Karina Inkster

How Do Detox Diets Work?

They don’t! Whoops, I just gave away the main point from today’s guest blogger – Melanie Hackett. Melanie, who has a B.Sc. in Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology (and a whole host of other health-related certifications, and also happens to be my awesome sister) is here to share her expertise and to set the record straight on so-called “cleanses” or “detox diets”.

Remember, one of the easiest ways to detect bullshit (especially in the health industry) is to look up peer-reviewed journal articles on the topic of your choice. Peer-review is a process whereby a panel of professionals evaluates research to ensure it was conducted well and is up to professional standards. Professional journals are specialized publications in which professionals publish scientific findings from their studies. So, we’re not talking about websites written by hobbyists, or even books written by PhD’s. If there is no good quality published research from clinical studies to support a certain claim, you can be pretty damn sure it’s bullshit (or you’re ahead of the game and your topic hasn’t been researched yet). Google Scholar is a great resource for finding peer-reviewed journal articles.

In the case of dietary cleanses, which have been around for a long time, research has been conducted, and guess what? Not only is there no evidence that detox diets actually do anything beneficial, but there’s also no evidence to support the very basis of detoxing. Detoxing is based on a misunderstanding of how our bodies work! And, hilariously enough, going on a detox diet actually increases toxins in our bodies. (Of course, nobody actually ever defines what a “toxin” is. My Mister, quite rightly, says, “Absolutely anything could be considered a toxin in high doses”.) Melanie, though, has a specific definition of a toxic effect in the body caused by detox cleanses. Time to turn things over to her!

—————

Want to cleanse your body? Get rid of the build up of toxins? Want to have more energy and feel younger? Ever thought of doing a detox diet?

If you are interested in health you have probably heard of “cleansing” diets aimed at ridding your body of toxins by reducing what you consume to a very limited selection of healthy products for two or three weeks. Unfortunately, our physiology is not nearly that straightforward, and these diets simply don’t do what they are intended for. In fact, more toxins are created during these diets! Of course, there are many different types of detox diets. Like all fad diets, most of these are merely a tool for companies to earn money off unwary consumers and aren’t based on science at all. Even my mother, a very health-conscious and active 60-year-old who generally looks for the science, used to do annual “cleansing” diets consuming nothing but elderberry juice for several weeks in an attempt to “flush away” toxins. I will focus on these types of “cleanses”. Read more

E-Book: “How To Give a Sh*t About Your Health”

May 12, 2012 Daily Livin', Health & FItness, Nutrition & Diet, Recipes, Workout Tips, Writing No comments

I’ve published my first e-book, hooray! Check it out.

“How to Give a Sh*t About Your Health: Straight-up advice for getting healthy, fit, and energized for life” is a no-nonsense, cut-the-crap guide for readers who want to get healthy but don’t know where to start.

We all know exercise and eating right are good for us, but many of us aren’t sure exactly why. Find out in Chapter 1.

You’ll learn how to prepare healthy meals at home and on the go, what clean-eating superheroes stock in their pantries, and how to make 15 top-secret mouthwatering recipes.

You’ll also learn the 4 principles to seeing results from exercise and how often you need to work out to see health benefits.

Once you’ve mastered eating right and working out, the final chapter cranks it up a notch and presents additional health habits you can add to your lifestyle to supercharge your health even further.

For only $4.99, get this comprehensive guide to eating right and working out so you can look and feel awesome!

5 Ways to Pick Healthier Foods

May 12, 2012 Nutrition & Diet One comment

The following post was provided by Guest Post U, which is a pretty cool concept. It’s the only post on this blog (so far) that covers some non-plant-based foods, so if you’re not vegan, you’re in luck!

5 Ways to Pick Healthier Foods

In any healthy diet, you should incorporate a variety of nutritious foods. However, this is a very broad sentiment. A healthy diet could include anything from breads to meat to pasta to fruit and vegetables. However, your plan should be specific. A recent report suggested that America’s obesity epidemic will take both systematic and dramatic measures to improve, and nothing broad will cut it. Here are some steps that can help you become a healthier shopper and eater, immediately!

1. Eat Whole Grains
Stick to foods like whole wheat rice, bread & pasta, plus oats, cornmeal, barley or cereal that’s explicitly high in fiber (like granola). There are two grain groups – Whole and Refined. Whole grains are good to have in any healthy diet as they tend to reduce the risk of getting chronic diseases, aid in digestion and stave off digestive conditions. In most cases, it is healthier to substitute whole grain products for refined grain products. Try your best to stick to 100% whole wheat or whole grain. Look for ingredients that list Whole Grain in big letters or indicate a high fiber content – and then compare to other products, to make sure they’re telling the truth.

2. Veggies
Steaming or microwaving vegetables adds a quick and easy dish to any meal. Colorful vegetables can also make any salad so much better, especially if you include shredded radishes, red cabbage, watercress and black beans. Avoid the frozen vegetables aisle at the grocery store if you can. If the veggies are frozen, they are just not as nutritious. Furthermore, you want to get excited about veggies, and frozen goods won’t do this for you. If you are dining out, order that extra side of vegetables or even salad, as opposed to a fried side dish.

3. Eat Fruits
Fruits provide nutrients that are vital for your health. With ingredients such as potassium, dietary fiber, Vitamin C and folic acid, you will also be avoiding fat, calories and sodium. Keeping a visible bowl of fruit on the table will help remind you to eat healthy, as you’re likely to be reminded how it will go bad if you don’t eat up!

4. More Calcium
Drink skim or low-fat milk. Remember to concentrate on boosting potassium and vitamin D, while cutting sodium. Use low-fat or fat free milk with your cereal and look for low fat or reduced fat cheese ALL of the time. Substitute plain yogurt for dips that call for sour cream. Choosing sweet dairy foods carefully will help you have a healthier diet. Also consider soy milk, coconut milk or almond milk. All are very tasty and sometimes much better for you. Always check the nutritional facts for info about sugar, preservatives and calories.

5. Keep Protein Lean
Try to eat protein from many different sources, not just meat (or one kind of meat). So, try to eat some animals (poultry, meats, seafood, eggs) and also plants (beans, peas, seeds, nuts and soy). 5 to 7 ounces of protein each day is recommended. When grocery shopping, choose lean or low-fat cuts of meat that are at least 90% lean. Eggs are great, but try to cut the yolk in half or in full, and eat mostly whites. Plant proteins are also recommended, including beans and peas (think hummus, chickpeas, split peas, white and black beans, pinto and kidney beans). But in any foods you eat, check the sodium. Many canned foods contain high amounts of salt, including both beans and meats. Know that there is an array of processed ham, sausage, hot dogs, chicken, turkey and pork that have been brined in a salt solution for tenderness and flavor. These are terrible for you, and the worst culprits are bologna, spam and hot dogs.

ALWAYS be sure and check your nutrition facts before you buy. Your body is a temple, eat as such!

Kyle Perry writes about saving money, nutrition and www.creditreport.org.

Q&A with VeganRunningMom Megan Storms

May 9, 2012 Health & FItness, Interview, Nutrition & Diet, Veganism No comments

Megan Storms, of VeganRunningMom, kindly took the time to give us some insight into her busy, active, awesomely healthy lifestyle. She’s qualified and completed the Boston Marathon (more than once!) and won first place in her age group in a 70.3 distance triathlon. Amazingly impressive. She also routinely places in her age group at 10K races, half marathons, and full marathons.

What are some ways in which your active, vegan lifestyle contributes to your quality of life? What does it do for you? How does it enhance your life?

Being a vegan helps me in so so many ways. I am happier, healthier and more ambitious than I ever was before becoming a vegan. I have boundless energy and require less down time than most people. I feel younger at 36 than I did at 21! I can run and play with my kids without losing my breath, I can actually keep up with them!
I recover faster with my clean diet. I can exercise more than my omnivorous counterparts as I rarely am sore or tired.

Do you have any nutrition tips and/or recipes to share with fellow active vegans?

Yes, I do! I love to share recipes and tips. I do so on my website www.veganrunningmom.com and I also have a part of my Tri Coach’s podcast, “Zen and the Art of Triathlon” in which I talk about plant based foods for the athlete.

As a vegan athlete, what sorts of foods do you prepare or pack when you travel?

I am a pro at packing salad. I take them with me most days and pack them for my husband. I also try to always carry some fruit, nuts and bars on me for quick snacks. When we travel I pack more of the same type of items but also bring along things like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cut up veggies, dry cereal and air popped popcorn for snacking.

How do you think your life would have been different, had you not decided to become vegan? Read more

Ginger, Peppermint, and Lime Tea

May 7, 2012 Food, Recipes No comments

This is one of those accidental recipes that started as an experiment and became an instant hit. I started making plain ginger tea, but had a few extra ingredients lying around that I thought would round it out. Each ingredient complements the others very nicely to create a delicious minty-spicy-tangy tea. Ginger and peppermint are some of the best natural digestive aids known to humankind, and this tea is just as delicious served hot as it is iced.

The Grub:
4 cups water
1.5” piece ginger, sliced thinly
1 cup fresh peppermint leaves
Juice of 1/4 lime

The How To:
Place all ingredients into medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to low boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain into mugs, and enjoy!

Adjustments: For spicier tea, simmer for 30 minutes. For tangier tea, add lime slice to water after squeezing out its juice. For extra mint factor, add 1 tsp loose leaf peppermint tea 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 2 – 3 servings.

May Fitness Goal

May 4, 2012 Health & FItness No comments

Lots of workouts last month!

As per April’s fitness goals, I managed a 2-minute plank. I also did shave off some time – about 30 seconds – for my 750m swimming time trial, but didn’t make it to a full minute. My only fitness goal for May is to beat last year’s North Shore Triathlon swim time! The relay race (where I’m swimming and friends are cycling and running) is on May 21st, so there ain’t much time left to train. Time to get serious!

Q & A with Vegan Runner Matthew Woodman

April 21, 2012 Health & FItness, Interview, Nutrition & Diet, Veganism, Workout Tips No comments

Matthew (Matt) Woodman is a vegan runner extraordinaire – one of the top vegan runners in the UK. If he’s not winning races, he’s placing in the top 10 or less. In addition to kicking some serious ass in races, Matt also hits the gym for weight training and bodybuilding, and he was invited to give a talk on vegan nutrition and exercise at the Paris World Vegan Day in 2011. His vegan diet gives him excellent quality of life – both physically and mentally. Being healthy and not having animal consumption on his conscience sure sound like great bonuses to me!

Here are the stats to prove Matt’s superhuman running powers.

- He won the Stebbing 10 mile race, Ricky Road Run, 9.3 miles and 5K on the Rides trail race – all in 2011.
- He’s ranked in the top 650 road runners in the UK (and there are many tens of thousands of ‘em!)
- 5 mile time: 27.10
- 10 mile time: 54.40
- Half-marathon: 1.15.22

Do you have any nutrition tips to share with fellow active vegans?

Don’t worry about protein, calcium or iron! You will obtain all these from a balanced vegan diet.

Have dried fruit, seeds, avocadoes etc. on hand to snack on.

Listen to your body – if you are hungry, then eat! Don’t count calories – people’s metabolism and activity levels vary.

Eat 5 or 6 meals a day rather than 3.

As a vegan athlete, what sorts of foods do you prepare or pack when you travel?

Flapjacks, apples, bananas, chocolate, dried fruit (prunes/dates/figs), crisps/chips.

How do you think your life would have been different, had you not decided to become vegan?

I do not think I would have been in such good health and I would have aged more.

What about vegans who are just beginning to exercise or those who want to be more active? Any active living tips you’d like to share?

Do something you enjoy rather than what everyone else does or what is flavour of the month.

Do activities that fit in with your lifestyle. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss training days. You won’t always be fit and strong during every exercise session. I believe that verying training sessions is very important as the body responds better and it keep things fresh.
Be realistic – if you haven’t trained for many years you’re not going to change that overnight. Focus on long term and sustainable goals.

Cross-train. I am a strong believer of the benefits of doing more than one form of exercise. I run, weight train and also regularly circuit train.

Many thanks to Matt for giving us a glimpse into his vegan athletic lifestyle. Rock on!

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Rocket Fuel (a.k.a. energy bites)

April 13, 2012 Food, Recipes No comments

My sister Melanie and her partner-in-adventure Taras invented this delicious and energizing treat, calling it “Moose Poo” (!). If you’re very active and need to think about taking in enough calories to power your workouts, this is the energy storehouse for you. Perfect as a pre-workout snack for endurance events or a directly post-workout recovery food after intense weight training, these bites should be eaten in moderation if your activity levels are low to moderate!

Melanie and Taras make large batches of this recipe and keep it on hand during their many wilderness and endurance adventures. They raced in the 2011 Grand Columbian Half Iron Aquabike event, completed a 3-month cycle tour of the Hawaiian Islands (including many multi-day hikes and gruelling bike treks), and enjoy countless wilderness trips between British Columbia and California.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rocket Fuel

The Grub:
1 cup (approx. 150 grams) dairy-free dark chocolate chips (or dark chocolate bar cut into small pieces)
1 cup natural peanut butter
3 tbsp liquid sweetener (e.g. agave nectar or maple syrup)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup raisins, cranberries, goji berries, or other dried fruit
1/4 cup nuts of your choice (e.g., cashews, almonds, hazelnuts)

The How To:
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Fill a large saucepan with a few inches of water and place on medium heat. Place chocolate and peanut butter into slightly smaller saucepan (or use a double boiler) and melt over the steam, stirring regularly. Be sure not to let any water splash into the chocolate mixture – this will cause it to seize up and become impossible to work with.

Once chocolate and peanut butter have melted, add sweetener, coconut, dried fruit, and nuts. Mix well.

Let cool 10 minutes, then roll tablespoonfuls into balls and place on cookie sheet. Let stand for 1 – 2 hours. Place in fridge for 30 minutes if you’d like to hasten the hardening process.

Store in single layers separated by parchment paper in a dry, cool place.

Winning Against Allergies (and Myself)

April 2, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

Lately, mornings have been incredibly uncomfortable, challenging, and disappointing. I’m a morning person, and there’s nothing I love more than getting up at 5am to start a productive day. Serious seasonal allergies, though, change all that.

Even with meds (and I try not to take those too often), I wake up feeling as though there’s a 20-storey apartment building crushing my chest, I sneeze approximately 3,785,761,840,167,803,714 times, my head throbs, and everything – and I mean everything - is itching.

Working out (whether it’s cardio kickboxing at home, swim training, or plyometrics and lifting weights at the gym) makes these horrendous symptoms so much better that I barely notice them after a good workout. Amazing. Seems like an easy solution, right?

Well, not so much. You see, I need to get better at winning the morning wars against allergies – and myself. Often I feel so absolutely shitty that I just can’t fathom taking the bus to the gym, or even getting set up for kickboxing at home. I can’t do any activities outside, which are usually easy to get ready for (e.g. running or rope jumping require minimal prep and equipment). Last time I did that I ended up with a 5 hour asthma attack! If only I could get better at forcing myself to go through the motions, because 99% of the time I feel much, much better after exercising. I need a plan that will help me to overcome those mornings where it feels virtually impossible just to get out the damn door.

Here are some things I’ve started within the past few days.

- Putting my alarm even further from the bed than it normally is so I wake up more fully
- A 10-visit pass to the community centre gym across the street, so I have to walk only 1 block on days I don’t want to head to my regular gym
- Notes to myself in my trusty notebook along the lines of JUST DO IT, DAMMIT and GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS
- Easily accessible allergy meds

Anyone else have any ideas?!

April Fitness Goals

April 2, 2012 Health & FItness One comment

Hooray, I finally achieved my bench press goal of 80% of my body weight for 6 reps. The bench press is one of my weakest lifts, so I need to continue working on this. I also met my other goal of working my abs twice a week.

Two friends and I are competing in a relay triathlon at the end of May, and I’m doing the swimming leg. I’ve got 7 weeks to get my swimming in gear! We’re The Fast Pokes, and we’re gonna kick some ass.

So, April’s fitness goals are:

1. Shave one minute off my 750m swim time

2. Do a 2-minute plank

I have no idea what my current swim time is, but I can tell you it probably sucks. The longer-term goal is to beat last year’s swim race time. As for the plank, this is my least favourite abs move, and I always seem to choose other moves to do instead. Making it a goal for this month will not only force me to do it more often, but it’ll help me with body alignment while swimming.

« Older Entries