How to Create a Wellness Space in the Home

Guest Blog by Lucy Crawford

Most productive people have special areas set aside for productive activity. Writers have desks, artists have studios, crafters have crafting rooms. Making wellness part of your day-to-day practice is no different. When you designate a space for wellness, chances are you’ll be more likely to maintain a daily practice. Here are a few simple tips for how to create a wellness space in your home to get you started.

Find Your Space
Each of us has different wellness goals, which means there is no one-size-fits-all type of space. Sit down and make a list of what you want to do in your wellness space. Yoga, meditation, journaling, and pilates are all activities that you may wish to make routine. If you want a space for yoga, figure out how much room you need and figure out where you have the floor space. For journaling, you may want to invest in a desk that you use exclusively for that purpose.

Eliminate Distractions
Keep your space visually uncluttered. If you’re in an apartment near a busy road, you may want to invest in a small water feature or white noise generator to help drown out background noise. For small spaces such as studios, consider putting up a curtain or a movable screen that partitions you off from the rest of the room. This has the advantage of making your space feel more private.

An aspect of eliminating distractions is to only use your wellness space for wellness activities. Resist the urge to sit at your journaling desk scrolling mindlessly on your phone. Making a habit of putting your phone or other distractions in a small box when you enter the space will help to foster and maintain the positive intentions of the space.

Personalize your Space
Create a look and feel in your space that supports your wellness goals. This might mean hanging pictures of peaceful places or inspirational quotes. Put down a rug, use scented candles, or build a small altar with meaningful, beautiful objects. The goal is for your space to get you into your wellness zone — whatever that may be.

Take It Outside
The simple act of stepping outside is often enough to mentally shift gears. If your home has a nice porch or patio and you’re lucky enough to have good weather most of the time, why not create an outdoor wellness space? The fresh air and vitamin D from the sun will give you is an added bonus. According to some studies, putting your bare feet on the ground is good for your health. If nothing else, there’s evidence that time spent sans shoes is good for your feet.

Taking the time to create a space dedicated to wellness will pay off in the long term. This space will encourage you to make a daily practice of wellness activities. No matter how much or how little space you have to work with, setting aside a place just for your wellbeing is an investment in the most important person in your life — you.

Lucy Crawford is a home design and DIY writer and lover of herbal tea. She is always rearranging her home office and challenging herself with a new DIY project. She enjoys designing spaces where she can be the most productive.

Is Lectin the New Gluten?

By Lisa Mikus, RD, CNSC, CDN

More often than not, I learn about new food trends from my curious clients. They ask me to research the trend to see what I think. So, when one of my clients asked me about the lectin-free diet, I started my search.

Yes, lectin-free sounds very similar to gluten-free. Molecularly speaking, lectin and gluten are both considered proteins. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye and associated with Celiac disease.  But what exactly is lectin? Lectin is described as a “carbohydrate-binding protein” found in legumes, whole grains, beans, and vegetables. It seems that there are conflicting views on whether foods with lectin are dangerous to eat. Foods high in lectin include red kidney beans, tomatoes, wheat, peanuts, peas, and soybeans. Raw legumes have higher lectin levels than cooked legumes. 

The lectin-free diet trend was spearheaded by Dr. Steven Gundry who wrote “The Plant Paradox” in 2017 and claims that lectins can be dangerous for humans to consume and that they contribute to obesity and chronic inflammation. More specifically, Dr. Gundry links lectins to leaky gut syndrome and autoimmune disorders. On his website, he even offers a supplement named “Lectin Shield” so that you can consume foods with lectin without the alleged negative effects.

Lectin is classified as an anti-nutrient along with glucosinates, oxalates, phytates, saponins, and tannins because they have the ability to disrupt the absorption of calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. As mentioned previously, raw legumes such as beans, lentils, peas, soybeans, peanuts and whole grains have high levels of lectin. These proteins protect plants in nature, but since they are hard for the human body to digest, they can cause issues when eaten in large quantities and if not prepared properly.

For example, there have been accounts of lectin toxicity when raw or undercooked kidney beans (which contain the lectin phytohaemagglutinin) were consumed. People experienced nausea and diarrhea. Yet, these symptoms can be easily avoided. Raw beans should be soaked and then boiled in water at a high heat as lectins are water-soluble. Using a slow cooker is not recommended for cooking raw beans. Canned beans have low levels of lectin because they are stored in liquid.

Following a lectin-free diet is quite restrictive and does eliminate many foods that are commonly accepted as nutritious including whole grains, beans, and vegetables. Research has shown that consuming whole grains helps reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Whole grains, beans, and vegetables provide antioxidants that battle inflammation. These lectin-containing foods also provide our bodies with nourishing vitamins, fiber, and protein. There is budding research on the role of lectins in the cellular development of the gut wall in specific populations, in cancer treatment, and in diabetes management.

It seems that going lectin-free would be particularly restrictive for vegans and vegetarians and those who have gastrointestinal issues such as constipation since the foods eliminated provide fiber essential for a regulated bowel regimen.

Ultimately, the message here is that too much of any food can cause nutritional imbalance even if it is a vegetable. Even though lectin-containing foods may block the absorption of other minerals, the overall evidence-based benefits of eating an appropriate amount of these foods, when cooked properly, offset the potential risks. Remember that balance is key and to ask your Registered Dietitian about the efficacy of any diet you see that is quickly gaining momentum.

References:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319593.php

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22545/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/lectins/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/

https://gundrymd.com/supplements/lectin-shield/

Making Sense of Celery

Read more about our thoughts on the celery juice craze below!

by Lisa Mikus, RD, CNSC, CDN

The latest fad diet trend is drinking celery juice. You’ve probably seen articles online, pictures on Instagram, and the green juice stocked on the shelves of grocery stores. Celery juice is so popular that according to ThePacker.com, its demand has caused the price of a carton of celery to increase drastically, about 7x the price compared to last year.

The alleged benefits of drinking celery juice include clearing up acne, speeding up weight loss, and improving gut health. The recommended ritual includes drinking 16 ounces of celery juice every morning, on an empty stomach, and waiting to eat again for at least 30 minutes.

So, where did this fad come from? Doctors? Dietitians? Not exactly. A self-proclaimed “medical-medium” named Anthony William is the champion of the celery juice trend. According to the introductory video on his website, he claims that the sodium cluster salts in celery can destroy pathogens and alleviate symptoms related to a plethora of health issues including Epstein-Barr virus, shingles, and human herpesvirus-6. He calls out doctors and dietitians for being skeptics because we rely on evidence-based research to make recommendations and there are no peer-reviewed studies stating celery juice supports these health claims.

To be clear, Registered Dietitians adhere to a Code of Ethics which includes promoting only evidence-based health claims. So, when our clients come to us asking us if they should drink celery juice every morning, as Registered Dietitians, we have to put on our skeptic-hats and really delve into the published research and evidence behind these fad health and wellness trends, ethically speaking. The truth is, there aren’t many scholarly articles involving celery juice specifically. There are articles discussing whole celery as well as celery seeds.

Yet, it is possible that people are experiencing healing benefits from drinking celery juice daily. Celery juice is extremely hydrating, contains phytonutrients, vitamins C, K, and A, potassium, calcium, magnesium. We know that whole celery helps lower blood pressure and can help regulate fluid balance.

This drink could be providing much-needed nutrition and hydration into one’s daily intake, much like any other vegetable-based green juice. Yet, celery juice has not been researched regarding whether it heals people in the specific and profound ways Anthony William claims, including alleviating symptoms from autoimmune diseases and other serious illnesses.

The bottom line is, feel free to drink any green juice in the morning, afternoon, or evening in addition to your regular intake – or don’t! It’s not necessary to drink a green juice daily or on an
empty stomach. Celery juice is not a cure-all for one’s ailments, yet can be introduced into one’s intake. Remember that eating whole vegetables, versus drinking their juices, provides our bodies with fiber which helps keep us satiated and lowers cholesterol. Consuming a wide variety of vegetables provides an array of antioxidants that support overall health. Remember that miracle, cure-all foods simply do not exist! Moderation is key. Eat kale and cupcakes!

References:
https://www.thepacker.com/article/celery-market-soars-juicing-trend-expands
https://www.medicalmedium.com/
https://www.eatrightpro.org/~/media/eatrightpro%20files/career/code%20of%20ethics/codeo
fethicsdieteticsresources.ashx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871295/