Whole food diet update

Well, it's not been a good whole food week. Three breaks in it! Argh!!

The first was breakfast a couple of days ago. I ran out of granola so I had peanut butter on toast. I really could have decided to have oatmeal but with it so hot out, that option did not appeal to me at all!

The second, was when I came home to my darling husband's cooking - fish and chips. At least they were done in the oven. I made myself a plate of veggies to go with it.

And last night, I stopped at Burger Pit on Hwy 11. They make fantastic burgers and their fries are fantastic!! We are headed away for the weekend and in the hustle and bustle of getting ready, I did not plan dinner.

So, what have I learned?

Again, I realize the power of planning. I cannot count on my husband to have prepared a healthy meal for me when I get home on Tuesday's and Thursday's at 8:00pm. So, I will need to have something in the fridge and ready to go. I will have to make those two meals on Sunday or Monday.

If I'm going to eat granola everyday, I should really make more before I run out! And, make a double batch so that I don't have to do it every two weeks. It only takes about a half hour to make, but in the summertime, a half hour is sometimes hard to find in a crunch!

That leads me to my next realization. No matter how much I think that summer is going to be relaxing and that I'll have all kinds of time...I don't! Summertime is really busy! We don't have a single free weekend until Labour day. Then, I start working Saturday's again. Summertime is also filled with spontaneity, that lacks a bit more the rest of the year. So, again, planning has to take centre stage if I want to successfully follow a whole food diet. And let's face it, I'm a small business owner and a Mom - my life will always be hectic, not just in the summertime.

We leave today for a weekend in Tobomory. I packed my granola in little baggies for each breakfast. I also made three salads and put them into large ziplocks (I will do this every week - the ziplocks don't take up much room in the fridge, and I can put a paper towel in the bag and squeeze out the air to maintain freshness). My snacks are packed (1/4 cup of nuts into snack baggies) too so all that I have to worry about is suppers. Supper is usually easier to make whole food choices with because any restaurant that doesn't have a drive through has some kind of meat, rice, and veggie option.

The one thing that I am so pleased about, is that despite the three slip ups, I have not jumped off my bandwagon! Each day, I try again to make it a whole food day. That speaks volumes to my attitude change. The old Kerri would have said "this is obviously too hard to do in the summer, I'll start again in September". Yhea me, pat on the back, and carry on.

Yours in health,
Kerri Fullerton ND

Lose weight this summer!

I am so pleased to announce that I will be running a 12 week weight loss program this summer.

"Learn to eat, not to diet" will commence on June 2nd, 2010 at 5:00pm. Each session will last for one hour.

Included in the registration fee of $300 is:
- blood work (at the start and end) for: cholesterol, sugar levels, inflammation
- personalized comments each week about your food journals
- blood pressure check at the beginning and end

This program is limited to eight participants to ensure personalized attention.

Register early so as not to miss out! Call 792-6717 to reserve your spot.

(Next start date will be September 8th 2010)

Yours in healthy weight loss,
Kerri Fullerton ND

Where do you keep your fish oil?

Did you know that your fish oils in capsule form should NOT be kept in the refrigerator? The cold will disrupt the gelatin in the capsule which will then allow the oils to oxidise and become rancid.
If your oil is in liquid form, it should be kept in the fridge, and used up quickly.

Yours in health,
Kerri Fullerton ND

PMS - are you still suffereing?

When I ask patients if they experience PMS, most of them reply 'Oh just the usual stuff, I manage'. When I probe a little deeper, many of them are needing to take a day off work, they say that they don't make decisions for a week every month, that there husbands just stay clear...you get the idea. When it interferes with your everyday life, it's a problem that needs to be addressed.

PMS may include many or just one of: breast tenderness, moodiness, change in libido, irritability, weepiness, bloating, swelling of hands and feet, fatigue, and brain fog.

The good news is that just because it's common to experience PMS, doesn't mean that it's normal and that you just have to 'deal with it'.

Naturopathic Medicine has a lot to offer including: balancing hormones, correcting vitamin deficiencies, and correcting gut issues.

If you've suffered enough, call and book an appointment.

Yours in health,
Kerri

Ashley's Angels

I had the pleasure of meeting Ashley and her mother over the weekend. What a story. Ashley, 3 years old, woke up one day, yellow. Within a few weeks, she was in surgery having a liver transplant. Perfectly healthy little girl before that day.

Sick Kids is an incredible hospital that saves so many lives everyday. I am especially touched by what they do because of my own son, nephews, and the many children I get to work with. I hope that I never have to take Patrick down there, but I am so grateful knowing that they are there.
To read more about Ashley's story and the foundation that has been set up to support Sick Kids, please follow the link. If you can, please help. you never know when you will be touched by such tragedy and miracle.

Yours in health,
Kerri

Physician Assistant's are coming to Ontario

I just read an interesting article. It outlines a new program being offered through McMaster University. A two year program for a Physician Assistant (PA's). They are meant to be the interface between doctor, patient, and nurse.

I have concerns. We as ND's are not supported by many MD's because of our (perceived) lack of training in diagnosis and clinical knowledge. However, these students, who only need two years of university education (that does not have to be in the sciences), are going to be responsible for taking histories, knowing what questions to ask, and what tests to order.

ND's are required to have a minimum of three years of university education, and that education must include the minimum science courses to have a base to learn medicine from. Then we go through a four-year full-time program, followed by rigorous examination process. we are a government regulated profession in Ontario which protects the public from harm (something that these PA's won't have).

So tell me, is hiring a bunch of unregulated PA's really the best way to bridge the gap? And aren't nurse practitioners already doing a pretty bang-up job already?

Yours in Health,
Kerri

Sodium - how much are you getting?

Most people know that they should be watching their intake of salt, but how many of them know what they should be watching for?
Ideally we should be keeping our intake of sodium to less than 2300 mg per day, less than 1500 mg if you have high blood pressure or have a family history of it. Do you know what that looks like? One teaspoon, 15 ml, per day - that's it.
Now, one teaspoon is actually quite a bit of salt. Very few people would add that much from the shaker to their food. The major culprits are processed foods and fast foods. Enter label reading.
To keep your levels down, try to keep main meals at less than 500mg and your snacks at less than 200 mg. Manageable with packaged foods, but very hard with fast foods.
A Wheat Carrot muffin from Tim's has 660 mg of sodium. A Mandarin Chicken Salad from Wendy's has just over 1200 mg.
Do yourself a big favour - pack your lunch. If you can't, at least check out the nutritional guides on-line so that you don't eat what you think is a healthy option only to find out later that it wasn't.

Yours in Health,
Kerri Fullerton ND