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Beauchamp Chiropractic: A Creating Wellness Centre Orleans, Chiropractor, Ottawa, www.beauchampchiropractic.com
2010 August
Beauchamp Chiropractic: A Creating Wellness Centre Orleans
- August 18, 2010
- General Health
- 4 Comments
Fiber – Are You Better Off Eating a Cardboard Box?
- August 17, 2010
- General Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition
- No Comments
Not all fiber is created equally; however, many people are unaware of this fact. By eating whole wheat toast or a bowl of cereal in the morning, many of my patients believe that they are getting the right kind of fiber for their diet. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. 
There are different types of fiber—some natural to your diet, and some unnatural. Surprisingly, the fiber one gets from consuming grain products is unnatural to your diet. In fact, research has indicated that the fiber from grains found in many breakfast cereals could be increasing your risk of getting diabetes. The following information will provide you with the insight needed to maintain a healthy diet, rich with natural sources of fiber…
Types of Fiber
All fibers can be grouped into two different categories: “soluble” and “insoluble.” Soluble fiber binds with fatty acids in your body. Because of this it stays in your stomach for a longer period of time, allowing sugar to be relased and absorbed more slowly. Moreover, soluble fiber helps lower total cholestoral and LDL cholesterol, reducing your risk of heart disease. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, helps move bulk through your intestines. In doing so, insoluble fiber helps you stay “regular” and helps prevent constipation. Furthermore, it helps to move toxins through your colon more quickly.
Natural Fibers
According to Dr. Al Sears MD, “the quality of fiber started going down around the time our native ancestors began harvesting cereal grains.” Grain products have only been around for a few thousand years, and are not our original source of fiber. The mainstream medical approach is laregely misguided- instead of eating a lot of cereal or taking grain-based laxative products we should be consuming fruits, nuts, vegetbles, and legumes. Sears states, “Nature has given us all of the natural fiber we’ll ever need.” Instead of reaching for that box of cereal opt for one of the following:
Vegetables: Vegetables should be our number one source of fiber. To ensure that this is the case, be sure to eat vegetable skins and edible seeds. Vegetables with the most sources of fiber include broccoli, spinach, squash, cabbage, asparagus, and Brussel sprouts. Be sure to eat them along with high-quality protein at every meal!
Nuts: Eating just a handful of nuts a day, will provide you with loads of fiber! Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, and Brazil nuts all contain high amounts of fiber.
Fruit: When eating fruit, leave skin on if you can. Like vegetable skin, fruit skin is very high in fiber. Berries, pears, apples, mangos, and oranges are all high-fiber foods. Yum!
Legumes: Green beans are one of the best sources of fiber. Eat them raw, or cooked for a snack packed with fiber!
Remember, it’s important to drink plenty of water if you want to get the most benefit from your dietary fiber. Also, try to eat fiber-rich foods periodically throughout the day—eating it all at once may lower it’s benefits.
Vitamin Water – For Health or For Money?
- August 2, 2010
- General Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition
- No Comments
Vitamin Water
Is Vitamin Water worth your money? Glaceau Vitaminwater with added vitamins and electrolytes has become one of the most popular water beverages on the market. Oh, and its hip-packaging and quirky product names don’t seem to hurt sales either. But is paying the extra two or three bucks for this flavored water actually worth it? Probably not, according to the Washington Post:
“… only people ‘dedicated’ to exercising need to replenish [electrolytes] … and then it’s necessary only if they work out vigorously for more than an hour. ; Tap water has the added benefits of being all but free, and free of calories.
Critics have bashed Vitaminwater for being a calorie trap … a bottle contains 2.5 servings, so you could easily drink 125 calories — just 15 ounces shy of the calories in a can of Coca-Cola — at once.”
And as for the vitamins? Vitaminwater focuses on B vitamins and Vitamin C, which are water-soluble and not stored in your body. Hmmm… 
The Truth About Vitaminwater
Litigation director Steve Gardner, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, defines Vitaminwater as “Coke’s attempt to dress up soda in a physician’s white coat. Underneath, it’s still sugar water, albeit sugar water that costs about ten bucks a gallon.” And sugar water is right! Each bottle contains over 26 grams of sugar, which is the same amount of sugar that is in a Snickers bar. Studies have proven that refined man-made fructose (which is found in Vitaminwater) significantly raises triglycerides, putting consumers at an increased risk of heart disease. Moreover, individuals who consume fructose on a regular basis are subject to increased belly fat, insulin resistance and metabolic syndromes. We don’t need more sugar in our diets!
And that’s not all. Vitaminwater contains Erythritol, a sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohol is a type of sweetener that provides fewer calories than sugar itself. Why? Because sugar alcohol is never completely absorbed by your body. As exciting as this may sound, using sugar alcohol as an alternative to sugar does have its drawbacks. Studies suggest that the use of Erythritol may actually offer an explanation to the many reports of ill after-effects from drinking Vitaminwater, such as:
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Stomachache
Getting the Vitamins You Need, Safely!
Society is gradually becoming more and more health conscious, and major corporations realize this. Last year the Coca-Cola company was sued in a class-action lawsuit that contended the Vitaminwater line was being illegally promoted as a healthy product. Millions of consumers bought Vitaminwater thinking that it would benefit their body, because that is what they were led to believe. Obviously, this article proves otherwise.
I cannot stress enough the importance of reading labels and remaining aware on topics related to health-especially those related to nutrition. The food we eat and the beverages we drink fuel our body, giving us the energy we need. If we do not provide our body with the proper fuel, our health will suffer.
For those of you who consumed Vitaminwater for its supposed health benefits, there are far better and healthier alternatives:
• Try to eat unprocessed, organic, and locally grown foods as often as possible. These foods are high and nutrients. Whole food is best!
• Take a multivitamin but stay away from synthetic forms of vitamins, such as the ones found in Vitaminwater.
• If you wish to increase your nutrient intake, fast, invest in a high quality juicer- and start juicing your own veggies
• Try greens drink and berry drinks from made from whole foods.
Remember, your health is in your hands. It is up to you to monitor what you eat and drink and make decisions that will help nourish your body not harm it.
Source: www.mercola.com and Washington Post
Wellness in the Home – Dr. Beauchamp on Rogers Daytime Ottawa – Part 1 of 2
- August 1, 2010
- General Health, Video
- No Comments
Video:
Dr. Nathalie Beauchamp discusses the various elements around the housee which may be inhibiting your well being, and techniques on how to bring wellness to your home.
