Blueberry Oatmeal Flax Muffins - aka "Mary's Poop Muffins"

I may sound like a broken record to my patients lately regarding fibre intake, however this is such an important component in our diet that most people are lacking in. When it comes to digestive issues many patients of mine are actually avoiding fibre rich foods as it is causing GI distress. They may be on the lowFODMAP diet, recommended to them by their MD or through online research, which is a low fibre diet. This should only be used short term for symptom relief while we treat the root cause, as like I said before fibre is very important for overall digestive health.

Low fibre intake can present as constipation, other digestive issues and even food cravings.

Most people are getting on average 15g of fibre a day, while the recommendation is 25-35g a day! This is one draw back to easy convenient meals we gravitate towards with our busy lives. Less plants, less beans, less complex carbs that take longer to cook = less fibre.
There are many ways to increase fibre intake, including more plants, beans and legumes, complex carbs, ground flax, chia or psyllium powder. What can you add to your diet this week? It may be one of these delicious fibre rich muffins that really do help you poop!

Examples of healthy fibre rich foods:

• 1/2 cup oats = 4g

• 1 tbsp ground flax seed = 2g; 1 tbsp chia seeds = 6g

• 1 apple = 4-5g

• 1/2 cup lentils - 7g

• 1 medium sweet potato - 3-5g

• 1 tbsp psyllium powder - 5g

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter (or vegan butter)

• 1 cup oats

• 1/2 cup ground flax seed

• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

• 1 egg

• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup dairy free milk + 1 tbsp vinegar, left to sit for a few minutes)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (optional)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour eg. Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour)

• 1 cup blueberries

Mix all ingredients in order they are listed. Fill 12 muffin cups using muffin liner. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.

Burnout...What signs to look out for

Whether you are a new mom dealing with little sleep, a mom of multiple busy kids working full time, a nurse working shift work at a stressful job, a menopausal women taking care of teenagers and elderly parents…it can be a lot. If we take on too much and don’t take the time to take care of ourselves this can lead to burnout if we are not careful. My examples are all women as the research shows women are more likely to develop burnout than men.

Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It could be stress from the workplace, stress from home life and responsibilities, stress about the news or a combination of it all. Burnout is a gradual process but it can seem to creep up on you. Unfortunately with all that has gone on the past couple years it is not surprising I have seen an increase in burnout in my practice lately.

Some common signs of burnout are:

• fatigue

• sleep issues - trouble falling asleep or tossing and turning

• worse PMS symptoms or symptoms during your period

• more irritable with the people you love

• avoiding activities you usually enjoy

• quick to tears

• lack of focus

• getting sick more often

• IBS symptoms starting

• more hair falling out

If you recognize the signs above in your behaviour or you are tipping towards them please don’t fret, there are several things you can do including reaching out to an ND like myself.

Where to start:

1. Reach out for help - please use the support around you if you are trending towards burnout. I am also guilty of trying to do it all at times but that can be detrimental over time. Help can be from family, friends, coworkers or practitioners like myself - NDs, MDs, therapist, counsellors etc. Someone to help share the burden with, or someone to listen and provide you with tools.

2. Set boundaries - These boundaries are for things you take on in and out of work, but also electronics and social media, which over time we are seeing can have a negative impact on our stress levels. Please leave your phone out of your bedroom and pick up a book before bed, or do some stretching/yoga to unwind.

3. Sleep! - This time to crucial for healing and repair. Set up a routine for bedtime and wake time that is the same daily and aim for 7-8 hours/night. If you are having difficulty with sleep already I can help.

4. Eat protein - A healthy diet is important but where to start is your protein intake, especially at breakfast. Aim for 15-20g of protein in the morning. Protein is a building block for energy and cortisol and often lacking in women. A couple breakfast options without eggs are below.

As an ND I have several tools in addition to the above to help heal from burnout. Vitamins, herbs, acupuncture, IVs, to name a few. Please reach out if you recognize the signs above and would like support.

Smoothie Recipe:

• 1/2 banana

• 1/2 cup blueberries

• handful of greens

• 3 tbsp hemp hearts (10g)

• 1 tbsp peanut butter (4g)

• 1/4 cup greek yogurt (5g)

• splash of vanilla

• water or oat milk

Oatmeal recipe:

• 1/2 cup cooked steel cut oats (5g)

• 1 tbsp walnuts (1-2g)

• 1 tbsp nut butter (4g)

• 2 tbsp hemp hearts (6)

• 1 tbsp ground flax (1-2g)

• splash of nut milk

• dash of cinnamon

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

Heart rate variability - A valuable tool to track well-being

A healthy heart does not beat like a metronome, but actually changes its rhythm with each heart beat. The constant variation between each beat is called your heart rate variability (HRV). This is something I have been speaking about to several of my patients recently, as more people have smart watches and other health tracker apps that can measure this.

What affects HRV?

There are certain situations that result in a higher HRV and other situations resulting in a lower HRV, reflecting your hearts ability to respond to different situations. This ultimately reflects how your nervous system is responding. HRV can react to stress and/or illness before resting heart rate, which makes it one of your body’s most powerful signals—providing useful insights into your stress levels, recovery status, and general well-being.

Generally a lower HRV is associated with your “flight or flight” response, stress or illness. A higher HRV is associated with your “rest and digest” response, general fitness and good recovery. It is amazing how we can track how just a 5 minutes meditation exercise can improve your HRV.

There are some things we cannot control that affect HRV such as age, hormone cycles, illness and amount of stress we have. However, to improve HRV there are things we can control such as sleep routine, alcohol and caffeine intake, how we manage stress and fitness level.

Tracking HRV

A high or low HRV is relative to each person. It is therefore best to track your own HRV over time and generally aim for a higher level, or track what improves it and decrease it, instead of comparing to others. It can range from 20 to above 150 depending on the tracker. Also, sometimes it is ok to see a lower levels for a short period of time, eg. during a strenuous activity where our nervous system is working hard to increase our heart rate. It is then how we recover that matters.

HRV fluctuates often throughout the day so is is helpful to track it in a controlled setting like sleep. However, some trackers, like the smart watch may limit this if you don’t want to wear it at night.

I see a lot of digestive issues, fatigue, insomnia etc in my practice and it almost always has a component that connects back to the nervous system. If we can help manage our stress response and improve HRV, that can help us tremendously over time. Ultimately, you don’t NEED to track HRV to check in with how you are doing overall. However there are some pretty neat tools out there now that can track things like HRV that we can use to our advantage.

Thoughts? Check in with me if you have questions.

Dr. Karen

Food Friday: Easy Turkey Chili

Photo credit: www.ambitiouskitchen.com

As much as we would like the warmer temperatures to come to Nova Scotia, the winter cold just keeps coming. Fingers crossed spring temperatures come knocking on our door very soon!

Since it is still cold outside, you may still be craving warming hearty food and this Turkey Chili doesn’t disappoint. The hubby has claimed it his favourite chili. It is very easy to make and filled with delicious and healthy ingredients. The recipe is adapted from “Ambitious Kitchen”, one of my favourite food bloggers (and a fellow pregnant women! - I am looking forward to browsing her postpartum food prep meals). This meal is great with different topping choices. The hubby likes shredded cheese on top. I prefer a little dollop of plain yogurt, cilantro and sliced avocado. Also with a side of gluten free cornbread of course (Jaime Oliver’s is my favourite). Plenty of options!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1.5 bell peppers (any colour), chopped

• 1 jalapeño, diced

• 1lb ground turkey

• 4 tbsp chili powder

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1/2 tspn salt, plus more to taste

• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (you can use diced tomatoes as well if you like)

• 1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I use the Better Than Bouillon paste from Costco)

• 1 (19 oz) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 cup frozen corn, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1. Place oil in a large pot and place over medium high heat. Add in onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapeño and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. 

1. Add in ground turkey and break up the meat; cooking until no longer pink. Next add in chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt; stir for about 30 seconds.

2. Next add in tomatoes, chicken broth, kidney beans and corn. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until chili thickens and flavours combine. Taste and adjust seasonings and salt as necessary. 

3. Top with your favourite toppings. Makes around 5-6 servings.

Enjoy!

Do you have a favourite chili recipe?

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen