about 150 to 200 times as sweet as sugar, so a very tiny amount is needed to achieve a sweet taste.

Where the confusion comes in, is because many of the stevia products found in grocery stores also have artificial sugars that are the main portion of the ingredients. It is because of the added artificial sugars that these stevia products may have negative side effects. Here are some of them to check for on the stevia product label:

Erythritol - One of the most common, which is a sugar alcohol made from corn. This has side effects of blood clots contributing to the chance for heart attacks and stroke.

Dextrose – a simple sugar, usually derived from corn. It is found in corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup. Even though it is the type of sugar found in our blood, the side effects of too much of this simple sugar can be increased urination, leading to dehydration and increased thirst, and can also cause edema, a build up of fluid in the extremities.

Thankfully, some companies produce pure stevia powder. These are usually found with supplements rather than alongside the sugars and sweeteners in the grocery aisle. Check the back label of the product before purchasing one to make sure it is only pure stevia. 

Stevia has been known to be used by many other cultures for over 1500 years. Pure stevia is one of my recommendations for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, and for those wanting to lose weight.