Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 84

Megan Fox and Clear Skin-Thanks to Paleo? Or Avon?

Hmmm…
One has to wonder.
The actress Megan Fox is one of the few celebs who seems to have been associated with the Paleo diet for quite some time now.
Yesterday, I came across an article announcing she’d be the new face of Avon’s latest skin care line, Instinct.
I have no idea whether or not she’s Paleo nor do I know what her skin looked like before or after using the Avon products, but I do know one thing:
Paleo, real, unadulterated Paleo, can absolutely provide clear skin for  many different types of issues- from rosacea to acne to eczema.
Alas, I’m quite certain that Avon has more funding in hand to pay for the promotion of their products than anyone in the Paleosphere.
Not complaining; that’s simply the way things work…just pointing out, though, that if you are suffering from any skin conditions and are sick of nothing working, give Paleo a try.
By eating real, alkaline, anti inflammatory foods, you can allow your body to calm down on the inside, stop producing excess testosterone and subsequently more oil, and then begin to heal.
Not treating your skin from the inside out is about the best example of putting on a band aid I can think of!
Further, the nice thing about going Paleo for skin conditions is that you’ll start seeing results far more quickly compared to those who have to be more patient in seeing relief from conditions such as auto immune disease.
Give it a try!  There’s nothing to lose except a medicine cabinet full of accutane, tetracycline and do-it-yourself peels!
 
 
 

Stretched Out, Scratched Up and Sore…and Going Back for More

Contrary to the images the title may have conjured up, I am not, in fact, referred to a recent bout in the boxing ring.

Rather, I’m talking about my (at least) weekly trip to my massage therapist and/or, when needed, my chiropractor.

It never fails to amaze me the number of athletes training at a high level that do not partake in regular body work.

Pricey?  Maybe, but it doesn’t have to be in the form of frequent visits to the spa.  

In fact, it has been my experience that almost every single spa massage I’ve had has amounted to little more than an application of lotion and nothing to speak of in terms of deep tissue, sports massage, shiatsu or anything that really gets into adhesions, tightness and minor tweaks and twinges that inherently develop as part of any athlete’s regime.

Keeping on top of said tweaks and twinges- addressing them when they first make themselves known and getting straight to your physio, your chiropractor, your biomechanical specialist, your ‘whomever’, in order to figure out what is causing the issue (movement pattern, muscle imbalance, running mechanics, shoes, bike fit, swim technique and so on) so that you can correct it (strengthening, stretching, body work) is equally as important as sleeping properly, eating well (hello, Paleo) and periodizing your season to prevent mental and physical burn out.

How does one find a good practitioner?

It’s hard.

I’d say that for every four or five therapists I’ve tried, when moving to a new town, or when a body worker leaves, I’ve found one who is brilliant.

For me, it takes a combination of ( in no particular order):

A physically strong person who is educated in:


kinesiology
biomechanics
exercise physiology


Familiar with my sport and the demands and movement patterns of swimming, biking and running
Trained in:


Graston Technique
Active Release Therapy
Deep Tissue

If you’re beginning to feel something ‘off’, don’t assume something like ‘I’m getting old, running is hurting my knees so I’d better stop’.  It’s a shame to stop running, or doing any activity you love, for any other reason than you simply don’t want to anymore and have found a new sport you love.

Unless there’s been an actual event- an accident, for example, chances are quite high that you can figure out a problem before it turns into a big issue, but that’s if you have the courage to act on it and take a breather when your heart is telling you to get out there and run now.

Better to take a two week break from your sport and come back strong, healthy and injury free than to try and power through it and start a race injured.

Now, go find yourself a good therapist!

Check out the websites for Active Release Therapy and Graston Technique, for a start, as well as ask friends and fellow athletes for recommendations.   

If your first session felt like nothing was accomplished or your practitioner wasn’t listening, keep looking!

You’re the only one who’s going to suffer if you don’t!

BTW- it’s not only competitive athletes who need body work. Everyone who is human should get some.   

 

 

 

Paleo Dining in Whistler

Heading back home from our trip to Whistler, my husband and I  commented on how many lovely meals we’d had whilst in BC.    It was incredibly easy to order everything in Paleo standards, with the fresh fish, the game and the bounty of local produce.   Every restaurant we visited was more than accommodating with preparing our food sans gluten, dairy, soy and all the other usual culprits.

From the grilled chicken, avocado, poached egg and mixed green salad we enjoyed at Araxi, to the Venison tenderloin (with veg in lieu of the foie gras, porcini gnocchi, cognac and red wine demi glace) at Rim Rock Cafe, the porterhouse (don’t forget to tell them not to use butter in cooking!) for two with steamed spinach, asparagus and broccoli, at Hy’s Steakhouse, the Mile One Greens Salad (hold the potato) with chicken at Mile One Eating House in Pemberton and the sauteed garlic broccoli and spinach with poached egg and avocado for breakfast at the Fairmont, we didn’t have a single bad meal over the course of the whole trip.  

(Not counting, of course, the meal we scrapped together at the airport, but then, it’s always a shot in the dark to make it work there; often it’s a doctored ice berg lettuce salad, an apple and some plain chicken.  Boring, but still far better than the alternatives!)

Friendly to athletes and friendly to those of us who are Paleo, Whistler was a welcoming place to visit.   (My only complaint is the temp.  I’m more of a hot weather kinda gal… but that’s just me being fussy! )

Sweep It Up With Broccoli

Aside from pasta, rice and bread being seemingly omnipresent in many types of regional cuisine for their role as a filler, they’re also often used as a vehicle to sop up a sauce.

From a rich, red wine jus to a light lemongrass ginger glaze, it’s rather uncommon to see sauces of any kind atop a protein meal served with veggies.

Let’s break that habit!

Last week, I wrote about how spaghetti squash comes in handy in lieu of traditional pasta, and guess what?  Broccoli does quite a nice job at it, too.  

I recall years prior to following the Paleo diet that I’ve fallen in love with, when I was vegan, I used to enjoy a dish from a local Chinese, vegetarian establishment featuring broccoli, tofu, rice and their version of an oyster sauce.  Not remotely Paleo (but then, neither was I), but the common factor was that even then, the broccoli served the perfect role to create an enjoyable way of eating the sauce that remained, other than drinking it!

If you’re making baby steps to going completely Paleo, try using broccoli, or any veggie, for that matter, the next time you would have planned on serving your protein on a bed of pasta or with rice pilaf.

Race Day…But I’m The Sherpa This Time!

We’re here in beautiful Whistler, BC for the Ironman today.  

I’m happy to take a turn being the sherpa this time for my husband (slash Ironman & training partner!) as he, along with about 2,500 other athletes, swims the 2.4 mile course in Alta Lake, followed by the 112 mile ride through the pristine peaks and valleys and finishes up with the marathon, looping throughout the quaint Whistler village.

Next up for me is World Championships in October, so I’m relishing this time to be in a serene setting with a little weekend of downtime before my last training block resumes upon my arrival  home in Los Angeles.

It’s nice to take a step back from our sport now and then and spectate, support and be there to see what it’s like from the other side.   

In particular, I always find it motivating to watch the challenged athletes compete, as well as the community element of it.  People from all over the world, and all walks of life can choose to participate in a sport that tests the limits.   Young, not so young, fit, not so fit, those battling illness or injury, those trying to qualify for Kona and those simply out there to tick having completed an Ironman off their bucket list.

For me, racing Ironman began in 2001 because it was something I simply wanted to see whether or not I could do.   Prior to that, I’d raced short course for a while, not actually grasping that I could even attempt Ironman.

So what changed?

It was being there for a friend who raced her first full, and seeing several challenged athletes come across the finish line.    Imagine me there, 26 years old and able bodied, thinking “I could never do an ironman” and then seeing a gentleman cross the finish line in a wheelchair.  Then, another with one prosthetic leg.  Then, an 84 year old man.  And a woman with a guide who was blind.

They hadn’t let anything stop them.

Why should I?

That was my epiphany and I signed up the next day for my first ironman which would occur a year later.

Through the sport, I met some amazing, lifelong friends, and my husband!   I learned an incredible amount of mental fortitude, gained physical strength and found my panacea in motion, which surpassed any physical activity I’d tried before.

My intention of this little diatribe is certainly not to suggest that everyone should be racing Ironman.  Rather, it’s to remind all of us that we need to be moving, and not let our minds prevent us from doing so, by thinking we can’t.

Having a body and not regarding it properly with the right food, physical activity and rest is a downright shame.

Find your personal vehicle to execute motion and have fun.    We only have one body.   Treat it with love!

And, good luck and have fun to all who are racing today!

More on This Silly Apple Saga

A while ago, I did a post on how frustrating it was to have to choose between apples that are organic but not local versus apples that are local versus not organic.

Over the last month, I’ve not seen any local apples at the Whole Foods I shop at, organic or not, but have seen plenty from Chili, New Zealand and Fiji.

Here I am in Whistler, BC for the ironman this weekend, and guess what I found at the market?  USA grown, organic golden as well as red delicious apples, nestled amongst the local BC apples.

What the…?

So we have organic, would-be local, seasonal fruit being grown in California, but it’s getting sent to Canada and then, we are importing apples from thousands of miles away instead?

And, by the way, the price is not too different from when the local apples are in Whole Foods in the first place?

Yikes!  It’s like being in the produce version of Waiting for Godot!  Talk about confusing…

Fasted Training, Fats and…Fiber?

Have you noticed that while a handful of raw almonds and a cup of berries made a great snack on that early  morning stroll you did with a friend, but when you tried the same snack right before a run, you found out the hard way that there was far too much fiber for a pre workout snack?

Further, are you feeling a bit confused about how to balance adding small amounts of fat into your fasted training regime?

Let’s take a quick peek at fiber content of some typically eaten fats on the Paleo diet.  Granted, nuts are meant to only be eaten on occasion, rather than as a go-to fat source, but we’ll include them nonetheless.

1 oz (28 grams) of each of these Paleo-friendly fats contain the corresponding amounts of dietary fiber:

Almonds 3.5 grams dietary fiber
Walnuts 1.9 grams dietary fiber
Avocado 1.75 grams dietary fiber
Coconut oil 0 grams dietary fiber
Olive oil 0 grams dietary fiber

It’s no wonder that almonds, with their higher fiber content, would be the least favorable choice for pre-run, when the heart rate is higher, more blood is diverted away from the gut in order to feed the skeletal muscles, leaving blood less available to digest the slow-emptying fiber.  (By the way, this is exactly why, when we’re not in the middle of exercising, we want to eat foods high in fiber!).

Coconut oil is a great option, even beyond olive oil, because it provides the only food source of medium chain triglycerides.

How much to take, and when?

That all depends.  If you’re in the process of conditioning your body to become more efficient at training in a fasted state, and are only doing so for a short time, you don’t need to add any fuel into the mix.  You may, however, want to try a little when you’re getting closer to the 90- 120 minute mark, but even then, don’t go overboard with it.  

Try a little, perhaps one tablespoon, and monitor how you’re feeling.

It’s not for everyone, but it’s worth trying as the only way we know what works best for each of us is to test, test and test again!

I find the Artisana brand quite handy as they sell single serve packets containing just one tablespoon of organic coconut oil, making them easy to take on the go.

Making Your Own Paleo Street Food

Food trucks are everywhere, and amongst them, I’m happy to say, are a growing number of Paleo-based mobile establishments.

Not only is Paleo dining growing in the food truck scene, it’s also beginning to make more of an appearance in the corporate world.  One client reported to me that the software company she works for actually has a lunch station offering completely dedicated to serving those of the Paleo persuasion!

But what to do if you’re either in an area where there are no Paleo food trucks?

Make your own street food!

Street food, by definition, is “is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall”.     

Not that you need to sell it, per se, but making one’s one ready-to-eat food to go comes in rather handy for those on the go times we all have in our busy schedules.

If you implement the two, one-hour in the kitchen sessions I write about in Paleoista, you’ll have all you need to create your own versions of street food right in your own kitchen! 

Just a few easy ideas include:

Bibb lettuce leaves wrapped around leftover, roasted, pastured chicken topped with chopped tomato, avocado and cilantro (Paleo tacos!)
Red bell peppers with the top cut off, stuffed with garlicky,  spinach sauteed ground bison, eaten with a celery stick scoop (Edible Utenstils!)
Smoothie to go- kale, blueberries, avocado, soft boiled and chilled eggs, chilled herbal tea and a dash of ginger & turmeric.  (Stick in a straw and go!)

Let your creativity guide you and you can’t go wrong!

Feeling Nauseated and Heading for the Pepto? Wait!

We all get queasy from time to time.  

Whether we ate a piece of fish that didn’t taste quite right, we had one too many gluten-free neat vodkas at the company holiday party or for those of us girls, we’re going through a certain time of the month, the resulting upset stomach and nauseated feelings are one in the same, and not exactly enjoyable.

For many, it’s a beeline straight to the franchise drug store for some good old TUMS or Pepto Bismol.

Unfortunately, not only is taking something like the products listed above not only a band-aid (treating the symptom without addressing the cause), it can actually cause further gastric distress.

For example, some formulas of TUMS contains the sugar alcohol, sorbitol which is a sugar alcohol used as a binding agent, thus allowing the signature round shape.  However, sorbitol is also clinically used as a laxative, so guess what might happen when you take some in an attempt to deal with gastric distress?

With Pepto, sure, it’ll ‘coat your stomach’, but coat it with what?  How about a nice mixture of :

Magnesium 25 mg
Sodium 8 mg.
Salicylate 261 mg.
Benzoic Acid
D&C Red No. 22
D&C Red No. 28
Saccharin sodium

Nothing like a little Sweet & Low to soothe an upset stomach, right?

Wrong.

Why not trouble shoot what you ate in the first place and figure out what made you feel ill?

If it’s short lived, just a day or so, you may be fine with natural remedies like ginger root, turmeric, oil of oregano and peppermint extract, all of which can help soothe.   Charcoal tablets can also be helpful in absorbing accidentally ingested bacteria.

If it lasts longer than a day or two, or if your symptoms are severe, check in with your naturopath or functional med doc, and see if testing is in order, such as a stool sample.

Unpleasant, yes, but better to get straight to the root of the problem asap rather than go about your day to day life with discomfort, while a parasite thrives in your gut.

And, by the way, the alkaline nature of the no white sugar Paleo diet is quite conducive to gut health.

No more band-aids!

How Long Do I Need To Cook The Steak?

One of the most commonly asked questions I receive from clients, especially anyone relatively new to cooking, is ‘how long should I cook the meat (or fish or chicken)?’.

Fair question, too, as, depending on what protein we’re talking about, and whether it’s even an option to eat it rare or raw, like it would be for sashimi grade fish or a local, grass fed cut of beef we’re using for steak tartare or carpaccio, compared to a protein that would typically not be eaten raw, like poultry.

(There is a school of thought which recommends eating everything raw, and the purpose of this post is not to create a stir about whether or not one should or shouldn’t engage in that approach.   Personally, I simply prefer to have my pastured chicken, turkey or pork cooked more toward the well done side, while fish and steak are two I tend to enjoy on the rarer side.  Just a balance of personal preference; enjoying the texture, flavor and temperature of your protein while not risking ingesting bacteria or parasites!).

So how do we tell when that beautiful grass fed filet mignon or pastured pork tenderloin is ready to eat without using the method in which we cut into it or stab it to take a peak, which results not only in a drier finished product, but one that looks rather butchered?

Simple!  Use a meat thermometer!   

As a general rule of thumb, the ‘safe’ number to remember is 160F for poultry and pork in particular.
Do keep in mind as well that many preparations involve letting the protein rest after time spent in the oven or stove top.  This allows some of the juices that have escaped during cooking to seep back into the protein rendering a moisture final dish.  Temperature will increase typically by 10 – 15 more degrees so factor that in when you’re considering when to remove that roast chicken from under the broiler.
If the fish you’re preparing is sashimi grade, you needn’t be as concerned with minimum temps; it’s simply personal preference.
For beef, veal, lamb steaks and roasts, refer to the following handy table from wikipedia:

Extra-rare or Blue (bleu) very red and cold 46–49 °C 115–120 °F
Rare (saignant) cold red center; soft 52–55 °C 125–130 °F
Medium rare (à point) warm red center; firmer 55–60 °C 130–140 °F 145 °F
Medium (demi-anglais) pink and firm 60–65 °C 140–150 °F 160 °F
Medium well (cuit) small amount of pink in the center 65–69 °C 150–155 °F
Well done (bien cuit) gray-brown throughout; firm 71–100 °C 160–212 °F 170 °F
Over cooked (trop cuit, carbonisé”)’ blacken throughout; hard > 100 °C > 212 °F 300 °F

All ovens and stove tops can vary a bit, so the more you cook, the sooner you’ll nail down the exact times you need for everything from a barely seared sashimi grade ahi to a perfectly cooked Jerk Chicken, and without the need to stab it and peak even once!