#nutrition
Alex Birdgenau | @dr.alexabirdgeneau
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Dr. Alexa Birdgeneau is a naturopathic doctor at the Centre for Natural Medicine in Calgary, Alta. Birdgeneau studied at the Boucher Institute for Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster, B.C. BIrdgeneau became really passionate about people's health and helping empower people to live a way that they want to live.
Common misconceptions you didn't know about food, health and diets on social media
By Sarah Kirk
Alexa Birdgeneau, a Naturopathic Doctor at Centre for Natural Medicine, spends a fair amount of time on social media and acknowledges that not everything seen through a phone screen is accurate.
“I find it a little bit tough because we all filter what we see right?” says Birdgeneau, who reflects on the way Instagram has influenced her views on health and fitness.
Birdgeneau tends to tread more carefully on social media, “I choose to follow the people that I think are more reliable.”
An example of an unreliable source are the quick recipe videos that show up on her newsfeed. Although Birdgeneau finds some recipes to be innovative and healthy, she makes a point of recognizing when something on social media may be misinformative.
“Coming across certain things that are – recipes for example – that are promoted as being super healthy,” says Birdgeneau who remembers viewing a recipe for granola bars that weren’t as healthy as they were promoted to be.
Birdgeneau notices how recipes that promote themselves as healthy may be going overboard with the amount of sugar used. Many people will still believe the recipe is healthier when it it in fact really isn't.
Weight loss is a topic that Birdgeneau encounters, “That's something that people do come in fairly frequently for and so that involves building muscle because muscle is the metabolic tissue that's going to help you actually burn that fat.”
Some clients may come in with some misinformation about a diet plan, “There is some good information out there, and again because everything's so personalized, it's hard to say,” says Birdgeneau.
Birdgeneau reveals that one of the most common misconceptions about nutrition is about fat.
“I do have some people coming in and saying, ‘I’m trying to reduce my fat intake,’ and so that's something that I do coach people on as far as what's a healthy fat, what's an unhealthy fat, and the fact that we really do need fats in our diets and they’re critical.”
Fats actually make up cell membranes and hormones, which are an absolutely essential part of our bodies. As a naturopathic doctor, Birdgeneau creates personalized nutrition plans for every unique client.
“That's the thing for me is, everything needs to be personalized because everybody is different. They may be a high-level athlete but they might have something health wise going on that requires a different diet.”
The Paleo/Ketogenic diet, which is low in carbohydrates, is the most common diet for athletes, however Birdgeneau tends to keep nutrition quite simple. “The only thing that I stick to for
absolutely everybody, is a whole foods diet and making sure that we're minimizing processed foods as much as possible.”
In fact, a person’s diet can vary depending on a person’s lifestyle, their stress level and health concerns. A higher stress level can lead to a significant depletion of nutrients in the body. This can happen to someone with a busy workload or even to someone who works out too much.
“That is something that I always want to keep in mind too is when I have somebody who comes in and has to exercise every day, I do take a look at that and say, 'OK is this appropriate for this person? What type of exercise are they doing, and do they have the resources in their body to sustain that level of activity long-term?” says Birdgeneau.
However, despite any unreliable sources on Instagram or otherwise, Birdgeneau believes that most people have a general idea of what is healthy and what isn’t.
“So I hesitate to say that they're coming in with the wrong information, but it might be the wrong information for them.”