Category Archives: Food

You’ve stayed on track all day, yet once again you find yourself perusing the kitchen for a late-night snack. If this sounds all too familiar, you’re not alone. For many of us, late-night snacking is a key factor in whether we can successfully achieve or maintain a healthy weight. Not only do we have lower metabolic demands at night, but we also tend to crave less nutritious food, making late night snacks an easy way to pack on the pounds. [1]

If late-night snacking is holding you back from your goals, here are five tips to help you curb the habit:

1. Eat a Healthy Dinner

A nutritious, well-rounded dinner should sustain your hunger and energy until morning, leaving you with no excuse to snack. Include large portions of fibre-rich vegetables, a source of lean protein, and healthy fats in your meal to keep you full and satisfied.

2. Curb Your Hunger With PGX

PGX®* Ultra Matrix Softgels offer a convenient way to curb your nightly food cravings and experience a longer lasting feeling of fullness. Each softgel contains 750 mg of a patented natural fibre complex and is easy to take with your meal.

3. Break Your Routine

When snacking is part of your regular late-night routine, it’s time to switch things up. If you typically snack while surfing the net or reading on the couch, take your media to a different spot that’s further from your kitchen—such as your bed or a warm bath. Engage in an activity that makes snacking less convenient, such as walking your dog, sorting your closet, or a yoga session.

4. Brush Your Teeth

If the urge to graze becomes too tempting, brush and floss your teeth. Food is much less desirable with a fresh, minty mouth.

5. Keep Unhealthy Snacks Away

When all else fails, keep tempting and unhealthy snacks out of your home. Stock your kitchen with plenty of fresh-cut veggies for those nights when, despite all efforts, you find yourself at the refrigerator door.

Gain control of your snacking habits to gain control of your health—it’ll feel good!

*Drink additional water (8 fl. oz.) after ingesting PGX®. If you are taking medications, take one hour prior to or two hours after taking PGX®.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

References:

[1] Gallant, Annette, Jennifer Lundgren, and Vicky Drapeau. “Nutritional Aspects of Late Eating and Night Eating.” Current Obesity Reports, 3.1: 101-107. Print.

When you think about what your body needs as fuel for physical activity, protein is probably something that comes to mind. This macronutrient is a component of every cell in your body, especially muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood, and you need it to build and repair tissue. Proteins are also vital for the multitude of enzymes, hormones, and other compounds that help your body function.

Your body can make some proteins but others must be obtained from your diet, and because we don’t store protein the way we do fats and carbohydrates, it’s important to put protein on our plate at every meal. It might even be vital to your weight loss goals. Protein can help curb hunger and cravings, fuel fat burning, promote muscle growth, and help you maintain a healthy weight.

Try these 6 delicious and nutritious ways to add protein to your diet:

1. Hempseeds

With 9 grams of protein in just 2 tbsp, hempseeds are a hearty protein boost that can be sprinkled on pretty much anything, like your morning fruit and yogurt,  your lunch hour salad, or your dinner time veggie rice bowls.

2. Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a quick, easy, and delicious way to add protein to your day.
It offers about 7 grams of protein in 2 tbsp – just make sure you seek out natural peanut butters without added salt, sugar, or oils. Try it on whole grain toast in the mornings, in smoothies, or with celery for a protein-packed snack.

3. Eggs

These little nutrition bombs contain a complete complement of the essential amino acids that the body uses to build proteins – as well as a host of other important nutrients, from B vitamins to brain-boosting choline. Scramble them in the morning, boil them for an on-the-go-snack, or bake them into healthy treats.

4. Chia Seeds

Chia seeds contain about 4 grams of protein in 2 tbsp of seeds, along with a hearty dose of fibre and healthy omega-3 fats. Chia seeds are more versatile than hempseeds –  you can make a delicious pudding simply by soaking them in almond milk for a few minutes.

5. Green Peas

Surprised that these dinner plate regulars are a great source of protein? 1 cup contains 7.9 grams! Sure, you could have them as one of the standard “meat and two veg”, but peas also make a tasty addition to quinoa salad, omelettes, and – if you get them fresh – salads.

6. Protein Smoothies

Power up with protein drinks such as PGX® Satisfast. Each serving has 20 g of vegan protein to help keep you feeling satisfied between meals. You can add PGX to smoothies for a quick and delicious boost.

While there are different takes on how much protein you need every day, a good rule of thumb to follow is to have  20-30% of your daily intake of calories come from protein. That means if you consume 1800 calories a day, you’re looking at about 90 g of protein daily – plenty of opportunity to incorporate tasty, healthy proteins into your diet! Check out the PGX recipe page for a little protein inspiration!

Eating For Your Body Type

There’s no “one size fits all” body, so why follow a “one size fits all” diet? This is the notion behind eating for your body type. It’s an age old concept, practiced through Ayurveda, classical Chinese medicine, and various Western systems.

An important principle in eating for your body type is that your diet and metabolism affect where your body stores extra fat [1] [2]. Below we break down the four most common body shapes, along with the foods that are best suited for each.

1. Apple Shape

Features: Excess abdominal fat with slim arms and legs.

• Top foods: Lean proteins and dark leafy greens
• Don’t forget: Good fats from coconut oil, nuts, avocados, and eggs
• Cut back on: Starchy foods and refined carbs
• Smart tip: Keep blood sugar levels already within the normal range steady and cravings curbed

2. Pear Shape

Features: Heavy hips and thighs with a thin upper body.

• Top foods: High fibre fruits and vegetables with whole grains, such as oats, quinoa, and rice
• Don’t forget: Small portions of lean protein and good fats
• Cut back on: Dairy fats, soy, non-organic fruits and vegetables
• Smart tip: Avoid foods that may contain pesticides and growth hormones

Inverted Pyramid Shape

Features: Muscular upper body with excess chest and back fat.

• Top foods: Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fresh vegetables and fibre rich fruit
• Don’t forget: Low fat dairy
• Cut back on: Dairy fats, meat, salt
• Smart tip: Avoid the afternoon energy slump

Rectangle Shape

Features: Even fat distribution from head to toe.

• Top foods: Raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and spices
• Don’t forget: Small servings of lean protein
• Cut back on: Animal fats and refined carbohydrates
• Smart tip: Eat plenty of fibre

No matter what your body type is, you’re sure to benefit from the soluble fibre and 20 g of lean protein in each serving of *PGX Vegan Protein.

*Drink additional water (8 fl. oz.) after ingesting PGX®. If you are taking medications, take one hour prior to or two hours after taking PGX®.

References:

Cholesterol and Fibre

Experts recommend that all men should have their cholesterol checked before the age of 35, and that women begin having regular cholesterol checks by age 45.

A complete cholesterol check, which can also be referred to as a lipid panel or profile, looks at the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. It is beneficial to have a good level of HDL cholesterol as this is the type that helps remove LDL cholesterol from the blood.

Triglycerides, meanwhile, are formed from excess calories from sugar and fat and are stored in fat cells.

What is a Healthy Cholesterol Level?

Recommended levels of cholesterol and triglycerides for adults are as follows (measured in milligrams per decilitre of blood):

• LDL: 70-130 mg/dL (the lower the number, the better)
• HDL: more than 40-60 mg/dL (the higher the number, the better)
• Total cholesterol: less than 200 mg/dL (the lower the number, the better)
• Triglycerides: 10-150 mg/dL (the lower the number, the better)

Here are some things you can do to help support healthy cholesterol levels:

• Get regular exercise
• Reduce alcohol intake
• Quit smoking
• Eat a high-fiber diet
• Reduce intake of fat and sugar

Fibre and Cholesterol

Dietary fibre and functional fibre are thought to bind to fat and block its absorption. Fibre also helps the body regulate blood sugar by slowing the rate at which carbohydrates are broken down and enter the bloodstream.‡

Fibre also helps people feel fuller for longer, thereby helping prevent cravings and minimize overall food intake. This means fibre may also help support the liver by supporting healthy production of cholesterol and triglycerides in response to calorie intake and blood sugar.‡

Fibre and Plant-Based Proteins

One of the easiest ways to reduce fat intake and increase fibre consumption is to replace animal-derived foods, such as meat and cheese, with fibre-rich  options, such as beans, chickpeas, lentils, and legumes. These foods provide protein and fibre and they’re packed with phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity, offering additional support for cardiovascular health.‡

Considering that meat and cheese contain no fibre, but do contain saturated fat, switching to plant-based sources of protein seems pretty wise all-round. Take a look at the fibre figures per half cup of the following foods and it’s easy to see how quickly you can achieve the recommended fibre intake:

• Chickpeas – 17.5 g
• Lentils – 8 g
• Adzuki beans – 8.5 g
• Oats – 8 g
• Quinoa – 2.5g
• Brown rice – 1.75 g

Even a small banana contains 2.6 g of fibre, while an average sized apple contains 4.4 g!

A healthy breakfast of oatmeal with fresh slices of apple and banana could jump start your day by providing some 15 g of fibre. Enjoy a chickpea and vegetable curry with brown rice for dinner, or some homemade chickpea fries with a salad and a white bean and parsley dip, and you’ve already met your daily minimum fibre intake if you’re a woman! Have a three-bean quinoa salad for lunch and you’re easily topping 40 g of fibre.

Fibre Supplements

Of course, there are days where it may be a struggle to eat well, which is where functional fibre supplements come in handy. Adding just a scoop of PGX® to your morning smoothie, or even to your glass of water at lunch, can help keep you stay on track to meet your daily target for fibre.*

*Drink additional water (8 fl. oz.) after ingesting PGX®. If you are taking medications, take one hour prior to or two hours after taking PGX®.

‡ This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.