Is the Paleo Diet for You?

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Everybody’s talking about it – but is this the diet for you?

Learn what following the Paleo Diet entails.

Although the paleo diet has never appealed to me (I enjoy dairy too much), it has become all the rage among many health conscious folks. Especially popular amongst those that are involved in Cross Fit training, the paleo diet emulates the diet of cavemen. What exactly does this mean, you ask? Well, the Paleo Diet, as defined by thepaleodiet.com, is “based upon eating wholesome, contemporary foods from the food groups our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era, the time period from about 2.6 million years ago to the beginning of the agricultural revolution, about 10,000 years ago.”

So, what’s on the Paleo Menu?

  • Fresh Meat, such as beef, pork or poultry
  • Fish and other seafood
  • Fresh Fruit
  • Fresh Vegetables
  • Seeds
  • Nuts
  • Oils, such as olive oil, coconut oil or flaxseed oil

What’s excluded from the menu?

  • Dairy products
  • Cereal grains
  • Legumes
  • Refined sugars
  • Processed food

What do you think? Is this a diet you would try? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Reference: www.thepaleodiet.com

 

PGX Daily Singles

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A spotlight on one of our most popular PGX products.

What are PGX Daily Singles?

PGX Daily Singles are unflavoured granules that mix easily and dissolve into foods and beverages.

How do you use PGX Daily Singles?

Simply sprinkle on cereal, soups, yogurt or salads without affecting the flavour or just add it to water for a convenient way to control your appetite. PGX granules will change the consistency of your food or beverage, becoming thicker the longer you wait prior to consuming, therefore, it is important to sprinkle your PGX onto your food or beverage immediately before consuming; don’t wait too long if you would like the consistency to remain unchanged.

PGX requires additional water to provide its full range of benefits, so it is important to always drink plenty of water when using any PGX product.

Health Benefits of PGX Daily Singles

  • Helps to normalize blood sugar levels    
  • Lowers the glycemic index of meals    
  • Supports healthy weight loss   
  • Reduces food cravings  

Pros of Choosing PGX Daily Singles

  • Granules are flavour-free
  • Easily mixed into your food and added to your regular diet

  • Discreet and convenient packages that you can carry on the go

Discover where you can find PGX Daily Singles in store.

Homemade Spa Water

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Say goodbye to soda, juice, and bottled water with these refreshing, healthy flavors!

Try this homemade ‘spa water’ with a wide variety of flavors to motivate you to drink more water. If you’re like me you might forget to drink enough water everyday. Although we have great tasting tap water, I am more likely to remember to drink water if it’s flavoured. It feels more like a special treat!

Here’s a simple recipe you can try to make your own homemade “spa water” from Yummy Life! Add a PGX single for long lasting satiety!

 

Fitocracy: a Fitness App

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On your marks. Get set. Exercise!

Get in shape with the app that turns fitness into fun and games…

We’ve all got a competitive side right? Now there’s a fitness app that appeals to our inner competitor (racer, fighter, Olympian?) and can help you stay motivated to workout! Fitocracy is an app that turns your exercise routines into games!

Fitness geeks and gurus, Brian Wang and Richard Talens, decided it was time to help people actually fall in love with fitness; not an easy task! With Fitocracy you can climb levels, earn points, and compete in quests and challenges, turning that routine workout into an addictive game world of health and exercise! A healthy habit addiction?! How very convenient!

So if you find yourself lacking in consistant motivation or just looking to stir the exercise pot, try this app and start competing with yourself and your friends. A little healthy competition can go a long way!

 

Appetite Control: Volume & Viscosity

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PGX Tip: PGX can help control your appetite with volume and viscosity.

How volume aids in weight managment:

Food “volume” is an easy concept to understand. The greater the volume of food in your stomach is, the fuller you feel. Unfortunately, many popular “fast foods” provide a lot more calories than they do volume. For example, a double burger with cheese and a large order of fries represents about 1,300 calories, yet they only equal about two cups in terms of volume. This means that you end up consuming a lot of calories before you start to feel full. Comparatively, two cups full of chopped apple, provide just as much volume but only 120 calories! You end up feeling just as full with far fewer (fattening) calories.

Volume & PGX: Because high-fibre foods absorb water and then expand, they make you feel fuller with fewer calories. High-fibre PGX has virtually no calories and substantially increases the volume of your meals without increasing your caloric intake.

How viscosity aids in weight management:

“Viscosity” refers to the thickness of a fluid. Honey, for example, is very viscous, whereas, water is not.

Viscosity & PGX: By mixing PGX with food and water, the highly soluble polysaccharides (or fibres) in PGX expand, increasing the viscosity of your meal. This helps to increase its volume but also slows the absorption of carbohydrates. Because carbs are absorbed more slowly, you feel full longer, which generally results in less between-meal snacking. Sugar is also released into your bloodstream more gradually, avoiding the unhealthy blood sugar roller coaster than can trigger hunger and food cravings.

Learn more about PGX.

 

What inspires you to live a healthy life?

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What a great question and a big one!

Living a healthy life isn’t the easiest choice. It requires planning to go to the grocery store and make healthy meal choices. Or, scheduling time for exercise. Sure, you could just kick off your shoes after a long day but you don’t. I think that’s pretty awesome.

We all have our reasons for wanting to live a bit healthier. For some, it might be to be more active with our kids or younger people in our lives. For others, the children are fully-grown and on their own so it feels like now is the time to get healthy.

Some may be following doctors orders and are restricted to a special diet. While another is doing it for a special event such as a wedding, to get ready for a baby, a family reunion or a graduation. Maybe it’s just to look great on a date or anniversary with someone special.

Or maybe you’ve set your sights higher! Maybe you’re looking to climb the next mountain like Esther and Martin Kafer the oldest couple to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to help raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society of BC! Or run your first marathon, or 10 k or even 5 k run.

Whatever your reason, we think you’re pretty awesome for doing it. If you’ve made PGX part of the journey, we thank you and are proud to be a part of it!

Recipe: Mango Salad with Lime & Sweet Paprika Dressing

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PGX presents Tasty Tuesday!

Enjoy a tasty and exotic salad that will definitely add a pop of healthy colour to your dinner table!

Salads are a popular staple in a meal for many people. But I know, from personal experience, that this green addition to the dinner table can often become repetitive, featuring the same leaves and the same dressing.

Treat yourself to something new with this delicious and incredibly colourful recipe from the Wooden Spoon: Mango Salad with Lime and Sweet Paprika Dressing!

Doesn’t that look delicious?! Click on through for the details and try adding a stick of PGX Daily Singles for that extra benefit of fibre!

 

Dr. Michael Murray Explains Why PGX Works

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Dr. Michael Murray shares the multiple benefits of taking PGX.

PGX and the GLP-1 Connection

Achieving ideal body is not about dieting or food deprivation, it is all about eliminating excessive hunger, stabilizing blood sugar levels, and increasing the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction from food. The key tool in helping people achieve these goals is PolyGlycoPlex (PGX) ? the most viscous and soluble fiber ever discovered.

Clinical research has shown to exert the following benefits:

  • Reduces appetite and promotes effective weight loss
  • Stabilizes blood sugar control
  • Increases insulin sensitivity
  • Maintains healthy cholesterol levels already within normal ranges

PGX Increases GLP-1

Several animal studies have provided important information on the actions of PGX. In these studies PGX was shown to reduce food intake, lower body weight, improve insulin action, and produce favorable effects on the liver and cholesterol levels. PGX has been shown to produce a significant increase in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) ? a hormone secreted in the small intestine and colon. GLP-1 is secreted by L-cells in the small intestine and colon in response to food intake.

Studies with a synthetic, injectable form of GLP-1 produces significant weight loss in humans as it makes most people feel full, leading to reduced food intake. PGX appears to produce the same effect naturally. PGX not only leads to pulses of GLP-1 release into the bloodstream as it passes throughout the entire digestive tract it has also been shown to increase the number of the cells that produce GLP-1 ? the L cells ? within the intestinal tract. This mechanism explains the prolonged effect of PGX on feelings of satiety.

New Data

The effects of PGX on body weight, food consumption, glucose, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) levels were determined in Zucker diabetic rats (ZDFs) treated for 12 weeks with normal rodent chow supplemented with cellulose (control, inert fiber), PGX, sitagliptin, and PGX plus sitagliptin.

Sitagliptin (Januvia) is an oral diabetes medication that blocks the enzyme responsible for the rapid breakdown of GLP-1. Naturally produced GLP-1 is broken down by the body within two minutes after it is formed. By inhibiting the breakdown, sitagliptin potentiates the effects of GLP-1.

Because PGX promotes increased GLP-1 release and sitagliptin blocks its breakdown, the expected result is that the combination would produce greater effects than either agent alone. The hypothesis was confirmed in this study as the combination was shown to produce significant blood sugar lowering effects in both short-term and long-term measures.

Reference:

Reimer RA, Grover GJ, Koetzner L, et al. Sitagliptin reduces hyperglycemia and increases satiety hormone secretion more effectively when used with a novel polysaccharide in obese Zucker rats. J. Nutr. Epub ahead of publication. doi: 10.3945/jn.112.163204.

Health Benefits of Pets

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A recent article in The New York Times states that having a dog may protect you from heart disease. The message comes from the American Heart Association, which after consulting years of data, finally concluded that owning a dog, was ‘probably associated’ with reduced risk of heart disease.

People that own dogs definitely have greater motivation to get outside and take walks. Pet lovers that form bonds with their pets know that walks and being outside is good for their pet’s wellbeing. Is it really possible to look deep into those brown eyes and say no to a walk? Impossible! As an added bonus, it’s equally as good for our own health. Thank you, pets!

In fact, leading a healthier lifestyle can bring about several added plusses. When you take a little time everyday to go for a walk or get in some exercise, you also start to eat better and focus on your overall health. You’ll also sleep better with regular exercise and nutritional foods. Although if you’re sleeping with your pets you might have to share the bed!

PGX can be part of your healthy lifestyle. When you’re starting to make new lifestyle changes be sure to introduce it slowly into your diet. Take it before meals and you’ll be less tempted to eat more. Why? Because PGX expands in your stomach, making you feel fuller longer.