Tag diet

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Sometimes I almost feel like a chemist in a laboratory when I walk through the aisles of my local supermarkets! Each time I make that trek I become more and more convinced that that’s not the place I need to be picking up items to put in my stomach. I’m convinced the packaged food aisles are simply halls of death masquerading toxic food additives as “flavor” enhancers or “benign ingredients”.

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While packaged foods can be helpful sometimes (i.e. emergency foodstuffs for disaster relief, etc), they are definitely a class of foods every person should avoid if they value their lives!  Few people realize that those “packaged” foods they’re eating are loaded with toxic food additives!

Depending on what region of the world you live making sense of food labels can be a mysterious and frustrating task for the average person. For instance, here in the U.S. food label regulations and protections are ass-backward in my humble opinion.

Over the years, I’ve made it my business to become my own food and health advocate. I’ve been pouring over labels, ingredient names, questionable additives and so forth. What did I learn? Well, MY health and wellbeing are definitely not high up on the list of priorities for the packaged food industry!

Now I don’t know about you, but I LOVE my Mayo! I love it on my sandwiches and I sometimes use it as a base for some of my recipes. BUT after a bit of label reading, I was shocked to find an ingredient that is typically used in medical labs (and other industries), is showing up in my mayo! Say what? That’s right people. A dubious chemical that’s used in industrial processes and in certain medications, has a home in our mayonnaise! Everyday people seem to be missing the fact that this toxic food additive is hiding in their food!

Don’t take my word for it. When you read up on some of the “potential” health issues associated with this toxic food additive you will leave that jar of poison on the shelf too! I’m definitely not the only one raising the alarm about these toxic food additives and I am convinced that the more we rise up as consumers, the better of we will all be.

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Coming from a background in the medical laboratory, I KNOW that this is nothing I want in my food. It has no business showing up on my plate! As a matter of fact, EDTA is actually banned in some countries outside of the U.S. (i.e. Australia) and is well regulated elsewhere (i.e. Europe) in its use in personal care items, etc.

EDTA is a chemical really should be in our food. The packaged food industry uses it as a stabilizer and preservative to give their products a longer shelf life-too bad it doesn’t give YOU a long shelf life!

Thanks to the organic revolution and food advocates, the use of these toxic food additives are coming to light. As a matter of fact, some of these large corporations are trying to rebrand themselves as “healthy” by doing what they should have done in the first place. What’s wrong with producing food items that are not harmful to consumers? There’s no need for “rebranding” if you don’t put questionable and toxic food additives in the foods you’re marketing to the public!

Enough with the additives already! If it’s not processed sugars, in our foods it’s chemicals with questionable impacts on our health and wellbeing. It’s up to us to help educate one another and compel our regulatory agencies and our legislators to do the right thing!

The processed and packaged food industries have done their best to hide what’s in our food as well as the origins of the ingredients they contain. Thanks to organizations like the EWG (Environmental Working Group )  and others like them, we are becoming educated about what’s in our food.

I have become a label fanatic simply to keep myself and my family from being poisoned by our food industries, which is a sad commentary on the state of our regulatory agencies here in the USA. While, I know no country has consumer protection down a 100%, we’ve got to do better starting with now.

As consumers, we need to educate ourselves about our food and demand that our legislators step up and force compliance. You really can’t trust the “fox” to “guard the henhouse”, that’s just nuts and totally ineffectual!

Bottom line? know what’s in your food and get involved in your community. It is our responsibility to rise up and demand better from the food industry and our legislators. The only way we can protect ourselves and our families is to get involved and educated about what’s in our food. I’ve found a number of online resources to help me fight back!

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Tonye Tariah, Holistic Health Strategist and founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog, helps free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her approach is “the cookie cutter method only works for cookies,” meaning she helps each person in a unique way helps them transform their lives from the inside out. She’s not about helping you lose weight quick. She’s about changing your habits and helping you fall in love with yourself so you can live a life with pure joy.

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Whether you’re an athlete, gym rat or just someone who wants to optimize their fitness and health, certain nutrients are key to maintaining a healthy body and supporting the body’s ability to heal itself and stave off illness and disease. While this is by no means a complete list, here are 5 key nutrients that you need in your diet in order to optimize your health and fitness.

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There are no shortcuts to achieving optimal fitness and health (sustainable and long-term, at least). The best way to optimize your performance and by extension your fitness is through a well-balanced diet. 5 key nutrients that will help you meet those goals are potassium, magnesium, protein, B-vitamins, and anti-oxidants.

1. Potassium (Dietary potassium): Is a mineral that is critical for the proper functions of all body systems. We hear a lot about potassium and potassium-rich foods, but most people don’t realize how critical it is to sustaining life. In particular, Major organs like the heart, kidneys, etc require potassium in order to work normally. For the most part, people who eat a healthy and balanced diet typically get enough potassium without having to resort to supplements.

In general, it’s never a good idea to be chronically deficient in key dietary minerals like potassium and magnesium. As a matter of fact, low potassium is associated with a risk of success conditions as arthritis, high blood pressure, and infertility.

For those experiencing low potassium, your health care provider can recommend anything from changes in diet to supplements, etc.  From a nutritional stance, the demands of athletic sports and intense exercise generally contribute to a significant loss of salt, potassium, and magnesium in the sweat.

   2. Magnesium: As I pointed out earlier, magnesium plays a vital role in maintaining normal cellular function and bone health. When it comes fitness, performance and actually seeing “results”, balance is key. Too little or too much of any one mineral never bodes well for your health. In a lot of instances, a deficiency in one nutrient can hinder the proper function of another. For instance, magnesium in combination with phosphorous plays an essential role in energy metabolism.

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3. Protein: Yes, we’ve all our doctors and dieticians talk about it, but how often are we guilty of not having either enough of it or we’re consuming poor quality proteins in our daily diet?  In case you missed it, protein is a critical building block for building muscle, repair tissue, and is an important component of all cells within the body. Also, protein is required for the synthesis of various hormones, enzymes, etc.

Want to lose weight and keep it off? You really need good quality protein as a regular part of each meal. Plus, if you’re not into animal protein, there are plenty of plant-based sources that are equally good (i.e.beans and other legumes)!

4. B-vitamins: Include thiamin, riboflavin folate, B6 and the more well-known vitamin B12, are all required for the proper function and development of the brain, nerves, blood cells, heart, etc. When you’re deficient in these nutrients bad things happen. Anemia, memory loss, fatigue, weakness, and digestive problems are just some of the signs one can expect to see. Typical sources of these vitamins are fish, meats, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. For those who have adopted a vegan lifestyle, other sources can be found in dietary supplements or food sources that have been fortified.

However, fat-soluble vitamins like B12 can only be found in animal sources so a strict vegetarian or vegan must have foods either fortified or you need to use dietary supplements.

5. Anti-oxidants: They include but are not limited to, some vitamins ( beta-carotene and vitamins E and C), some minerals (i.e. selenium), and flavonoids (a diverse group of phytonutrients found in most fruits and vegetables). The best sources of antioxidants are fruits and vegetables. Just in case you’re wondering, flavonoids can also be found in red wine and teas.

Antioxidants are powerhouses of goodness and their benefits cover a broad spectrum of health benefits from combating inflammatory responses (i.e. workout recovery), antioxidative stress (i.e. cell damage brought on by free radicals).

The bottom line here is that nutrition is a key portion of a healthy lifestyle and is especially important when it comes down to optimizing your fitness and performance. So the next time you leave the gym, finish a sweat session at home or in the great outdoors, remember to fuel your body with a balanced plate of wholesome goodness. If you’re just getting started on the right path, remember that your body needs these 5 key nutrients in order to get that ball rolling!

Also, realize that nutrition is just part of the equation. The other part of this actually involves the exercise component whether you do it at home or in a gym, the point is to get your body in motion on a consistent basis.

As a matter of fact, make sure you take a good hard look at what’s inside your fridge and or pantry and give it a good detox for the new you in the New Year!

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Tonye Tariah, Holistic Health Strategist and founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog, helps free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her approach is “the cookie cutter method only works for cookies,” meaning she helps each person in a unique way helps them transform their lives from the inside out. She’s not about helping you lose weight quick. She’s about changing your habits and helping you fall in love with yourself so you can live a life with pure joy.

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Healthy food choices and the struggle of sticking to them

When it comes to the holiday season, few people actively think about making healthy food choices. It’s that time of the year again and before you know it the  “Ides Of March” (my little Shakespeare reference,  hahaha) will be upon us and we’ll all be agonizing over those extra rolls we picked up over the winter months. Needless to say, that’s not all we picked up; less healthy eating, more of eating for comfort vs. eating for hunger, more sedentary vs. active, and the lists go on.

The reality for everyday people

So let’s not beat ourselves up over that stuff, rather, let’s focus on solutions that lead to results that can actually be sustained and maintained over time! When I first started my healthy lifestyle journey,  I remember being so TIRED of being sick and tired.  It seemed to be a constant battle between making healthy food choices and living! Rather than shifting my mindset, I was struggling to meet unrealistic expectations that were actually rooted in the “diet” myth After doing my own research, coaching, and personal development, I realized that a healthy lifestyle has to be sustainable!

Starting a healthy lifestyle also starts with your food choices

Making healthy food choices is actually not hard nor is it rocket science. You need a strategic plan that’s uniquely tailored to you and your lifestyle. It’s about getting educated about your food, breaking self-sabotaging behaviors, and valuing yourself enough to make the commitment.

A healthy mindset

I like to start a new season by detoxing my fridge so that I have the right “food” to go with the right “mindset” and that, equals success! Making the right nutritional choices for your health, are not that difficult to come up with nor are they unachievable. You simply have to change your mindset about what it means to be healthy and whether or not you value yourself enough to change your lifestyle. So what are some of the basic things you need to keep in mind when you’re shopping for foods that promote good health and a healthy waistline?

Getting rid of temptation and setting yourself up for success

Now some might say, “that’s easy for you to say”, and my response is, the following: guaranteed sickness, disease, and regret don’t constitute an acceptable alternative. If you want to be fit, healthy, and have a well-balanced lifestyle, you have to just do it and make the commitment, or else you will never have the energy or drive to pursue those things that make life meaningful-simple!

The pantry (and fridge) detox

It’s time to start digging through our pantries and fridges as we get into the business of throwing out those things we no longer need or want (a.k.a. detox). I’m a firm believer in keeping things simple and to the point. For any packaged food that lists ingredients I can’t pronounce (i.e. additives) or have been reduced to acronyms, I throw them out (or avoid buying them in the first place).

An easy hack for avoiding unhealthy foods in the grocery aisles

Another quick tip about labels; if you can’t pronounce the ingredient name then don’t buy it! As more research and awareness comes out, we’re finding that a lot of these “mystery” ingredients and additives are harmful. They often disrupt the bacteria in our guts or lead to unwanted reactions or side-effects. I see that as code for stuff that’s either been banned in Europe for its poor health risks or based on my own personal research about certain ingredients in our food system that are suspect (i.e. no nutritional value or haven’t been pulled by the Food and Drug Administration).

Making holiday favorites healthy

There are a lot of easy ways to make our holiday foods and recipes healthy (or healthier). We can swap out full-fat butter with olive oil (i.e. in some cake recipes) and bake instead of fry. You can also reduce the amount of processed sugar in baking by substituting this with natural alternative sweeteners. I’ve used honey, molasses, date paste, overripe bananas, etc as an alternative to processed sugar in my holiday baking recipes.

Using herbs and spices to fully season meats and veggies is a great way to cut down on salt. You get all of the flavors without the high salt content! I’m constantly experimenting with different herbs and spices in order to keep my recipes healthy without losing the traditional taste.

Before you go

I don’t know about you, but gumbo is a fall and winter favorite because it’s delicious, filling, and comforting! You can try my healthier Afro-fusion version right here. Also, here’s your FREE copy of my Pantry Detox guide and remember, “you are what you eat!” In the meantime, get educated about where your food comes from, get in theFitTribe Zone, and get moving!

About the author

Tonye Tariah, Holistic Health Strategist and founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog. She helps free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her belief is that “the cookie-cutter method only works for cookies”. This means that she helps each woman in a way that is unique to each woman. By doing this, she’s better able to help them transform their lives from the inside out. Her ultimate goal is to help women become healthy and empowered through the transformative self-care journey!

Okay, so everyone is talking about it; some even making huge claims about the near-miraculous benefits associated with taking copious amounts of “bone broth” and incorporating it into your daily nutrition plan. It’s time for some real talk about bone broth!

So what is it? What’s the big deal?

For those wanting a few more specifics,  the Mayo Clinic definition or term for bone broth is, that it is essentially stock derived from roasted bones (typically,  beef or chicken) which may or may not still have some meat attached. They are then cooked for 24 hours or more with the goal being to extract the gelatin from the bones as well as release the nutritious minerals contained within the bones. The final step in the preparation process is to strain the broth (and season to taste) from the bones and then season to taste.

I don’t know about you, but spicy chicken soup, pepper soup, and broths have been a mainstay in my family for years! Not only that, traditional Nigerian pepper soup (in all it’s regional iterations) has been a cure-all for years. We use it for everything from recovery from malaria to the common cold! Is the science to back it up? the jury is still out on that although there are a few studies out there that seem to suggest that there are “some” medicinal benefits to consuming bone broth.

My final thoughts

Will I be stepping out to my fave health food store to buy some bone broth or bone broth supplements? Nope! Especially when I have all the “traditional” ingredients, spices, and secret stashes (available at African food stores only, lol), in my own pantry-Boom! Any real “medicinal” properties, mostly lay in the spices themselves. These spices have everything from turmeric (a natural anti-inflammatory), curry (also contains turmeric), and nutmeg, to garlic, and so forth.

Before you go

If you really want to detox  YOUR body, start with detoxing your pantry!  After all, if your pantry is loaded with toxic crap, so will YOU! You can read more about making healthy food choices and detoxing your fridge and pantry right here.

About the author

Tonye Tariah, Holistic Health Strategist and founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog. She helps free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her belief is that “the cookie-cutter method only works for cookies”. This means that she helps each woman in a way that is unique to each woman. By doing this, she’s better able to help them transform their lives from the inside out. Her ultimate goal is to help women become healthy and empowered through the transformative self-care journey!

Food and your waistline

Why are we so obsessed with food and our waistlines? This constantly leaves me with a bevy of theories or reasons why there so many women in the U.S. and the West in general  (and to a smaller degree, other parts of the world), who seem fixated on both food and their waistlines. Why the constant battle with our food? As a fitness and health strategist with a background in biological anthropology, I can’t help but wonder if something more complex, and culturally relevant is at play in this insanity. Dare I say, misconceptions based on misinformation are at the heart of the food and waistline debate!

Some issues at play in the food and waistline debate

This problem stems in large part, from a grossly uneducated and misinformed public with regard to what constitutes basic “good” nutrition and the plethora of misinformation peddled by a large segment of the media, as well as the fast and processed food industries. Additionally, our food policies and regulatory agencies (i.e. FDA, USDA, etc) have failed to show leadership in this area. Let us get real with ourselves, our food choices are also (and in some instances, largely) driven by factors other than basic hunger (i.e. “I hunger, therefore I eat”).

Some context

Individual tastes, culture, habits, and environment, etc play a pivotal role in our food choices, and by extension, the current food-related epidemic (obesity, heart disease, etc) we are facing at both the local and national level. First, let’s revisit the basics of why we need to eat at all. We need to eat and drink (water, at the most fundamental) to live.  Food essentially equals fuel for the daily life-sustaining functions of the body at the chemical, cellular, and systemic levels.

The basics

There is no physical reason (technically speaking) why we need to eat other than to sustain life. What I’m driving at here is that outside of eating to keep the body operating at an optimum level ( regardless of age, for instance) there is no real reason to eat anything beyond what is necessary for maintaining a “healthy body”. So why do we obsess about that food and waistline? Why are we so unhealthy in terms of what we eat and how that translates into our current health issues? While I don’t claim to hold all the answers to what will arguably, require complex solutions (I’ll leave that in the capable hands of academic researchers), I do believe that an informed public is one that is healthy and empowered.

Some Major stakeholders: Fast food industry, media, and the public

Who are the big winners here? Big agribusiness and the packaged food industry argue that it is “expensive” and “unsustainable” to buy local and organic food items. Many also say that there is no “real” difference (in terms of nutritional content or quality) between organic produce and conventionally grown produce. Additionally, they often point to “research” that supports their claims. However, there is an increasing body of unbiased research that not only counters these claims but also exposes a number of the myths about the benefits of consuming organic produce vs. conventionally grown produce, food additives (i.e. dyes in processed foods, etc), and so forth. Let’s not forget the role of media in this hot mess! Mainstream media amplifies what’s wrong with our society. Skewed body images, cultural norms, etc all factor into how we relate to food.

Why you need to make educated food choices

When you add it all together, you realize it’s a cycle perpetuated by misinformation, profit, etc. Our obsession with food and waistlines hides the issues that we truly need to address in order to claim our health and wellness. Let’s also not forget that we as individuals also have some responsibilities here. In basic terms, good legislation, and policy on food safety, equity in healthy food options, as well as behavior, impact our waistlines (i.e health). As consumers, we have a stake in this too.

Final  thoughts

When you get active about your food, you reclaim your food as well as your health. Recognizing we have options is just the beginning! Want some helpful tips about detoxing your fridge and pantry? Get my pantry detox guide right here! You can also get helpful tips on food storage to help you stretch that grocery budget right here. 

once you get behind the scenes and see what’s really going on, things become easier. You can make educated choices about where your food comes from, save money on the grocery budget, etc. Plus, you won’t get caught up in fad diets, or fooled by slick marketing labels on your grocery items!

About the author

Tonye Tariah is a Holistic Health Strategist and founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog, as well as a podcaster and speaker. She dedicates her time to help free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her approach is “the cookie-cutter method only works for cookies,” meaning she helps each person in a unique way helps them transform their lives from the inside out. She’s not about helping you lose weight quickly. She’s about changing your habits and helping you fall in love with yourself so you can live a life with pure joy.

Why the obsession with nuts and seeds?

People often ask me why I’m so obsessed with seeds and nuts. I could rattle off a whole list about why they’re so great.  I’ve since discovered that less is more, and simplicity is worth appreciating. The fact is that we ( homo Sapiens) are at our optimal health and fitness when we adhere to a diet that is diverse and nutritionally dense. We see the truth of this from the historic and evolutionary record ( I won’t bore you with the details). Also, we see the current health crisis many in the industrialized (as well as underdeveloped nations) are facing in terms of ever-increasing numbers of diabetes, cancer, as well as autoimmune diseases resulting from processed food.

The American diet

It is no small coincidence that our dependence on so-called “quick” and “processed” foods have a strong link to the diseases and associated syndromes listed above. The bottom line is that processed foods, our dependency on them, coupled with a lack of adequate exercise, have brought us to this unhealthy state. Add to that unsustainable environmental and agricultural practices, and a grim picture begins to unfold for the human race.

What are nuts?

In simple terms, nuts can be defined as “small dry hard-shelled dry fruit or seed with a separable rind or shell and interior kernel” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition). A much more detailed definition is provided by the National Institutes of Health (see National Institutes of Health website). The NIH states that nuts are “nutrient-dense foods with complex matrices rich in unsaturated fatty and other bioactive compounds: high-quality vegetable protein, fiber, minerals, tocopherols, phytosterols, and phenolic compounds.” Translation? nuts make up a powerhouse store of complete nutrients (i.e. fats, fiber, carbohydrates, etc).

Some nutrition facts

All that being said, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. While nuts are nutrient-dense, they do contain fat. That means you must balance them with other sources of vital nutrients that contain fewer calories as well as fats. The key here is “BALANCE”! Thar’s in terms of nutritional intake (i.e. amount per serving, etc) as well as a proportion of other nutrient sources. For instance, a balanced intake of nuts (and or seeds, i.e. sunflower walnuts) would be equivalent to 1/3/ cup or 1 and 1/2 oz of nuts 3-4 servings per week for a 1,600 calorie diet. For a 2,00 calorie diet, this would be 4-5 servings per week  (American Heart Association: 2013 Healthy Diet recommendations;Eckel, Robert H. et al. “2013 AHA/ACC).

About seeds

While similar to seeds in terms of nutrient content, seeds are, in simple terms, the embryonic stage of a plant housed in a protective outer shell or hull. The dietary guidelines for seeds are similar to those for nuts, but the caveat remains the same; balance, balance, balance, is the mantra we should all stick to when it comes to nutrition, health (mind-body), and fitness. Why am I pushing them? I’m a firm believer in balance and the important role it plays in our health and fitness for a healthy lifestyle. My personal experience alone has driven home the power of a well-balanced and nutrient-dense diet. Also, from a physical fitness perspective,  a poor diet will doom you to failure and injury (i.e. failing to fuel your body with what it needs for recovery and growth).

Some observations

From a female perspective, I’ve come to learn the importance of incorporating dietary balance into my daily regime. I do this to keep my body aligned as it deals with changing hormone levels, stress, and illness. While nutrition and fitness alone can’t ward off the negative impacts of illness, disease, time, etc, they are powerful strategies to help us stay healthy and whole.

Remember, getting fit and healthy requires that you first make the decision, develop a plan, and take action. For more information as well as assistance regarding how to get started on your journey, join my FitTribe of women who are getting stronger every day!

Before you go

Every day researchers are finding more benefits and uses of nuts and seeds and how we can use them to improve our overall health. You can check out more of my posts on healthy recipes right here! While nuts and seeds alone can’t cure disease, they supply a huge amount of nutrients our bodies need. Also, nuts and seeds add much-needed diversity that’s important for gut health!

About the author

Tonye Tariah, Holistic Health Strategist and founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog. She helps free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her belief is that “the cookie-cutter method only works for cookies”. This means that she helps each woman in a way that is unique to each woman. By doing this, she’s better able to help them transform their lives from the inside out. Her ultimate goal is to help women become healthy and empowered through the transformative self-care journey!