Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
Category: Practical Nutrition
Hopefully we now have sunny days urging us to think more about Mediterranean style eating? By this I mean eating in a relaxed manner, preferably with good company; and savouring the flavours of fresh food. How you eat at every meal can dramatically alter your digestion.
So out with eating on the hop or at your desk, watching TV, reading, having an argument or simply not enjoying the food.
In with pleasant aromas, convivial conversations or fond memories, enjoying textures and attractive crockery or flowers on the table - making eating a sensory pleasure.
It has been suggested (Julian Baggini, Welcome to Everytown a journey into the English mind) that us English are very out of touch with good eating, in both the quality of food and our eating styles. We have lost (or maybe never had?) the social function of food. Excuses are easy in a fast life but just maybe it is time to slow down a little, enjoy some simple pleasures and find new ones. And benefit from better digestion and vigour, leading to more productivity. Win Win !
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
These and countless others are being promoted for your new year purging after recent (and not so recent) binges.
'diet' means a regulated selection
'purge' means to remove; rid of sin or guilt
'binge' means unrestrained self-indulgence
Every diet has worked for someone, yet quite probably won't work for you.
Why? I'll offer just one reason for now -
We live in a culture of binge and purge. A new diet (and diet equals deprivation) idea works for say three weeks, then temptation, hunger or convenience rise up and just a little something you like becomes bigger and bigger and...
So either you live with a few more pounds than you started with or get back onto the diet treadmill for another willpower workout.
Forget it.
Eat healthy, natural foods as much as you possibly can, avoiding all those things you know to avoid because they:
- make you fat
- make you tired
- waste your hard earned money
- raise your blood pressure
- give you indigestion
- bring you out in spots
and let wholesome foods do all the hard work for your body.
If you are serious about a life change then Keto diets are much the same as we had in the olden days, less choice and healthier options. There are plenty of books in our waiting room to leaf through and we can give first hand advice as we also do the keto and intermittent fasting for great health.
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
In an ideal world we would probably eat three healthy meals a day and never experience hunger. However, many people function better with three meals and two snacks a day as it helps keep blood sugars and energy more even. A poor choice of snack on a regular basis will quickly sabotage all the best intentions for a healthy lifestyle or weight loss plan.
So, here are some Good snack ideas:
- Fruit e.g. apples and pears
- Raw veg e.g. carrots, celery
- Nuts and seeds
- Smoothie - home-made (there is little nutrition in packaged smoothies)
- Bean salad
- Soup - home-made (which can be purchased) not tinned or packet
- Stew - home-made transported in a food flask
- Quinoa or other grain e.g. millet and salad or beans etc.
- Fish & salad
- Wholemeal bread / toast / pitta with butter and e.g. tinned fish, cheese, nut butter
- Natural yoghurt
- Oats - flapjack or porridge etc.
- Home-made biscuits & cakes - ingredients chosen with care
Bad snack ideas will probably not harm you now and then, but for every day I suggest you think twice before eating convenient junk foods. You are what you eat. Your body's cells of tomorrow are made from the food you eat today. Think before you eat.
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
Healthy calves grow into healthy cows by drinking milk in its natural state just as nature intended. Calves fed our pasteurized milk fail to thrive and their internal organs are sickly. And dogs drink natural dog milk, natural horse milk is for horses...do humans need pasteurized, homogenized cows milk in order to be healthy humans?
Worldwide it is a minority of humans who consume milk after weaning, quite possibly because of a lack of enzymes to digest it.
Scientific papers do not support the notion of milk as a 'perfect food'. Indeed scientists have linked milk with health problems including intestinal irritation, allergic reactions, heart disease and an increased risk of some cancers.
As someone who carries out food intolerance and sensitivity testing and advice, I know many people have problems digesting milk and feel so much better without it in their regular diet. How about going dairy free for a while and see if any unpleasant symptoms subside? This is especially recommended with a cold and / or congestion. Rice milk, oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk are healthy alternatives which you can try.
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
'Low salt', 'no salt', 'salt substitute' - you've heard it all before. There are hundreds of salts in nature, so it is left to our assumption that these references are to the common salt used in your kitchen. So how can salt be worth its weight in gold in some cultures? Or have been used by healers for centuries? Or why do animals need a salt lick?
Our body holds water inside and outside cells and salt is needed to keep the balance. To read up on over 25 functions of salt in your body pick up a copy of 'Water & Salt your healers from within' by Dr F Batmanghelidj. You can also listen to some recorded interviews with the Dr and Tony Robbins on this link http://www.watercure.com/media/interview.html
Regular table salt has had its minerals removed (and maybe sold to animal food processors) and its chemical structure altered by intense heat, leaving a poison which you will need to flush out of your body. So yes, avoid this salt like the plague. Be wary of rock and sea salts which can also be mineral deficient and subjected to heat processing. Stick with unrefined sea salt (Celtic or Atlantic) or Himalayan Rock Salt and you will be consuming a natural product, processed by nature and still retaining over 80 minerals to feed your body and bones.
I have found Atlantic Sea Salt in Canterbury Wholefoods and Wingham Farmers Market. Celtic Sea Salt in shaker tubs is available from me, Nicola at Plus Nutrition!
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
Evidently in this nation we eat about 9 times as much potato as rice. This is hardly surprising given our agricultural heritage; furthermore those of us of European ancestry often lack the enzymes needed to digest rice on a regular basis - once or twice a week is usually enough.
Most rice we buy is white rice which has had its' outer germ layer and bran along with their nutrients removed. Further polishing removes the essential fats leaving a nutrient deficient product that will spike your blood sugar levels while failing to satisfy or feed you.
As an example, polished white rice has lost 90% of its original vitamin B6 and 60% of its iron. However, brown rice won't keep as long as white, so ideally store it in the fridge for up to 6 months and keep an eye on its 'use by' date so it doesn't go rancid.
Do yourself a favour, buy brown rice and you will eat more healthy fibre too. You will soon get used to longer cooking times and more chewing – and chewing food thoroughly is good for your digestion!
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x
'Avoid the white Stuff' continues this month because I want you to feel guilty - you might be harming yourself whenever you eat sugar.
According to an article in the British Medical Journal sugar should be classified as a drug as it is harmful and addictive. We naturally gravitate to sweet tastes as in nature this indicates nutritious food to eat. Nature has no refined sugars and here lies the problem for us. Refined sugars, so common in most processed foods including savoury items, contain no food value and can draw essential minerals from our teeth and bones as well as making us fat and lethargic.
Biologically we should be eating sugars in their natural whole food state, for example a whole apple or carrot. Refined sugars convert very rapidly into blood sugar which gives us a quick fix burst of energy, rapidly followed by a drop leaving us, at best, looking for more sugar.
For long, slow release of energy and a healthier body eat whole foods as close to natural as possible. The more sugar you eat, the more you want. Try without for a few days and notice the difference in your body, that is, once you get over the withdrawal symptoms.
Remember, sugar is like an addictive drug.
For workshops helping you to live in health and vitality nicola@plusnutrition.co.uk
If you have read much about healthy eating you will no doubt have come across 'Avoid the White Stuff'. It is excellent advice to avoid white flour, white (and brown) sugar, white rice, white salt (unrefined salt is pink or grey) and to go easy on the milk. The refining process strips vitamins, minerals and trace elements from whole foods rendering them something that will fill you but not feed you. Digesting them can cause a further drain on your body's resources and clog you up.
Let's look at the first of these:
Our bodies are not designed to function on white flour although it has been an important part of our typical diet since the 19th century. Processed white flour is deficient in vitamins B and E and minerals including chromium, zinc and manganese. Do you think you need these nutrients?
Wholemeal bread and flour products would be a better choice, leaving white flour products such as pastry, biscuits and cake for occasional 'treats' only. Or maybe you could substitute other grains for wheat? Many people feel much better when they avoid eating wheat altogether; if you feel less fit than you should, this could be worth a try.
For Practical Nutrition tips and support contact nicola@plusnutrition.co.uk
You have heard me many times before and most of you have seen the amazing results it gave to me last year! Well if you want to make a change, here it is, TOTALLY FREE, The Elimination Diet!
So what’s the deal, what can’t you have if you go on the Elimination Diet? I didn’t say it was going to be easy! This is a brief list and will be expanded on when you download the Dax Moy Diet - click here or see the link at the end
NO processed or pre packaged foods (ready meals), No Wheat, No Alcohol, No Caffeine (tea, coffee, soda etc), No Dairy ( except eggs, live organic yoghurt and butter) No Red meats and No Sugar.
But on a positive note this is only for 30 days.
When did you last do something so positive for your body? Remember that whatever you put in your mouth is being used to fuel your system, everything! The cake, crisps and even the wine are creating the new cells in your body. Make your body amazing by removing all the toxins for just 30 days, and have the benefit of looking and feeling so much better, as well as losing the fat that has been stored for a long time.
Love and energy,
Liz and Jessica x