In July of 2014 at In Stride Physical Therapy & Rehab in Pacific Grove, CA, we started our series of monthly health talks with Heather Lauren, a student (at that time and now graduate) of Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition. Heather presented a series of 4 very informative one hour weekly talks on how to better your health through the awareness of and pursuit of proper nutrition.
We were very happy to have Heather come speak at our clinic. While we constantly work on improving the health of our clients through the healing of their injuries and the strengthening of their bodies through exercise that isn’t the only piece to the puzzle of optimal health. One of the other pieces is nutrition, so having Heather discuss that puts our clients and the other community members that much closer to their goals of optimal health.
Heather discussed:
- Understanding healthy eating habits
- Why healthy proteins are important for our health
- The importance of micronutrients and eating the rainbow
- How to meet the needs of our population while protecting our food supply for the future
Her seminar helped the class start to get an understanding of how key it is to eat organic, local, seasonal and nutrient rich food to help our bodies achieve a level of well being with less illness and other ailments caused by improper nutrition.
Interesting Facts:
Below are some interesting facts that I gleaned from Heather’s talks that many that attended the talks were not aware of that are essential for healthy eating and living:
- Vitamin D: The best source of Vitamin D is through sun exposure without sunscreen for 20 to 30 minutes a day.
- Nutritional Heroes: A disproportionate level of health benefits are provided by: green and herb teas, lean clean proteins, fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts, spices/garlic/onions, flax, fish, algae, whole grains and organic foods.
- Nutritional Bandits: Some of the obvious and not so obvious include fast food, junk food, hydrogenated trans fats, alcohol, additives, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, diet products, refined pastries, pasta, pesticides, irradiation and genetic modification.
- Extra virgin olive oil: The maximum temperature of extra virgin olive oil is 325 F. Better to use unsalted butter or ghee for cooking because it is stable at high temperatures.
- Unsalted butter: Butter is okay in moderation. Stay away from margarine or shortening, they are full of trans fats.
The Bottom Line: What I took from Heather’s talks is that eating healthier takes a conscious effort. You have to “want” to change your lifestyle to a healthier one. Which means you shop at the Farmer’s Market, pay a little extra for organic foods because you understand their value, choose seasonal and local products when possible, use a water filtration system, cook meals at home from scratch and avoid processed foods to name a few. Eating healthy is both important for the sustainability of the earth and for your increased longevity with reduced illness, fatigue and other ailments. So, remember every choice that you make for your health counts, so make sure to make the right ones, because the most important thing in life is being healthy!