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Turmeric – Support Healing with Nature

February 26, 2017 by admin 30 Comments

turmericTurmeric has been used in Ayurveda for the last 6,000 years, most of us have a little in our curry and if you are a health advocate or foodie you will have at some point read a health article somewhere about the powers of turmeric – turmeric latte is a frequently suggested popular choice.

Last month, there was mainstream media skepticism about the reputed healthy benefits so I wanted to put out some of the research for this powerful spice that has stood the test against many drugs but more importantly without side effects.

The main healing component of turmeric is curcumin which makes up 2-5%, this is often used in supplemental form for treating conditions.

There are now over 2,000 studies on pubmed looking at its use for various conditions..

Anti-depressant – this study showed that turmeric could be used as a treatment for depressed patients when compared against and in conjunction with Prozac.  The study also showed no side affects with using turmeric.

Anti-inflammatory – here is a meta analysis of curcumin affects on patients with high degrees of systemic inflammation

Pain Management – this study found turmeric to be as effective as ibuprofen for treating osteoarthritis but with less abdominal pain and discomfort following treatment.

Cancer Prevention – Here curcumin and resveratrol (antioxidents in berries) were found to have an anti-prolific affect on tumour cells and there are many studies like this one.  Cancer UK has discussed that curcumin can stop precancerous changes becoming cancer.

How do we use turmeric?

For most of us there is no harm and certainly many benefits to using turmeric as a spice in culinary dishes – just make sure you go organic!

A good guide would be to add 1/2 -2 teaspoons of turmeric to your daily routine.  I find this very easy to do, it has a pleasant earthy taste to it when added in small amounts.  It is worth noting for maximum health benefits you need to combine turmeric with black pepper and some fat.  Black pepper enhances it’s bio-availability because it contains a natural drug inhibitor called pepperine so it stops the liver clearing the turmeric too quickly, 1 study has shown it increases the bio-availability of turmeric by 2000% and because turmeric is fat-soluble you need to add a fat too.

Filed Under: Adults, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Goji and Coconut Energy Balls

December 2, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

coconut-goji-balls

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that I am a big advocate of pure therapeutic- grade essential oils.  I run classes locally and online but if you get the chance to come to one of my classes I nearly always make these…. so after much demand for the recipe I am finally posting it up!  I will be honest, the single 1 drop of cinnamon bark oil* that I use in this recipe transforms the taste.  You can use cinnamon spice but you don’t get the same intensity of flavour.

*Please do not use oils that are not safe for ingestion.

Coconutgojiballs1

While this recipe has no-refined sugar, it does contain quite a few dates so adding cinnamon is a very sensible way to support balancing your blood sugar.  Studies have shown that it cinnamon can lower even fasting blood sugar levels.

Full of healthy saturated fats in the coconut oil and seeds.  Goji berries are one of my favourite berries  cacao nibs which add a lovely nutty texture without actual nuts, therefore they are perfect as lunchbox fillers, an energy food between meals but even as a nibble when hosting a party!

If you’re interested in learning more about pure essential oils, then contact me to join one of my online classes or drop me an email.

 

 

 

 

Save Print
Goji and Coconut Energy Balls
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Prep time:  10 mins
Total time:  10 mins
Serves: 16-20
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of coconut flakes
  • ½ cup of pumpkin seeds
  • 8 dates
  • 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
  • ½ cup of goji berries
  • 2 tablespoons cacao nibs
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon of cinnamon or 1 drop of doTERRA cinnamon oil (never more than 1!)
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients into a food processor apart from half of the goji berries and the cacao nibs, blend until the consistency of fine gravel, this may take several minutes depending on the power of the blender
  2. Add the rest of the goji berries and cacao nibs and pulse in to give the energy balls a little texture
  3. Roll the mixture into ping pong size balls or smaller for children and add to the fridge for the coconut oil to harden
  4. Enjoy as a great energy boost when needed or gift to a friend
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Adults, Children, Dessert, Nutrition, Uncategorized

The GAPS Diet Protocol

April 22, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

GAPS-Protocol

Most people who know me personally know that I’m a strong advocate of the GAPS diet and that the GAPS Protocol has made a big impact healing my family.   It has recently made huge waves on the Internet, it is frequently used by those practicing Natropathic Nutritional Therapy or Functional Medicine and you will find thousands of testimonies all over the Internet from families attesting to its healing capacity. The GAPS premise in the main can be very simple to implement – remove certain inflammatory food groups and introduce foods that heal, allowing the the gut to rest and repair.  For more serious conditions a GAPS healing protocol will entail implementing a diet plan, whilst taking steps to reduce toxicity in the surrounding environment and using minimal supplements where required.

GAPS, standing for Gut and Psychology Syndrome or Gut and Physiology Syndrome, is a strategy developed by Dr Natasha Campbell McBride, a trained Doctor with a post graduate in Neurology and Human Nutrition who resides in the UK.  The protocol is used for a variety of conditions, many that will overlap and some that will not even fit into a diagnostic box.  Here are some of the most common:

  • Autism, ADHD, Schizophrenia, bi-polar and depression
  • Auto-immune conditions of which there are now over 200 (including coeliac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Crohn’s, diabetes type 1 and more)
  • Atopic conditions such as allergies, asthma and eczema
  • Chronic Fatigue, fibromyalgia, ME
  • Digestive conditions such as IBS and gastritis

GAPS is developed from the conclusion that first and foremost these conditions begin in the gut and advancing scientific literature lays out foundations for a new blueprint in how we treat disease.  Hippocrates, the very famous physician who lived over 2000 years ago once said ‘All disease is born in the gut’ and modern science is pioneering that chronic metabolic diseases like those mentioned above, which are prevalent in today’s society, stem from what is now termed professionally as intestinal permeability but also commonly referred to as leaky gut.  Despite the symptom, what all these diseases have common is gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora).

The GAPS Protocol is an advanced solution that aims to:

  • Repair the intestinal lining
  • Provide a diet that is gentle and soothing to the digestive tract
  • Repopulate beneficial bacteria into the gut
  • Remove an overload of toxins and pathogenic (unhealthy) bacteria

When following the GAPS diet you would look to remove the following foods:

  • All grains
  • Refined sugar
  • Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and parsnips
  • Processed foods

What you are left with is a very nutrient-dense traditional diet, as close to nature as possible:

  • Bone broth
  • Grass-fed meat
  • Fish
  • Seafood
  • Organic vegetables and fruit
  • Eggs
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Avocado
  • Healthy fats – ghee, coconut oil, animals fats
  • Raw and cultured dairy
  • Fermented foods

Fermented foods are core to the healing process, not only are they inexpensive and simple to make but provide a powerful medicinal treatment. These foods proliferate your gut microbiome (the gut flora which hosts the bacteria in your gut) with healthy bacteria which will eventually crowd out the pathogens. They also have many other very important functions as listed here.

GAPS Controversy
When you google GAPS, it must be noted you will find some Doctors critical of the GAPS diet because there have up until now been no clinical trials of this treatment, they will state that the science is “unfounded” and “experimental”. This will soon be changing as a study has received funding from Virginia Commonwealth University by Austen M. Mulluy PhD and the results will be published shortly.

This certainly didn’t deter me because more importantly when you break apart the components of the GAPS diet there are thousands of studies that prove:

  • Probiotics remove toxins, improve digestion, immunity and more
  • Bone Broth provides collagen that heals and seals the gut
  • Real whole-food nutrition supplies vitamins and minerals for optimum health
  • Grains (when not prepared properly) are problematic for a large proportion of the population
  • Healthy fats are a necessity for heart health, brain function

Anecdotal it may be, I have seen the results that have worked for each and every one of my family. Nothing has 100% success rate because we are all biologically unique but when properly implementing a diet of whole-food nutrition you ultimately risk very little and have so much to gain.

Look at your symptoms kindly as a warning that your health needs your attention, give your body the right tools and it has an incredible capacity to heal.

If you would like to learn more about GAPS please subscribe to my newsletter or if you would like to discuss how you implement the GAPS protocol please contact me for an appointment.

Filed Under: Adults, Children, Nutrition, Uncategorized

3 steps to be Hayfever-Free this Summer with the GAPS Protocol

April 17, 2015 by admin 2 Comments

 

hayfever

Hayfever is for many people a miserable affliction, every summer you learn to dread the next door neighbours mowing their lawn and those really hot windy days when you can see the pollen blowing in the breeze. Medications make you drowsy and hayfever symptoms make you irritable, I know I’ve been there!  I also know people suffer with far worse conditions than these but there are some important reasons NOT to ignore these symptoms.

For many people antihistamines offer little comfort, nasal sprays perhaps a little more but you have to remember to take them religiously. I suffered with hayfever from the age of 5 years old, add to that an allergy to any animal that molted and dust, I can fully empathise with 25% of the population who now experience this.  The NHS will spend £50 million on hayfever medications this year and up to £900 million on allergy-related illnesses, hayfever also accounts for 2-3% of Doctors visits, so it’s also a big burden on the health system too.

 What is Histermine?

Histermine is a neurotransmitter (sends messages between the cells) and has the required function of reducing inflammation and allergic responses.  Histermine is released by the immune cells to work against pathogens and toxins.  If your body becomes too toxic by an imbalance of beneficial bacteria or inflamed, histermine up-scales to counter.  The resulting hayfever or allergy is a signal that your body doesn’t have enough beneficial bacteria to remove the excessive histermine as exemplified in studies where probiotics are introduced. Hayfever is therefore one of the first signals that you have a gut imbalance. 

It’s not the Pollen

Pollen is not the problem, if it were we would have experienced hayfever related issues from birth but the reality is most people incur symptoms later in life only to get progressively worse.

Some of you will want to blame genetics but the reality is although you have a genetic predisposition to these types of allergies, whether you switch on those genes is determined by outside influences (health, external environment etc), which you have ultimate control over.  It is important to note that you will also inherit the gut microbiome (your gut flora of bacteria) from your parents so their health at pregnancy will determine your health at birth.  These explanations help to determine why you may experience these symptoms but what can you do about it?

Hayfever Relief

You need to find the route cause which is based in the gut.  Introduce plenty of beneficial bacteria to remove the pathogens and toxins and allow histermine to rebalance .  Support gut healing by eating foods as close to nature as possible – organic fruit and vegetables, grass-fed meats, bone broth, fish and healthy natural fats such as olive oil and avocados. The good news is that relief can be found pretty quickly, I did the GAPS introduction diet and stopped having hayfever within a couple of weeks. I have not encountered hayfever for the last 3 years and summer is now bliss, I want to share the secrets with you so that you no longer need to fear pollen.

3 steps to Hayfever Relief

  1. Take out food groups that are inflammatory and difficult for the gut to digest, predominantly grains and sugar
  2. Introduce probiotics, either in tablet form or fermented foods such as fermented kefir or sauerkraut, this will rebalance your gut flora and help remove toxins from the body
  3. Consume plenty of bone broth to heal and seal the gut.  Bone broth contains many critical amino acids which repair and protect the cells in the gut lining while detoxifying the body.

Filed Under: Adults, Children, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Fermented Foods – Nature’s Secret Weapon to Healing

April 4, 2015 by admin 2 Comments

SONY DSC

Fermented foods are eaten by many traditional cultures all over the world and before refrigerators, were a critical component of preserving food to last several months, even years.  You’ve probably heard of Sauerkraut (Sour Cabbage) from Germany or maybe even Natto (soy beans) from Japan but there are many others spanning the globe such as Kimchi, Kefir and Kvass.  In fact let it be said that you can ferment any naturally occurring food whether it be fruit, vegetable, meat or fish.  What you may not realise is that homemade Sauerkraut* has more beneficial bacteria than many therapeutic-strength probiotics you buy.

We live in a symbiotic relationship with microbes in the environment.  Today we are taught to fear bacteria, continually encouraged to use anti-bacterial wipes, soaps and bleaching to kill 99.9% of bacteria.  The reality is that we are bacteria, in fact 90% of our bodies consist of bacteria, and we are only 10% skin and bones.  For weight loss and the avoidance of associated metabolic dysfunctions studies show the requirement to harness the power of these friendly microbes that make up your cells and introduce them back into your guts. Your gut flora (community of microbes living within your gut) coats every surface of the gut providing a protective layer with bacteria.

The functions of the gut flora are:

  • Digestion and absorption of food 
  • Synthesise minerals and vitamins in the body
  • Provide protection for the delicate digestive tract
  • Chelate (remove) toxins from the body
  • Keep pathogenic microbes at bay
  • Responsible for your immune system 

If your body is the orchestra think of your gut flora as the conductor signalling every important function within the body and allowing it to play in perfect harmony.

Due to environmental toxins, antibiotics, food manufacturers heavily processing food and many other present-day factors, many will suffer with a subsequent gut imbalance.  The very famous Physician, Hippocrates once said “All Diseases begin in the gut” and modern science is now able to determine that chronic metabolic diseases can be linked back to the digestive system.

Atopic conditions are more prevalent then ever and studies have shown probiotics are a critical component to healing

  • 25% of people now suffer with hayfever
  • 20% of children suffer from eczema
  • 1 in 11 children has asthma

Many people are also suffering with food sensitivities, exemplified by bloating, upset stomach or IBS.  These are some of the first signs you have a gut imbalance (although please be aware you may not have gut symptoms at all) and by omitting certain trigger foods and implementing a healing protocol of probiotics and / or fermented foods the studies are now showing the effectiveness of this treatment.  85% of your immune system is contained in your gut so the right sustenance is essential to re-balance your gut flora and heal your body.  I’ve seen and experienced the power of these wonderful life-enhancing foods within my own family, healing my daughter’s eczema and my hayfever, which you can read about here.

You can of course purchase therapeutic-strength probiotics but please note you will not receive the health benefits from a live-cultured yoghurt available in a supermarket.  Probiotic tablets can be expensive so my preferred method is to very simply produce lacto-fermented foods.  Homemade fermented foods contain literally billions of beneficial bacteria, so much so that you have to be very careful to introduce these foods gradually, literally a half teaspoon of sauerkraut juice to start so as to minimise a die off reaction, a very normal bi-product of healing.

Fermented foods go beyond healing known health conditions, they can slow down skin-aging, help you lose weight, sleep better and improve your energy.  Once you discover health and vitality through these foods they really will change your life.

If you would like to learn how to start fermenting food at home then please click here to view my next available workshops.

*This does not apply to shop bought sauerkraut which is mostly pasteurised before sale and therefore loses it’s probiotic content.

 

 

Filed Under: Adults, Children, Nutrition, Uncategorized

A love story with food and its power to heal

April 1, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

I was asked by my friends this past weekend what led me on my journey with food and my interest in nutrition and I started to ponder about where it began and how eating evolved for me.  It’s difficult to pinpoint the start because if you’ve read my about me page, it’s been a slow, gradual adaptation but I wanted to share my highlights and my significant discovery about the power of food.

My family has always been what you would probably call foodies, we like to cook and we REALLY like to eat!  I have a Granny still going strong at 101 years old and I reckon you can pretty much put that down to old-school very healthy nutrition.  It has been passed down the generations and I’m lucky I’ve been brought up on home-cooked food and butter!  However, like everyone my generation, in my teens I was convinced I needed to be on a constant diet and that low-fat was the way forward, this was my downfall.  I subsequently picked up some bad habits that I’ve since had to work hard to undo.

In my 20s, I started reading nutrition books and one of the first books I read was ‘Fats that Heal and Fats that Kill’, my fascination began and these books made me start to question everything..

The Power of Food

A few years ago, I was teaching a lot of Zumba classes about 14 a week and I began to really struggle with energy levels, particularly on the day when I had 4 classes.  I refused to let me body get the better of me and stubbornly knew there would be a way to fuel this level of exercise, I just hadn’t found it yet.. Professional athletes train all day so what was their secret?  I started to increase my carbohydrates, because we all “know” bread is a perfect reserve of stored energy, right?  I ate more wholemeal, organic toast with butter and Marmite.  The problem was this had the opposite effect, the more toast or pasta I ate the more tired I became, not only was I starting to feel exhausted all the time but I was getting this brain fog in the afternoon.  I was teaching in schools and finding no amount of caffeine would help lift the fatigue.  I started my research again came upon Paleo, this was just the start of a life-changing journey.

I’ve always been pro-natural alternatives, believing we are meant to eat the way the earth supplies our food so something clicked into place when I read paleo books.  If you’ve not come across paleo before it is embedded with ancestral ways of eating i.e. trying to replicate the diet of our ancestors millions of years ago, eating from the land.  There is a strong ethic in organic and sustainable farming but most significantly it is about removing processed food of all kind.

I started to realise the power of food within a month of taking wheat out of my diet, my life transformed and I have never looked back.  I felt healthier, happier, I was sleeping a solid 9 hours, my complexion improved and I had all the endless energy I needed.

Twice I tried to eat wheat in the 6 months following, at first I was a little embarrassed to tell people I didn’t eat wheat, I didn’t want to be one of “those” people with their special diet but both times I suffered with extreme stomach cramps through the night for about a week following.  I know I am gluten intolerant but this didn’t become apparent until it was removed from my diet, although it is my strong suspicion that we all are in some form or another (more on this to follow..)  There was more…I realised I had gone from being ill with colds and flu probably 4x a year to not at all and it wasn’t just me, apart from chicken pox, Scarlett also has not been ill in at least 2 years.  My hayfever and allergic reactions to animals that moult (that started when I was 5 years old) also disappeared.

I started reading all the nutrition books I could find on ancestral health and studying current scientific papers and I realised that everything we have been taught about nutrition has been based on flawed science, see here.

Healing Scarlett

Portrait 167aThis was probably the biggest milestone on my journey, although Scarlett has eaten Paleo with me these last 2 years, I weaned her on wholemeal pitta and houmous (before I knew differently) and when she wasn’t with me, she would eat like most regular toddlers – sandwiches, cakes and sweets at parties.  From a young age she developed eczema, I didn’t think too much of it as most of my family have suffered with childhood eczema.  On the advise of the Doctor, I put steroid creams on her a couple of times but after a few days of relief the eczema would always return.  Alarm bells started ringing when she started experiencing allergies to food, I noticed after she ate a tomato her face would flare up in a red rash all over her face, she was developing what I have since learned to be auto-immunity, due to gluten sensitivity and a subsequent leaky gut.  I have lots more to tell you about this journey, its been my biggest learning curve and we still have a way to go but 6 months of bone broth and probiotics (made from food) we are probably 90% there with curing her eczema.

Healing Aggie

AggieIf you think my dog, Aggie got off scott-free, think again, even she got the Vanessa healing treatment.  I was spending a fortune on natural dog food and in a bid to save some money, I introduced her to the delights of pedigree chum, (a grain containing dog food).  Within 6 months she developed this incessant scratching so I took her to the Vet £40 later I was told, nope, absolutely nothing wrong with her.  My friend who is a dog hydrotherapist suggested a raw dog food diet and something twigged, if I could heal Scarlett’s eczema why not Aggie’s so with her raw food she was given bone broth and fermented vegetables.  I’m happy to say the results were much quicker, within a month no scratching and even the dog groomer recently commented on how lovely her coat is, one happy dog again.

Probiotics

I have so much to share with you about these exciting, life-changing foods.   Having been around for centuries and particularly used in traditional cultures, natural probiotics are now making waves in nutrition circles.  Nutritional Science is now at an exciting time because for the last 100 years we can now determine what food can cure.

We’re also lucky enough to live in a generation where we can now expect to live past 100 years old but I also think we should expect to be in good health for those years, without symptoms and without age holding us back from being physically active as well as looking young too.  There has been a big shift in people looking at holistic, natural, homeopathic cures and what I’ve learnt on my journey is that you shouldnt underestimate the power of food, it is literally your most powerful medicine so you should be mindful of what you eat.

It’s been on a slow gradual journey on what many now term clean-eating. I am fussy with what I eat but with very good reason, I know how certain foods used to make me feel and I’m not willing to go back there. It makes me smile when people enquire as to what strange food I’m eating now because I’m wondering whether I do actually eat that strangely or has eating fast, processed, junk food just become so engrained in society it is now accepted as the norm?

I hope this blog has interested you and maybe there has been something here that you can relate to as well.  You can probably gather, I have lots more information to share so I hope you’ll continue to read them as my journey with food continues.  My next blog will be on wheat because this food group has a big impact for everyone..

Filed Under: Adults, Children, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Sugar.. Making Sense of the Latest Health Fix!

March 15, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

sugar

I had a rare chance to catch up on the newspapers last weekend and was drawn to articles proposing sugar as the secret to weight loss and health.  There has been quite a bit about this in the press lately but that particular weekend was saturated with special ‘how to guides’ for cutting sugar out of your diet.  I personally thought the reporting on this new health kick was confusing, maybe you did too?  If you’ve not had a chance to read them yet, the majority of the papers were attaching pullout guides highlighting your teaspoon equivalent of sugar in produce.  For processed foods that might actually be quite helpful because quite often products are touted with health benefits, when actually they contain hidden sugars making them worst offenders.  For example, it’s helpful to see that your low-fat greek-style yoghurt contains 2 teaspoons of sugar or your Cheerios have 3 teaspoons per bowl.  However, my qualms came into play when I read, swede 8.5 teaspoons quoted as “a villain” and a banana too, with 7 teaspoons.  The message just seemed convoluted,  I’m sure anyone reading these would start to think, what the hell am I supposed to eat?

I want to put this new stance in context and hopefully interpret it in a way that becomes easy to adopt and subsequently you might make a small change today in the right direction.  Bear in mind however that one method will not not suit all and healthy eating should be a progression of small changes.  I’ll elaborate, I’ve tried a low-carb diet which is consequently low in sugar and it didn’t work for me.  Low carb did not sustain my energy levels needed for exercise it made me hypoglycemic, irritable, I lost muscle mass, too much weight and it disrupted my sleep.  Needless to say three months in, I decided to add carbs (a little sweet potato) back in on intense exercise days and normality was resumed!  That’s not to say low carb doesn’t work for others and it is a great weight loss tool.

I wanted to give you an example of the personalization involved in making dietary changes but also how different groups of sugars cannot be classed in the same bracket.  This example of low carb / no refined sugar is likely the extreme so how does the average person trying to improve their health make changes?  Is swede really the villain compared to Cheerios?

What does sugar do?  On consumption blood sugar rises which triggers the pancreas to release the hormone insulin to regulate sugar levels.   Insulin allows the body to make use of this glucose (blood sugar) as energy.  Insulin will turn excessive sugar into glycogen as a back-up but also fat, which will then be stored around the body.  One of the many and very important hormonal tasks insulin has is to regulate appetite.  Insulin in overdrive is not a symptom reserved for diabetics, many people with excessive sugar in their diets are insulin resistant and have lost the ability for this important hormone to function properly.  Excessive sugar in your diet will have substantial health consequences.

The World Health Organisation is recommending 5 teaspoons of sugar per day but without looking at labels or trying to add up quantities in every item we eat, how do we monitor this and do we need to?  This is my simpler guide to using sugar, naturel and otherwise.

My Low Down on Sugar

Should we avoid refined table sugar? Yes, in an ideal world wherever possible.

Use alternatives (raw honey, stevia, maple syrup) or slowly wean yourself off table sugar, a little less in your tea will make a big difference.  Refined sugar is highly addictive (studies have shown even more than cocaine or heroin) but it is possible in baby steps.

Should we avoid hidden sugar in processed food? Yes and endeavour to check quantities on packaging. 

Ingredients are written in the quantity order so if sugar features as the 2nd or 3rd item on the ingredients list, it’s probably going to be high in sugar despite any health claims.  Very small amounts of sugar in sauces or dark chocolate isn’t going to make you insulin resistant but a bowl of coco pops every morning might!

Do we need to avoid starchy vegetables with sugar? No, not necessarily. 

Exercising will help you make use of these sugars and if you exercise a lot, you probably need to add a few more starchy vegetables into your diet, i.e potaotes, carrots, swede, parsnips.  I know I need starches but the quantity are a personal preference and will need adjusting for lifestyle, goals and your own ability to utilise the glucose.

Should we be eating fruit? Moderately

This might sound a little confusing but bear with me.  Fruit is a healthy, whole food but if we think about it logically fruit does not grow all year round naturally in our local environment.  We are designed to eat fruit when it is ripe for a few months of the year in summer but because of air freighting, we now have the capacity to eat fruit every day all year round.  I don’t think you should avoid fruit altogether and it is certainly a prefered substitution to table sugar (so perhaps a transition to fruit is your appropriate next step) but for healthy eating or particularly weight loss my recommendation would be not to consume more than 1 fruit a day.

Conclusion

It’s great that the nutrition story is changing to include sugar and highlight its damaging effects but I do think there needs to be a greater emphasis on the type of food so we look at food groups differently.

Sugar desensitizes your taste buds and the more you eat, the more you need to taste it, cut it back and you start to taste your food completely differently, vegetables taste sweet, even lettuce and cucumber can have intense sweet flavour.

The best part about being refined sugar-free is that you start to feel satiated, you eat a meal and naturally feel full and can wait comfortably till the next meal.  Eating the right amount of food isn’t about willpower as we’ve been led to believe, it’s about eating the right foods that align your hormones properly and send the correct messages to your brain to tell you are full.

These new guidelines need a little interpreting but let’s hope they build awareness for consumers to shop differently and force food manufactures to reduce sugar contents accordingly.  It would seem a step in the right direction at least!

 

Filed Under: Adults, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Government Nutrition Guidelines; Exposing the Hidden Agenda

March 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

processed food

I wrote most of this blog when I completed my nutrition exams because I wanted to vent my frustration that nutritional guidelines had not been updated in decades, despite modern research not backing up this dogma.  More frightening to me is that this is now being taught to our children in schools so will influence how they eat and more worryingly possibly start them on a diet path as children.

Q.  Is it a coincidence that the same decade that propaganda advertised low-fat and counting calories, became the very same decade that obesity and associated illnesses were spotlighted?  I want you to challenge everything that you’ve been taught/marketed previously, while I dispel some of the floored science behind the current Government manifesto for healthy eating.  I want to present some of the most up-to-date research that will hopefully influence you to make changes.  If you don’t need further convincing, maybe this will just give you a little bit more ammunition to answer the sceptics, of which there are still far too many.

The guidelines were put in place in the late 70s following the NACNE report and then added to in 1992 by a manifesto – Health of the Nation.

Low Fat  (Government Manifesto – reduce total fat consumed by 35% by 2005 to reduce the incidence of heart disease and obesity)

When making this recommendation total fat consumed was at about 47%, the average now is about 35% and yet cardio vascular disease (CVD), obesity and type 2 diabetes is still on the rise (but apparently this is because our levels of saturated fat consumed are too high but I’ll come onto that shortly).

If you remember one thing from this blog please take this away.. FAT IS NOT THE ENEMY!

Fat is an essential nutrient to our body, it provides essential fat soluble vitamins, aids digestion, assists nerve function and aids the hormones that regulate everything from metabolism to circulation.  Half our cell membranes are made up of fat, we store it for fuel and it provides a very efficient fuel (9kcal per 1g) when compared with carbohydrates (3.75 Kcal per 1g) or protein (4Kcal per 1g).  It also makes food taste more palatable which is why you crave fats when following low-fat diets, for any of you following low-fat diets I’m sure you’ll agree, low-fat is pretty tasteless!  Most of us are living proof that low-fat diets do not work for  long-term weight loss but more importantly studies show they do not reduce your risk of CVD.

What we need to get our heads round is not that fat is bad but that we determine which are the healthy, nourishing fats and which are the fats that actually harm our body.  If we don’t differentiate and just reduce all fats (like the Government suggests) we are actually depriving ourselves of some of the most powerful and beneficial nutrients on the planet.

By now I’m sure most of you have heard about the health benefits of omega-3 essential fats that can only be supplied by what we eat and are readily available in oily fish (sardines, salmon, rainbow trout, herring etc).  What is not so commonly known is that these fats are also available in grass-fed meat.  The commercial meat (not including some organic) we purchase from supermarkets is now from origin to supplier brought to us in the cheapest way possible, corners are cut and most are fed on cereal (grains I’ll come onto in another blog!) and therefore have no resemblance nutritionally to the superior meat which our ancestors ate, which would have been wild animals grazing on grass.  If you’re not partial to eating fish, consider adding some grass-fed meat or some organic eggs (from grass-grazing chickens).  Omega-3s play a vital role in improving blood pressure, supporting healthy cholesterol, reducing inflammation, preventing arthritis, stopping autoimmune disease and improving cognitive function (which is why you may have heard how they are commonly recommended to people suffering with Alzheimer’s or ADHD).  The science, a long list of studies that show the reduction of various diseases by increasing your intake of omega-3.

Omega-6 is also an essential fatty acid but to be effective must be kept proportional to omega-3 intake, an efficient ratio would be 1:1, in the UK however the ratio is currently 1 omega-3 to anywhere between 20-30 omega-6.  This imbalance causes a whole host of problematic health issues including inflammation and the precursors for virtually all metabolic diseases.  Where do we get omega-6 from?  Pretty much everywhere but it is most readily available in refined oils, margarine and processed foods.  Knowing this, you start to comprehend how easy it is to tip the delicate balance but also how a few simple changes to what you eat can have such a positive impact on your health.

Adding healthy, healing fats to your diet shouldn’t be complicated if you just stay as natural as possible.  Here is a list to consider:

  • Grass-fed meat
  • Oily fish
  • Avocado
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Coconut
  • Seafood
  • Butter

Keep it simple, minimise processed fats and eat plenty of naturally occurring fats that will truly nourish your body.  Food will taste scrummy, you’ll start to feel amazing and you’ll maintain a healthy achievable weight so that you never need diet again.

Saturated Fat (Government Manifesto – Reduce saturated fat to a total of 10% of diet)

This was conceived from a highly flawed study performed in 1958 by Ancel Keys.  Keys correlated the deaths from heart disease to the levels of saturated fat consumed by individuals in 7 countries.  This is the graph released that showed 7 cherry picked countries that would “appear” to show a correlation and you would have come to the same conclusion if you just saw this.

ancelkeysgraph1_thumb.jpg

However, this is the graph plotting the actual results of ALL 22 countries.  As you can see there are countries that consume far higher levels of saturated fat and have lower incidences of heart disease.

ancel-keys-graph2

What this study did not take into account, are the many extenuating circumstances to consider for an individual’s health such as smoking, sugar intake, carbohydrates consumed, stress levels, amount of sleep etc.  I could go on but as the Keys study has been discredited you start to wonder why the Government hasn’t updated its stance on saturated fats.

There are plenty of populations (Masai, Inuit) shown to eat very high levels of saturated fat and have optimum health.  There have also been plenty of studies (350,000 participants in this one) that further discredit the links to heart disease.  Sadly whilst doctors and some nutritionists continue to follow Government recommendations people will continue to be miss-informed.

Fibre (Government Manifesto –  We need to increase our fibre intake from 20g to 30g per day)

Fibre has for years held the biggest miss-conception and mystery, most people know they need it, most are unsure exactly why – Is it good for the heart?  Does it stop constipation?

Fibre is not a nutrient: it supplies absolutely no nutrient value to the body whatsoever, so why are we told to eat more of it?  The problem with the type of fibre consumed today, is that in the main it comes from cereal and whole-grain which are particularly difficult to digest.  Fibre can have some pretty beneficial effects but these are only seen with the fibre consumed comes from vegetable sources.   Whole-grain fibres slow down the digestion process which has a disastrous effect on the body, it interferes with the delicate stomach lining and clogs up the intestines.  No one should want to slow down digestion; it can cause indigestion, heartburn, peptic ulcers, constipation, IBS and Crohn’s disease.. yikes!

Don’t be fooled by the cholesterol studies either, fibre has a similar effect to a low-fat diet on your cholesterol levels.  It would initially appear to lower your LDL  cholesterol, which you might think is good news especially if you are being monitored by your doctor but the reality is it has a much more significant impact on lowering HDL cholesterol.  This then reduces the body’s own natural ability to achieve homeostasis because HDL is required to remove LDL from the blood and thus provide its own natural defence system.  Cholesterol gets a lot of bad press but cholesterol is a normal body process and only becomes a problem linked to heart disease when again the delicate balance of ratios are out of sync.

Lastly, does fibre ease constipation?  Sadly not.  Constipation will occur for most of us at some point in our lives due to the temporary loss of the healthy bacteria in our stomach.  For a while, whole-grain fibres can replace this role and perform the required laxative function, however over time you will require more fibre because it inhibits the healthy bacteria being restored.  As fibre is continuously consumed it bulks up stools, slows digestion and you will then become constipated again and eventually you can incur problems such as hemorrhoids.  What does provide colonic motility? – FAT!!  Now we begin to understand why everyone on a low-fat diet is constipated in the first place.

Studies have recently found that fibre has no bearing on hunger, satiety or body weight so we can conclude that there are no health benefits gained from eating insoluble fibre (whole-grains).  I was astounded to read in one of my textbooks that the Government recommends eating 6 slices of wholemeal bread a day, I hope it’s now apparent why this is exasperating the problem for most people today.

I must stipulate that we are discussing certain insoluble fibres (think whole-grain and cereals), this is where there Government promotes we should increase our fibre intake i.e. further purchasing big food products with supplemented fibre.  The reality is that if we are to obtain the benefits of fibre we need to be eating fermentable and probiotic fibre, available in fruit and vegetables, these have an essential role in restoring gut flora and healthy bacteria.

Salt (Government manifesto – Reduce salt intake by 25%)

There has been a lot of conflicting evidence about salt over the years but the reality is that a little bit of salt is not going to do you any harm.  To illustrate this, in Japan, where mortality rates from cardiovascular disease are much lower than here the salt intake is significantly higher than the UK.

Our paleolithic ancestors certainly wouldn’t have added salt but interestingly we may not need to demonize salt either.  Sodium chloride is also an essential nutrient used to balance fluids within your body and a healthy kidney has been shown to be able to preserve homeostasis of sodium levels in varying ranges consumed. The link between salt and high blood pressure is also flawed (Dahl), the premise on which it was based was evidence shown as hypertension in rats who were given 50x the average salt intake.  Studies since have not found the same correlation and what became more significant was BMI and alcohol consumption, no surprise there!

I think it is worth differentiating between salts,  sea salt for example has a trace mineral content such as magnesium, calcium and potassium.  Table salt contains no minerals and often has anti-caking agents added to it to keep it as a powder so you really want to avoid table salt where possible.  Unfortunately, most salt that is added to prepared foods is table salt, so preparing your own meals and adding sea salt is the healthiest way to add salt to your diet.

Sugar (Government manifesto – Sugar should not make up more than 11% of the total energy, not including fruit and vegetable sugars)

The average British individual consumes 34 teaspoons of sugar a day (most of it hidden).  It’s highly addictive and food manufactures know this, the white stuff has a lot to answer for.  It’s pretty difficult to buy anything off the shelf that doesn’t have sugar added to it’s ingrediants; particularly high in cereals, drinks, cakes, jams and bottled sauces.  Not only does sugar rot our teeth but is the main cause of obesity and all the associated health conditions that being overweight brings.

Food retailers use salt and sugar to instigate “The Bliss Affect” in snack foods.  This is the name used by retailers for the tipping point at which people become highly addicted to the taste, whilst at the same time not providing the satiety you should feel once you have eaten.  This allows consumers to over-indulge on snack foods to dangerous proportions.  It’s all a clever design ploy that the average consumer is not aware of and so they end up excessively treating themselves detrimentally to their health.

I can’t disagree with the Government on this stance but all the ownership appears to be on the consumer and not the industry that has no interest in the health of our nation.  If you mostly eat natural foods than sugar isn’t a big consideration but if like most people you need the convenience of mixing it up with purchased products than hidden sugar is something you should be aware of.

Protein (Government manifesto – Protein levels should stay the same but take more protein from vegetable sources)

Animal meats are constantly being vilified in the media, but contrary to popular belief meat and fish contain the highest quality of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Some of the myths surrounding meat are:

  • Meat contains too much saturated fat and cholesterol – We’ve already covrered these concerns above!
  • Meat Causes heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes – Heart disease became a problem in the 20th century and type 2 diabetes became a concern in the last decade and meat has been eaten for literally millions of years.  The correlation is made when we don’t specify the type of meat so I’ll come onto that shortly.
  • Meat causes cancer – This statement is currently making headlines but again the studies have mostly been linked to processed meat.  Perhaps the only other area of caution is not to burn your meat, overcooked meat has been shown to cause cancer in animals but it’s certainly not a reason to avoid meat altogether.

Processed meats are however another story, full of additives, preservatives, sugar and starches you can understand the link to certain cancers but not all sources of meat should be tarnished with the same brush.  As discussed previously, when possible it’s important to try to obtain grass-fed and organic, it is worth paying the additional price difference for the nutritional superiority of this meat.

The Government recommends we should be substituting meat for processed plant and soy based alternatives (another big food alternative being promoted).  Soy foods became popular in Japan because of the health links shown there however, what is not noted is that the consumption of soy there is predominantly fermented e.g. soy sauce.  90% of soy products here are genetically modified and are contaminated with large pesticide residues and soy is a common allergen for many people.  Soy proteins are added to many products and are heavily processed with aluminium washes and nitrates all of which have been linked to cancer studies.  I would personally avoid soy altogether if you can unless you’re buying fermented soy.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES (GOVERNMENT MANIFESTO 5 A DAY ON THE EATWELL PLATE)

Years ago when I probably followed an “eatwell plate” style of eating I was always consciously aware of the need to try to put more fresh vegetables and fruit in my diet.  When you take bread, cereal, pasta and all the processed carbohydrates out of your diet, you’re left eating what nature supplies, a pretty amazing colourful array of phytonutrients, nutrients with energy supplied by the sun.  When every plate looks like a rainbow of colour you can easily eat 9/10 fresh vegetables without having to think about your 5 a day.  Packed with minerals, vitamins, naturel fibre and living enzymes which when eaten raw can actually reverse the signs of aging!

CONCLUSION

I think we have to establish that the Government guidelines are not working to alleviate the health problems of today.  We are only a few years behind the US where obesity has skyrocketed.  The reality is the Government is heavily influenced by big food companies that are only interested in profit.  We are continuously marketed with “healthy products” by those that have the financial incentive and backing to do so, big food and pharmaceutical companies.  We mustn’t let the Government influence our eating habits or our children’s.  New research is being published  all the time dispelling old myths and showing us how to eat healthily and I will endeavour to research and write about it.  Today, make 1 small change to what you eat and even without looking at the evidence, you’ll start to notice for yourself the difference it makes to your health.

Food of Happiness

Filed Under: Adults, Nutrition, Uncategorized

10 Reasons Why Healthy Eating Gives You so Much More than Weight Loss

February 10, 2014 by admin 3 Comments

I use the term healthy eating and not dieting with a distinct purpose.  Dieting is normally associated with willpower, restricting foods that you ultimately crave and a roller-coaster of weight loss – weight goes on, weight comes off and repeat in a frustrating cycle. Healthy eating to me is different, it’s about gradual adaptations to your diet that result in slow weight loss (typically 1-2lbs a week) but that’s sustainable, it becomes your lifestyle.

Healthy eating is about so much more than weight loss, yes you lose weight but what you gain in the process is ten fold, I’ve experienced this personally but also had this supported by many people who I have worked with.

  1. Feeling happy – 90-95% of your hormone serotonin (the happy hormone) is produced in your gut.  Providing the right environment for these hormones to thrive is key to feeling happy.
  2. Heightened energy and vitality – for me it has become limitless or certainly as much energy as I need to satisfy my exercise addiction. There were days when I didn’t think I’d have enough energy for another Zumba class, now I feel energised for all my classes and I’ve added crossfit and yoga to the mix.  The world can literally become your oyster and it may not be that you want to add lots more exercise to your life (although I highly recommend it for so many reasons) you might just not want to be breathless going up the stairs or have more energy to play football with your children.
  3. Brain power – good nutrition can actually increase your number of brain neurons making you sharper whilst at the same time providing improved focus and concentration.  Recent research has also found that the larger the waist circumference the more brain shrinkage occurs, which is never a good thing!
  4. Turbo charge your immune system – if you’re fed up with getting colds and flu all through the winter then putting the right combination of amino acids, vitamins and minerals can really help.  Over the last few years, nutritional science has developed further to include probiotics to improve the gut flora and nurture what is now being herald the second brain.  Further blogs to follow and probiotic recipes.
  5. Enhanced sleep – as your healthy eating improves, your ability to sleep solidly for 8-9 hours (if you’re lucky to get that much)  a night improves.  Adequate sleep is imperative for weight loss but you’ll also notice that you can jump out of bed in the morning and tackle what life throws at you if you’ve had a decent nights sleep, anyone with children can empathise here.
  6. No more 3/4pm crashes of energy – if you experience that lethargy in the afternoon that can normally only be abated with a super strong hit of caffeine, chances are it’s diet related and can be avoided.
  7. No more bloated feeling – if you’ve regularly gone to bed feeling uncomfortably full and having to undo the top button of your jeans you know what I’m talking about.  Eating the right foods will make you feel totally satiated without the bloated feeling.
  8. Improved strength – whether you’re weight training or just want to be able to lift yourself out of bed that little bit easier you will notice the difference.
  9. Youth – it’s not quite the fountain of eternal youth but you can actually improve the appearance of wrinkles with living enzymes in raw food and when your 30+ who doesn’t want to look a bit younger.
  10. Blemish free skin and thicker hair – this is not an exaggeration, the tone of your skin evens out, you will no longer experience breakouts of spots.  Your hair becomes thicker, (not sure if this applies to men!!) the only time I have had hair this thick was when I was pregnant and now enjoy long luscious locks.

Being healthy doesn’t mean depriving yourself of all the food you love, it means switching it up a little.  It means eating real food as nature intended because that’s what was meant to power our bodies. You can still eat a piece of chocolate, cheesecake, crisps or even sweetened beverages it’s just knowing how to use real food to provide healthier substitutes, keep an eye on my recipes!  It might mean you have to cook a little but I happen to think the payoff is worth the investment of your time.

This is why I am so passionate about food… it is about so much more than just maintaining a healthy weight (although important too!). Feeling healthy and happy literally sneaks in to infiltrate every part of your life – at work, family life and in all your relationships.  Life is far from perfect but you will be so much better equipped to handle what life throws at you if you eat healthily.

Food of Happiness

Filed Under: Adults, Nutrition

Vanessa Woozley

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