Many people I meet outside of the clinic think their diet is OK – not perfect (especially at the weekend!) – but just about OK. And they’d be right – especially if it’s not full of fried food, junk food, sweets or pastries; and take-aways or ready-made meals are at a minimum. However, Western diets are often severely lacking in micronutrients – vitamins, minerals and essential fats – so vital in combating stress, fatigue and boosting our metabolism, enabling us t.....
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More than any other time in our lives, we’re most conscious about what we eat as soon as we find out we’re pregnant! A varied diet rich in fruit and vegetables, pulses, wholegrains, eggs and fish are all essential to nourishing ourselves and our bumps too. Buy organic if you can to minimise pesticides and herbicides (to keep toxins to a minimum) and to maximise nutrient content.
My first priority is to help my patients eat as nutrient rich as possible… in the easiest way poss.....
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Exercise places greater needs on the body not only for macronutrients (especially carbohydrates and protein) but for micronutrients too. So often the focus is on protein, protein, protein. High protein shakes (highly flavoured, there’s even a birthday cake flavour), are often hyped at boosting lean muscle and being essential to consume within that one hour window after training (research into this is ongoing about the optimum anabolic window).
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Recent research has shown that we should be aiming for 10 portions of veg and fruit per day. As a nutritional therapist, an essential part of any programme is a bedrock of plants…here are my top 5 reasons why:
1. Mineral and vitamin rich – they are nature’s multi-Vit
2. Phytonutrient rich – ‘phyto’ is the Greek word for plant – 1000s of natural chemicals which help to protect plants from germs, fungi and other threats and help us t.....
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Take this simple test to see if you are you showing signs of having out of balance cortisol levels:
Do you feel tired on waking?
Do you suffer from weight gain round the middle?
Do you feel tired in the afternoon?
Is early evening one of the most productive times of the day for you?
Do you have problems falling asleep?
Do you wake up in the night and find it difficult to get back to sleep?
Do you crave sugar or caffeine or.....
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Often gradual weight gain round the middle can be a sign of internal stress in your body. It’s also interesting to note that the word stress was only used as an engineering term up until the late 1930s – no such thing as ‘stress’ beforehand!
The stress response is necessary – but many of us are dealing with an adaptive stage of stress – the on-going stress response on a daily basis. Fat around the middle being a sign of this.
So what is increasing this stress r.....
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The change in season can place greater demands on our immune system as the temperature changes and we head back to work and our children go back to school. We tend to shift away from a more relaxed summer holiday state to being more stressed as work and school pressures increase. Nutritional therapist Karen Newby shares her top 5 tips to eat yourself well this Autumn:
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What is Mindful Eating?
The practice of mindful eating is based on the Buddhist concept of Mindfulness. It’s a form of meditation that helps you recognise and cope with emotions and physical sensations around food. Mindfulness has been shown to support and improve depression, anxiety and food related disorders. It encourages you to pay attention while you are eating – to cravings and physical cues when eating such as are you actually hun.....
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Try to consume 5 super foods daily
Ground seeds – combination of linseed, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower. They are handy mid-morning or afternoon snacks.
Dark leafy greens – have everyday (kale, watercress, parsley, rocket, etc). Cruciferous veggies daily (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc)
Onion & garlic daily.
Berries daily – you can make a smoothie with a handful of frozen berries, 10g Beauty Elixir, 1⁄2 banana and water all blended......
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How super are superfoods? Navigating the world of superfoods can be a daunting task especially as it’s susceptible to the odd fad – goji berries were top of the list a few years ago and now their crown has been taken by the more fashionable chia seeds or baobab.
However, superfoods remain one of the easiest and healthful ways of increasing our nutrient intake through food. Unfortunately, many of us don’t get enough micronutrients in our diet and as a n.....
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