JANUARY 2026 | HEALTHINSIGHT.CA
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NEW YEAR, NEW YOU:
Winter Wellness Abbey Sharp’s Guide to Sustainable New Year Nutrition Abbey Sharp shares evidence-based strategies for building sustainable habits, ditching restrictive diets, and nourishing Canadians through her Hunger Crushing Combo Method. Many Canadians set ambitious health goals in January but struggle to stick with them. What nutrition habits do you believe are the most realistic and sustainable to focus on in the new year? The reason why most people can’t stick to their new years diets is because we are biologically and psychologically wired to fight against restriction. So we need to shift our mindset from one of scarcity to one of abundance. That’s why I wrote the Hunger Crushing Combo Method. Instead of thinking about what we need to restrict or remove from our diet, we focus on adding fiber, protein, and healthy fats. These are the hunger crushing compounds that help us reach our healthiest happiest weight by promoting satiety, stabilizing our blood sugars, and naturally edging out less nutritious high calorie
foods, without dipping into the scarcity mentality that triggers a binge.
There’s so much conflicting nutrition advice online. What are the biggest myths you see during ‘resolution season,’ and how can people spot credible guidance? A big one is that you need to feel hungry to be successfully losing weight. Hunger is an incredibly important biological signal that we need to work with, not against, in order to sustainably lose weight. And if you’re choosing foods that offer the most satiety bang for their caloric buck (that is, the Hunger Crushing Compounds), we can feel physically satiated and emotionally satisfied while still creating a calorie deficit to lose weight. It’s getting harder to identify what is good vs bad advice but a few things to look out for
include: what are the credentials of the person (are they a dietitian or doctor or just an influencer with lots of followers?), are they using all or nothing sensationalized language (credible information is almost always nuanced), and are they explicitly trying to sell you something based on their statements?
For people who feel overwhelmed by meal planning or healthy eating, what simple strategies can help them build structure without feeling restricted? This is where the Hunger Crushing Combo Method really shines. Instead of micromanaging every calorie or nutrient, simply think of three meal components — fiber, protein and healthy fats. One at a meal or snack is good, two is great, three provides full benefits. You also don’t have to cut out what we
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call “naked carbs” (refined grains, white rice, white bread, white pasta, pastries etc.) By focusing on adding fiber, protein, and healthy fats, we naturally edge out the naked Read the entire carbs (and excess calinterview with Abbey on ories) at that meal - and healthinsight.ca. because these foods are so satiating, it also tends to naturally and spontaneously reduce calorie intake later on in the day as well. So a breakfast example would be Greek yogurt (protein), raspberries (fiber) and seeds (healthy fats). A lunch or dinner could be salmon (protein and healthy fats), sautéed broccoli (fiber), wild rice (fiber), and sesame seeds (healthy fats).
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FINDING BALANCE:
How Sleep, Stress, and Detox Shape Wellness in Winter Colder months often disrupt our natural rhythms; mindful habits and plant-based support can help bring them back into balance. Emily Hellam
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inter invites slower days, cozy routines, and a renewed focus on self-care to set good habits for the year ahead. Yet it’s also a time when many of us feel out of sync: stress builds around the holidays, sleep often suffers, and our bodies’ natural detox processes tend to slow down. Though easy to overlook, these basic rhythms play a large part in determining how healthy we feel day-to-day. How rested we are, how resiliently we respond to daily pressures, and how effectively we eliminate waste all play a part in maintaining balance and being well. When those rhythms falter, the impact on our body is significant. Poor sleep diminishes mood and immunity. Persistent stress drains focus and energy. Sluggish elimination can contribute to feeling heavy, bloated, or fatigued. While these patterns are widely recognized, many
people still address issues as they arise rather than paying attention to the underlying systems that keep the body functioning smoothly. Winter, with its built-in pause, can offer a moment to reassess and reinvest in foundational well-being — not as a temporary reset, but as a year-round habit. Health practitioners often point to the value of simple, sustainable routines: gentle movement, earlier nights, nutrient-dense meals, and time outdoors. For some, herbal support is part of that toolkit. It’s within this space that St. Francis Herb Farm has developed a trusted following among Canadians looking for natural, plant-based options rooted in longstanding herbal traditions as well as modern extraction methods. Their formulations have been used by the Canadian College of Naturopathic Doctors since 1998, reflecting a long-
standing presence within Canada’s broader natural health community. From their farm in Ontario’s Madawaska Valley, St. Francis Herb Farm has spent more than 35 years refining their Holistic Herb Approach — an emphasis on preserving each plant’s full therapeutic profile. Their sleep, stress, and detox formulas are designed to complement daily habits and support the body’s core systems during the winter months and beyond. Their offerings include Strest® Tincture for stress resiliency, ValeriCalm to help promote deeper rest, and the 4 Seasons Detox Kit to assist natural elimination processes. These remedies are formulated to work with the body’s existing rhythms rather than override them, providing a gentle option for those seeking plantbased support. As winter settles in, it may be an ideal time to slow down, reflect, and
tune into what the body needs most. Meaningful restoration rarely comes from dramatic change; more often, it grows from small, consistent acts of care. For individuals exploring herbal tools to complement their routines — whether to sleep more soundly, manage stress, or support detox pathways — St. Francis Herb Farm offers resources, expertise, and time-tested formulas that support whole-body wellness through winter and beyond.
To learn more visit stfrancisherbfarm.com. This article is sponsored by St. Francis Herb Farm.
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