Vitae Nutrition and Doula Services – Saskatoon

New Year’s Eve is a time of reflection of the year past and a time of renewal and motivation for the year ahead.

I have had many changes over the past year, new homeowner, new engagement, new business, new job…I am getting a little tired of new. With all of the changes in my life over the last twelve months, most of my resolutions hinge on time management. As you may or may not have noticed I have be fairly absent in the blogging and social media scene. This is one of my resolutions is to be more active as a blogger.  Organization is going to be my key to hitting my resolutions this year. Anyone have any hints?

The goals I set for myself last year were largely missed. I think for me, I need to be evaluating my goals more frequently. Perhaps I set some unrealistic goals, but I think also I didn’t re-evaluate when things in my life changed. As you can see, I have had a lot of changes. This year, I am going to set more short term goals and look at them often. I am not going to see missing a goal as a failure, but learn from it.

What I learned this year,  is to not ignore the things that seem to get left behind each day, they pile up. I learned being more structured in scheduling is important for me, even though I value flexibility. I discovered that even when organization is not your strongest ‘personality trait’ that you still have to do it. I also realized creating an organization system takes time and many ‘re-evaluations.’

Here’s a toast to everyone and their resolutions this year. I hope we can all celebrate our small successes and not allow our disappointments stop our forward momentum.

If you have health goals on your mind this year, let me know. I can help you set short, achievable goals. Change doesn’t happen in a day (especially New Year’s Day). Change come slowly, step by little step.

Happy New Year

Chelsea Harris

Fat, we can’t live with it…we can’t live without it. Fat has gone in an out of diet fads faster than current celebrities. As the research continues, the message gets more and more complex.

The Bad

Saturated and Trans are the fats that increase your blood cholesterol. Saturated are fats that are solid at room temperature. Trans are fats that are manmade through the hydrogenation process. Trans fats are found in small amounts in nature in meat and are also solid at room temperature. What about butter vs. margarine? It comes down to your health status and your preference. If you eat it rarely and really prefer the taste, butter is best.

The Good

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. They are the fats that are good for heart health, skin etc. etc. etc. This is the category where you find the acclaimed omega 3 and 6 fats. Omega 3 and 6 are needed by your body. We don’t make them and therefore need to get them from our diet. The hard part is we commonly don’t get enough omegas 3. Omega 3 fatty acids can help decrease inflammation in your body and help keep you heart healthy.

DHA and EPA

DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) are omega 3 fatty acids. They are found most commonly in fish and seafood. These two fats can be made from other fatty acids found in plant foods such as flax, walnuts and canola oil.

Much research has been done on omega 3 fats in the last few years. DHA and EPA have become a food industry favorite. These fats have been added to foods like formula and yogurt and are advertised to support brain development and growth. What does this mean for you and your kids?

Breastfeeding

One of the great things about breastfeeding is you can change the type of fat in your breast milk by what you eat! Breast milk has DHA and other good fats in it, pretty much regardless of you eat. However, you can change the amounts of different fats with your diet. Should you choose DHA fortified formula? Maybe, the research is conflicting. DHA supplemented formula has an impact on premature babies, but the difference hasn’t been as profound in full term babies. Breast milk offers the best complement of fatty acids for your growing baby.

What about older babies?

Fish and good oils should be a part of a healthy kid’s diet. If you aren’t huge fish fans, some of the supplemented products like omega 3 eggs and yogurt might be a good choice. As always I recommend good food first.

If you have any further questions please check with a Registered Dietitian near you or email chelseaharrisrd@gmail.com. Please check www.vitaenutritionsaskatoon.com for classes on topics like this, such as Eating for Breastfeeding Success.

March is Nutrition Month!

Dietitians across Canada, including this one, are helping you, “get the real deal on your meal.” In Saskatchewan, your community of dietitians has launched a five week challenge to help you beat food myths to eat well everyday. Check out the brand new Ask a Dietitian Sask page to keep up each week. This week’s challenge follows.

Myth: Cooking meals at home takes way too much time!

Challenge: Cook and put one meal in the freezer this week to eat at a later date.

Cooking meals at home can be a huge challenge with a new born baby at home. Planning is key. More specifically, planning for leftovers can cut the time you spend in the kitchen for healthy weekday meals. By making double batches when you do cook, you can have meal sized portions in the fridge to warm up when it is 5:00pm and everyone is already having hunger pangs. My favorite meals to cook and freeze are usually one pot wonders such as chili.

Meals aren’t the only thing that can be stocked in the freezer. You can make and freeze items like rice, pasta sauce, and stock to decrease your reliance on pre-packaged convenience foods. Check out more great time saving tips from Dietitians of Canda.

I hope you accept this week’s challenge as a great way to keep healthy meals on the table even in a time crunch!

I have always loved the saying “Nutrition from A to Z” because we can literally cover from Vitamin A to Zinc. Today is brought to you by the letter Z. What is zinc? Why is it important? How do we get it?

What?

Zinc is a metal we need in trace amounts in order to be healthy. There is approximately 2-4 grams of zinc in your body. The recommended daily allowance for zinc is 8 mg/d for women and 11 mg/day for men. Deficiency is not likely to be found in Canada, but is not uncommon around the world. Zinc deficiency can result in slow growth, loss of appetite, problems with taste and smell, loss of hair, slow wound healing and is also associated with male infertility.

Why?

Zinc is part of many enzymes in the body. It is particularly important for immune function, wound healing, thyroid function and fertility in men. Zinc is important for growth. Therefore, during pregnancy, infancy and childhood, zinc is especially important.

Zinc supplementation may also be useful for helping the common cold, treating acne and some eye diseases. There is also some evidence that zinc supplementation may help with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

How?

Besides supplements, we can get zinc from many food sources. Meat, poultry and fish are a good source of zinc. Zinc can also be found in nuts, lentils, beans, and whole grains.

If you are looking for a boost of zinc, I suggest throwing some nuts on a salad. Not only is it delicious but the nuts will add trace minerals such as zinc (and others) as well as healthy fats and fibre!