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Lifestyle

Wellness Blog

Don’t Miss Out On The Great Benefits Of Seeds

It’s time we explored a food category that we don’t often consider—seeds. 

These chronically underappreciated additives are too often overlooked, despite their many benefits. Chock full of nutrients and flavour, seeds are stellar additions to a vast array of dishes, from salads to breakfast staples to baked goods. 

Whether you’re looking to expand your culinary horizons, attempting to add more protein and minerals to your diet, or just hoping to incorporate some new flavours to your favourite meals, seeds are a great solution. Take some time to familiarize yourself with some of the seeds most commonly used in cooking. Then, give them a try!

Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are so much more than just a messy snack! Chock full of flavour, they’re the perfect addition to everything from trail mix to a savoury salad. Plus, with healthy fats and protein built right in, you can feel great about throwing them into anything.

Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of iron, and they’re also the ultimate topper for all your favourite dishes. For the best results, toast them first with a little vegetable oil, salt, and your preferred seasonings. Then, use your toasty treats to top a soup, jazz up a salad, or give your granola some life. 

Flax seeds

With tons of fibre, protein, and omega-3s, flax seeds are loaded with nutrients. But here’s the trick: buy them ground, not whole. Your body can’t digest flax as whole seeds, so they become nothing more than annoying brown bits that get stuck in your teeth. However, ground flax seeds have a world of exciting uses. Add ground flax to your cookies, breads and muffins to incorporate extra fibre into your baking, or mix it into your cereal, yogurt, or smoothie in the morning for a nutritional boost. Believe it or not, flax seed can even serve as an egg substitute in many recipes!

Sesame seeds

Of course, we know that sesame seeds are the ultimate toppers for bagels, hamburger buns, and countless other baked goods, but that’s just the beginning. Try toasting sesame seeds in a pan and tossing them on stir fries, salads, and even soups for an added kick of flavour (and amino acids)!

Poppy seeds

Not only do poppy seeds make a perfectly creamy salad dressing, but they also happen to be loaded with tons of important nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Add poppy seeds to everything from pancakes to breads, sauces, and even grilled vegetables.

Hemp seeds

An excellent source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, hemp seeds have a mild, nutty flavour making them incredibly versatile for cooking. They blend flawlessly into sauces, smoothies, meatballs, salad dressings, and baked goods, meaning that you can get all the great nutrition that hemp has to offer in any form that suits your mood.

Chia seeds

With protein, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, and omega-3s, chia seeds are basically nutritional powerhouses in teeny packages. The best news? They’re also incredibly tasty. Sprinkle them—ground or whole—on any of your favourite meals to give your body a healthy boost throughout the day.

Wellness Blog

Do You Have A Happy Belly?

You have trillions of little critters, crawling through your intestines. In fact, you have more bacteria in your gut than you have cells in your body!

 The question is: Who’s winning?

 There’s a never-ending battle in your belly. It’s GOOD (eg. Lactobacilus acidophilus) vs. EVIL (E. coli or Salmonella); a fight to occupy the land called, “GIT” – short for Gastrointestinal Tract.

 When the bad guys take control, you end up with unwanted symptoms like gas, bloating and indigestion. However, when GIT is full of healthy probiotics, you have a happy belly…and all the wonderful benefits it brings.

 

A happy, healthy belly means:

  • Better digestion and less bloating
  • A strong protective lining along your intestinal wall, so the wrong things don’t “leak” in
  • Stronger immunity
  • A happier mood
  • Clearer skin
  • And more

 

What causes the imbalance?

 Glad you asked!

 Life is full of factors that kill off your good bacteria and leave the territory free for the taking. Things like refined sugar, processed foods, chlorinated water and antibiotic use can cause a noticeable drop in your probiotic numbers.

 When that happens, the unhealthy bacteria are granted an opportunity to multiply and outnumber the good guys - causing an imbalance called dysbiosis. This is where you run into common symptoms like bloating, digestive upset and lowered immunity.

 Thankfully, you can restore balance and increase your healthy bacteria count by supplementing with probiotics.

 

What should you look for in a probiotic supplement?

 It ultimately comes down to four key things: Source, Variety, Potency and Stability.

 

1) SOURCE: Choose Human Strain Probiotics

A quality probiotic contains human strains because human microflora is by far the most compatible with your digestive system. It has the ability to colonize and multiply within the gastrointestinal tract whereas other forms (dairy and plant) fail to adhere to the intestinal wall or simply die off after ingestion.

 

2) VARIETY: Go for Full Protection

Different probiotic strains live in different parts of your body. That means a great supplement must provide a variety of strains in order to protect your entire intestinal tract – from your mouth through to your large intestine.

 

3) POTENCY: Your Body Needs Billions

Look for a probiotic that provides probiotics in the billions. For example, 30 billion as a solid baseline, 70 billion for high potency daily protection or 150 billion when recommended by a healthcare professional for temporary use.


4) STABILITY: You Want Your Friends Alive

A big number in writing is great, but what are they doing to guarantee those little critters live a long life (or at least until expiry)?

 

Look for:

  1. A method called, “Cryoprotection”. It uses cold temperatures to remove the available moisture.
  2. Natural desiccants like potato starch and silica. These ingredients help to keep the moisture low, so the probiotics don’t come alive and die off too soon.
  3. An antioxidant like vitamin C, which helps to preserve and extend the probiotics’ lifespan.

 

Need a Recommendation?

Try Progressive HCP® Probiotics!

This great little family of probiotics is manufactured right here in Canada, in Health Canada site licensed and GMP compliant facilities. But beyond quality, their formulas feature:

 

 

Here’s the final word: A happy belly can make your whole health better.

To make your belly happy, and to restore balance to the land of GIT, you need probiotics. Try it for yourself and experience the many benefits of a truly happy, healthy belly!

Blog post courtesy of Progressive Nutritional Therapies.

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