I’ve always been in love with Souris PEI, and developed these heartfelt feelings while working as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist in the area.  I ran an office in the town for almost 3 years and I’ve got to say it feels good to be “home” again.

Last week I launched a 4 week community Weight Loss Challenge in Souris and after 1 week the group’s results have already amazed me! This evening 32 group participants lined up in the hospital classroom to be weighed by yours truly.  All week group challengers avoided tempting treats, moved their bodies more, got off the pop and vowed to make April 2010 their healthiest month yet. To no surprise this group delivered impressive results, with a total of 138 pounds lost in 1 week!

I’ve been teaching community weight loss challenges for 4 years, and have NEVER seen results this impressive. True all members are veterans of the Rachelle Wood Nutrition Holistic Weight Loss program, and I’m happy to add to the knowledge I’ve already taught them. It’s my pleasure to travel the distance to inspire and motivate you all on the road to better health. Nothing like a little friendly community weight loss challenge to bring out the best in all of us! Our class Biggest Loser also wins a prize, a 1 month subscription to See Results.

Not only does losing weight make you feel good and look good, it also decreases your risk for developing disease. After class this evening I had a great chat with the nurse on duty who explained to me the positive impact that my practice has had on the health of the entire community. She’s seen my clients literally shrink right before her eyes.  The doctors in the small community hospital have recommended my  services over the years  because I have education and experience in the field of  nutrition and am considered the "local nutrition expert".

Our lecture this evening consisted of a group discussion about the movie, “FoodInc.”, which aired on CBCNNs the Passionate Eye last night. Group members noted that the movie made them think twice about the food they put into their bodies and most importantly where it comes from. We mentioned the names of some local farmers (livestock and produce) that service the community’s nutritional needs and why it is so important to buy our food from them.

I think Canadians can learn a lot from Souris PEI when it comes to supporting local.  The grocery stores and restaurants buy from local farmers in the area in season, and care about the health of the community. Last year I trained the Save Easy (former IGA) staff about healthy eating and worked with department managers first hand to improve the quality of goods sold from a nutritional and community sustainability point of view. As per my request the store bakery makes my weight loss morning glory muffins ( AND STILL STOCKS THEM TODAY). The stores focus, buy local first and to prepare/deliver fresh healthy meals for the good of the community.

Each summer Souris hosts the Village Feast, a celebration of local food, culinary talent and entertainment.  They have a local “fish peddler” who’s been selling seafood in the area since before I was born.  And in the Fall you can buy apples from a local farmer who sits in the mall parking lot with a dodge ram truck full of local goods. Yes indeed, Souris is full of community spirit year round.

My heartfelt thanks go out to the community of Souris for supporting my nutritional career over the past 4 years. Although I no longer have an office in the community I do plan on hosting 2 annual community weight loss challenges in spring and fall.  Yes Souris residents I may have, “big city dreams” but I promise that I will never forget where I came from, and that's Eastern PEI.

Are you interested in hosting a 4 week community or workplace Weight Loss Challenge? If so email us to find out more.

Read any good books lately? I was reading Lawrence Hill's Book of Negros. I loved this book, it reminded me of, one of my favorite books from many moon's ago. Alex Haley's Roots. My mom and I watched that movie "Roots" so many times, that my sister Amy, was nearly named Kizzie.

Now I am reading Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope.I love this book as well. This book speaks to me on many levels. Jane Goodall ignited my interest in bowel movements, many years ago. Boy that is not a sentence you hear every day. I don't even recall which of her many books I was reading about 10-15 years ago. In whichever book it was, there was an exert where Jane was talking about one of the people who worked on her team, deep in the heart of Gorilla Country. This person's sole job consisted of sitting in hot/humid weather, deep in the jungle, analyzing Gorilla feces. Right away, I though, Jane why would you make this man, do that? Once she explained all that could be learned about the Gorilla, from looking at there bowel movements, I was hooked.

To this day, the Digestive System is my favorite system in the whole body.  I am telling you people, look at your poop. Seriously. What color is it; what shape, consistency, what's in it-any hidden treasures, is it covered in mucus?

I have found pieces of food, parasites, and just the other day, some odd "bright white" thing? Jane was right on the mark when she said we can tell a lot about a person, by what they leave behind.  

Jane's latest book, really will have you thinking of your food, in a whole new light. I'm giving this book a 5 star rating!

  5 Star Rating, Harvest for Hope

Do you have a book you would like Registered Holistic Nutritionists Susan Foster or Rachelle Wood to read? If so email us. Did you read this book? Please post your comments below. 

Have you tried the new Kashi cereals yet? Last week I enjoyed the Toasted Berry Crisp for FREE! Earlier this year Kashi endorsed a free cereal campaign  online and on TV ( thanks Susan Foster for sending me the link).  Participants were asked to visit Kashi's website, pick a cereal to sample, then answer a short questionnaire. According to the company, participants should receive the sample cereal box in the mail in 2-4 weeks.  

I chose to sample a brand new flaked cereal, filled out the necessary paperwork and waited for the postman to arrive. In less then 2 weeks I found my sample box in my post office box.  

As a Holistic Nutritionist I'm always encouraging my clients to read nutritional information and ingredients lists before consuming. According to the box this cereal is naturally sweetened, contains 7 whole grains, cranberries and wild blueberries. Sounds lovely! A 51 gram serving reports: 210 calories, 4 grams fat, 130 mg sodium, 8 grams fibre, 13 grams of sugar and 9 grams of protein. With numbers like that this cereal should keep you full for a while.

I approved the products nutritional information and opened the box. The cereal smelled sweet and contained a multitude of shapes and textures ( long sticks, clusters, flakes, dried fruit ). Actual serving size was just under 1 cup.

So how did it taste? DELICIOUS! I'm not someone who eats cereal often, but I would buy this one for sure. Not only did the taste satisfy my taste buds, but the high protein and fibre content satisfied my ravenous morning appetite. This cereal is high in sugar, but is sweetened naturally with cane sugar. It contains: wheat, soy and sesame products so those with allergies should be careful. 

Looks like Kashi is passing out even more healthy samples online. They also have tasty recipes. Why not give them a try?

As a consumer I’m overwhelmed by the selection of milk alternatives on grocery store shevles. They can be made from: soy, rice, oats, almonds or hempseeds. You can even buy ones that combine rice and soy.  So how do you know which one is best for you?  Perhaps by comparing labels and taste. This sounds like a great experiment for my in office clients!  

For this experiment I’m comparing the taste, price and nutritional information for 3 milk alternatives: soymilk, oatmilk, and almond milk.  I picked these 3 products because soy is what I drink daily and I had never tried the other 2 before.

In the taste test (to my surprise) most participants favored the oat milk, then the soy, then the almond.  The oat milk had a lot of flavour, the soy tasted more like cows milk, and the almond had a funny aftertaste.

As for cost, most of the milk alternatives were comparable in price which ranged from $1.99 for the soy to $2.69 for the almond milk. All in all, these alternatives are pretty much the same price as cows milk.  

And as for nutrition all 3 products differ. Nutritionally speaking consumers drink milk for its protein and calcium content.  All 3 alternatives contain 30 % of your daily clacium intake however the protein amounts differ. Soymilk has an impressive 8 grams of protein per serving, follwed by oat at 3 grams and almond with only 1 gram.  I’d also like to note that all 3 milk alternatives had only 4 gram of fat per serving.  Also the calories differed, for a 1 cup serving the calorie counts were: soy  80, oat  120, and the almond at 60. 

All in all, the winner of the milk alternative taste test is oatmilk; however when it comes to nutritional information the soymilk wins.  Participants thought the almond milk had a funny aftertaste and were surprised that it didn’t really smell like almonds. I would like to thank all my in office clients for helping me gather the data for this in office experiment. 

Do you have another healthy food experiment you’d like us to evaluate? If so email your suggestions to us at Rachelle Wood Nutrition. 

Tis the glutamine season. For anyone who spends serious time at the gym. L-Glutamine is your friend. The L- in L-Glutamine just means that the chain is left spinning. See Sandra Murphy ND, I was paying attention in class.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body.

It is good for:

-Muscle growth and repair- This is great for development of muscle mass.

-Preventing muscle tissue breakdown (anti-proteolytic- if you want the fancy Verizon).

-Helps maintain the correct acid/alkaline balance.

-Promotes clarity Healthy digestive tract- one of my favorite things.

-Strengthen of mucosal lining Great for pre/post surgery.

-Improves immune function.

-Antioxidant properties.

-Possible HIV support - (Please not the word possible there). 

-Alcoholism.

-Wounds.

-Arthritis and connective tissue disease.

-Muscle wasting conditions.

-Food cravings.

-Stress.

-Fatigue.

There are side effects of this supplement, as with many supplements, should not be taken lightly. Mixing the wrong supplement with the wrong meds could be deadly. Ok now that I have your attention. Here is the list of side effects or things to watch out for.

Caution with anti -seizure meds. Especially Dilantin. If you are sensitive to MSG, be careful the body metabolizes Glutaminein to Glutamte. Certain meds may interact with this nutrient. If you are taking bipolar meds, L-Glutamine may induce a manic episode. L-Glutamine has some good properties, like most supplements can still have adverse reactions. So handle with care. As usual, any questions or comments I would love to hear them,  susan@rachellewood.ca