One of the most exciting parts of  my career as a wellness and Fitness ambassador with Natures Emporium and adidas is the amazing people I get to meet. I recently got a chance to connect with Olympic Ice Dancing Champion Tessa Virtue while on location in Toronto for an Adidas workout shoot.

 

We bonded over explosive jumps and Downward Dogs, and the discussion ultimately turned to nutrition, and the role it plays in fitness and performance. While my training regime is not up to Olympic standards – I’ll leave that to Tessa – I can totally relate to the importance of effectively fuelling your body for its workouts, and replenishing to prevent fatigue and low energy, while helping to speed muscle recovery.

 

Tessa and I just speak the same language when it comes to quality foods (and our love of fitness)! When Tessa mentioned that she felt her body needed a boost and a bit of a reset before heading into her final training week to prepare for the 2017 Four Continents Championships in Korea (which she and her partner Scott Moir won for a third straight year) and then the World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki (another win!) I had just the thing.

Time for a Lifestyle Detox!

When I heard Tessa needed a body reset, I was so excited to share what I’ve found to be the fastest and most efficient way to reset the body – the lifestyle detox.

 

With my experience in the cold-pressed juice industry, and owning a juice company, I have seen the juicing market evolve from extreme cleansing and juice fasting to a daily nutritional necessity. You no longer need to subsist for days on end with nothing but a variety of juices. Instead, I now educate my clients on the importance of making juicing work for their lifestyle, rather than following a gimmick or fad juice cleanse that promises a quick nutritional fix.

 

The most important part of juicing is to get the nutrients into your body on a regular basis, so it makes sense to pair, cold-pressed, high nutrient-value juices into your everyday diet. Because of this I launched the Lifestyle Detox with Nature’s Emporium  https://www.naturesemporium.com/lifestyle-detox-cold-pressed-juice-program/ It’s the perfect way to get the detoxifying benefits of organic, cold-pressed juices into your diet.

 

Taming Inflammation

The nature of training – especially when you’re training at a level like Tessa – is to tear the body down. The body is extraordinary in its ability to repair and rebuild its tissues in order to become stronger. Part of this breaking down and rebuilding process involves an inflammatory response.

If you’ve ever felt sore 24 to 48 hours after an intense workout – a phenomenon known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) – you’ve felt the inflammatory process at work. Inflammatory cells rush to the damaged tissue, heat it up, and begin the repair process. While a little inflammation is a good thing – it helps your muscles get stronger and adapt to the demands of training – too much is not.

If you don’t have enough anti-inflammatory factors in your body, the inflammation process can proceed unchecked, which can delay recovery, and negatively impact the outcome of your training goals.

While increasing protein, healthy carbohydrates and fats has long-been the focus of any elite training and recovery plan, the fitness benefits of eating more phytonutrients is becoming increasingly known and essential to keeping inflammation in check.

Why you need Phytonutrients when active

Phytonutrients are bioactive, body-boosting compounds found in fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods such as nuts, beans and even tea. “Phyto” literally means plant in Greek. Phytonutrients are not related to fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins or minerals; rather they fall into their own nutritional category. These nutrients prepare your body for optimal cellular function and communication.

When your cells are communicating effectively, the proper sequence of enzymatic reactions takes place, creating healthier tissues and organ systems, stronger muscles and a stronger immune system. It also allows your body to properly detox.

Phytonutrients should be the foundation of any diet, however they are even more in demand when you work out. If you don’t fuel your body properly, you can get run down through overtraining.

How Lifestyle Juicing Can Help

Lifestyle juicing is an easy way to incorporate more phytonutrients into your body. Whether you want to boost your nutritional intake before a workout, fuel up after, or fill in the nutritional gaps that you experience throughout your day. Lifestyle juicing can boost your health, immunity, muscle recovery and performance.

 

Tessa’s Take on Lifestyle Juicing

 

“I found it so easy to incorporate these juices into my current nutrition plan,” says Tessa. And the phytonutrients gave her the energy and body boost she so desperately needed. “I feel amazing after incorporating these juices into my diet – refreshed, invigorated, and ready to take on the world.” (How many people can say that literally?)

 

“More importantly, they taste incredible. I loved every single one, so they were easy to drink,” says Tessa. Tastes great and makes you feel great? Now that’s something anyone can get behind.