What Are Medium Chain Triglycerides?
Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) are a type of dietary fat.
Dietary fats consist of molecules made up of carbon atoms. These individual carbon atoms compose linked chains. The chains range in length from 2 to 22 carbon atoms.
Long Chain Fatty acids (LCTs) are the most common form of fat consumed in the average diet. LCTs have chains that are 12 to 18 carbon atoms long.
MCTs are unique as they have considerably smaller chains. On average, MCTs have chains made up of 6 to 10 carbon atoms.
MCTs resemble the dietary compound carbohydrates more than a form of fat. This gives MCTs an advantage ...
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The Lowdown on Fructose
What Is Fructose?
Fructose (also known as fruit sugar) is a form of sugar belonging to the hexose class of sugars, which include any sugar that contains six carbon atoms. (Source)
Fructose is a sugar that is found naturally in most fruits and certain vegetables, and is one of the least carcinogenic nutritive sugars.
Fructose is found in significantly higher quantities in fruits than in vegetables. Reducing sugars, which are a combination of glucose and fructose, are the primary source of soluble carbohydrates found within most fruits as well as seedless raisins.
Although certain vegetables do contain fructose, it is in much ...
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Paleo Protein Powders
“Is protein powder Paleo?”
This is one question we get repeatedly, and it’s almost always followed by, “can you recommend some brands?”
This post aims to clear up the confusion for you.
First things first, let’s assume that we all understand that, even though cavemen did not have access to protein powder, that doesn’t mean we CAN’T eat it in our modern world.
The whole “eat everything a caveman would” is so mid-2000s, right?
That being said, not all protein powders are created equal. And, we don’t advocate for all of the protein in your diet coming from protein powder. It’s always a good rule of thumb to get the majority of ...
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The Ultimate Guide to Iodine-Rich Foods
The Ultimate Guide to Iodine-Rich Foods
How much do you know about iodine?
As a general rule, I think it’s important to know about the different micronutrients that our body needs to function optimally and what foods from which we can get them.
Iodine is one of these micronutrients!
I like to approach food as medicine, so knowing which foods are rich in iodine ensures I give my body exactly the amount it needs.
Benefits of Iodine
This mineral is vital for numerous processes in your body including cellular metabolism, regulating thyroid function, and ensuring our body develops properly.
Iodine is a key player in the production of thyroid ...
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Ultimate Meal Prep Guide
Meal prepping - you’ve heard this is the key to any successful diet change. But what if you’ve never done it? What if you don’t even know what it is exactly?
If this is you, we’ve got you covered.
This guide is for anyone who is completely new to the meal prep game. We cover it all + answer our most frequently asked questions.
What is meal prepping?
Let’s start with the basics.
Meal prepping is the act of preparing food in advance so that it makes eating easier through the week. This can include shopping for ingredients, preparing the food, and portioning it out for the week ahead. Depending on the person doing it, it can ...
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Beyond the Scale
When I was in college, I would go the rec center every day. I had a specific routine: 30 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of “abs”, then I’d step on the scale.
I’d do this almost every single day.
If the number was lower than the day before, my whole day was instantly better. If the number was the same or higher, I’d be bummed for the rest of the day.
I literally remember thinking to myself, “If only I could get under 120 pounds, I’ll be happy.”
Looking back, I wish I could shake some sense into my twenty-something self.
What a waste.
For so long, our society has been bombarded with the message that skinnier is better. Our ...
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Paleo-Friendly Sugar – Is There Such A Thing?
We’re going to dive into the deep, dark world of Paleo-friendly sugar. We get a lot of questions about this topic. And for a good reason - it can be confusing.
What is Paleo-friendly sugar?
I don’t know about you, but when I first started the Paleo diet, I spent hours and hours learning all I could about it. This included recipe hunting. And, of course, as I sought out recipes, I found all kinds for Paleo cookies, cakes, brownies...the whole gamut.
For a beginner, this was confusing. Many resources claimed that the Paleo diet is a sugar-free diet. But these dessert recipes included ingredients like coconut sugar, honey, maple ...
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Phytic Acid: Everything You Need To Know
Everything You Need to Know About Phytic Acid
If you’ve followed the Paleo diet for long, you’ve probably heard the term “anti-nutrients” used before. Phytic acid, along with lectin and gluten, is considered one of these anti-nutrients.
What Is Phytic Acid?
Phytic acid can be found in grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. It is basically how these different
plants store the mineral phosphorus. The phosphorus is stored in the seed of the plant. Sometimes, the phytic acid can bind to a mineral inside the seed. When this happens, the phytic acid becomes a phytate. You may hear these words used interchangeably.
Plants use phytic acid as a form ...
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What is Inflammation?
What is inflammation, any way?
When you first started learning about your diet, and how it relates to your health and well-being, you probably remember hearing the word “inflammation” a lot.
What does that word really mean?
In the most general sense, inflammation is the body’s way of protecting itself. If you’ve ever cut yourself, and noticed how the skin gets red and swollen around the injury, that’s inflammation.
Inflammation in action
When your cells are in danger, they send a signal to your immune system. Your immune system then sends its fighter to that area to battle off any foreign invaders and help begin the healing ...
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Alkaline Water: Everything You Need to Know
Alkaline water - what the heck is it?
I’ll be honest...I’ve heard talk about this stuff. I’ve seen it in the store. But, before diving into the research for this article, I pretty much knew nothing about it. If you’ve found yourself in the same boat, I’d definitely encourage you to keep reading. I’m on a mission to answer all of your questions!
First things first…
What is alkaline water?
You may have to think back to your middle school science class to remember what exactly “alkaline” means. As you probably learned way back then, alkaline means that the pH of a solution is above 7 - which is to say that this solution is more “basic” ...
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