I’ve worked with many health and fitness enthusiasts who were previously hyperfocused on tracking every bite of food they consume. There are definitely reasons why tracking your food intake can be beneficial. However, there are also reasons why knowing every calorie you consume can be detrimental.

Studies keep showing us that fasting is beneficial for cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, weight loss, anti-aging, and more. This has made fasting popular and more mainstream, however, it’s important for women to know that most studies on fasting have been conducted on men or rodents. There’s very little research on how fasting affects women.

Did you know that how often we get our period, how long it is, and what colour and consistency it is can tell us about what’s going on with our estrogen and progesterone levels?

Our period is our 5th vital sign, and can help us get to the root of symptoms like PMS and infertility.

Many medical professionals, nutrition experts and health practitioners claim that folate and folic acid are essentially the same nutrient, but there is a distinction between these two different compounds that is VERY important to know.

Most people assume that fruits and vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods we can eat. While it’s true that fresh fruits and veggies are rich in certain vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (that aren’t found in high concentrations in meats and organ meats), organ meats far surpass most plant foods for nutrient density, especially liver.

Are you passively going about your days each week, or are you intentional about moving toward a clear vision? What I have come to learn is that those who are living healthy, fulfilled lives take time to set clear goals. They are intentional about who they show up as and what their actions are each day.

There are some things we all know we should be doing, but common knowledge isn’t always common practice. Eating more vegetables is one of those things most people struggle with. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), only 1 in 10 adults get enough fruits or vegetables. With statistics like this, it comes as no surprise that many chronic health conditions are on the rise, especially in young children who are growing up eating so differently from our ancestors.

How many hours per week do you spend at the gym working out?

When I was younger, I spent a lot of my time at the gym because I thought I had to in order to be in good shape. Fast forward to completing school, starting a career, and having more responsibilities, and I found myself not being able to exercise as much as I used to.

I went from spending too much time exercising to not enough time exercising.

My solution came when I was introduced to kettlebells.

Summer is the time most of us travel, and it makes it the easiest time for us to blow our diets. The vast majority of us do. While it's important to relax, enjoy ourselves, and have fun on vacation, there are a few simple tricks I have to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid coming home feeling like I have fallen off track.

I have tried A LOT of different cleansing programs over the years, but there is nothing quite like a coffee enema. I was introduced to coffee enemas by my best friend after she experienced such positive results doing one at home. I listened to her describe the process with excitement but all I could think about was "you put coffee.....in your butt." Fast forward a year later, and I was putting coffee in my butt.

Salt is one of the most controversial topics in nutrition. You've likely heard that salt raises your blood pressure, puts you at risk for heart disease, and makes you puffy and retain water. You've also likely been told to limit your salt intake and choose low salt options. Most people are shocked when I actually recommend consuming salt, especially during pregnancy.

Most people think undereating means not eating enough calories or depriving the body of food, accidentally or intentionally, but it goes beyond calories. Yes in some cases women aren't eating enough macronutrients/calories but in many cases, women are eating enough calories but not eating enough micronutrients. In other words, women are eating enough food, but the food they are eating is void of important vitamins and minerals.

Our environment today can easily disrupt our hormone system and cause us to come up against difficulties conceiving. A recent study showed that 11.5% to 15.7% of Canadian couples struggle with infertility, which is close to 1 in 6 couples. That number has more than doubled since 1984, where the estimated percentage was 5.4%.

Searching for the right exercise routine can feel as difficult as finding the right diet to be a healthy woman. Just as the research and headlines about nutrition are contradicting, we are also receiving mixed information about how to exercise. We are constantly being told that we need to exercise more to be healthy and live longer, but then we are also being told that too much exercise or the wrong kind of exercise is bad for us. How is a lady to know what to do?

Do you feel like once per month, a stranger who is angrier, more emotional, and more irrational than you hijacks your body? Not only that, you have a bloated stomach, swollen and sore breasts, and are craving sugar?

This describes PMS, and it affects up to 75% of menstruating women.

The New Year is almost here, and with it comes party planning and resolutions. Whether you are celebrating over drinks with friends, or quietly spending the night in, I have some tips for you to uplevel your first day of the new year.

The holiday season is almost here! Are you someone who has all of their Christmas shopping done well in advance? Or are you a last minute shopper? If you are anything like me, you have been stumped for ideas and shopping last minute before.

Detoxing. Maybe you have done a detox before, or maybe you have never done a detox and feel a bit intimidated by it. This is a topic that can be confusing for people, so my goal is to help clear up some confusion about detoxing and explain what role it can play in your life.

During the time I spent working at a health food and supplement store, I noticed certain questions I would get asked over and over. One of those questions was "what should I do if I have low iron?" Another was "is there something I can take to boost my iron levels that won't give me awful side effects?"

How do I grow thicker, stronger hair? This is one of the most common questions I get. While many people look to topical treatments to solve the problem, the state of your hair is often a reflection of the state of your digestion and circulation.

Mineral imbalances are an epidemic today. We aren't able to make our own minerals so all minerals must be obtained through adequate consumption in the diet. However, consumption alone is not enough. We must produce enough stomach acid to pull minerals from the food we eat, and we also need good fats in our diet in order to utilize them. If the pH of the stomach is not acidic enough, the pancreas will not release digestive enzymes and the minerals will pass right through the digestive tract without being absorbed. Any undigested food showing up in the stool is a sign that minerals are likely not being absorbed. With todays multi-tasking, high stress society and low fat diets, it's very common for people to be under too much stress while eating to secrete enough stomach acid or not eating enough healthy fats at meals to properly digest and utilize minerals from their food.

Infrared saunas are something I came across when learning about detoxification, especially when it comes to things that accumulate over time and are very difficult to get rid of, like chemicals and heavy metals. Getting toxins out of our bodies on a regular basis before they attach to fat cells, or when fat cells release them during exercise, is really important for optimal health and improved quality of life.

A warm smile is contagious. Not only does it make others around us feel good, but it can help us feel good about ourselves too. Try making the biggest, brightest smile you can make for 10 seconds. Even though you might feel silly, it works, right?!

However, often times we feel insecure about our smile if our teeth aren't straight enough or our teeth aren't white enough. First let me tell you, if you are smiling, you are so beautiful! Second, let me teach you a few natural tricks to help give you a whiter smile without filling your mouth with toxic chemicals, spending a fortune, or damaging enamel and creating sensitive teeth.

Would you eat healthier if you just knew a better choice than the one you are used to making?

Are you constantly falling into a snack trap at work or at home?

I want to help you spring clean your snack cupboard with upgraded, great tasting, healthy alternatives to what you might currently be having.

Adrenal fatigue is something that has affected me, my close friends and family members, as well as my clients, and is often misdiagnosed and overlooked. Living in today's society of uncertainty, hustle, and overwhelm causes a lot of stress which is not easy on the adrenal glands. When the adrenals are tired, our bodies may experience a number of different symptoms.

Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body, yet it is one of the leading nutrient deficiencies in adults today. It is estimated that 80% of North Americans are deficient in this vital mineral. It's used in over 300 reactions in the body and is essential for cellular health, yet is often overlooked and underutilized.

It's a new year and many of us have set intentions to improve our health in 2017. While kick-starting the new year with a cleanse can be great, it's often less dramatic and more effective in the long-run to detox without the deprivation by gently supporting the body's innate ability to detox on its own. Here are 7 natural ways to support the body in detoxification without having to commit to a cleanse:

Food is an important part of many holiday celebrations and cultural traditions. Special occasions often centre around food, making it easy to overeat or indulge in foods that are not part of our usual healthy eating plan. Consider these 8 tips to fully enjoy the holiday season without gaining weight or stressing about holiday eating:

It's the time of year that people start searching for natural remedies to prevent the colds and flus that are going around. Well, what if I told you that you have spices in your cupboard right now that could create a simple and inexpensive home remedy to boost your immune system over the fall and winter seasons?

During the month of October I love to see the community come together to celebrate. The creativity behind the decorations and the costumes people come up with is so much fun and exciting to see. However, as much as I do believe in balance, it's hard to watch so many kids load up on as much candy as they can fill their bags with.

Birth control pills are often prescribed for many health issues experienced by women today, but women are not educated on the nutrients that scientific researchers have shown the birth control pill depletes. Pharmacist Ross Pelton wrote a book called "The Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook" and states that "many drugs deplete nutrients, but oral contraceptives are the worst."

If you're someone who feels like you are always hungry or hungry too often, I can relate. I was once someone who needed to eat every hour or two in order to avoid low energy, headaches, and feeling "hangry". Sometimes this was due to blood sugar spikes and dips, and sometimes my brain would make me think I was hungry when in reality I was just bored, tired, dehydrated, or under-exercised.

During the Spring, plants and flowers start to blossom and show their beauty, but along with that can come seasonal allergies.

An allergy happens when the body develops an immune response to an allergen and creates antibodies. Antibodies recognize allergens and can activate certain receptors on immune cells to release histamine, resulting in symptoms of an allergic reaction (puffy eyes, runny nose, etc.).

Since graduating and starting Why-Health in January, I've been asked many times, what is it exactly that I do? Since I have such a unique roll as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and work much differently than other nutrition experts, I decided to dedicate a post to answering that question which explains my evolution and how I work with women.

You often hear about foods that can cause headaches, but how about foods that can fight them? Before reaching for the bottle of ibuprofen the next time you feel a headache coming on (which ultimately just masks the symptom and doesn't actually address the root of the problem), here are my top 5 reasons for headaches and natural ways to fight them.

If you're like most people I see at the gym, you are eating a banana or some form of sugary energy bar as your pre-workout snack. I used to be one of those people. I remember typing in to Google "What's the best thing to eat before and after a workout?"

A question I often get asked by people who are starting to eat healthier is "What are some simple healthy lunch recipes to bring to work?"

Valentine's Day was once a typical cliche for me, consisting of a rich and heavy fettuccine alfredo dinner out, with wine and chocolate cake for dessert. It was then followed by a weeks worth of the classic sugar-laden box of chocolates that only ever lasted a few days.

That time of year has arrived. Studies show that nearly all New Years resolutions are centered on weight loss and health, likely because the average person puts on 50% of their yearly weight gain during the holidays.