Sam Silvester C.H. Ed. (Dip. NutTh) MBANT NHC is a Nutritional adviser.
What’s Eating You Nutritional Therapy provides an achievable and helpful programme to support your nutritional needs.
With the latest scientifically backed health news and information that cuts through the confusion.
What's Eating You
The aim is to increase your protein and good fats, and reduce sugary and refined carbs which cause sugar spikes.
Breakfast ideas:
Avoid cereals for breakfast as these don’t keep you full for longer or provide lasting energy to the brain.
Avoid smoothies, juices and fruit and yoghurt as these can spike blood sugar
Avoid excessive caffeine or strong coffee, as this will cause a surge of adrenaline and then a crash (same for fizzy drinks and energy drinks)
Avoid Sweeteners which affect both gut and brain function
Good choices
- Eggs in any form on wholegrain toast
- Porridge with large spoon of chopped nuts or seeds (no honey or sugar)
- Almond butter or no added sugar peanut butter on wholegrain toast
- Bacon and eggs
- Avocado and smoked salmon on Wholegrain toast
- Omelette with ham or cheese or mushrooms
- Low sugar baked beans (not with sweeteners) on wholegrain toast or with bacon and mushrooms
- Breakfast on the run – large handful of natural nuts and a banana and apple
- Breakfast on the run – hard boiled eggs with natural nuts, humus and carrot sticks
The right snacks
- Apple and banana plus handful small mixed natural nuts
- Pear or apple and a mini cheese like Babybel
- Celery, carrot, peppers cucumber, cauliflower with mini pot of humus
- Hard boiled egg and carrot sticks
- Ryvita with nut butter
- Ryvita with avocado
- Banana and brazil nuts
- 85% or 90% dark chocolate (it must be this dark)
- Chicken drumstick
Don’t have milk chocolate, sweets, crisps or energy drinks as this will give you a blood sugar rise and then crash and interfere with concentration. If there is no option for something healthy then crisps are better than sweets.)
Overdosing on caffeine can make you jittery and unable to concentrate
A balanced lunch with protein and fat and no sugar e.g.
- Jacket potato with baked beans and cheese/ or tuna mayo /or humus
- Cooked meats with vegetables
- Omelette and salad and new potatoes
- Tofu stir fry with brown rice
- Mixed bean salad with humus
- Prepared superfood salad – available from most supermarkets
Try to avoid bread as it can make you sleepy, the same goes for cakes and biscuits.
Remember your water . A dehydrated brain won’t work!!!
Find out more - www.whatseatingyou.co.uk
Protein – you don’t need as much as you thought ….. and excess is stored is fat!
I was very interested to listen to the Director of Nutrition Studies at Stanford University on the Zoe Podcast, talk about protein requirements.
Fats and carbs provide most of our fuel.
Protein provides our structure and repair, plus it’s needed for all the enzymes in our body, reactions and our metabolism, plus many hormones are proteins.
In terms of how much protein we need, the answer is far less than any of us realized or have been led to believe.
The maximum that almost anybody needs is only 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight and most people are eating double that as part of a normal healthy diet.
The only exceptions are growing kids and pregnant women who will need a little higher.
Any extra protein that over and above your daily requirement will be converted to fats and carbs, and if there is an excess – it will be stored as fat.
So those avoiding carbs and eating a lot of protein for weight loss are missing the point.
If you are eating a regular healthy diet of around 2,000 – 2500 calories per day, you will get your protein requirements without trying, and without needing protein shakes, protein bars and all the other ‘protein’ rich foods that food manufacturers are trying to sell us.
Protein isn’t just in meat, eggs and fish, it’s also in nuts and seeds, beans and pulses, grains and dairy.
Animal protein is higher in protein so you need less of it.
The bottom line is that eating a portion of beans and wholegrain rice per day, along with other healthy foods will provide enough protein.
Try my breakfast egg muffins https://whatseatingyou.co.uk/egg-breakfast-muffins/
Nuts – not always fattening….
I was interested to listen to Dr Sarah Berry on the Zoe podcast talking about nuts.
Natural mixed nuts contain so many great nutrients - vitamin E, magnesium, selenium. Nuts are also very high in good fats and fibre, and help balance our blood sugar.
Nuts can decrease our bad LDL cholesterol and they can also decrease our blood triglyceride concentrations. And this means that nuts might help to lower the risk of both heart disease and stroke.
But there is a difference about how much fat we get from consuming whole nuts, versus nut butters and finely ground nut powders. If you commercially grind the nuts to break all of the cell walls and release all of the fat, then a lot more of that fat is absorbed increasing the calories.
What this meant in real terms, is that for some people, a 30 gram portion of almonds, resulted in them eating about 56 calories, and for other people, eating a 30 gram portion of almonds resulted in eating about 168 calories, depending on how well they chew, digest and absorb.
A portion of nuts should only be about 15-20 almonds, but without expensive tests, only the scales will show whether you can get away with eating more or less.
Find out more sam@whatseatingyou.co.uk 07767260374
Type 2 diabetes can be reversed by changes to lifestyle and diet.
This can then have a positive impact on heart health, cholesterol, inflammation and energy.
- Pre-diabetes – the term is often used to describe blood glucose levels that are not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes; it may also increase the risk of other health conditions.
- When insulin is not produced or used effectively, insulin resistance / diabetes can occur, which increases the risk for a host of other serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer.
- Signs and symptoms of elevated insulin levels are: ‘fatty liver’; hunger and cravings for sugar or carbohydrate rich foods; the development of brownish and dry areas of skin particularly around the neck; fluid retention; polycystic ovary syndrome; hair loss to the front and sides (in women).
- There are five steps to help lower insulin resistance –
diet,
exercise,
stress reduction,
sleep
herbs and supplements.
- Dietary recommendations include avoiding consumption of sugary foods, juices, alcohol and reducing portion sizes of white starchy carbohydrates.
Potatoes eaten in their skins such as new potatoes or jacket potatoes, with some extra virgin olive oil or butter is ok in small amounts.
Increase plenty of green vegetables and salads, good fats and protein.
Limiting or removing bread is helpful.
- Many people still think that fruit is bad, all fat should be avoided, you have to limit eggs and avocados are not good. These are all untrue
- Exercise is an effective way to lower insulin resistance; taking a walk after eating, moving regularly, taking the opportunity to stand-up when possible and any other exercise that lasts longer than 40 minutes and makes you out of breath and sweating.
- High cortisol, our stress hormone, affects blood sugar, so stress management with exercise, meditation, nature, journaling and sound baths can be very helpful.
- Chronic sleep deprivation is now recognised as a major contributor to type 2 diabetes. So ensure an eight hour ‘sleep opportunity’ every night. This means if you have to get up at 7am, lights off by 11pm.
- Sleep is affected by both caffeine and alcohol.
- Nutrients that are involved in blood sugar control include chromium, zinc and magnesium, berberine, alpha lipoic acid and vitamin D.
- There is also research showing cinnamon to support blood sugar control.
All of these are simple changes that can make a huge difference.
I work with pre-diabetic and diabetic clients to guide them through this.
Find out more sam@whatseatingyou.co.uk 07767260374
Diets don’t address the root cause of why we have put on weight.
Diets often totally restrict us from our favourite foods causing cravings.
Some diets can be unhealthy cutting out important foods groups such as fats
What you need to know:
- Planning - eating healthily involves thinking about it a few days before. When you don’t have the right food in the house, you are more likely to eat the wrong thing. Make your menu fit in with your work / social life so that you have quick meals on busy days, and can spend more time creating and batch cooking on easier days
- Blood sugar balance - if you start the day on sugar, you are heading for a blood sugar roller coaster. Sugar highs are followed by crashes causing cravings for sugar and raising stress levels, and the whole thing repeats. By balancing each meal with protein, some healthy fats (nuts/ seeds, olive oil, avocado) and complex carbs (potatoes in the skins, brown rice, pulses) you will feel fuller for longer with less cravings. Cravings are not the same as hunger.
- Willpower - are you supporting your will power? Are there foods in the house, or in sight that you don’t want to eat. Either don’t buy them or hide them. When going out for meals or socialising, check the menu first and create a agreement with yourself of how you are going to eat / drink
- Snacking - the food manufacturers convince us we need to snack, but if your blood sugar is balanced as above, you can have 3 meals a day without snacks
- Keep a food diary - writing down what you eat and drink on a daily basis is very useful for noticing unhealthy patterns
- Listening to your appetite. Do you eat when you aren’t hungry, or over eat because you are bored. Listening to your true appetite when your blood sugar is balanced will allow you to eat only when hungry.
We know about localised inflammation in the body, as we can see redness, a swelling or infection e.g. a splinter or a sprained ankle.
But we can also get inflammation in the body that we can’t see, that is systemic.
This can cause low energy, lack of vitality, aches in the muscles or joints, inability to lose weight, digestive problems and hormone and thyroid imbalance.
If high enough it can be measured in the blood with CRP marker.
System inflammation can be caused by a variety of issues, such as auto immunity, toxins in the environment, lack of microbiome and infections.
These are complex issues that I work on with clients, but inflammation can come from the wrong diet, and this is easier to address.
The top three inflammatory foods are :
- Gluten
- Vegetable oils (extra virgin olive oil and cold pressed flax oil are fine) often found in processed foods and crispy snacks
- Sugar
- Alcohol
- Pulses – if you have digestive issues
- Excess nuts
- Excess grains
By reducing these, you may find that your energy, vitality, weight and joint issues improve.
- Keep caffeinated drinks down to 2 per day in the morning only (ensure these aren’t large coffees which can have 3 shots of caffeine)
- Avoid alcohol. It sedates you initially but interferes with deep sleep and blood sugar regulation causing you to sleep lightly and wake easily
- Have carbohydrates with dinner and / or a carb snack at bedtime such as a banana and oatcake – this triggers melatonin our sleep hormone
- Ensure there is a gap of at least 2 hours between dinner and bedtime
- Keep lights in every room low as this also triggers melatonin, and avoid digital devices that emit stimulating blue lights
- Don’t ignore when you are tired in favour of more TV or work – this is the time your body grows and repairs
- Make sure your bedroom is not a cinema, a dining room or an office. It should signal a place of rest and quiet.
- If you wake in the night and can’t get back to sleep, try a banana and listen to a gentle meditation
- If you wake suddenly or have a dry mouth you may have sleep apnea. Nasal strips are helpful for keeping the airways open and encouraging nose breathing rather than mouth breathing which can raise stress levels.
- Sleepio is an NHS free online sleep programme for people in Berkshire, Bucks and Oxon. It helps you address worries and lifestyle changes to track and improve sleep
Recipe
1 medium peeled grated pear
1 mashed banana
1 chopped apple
Half cup raisins
Juice of 1 orange and zest
½ teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Add:
– quarter cup of melted coconut oil (or butter)
– 1 egg
Mix well, then stir in:
– 2 tablespoons of ground almonds or tahini and spices
– Handful of chopped walnuts (optional)
– Half cup of self raising wholemeal flour or SR Gluten free flour (such as Doves)
Bake at 180 for 30 minutes
1 cup of mashed sweet potato (pre baked)
2 heaped dessertspoons of Meridian Almond Butter (or Whole Earth Peanut butter)
1 dessertspoon of maple syrup
¼ cup of cocoa powder
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 180
Melt nut butter with maple syrup
Add to sweet potato and cocoa powder – fold in walnuts
Bake in greased loaf tin for 20-30 mins until cooked through
Store in the fridge
Ideally we need to move our bowels every day without straining.
Your stool should resemble a smooth sausage. If you are only going a few times a week, or producing hard pellets or are having to strain then you are constipated.
The main causes of constipation are :
1. Food intolerance (generally gluten and / or dairy)
2. Underactive thyroid (causing slow motility)
3. Lack of fibre
a. Eat more berries, apples, pulses, vegetables, quinoa and nuts
4. Stress and feeling ‘uptight’
5. Lack of good bacteria
a. Eat fermented vegetables or take a probiotic
b. Many medications such as The pill, stomach acid suppressants, antidepressants, antibiotics and Metformin interfere with good flora
Eating more good fats can stimulate the bowels so use cold pressed olive oil on salads and real butter on potatoes.
Increase your veg portions to 5 per day and fruit to 2/3
Increase water in line with added fibre – 2-4 pints per day
For some people with low stomach acid, red meat can slow the bowels due to poor digestion
Lifestyle:
• Relaxation is very important for bowels. Being uptight and stressed can hinder the bowels. Allowing time in the morning to go, never ignore the urge
• Exercise is good to keep the bowels moving. Brisk walking or jogging and yoga can be good.
• Increase stomach acid with betaine and digestive enzymes and apple cider vinegar
• Progesterone levels can cause constipation particularly just before a period. Balance these with the herb Agnus Castus and reduce stress which can unbalance hormone levels.
Supplements:
• Probiotics encourage good bacteria that may be reduced due to stress, the Pill, antibiotics or other medication such as acid suppressing medication.
• Linseeds (flaxseeds ground) and chia seeds are good sources of soluble fibre and help lubricate the bowels. A dessert spoon per day, or morning and night, added to porridge, soup or yoghurt, or soaked overnight in water or beetroot and carrot juice.
• Pysllium husks (from Baldwins) 1 tsp twice a day in water or squash followed by additional glass water half an hour before meals
• Magnesium relaxes the bowel and is a general relaxant useful to take at night. Take 400 – 600 mg per day as capsules of magnesium citrate or glycinate
• Vitamin C – 1000g taken twice a day can increase movement
Make up 3/4 litre of vegetable stock but only use 200ml, plus 1 peeled and chopped large potato finally chopped, 200g of frozen peas, 1 onion or bunch of spring onions, 1 handful of fresh chopped mint and 1 handful of fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons of dried herbs, and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool and blend adding more stock if needed, add 3 dessert spoons of coconut cream and salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in chopped ham or crispy bacon if you like.
Veganuary – are you getting enough protein?
You may wish to continue your vegan journey into 2023, but are you meeting your protein requirements?
A typical day could start with a pea protein shake (add cocoa powder, banana and df milk). Lunch could be soup with nutritional yeast and pulses and a sprinkle of seeds, or a salad with marinated tofu and humus. Dinner could be stir fried tempeh with cold pressed flax oil, or a bean burger and veg.
Snack on nuts and seeds and nut butters, but not too much or snack on some green soya beans.
This should cover your protein requirements but do add some supplements of iron and B12
Find out more at www.whatseatingyou.co.uk
In 2020, many people started working remotely and more purchasing was made on line.
As a consequence, they spent a lot more time sitting.
Bouts of physical activity counteract some of the negative effects of extra sitting, but how much is needed?
A meta-analysis compiled results from nine different studies on the topic and showed the average daily sedentary time ranged from 8.5 to 10.5 hours (not counting sleep), whereas the average daily moderate physical exercise time ranged from 8 to 35 minutes.
The results suggested that while higher sedentary time is associated with increased risk of death, the risk can be partially offset by 30-40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day.
For those exercising regularly, you can experience ‘exercise resistance’ which means that your body is used to that length and intensity of activity.
In order to overcome this, you need to make changes to the length or intensity of activity to keep your metabolism fired up.
This might me a longer or faster walk, or incorporating more hills.
I’m always trying to get people to eat more greens and hadn’t found a nice ‘green’ soup, until this one.
If you don’t like dill swap for parsley or coriander.
Serves 2
2 tbs coconut oil
1 clove garlic chopped
1 small onion chopped
¼ tsp caraway seeds
3 stocks of celery
½ tesp ground coriander
3 cups boiling water
1 Knorr Stock jelly
Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lime
1 + 1/3 cups of broccoli or Romanesco
2 frozen spinach lumps
½ avocado
½ cup of dill
Saute the garlic, onion and caraway seeds in the 1 spoon of oil for 2 minutes and then add 1 cup of boiling water.
Add the celery along with zest and juice of lime plus ground coriander and simmer for 5 minutes
Add broccoli and spinach, stock and 1 ½ cups of water and simmer for 8 minutes
Transfer to a blender and add the avocado and dill and blend until smooth adding more water if needed
INGREDIENTS – makes about 25
- 3 cups organic dried apple rings (sulphur free) or 1 cup of stoned medjool dates
- 1 cup organic dried apricots (sulphur free)
- ¼ tsp vanilla essence
- 1 lemon, zested, 1 tsp reserved
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup coconut oil (or less)
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut organic not sulphites
- A pinch of sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the apple rings, apricots, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest (reserving 1 teaspoon for later), and coconut oil to a food processor.
- Process on high until thoroughly combined and sticky, about 1-2 minutes.
- Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the shredded coconut, sea salt, and reserved lemon zest and stir to combine.
- Using your hands, form the apple mixture into small balls, about the size of 2 tablespoons, and roll through the coconut mixture before placing on a plate.
- Once all of your “bites” are formed, place them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to harden. Keep refrigerated before serving, or they will be tacky
- With food prices soaring, here are some tips to eat cheaper and healthier for the whole family
- Make use of cheaper veg such as spring greens, cabbage (red, white and green), carrots and root veg.
- You can use these to make homemade coleslaw (recipe available), braised red cabbage and steamed greens, and roasted roots.
- Use romaine lettuce or little gems, rather than bags of salad as this lasts longer and is cheaper – better still grow your own rocket and cut again salad leaves
- Use frozen veg such as peas, spinach and mixed veg as healthy standbys, and soups in the winter.
- Bags of wholemeal rice allow you to make risottos, rice salads (recipe available), and stir fries.
- Make extra rice for lunch the next day with some salad and tuna
- Potatoes are a healthy food and don’t deserve their bad press.
- Use new potatoes with salads, jacket potatoes with tuna or humus, and roasties in their skins.
- I like a beetroot, feta, radish potato salad
- Buy melon such as Honeydew which will last a few days in the fridge and isn’t as expensive as stoned fruit.
- Buy wonky strawberries – half the price
- Buy smoked salmon trimmings rather than slices of smoked salmon for salads – half the price
- Use chicken thighs when roasting chicken rather than whole chicken or breast, it is cheaper, and more tender.
- Years ago we used to eat all of the animal – nose to tail, but this is increasingly going out of fashion.
- If you like offal, use liver, cheek and oxtails in stew – all are really tender tasty cuts of meats for a fraction of the price. Recipes available
- Make use of tinned lentils and beans to bulk out stir fries, stews and curries, or use them on their own in salads or with rice
- Use pasta with passatta which is a fraction of the cost of ready made pasta sauces.
- Adding some balsamic vinegar and Worcester sauce adds flavour.
- A nice pasta dish is with Essential black olives, feta cheese or vegan feta, or bacon and some fresh cherry tomatoes with plenty of basil.
- Use fruit as a snack rather than crisps or cereal bars – or buy bags of dried dates
- Check the price at local markets versus supermarkets. They are often similar, but bigger and fresher
- Tinned mackerel and tuna, and smoked mackerel are good sources of protein and omega 3 oils. Mix with lemon juice, mayo, curry powder and a few raisins. Frozen cod or basa fillets are great in a fish pie with spring onions, peas and mash, topped with chives and cheese
- Buy ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables which are much cheaper.
- Check out any larder schemes in your area where excess supermarket waste is sold cheaply or given away
- Don’t buy vegetable oils such as sunflower oil as a cheap alternative to extra virgin olive oil. These oils create inflammation in the body and interfere with metabolism
- Eggs are a nutritious alternative to more expensive meat and great way to start the day.
- Reduce alcohol to allow more money for fresh food, and swap your evening tipple for a summer evening walk which will support your mind and body
- Find out more sam@whatseatingyou.co.uk
When people suspect they have a food intolerance to wheat for example, they may go to their GP for a blood test. This test can confirm if you have celiac disease, which is an ‘allergy’ to gluten. They don’t test the IgG antibodies which look for food ‘intolerances’.
I find the best way to identify a food intolerance is to remove that food for 2 weeks and then reintroduce it, monitoring any changes. Food intolerances can show as:
- Loose stools or constipation
- Bloating
- Rashes or itching
- Lethargy, tiredness, brain fog
- Joint pain
- Low mood
- Feeling ‘high’
Some people assume that just having a little bit, during their elimination phase won’t matter, but it does skew the trial.
Often people are confused about what to remove and what to replace it with it. Some ending up buying lots of Free From products which are often high in sugar, or high in oats, which can be an additional intolerance for some people.
To help work through this process properly, it is helpful to work with a Nutritionist who can give you a meal plan, and monitor the reintroduction process carefully.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend 0.83 g of protein per kilogram of weight each day. That works out to around 0.36 g per pound of body weight.
As a rough guide, protein should account for roughly 10–35% of your total calories each day.
- Females aged 19 or older 46 grams (g) of protein daily.
- Males aged 19 or older 56 g of protein daily.
It’s worth noting that these are just guidelines, though. For example, people training hard for an elite sports event may need to consume more. For most people, however, these levels will be adequate.
But what does this mean in practice? Here are a few food examples:
- wholegrain rice: 1 portion (75 g uncooked) = 7 g protein
- walnuts: 1 portion (30 g) = 4 g protein
- peanuts: 1 portion (30 g) = 8 g protein
- baked beans: 3 tablespoons = 6 g protein
- lentils: 3 tablespoons = 9 g protein
- tofu: 1 portion (100 g) = 8 g protein
- grilled chicken breast without skin: 100 g = 32 g protein
- lean grilled beef steak: 100 g = 31 g protein
- baked fish: 1 serving (140 g) = 25 g protein
- canned tuna: 100 g = 24.9 g protein
- cheddar cheese: 1 serving (8 g) = 8 g protein
- eggs: one medium egg = 7 g protein
- milk: 1 serving (200 ml) = 7 g protein
As you can see vegetarians and vegans will need to concentrate on Tofu, pulses, nuts and grains with every meal
Staying slim, even when eating lots of unhealthy foods, maybe not what it seems. Visceral fat is body fat that is stored within the abdominal cavity and around a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. Subcutaneous fat is stored just under our skin that we can see and feel.
Dangers of Visceral Fat Too much of any body fat is bad for your health. But the visceral kind is more likely to raise your risk for serious medical issues. Heart disease, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, stroke and high cholesterol are some of the conditions that are strongly linked to this.
How can I tell if I have too much visceral fat? There’s no way to know where and how much visceral fat is hidden in your body without expensive MRI test, however measuring your waist is a rough estimate. In women, 35 inches or more is a sign of visceral fat. In men, it’s 40 inches. This is a crude tool, especially if you’re a very big boned tall person. And if you’re of Asian descent, the benchmark for visceral fat drops to 31.5 inches for women and 35.5 inches for men.
A growing belly can be the result of both types of fat. For slim people we have no way of knowing if they are storing visceral fats except increase in body weight without extra muscle gain. Fats in the blood or a fatty liver may be an indication.
Excessive BMI may be an indicator, 30 or higher could be a sign of visceral fat. If you’re Asian, a BMI of 23 or higher could be a concern. However BMI can be inaccurate if you are carrying a lot of external muscle.
HOW CAN I PREVENT FAT BEING STORED AROUND MY ORGANS? Regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, exercise reduce stress and sleep longer, Limit alcohol
If you want to improve your health and nutrition, reduce your caffeine. Caffeine, particularly coffee, is highly addictive. When we have too much there are a variety of unpleasant side effects. When you withdraw from caffeine (as we do overnight) you need a hit just to feel normal, in the same way as a drug addict needs their hit to start the day.
Excess caffeine (more than 2 small cups per day) can cause:
- bad skin
- fat around the middle
- energy dips
- sleep problems
- irritability
- hormonal imbalance
- headaches
Buck the trend and swap coffee for naturally decaffeinated coffee or even better water.
Foods, supplements and lifestyle tips you need to know!
Top Foods
• Garlic
• Onions
• Mushrooms – especially exotic such as Shitake and Oyster
• Berries (frozen or fresh), kiwi and citrus
Reduce sugar and alcohol.
Best Supplements
• Vitamin D3 essential during the winter as it’s our sunshine vitamin.
Are you taking the right dose?
I recommend 2,000 iu during the winter – most over the counter D Supplements are only 400 iu
• Probiotics capsules such as the ones from http://www.biocare.co.uk
• Zinc 15mg per day (found in seafood and meat)
• Vitamin C (1000mg per day time released). Food is best ideally – citrus, kiwi, berries and pomegranates
Lifestyle
• Sleep – are you getting 7-8 hours?
What about coffee which impacts on sleep?
I recommend no more than 3 caffeinated drinks before 2pm.
Remember alcohol sedates, not promotes quality sleep
• Fresh air and daylight, even in the cold weather try and get a daily dose of fresh air and natural light.
• Move More – we can still keep moving even indoors.
There are plenty of free classes on line as well as yoga from YouTube
• Don’t Graze – over-snacking is common but our stomach needs a break from food so 3 meals a day works best.
Are you afraid to get hungry?
• How is your Mental health and who are you connecting with?
Find ways to connect with people who make you feel good, and don’t drain you.
• Start a health routine, allowing time to cook from scratch and to move more.
Are you thinking of having a dry January, if so what do you drink? Many soft drinks are high in sugar so I recommend Fevertree Naturally Light Tonics, or sparkling water with added fruit, or a squash without sweeteners and preservatives, such as Rocks or Belvoir. Kombucha which is a fermented drink is good for your gut, and coconut water is good for balancing electrolytes (something to bear in mind if you have been drinking)
If you want a grown up drink, here are some tasty alcohol free alternatives
Alcohol Free G &T
If you love gin but hate headaches, try creating a non-alcoholic version by infusing water with aromatics.
Method:
- Bring about three cups of water (750ml), 3 tbsp crushed juniper berries, a few cardamom pods, lemon peel and a little black tea to the boil.
- Cool, then strain and mix with tonic and lime.
Mulled cleanse drink
- Dilute unsweetened cranberry juice with a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part cranberry juice.
- Add ½ teaspoon of ginger and cinnamon and simmer for 10 minutes
- Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Add the juice of 3 oranges and 3 lemons and stir. Sweeten with a little Stevia or maple syrup
- Sip slowly
Our lives are so fast paced, there are massive expectations of us, however the majority of people could feel better by changes to their diet, plus a few simple adjustments to their lifestyle.
Below are the main causes of fatigue:
1. Balanced blood sugar – a diet high in refined carbohydrates & sugar can affect your blood sugar levels giving you energy highs and lows.
2. Stimulants – caffeine, sugar hype you up, but relying on them depletes your natural energy reserves.
3. Sleep apnea, stimulants, alcohol and lack of relaxation interferes with sleep / wake cycles leaving you unrefreshed.
4. The wrong lunch –a lunch high in carbohydrates can cause afternoon sleepiness
5. Too much stress can increase cortisol levels which impact on blood sugar and immunity.
6. Get iron levels and B12 checked at the GP. Anaemia can cause tiredness. B12 works best subliquinally or via injection
7. Thyroid – an underactive thyroid causes a sluggish metabolism and tiredness. A TSH reading of more than 2.5 needs nutritional support
8. ME / Chronic Fatigue – when the body has undergone prolonged physical or emotional stress, it shuts down. ME or Chronic Fatigue is a cry for help from your body.
9. Is the heart pumping well, are the blood vessels clogged, is respiration and oxygen delivery good?
10. Recharge & relax – Rest is something we do if we have time when everything else is complete. If you don’t make time to relax, your body won’t cope and you will feel fatigued and become physically or mentally ill.
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