dietary needs covered on the Mid North Coast

Going vegan is a great opportunity to learn more about nutrition and cooking, and improve your diet. Getting your nutrients from plant foods allows more room in your diet for health-promoting options like whole grains, fruit, nuts, seeds and vegetables, which are packed full of beneficial fibre, vitamins and minerals. Well-planned vegan diets follow healthy eating guidelines, and contain all the nutrients that our bodies need. Preventing the exploitation of animals is not the only reason for becoming vegan, but for many it remains the key factor in their decision to go vegan and stay vegan. Plant-based living is also a more sustainable way of feeding the human family. A plant-based diet requires only one third of the land needed to support a meat and dairy diet. With rising global food and water insecurity due to a myriad of environmental and socio-economic problems, there's never been a better time to adopt a more sustainable way of living. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables are fair game. So are fresh, wild-caught or pasture-raised fish, meat and poultry. Most dairy products are OK, just make sure you check the ingredients first. Beans, nuts and seeds in their natural form, without additives or seasoning, are also good to go. Fresh eggs are allowed as well. Many grains contain gluten, so baked goods, breads, cereals and the like can be a problem. The good news is there are many grains that are naturally gluten free. Safe gluten free grains include:

• Rice
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Corn and cornmeal
• Flaxseed or linseed
• Soy
• Millet
• Quinoa
• Sorghum
• Teff

A keto diet is a low carb/moderate protein & fat diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. When you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin. Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed and are therefore stored and can lead to weight gain. By lowering the intake of carbs, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis. Ketosis is a natural process the body initiates to help us survive when food intake is low. During this state, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver. The end goal of a properly maintained keto diet is to force your body into this metabolic state. You do this by greatly reducing carbohydrates.

To lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit which means you need to burn more calories than you consume. Your current weight is the number one determining factor for how fast you'll be able to lose weight on keto. This is because the heavier you are, the higher your metabolic rate is (your ability to burn calories in a given day). Some research has shown that those who stick closely to a ketogenic diet to the extent that their bodies enter a state of ketosis, which is when your body begins to burn fat for fuel instead of carbs (glucose) lose body fat more rapidly than those who do not, but still stick to the same caloric deficit.