Re:NewsCast Wellness & Nutrition

Today we are on the quest to build the perfect taco!This Episode is all about exploring the ancient indigenous mexican technique of Nixtamalization.  Esteemed chef Israel Alvarez and owner of MaiiZ Tortillería in Victoria explains this process explains his passion for cooking authentic Mexican cuisine. We discuss in  great detail about the Mexican culture surrounding corn as a staple food and how it must be respected.The process of Nixtamalization has been used for years to allow for massively increased nutritional availability from corn.  When the process was temporarily removed when governments wished to monopolize on corn production, there was widespread fallout of the disease pellagra - a niacin deficiency that causes extreme weakness and dementia.We also discuss Victoria's food scene and its conscious and well informed consumers, the basis of a healthy diet, why food and culture are synonymous and what makes the perfect taco!Thanks again Israel, you were a fantastic guest. If you want to learn more from Israel, want to try his incredible food or wish to take home some of his authentic Masa Harina tortillas  & tortilla kits check him out at MaiiZ on Fisgard.https://maiiz.ca/https://www.instagram.com/maiiz.nixtamal/Take Care!

Todays Guests are Coach Jonno from (Head Coach at Deep Roots Athletics) & Jarrett Jackson (Our neighborhood try guy & friend of the podcast). Today I learned from Coach Jonno about an emerging theory on Lactate, Anxiety & Depression. We explore the idea that anxiety & depression can arise when there is a mismatch between the body and the brain. Sometimes our nervous system is sent into panic mode despite the conscious mind being aware there is no actual threat. Sometimes the mind can create a physical response due to perceived stressors in our environment. When the body and brains predictions are out of alignment can be referred to as 'Somatic Error'.Coach Jonno measures lactate, a source of fuel manufactured from glucose, as an indicator or predictor of states of anxiety or depression. It can be theorized that higher lactate levels often correlate with erratic and stimulated anxious states and low lactate can be synonymous with low drive, low energy and depressed traits. We can use this information to train smarter to benefit our physiological traits. Adding in calm exercise like  walking and yoga to burn though excess lactate without further exhausting the nervous system.We actually measured our lactate before the podcast and after, due to the nervousness and stimulation that comes with speaking and creating a podcast with people you have just met, our lactate levels shot up.  We went for a quiet walk in the rain, walking meditation with nasal breathing and our lactate levels dropped significantly.WE ALSO RECORDED THIS ONE LIVE WITH VIDEO! Video coming soon :DThis podcast is not to be used against the advice from your doctor, counsellor or mental health professional. This is not medical advice; if you are dealing with issues with your mental health, please get the help that you need from a registered professional. 

Tristan Connolly is a MMA fighter that is currently signed to the UFC. He was raised on Vancouver island in British Colombia and was ranked amongst the top fighters in Canada. Tristan agreed to come on the cast and shed some light on his life as a UFC fighter including his nutrition and exercise routines. We discuss, fighting, jiujitsu, weight manipulation for weigh ins, recovering from injuries, how to stick to your goals and become a beast like him! Tristan is a lovely bloke and an extremely talented fighter, I am very stoked to have had him on the podcast! You can find out more about him at:Instagramhttps://instagram.com/mmatristan?utm_medium=copy_linkFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/TristanBoondockConnellyLink to his UFC debut https://youtu.be/MYMDut-XGmk

Matt De Groot is an interesting character; a black belt In Brazilian jiu-jitsu,  co owner of Martial arts academy ‘Van Isle Brazilian Jiujitsu’ AND budding Beekeeper. In this episode we take a deep dive into all things bees: Why we need bees, what they eat, what makes them sting, how a queen is chosen, nutritional value of the products from a hive, how to keep bees, how bees communicate, procreate and start insane civil wars within their population.This episode is jam packed full of information and should not be missed. Hopefully we can shed some insight into how incredible bees are and how much we rely on them for food security, the environment and our wellbeing and survival.

WE ARE BACK! It’s been a couple of months since the last episode of ReNewsCast but we are back in a big way! This is a long awaited episode with my good friend Peter Jurt, a well anticipated guest on the podcast.Peter is an Ultramarathon Runner, Wim Hof instructor, Director & Rock ‘n ‘Rolla. Peter has ran the Ute 100 twice, the Epic 5 Ultra run twice,  the Zermatt ultramarathon,  the Zombie Ultra trail run and several others.We breakdown these superhuman feats, discuss mindset, recovery, nutrition and coaching. We also delve into the powers of healing and thriving with cold exposure! This episode is jammed packed full of goodies and I am very excited to unveil this.Once again, everything discussed in the podcast is our opinion and is not medical advice.

Myself and my long time friend Jarrett Jackson @jarrettvsfitness did a month long ketogenic diet challenge. In this episode we unpack all of our ketogenic adventures including all the juicy pros, cons, recipes, insights and bowel activity.Jarrett is a chef, foodie and fitness fanatic so it was really interesting to see how he managed with this challenge.  This episode is an unbiased review of the ketogenic diet with a load of hidden gems for cooking ketogenic foods and thriving on ketones!DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice, should not be misconstrued as medical advice or be followed instead of actual medical care. This podcast is for educational purposes only, please enjoy this podcast but seek professional guidance for any extreme dietary changes. Also if you don’t like swearing.. apologies cause there is a little strong language in parts.Peace!

This episode is all about Keto! I explain what the ketogenic diet is, what ketones are; how and why our bodies make them. This episode hopes to answer a lot of questions on the diet.For those who are already interested, this episode shows us how to get started on the diet. We discuss: Meals, macros, fats, alcohol, keto flu and several other hot topics to help you thrive in ketosis!DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice, should not be misconstrued as medical advice or be followed instead of actual medical care. This is for educational purposes only.Thanks for listening, this is one of my favourite topics!

It’s been months since my last episode! I’ve been very busy with school and work and haven’t been focussed on this at all. I love doing these and I’ve been eager to make this episode with my good friend Erin Mercier @emerce7 .Erin is a registered nurse who has worked in hematology for 10+ years. Focussing on working with patients with hematological malignancy, also known as cancers of the blood. We are talking today a little bit about cancers, blood, diagnosis and treatment without going above our pay grade/scope of practice. This is just a discussion about Erin’s experience working in this field and a little bit of the biology behind it, as it is so interesting. We discuss background, diagnosis, treatment as well as some of the exciting future potentials for treating these diseases.DISCLAIMER: We are aware this is a highly sensitive area of discussion. We are not claiming to be experts. This is NOT medical advice, everything in this episode is for educational purposes as always.

Today is a super exciting and long awaited episode!What would a human look like after two years of only eating meat (and recently a little honey)? Surely they would be a scurvy ridden, unhealthy mess on deaths door? Well luckily for me, my good friend and fellow jiujitsu practitioner has been doing exactly this. Tyler Fitzpatrick is a certified carnivore coach through the MeatRX platform. He is indeed thriving and has gained significant relief from his autoimmune disorders as a result of this diet. Tyler shares his story, explains the diet and we have some exciting, open minded discourse about whether steak for breakfast can really benefit an individual when other diets have failed them.DISCLAIMER: I am not endorsing this diet! I am not suggesting you do this, nor am I a doctor. The podcast if to demystify the diet, to find out about Tyler’s journey and how he undertakes the diet. The podcast is for information purposes only and IS NOT a substitute for real medical advice. Anyone looking to try this diet should likely run in by a medical professional. If you have any issues with anything mentioned today please email me/ send me a link through my website, I would love to create some healthy discussion about this topic and/or learn more. ANYWAY. This was such a fun podcast to make and involved my first guest! Hope you enjoy!

Why even bother focussing on beets? They make an absolute mess, turn your pee and faeces red and often the very mention of beets conjure up distressing memories of a steaming mound of tasteless red mush on the dining room table at your nan's house.. failing this, I find it hard to not picture a deranged Dwight Schrute from the office every time I think of beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.But what if I present to you the idea of using beet juice to gain a competitive advantage in sports? Recently, scientific articles have suggested that beets could potentially provide us with tangible, very real benefits to our athletic performance.Studies have shown that athletes that consumed beetroot juice before training have shown marked improvement in their athletic performance. Beetroot juice is extremely high in nitrates, which converts to nitrite and then on to Nitric Oxide (NO) in the body. NO serves multiple functions relating to cardio-respiratory health such as increased blood flow, gas exchange & mitochondrial efficiency. NO repeatedly shows a reduction in blood pressure and improved cognitive ability.This episode will help you understand and utilize the biological beetroot hack and appreciate the impressive nutritional profile of beets. We will also explore a number of unique and fun ways to get beets into your diet.The blog post to go with this podcast is also available at: https://renewwellnessblog.com/gaining-a-competitive-edge-in-sport-with-beetroot/Enjoy!

Up until around 10 years ago, we believed that after childhood our brains could never form new neurons. We were allegedly stuck with a brain that wasn’t able to regenerate, would be in a steady state of decline and any attempts to change or alter that would prove to be futile. This is of course bad news for those who are worried about brain ageing, who have had a stroke, suffer from various forms of mental illness or degenerative brain disorders. In fact, this is bad news for anyone who possesses a brain.  This Episode focusses on debunking this myth. I introduce the concept of Neurogenesis: the brains ability to grow new neurones, grow and respond to the environment. Neurogenesis helps us treat mental illness, reduce our chances of getting Alzheimer’s, helps us recover from stroke and other brain injuries, learn new things, increase our memory and whole host of other benefits.this episode also goes into detail on ways to increase the process of neurogenesis through diet and lifestyle factors. I’m very excited to present this research to you.Blog post is available at www.renewwellnessblog.comPeace!

If YOU suffer from chronic anxiety all is not lost. As somebody who has ran the gauntlet myself I hope to offer some support to those who feel their anxiety is out of control. This episode hopes to offer a little support that things will change as well as providing a little background to anxiety, the brain and some of its mechanisms - as well as a discussion on one of my favourite anti anxiety teas. Thanks for listening :)

For our early ancestors, throwing away parts of the animals they hunted was out of the question. Picture the scene: a load of hunter gatherers hovering around a fire, feeling squeamish and  throwing away the ‘nasty parts’ of the animal they had spent days hunting and saving the best bits to knock up a beef wellington with. Hardly.This episode is a deep dive into bone broth. We look at it’s constituents, it’s many impressive health benefits and how to make and use it. https://renewwellnessblog.com/bone-broth/

Welcome to the first ever episode of Re:NewsCast! The official podcast of Re:New Wellness & Nutrition. Introducing your host: Matt McCourt, a weird and wonderful northern English lad who is currently training to be a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. Matt has a huge passion for nutrition & wellness and years of research into the optimization of his own wellbeing and the lives of others. This episode provides a little bit of background to this venture, what the podcast aims to cover in the future and all about holistic nutrition in general. Stay tuned to renew your approach to health & wellness now!