Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is needed in the stomach to break down our food and help absorb its nutrients. Symptoms of low HCl, or an underactive stomach, are excessive gas, belching or feeling very full after meals, halitosis, acne, and nausea after taking supplements. Low HCl will reduce absorption of nutrients from the foods we eat […]

Oxalates and oxalic acid is a colourless, organic compound that occurs naturally in plants, animals and in humans. It can also be ingested from food and has the potential to bind with calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper in our intestines to form oxalates – insoluble salts; thus interfering with the absorption of these minerals; […]

Mint has an array of health benefits for athletes and competitors. Its high vitamin A is not only an anti-oxidant to help protect our bodies from damaging metabolic by-products of our intense workouts, but is also highly supportive to growth and tissue healing. It aids bile flow, which means it’ll help digestion on comp diets, […]

Did you know that as little as 1 gram of trans fatty acids (TFAs) per day raises the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20% !!! Most fast food meals that are deep-fried contain at least 5g of TFAs?!                         Trans fats are also in […]

Don’t forget the sweet potatoes on tomorrow’s Christmas dinner plate! They have massive amounts of beta -carotene, are an important antioxidant (vitamin C and E), and contain twice the amount of fibre as white potatoes!   Sweet potatoes also have high levels of B6 and Potassium, and are a potent source of manganese, which will […]

I know, we’ve all heard the many songs praising vegetables. But do we really know why?  What exactly are all of the specific ways in which they improve health and decrease disease risk? Among the many tremendous benefits, vegetables: * provide the broadest range of nutrients of any food group * are rich sources of […]

We all have a multitude of good and bad bacteria living in our colon. When this balance is off (more bad ones than good ones that protect us) we can see a variety of health issues that range from intestinal troubles to lowered immunity. The number one culprit for destroying our healthy bacteria is antibiotics. […]

As athletes we place high priority on our workouts. It’s what gives us our edge, what makes us successful at reaching our goals. But it’s a commitment that not all people share or understand. As such, we may find ourselves sometimes being judged or hassled for making our training a top priority.   Telling a […]

Best Part of my 30 Day Yoga Challenge was NOT Finishing the 30 Day Yoga Challenge! Yes, this is a good thing for me. An unexpected, out of character, yet liberating outcome of my 30 Day Challenge was being 7 classes short of completing it. Not finishing something I set out to do is so […]

Inside our noses we have cilia, tiny hairlike cells of the nasal mucosa that grab onto and remove dust and pathogens from the air as it flows through our nasal cavity.   The cilia move the mucus down the nasal cavity to the pharynx, where it can be swallowed. Sounds gross, but it’s actually very […]