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Doug Cook RD > Vitamin D

Vitamin D

Fresh Fillet of Sockeye Salmon with parsley - by Doug Cook RD
Fresh Fillet of Sockeye Salmon with parsley - by Doug Cook RD
Sockeye Salmon. One Of The Original Superfoods

  You know that fish and seafood are good for you.   Whether or not...

Sockeye Salmon. One Of The Original Superfoods
Sake salmon and quinoa
Sake salmon and quinoa
Quick Cured Sake Salmon With Quinoa

  This simple meal of salmon, quinoa, and veggies is an uncomplicated way to get...

Quick Cured Sake Salmon With Quinoa
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dougcookrd

Doug Cook RD, The Gut Brain Guy
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My practice is grounded in science not dogma. I provide evidence to substantiate my views and nutritional advice.

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Do you sardine? โฃ โฃ It's my new verb ๐Ÿ˜€ โฃ Do you sardine? โฃ โฃ It's my new verb ๐Ÿ˜€ โฃ โฃ I haven't been sardining like I used to โฃ โฃ So nutritious and inexpensive. You can get a 100 g can for about $1.10 or so โฃ โฃ They give a lot of nutritional bang for your buckโฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 200 caloriesโฃ ๐Ÿ‘‰ 1480 mg of omega 3 fats like EPA, DPA & DHAโฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 25 g proteinโฃ ๐Ÿ‘‰ 108 IU retinol (vitamin A)โฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 272 IU vitamin D3 (not that shitty plant-based D2 version)โฃ ๐Ÿ‘‰ 5.2 mg niacin (vitamin B3)โฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 9 mcg B12โฃ ๐Ÿ‘‰ 85 mg cholineโฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 382 mg calciumโฃ ๐Ÿ‘‰ 40 mg magnesiumโฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 490 mg phosphorus๐Ÿ‘‰ 397 mg potassiumโฃ ๐Ÿ‘ 1.3 mg zincโฃ ๐Ÿ‘‰ 53 mcg selenium โฃ โฃ Think about that for a second. ALL that nutrition for 200 calories. Kale, spinach, quinoa, legumes, goji berries (so-called superfoods), etc doesn't hold a candle to sardines โฃ โฃ Of course, that doesn't mean those other foods aren't nutritious, they are, but the reality is, a food like sardines has way more concentrated nutrients AND those nutrients are absorbed infinitely better โฃ โฃ Admittedly, I'm not a fan of sardines but if they're tarted up with lots of flavours like seed mustard, onion, sliced tomatoes and avocado, I can eat them in a sandwich โฃ โฃ They are much better grilled or I can sneak them into a salad easily enough โฃ โฃ What about you? Do you sardine much? What's your favourite way of eating them?
Contrary to what we have shoved down our throats e Contrary to what we have shoved down our throats every day, the human race is not dehydrated nor are we at risk of dehydration โฃ โฃ After shelving ideology or statements that start with I "think, believe, feel", all we're left with is facts and evidence โฃ โฃ Humans, like all animals, have a very primitive and, more importantly, effective thirst mechanism that regulates our intake of fluids without even thinking about it โฃ โฃ Yes, there a handful of very few exceptions. I work in a hospital and one of my patient populations is geriatrics. True dehydration can occur in the elderly because the thirst cue can be blunted โฃ โฃ Also, under certain conditions, we CAN lose water faster than we can replace it; during the summer if we're outside, exercising in warm weather, or those in jobs who sweat a lot (roofers, construction workers, groundskeepers, etc) โฃ โฃ But for the rest of us, we don't have to be guzzling water. All drinking lots of water does is make you pee more, AND that pee is nearly 100% pure water because your kidneys have to excrete excess water to keep your electrolytes within a tight range - if not, seizures anyone? โฃ โฃ Working in nephrology [kidney medicine] for 12 years taught me that โฃ โฃ The message of needing the EQUIVALENT of 2 litres of water/fluid a day got misinterpreted to mean 2 litres of water on top of all other fluids - d'oh โฃ โฃ The hydration myth has resulted in the greatest scam in consumer history: the bottling and selling of water, AND it's resulted in one of the greatest environmental issues: plastic pollution โฃ โฃ Start looking on the ground the next time you're out for a walk. Empty water bottles ARE everywhere, and it doesn't help when health professionals perpetuate this hydration myth
I know a lot of folks don't like the analogy of 'r I know a lot of folks don't like the analogy of 'rustproofing' when it comes to describing anti-oxidants โฃ โฃ But it helps people understand the concept. When an apple or avocado is exposed to air, the oxygen reacts with the sugars, proteins, etc and alters their structure leading to browning โฃ โฃ Same thing with a nail, water, and oxygen, over time, leads to rusting due to oxidation โฃ โฃ Put a little lemon juice on the apple (say, when you're making fruit salad) and the vitamin C and organic acids protect the fruit and the flesh stays white - no oxidation โฃ โฃ The same thing happens in your body. Lots of things accelerate the rusting of your cells, tissues and over time, your organs which partly contributes to chronic diseases and the stuff that goes along with that โฃ โฃ Increased oxidation is driven by inactivity, alcohol, smoking (of any kind), refined carbs/excess sugars, excess calories, high blood pressure, diabetes, pre-diabetes, overweight/obesity, sunlight, pollution and more โฃ โฃ The vast majority of your antioxidant defenses are made by your body using various minerals and vitamins, so be sure to give your body what it needs by eating a nutrient-dense diet โฃ โฃ Other sources of antioxidants include those found in plant foods - don't overthink it or pit one food against another, just try to include more plants โฃ โฃ To be clear, the benefits kick in long before becoming vegan etc, it's not about overly focusing on plants but rather trying to be consistent and including some at every meal
Nut butters. Seed butters โฃ โฃ So many options Nut butters. Seed butters โฃ โฃ So many options beyond old faithful: peanut butter โฃ โฃ Next most popular is probably almond butter which is also a fav of mine โฃ โฃ But live a little and explore other options, there's so much to choose from โฃ โฃ I've seen some of these in stores but not all of them.โฃ โฃ ๐—ก๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€โฃ - pistachio โฃ - hazelnut โฃ - walnut โฃ - pecan โฃ - macadamia (super yum)โฃ - cashew (OK, technically a fruit and not a tree nut, so sue me ๐Ÿ˜€) โฃ - Brazil (but go easy as it does have a lot of concentrated selenium)โฃ โฃ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€โฃ - pumpkin seed butter (a gorgeous, almost emerald green)โฃ - sesame (tahini)โฃ - sunflower seedโฃ - poppy โฃ - hemp โฃ โฃ Of course, they're good for you. Broadly speaking they are decent sources of minerals, fats, fiber, some protein, vitamin E and a group of compounds called polyphenols โฃ โฃ โฃ if you're like me, you open the jar, grab a spoon and eat them right from the jar โฃ โฃ Of course, they go great on crackers, fruit slices, celery, in sandwiches or in smoothies for extra creaminess โฃ โฃ What about you? What's your favourite way to eat them AND which ones have you tried? Anyone dabbled with poppy seed butter? Do tell
Instagram post 17842548431073954 Instagram post 17842548431073954
Vitamin C is a great, all-purpose vitamin โฃ โฃ Vitamin C is a great, all-purpose vitamin โฃ โฃ It's best known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties โฃ โฃ Everyone knows that vitamin C prevents scurvy, it does this by promoting collagen production โฃ โฃ Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body and is needed for healthy blood vessels, which is how vitamin C prevents a complication of scurvy; leaky blood vessels! โฃ โฃ It's true that you only need a very small amount of vitamin C to prevent scurvy but there's tons of research (too much for this post) showing a benefit when vitamin C is consumed in much higher amounts โฃ โฃ To get the most of this awesome nutrient, supplemental vitamin C is in order. Because of how vitamin C is absorbed and excreted (pharmacokenetics), to get the most of vitamin C's benefits, you'll need to take vitamin C ๐˜ต๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด (or more) ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด โฃ โฃ To learn more, I have a link in my bio to a post that breaks it all down. In it, you'll find links to two amazing documents that should be required reading by all health and nutrition professionals: โฃ โฃ 1. ๐—ฅ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐——๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—”๐—น๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ - ๐—” ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐——๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—”๐—น๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฉ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—–โฃ 2. ๐—”๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ - ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฉ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—– โฃ โฃ Before anyone makes categorically dismissive comments, please do your homework first ๐Ÿค“ โฃ โฃ And, when considering a vitamin C supplement, go for gold. @aorhealth makes high-quality products and they guarantee that their products contain at least 95% or more of what's listed on the ingredient list
Of course, there's no such thing as a superfood โฃ โฃ It's a made-up word to sell books, sound important, add sex appeal, etc โฃ โฃ "Superfood" is not legally defined nor are there any agreed-upon standards when it comes to labeling foods in this way โฃ โฃ It takes more than just antioxidants and phytonutrients when it comes to health. Early adopters of the superfood label largely focused on these; blueberries, green tea, and pomegranate juice anyone? โฃ โฃ Of course, common sense prevailed and it should be obvious that no one food has it all. No one food can improve health on its own. What does influence health is the sum total of all of your food choices โฃ โฃ This led the way to the concept of 'nutrient-density' when it came to leveraging the word "superfood". Foods that pack a lot of nutrients on a per calorie basis give a lot of bang for your nutritional buck โฃ โฃ But, contrary to what the saying "you are what you eat" suggests, it's really about what you absorb and this is where a major bias is front and center โฃ โฃ ๐—™๐—”๐—–๐—ง: most to many plant foods have lots of nutrients โฃ โฃ ๐—™๐—”๐—–๐—ง: plants contain many different types of anti-nutrients that can interfere with the absorption of those nutrients (hell, we've known this since the 1970s) โฃ โฃ ๐—™๐—”๐—–๐—ง: nutrient requirements for many nutrients are increased when considering plant foods given their antinutrient content โฃ โฃ ๐—™๐—”๐—–๐—ง: animal foods are not only more nutrient-dense for most vitamins and minerals (please don't cite vitamin C, yes I know), but those nutrients are infinitely better absorbed โฃ โฃ To only use the word "superfood" when referring to plants, ignores the settle science when it comes to nutrient density and nutrient absorption; its a bias in the most obvious way โฃ โฃ โฃ #nourish #wholefood #eatrealfood #healthfood #healthyeats #cleaneatingforlife #foodismedicine #superfood #vegetables #animalfood #fruit #nutrients #nuts #nutrientdensity #nomnom #vitamins #minerals #bias #plantrich #mythbusting #health #nutritionist #antioxidants #phytonutrients
Easy breezy, tasty, healthy and delicious โฃ โฃ Easy breezy, tasty, healthy and delicious โฃ โฃ A little dried fruit, to watch the sugars, and heaps of nuts and/or seeds makes for an easy, easy to carry health snack โฃ โฃ NO MORE excuses โฃ โฃ What are your favourite snacks to have on hand that don't require a lot of effort?
We talk a lot about omega fatty acids, namely omeg We talk a lot about omega fatty acids, namely omega-6 and omega-3 โฃ โฃ There are two 'parent' fatty acids that serve as precursors for other omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids that are ๐—ง๐—ฅ๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—ฌ needed for human health โฃ โฃ In that sense, the omega-6 fat, linoleic acid and the omega-3 fat, alpha-linolenic acid, are really just there to serve as a starting point. Both are further metabolized into more biologically active and potent omega fatty acids including โฃ โฃ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ (AA) which is derived from linoleic acid โฃ โฃ ๐—˜๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐——๐—ฃ๐—” & ๐——๐—›๐—” where are derived to varying degrees from alpha-linoleic acid โฃ โฃ In simple terms, AA is pro-inflammatory and EPA, DPA & DHA are anti-inflammatory. Both are needed for health, neither is inherently good/better or worse/bad - it's all about balance โฃ โฃ Make no mistake, you need all of them and even thought AA, EPA, DPA & DHA are metabolites of the original fatty acids, they're still called omegas and therefore are the ones that are really needed for health - spitting hairs? Maybe โฃ โฃ For that reason, experts in the lipids and fatty acid sciences refer to AA, EPA, DPA & DHA as the TRUE omegas that we need

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