|
Our intro guide to mushrooms outlines the current evidence and research backing the use of common medicinal supplemental mushrooms, such as; Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, Chaga, Shiitake, and Turkey Tail...
Learn how to make a balanced, quick and delicious smoothie by following our simple guide to making 'The Perfect Smoothie'!  Bella Marinkovich, DipNut The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) poses a significant threat to public health and the global economy. In this article, Cliff looks into how we can best reduce our risks of transmission while also staying healthy...  Originally posted at www.cliffharvey.com Immunity is a BIG topic right now due to the emergence of COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus). The emergence of this new form of coronavirus also resulted in greater awareness of the public health implications of other seasonal illnesses like influenza, flu-like viruses, and the common cold (itself often caused by a form of coronavirus or rhinovirus) which result in significant numbers of hospitalisations and deaths every year.
Because there is a lot of concern (and quite rightly so) about the potential implications of COVID for public health, society, and the economy, there has been a lot of discussion online about how we might avoid the virus. This advice runs the gamut from sensible, through to ridiculous (ummm 5G causes COVID… yeah… OK…) In a nutshell, when we’re talking about immunity, we’re referring to the actions of the immune system. This system is the body’s defence system (along with physical barriers like skin) and it protects us against pathogens (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi) that can cause disease. Note: If you’re currently feeling unwell or have any unexplained symptoms, please contact your medical doctor! Symptoms of COVID-19 include:
 Post by Emily White
You have heard it time and time again; if you are trying to lose fat and boost your metabolism eating small meals 6 times a day and always having snacks on hand is far superior over the traditional 3 meals a day. Personally I have always stuck to the 3 meals a day- not because I thought weight-wise one was superior over the other but because the thought of having to think of and prepare 6 meals every single day just makes me want to take a nap. So apart from being increasingly inconvenient are there any benefits to eating more frequently throughout the day?  Post by Emily White
So you are sitting across from your friend at a cafe, glaring longingly at their BLT with fries whilst you reluctantly dig into your salmon salad. To make matters worse they are a stick insect while it feels you just need to smell a potato before the weight piles on. Sound familiar? Researchers are now suggesting that our genetic make up could actually play a role in this unfair travesty.  Article by HPN graduate Tammy Hume
Giving a bubba the best start to life is one of the best gifts that we can give our children. Every parent wants their child to be as healthy as possible. But despite that, most of us simply just give little thought towards improving our health before conceiving a child. We often simply expect that regardless of how we have treated our bodies in the past that they will conceive a child with ease, grow and birth a healthy baby, which will in turn lead to a healthy child.  Post by Taryn van Meygaarden
 Post by Emily White
For as long as I can remember the words ‘slip, slop, slap’ have been gospel. Whenever you step out into the sun it is hard not to think about skin cancer and thereby the importance of covering up. However scientists are now suggesting that we have taken this a bit too far with a lot of people suffering from a Vitamin D deficiency- without even knowing!  Post by Emily White
The consumption of ‘heart healthy’ vegetable and seed oil has increased drastically over the past few decades. People have shunned natural fat sources such as butter and lard in favour of these oils that are produced in something that looks more like a meth lab than your grandmas kitchen. So why is everyone telling us that these oils are good for us if they aren’t? The main reason- they are cheap as dirt to produce.  Post by Emily White
Whilst the term 'reactive oxygen species' might seem confusing and daunting it is actually quite easy to understand. Humans are aerobic organisms; this means that we use little organelles called mitochondria in order to provide energy to all of our cells. Within the mitochondria a process takes place called respiration (1).  Article by Emily White
If you go to the gym, I have no doubt you will have heard about nutrient timing. Rushing for that scoop of protein as soon as you have finished your workout? Then you are practicing nutrient timing. To put it simply, nutrient timing is eating certain macronutrients at certain times in specific amounts in order to achieve specific goals. Protein and carbohydrates immediately post workout is a popular one, as is the belief that you shouldn’t eat carbohydrates after dark. But is there actually any science behind this?  Article by Emily White
I recently read a fantastic article by James Krieger which has spurred me to write this post. It is titled ‘No, you’re not addicted to sugar’ and is a great read. You can read this article here where it goes deep into the reasons why sugar is not addictive. Historically as a society, we are great at attributing the obesity epidemic to one variable. There was fat in the 80’s, carbohydrates in the 90’s (and again now), and sugar more recently. We believe that by isolating and removing one group, we will ‘cure’ obesity. However, this is simply not the case. None of these interventions have curbed obesity at a population level. For example, a recent paper showed that when the Australian population made a significant reduction in its sugar consumption, there was no effect or reduction in obesity. I am not saying that sugar is not harmful in large quantities, I am simply saying it is not addictive.  Post by Emily White
Refined sugar is bad for you. Fact. There is no debate there. So when people are looking for a healthier alternative to sweeten their food, stevia appears to be a good option. It has become increasingly popular over the last few years and recently even Coco-Cola has jumped on the bandwagon. Now, I am not condoning Coke in any way, shape or form however you know that when Coca-Cola is doing it, it is a fad that is here to stay. So is Stevia all it is cracked up to be?  Post by Emily White
When I first heard the words ‘intermittent fasting’, I panicked. ‘Hangry’ is a real life condition that I suffer from terribly as most of my family and friends could confirm. So why on earth would anyone voluntarily fast? Fasting is not actually just the latest ‘fad’ and has in fact been around for thousands of years. Whether conducted on purpose or not (our ancestors didn’t exactly have a supermarket down the road), for many people the body appears to thrive in this environment. The simplest and most sustainable form of fasting is the 16/8 method. This is where you only eat for an eight-hour window (say 12pm to 8pm) and fast for the remaining 16. This means that around half of your fasting is conducted while you are sleeping and it literally just means that you may be skipping breakfast.  A friend has suggested you try a low carb diet as they have seen amazing results- she has dropped weight, her skin is clearer and she feels great! However you give it a go and you don’t appear to have anywhere near as much luck. If you are having trouble shifting the weight on a low carb diet here are a few reasons as to why that could be the case:
 By Cliff Harvey ND
The ‘Blood Type Diet’ by Peter D’Adamo ND has been a popular diet choice in the natural health community for several decades. It continues to be a popular method in the complementary health field, but its use lacks robust evidence. While there are correlations between ABO blood-type and some disorders such as carcinomas (1), and between blood type and personality traits (2) these and other findings would be considered quite preliminary and speak little to the veracity of claims for a link between diet, blood type and health outcomes.  Post by Emily White
Read any health or wellness magazine and you will no doubt read about how you should be constantly grazing in order to boost your metabolism. When you think about it, it kind of makes sense that eating frequent, small meals would continuously stimulate your metabolism and therefore keep you burning more calories…… right? So apart from being incredibly inconvenient (I struggle to come up with 3 meal ideas let alone 6) is there any benefit to eating smaller meals more frequently as opposed to the traditional 3 meals a day? Well, new research is suggesting no!  By Cliff Harvey
In the modern world we eat more than ever before. But in spite of this surplus of calories, we may be functionally starving, because we may not be getting all that we need from the modern diet to truly thrive. Starving for Nutrient DensityVitamins and minerals act as co-factors for literally thousands of chemical reactions throughout the body, from facilitating the breakdown of foods into energy, through to cellular reproduction, expression of genes and much more. Suffice it to say that without enough of the ‘little guys’ of nutrition, nothing much can occur in the body. I like to think of the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) being like the spark plugs in a car. They don’t provide the fuel directly but allow its efficient use. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data shows that some fresh produce (vegetables, fruits berries) only provide around half the amounts of some vitamins and minerals that they did in the 1950s.1 To get the same amounts of nutrients, we need to eat twice the amount of some veggies and other ‘nutrient dense’ foods than we did fifty or so years ago.  Post by Emily White
You hear so much in the nutrition world about glycaemic index, insulin index and glycaemic load and how you should avoid particular foods that fit into certain categories. Just walk down the cereal isle in the supermarket and you will see an abundance of packaging boasting that this particular product is ‘low GI’ and therefore the healthy choice. With all this confusion about these different terms it’s worth having a think about what in fact they actually mean. Should we be putting a lifetime ban on foods that have a high glycaemic index and on the contrary; does a low glycaemic index food mean it is a great healthy option?  Post by Emily White
The age-old quote, 'let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food' by Hippocrates is certainly of relevance in todays world. Gut health is something that can be related to this and is an extremely important determinant in someone’s health. The nutrition that we provide for our body plays a huge role in this and probiotics in particular, are a very important aspect of any nutritional plan in order to optimise gut health and overall wellbeing.  Post by Emily White
Nowadays walk down any isle in the supermarket and you will almost definitely come across a soy-containing product. It seems it is in everything! Soy has dramatically increased in popularity in the last decade due to the idea that eating too much meat or dairy was bad for you and therefore soy being a great protein alternative. Soy crops are also very cheaply made into soybean oil and soy protein and so now it can be found in many processed foods. Many people are eating so much more soy then they realise and some even supplying their infants with large quantities through the use of soy based infant formula. With such an increased consumption, it really begs the question of what effect soy is actually having on your body.  Post by Emily White
Some say you should, some say you shouldn’t. I am the first to admit that when it comes to nutrition advice it can get awfully confusing! Up until recently nutrition recommendations have been fairly standard, based on the premise that everyone has the same nutritional requirements, with the small exception of gender and age group. However, recent research is uncovering that, because we are genetically unique, we may all have different nutritional requirements. Nutrigenomics looks at how individual genetic variation can have an effect on the body’s response to certain foods (1).  Post by Emily White
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that has important effects on the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of particularly, glucose from the blood into fat, liver and skeletal muscle cells. Insulin is coined the ‘fat storage hormone’ and therefore tends to get a bad rap, however there is no denying the importance of insulin in order to shuttle vital nutrients into cells (like protein and glycogen into muscles). Insulin secretion isn’t the problem- chronically elevated and insulin resistance is. This brings us to dairy and the effect it has on insulin response.  By Emily White
I was scrolling through Facebook the other day (as I do all to often) and came across an article which annoyed me more than it probably should have. It was suggesting that eating red meat is literally killing you and that avoiding red meat will see you live longer, happier, smarter, slimmer …you get the idea. Basically bottom line, if you eat red meat.. you will get cancer… and you will die. So first lets look at why everyone thinks this is the case. Numerous organisations around the world have said that eating red and processed meats can increase risk of some cancers. For starters, putting fresh red meat and processed meats into the same cancer causing category is ridiculous.. But more on that later.  Post by Emily White
Whether you are interested in nutrition or not you would have most likely heard about having a glass of lemon in warm water to start your day. This lemon drink is often taken first thing in the morning in place of tea or coffee and has fast become a fashionably healthy lifestyle choice, right up there with raw cheesecakes and green smoothies. So is this a healthy way to start your day backed by scienced or just a silly celebrity fad? |
Categories
All
Archives
September 2020
|
RSS Feed
Photos used under Creative Commons from marcoverch, wuestenigel, Rawpixel Ltd, wuestenigel, Rinet IT, Infinity Studio, Herbert Guedes, Brett Jordan