UPFRONT | Roundup NUTRITION Top trends in healthy eating for 2015 The Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) announced the top five trends Canadians should be aware of when shopping at their local health food store in 2015. “The holidays are a time when Canadians are more focused on spending quality time with friends and family and tend to forget about diets and ease up on exercise,” CHFA president Helen Long said. “The new year is an opportunity to make or renew resolutions and reinvigorate healthy habits or cre-ate new ones. By sharing these new trends, we hope to help Canadians discover new, exciting, natural solutions to help them enjoy a healthy 2015.” The top five trends, according to the CHFA, are: New, interesting oils In 2014 coconut oil was all the rage, and while it has many health benefits, we are seeing more and more people using unconventional oils, each offering their own unique health advantages. Some of the oils trending in 2015, include: Avocado Oil -Rich in monoun-saturated fats and Vitamin E, and with a high smoke point which makes it better for use in cooking than olive oil. Camelina Oil -Rich in mono-and poly-unsaturated fats with high proportion of Omega-3s for cardiovascular health. Flax Seed Oil -Rich in alpha-li-nolenic Omega-3 fats. Digestive health Increasingly, natural health prod-ucts that support digestion, in-cluding a diversifying probiotic category, are being linked to health benefits beyond digestive and in-testinal health, such as mental health, skin health and weight maintenance, among other bene-fits. In 2015 consumers can ex-pect to see new natural health products focused on supporting the health of the digestive tract, including L-glutamine, new probi-otics and different forms of dietary fibre. Fermentation The trend of supporting digestion also extends to fermented foods, which are no longer limited to kimchi, tempeh and sauerkraut. Fermentation can liberate nutri-ents in foods and help our body better absorb them. The process of fermentation also increases some anti-inflammatory and an-ti-oxidant compounds in foods. In 2015, consumers should expect to see a plethora of new foods in different fermented forms includ-ing bars, powders and capsules. Pumpkin Pumpkin is primed to be the kale of 2015. From oils to seeds, we are going to see an increase in the use of pumpkin in healthy products across the country. This unique vegetable has many health bene-fits and has been linked to height-ened prostate and urinary tract health. Pumpkin seeds are also rich in B vitamins, vitamin E, zinc and essential fatty acids. Pumpkin flesh also touts strong health ben-efits, as it is rich in nutrients in-cluding beta-carotene, a pre-cur-sor to Vitamin A -crucial for healthy reproduction, immune system, health and vision. GMO labeling In more than 60 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of food containing GMOs. In Canada, GMO labelling demands are on the rise as we see an increase in con-sumers demanding to know where their food comes from and the impact that producing it has on the environment. While the debate surrounding GMO foods continues, suppliers are increasingly stepping up to the plate and offering certi-fied organic products, which is an assurance that foods are produced without the use of GMOs. Through third-party certification, such as Non-GMO Project Verified and Organic Certification, suppliers will continue to voluntarily disclose that their products are produced without the use of GMOs. This trend will continue throughout 2015 in response to consumer demands and increasing labeling activism in Canada. “We hope Canadians embrace these new trends in 2015,” holistic nutritionist Michelle W. Book said. “If they do, they will enjoy a great increase in their well-being, as health is a life-long journey that includes healthy foods, exercise and natural health products.” SUPPLEMENTS Vitamin D offers chronic pain relief: study Some patients with chronic pain could be better served by being prescribed vitamin D supplements by their health-care provider, ac-cording to research at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Researchers in the uni-versity’s School of Popula-tion Health have been studying the treatment of patients with chronic non-specific musculoskele-tal pain, and they have found it can vary widely. “Vitamin D supplements are known to help ease the symptoms of people with this type of chronic pain, and there are no known negative side-effects. Vita-min D supplementation is readily available and a rela-tively cheap option,” a PhD student and medical doctor, Manasi Gaikwad, said. “We found that the GPs (general practitioners) we studied have observed a positive effect of vitamin D supplementation on these patients. However, this can be a slow process, involving repeat visits to the GP, and additional costs such as blood tests. Despite the prevalence of this condition in the com-munity, the diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic non-specific mus-culoskeletal pain remains complicated. “Several studies have been conducted showing that patients with chronic non-specific musculoskeletal pain can receive relief after increas-ing vitamin D intake. But until now there has been no study to understand the clinical reasoning GPs use to decide which patients should or should not receive vitamin D supplementa-tion,” she said. “The research has high-lighted that a standardised approach to treatment could be beneficial for both the GPs and patients,” Gaikwad said. www.canadianchiropractor.ca 14 Canadian Chiropractor February 2015
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