One of the services offered at Natural Terrain Naturopathic Clinic is the Diet Analysis. Using a diet journal of everything you eat and drink for a week, we can break down your diet intake of what you’re getting down to the exact amount of every macromolecule, vitamin, mineral and trace element.

Do you want to know if you’re getting enough vitamins, and specifically which ones you might need to supplement? Which amino acids are you lacking? Are you sure you’re getting enough iron, fibre, protein, calcium?  Or, are you taking handfuls of daily vitamins hoping that covers your bases without really knowing what you need?

We individualize it to your sex, age, requirements, and dietary restrictions to make sure you’re getting the best recommendations for you.

A diet analysis shows us the “behind the scenes” snapshot of how you are fuelling your body. This allows us to make assessments of which vitamins and supplements will benefit you the most, but even more importantly, it helps us guide your diet changes that will make the most impact. 

Suggestions

Let’s take a look at the foods you’re eating, and make small changes that can lead to big health benefits in the long run. For example, below is a breakfast of scrambled egg wrap (eggs cooked in coconut oil) with cheese and salsa, a cup of milk, complete with comments and suggestions. Get the inside scoop on the foods you are already eating, and how to make them better!

Ingredient	Concern	Solution
White flour wrap/tortilla	Refined carbohydrates (items made with sugar and white flour) interfere with optimal blood sugar control. These also contribute to your health concerns (depression, migraines) via gluten and gliadorphin sensitivity that can manifest as mood, energy, and inflammation issues.	Use whole grain wraps with organic grains or corn, low refined carbohydrate content and, importantly, no added sugar. You may be surprised how many things have sugar added! Try brands like La Tortilla Factory Ivory Teff Gluten Free Wraps, or make your own with this recipe.
Scrambled eggs	Unless organic, eggs contain hormones, so go for the most organic eggs you can get. The worst way to eat eggs is scrambled because the yolks oxidize when they are broken. Eggs are also high on many food intolerance tests so you my want to try an elimination diet with eggs.	As mentioned, scrambled is not the best option, so try to have boiled or poached eggs. Eggs are high in protein and a good source of vitamins and cholesterol so they are good to include in your diet!
Coconut oil	Generally good to include. *Be very aware of the smoke point of your oils! This is the temperature above which an oil will smoke and create harmful free radicals. Refined coconut oil has a smoke point of 450F, whereas unrefined, dry expeller pressed, virgin coconut oil has a smoke point of 350F.	Continue to use, but do not use if temperature will go above the smoke point.If frying eggs, cook in oil/fat with a high smoke point, such as avocado oil, or ghee (clarified butter) which smoke at 485F.
Cheese	Is your cheese orange? If so, it contains chemicals as the orange colour in cheese is usually dye. Is your cheese organic? If not, it contains hormones. There are also possible food intolerances to proteins in dairy, again consider doing an elimination diet with all dairy products.	Organic white cheese only. The more aged a cheese is, generally the less lactose there is. Try an organic sheep’s milk cheese to see if this is more tolerable than cow’s milk cheese.
Salsa	Tomatoes are considered an inflammatory food for some people with intolerances (part of the night shade family). They are also on the EWG’s “dirty dozen” list of the 12 produce items most heavily sprayed with pesticides and chemicals. Salsa often contains sugar and non-organic corn. Check what you are eating by reading the label!	Avoid tomatoes as they are an inflammatory food and dirty dozen list. If you really love them, eat them sparingly, but make sure they are organic and they they are well cooked as this helps to release helpful lycopene. Buy organic and avoid brands with added sugar and cheese.
Milk	Unless organic, milk contains hormones that can act as endocrine disruptors and affect reproductive organs, fertility and other body processes. Milk is also an inflammatory food and can thicken the mucous secretions in your respiratory tract,  making you more susceptible to bouts of sinus infections, bronchitis and pneumonia.	Use Alternative milk, almond, organic soy, coconut, rice, and tapioca milk are all decent suggestions. Milk is not required by human bodies and we even lose the ability to digest it properly as we get older. You can get your calcium in other ways!

Analyze your diet with us and get the inside scoop on what your body is getting, and what it’s lacking. Dr. Chris also has a diet and recipe book called The Essential Diet: Eating for Mental Health that gives a complete 2-week meal plan, recipes and even shopping lists to make it even easier to start to eat clean, strong and healthy. Let’s make some positive changes to get you feeling better!