What Good Nutrition Means For Your Metabolism

The Healthy & Active Plan HAP is a program designed to help you optimized your nutrition so you can improve your metabolism. So how does good nutrition improve your metabolism?

So how does good nutrition improve your metabolism?

When you eat a healthier diet, than your brain receives more blood and oxygen.

You also think more clearly, have more energy, need less sleep. Your brain may actually grow more brain cells because it is not expending all of its energy producing hormones to repair all of the damage you have done your body by eating a bad diet full of junk food, acidic foods, refined foods, sugar, sodium and fat.

Your circulation will improve and your face will glow. More blood to the surface of the skin will make you appear to have less wrinkles.  You won’t be as tired and have more energy to exercise, which in turn also gives you an overall more youthful stance and appearance.

Your heart also receives more blood flow when you eat right.  This staves off fatigue and your brain also receives more blood flow and therefore produces more energy. Your ability to think clearly is enhance and you simply feel more focused and calm.

Increased blood flow also means that you have more stamina in bed. Your sexual organs receive more blood flow, so you may become more potent— you won’t need Cialis or Viagra to function anymore!

For many people, these are choices worth making—not just to live longer, but also to live a better quality life. Most people who do so are amazed at how much healthier they feel and are sorry that they did not do it sooner.

Here are the benefits of eating more alkaline foods summed up in a nutshell –

•       Giving your digestive organs a break
•       Purification
•       Rejuvenation
•       Better Sleep
•       Clearer skin
•       Less flatulence
•       Looking youthful
•       Improved senses: vision, hearing, taste
•       Reduction of allergies
•       Weight loss
•       Drug and alcohol detoxification
•       Better resistance to disease

As you can see from the above list, eating well can contribute to your well being in general.

By contrast, meals high in fat, sugar, and calories cause your arteries to constrict, so blood flow is reduced. The same is true of chronic stress. Nicotine, caffeine, cocaine and amphetamines also hurt your body. So does a lack of exercise. So do many prescription and over the counter medications that are acidic in nature and can harm your health.

Your brain receives less oxygen if you eat badly. You and your skin will look older. You will lose fertility and oxygen and seem a lot older than you actually are … this is a slippery slope that can lead to fatigue, premature aging and eventually chronic disease.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Recipes for Raw and Cooked Butternut Apple Soups

Some people on the HAP of eating choose to eat vegan or completely raw while others still eat cooked food and meat.  The wonderful thing about Apple Butternut Squash soup is that there are two tasty versions of it.  Furthermore if you are eating apples and butternut squash are completely seasonal Autumnal foods and you should be able to find locally grown apples and butternut squash produce at a nearby market.

Let’s start with the raw version. This recipe can be made completely raw but most raw vegan purists still steam the butternut squash for about twenty minutes to make it easier to blend in  a high speed blender.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

RAW BUTTERNUT APPLE SOUP

8 cups butternut squash, cubed

2 cups fresh apple cider or apple juice

2/3 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

¾ pure spring water

4 large stalks celery

1 small scallion or half of a small onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 very tiny hot red chili pepper (optional)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

pinch o cloves

8 pitted and soaked Medjool dates

2 tsp Himalayan salt

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. You can serve this raw or if you like you can heat it up and serve it warm. It is good with a dash of cashew milk or if you allow it, sour cream swirled in on top.

The above raw version of the soup is gluten-free, soy free and vegan and with the exception of the juices, almost sugar-free.

As for the cooked  version,  the key to it being so tasty is the roasting of the vegetables first.  Also note that if you do not use soy milk to make it  this a vegan, gluten free recipe.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT APPLE SOUP

8 cups butternut squash cubed

3 chopped apples

1 small onion, chopped

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp Himalayn salt or sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ teaspoon crushed thyme

2 ½ cups organic vegetable broth

1 cup coconut, soy or rice milk

Preheat onion to 375 degrees. Place the squash, apples and onion on a large roasting pan or tray and drizzle coconut oil over them.  Sprinkle with spices and roast for 45 minutes until soft.

Place the vegetables in a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend well.  Transfer to a pot and reheat.  For a little color you can sprinkle more cinnamon or herbs on top to decorate it.  

This soup is also delicious with a dash of Greek Yogurt or  bit of 

Eating a healthy diet is key to thriving while you are on the Healthy and Active plan. Remember that if any of the minor ingredients in these recipes is not part of your eating plan you can always make substitutions or omit the ingredient altogether.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Delicious Green Gourmet Smoothies

If you have been eating healthy a while, you might be getting a bit bored with the usual “green smoothie” which often contains a lot of kale, celery, avocado and maybe apple along with some kind of protein.  There is no denying that drinking a green  smoothie every day is one of the healthiest things that you can do

Once again be aware that if a food ingredient in one of these recipes is not part of your HAP lifestyle and diet program then you should avoid it and create some other type of green smoothie treat or make a substitution.

Avocado Matcha Vanilla Green Smoothie

The exotic ingredient in this green smoothie is a green tea powder called matcha which is finely milled, yet adds a thick texture to anything liquid.

To make 1 serving – blend

Matcha Tea

1 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon matcha powder

½ small avocado

I scoop vanilla protein powder

2 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  For a hit of potassium  and an even richer  thicker smoothie you could add a couple of pieces of frozen banana to the mix.

Grape, Cilantro and Avocado Green Smoothie

This smoothie is unusual because it uses frozen green grapes and cilantro, which is not usually found in drinks, but more in savory dishes.

1 cup green grapes, frozen

1.2 cup cucumber, chopped

½ small very ripe avocado

I cup kale

¼ cup fresh cilantro

¾ of cup coconut water

¼ teaspoon grated ginger.

Feel free to replace the cilantro with parsley if cilantro does not agree with you.

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Pear, Banana and Hempseed Smoothie

Pears have a delicate unique taste that is not too sweet.

1 small ripe frozen banana

1 small ripe pear, peeled and quartered

½ small soft, ripe avocado

¼ cup kale, ripped

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon

1 cup almond milk

1 pitted medjool date

Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth. You can use any kind of nut milk in this recipe.

Remember that if a Gourmet green smoothie does contain an ingredient that is not on your HAP you can often get away with just omitting it from the recipe and adding a bit more water, fluid or more of another ingredient.  For instance coconut milk or rice milk can often be substituted for a nut milk.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Your Diet and Your Eye Health

Many people who embark on the Healthy & Active Plan find their eyesight improves once they improve their lifestyle and diet. Like all other parts of the human body the eyes, the proverbial windows of the soul, need to be nourished and cared for. Eye health is about making sure that they are not subjected to inadequate light, too much ultraviolet light or strain.  Otherwise you could experience eyes that are tired, bloodshot, infected, irritated, itchy, ulcerated, dry, sensitive to light or watery.

You could also suffer from compromised vision in any of its forms including the need for reading glasses, bifocals or trifocals and  the type of macular degeneration that eventually leads to blindness.

Dietary Recommendations For Beautiful Eyes

To keep your eyes healthy you are well advised to include vegan sources of A, C, E and all of the B vitamins such as broccoli, raw cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green vegetables, squash, sunflower seeds and watercress.

Eliminating sugar and white flour from diet can also help keep your eyes healthy and prevent kidney and liver dysfunction that in turn can lead to problems with vision. For instance, an overloading of sugar leads to diabetes and then eventually blindness.

Lifestyle Habits That Lead to Great Vision

If you were glasses or sunglasses  wear clear lenses that have been treated to help prevent damage from ultraviolet rays.  By the very best lenses that you can afford so that your vision is always crystal clear. Nikon makes lightweight lenses of high quality that are sold by most prescription eyewear outlets.

Never use hair dyes on eyelashes or eyebrows as that can cause blindness and be sure to remove all eye make up at night to reduce the risk of eye infection and eye strain due to minute mascara particles falling in your eyes.

Be aware also that there are many types of drugs that can cause damage to the yes. These include cortisone drugs, aspirins, anticoagulants such as warfarin and heparin, diuretics,sulfa drugs and tetracycline. Studies have shown that taking Valium, Haldol and antidepressants can also damage the eyes.

Smoking marijuana or cigarettes can also cause macular degeneration. If you want healthy eyes, quit smoking

To prevent bloodshot eyes, avoid situations that cause eyestrain or fatigue such as driivng for too many hours at night, sitting in front of a computer for too many hours in a row or enduring wood smoke or cigarette smoke for a great length of time.

Taking good care of your eyes can help prevent such conditions as eyestrain, floaters, dry eyes, loss of vision, macular degeneration, blindness, eye infections or bags under the eyes.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.