The Four Best Selling Supplements on Amazon.ca

Today’s article promises to be a fun one, and very likely the last one I’ll publish this year.

In order to best understand consumer health trends, I frequently monitor Amazon Canada’s top selling supplements list.

This is an imperfect but serviceable way to understand which types of supplements are being purchased with high frequency in Canada.

So what I’m  going to do next is as follows:

  • Identify The Four Supplements Which Most Frequently Occupied The Top 5 Spots On The List
  • Comment On Whether The Supplement “Works” And Link To My Writing/Commentary On It

Let’s get to the good stuff!

Given that fish is the only truly robust source of Vitamin D3 and that a significant portion of the Canadian population has suboptimal blood levels of this elusive nutrient, it should come as no surprise that Vitamin D3 perpetually remains on the Amazon.ca top 5 list.

If you’d like

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Does Caffeine Affect Women’s Hormones & Fertility?

I’ve been known to take a great scientific interest in the effects of caffeine consumption on human health.

And why wouldn’t I?

Something like 80% of the global population ingests caffeine on a daily basis, the overwhelming majority of which comes from coffee.

Coffee is, in fact, the top source of dietary antioxidants for the average American and its moderate consumption is associated with numerous health long-term benefits.

The question we ask today, however, is does caffeine uniquely affect women’s hormones and menstrual cycle?

I have to thank my colleague Ayman Subhani (@livingwellwithaymen) for encouraging me to explore this intriguing topic.

With that said, let’s get right into the good stuff.

Caffeine & Women’s Health – Is There A Unique Connection?

I want to preface today’s content with a reminder that the Public Health Agency Of Canada recommends caffeine intake during pregnancy to be no greater than 300mg

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Evidence-Based Health Benefits Of Drinking Coffee

My goal with today’s post is simple – to shed light on some of the long-term health benefits of regular coffee consumption.

I’ll do so via sharing various infographics that will be linked either to further writing or research so that you may explore the claim that interests you most.

For the sake of simplicity, assume that coffee consumption refers to at least 1 cup a day of black or mildly modified coffee (small amount of milk/sweetener).

In many but not all cases, the long-term health benefits of coffee intake are associated with its rich anti-oxidant content and not to caffeine, hence why decaf coffee often shows similar benefits.

Coffee, by the way, represents ~40% of the average American’s polyphenol antioxidant intake.

With that said, let’s get right to it.

 

Coffee intake in the 3-4 cups daily range has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease &

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You Need To Eat More Magnesium – Here’s How

The majority of population level data suggests that that current magnesium intake levels are insufficient among a significant portion of adults.

Back in 2018 I was interviewed by Global News on the subject, and it remains as relevant as ever today.

Case in point, a magnesium supplement currently sits among the top five selling supplements on Amazon.ca.

This is a reflection of the great deal of public interest around magnesium as a nutrient of concern from the public health perspective.

And for good reason.

Inadequate magnesium intake may worsen or increase one’s risk of:

  1. Type 2 Diabetes/Insulin Resistance and related conditions such as PCOS
  2. High Blood Pressure
  3. Migraine
  4. Bone/Muscle Issues

From my perspective as a dietitian, the thing that really makes magnesium unique is that it tends to be found in specific food groups that are either undervalued or underappreciated but that, in my estimation, are all fundamental to

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The 3 Types Of Herbs/Spices To Incorporate More

Herbs and spices are for some integral components of the cooking process and for others potentially undervalued components of a strong dietary pattern.

I am ashamed to be admit I fall in the latter category, so if you’ve been sleeping on herbs/spices too just know that you aren’t alone.

Despite of my shortcomings in this area, I often field questions from clients and acquaintances around which herbs/spices offer the most potent health benefits.

Given that they are all uniquely valuable, I’m going to attempt to respond to this question in a thematic way.

Let’s start by identifying the fact that herbs & spices offer up a unique way to flavour foods in the absence or reduced presence of sodium.

Given that high sodium intake is a primary driver of high blood pressure and that most of us consume too much, this is certainly helpful.

To quote a 2013 British Medical

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You Need To Eat More Vitamin A – Here’s How.

Last year the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition published a paper based on recently released survey data looking at the eating habits of Canadian adults.

They found that very specific vitamins and minerals were under consumed by large swathes of the population.

One such micronutrient was magnesium, which I discussed last week.

Today my gaze turns to Vitamin A, for which inadequate intakes were reported in nearly HALF of Canadians based on the data analyzed in this paper.

That’s a problem.

Adequate Vitamin A is fundamental to optimizing human health in various areas, including:

  • Immune Health
  • Skin Health
  • Bone Health
  • Fertility/Reproductive Health
  • Vision
  • Much, much more

So now we know its important and that many of us don’t get enough, here’s what can be done about it.

Vitamin A – The Heavy Hitters

Orange Veggies – Like carrots, sweet potato, squash and bell peppers.

Leafy Greens – Especially spinach, collard

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You Need More Potassium & Fibre – Here’s How.

Building on my recent series exploring common nutrient inadequacies among the general public, today my gaze turns to potassium & fibre.

I’ve chosen to group them together because, as is often the case, it is a very similar core group of foods that are high in both of them.

If you are a client or regular reader, you will hopefully start to observe very clear trends relating to the fact that the same core families of foods keep reemerging as the candidates most likely to help you, or anyone else, resolve the imbalances in their diet.

With that said, let’s get right into the good stuff.

Potassium & Fibre – The Heavy Hitters

There are 6 key families of foods you need to have on your radar to ensure adequacy in your fibre & potassium intake.

Leafy Greens – Such as spinach, chard, beet greens and KALE.

Legumes –  Such

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Low Water Intake Worsens Focus, Mood & Energy

The Institute Of Medicine (IOM) suggests that male’s consume around 3.7 L of fluid daily and women consume 2.7 L of fluid daily.

Fluid, of course, can be ingested in various forms including water (the most likely candidate) as well as tea, coffee, other beverages as well as modest contributions from the foods we consume regularly – particularly fruits and vegetables.

As you might imagine, these recommendations could vary greatly based on individual factors but at the very least provide a useful reference point.

Which leads me to the the subject of today’s article, the relationship between water intake and various daily mental functioning considerations like mood, focus and energy levels.

Let’s dive right in (pun intended).

Water & Mental Functioning – Insights

“When dehydration reduces body mass by more than 2%, it has been consistently reported that mood is influenced, fatigue is greater, and alertness is

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Eat These Foods To Reduce Skin Aging By 10%

Today’s article is inspired by the recently published results of a 15-year long study out of The Journal Of Investigative Dermatology which found that in men and women aged 45+ a diet higher in antioxidants reduced skin photo-aging by ~10% as compared to individuals in that demographic with diet’s low in total antioxidant content.

Translation: Eating more antioxidant rich foods has the potential to significantly slow the skin aging process.

I’ll be the first to admit that the word “antioxidant” does get thrown around quite a bit and perhaps is misused or misunderstood in some circles, but even so the fact of the matter is that the antioxidant content of someone’s diet is considered a pretty reasonable indicator of diet quality and correlates well with other scales that measure this type of thing.

The goal of today’s article is to introduce you to a few foods that have an above

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How Can We Eat More Plant-Based?

How Can We Eat More Plant-Based?

The popularity of plant-based diets is growing exponentially year on year, with half a million Brits signing up to Veganuary in 2021. There is also an increase in the ‘flexitarian diet’ which involves eating mainly plant-based foods but still includes meat/fish occasionally. It’s thought those following a vegan and vegetarian diet will make up a ¼ of the British population by 2025! I’m excited to know how many of you joined Veganuary this year?!

A well planned plant-based diet is associated with improved health outcomes, helping to optimise cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of some non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.

So, how can you add more plant-based foods into your daily diet?

Cook a vegetarian meal one night a week – Start with something simple, a meal that takes less than 30 minutes to cook, with few ingredients that

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