Making Good Choices when it comes to Nutrition

This month's business to business, is Katherine Parent, C.N.P, N.W.S

Katherine is a Certified Nutritionist, who has a wealth of knowledge and experience.  When you meet Katherine you can't help but be attracted to her passion and enthusium for life.  Please read what Katherine has to say about summer and nutrition.

Food is such an integral part of daily life and summer just brings out the social aspect of eating to a whole new level. I’d like to give you some nutritional tips to keep you going throughout our wonderful, but short summer season and you can enter the next seasons with full health and wellness.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep hydrated. We often feel like we are hungry when in fact we are dehydrated. Keeping our insides hydrated lubricates the stomach lining and helps produce Hydrochloric acid that is needed to properly digest proteins (i.e. those meats we so love to grill). Water also helps to detoxify our body, clean it out of all the toxins that we expose our body to on a daily basis.  It keeps our muscles lean and pliable and so when we are out playing ball, running, swimming our joints aren’t stiff and sore. We flush out the lactic acid that can build up in the muscle. Water will revive and rejuvenate our bodies. So, if you are feeling tired ask yourself “how much water have I consumed today?” If your answer is not even a full glass then start drinking that H2O. Often, I take a lemon and squeeze the juice in my water for a fresh, alkalizing and detoxifying drink. You can use cucumber, mint leaves and even fresh berries to liven up your water.

Keep hydrated and drink half your body weight (pounds) and divide by 8 (number of ounces in a glass) and that equals your daily quota of water. (Example: 140 pounds divided by 2 = 70 divided by 8 = 8.75 glasses of water per day).

Wait ¼ to ½ hour after your meals to drink your water or any other beverage as we don’t want to dilute our stomach acid as it needs to work optimally to breakdown the proteins found in meat, fish, beans, legumes, eggs, nuts and seeds.   Free range and organic meats are the best.

Another great tip to remember this summer is to fill up on the fruits and vegetables of the season.  These are the complex carbohydrates. There are so many vegetables that colour the grocery aisles and we should include those on our plates.  There are so many fantastic salads and dishes that can be made from vegetables and fruits.   And those herbs!! Parsley, thyme, oregano, basic, chives, sage, rosemary can add that extra zest to your dishes.

Include a variety of essential fatty acids as well in your dishes. We really want more of the Omega 3 fatty acids and these include cold water salmon, cod, haddock, flax oil, coconut oil, almonds, walnuts, and sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. These help to speed up our metabolism, reduce inflammation and help in the proper functioning of our immune system.

When you include wholesome, nutritious proteins, carbohydrates, fibre and fats you will have a summer full of vibrancy.  “Make Good Choices” when it comes to your nutrition.  It’s “your foundation to better health”.

Katherine can be reached at the healing oasis, bodystream, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it