08/07/2017 +Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina Catherine Jones and Stéphane Lahaye Are you interested in pursuing a plant-based lifestyle but don’t know where to start? Read on for easy ways to swap out animal products for plant-based alternatives that still provide all the nutrients you need. “How can I get enough protein?” is one of the …
09/06/2017 Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina When we get a spontaneous invite to a picnic, one easy choice is to stop by a supermarket or natural foods store and pick up one or more varieties of hummus or guacamole along with an assortment of raw veggies or crackers. If we have a little more preparation time …
06/04/2017 Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina The significant health hazards associated with red meat are so well known by now that people are happy to avoid the Neu5Gc (N-Glycolylneuraminic acid) present in all beef, pork and lamb that increases risk of tumour formation. We also know that the gut microbiota of meat eaters change carnitine in …
15/07/2016 +Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has named 2016 the International Year of Pulses. Pulses are edible seeds that grow in pods – peas, beans, lentils. They are also known as legumes. Pulses are packed with nutrients, especially B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6, and folate) and …
07/05/2016 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina & Dave Shishkoff • Last month, I had the pleasure of being a presenter at the Dairy-Free Living course – complete with tastings – at Vancouver’s Central Library. One thing is now clear: there is an abundance of delicious, healthful dairy alternatives. Vancouver is home to several independent non-dairy milk and nut-based …
01/02/2016 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • Can snacking be a key ingredient in a healthy lifestyle? If your first response was “No!” here’s a chance to update your perceptions. Some of us were raised with the advice to “never eat between meals,” which makes sense in protecting our teeth from sweets. Yet there can be …
07/09/2015 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina MS, RD • Soy has been the focus of considerable controversy. The roots lie in good and bad science and in the fact that soy poses a threat to the animal products industry. As many shift towards plant foods, interest in soy arises, in part for its top-quality protein. Research also …
By Vesanto Melina, MS, Registered Dietitian Recipes are from the new Cooking Vegan by Vesanto Melina and chef Joseph Forest (in Canada as an E-book titles Cooking Vegetarian by chef Joseph Forest and Vesanto Melina, publisher Harper Collins, and soon to be released in paperback; same content–great recipes, menus, nutritional analysis, chef tips). These books make an excellent gift for those …
By Vesanto Melina, MS, Registered Dietitian When barbecue season comes along, we may have fond memories of summer events with meat sizzling over the coals. Yet there are great reasons to cook up something else that is superbly tasty and less potentially carcinogenic for summer get-togethers. Recent information from the Harvard-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study …
NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD The teen years can be a period of challenge, a little like the terrible twos, except now your kid is several inches taller than you. Mom and dad may find that a formerly compliant child has become a stranger. Nutrition-related issues either become an arena for conflict or shared …
