The Importance Of Drinking Water In Winter

As the weather cools down, most of us tend to find ourselves drawn to anything that’s going to warm up our insides. Understandably, a refreshing, tall glass of water doesn’t quite make the list in terms of what we think is going to help us withstand the cold however drinking water is just as important in Winter as it is in Summer! Here’s why

With the lower temperature outside, there’s no doubt most of us can be found inside under a heater, rugged up in 2-3 layers of clothing. Whilst we may not be perspiring in 35 degree heat, this warm environment can still be very dehydrating for our bodies and skin. By drinking 8 glasses of water a day, it helps to ensure our bodies are well hydrated and also works to more naturally keep skin soft and supple.

Maintaining our body temperature and keeping us cool isn’t the only purpose of drinking water. Our bodies are 60 – 80% water and we use water every time we move, eat, breath, have a bowel movement etc. Keeping up your water intake in winter is just as beneficial (and necessary) for your health and comfort as it is in the warmer months.

Light, fresh salads and juices tend to be back of mind once winter arrives as the cooler months make a lot of us crave richer foods – creamy curries, cheesy pastas and decadent chocolate treats sound familiar? With an increase of these more complex foods in our system, our bodies need water to assist with digestion. To avoid digestion problems and to truly enjoy your wintery treat, your body needs more water than what these foods can provide alone.

By not drinking enough water, your body interprets this as there being limited water available in the environment you’re in. It therefore takes action and begins to limit its abilities in order to survive. As a result, you may find it difficult to concentrate or generally perform at your usual standard. When your body is getting enough water however, you will find yourself operating at your best!

Whilst it may not be as inviting to reach for a cool glass of water when it’s cold outside, don’t think you need it any less. Water is a key ingredient that supports our bodily functions that also keeps us looking a feeling good ALL year round!

Ingredient Snapshot – Quinoa

• Quinoa is a key ingredient of our NEW WBC Porridge, so we’d love to share a few of its benefits with you.

• Quinoa is technically a seed and not a grain as commonly thought. Whilst it’s a relatively new addition to our diets, it has been a staple of South American diets for thousands of years with the Incas first recognizing its benefits and calling it the ‘mother grain

• Quinoa’s protein content is about 16 per cent higher than that of any other grain and itself has a relatively high protein content at about 14 per cent

• Importantly Quinoa is abundant in a specific protein that most other grains are lacking in – the amino acid lysine.

• Quinoa a complete protein – these are rare in the plant world. This makes quinoa an excellent food for vegetarians and vegans or anyone looking for a healthy protein source

• Quinoa contains more iron than most other grains and is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, folate and many B vitaminsQuinoa is naturally gluten free, making it an excellent choice for people with Coeliac disease and those who chose to eat gluten free

WBC’s Porridge combines Quinoa (26%) with other gluten free ingredients – Rolled Brown Rice, Rapadura Sugar, Cinnamon and Vanilla. It’s a super nutritious, natural and unprocessed start to the day!

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Power of Food Seminar – VIC Middle Park

‘Power of Food’ Seminar – NSW Maroubra

Join naturopath and chiropractor, Dr Damian Kristof, health and wellness expert, for 2 hours of power that will:

• Fill your brain with current up to date high quality information about food

• Open your mind to the realities and myths about food and the current food guidelines

• Optimise your health with the simplest approach to food and eating you’ll ever hear

• Discover health and wellness through the power of food

Date: Wednesday March 9th

Start time: 7.00pm Start

Venue: Souths Junior Rugby League Club, 558A Anzac Parade, Kingsford NSW

Seats are limited – Bookings are essential for this seminar.

To Book Please Call (02) 9344 4233

To find out more about Dr Kristof, go to www.damiankristof.com

‘Power of Food’ Seminar – NSW Coogee

Join naturopath and chiropractor, Dr Damian Kristof, health and wellness expert, for 2 hours of power that will:

• Fill your brain with current up to date high quality information about food

• Open your mind to the realities and myths about food and the current food guidelines

• Optimise your health with the simplest approach to food and eating you’ll ever hear

• Discover health and wellness through the power of food

Date: Tuesday March 8th

Start time: 7.00pm Start

Venue: Easts Function Centre, 93 – 97 Spring St Bondi Junction, Coogee NSW http://www.eastleaguesclub.com.au/default.aspx?id=2

Seats are limited – Bookings are essential for this seminar.

To Book Please Contact Cassandra on (02) 9398 3699

To find out more about Dr Kristof, go to www.damiankristof.com

Romance Foods

Dr John Aiken – have you ever met a guy who understands relationships and women as well as this guy? Probably not! I haven’t!

There are some foods that many of us know about which can really get you going… and I don’t mean to the toilet! Given that this time of year calls for improved effort and attention to matters of the heart and relationships, why not start your way there with food? After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!

For millennia, cultures have marvelled over the effects of food on passion, romance and libido. I therefore thought that if you had just a couple of minutes in your day, you might learn a thing or two just in time for a romantic night this coming Monday.

I never knew until recently that the vanilla ‘bean’ is in fact the gonads of the vanilla flower! One single vanilla flower gives rise to one single vanilla bean. Vanilla is said to be one of nature’s finest aphrodisiacs. Its fragrance, allure and taste could be something that you use to make your heart race a bit faster.

Traditionally foods high in zinc are said to enhance male potency and fertility. In the case of oysters however, I’m not sure if their consumption will improve fertility but certainly anecdotally, oysters are said to get the consumer in the mood for more fun later! These slippery little ‘suckers’ are most nutritious in their natural state, though kilpatrick and other cooked varieties may also have the same effect. This could be the best $30 entrée you’ve had!

Believe me, as a self confessed connoisseur of chocolate (in moderation of course) – the darker the chocolate, the better the effect. But don’t be fooled by chocolates that are milky but still organic. Just because it is organic, doesn’t mean they will be effective in achieving the magic. Dark chocolate of the higher percentage contains more polyphenols (chemicals that do the job) than the lighter or milky chocolate. Mixed with spices like cinnamon and chilli – you are sure to get some fire going.

Food is as enjoyable as it is nutritious and it is best to get the most nutritious foods that you can, as fresh as you can, as often as you can! Healthy food mixed with foods for stimulation will make your February 14th one to remember.

Valentine’s Day Romance Tips!

John Aiken is a relationship expert and best selling author. He has been giving out advice to singles and couples for the past 15 years both in private practice and in the media. You can see him on TV as the expert on the Today Show, the Circle, Today Tonight and the Morning Show, you can hear him on radio such as ABC, Today Fm, and Mix Fm, and he is regularly featured in magazines such as Cosmo, Cleo, Marie Claire, Vogue, and Next.

Valentine’s Day is just about upon us and now is the perfect time to start planning the big day. If you’re not usually that keen on making it a memorable day – then do something different this year. Send a strong message to your partner that you cherish them and show them that they’re important to you. That’s what I love about Feb 14th! It’s yet another opportunity in the calendar to get across to your loved one how much you adore them!

Now there are many things that you can do to celebrate the day. But for this year I’m going to focus on sharing a special meal with them.

Now Damian will look after the food side of things – I’ll focus on the romance!! Here are 5 key things to remember when having a romantic meal on Valentine’s Day:

1) Set the mood

Consider lighting, music, the table setting and the view. If there are kids around, make sure you’ve organised for them to be looked after for the night. Turn the cell phones and computers off, no TV and think about candles. The more effort you put in, the more successful the evening is going to be.

2) Give them a gift/ card

It doesn’t need to be anything extravagant. What’s important is that the gift and the card hit the mark – it needs to be special to the person that’s receiving it. Choose your words carefully in the card, date it and take your time – there’s nothing worse than spelling mistakes and doing a rush job! The great thing about cards and gifts, is that this marks the day and the occasion, and they can look back at this anytime they like.

3) Tell them why you love them

When you’re sitting down and sharing a meal together, it’s important to tell them why you love them so much. What sets them apart from everyone else? Think about why you fell in love and what you love about their character (e.g. parenting, kindness, fun, ambition, sense of humour, looks, fitness etc). Heap appreciation on them for being who they are and for making your life so much better.

4) Share future goals together

Also over dinner, take some time to talk about future goals. What do you want to be doing in 6 months, 2 years and 5 years time as individuals as well as a couple? Dream together and think big! Consider travel, house, children, money, career, friends etc. This will bring you close and consolidate the commitment you have together moving forward.

5) Initiate sex

This is a perfect time to initiate sex. Connect with them on a physical level but make sure that you focus on meeting your partner’s every need as well as your own. If you want to experiment, by all means! The important thing here is that you’re deepening your connection through being intimate, and it’s a great way of showing your partner that you desire and want them.

Now over to you Damian for some excellent food suggestions to make Feb 14th a Valentine’s Day to remember!

For more of John’s tips, blogs, and upcoming media appearances – sign up now on his website: www.johnaikenadvice.com

WBC welcomes Cindy O’Meara

WBC is delighted to announce the on-going contribution of Cindy O’meara to our member e-newsletter!

>Not your typical nutritionist, Cyndi disagrees with low-fat, low-calorie diets, believes chocolate can be good for you and thinks cheating and eating yummy food is an important part of a well-balanced diet. Cyndi must be doing something right because she maintains a healthy weight and has never (in her whole life!) taken an antibiotic, pain-killer or any other form of medication.

Diet is a word that begins with the word “DIE” and that’s what everyone thinks when they know they have to go on a diet. But I’m not your typical nutritionist, I believe that salt, fat and sugar are not things to avoid but to enjoy and can create health, I believe butter is better, most boxed breakfast cereals should be banned and eating yummy foods and chocolate can all be part of a healthy organic diet.

Hopefully I have your attention as it is time to stop the insanity of dieting to lose weight, which obviously isn’t working because many nations around the world are now fatter, sicker and more depressed then they have ever been. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, so let’s stop the insanity and do something completely different.

If you stop losing weight and change your goal to gaining health then you begin to think differently about food. No longer do you need to eat low fat, low calorie, tasteless boring expensive diet food. Instead you begin to look at food for what it does to your health and I have to tell you that is entirely different to diet foods. When the body eats healthy food then it goes to its perfect weight. The eating style I propose does not count calories, weigh food (unless you’re making a recipe) nor do I ask you to monitor your weight. But rather I ask you to monitor; clothes comfort, sleeping patterns, energy, tolerance of your family and friends and many more things that are important for a happy life.

The average woman who goes on a diet to lose weight has a 98% chance of being fatter 12 months later then if she didn’t go on the diet at all, so with that in mind let’s make the goal to never again go on a diet to lose weight but instead eat foods for health and step by step bit by bit change your habits which will in turn change your life both physically and mentally.

Our diets have changed dramatically over the past 40 years and as a result so has the obesity and sickness epidemic. There is a definite link between the foods you eat and your health and weight. The foods that we evolved to eat are; fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, chicken, grains, dairy, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds spices, herbs and cocoa and anything that we can make with it including chocolate cake. But these days the ingredient list on the back of a chocolate cake reads like a bunch of chemicals in laboratory including; hydrogenated vegetable oil, brown coloring, cocoa flavoring, preservatives, additives, soy isolate, calcium caesinate and so much more. Once upon a time our foods had 5 or so ingredients these days ingredients can list into the 100’s for a simple food. I counted 35 ingredients/chemicals on a breakfast cereal pack the other day and most were not even foods.

Most people are more obsessed about making sure the fat, salt, sugar and protein content of a food is just right but they fail to actually look at what is in the food. The other day I found a so called “perfect food” with low salt, low sugar, low calories and high fibre but when I read the ingredients there was no food in it but merely something that was disguised as food.

We need to focus on the quality of our foods rather then how much can I have. When you focus on the quality of your foods then your body will thank you by making clear skin, beautiful hair, abundant energy and much more. Quality foods give abundant nutrition which then creates a state of satiety (no hunger or longing for food). This satiety then stops overeating and like magic no more cravings.

Each issue we’ll look at one food and see how the quality of what you eat actually changes lives.

Keep a look out for Cyndi’s article ‘Food ain’t food anymore – especially milk!’ in our next issue.

Happy Changing Habits
Cyndi O’Meara
Nutritionist
www.changinghabits.com.au

Alcohol – What is the deal?

By Dr. Damian Kristof

YEP! It’s that time of the year again – the weather is fining up and we’re all starting to head out more. The winter social life is taking a back seat as we head out to enjoy the company of our friends and family and in the sun… often these engagements include copious quantities of foods and beverages that are challenging to your health and wellbeing… and it all tastes sooooo good! What are we to do?

This isn’t an article that is supposed to scare you or cause anxiety. At the end of the day it’s just good to remember these points.

• If you are conscious of your weight, it can take up to 5 days for your body to start burning fat again following alcohol consumption

• Alcohol is one of the most toxic fuels that we can put into our body, it’s the first fuel to be metabolised by our liver because it is so dangerous to our brain.

• Depending on how much you drink and get into your body, sugar and fats consumed may not be completely burned off before your next meal. This means that you’ll be storing more fuel in and around your tummy.

• 1 bottle of wine provides the same amount of calories that the average adult male requires each day – we call these empty calories.

• There are more calories in 2 glasses champagne than in 1 stubbie of beer.

• Alcohol blocks a hormone that the brain NEEDS called Anti-Diuretic Hormone, which stops you from urinating too much. This is how alcohol causes dehydration. Drink a glass of water between each drink.

• The minerals that you lose from weeing too much when you drink alcohol are easy to replace – you can get electrolyte replacement powders from any bike shop or triathlon store… this is by far the best for you!

• You know that little pimple you get after drinking alcohol… it’s no coincidence. Alcohol can cause a whole host of challenges in the body that may need to be cleared through your skin… if you drink… you better stock on the anti-blemish cream.

If you can stick to WBC for breaky, a salad and light protein for lunch and dinner, you should be fine to enjoy a couple of responsible drinking sessions over the party season… and now you know some stuff that could save you from drinking too much.

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