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A Calorie is Not Just a Calorie

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

Many diets encourage counting calories, because they treat all calories as equal. To lose weight they recommend eating low calorie foods. Low calorie foods usually translates into low fat foods. What’s the problem with this? All calories are not equal and the low fat, high carb diet that’s been touted by

Read more . . . A Calorie is Not Just a Calorie

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Six Smart Carbs

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

Not all carbs are created equal. There are good carbs and bad carbs. Good carbs have a low-glycemic index, and keep your blood sugar levels balanced, giving you more energy and helping you to stay fuller longer. Bad carbs, such as the old starchy standbys—pasta, potatoes and bagels–quickly convert to sugar

Read more . . . Six Smart Carbs

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Nutrition for Century Rides

Q: I’m doing my first 100km ride this fall. How do I know how much and how frequently I need to eat before, during and after the ride?

Beth Mansfield: The Best Energy Booster for the event day is a Carbohydrate-Rich DIET!

* Prevent the need for quick

Read more . . . Nutrition for Century Rides

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Carbs: How Much is Enough?

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

In “Good Carb, Bad Carb” you learned how to tell the difference between healthy carbs, like fruits and vegetables, and not-so-healthy carbs, like processed white bread and bagels. And how eating lower GI carbs keeps you healthier. But how many carbs does it take to fuel your daily

Read more . . . Carbs: How Much is Enough?

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Good Carb, Bad Carb

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

For the past thirty years, athletes of all kinds, including recreational athletes, have been encouraged to load up on starchy carbohydrates like pasta, potatoes and bagels to fuel their training. Not any more. Today it’s recognized that not all carbs are equal. Some are good, and some are bad.

What are the

Read more . . . Good Carb, Bad Carb

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More Power with Protein

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

It used to be that carbohydrates were considered the powerhouse in an athlete’s nutritional arsenal. Not anymore. Now it’s protein that’s the rising new star. “Physical activity like cycling breaks down muscle,” says Christine Gerbstadt, an MD and sports dietitian. “And studies show that in the immediate post-exercise period

Read more . . . More Power with Protein

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Eat Smart

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

If you’ve stepped on the scales lately and cried, “YIKES!,” you may panic and decide to restrict your food intake to lose weight. Stop! Don’t do that. If you do, you’ll trigger your metabolism into conservation mode.

Our bodies are designed to survive times of famine. When you restrict food intake, your

Read more . . . Eat Smart

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Healthy Snacks for Less than 180 Calories

Do you struggle with your weight One thing that can help you maintain a healthy weight is snacking between meals. That may sound counter-intuitive but think about it. When you let yourself get too hungry, chances are you’ll overeat at the next meal, and that’s a problem. Eating excess calories at one time

Read more . . . Healthy Snacks for Less than 180 Calories

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Are Granola Bars Healthy?


It’s easy to feel virtuous when you eat granola bars. Everyone knows oats are good for you, right? Well, that depends. Some granola bars have more sugar and sodium in them than cookies. Many are fat-laden and smothered in chocolate—in fact, nutritionally they’re not that different from a chocolate bar.

Companies like Quaker, Kellogg

Read more . . . Are Granola Bars Healthy?

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Fuel for Cyclists

By Sheila Ascroft

What to eat (and drink) on a long bike ride depends on your stomach. And, like fingerprints, no two stomachs are the same. The choice depends as much on what your digestive tract can handle as the cost, convenience, effectiveness, or taste. Some people I know do fine on Fig

Read more . . . Fuel for Cyclists

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Nuts Prevent Heart Attacks

By Dr. Gabe Mirkin

A review of 25 studies shows that eating nuts (including peanuts) lowers cholesterol to help prevent heart attacks (Archives of Internal Medicine, May 10, 2010). Eating an average of 2.5 ounces of nuts per day lowers total cholesterol 5.1 percent, LDL (the bad cholesterol)

Read more . . . Nuts Prevent Heart Attacks

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The Skinny On Fat

By Laurel-Lea Shannon

Fat has been vilified by the medical community for decades. But did you know your body needs fat to function properly? Healthy fats may be your biggest ally in the battle against weight gain.

Eating healthy fats will make you feel full faster and for longer because fat is digested more slowly than

Read more . . . The Skinny On Fat

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Caffeine Boosts Hot Weather Performance

A study from Toledo, Spain shows that giving caffeine to dehydrated bicycle racers helps them ride faster, longer and with more power in hot weather (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, July 2008). When combined with water and carbohydrates, caffeine ingestion increases the force of muscular contractions which helps them to pedal with more

Read more . . . Caffeine Boosts Hot Weather Performance

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Boning Up: Why Calcium is So Important

Although calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, most people are deficient because they consume only about half of what they need—500 to 700 mg a day. Too low an intake of calcium causes calcium reserves in the bones to be withdrawn resulting in osteoporosis or osteopenia.
Should you take supplements or get your

Read more . . . Boning Up: Why Calcium is So Important

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Cup O’ Joe With That Exercise

For all you coffee drinkers out there, here’s another good reason to make a pit stop at your favourite coffee shop before exercising. Recently, researchers at the University of Georgia found that caffeine reduces thigh muscle pain during cycling. You can read the science behind it here.

And there’s more good news. A study
in Australia found

Read more . . . Cup O’ Joe With That Exercise

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