Archive for the ‘General Nutrition’ category

Should ALL Food Be Eaten Raw?

August 2nd, 2010

If you’re venturing into raw foods you should probably know that some foods might not be best when eaten raw.

Yes, I might be surprising you with this information but the reality is that there particular classes of raw foods that should probably be cooked and sprouted, in some cases.

To find out what they are, watch the following video:

Are You Guilty Of Being A Bit Of A Couch Potato?

August 2nd, 2010

couch potato2Do you have days, weeks, and sometimes months when you have absolutely no energy to exercise? Have you turned into a bit of a couch potato over the years, using different excuses and reasons why you can’t exercise?

Well you’re certainly not alone.

Given the busy and hectic lifestyles that many of us lead today, constant fatigue and tiredness has pretty much become the “norm”.

For a lot of us, our couches have become our “best friends” after a hard day at work, and the mere thought of getting out and about, and doing some exercise can be the last thing on our minds.

But in order to achieve optimal health – it’s absolutely essential that the human body gets some form of exercise.

Exercise by definition is “… any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health”.

You see by exercising, you will become more flexible, stronger and have a lot more energy.

And there is even more good news.

* When you start getting into shape, your self-esteem also increases. You begin to handle things better, and it can even help those who suffer from depression.

* Your relationships with your colleagues, friends and family also improves because you begin to feel so much healthier.

* When you get physically fit – many people find that they begin to get their lives back in shape too.

So don’t wait until you gain 20 kilo’s and your doctor tells you that you MUST exercise. Prevention is the key to good health, and exercise is the key to acquiring more energy.

If this all sounds a bit too hard and overwhelming right now, get your hands on a copy of Yuri’s book – Eating for Energy. Because when you ‘Eat for Energy’- you won’t feel like slumping on the couch. You will have so much energy to burn that your body will want to exercise so you won’t have to fight with the couch any longer!

Kind regards,

Audra Starkey
[The Healthy Shift Worker]

How to Eat Healthy When You Have No Time

July 30th, 2010

eat-healthy-no-timeAre your pressed for time? Still want to eat heathy?

Well, welcome to the club. In today’s fast-paced society we’ve truly traded our health for convenience. But we don’t have to. The trick to eating healthy when you have no time is PREPARATION.

Having a plan can make all the difference between eating a healthy meal and ordering nasty take-out.

Here’s a question I was asked a little while ago on this topic:

“Yuri, I have a really hard time trying to eat well, I am a workaholic and spend too much time at the office, when I get home, I really don’t want to cook, I am single and spend 3 weeks of the month in El Salvador (because of my job). I created a chart and did set up a 3 month goal, one pound and 0.8% of fat per week; I started taking kick boxing classes together with the Power90 program from beachbody.com I do at home, but I really don’t want to lose interest if I don’t start seeing results, and I understand nutrition is a key part of it. What do you recommend?”

For the answer to this question, watch this video..

=> Have you got similar constraints? Let me know how I can help in the comments.

High Energy Diet

July 30th, 2010

There are a lot of people out there who could greatly benefit from a change in their diet to a plan that would give them a lot more energy and some great health benefits. If you are an athlete, for example, a high energy raw diet might be just the thing you are looking for to give you an added edge in your sport of choice. And while you might be thinking that this sort of dramatic change to one’s lifestyle would only be for those elite athletes who earn their living in their sports, think again. Every person who is active can benefit from eating for energy. It does not matter if you are a weekend warrior, a part-time participant, a rec league roller or someone who simply goes out to have some fun and stay active. It does not matter if you run, jump, stretch, hit, shoot or catch. If you are active, there are ways to change your diet – some of them more involved, and some with more obvious results – that will improve your performance. It’s all about the raw power.

A high energy raw food diet can provide you with new sources of energy and personal power that you might be able to find in other, more expensive and more artificially produced foods, but the power of the rawness in this eating plan will give you more of the good stuff, without all the by-products.

For one thing, eating a raw high energy diet will likely include a lot of nuts and seeds. In traditional diets, these are food items that many people deprive themselves of, due to their high fat content. But the natural fats found in many nuts and seeds are incredibly beneficial to your body, and the calories they provide are important for those who lead an active lifestyle. Their naturally high fiber also helps to regulate your body’s digestion, meaning less energy is wasted in the processing and elimination of foods, leaving more power for your next athletic endeavor.

Another important aspect of eating a high energy diet is the hydration factor. Normal diets will tell you to drink plenty of fluids, but for someone who is about to lose a lot of water weight in sweat, the normal amounts will not suffice. And rather than subjecting yourself to another high sugar sports drink, why not take advantage of an option you can make yourself, using only raw ingredients, that will help to push you , provide you with energy, keep you well hydrated and cost just pennies a glass?

Tribes in Mexico have been consuming iskiate, also known as chia fresca, for a very long time, and it has helped to power then through runs that can last all day long, over very difficult terrain. This drink is simple to make – simply combine two teaspoons of chia seeds, the juice of one half of a fresh lime, and a half teaspoon of honey in a glass of cool water. Stir and enjoy – it’s as simple as that. It might not be in the recipe book for any diet you have ever tried before, but there are a lot of things about a raw high energy diet that are likely to be completely new for you.

Eating for Energy Smoothie and Juice Guide

July 29th, 2010

FreshFruitSmoothieI am often asked what I eat for breakfast in order to be always be in such a great mood. Well, besides, always having energy to enjoy the day, using the 50 pages of smoothie & juice guide that Yuri gave me with my Eating  For Energy book gives me ideas and combinations to more than fill 365 days of breakfast solutions.

If you have a busy lifestyle(who doesn’t), skipping breakfast is a great mistake. I did it for years and still suffer from it today. Always being tired and “out of gas” before lunch had been a problem for years until I learned why smoothies and juice were the ideal solution:

  1. They are quick to prepare in the morning or the night before.
  2. You can use fresh fruit from the freezer, blend with your own home made nut milk(always fresh) and in less than 5 minutes you are out the door.
  3. A quick get away in the morning when you are full of energy is the only solution. Just take the smoothie or juice with you, that’s all. Simple?

Digestibility of the drink in the morning is the key to a healthy breakfast success. Having a big breakfast use to make my stomach ache in the morning going to work. I think that is a big reason why we tend to skip it. We think we are doing our stomachs a favor, and maybe we where, but our energy levels have always suffered.

  • The whole eating thing as to do with what the food does for our bodies. Highly digestible foods, that quickly gets to our blood streams to give us energy without upseting our sleeping stomachs, is the key to smoothies and juices. You drink it, it goes through your stomach within minutes, is absorbed into your system and voila”, everyone is happy!
  • Smoothies and juice prepared from real fruits and vegetables(no store bought processed stuff for me) gives me all the vitamins and nutrition without the excess fibers and stomach discomforts.
  • Let your stomach breath and sleep easy every morning. Have a smoothie or a juice and your stomach will thank you for it. Believe me when I tell you that your energy level will jump. Try it for a week and let me know.

The variety will get your whole family involved. You will have a waiting list of everyone’s favorite. Each will have there own combinations and you will see beaming faces in the morning.(Have you ever seen Yuri not be beaming?)

You can have  a Spinach Pear Smoothie, page 310.

A Cinnamon Banana Smoothie, page 313.

A Blueberry Sunrise, page 315, incredible great stuff is written in ink next to it in my book.

Bananamania (great for the kids too) page 331.

The list goes on and on. I am trying to paint a breakfast picture for you here!

Yerry and Yammy’s Green Juice, page 336.

Apple-Pear Morning Pick ME Up, page 340.

Are you starting to get the picture? No more excuses. Get the Eating For Energy book today. You can download it before breakfast and use what you have in the refrigerator right now.

Have a great time and feel the energy Pierrette & I feel every morning.

P.S. Do you have a favorite juice or smoothie recipe to share with us?

Pierre Trudel

Thee Quest For Perfect Health