Hi everyone, and welcome to the latest newsletter for Better Health Practices. The clinic has been buzzing about our latest Wellness Workshop ‘Menopause and Beyond’. Thank you to all who attended. It was a great night and we are now planning on putting together something more substantial around Menopause in the new year. Watch this space!
THIS WEEK’S HEALTH HACK
Move after eating!
Did you know that you can decrease your blood glucose and insulin response to a meal just by activating the big muscles of your body? When we eat, glucose enters our bloodstream. Glucose is what all our cells need for energy. If we don’t need the energy insulin helps us store it for later use. Insulin resistance and diabetes are chronic diseases that occur when this system is overloaded, or stops working completely. Blood glucose levels rise after a meal but if levels stay high it can cause damage to your blood vessels, and all your body organ systems that rely on blood flow (that’s all of them!). Moving your large muscles after a meal gives the glucose in your blood somewhere to go - they need that glucose to work. Aerobic exercise 10-20 minutes after a meal has been shown to decrease the size of a glucose spike (the rise in blood glucose after a meal) by up to 27%. And resistance exercise can be even more powerful - it can decrease your blood glucose spike by up to 30%, and amazingly also decreases the size of blood glucose spikes over the next day by up to 35%!
Takeaway: Go for a walk, or do some squats, calf raises, or lunges (weighted or just body weight) after a meal.
“Diabetes is very serious - otherwise they’d call it liva-betes”.
THIS WEEK’S RECIPE:
PESTO
It’s the season for fresh basil, and what better way to use this culinary herb than have a container of fresh basil in the fridge, ready to spread on your (sourdough) bread, mix with your pasta, or dip veggie sticks in for a snack. This version is dairy-free, and less expensive than using pine nuts.
1 large bunch fresh basil
½ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 cup cashew nuts
½ tsp salt
¼ cup lemon juice (up to 2 lemons)
2 cloves garlic.
Wizz all the ingredients in a food processor, or use a stick blender. Keep in the fridge.
(adapted from Jeremy Dixon - Revive Cafe cookbook series)
Did you know……
Tracking your blood glucose is a great way to see how your glucose levels are affected by the food you eat, the activities you do, your sleep, and even your stress levels.
As part of her health coaching Merlene offers a Continuous Glucose Monitoring service through Vively.
Interested? Let us know!