Healthiest YOU Series – Part 1: Inflammatory Foods
Welcome to the Healthiest YOU, a 10 Part Series to EMPOWER YOU to create HEALTHY HABITS and eliminate ones that compromise your health and well-being. PART 1 - Inflammatory Foods to Eliminate from your diet Inflammatory foods can be confusing because they're not a one size fits all. What’s…
Supplements That Boost Your Brain Function – Part 3
B VITAMINS B Vitamins have been known to maintain brain function by way of supporting healthy moods, stress management and energy production. Deficiencies in B Vitamins include symptoms that are observed in psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis. B Vitamins are vital…
Supplements That Boost Your Brain Function – Part 2
Curcumin Curcumin is one of the most anit-inflammatory phytonutrients that is liked to improved brain function and a lower risk of potential brain diseases. Curcumin's superpower lies in its ability to increase brain levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which is a type of growth…
3 Supplements That Boost Your Brain Function – Part 1
Omega 3 Fats Did you know that the brain if the fattest organ in your body, consisting of at least 60% fat? This is why you may have heard that eating fish, particularly fatty fish is good for your brain. This is also because seafood in general is a great source of EPA and DHA - long chain…
What You Need To Know About Intermittent Fasting
What is it? Intermittent fasting is tool, a pattern of eating and not eating. One of the most important tools to trigger 2 important hormones when it come to weight loss - growth hormone (anti-aging and fat-burning hormone) and insulin (fat-storing hormone - in its presence you cannot lose…
THE MANY USES COCONUT OIL
There are a few things I cannot live without, those being yoga, quiet time in nature, and coconut oil. Allow me to share my many uses of this amazing superfood. Try them, share them and fall in love with them. Body lotion. I always have a container of cold pressed coconut oil in my bathroom, my…
Are you eating ENOUGH FIBER?
Let's talk FIBER. Why you need it in your daily diet, how much fiber you need daily and best sources of the two types of fiber. A high-fiber diet is linked to lower risk of developing some cancers, especially colon and breast cancer. In addition, it helps lower the "bad type" of LDL cholesterol and…
THE HEALING BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS
The practice of mindfulness has many healing benefits for your body, mind and soul. Just being mindful for 5 minutes a day can change your health. Don’t believe it? Here is proof: A study by Dr. Richard Davidson (Director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin)…
FERMENTED FOODS AND YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Fermented foods have been at the forefront lately but they have been around for centuries, so why this renewed interest in them now? Research exploring these live products and their effect on gut, brain, and body health has revitalized public interest. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium are but a few…
WHY YOU NEED SALT!
For ages Doctors have been telling us to reduce salt intake for a healthy heart and to help reduce blood pressure. Research now shows that salt has little do with heart disease and reducing high blood pressure. In fact some studies indicate salt restriction does more harm than good. What we…
Top 10 Ways to Curb Overeating
The key to successful weight control is learning to listen to your body’s cues. You want to eat when you feel hungry, but not famished. Feeling overly hungry can trigger overeating. The following tips can help you get in touch with the signs of hunger and satiety to prevent overeating: Stick to a…
Arthritis? Joint Problems? You may benefit from avoiding these foods
There is strong a correlation between arthritis and diet. Certain foods have a tendency to cause inflammation or an immune response in some people. This is a big contributor to joint pain or worsening pain and suffering associated with arthritis. Avoiding the most common offending foods can really…
The Quintessential Guide to Keeping your Bowels Healthy (Regular)
Yes, I'm talking about your bowels. Are you regular or do you experience constipation? Maintaining a healthy digestive system includes keeping your bowels healthy. The combined result will keep you healthy and help you achieve optimal weight loss. The following are some simple tips to keep your…
THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP
Sleep is essential to health and well-being, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Despite that, millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep or lack of quality sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Sleep…
8 Reasons to Drink a Detox Tonic Every Morning
Hydrates your body Staying well hydrated is key to vitality and health as the body consists of more than 70% water. Starting each morning with a detox tonic containing lemon, raw apple cider vinegar, turmeric and Ceylon cinnamon rehydrates the body after a night of sleeping and not hydrating.…
Why you don’t need to fear CHOLESTEROL
Most people fear cholesterol. They don't want to consume it and don't want to hear from the physician that their cholesterol is high. Let's step back for a moment and ask this - what does it mean to have high cholesterol? What is cholesterol? Do you know? What are its functions? Where does it…
KETOGENIC DIET AT A GLANCE
A ketogenic diet is a way of eating that allows your body to get into ketosis and start burning fat for fuel or energy (instead of carbohydrates or glucose). This increases your metabolism and decreases carbohydrate and sugar cravings. It involves eating a high healthy fats, low carbohydrate and…
REACTIONS TO OUR 3 DAY WARM DETOX
Here at Healthy Habits we've been busy with our latest 3 day warm and gentle detox. We've had an overwhelming response and participants couldn't believe the wonderful changes that took place in just 3 days! First, let me start by saying that our detox is composed of real, whole foods. No…
FASCIAL POSTURE TRAINING SYSTEM (FPTS) WORKSHOP
The next FASCIAL POSTURE TRAINING SYSTEM (FPTS) will be held on SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017 from 10:00am to 6:00pm at Healthy Habits. Click here for more information and to sign up. Spaces are limited so sign up now! Don't miss your chance to learn how to add fascial training to your repertoire and…
Powerlifting, Tennis, Running, How to do ANY sport Better!
Fascia remember is the number one innervated tissue in the entire body. Since so much of the nervous system is embedded in the fascia it must have a great impact on all movement and coordination, both of which are nervous-system tasks. It is only when an individual moves with ultimate EFFICIENCY…
Paradoxical Breath
What exactly IS paradoxical breathing? The way we should be breathing is feeling the diaphragm dip down toward the pelvis on an inhale, and to come up into the rib cage during an exhale. You might be surprised to know that quite a few people do not breathe this way. The norm…
5 Daily Detox Rituals
5 WAYS TO DETOXIFY & CLEANSE DAILY We're all exposed to toxins on a daily basis. From water, food, environment, beauty and personal products to stress and negative thinking, toxins accumulate in our body. The good news is that our body innately detoxifies these…
The Psoas is Major
The Psoas Major is much simplified in our quick-fix remedies for fitness pain and improvement. Much has been written and there is still much to say. For those who are not yet familiar with the function of the psoas, lets begin by acknowledging some of the basics. Summarized, it is common knowledge…
The Most Important and Most Overlooked System In Your Body
Do you know what fascia is? If you work out, care about your health and want to optimize your physical ability for a lifetime, it’s time to learn more about the most important system of your body. Fascia - What it is and why it matters Fascia is the elastic-like system of compression and…
Practicing Healthy Habits During the Holidays
Love the parties, love the treats and of course love the presents! But how do we manage the social mayhem of Christmas and not gain weight or spark up inflammatory reactions from festive foods that make us feel stiff and rickety? Here are a few of our favorite strategies to help you cope: 1) BROTH…
The Great Canadian Breakfast
The definition of an ideal breakfast has had a pendulum swing in recent years. No longer do boxed cereals topped with fresh fruit get a rave review. There is now somewhat of a consensus that a breakfast laden in carbohydrates of any kind, whole grain, organic, or gluten-free will lead to a nose…
Stop Carbo -Loading Before Endurance Events
Carbohydrate loading is a concept of eating excess carbohydrates to fuel endurance activity. It has long been promoted as essential to ward off fatigue and ‘bonking,” a sports term to mean depleting ones fuel sources and flooding with lactic acid. In my day in nutritional sciences, one would get a…
Daily Detox: Part Three – Detoxing the Yard
Not only are cell membranes and the internal cellular system important to detox but the cell matrix, the yard that surrounds the cells is vital to keep clean as well. The extra cellular matrix is prone to damage from both toxins and disease. The cell matrix thickens and loses fluidity which slows…
Rethinking Your Medical Check-Up Results
Annual doctor visits routinely test your blood for biomarkers of cholesterol levels, liver enzymes, hormones, and blood pressure. Over the years these were gradually added to the arsenal of preventative disease test kit. Doctors are trained now to read blood profiles to look for disease ‘risk’.…
Daily Detox: Part Two – Cell Membrane Cleanse
By incorporating daily habits that allow for cellular function to upregulate improving your metabolism and elimination of toxic by-products we can all strive to improve our mind and body. This 3 part series is an in-depth collection discussing what foods detoxify your body and their beneficial…
The Intelligent Stretch That Keeps The Runner, Running
Running is a tremendous form of cardiovascular fitness. If programs are managed properly running can be a source of recreation and lifelong enjoyment. In fact most runners only ever stop running because of injury. Faulty posture and uneven loading of joints while running is what will inevitably…
Daily Detox to To Optimize Focus and Fitness
By incorporating daily habits that allow for cellular function to upregulate improving your metabolism and elimination of toxic by-products we can all strive to improve our mind and body. This 3 part series is an in-depth collection discussing what foods detoxify your body and their beneficial…
10 Reasons Why We Need to Eat Saturated Fats
The lipid hypothesis is a theory that directly relates saturated dietary fat with heart disease mortality. Saturated fats are coconut, butter, lard, tallow and palm oil. Nature’s nutrients lampooned as the culprit of modern day illness. The idea was that of Ancel Keys, a brilliant student of fish…
Frequent Eaters Beware
4-6 Meals per Day: There is a much publicized idea regarding frequent eating plans. Meals scheduled every three to four hours are meant to help maintain body weight, keep hunger at bay, and balance blood sugar levels which affect hormones, such as insulin. Success for the frequent feeder is less…
What does fascia look like?
I keep posting on fascia and perhaps continue to assume that everyone is understanding the nuance of the bodily tissue I am speaking about. Here are some dissection pictures from our Fascial Posture Training Course. The participants dissected many layers of fascia from turkey breasts with skin…
Fascial Posture Training In Action
This is a picture taken during our Fascial Posture Training Systems course last summer. Alex is from 3- Monkeys Fitness in Toronto, and he worked with Blaise from Blaise-in-Fitness based in Tabago. Alex has released the fascial tension in Blaise's right shoulder. Note how her shoulder is longer…
Directional Fascial Stretching For Joint Preservation
Stretching fascia and not just muscle fibers requires different techniques. Fascial Stretch Techniques: 1) Add Resistance to all poses ie: In the photo Jess is spotting Lucy in a lunge position for quadriceps, hip capsule, and lumbar stretching. The green line shows Lucy reaching up with tension…