Vitality

  • Healthy Food

    Fresh Broad Bean Hummus

    Fresh Broad Bean Hummus

    Making the most of seasonal, local vegetables I made this fresh Broad Bean Hummus. It may even be appreciated by people who don’t normally like Broad Beans as the tough outer layer is removed. I adapted this recipe to include even more healthy ingredients – including wild garlic leaves, lemon balm and mint leaves.

    Ingredients

    Broad Beans

    Tin of Chickpeas

    1-2 cloves of garlic or a big handful of wild garlic leaves

    tbsp. Tahini

    Lemon juice

    olive oil

    Sea salt and black pepper plus chilli if liked

    Method

    Boil the Broad Beans for 3-7 mins depending on size. If you are using wild garlic leaves you can add them into the pan for 2-3 mins of cooking time. Drain and cool quickly with cold water and ice cubes as this keeps the colour nice and bright.

    Remove the outer layers by pinching and popping the inner Bean out.

    Put beans, drained chickpeas, garlic, lemon balm and mint if using, tahini, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp Olive oil into blender – adding more oil if needed and blend until smoothe.

    Season to taste and when happy with the flavour, chill or freeze.

    This lovely as a dip, or spread on crispy crackers, pittas or toast.

    I also would suggest that it is similar to Guacamole and yet much cheaper to make. It would be lovely on top of homemade burgers, as in one of my previous posts for health fast food.

    Enjoy!

     

     

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  • Health/ Healthy Food/ Nutritional Medicine

    Warming Winter Soup in 20 mins.

    Warming Winter Soup

    At this busy time of year there is nothing better than a bowl of warming Winter Soup. Here is a recipe for one of my favourites. It is a healthy mix of vegetables that increase circulation, boost the Thyroid and help the body to detox – like a bowl of sunshine!

    CARROT, APPLE & GINGER SOUP

    4-5 carrots peeled and chopped

    1-3 apples cored and chopped

    thumb sized piece of raw ginger, peeled and chopped

    2 celery stalks chopped

    Add all to a large pan with a tablespoon of coconut oil and simmer for 5 mins. Add at least a pint of hot chicken stock and simmer for 10 mins. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Blitz  and serve. I like it with gluten free seeded toast. 🤗

    For more ideas check out my other posts

    Nutritious Comfort Food for Winter

    Lunchtime Low Carb High Healthy Fats Treat

    and Fabulous Easy Salads

    Enjoy!

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  • Exclusion diet/ Healthy Food/ Leaky Gut/ Nutritional Medicine

    Confused by all the nutritional advice? What should you eat??

    Nutritional advice

    Are you confused by all the nutritional advice out there? It is hardly surprising! Nutritional science is moving at an unprecedented pace and much of what we were told in the past and even advised by our Doctors, has been proved to be wrong.

    Any diet given a name seems to be either praised or condemned by someone. Some are aimed at fast weight loss and others more recently at reversing conditions that we previously thought had no cure.

    Atkins/SouthBeach/Dash/Paleo/AIP/LowFodmap/LCHF/  Flat Belly/Slim-fast/Weight Watchers/Slimmers World/Clean/RealFood ……….

    The list goes on and on…  and these days Doctors and Nutritionist are talking much more about Personalised Healthcare and plans that suit the individual – not just the condition. After all, if you are overweight it might be due to diet, lifestyle, hormones, Digestive Problems, Thyroid function, Insulin Resistance etc. and the important thing is to get to the root cause.

    Functional Medicine

    The Functional Medicine approach is based on finding the root cause of your health problems and supporting normal healing by making individual diet and lifestyle choices. It is a system strongly backed by science, evidence and a belief that we all have an ability to heal ourselves and have less reliance on drugs. It is also a system of medicine that believes that health is not just the absence of disease but a state of vitality and mental and physical energy.

    See this article for more information

    What Nutritional advice would I give?

    Modern technology means we can be more aware of our health, our heart rate, quality of sleep, exercise levels, steps taken, energy burnt and we might be more aware of anything not right about our health. Monitoring people and treating the person, not the symptoms is the future of medicine.

    I believe that no one diet suits everyone. For health and vitality you need the most varied diet you are able to digest and you need to work to improve your digestion for the optimum benefit. To get this right we need to let go of any previous beliefs and become aware of what our individual bodies like and need to thrive. Science is telling us that a lot of processed food contains substances that are damaging our health and therefore the ‘trend’ is towards cooking and much more fresh food than has been common over the past few decades. Your diet should not cause inflammation in your body and stress to your immune system but modern processed food diets are proven to do so in a large percentage of the population.

    Canada has just bought out new Nutritional advice and food guidelines based on fresh food and they have a new food pyramid.

    This is based on eating healthy fats, low carbohydrates, plenty of vegetables and some fruit. Good nutritional advice compared to most Countries guidelines.

    In the UK the NHS promotes “The NHS Diet Plan – Science has a go at Diet Plans” – just the title makes me wince!  Out of date Nutritional advice. They are still promoting cereals, bread and wholewheat pasta as a source of fibre and as the bulk of the diet with the emphasis on low fat foods as in the Eatwell Guide which also stipulates vegetable oils and low fat spreads. Functional Medicine Practitioners have been trying to educate people away from these choices for years!

    I do not promote the Low Fodmap diet (often suggested for IBS) as this is one of the most restrictive diets to stick to and doesn’t address healing the digestive system first. No diet should be so restrictive as to take all joy out of eating. Many people that follow this diet might get some digestive relief but will almost certainly suffer from nutrient deficiencies if not carefully monitored and supplemented. Where possible I always favour real food over supplements.

    So what is out?

    • Calorie Counting
    • Low fat diets
    • Meal replacement drinks and Bars
    • Low salt (better to have sea salt than processed sodium salt)
    • Low Cholesterol diets
    • using only egg whites
    • artificial sweeteners
    • MSG
    • other processed food additives and colours
    • all day snacking (harms the normal digestive process)
    • Long exercise sessions (HIIT training was proved to more beneficial many years ago – research Loughborough Uni 2013)

    Conclusions

    If you are free from any digestive problems, achy joints, autoimmune disease, disrupted thyroid hormones, skin problems, heart or blood sugar problems then I would suggest that you look at incorporating more fresh foods into your diet, more healthy fats (natural saturated fats, meat, fish, butter, cheese, olive oil, olives, coconut oil, nuts and seeds), plenty of fresh vegetable and some fruit. As you increase natural fats into your diet you become hungry less often and you do not crave snacks or sweet foods as much. You may feel you eat more and feel more satisfied than previously. Cut out as much sugar and processed carbohydrates as you can  and drink in moderation (wine and occasional spirits but less mixers).

    If you have any of the health  issues listed above then I always recommend an Elimination Diet for 4 weeks and the addition of supplements to heal the digestive tract. Probiotics, L-Glutamine, omega 3 oils, Licorice extract, and possibly Silicogel or Aloe Vera until your gut doesn’t bloat or feel uncomfortable and your bowel movements are easy and regular. Following on by very careful reintroduction of individual foods to see if your body reacts to them. This is because the root cause of many of these conditions is a damaged digestive system that might have been caused by infection, stress, antibiotics or intolerance to certain foods. If you can find and afford a Nutritional Practitioner then it would be best to work with them. They may be able to do blood, urine and stool tests as well as allergy and sensitivity tests that may speed the process. It is easy to get confused when doing it by trial and error. I tried going gluten free several times over the years and always felt better initially but it wasn’t until I carried out a proper Elimination diet that I discovered I also had intolerance to Dairy, Soy and oranges! I personally favoured using the Paleo AIP diet initially but have since been able to expand my choice of foods to include rice, gluten free oats, nuts and seeds – all in moderation. That is why I use the terms Paleo Approach, Clean and Real food. No one single diet should define what you eat or restrict foods that you do not have a problem with.

    I have many posts on how to do this, which foods most often cause problems and with ideas for healthy foods  so that it is not about deprivation but about making choices that satisfy you and nourish your body, brain and immune system while giving you abundant energy and good sleep.

    My main tip is to learn to listen to your body. Every day your body will require different food depending on the weather, your activity, your emotional state…(that’s where the chocolate usually comes in)

    One day I might fancy a succulent salmon steak, one day lamb and bacon burger with guacamole and occasionally I fancy this…

           Gluten free seeded toast, baked beans and free range eggs with Celtic sea salt and black pepper.

    Variety is the spice of life:-)

     

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  • Aging/ Arthritis/ Autoimmune diseases/ Collagen/ Energy/ Health/ Immune system - healing/ Inflammation/ Leaky Gut/ Nutritional Medicine

    Proven Nutritional Remedies for Ageing

    ageing

    There are certainly many personal and spiritual improvements that can come with age – more confidence, wisdom, understanding and courage to name just a few. Intolerance is not often considered to be a good trait but it can be what drives you to instigate change – it certainly is a strong factor that drives me into action. I do not accept that we have to suffer as we age. We have plenty of evidence that there are nutritional remedies for ageing and that in the ‘Blue Zones’ of the world, people live to be much older without the chronic ill health that is common during the last 20 years of life in the Western World. Most of us don’t want to live longer if it means being ill, immobile, lonely or mentally impaired and we don’t have to! There are natural proven Nutritional remedies for ageing, combating loss of energy, loss muscle strength and mobility, improving sleep etc.

    Our bodies slow down as we age,

    they don’t function quite as well as they used to but with the right knowledge we can minimise the effects. I am not going to tell you to get gym membership or run marathons as I have never been big on exercise myself. I am a nutritionist and so this is about optimum nutrition. Many of you  have probably already noticed changes that you either hate or have just tried to accept thinking that you can’t do anything about;

    • extra weight
    • fat tummy
    • lines, wrinkles
    • Bat-wing arms
    • loss of energy

    ….but here are a few more;

    • muscle loss and wasting
    • joint stiffness and pain
    • loss of flexibility and range of movement
    • poor quality sleep
    • breaking, fragile nails
    • thinning hair
    • inflammation
    • poor digestion
    • blood sugar problems
    • loss of strength and stamina
    • weakened immune system
    • bladder weakness
    • loss of memory and mental performance

    A depressing list and even with a positive mental attitude these are things that can seriously impact our quality of life.

    To illustrate the point I would like to tell you about my Mother. She was only in her 50’s when she started to suffer from the extreme pain and difficulties of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjögren’s syndrome (dry eyes, mouth, chronic cough, muscle pain and poor digestion). When I had my three children she was unable to hold them, play with them, bath them and even a cuddle could be painful. Now that I have grandchildren I realise the full extent of what she missed out on and it is because of her Autoimmune problems that I became interested in Nutrition and disease prevention.

    I have several friends of similar age to me (65) who also struggle to cope, have less energy, cannot get down on the floor, cannot lift anything heavy due to poor backs, knees or hips. Some my age have already had hip or knee replacement surgery. Weakness of grip and inability to open jars, inability to squat and get up again and lack of balance are all early warning signs and women tend to suffer this much more than men.

    Now the good news

    I have suffered from ALL of the symptoms above and at age 30 I seriously imagined being just like my Mum by the time I was in my 50’s. I was convinced that diet and lifestyle played a very large part and also that multiple doses of Antibiotics definitely worsened the symptoms. Nutrition became a passion that has grown year on year and while at work as a Nurse the talk was all about ‘evidence based Medicine‘ I was always bashing on about evidence based Nutrition!

    We are living through very interesting times when knowledge about nutrition, ageing and chronic disease is expanding daily and that there is plenty we can do to alleviate the symptoms of ageing with good, evidence based Nutrition.

    What we have to do is not only ignore but also undo the damage that decades of poor dietary advice – low-fat, low calories, high carbs have inflicted on our bodies. If you want to know more about this I have an article ‘ Why Low-fat diets damage your Health. ‘

    Weight gain, joint pain, loss of energy are not symptoms of old age anymore than a sudden penchant for pearls could be and simple changes can reverse all of these symptoms – as I have proved. I am now my ideal weight at 10st.7lbs and most of the symptoms I have suffered in the past have significantly improved or even disappeared. I do have a very poor memory for names but my ability to learn has increased, not diminished; I have more strength and energy than a few years ago and my bladder weakness has improved about 90% – no medications just good nutrition and nutritional supplements.

    The Journey to a Healthier Old Age

    Writing for women and men of 40+ I would like to share my knowledge and help you to prevent or reverse all these horrible symptoms that your Doctor will tell you are down to ‘getting old’ and we will start with…..

    Collagen.

    Collagen is an amazing substance made up of 3 main amino acids – Glycine, Proline and Hydroxyproline, that constitutes 30% of the total protein in our bodies. It is what strengthens tissues and holds us all together. When young the body consistently produces collagen but by age 40 collagen synthesis starts to decline, with a dramatic reduction in synthesis after the Menopause. By age 60 there is normally a considerable decline but with early or surgically induced Menopause this could be considerably younger. As it was for myself and my Mother. I had a Hysterectomy age 31 and what followed was poor digestion, multiple food intolerances, arthritis and fatigue. Collagen and especially Glycine helps to heal the gastrointestinal tract, it is needed for the production of Bile salts and digestive enzymes, strengthens the immune system and reduces chronic fatigue.  This is why it is one of the best nutritional remedies for ageing.

    Other lifestyle aspects that affect collagen production are high levels of stress, excessive exposure to UV light, smoking and a poor diet with high processed carbohydrates and sugar.

    Autoimmune disorders can also target Collagen.

    Increasing Collagen

    There are many ways you can increase your intake and production of Collagen and therefore increase the health of your joints, improve sleep and mood, improve skin elasticity, muscle strength and flexibility.

    With food

    Collagen is made up of several amino acids that all come from animal sources.

    1. Organ meat:- liver, kidney, heart, tongue, sweetbreads. Some people, children included, who have not been used to eating organ meat cooked on it’s own or in a casserole might prefer pâté, Haggis or it added to burgers and sausages.
    2. Connective tissue:- oxtail, neck, marrow – all cheap stewing or casserole cuts with plenty of bone. I find a Slow Cooker best.
    3. Bone Broth:- chicken, beef, ham – organic definitely best.
    4. Pork skin, chicken skin, fish skin.
    5. Eggs:- especially the whites but the yolk helps with the production of fibrinogen which is also important.
    6. Gelatin

    ‘Women of a certain age’ may get a lightbulb moment – did we eat far more of these foods growing up than we do now? Do we now spend a fortune on skin creams that claim to include or stimulate Collagen production and reduce wrinkles by including Retinol (Vitamin A) from animal sources?

    For Collagen to be well utilised in the body some other nutrients are required so these are also nutritional remedies for ageing and foods that increase vitality and a strong immune system.

    • Vitamin C – citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwis, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, peppers and broccoli
    • Anthocyanidins – blackberries, blueberries, cherries and raspberries.
    • Copper – shellfish, nuts, red meat, avocados, liver, kidney.
    • Vitamin D – oily fish like tuna, sardines, herring, mackerel, salmon, egg yolks, mushrooms, small amounts in milk, cheese and yogurt. Sunlight on skin.

    Supplements

    If you are already showing signs of decreased Collagen in your body then as well as increasing all the foods listed I think you need to take a supplement for a minimum of 3-6 months. I was already eating all the right foods and taking a natural Plant Mineral daily but a supplement of powdered Collagen started to make a visible difference after just 1 month. They are not just for bodybuilders – although the adverts do supply a bit of eye candy! A useful site is here.

    Do check out the best supplements because many products with low doses are sold as beauty products.

    You can get Collagen as a powder that dissolves in liquid and is easily absorbed or in capsules or tablets. 3-6 grams a day is recommended. The Collagen usually comes from fish or bovine sources so check this if you have allergies. Some are made from concentrated bone broth. Some have Vitamin C added and some even have Hyaluronic Acid – which helps hydrate tissues and cushion joints.

    Better to spend your money on nutritional supplements that benefit the entire body than on expensive creams just for your face – most of which don’t work. Collagen is not easily absorbed by the skin. Most other treatments rely on stimulating production by removing the surface layer of skin cells (a konjac sponge is a great natural way to exfoliate) or damaging the deeper layers with needles or laser – definitely not something I would choose.

    ageing

    I would love your feedback and to know how you get on.   

     

     

     

     

     

     

    This article was first written by me  for Sally Canning’s website 2016.

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  • 10 portions Fruit and Vegetables a day/ Health/ Magnesium

    Magnesium deficiency Stats Reveal All

    Magnesium

    Magnesium deficiency is commonplace and can have quite an impact on your health.

    These Magnesium stats reveal all.

    Magnesium content in vegetables has declined up to 80% since 1950 and modern processing of grains for flour and pasta removes 80-90% of total magnesium. No wonder we are now being told that we have to eat 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day to remain healthy!

    The World Health Organisation states that 75% of the population do not  reach the RDA for Magnesium of 300mg.

    What factors affect our levels of cellular Magnesium?

    • Stress and illness
    • carbonated drinks – phosphates bind to Magnesium
    • caffeine causes more Magnesium to be excreted through the kidneys
    • refined sugar does as well
    • taking Calcium supplements without Magnesium

    Magnesium is in your cells and the intercellular spaces so cannot be accurately measured with blood tests.

    Symptoms of Magnesium deficiency are  muscular cramps, poor sleep, anxiety, times of hyperactivity, chronic pain and heart problems but you can be deficient and not have identifiable or constant symptoms.

    Magnesium can be found in leafy green veg, wholegrain cereals, brown rice, nuts, pumpkin and other seeds, beans, fish and seafood, cocoa and dark chocolate.

    Here is a YouTube video from David Perlmutter MD that explains just how important Magnesium is for health.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmNIL3lo_Jg&sns=em

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  • Health/ Organic produce

    Why now is the time to support Organic Farming.

    organic farming

    The Food Industry and major Supermarkets work hard to promote “cheap” convenient food while at the same time hiding intensive farming practises, poor treatment of animals and the effect on our health and the environment. I found out a few facts recently which had a big impact on me and made me research further, coming to the conclusion that we need to take more responsibility for what we eat and why now is the time to support Organic Farming. 

    BBC TWO screened a series called ‘New York: America’s Busiest City’ where they investigated how the City worked to clear rubbish, feed everyone and house people. It was a fascinating program giving us a glance of what has to happen ‘behind the scenes’ to make a City of this size function. One episode focused on Food and included a visit to a Beef farm where the intensively reared cattle were fed hay and grain and then fattened up for market with the addition of waste processed food like sweets, biscuits, gummy bears, and chocolate. I found this quite horrifying as it couldn’t be any more healthy for cattle than it is for us but then they are slaughtered at about 30 months –  they don’t get any long-term effect whereas we might!

    I know that there has been a lot of emphasis on Grass Fed beef recently but it took this program to make me realise that it was not just about feeding grain and pelleted food. There are two links to articles here….

     

    Some cattle eat grass, some eat corn and others have more of a sweet tooth they satisfy by chowing down on … into the same materials it would the starch in the corn they are fed.” It is not just candy, either. “Cattle are well equipped to utilize … via Feeding Your Cattle’s Sweet Tooth with Alternative Feeds Like Candy Can Help Improve Bottomlines

     

    chocolate, fruit loops and a whole list of candies. Fattening up the cattle thanks to a large percentage of sugar content and no real nutritional value, the disease-riddled cattle end up fetching a larger price for farm owners. The fruit loops-fed cattle … via Cattle Now Being Fed Cookies and Candies Instead of Real FoodGrazing Cow

    Public Domain from pixabay

    This article explains how the diet drastically changes the fat content in beef to being more anti-inflammatory Omega -3 fats in grass fed beef and containing more unhealthy Omega-6 fats when fed on junk food.

    Grass-fed beef is certainly more expensive, but is it better for you? If so, just how much better? via Grass-Fed Beef: Is It Worth The Extra Money? – BuiltLean

     

    Then with Trade agreements like TTIP in the news we hear of chickens being washed in chlorine after slaughter because they were reared in such confined, overcrowded,  dirty conditions  that they had to clean them up prior to packaging. We hear about huge multinational companies controlling seed purchases that relies on their toxic chemicals to get high yield, of more GMO crops entering our food chain.

    Therefore, if we care about our health and the health of our farming we need to be more aware of the source of our food and what it has been contaminated with.

    Should we also be annoyed when we are deliberately lied to or mislead by the Food Industry or Supermarkets? Tesco, Lidl and Aldi have all been guilty of this by labeling foods to have come from various ‘Farms’ with English sounding names that are not real Farms at all. In the case of Tesco’s the ‘Farm’ labels replaced the cheap ‘Everyday Value’ labels that were previously often ignored due to people thinking they must be poorer quality.

    It is time to start prioritising our values over price so that we can have an impact on animal welfare, the nutritional quality of the food we produce and the impact on our environment. UK farming  produces about 62% of the food we eat. Therefore 38% probably travels to us from anywhere in the rest of the world at great cost. At the present time we still waste a tremendous amount of food but that is now being highlighted and addressed by the Supermarkets and by organisations like FareShare who have 20 regional centres across the UK and are able to redistribute food to the people who need it most www.fareshare.org.uk

    Why now is the time to support Organic farming-especially in the UK

    At present we pay £6bn a year into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) but our farmers only get about £3bn back and so are effectively subsidising their competitors. Once we leave the EU we need that money to be distributed fairly and proportionate to the value of the produce not the quantity. We also need to pay a fair price. A litre of milk costs the Farmer about 30p to produce so why do Supermarkets only want to pay them about 23p?  Retail organic food producers are doing very good business by connecting with their local communities both here and in the USA and giving us superior produce with much less packaging or plastic!

    organic veg

    This month I have added to my Free Range Meat delivery with local organic food, vegetables and eggs, ordered a weekly organic veg box and bought seeds ready to grow beans, beets, chard and herbs in pots in the Spring. It has only cost me a small percentage more but we have been eating really well and everything is tasty and lasts longer.

    organic veg

    Another good link below from Compassion in World Farming.

    Food and Human Health; Food Sense; Food sense 20/03/2012. … Philip Lymbery, CEO, Compassion in World Farming. Share this page. Tags. food; intensive agriculture; via Food Sense | Compassion in World Farming

    Happy Shopping…..

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  • Nutritional Medicine

    The Time for Change is Now

    The Time for Change

    Well 2016 was an eventful year wasn’t it? Many of us may have been looking forward to a fresh start in 2017 and yet also apprehensive about what might be in store for us but the Time for Change is Now. One thing is certain – personal empowerment is on the rise and The Women’s March is evidence of the scale and the support for change Worldwide. There is much talk about us being ‘disconnected’ with our environment and what is happening around us – technology is wonderful but we need to use it for our individual benefit and not as a distraction from life.

    So how have you been feeling? Insecure, less in control, dissatisfied, confused, overwhelmed, helpless even? Change is always unsettling and the best way of dealing with it is to take action yourself. All big change starts with small collective action.

    I used to make New Year Resolutions like ‘Get Fit’ or ‘Lose weight’ but now I set out positive Intentions for the year ahead. This year I feel inspired and have made far more than usual. As a Functional Medicine Ambassador and Health Coach I am excited by the change happening in our attitudes to Health and Wellbeing. As conventional medicine fails to deal with chronic illnesses, Functional Medicine is rising to the challenge by looking at the whole person and their environment. The demand for Functional Medicine Practitioners far outstrips the supply at the moment but change of attitude and self-education can reap really great results. You do not have to do it alone. Connect with like-minded people, websites, YouTube, Groups, share your experiences and ask questions – there is support everywhere and much of it is free.

    First ask yourself what you would like to achieve this year and then work out how you can work towards those goals. My main interests are health and our environment and I think the two are totally connected. If you follow me on twitter @GutHealthHelp you will know that I am passionate about both. Focus on people or actions that you find inspirational. Use positive language not negative and reinforce it with stating the time for change is now!

    This is my list of positive intentions – a work in progress!

    TIME

    Learn how to use technology and Social media for my own advantage.

    • Get emails down to a manageable level
    • prioritize what I want to achieve each day – putting twitter, Facebook and non-personal emails last.
    • Use the internet to further my knowledge, access relevant information and initiate my own ‘quality control’ asking “do I really need to know this/participate in this?”
    • Make time for the people and activities that are important to me.
    • Read to further my knowledge, strengthen my beliefs and for pure escapism and enjoyment. My books so far this year are –
    • ‘Our Earth, Our Species, Our selves’, How to thrive while creating a sustainable World by Ellen Moyer
    • ‘One Spirit Medicine’ by Alberto Villoldo
    • ‘The Pinch: How the baby boomers took their children’s future.’ by David Willetts
    • re-read ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini – my favourite book….

    ENERGY & EXERCISE

    While still practising my ‘Five Tibetan Rites’ several mornings a week I have also completed a Seven Day Reboot by Pedram Shojai, The Urban Monk  and now have added some Qi Gong back into my week.

    I feel we all need to increase our vitality and therefore be able to achieve more each day. As well as creating energy we need to be aware of where we waste energy. On a bad day I have spent most of the morning on my iPad and then felt depleted and unmotivated so by relegating it to lower down my list of to do’s I achieve much more.

    SLEEP

    So much is written about sleep lately and I will not repeat the usual recommendations but reveal how I have improved my sleep quality. Sleep is so important for detoxing our brains and helping to prevent Dementia therefore improving sleep should be a priority.

    I have felt that I often didn’t sleep well for quite a few years now. I have tried Meditation and relaxation recordings and many natural sleep aids like 5-htp, Melatonin, Herbs, L-Theanine etc. My main problem was an over-active mind and therefore not getting off to sleep.

    Recently I have been using an App that helps me analyze what lifestyle factors affect my sleep and it was not chocolate or wine – which I had assumed were a problem.

    The App is ‘Sleep Cycle’ and is used by over 260,000 people. An intelligent alarm clock that analyzes your sleep and wakes you up gently in the lightest phase of sleep. Although I am against having electrical devices in my bedroom, this has to be plugged in but you can use Airplane mode to disconnect wi-fi. I also use Night shift on my iPad to limit blue light exposure. Upgrade for under £8 a year to be able to access more analytical tools, add notes and play a timed amount of soothing sounds to help you relax into sleep. I love it and my sleep is now much improved.

    FOOD

    • My LCHF diet is the best I can afford and the high quality fats have improved my brain and energy.
    • I already buy my meat from a good source that supplies organic and grass-fed meat as well as sustainably caught wild fish.
    • I have now ordered a weekly organic veg box delivery
    • we are increasing our oily fish each week – including tinned sardines, pilchards and salmon to keep overall costs down.
    • In the Spring I am planning on growing more herbs and vegetables/fruit. I attempted this last year but discovered some were incompatible with a healthy squirrel population! This year herbs, tomatoes,beets, rainbow chard and strawberries – plus more netting!
    • Doing all I can to combat food waste. This even included buying a new, larger Fridge/freezer so that I can shop less often but keep everything fresh for longer plus freeze any excess produce. This is working well and I freeze herbs, ginger, spinach, gluten free bread and wraps and I can also do a batch cook up when the mood takes me or in preparation for visitors.

    ACTION ON OUR ENVIRONMENT

    This is one I have always been aware of but it is easy to get complacent and feel things are out of your control.

    • I am very inspired by Sky for setting up the Ocean Rescue program this week so I have signed up. Info here Sky Ocean Rescue
    • Decreasing our use of plastic is something where we can all have a huge impact. Reduce our use on all disposable plastics – cotton buds, straws, stirrer, plastic cutlery, microbeads in toiletries etc.
    • Educate as many as possible about not using plastic lids on disposable cups as they contain a carcinogen called BPA. More coffee shops are encouraging people to bring their own mugs/flasks.
    • Recycle where possible. Upcycle. Donate to charity anything other than just bin it!
    • Plus my ongoing program to support organic farming and spread the word about soil degradation  and how it affects our health. ‘Sugar Free Farm‘ on ITV on has done a good job of raising awareness of the importance of getting away from Intensive farming and improving the quality of our soil, our food and our health while at the same time reconnecting us to nature. We cannot be healthy if our food and environment are not healthy. See my post on the importance of this to our immune system here
    • Soil-minerals-probiotics-food-microbiome-health

    I hope you find and follow your own passions and reconnect with the things that matter to you this year. Let me know in Comments below. Your actions could impact many lives.

    Wishing you abundant health and Vitality this year.

    Linda
    featured image Public Domain from pixabay

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  • Healthy Food/ Immune system - healing/ Ketogenic diet/ LCHF diet/ weight loss

    Fat v Carbs

    Nutritional advice

    The debate on Fat v Carbs rages on!

    I personally and with clients, have found it works in that you get to a normal weight and then it stabilises even though you may add in a few more natural carbs like rice, gluten free grains, dark chocolate and red wine. Health markers improve, immune system improves, cravings disappear and energy is increased and because of this it is a very sustainable way to eat.

    Sustainability is key to weight-loss and keeping it off. I have known many people who have tried very low fat diets only to gain even more weight when they return to ‘normal’ eating. Low fat diets deprive you of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K that are essential for good health and a strong immune system and yet that is what Government Guidelines have been for decades.

    Here are the foods to eat on a Low Carb High Fat Diet 

    • Meat
    • Fish
    • eggs
    • Vegetables
    • A little fruit
    • Nuts and seeds
    • Dairy products (not low fat versions) if not intolerant to casein or lactose.
    • Natural fats and oils like Coconut oil, Olive oil, olives, avocados and oil, ghee and butter if tolerated.

    If the source of these foods is organic, free range, grass fed(beef) etc. then that is when I use the term ‘CLEAN’ diet as it avoids all processed food, sugar, gluten grains and keeps fruit sugar low.

    In case you missed it, here is an excellent program from the BBC – well worth watching. The results in just a 3 week trial are disclosed with weight loss, lower cholesterol and also enjoyment of eating natural foods and no hunger or bad side effects.

    Take a look on YouTube

    If you like ‘studies’ then go here.

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  • Energy, Immune system - healing, Leaky Gut, Mineral Depletion

    The importance of plant minerals for health.

    video
    Minerals
    www.thehealthvideo.com

    Take a few minutes to watch this video and find out why plant minerals are so vital for health and energy.

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  • Anxiety/ Blood sugar management/ Energy/ Health/ Sugar Detox/ Wheat and Dairy Intolerance

    Low Blood Sugar causes Anxiety

    low blood sugar

    Following on from my article on Overcoming Sugar Addiction I thought this excellent article and research findings from Trudy Scott (CN) would be of interest. As well as anxiety I have found that a diet high in processed Carbs and high glycemic foods that lead to low blood sugar episodes also cause inflammation in other tissues and can be a contributing factor to many conditions.

    One of the most helpful additions to your diet when transitioning to a healthier way of eating is a breakfast that includes protein, fat and fiber.  I like to make it easy for people that are not used to eating a healthy breakfast by preparing a highly nutritious smoothie the night before and popping it in the fridge. Here is one of my favourite recipes – I like it thick so that I eat it with a spoon and it does thicken slightly overnight so adjust milk accordingly. You can also vary it by adding cinnamon when you don’t have berries or use frozen fruit.

    Choco-loco Breakfast Smoothie

    Into a blender pop

    100-150 ml non-dairy milk like coconut or almond milk  

    a handful of berries, peeled and chopped pear or small slightly unripe banana

    1 scoop of whey free vanilla Protein Powder (or natural plus some vanilla essence)

    2 tsp. Almond Butter

    1 tsp. Coconut oil or MCT oil

    1 Tbsp. Cocoa powder

    1 tsp. Maple Syrup or honey

    50g gluten free oats

    Empty the contents of one Probiotic capsule and blitz until smooth. Cover and pop into the fridge overnight and then in the morning all you have to do is top with a few more berries and nuts for texture – almond flakes, pecans and walnuts all go well with chocolate. Enjoy.

    Article from Trudy Scott CN

    A paper published by the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine last month supports what I see with my clients on a daily basis: when it comes to anxiety caused by low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia) the correct diet can have a huge impact. And this means is the inclusion of enough protein, fats and fiber, especially at breakfast.

    Here is the abstract from the paper: Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Hypoglycemia Symptoms Improved with Diet Modification

    Observational evidence suggests that a relationship may exist between high glycemic index diets and the development of anxiety and depression symptoms; however, as no interventional studies assessing this relationship in a psychiatric population have been completed, the possibility of a causal link is unclear.

    AB is a 15-year-old female who presented with concerns of generalized anxiety disorder and hypoglycemia symptoms. Her diet consisted primarily of refined carbohydrates. The addition of protein, fat, and fiber to her diet resulted in a substantial decrease in anxiety symptoms as well as a decrease in the frequency and severity of hypoglycemia symptoms.

    A brief return to her previous diet caused a return of her anxiety symptoms, followed by improvement when she restarted the prescribed diet.

    This case strengthens the hypothesis that dietary glycemic index may play a role in the pathogenesis or progression of mental illnesses such as generalized anxiety disorder and subsequently that dietary modification as a therapeutic intervention in the treatment of mental illness warrants further study.

    Here are some details about this case report for AB, who was a 15-year-old female student of south-Asian descent:

    Read More →

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