Nutritional Advice

Moving away from the theme of viruses – hooray! –  and talking to you today about the FODMAPS diet, specifically the low FODMAPS diet.
If you’re wondering what this word even means, it’s an acronym for terms describing certain carbohydrates (and their fermentable effect on digestion):  Fermentable Oligosaccharides Disaccharides Monosaccharides And Polyols.
Easy to understand why the acronym’s preferred.  Those carbs are quite a mouthful!

Fodmaps are found naturally in a wide range of foods.  They are different types of carbohydrates that are not easily absorbed in the gut, and which therefore can kick off IBS-type symptoms in some people.

Due to this diversity of potentially troublesome carbs it can be difficult to navigate the low FODMAPS diet, so here is a broad brush stroke of information to help you decide if you want to give it a go, either with a therapist, or on your own.

Let’s look a bit closer at this acronym.
Fermentables:  This is what happens when your gut bacteria ferments undigested carbohydrates.
Oligosaccharides: mainly found in wheat, rye, pulses but also garlic and onions..and more.
Disaccharides: mainly in dairy produce, including those yoghurts you might be eating daily because you believe they’re healthy (which they are for some, and perhaps for you, once you’ve been eating low FODMAP and introduced it later, in a small way; possibly only occasionally.  All very individual).
Monosaccharides:  these mainly cover fructose and include a variety of fruit plus honey – and corn syrups (do read labels when you go shopping!)
Polyols:  these are also found in different veg and fruit; also in articial sweeteners.

First thing to keep in mind when considering this diet is that you have to be dealing with IBS symptoms.  This isn’t a weight loss programme, nor is it a particularly healthy diet to keep in your life.  On the contrary.  As it excludes a lot of normally healthy prebiotic foods, this is an eating regime to do SHORT-TERM in order to reduce your IBS-ish symptoms.  Some prebiotic foods are included but not many, and you need these prebiotics for a healthy gut, for your diversely populated microbiome, hence this isn’t a diet for the long haul.

I normally suggest two to three weeks with clients, but if you’re feeling vastly better on it then an extra week or two is fine.  Monash university, which developed it in the first place years ago, and have an excellent app (more about that below), states you can follow it up to eight weeks.  Personally, I prefer clients to move back onto some of those ‘missed’ higher FODMAP foods earlier than that.

And this brings me to the next stage of the diet.  After your three or so weeks of ‘low’ eating, you then gradually introduce one higher FODMAP food, from one of the above groups, back into your menu to see how it feels, to check if you react and have symptoms.

This sort of challenge is what a lot of clients try out in order to identify ‘intolerance’ foods.  Exclude then reintroduce, one at a time, giving yourself days inbetween to allow some slower symptoms to emerge – or not.

With the FODMAPS approach – which is not about intolerance foods but about hard-to-digest carbs – once you’ve followed it for your two or three weeks, you then introduce a higher FODMAP food to your meal.  In a small way the first time, then building up slightly the following day.  On the third day you try a ‘normal’ (not huge!) amount of that food with your meal.

I recommend waiting a couple of days before you try another new higher FODMAPS food so that you’re not overloading your digestion, not challenging it too much.
Some people find their old gut symptoms return when they’re stepping up the amounts, so back off with that food, wait a couple of days and then try another higher FODMAP food.  Waiting those two days inbetween these trials gives pause for your digestion.

Always play it safe.  Stick to re-introducing one new food in one FODMAP group at a time.  Start small and gradually.
Everyone is different.  Some digestions are more sensitive or reactive than others, and this is one reason why it may help to work with a practitioner.
Another reason to work with someone:  You might be starting this diet because you feel you’ve “tried everything”.  Left out gluten then excluded that daily biscuit or sweet, reduced wine hugely, stopped the pizzas, left out some cheese.
This approach can often be too random, and if nothing else, there should be a logical and informed plan to how you go about changing your diet.  Some people may want the support of a nutritionist or naturopath with this plan.

Also important to be aware of is that a lot of gut distress can be due to overgrowths of yeasts or bacteria or parasites.  Stool tests would then be indicated, or other home test kits to rule out SIBO or gut permeability for instance.  Dietary changes alone won’t clear up an overgrowth of pathogenic gut bacteria, and eliminating sugars (& using a pessary) won’t resolve systemic candida.

Stress, too, can play a huge role.  In clinic, when talking about stress, often a client will say, ‘yes I’m stressed but isn’t everyone?’  Short-term stress, sure.  That’s part of life, and your body is wonderfully geared to coping with it.
Ongoing chronic stress, however, should never be considered the norm.  A low FODMAPS diet might relieve some gut symptoms but if underlying anxiety, stress, anger or insomnia are big in your life, the triggers to your digestive distress, then switching diets won’t be the magic bullet.  (Luckily there are lots of other magic bullets that can help you!)

All this low and high FODMAP food talk may sound like a pfaff but you can either work with a therapist or use something like the Monash University FODMAP app.  And if you don’t use apps there are some excellent online lists of food and recipes you can print off.

If working on your own, take your time to read about the FODMAP diet first.  Get your head around the aim of the diet, the foods and stages it involves so you are fully committed and have your kitchen stocked and those menu plans in place.  And don’t feel you have to eat a food just because it’s low FODMAP.  If you don’t normally want a banana, don’t eat it just because it’s ‘allowed’!

For those of you thinking life will be a vegetable misery for the weeks you’re on this diet you’ll be jumping for joy.  There are loads of fab veg which are low in FODMAPS.   Animal protein isn’t a problem, and there are good options for vegetarians like tempeh, eggs, quorn…

The above photo shows just a few vegetables I had at hand for some clients last month.  Instead of their regular follow-up, we had an extra hour of going through the foods together, then cooking a couple of dishes and eating the low FODMAP way.

Key points to remember:
First make sure this diet is right for you, that you’ve ruled out other players such as gut overgrowths, intolerance foods, stress….
Work with a therapist if you can, especially regarding the above issues you may not have considered.
If going it alone, I recommend downloading the above-mentioned Monash University app. There are other apps on the market – do take a look online – but this is the one I’m familiar with and which is specifically for tracking and working with FODMAPS and not overall diets.  Otherwise, google low FODMAPS diet and print off the food and menu lists.  Get your kitchen and your head ready for a couple of weeks of changed meals.

If you’d like any more information about the FODMAP diet I always offer 15 mins free calls.  And if you have any other worries about diet, health or well being do please contact me for a chat.

I’ve stopped 1:1 consultations during these times of social distancing, but skype, facetime and landline consultations work really well and have been part of my clinic for years.  Our voices and ears are in fine form and can side-step viruses to cross towns, counties and oceans via amazing technology.
How lucky we are for that!

It’s almost February, which seems so unlikely as the year only just began moments ago, surely?

In keeping with my new year’s resolution (which actually only dawned on me a week ago, well past new year, oops) I’m going to post more health info blogs on my website rather than just the short social media chat and occasional recipes.
This will keep me on my toes with some mindful research and deliberation, and will hopefully give you something to read and think about; a chance to make comments and suggestions as it’s all a learning game.  We are indeed unique, so our experiences will be very individual.

 

On this last day of the first month (and almost the eleventh hour! Been a long day…) I’m kicking off with the somewhat prosaic topic of high cholesterol.
Oh I know, it feels like we’ve been here, done that, however, in the last two days I’ve seen four clients who came for very different health reasons but all have alarmingly high cholesterol.  Scarily high LDL in fact (more about that below).
I took it as a sign to blog about some cholesterol facts and foods.
Apart from this coincidence – these four clients sharing more than they will ever know – the topic of cholesterol has become quite a controversial one; well worth having a chat about.

Contrary to conventional medical thinking these past decades, many studies now show that high cholesterol is NOT the be-all and end-all of CV risk.
A big statement, some may think, however these studies are proving that the measure of cholesterol is not always relevant.
Some people have a high ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol but are living to a healthy heart-attack-free age because, in part at least, their equally rising ‘good’ cholesterol has been offering them protecton.  Studies are also showing that when high cholesterol IS relevant to a person’s heart health, it’s not the only ‘measure’ that plays a significant role.  As I said, it’s not the be-all and end-all of CV disease.
This is not to say we ignore it altogether.
There is a place on the heart health table for trying to keep high cholesterol in check; certainly if there are other contributing negative factors gathering around that table.  Factors such as eating the wrong foods, chronic stress, insufficient exercise, overall body inflammation, smoking, weight gain (obesity is inflammatory and, like stress, it worsens all conditions), familial history of strokes and heart attack, and age (we remove excess cholesterol less efficiently as we get older).

What is cholesterol anyway?
A waxy fat-like substance that’s surprisingly important to our health.  It helps make our hormones, converts sunshine (when it’s around!) to vitamin D, is necessary for digestion and brain function, and assists in the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients.  Vital in fact for all our cell membranes, so we really don’t want to have too little of it.

When we talk about cholesterol we’re actually talking about the lipoproteins that carry cholesterol around our bloodstream.  These are fat on the inside and protein on the out and come in various forms, the two most relevant being, LDL (low-density lipoprotein, the so-called ‘baddie’ of the two, but yes there’s more to it than that regarding particle size and actual ‘badness’; too involved to go through here but there are excellent sites to read about these).  And secondly, HDL, the high density lipoprotein which is the ‘good’ cholesterol as it’s protective in that it takes excess cholesterol back to the liver where it’s then used or excreted. (It’s the efficiency of this disposal which can slow down with age, as mentioned above).  By removing excess cholesterol the build-up of fatty plaque in your arteries is avoided;  a build-up which is associated with low density lipoprotein, LDL and which can then lead to narrowing of the arteries and atherosclerosis.

When you have your cholesterol measured it’s the ratio of these two – LDL and HDL – that’s important to be aware of, not just the total number.

A large proportion of cholesterol that’s circulating in your blood is produced by the liver and intestines; the rest is from diet.  This may explain why some people with high cholesterol haven’t had the huge improvement – reduction – in ‘numbers’ that they expected after radically changing their dietary habits.

Nonetheless, for many people the effectiveness of dietary change regarding high cholesterol is extraordinary.  I’ve seen it in clinic;  one reason I wanted to write this post.  It’s an easy and very successful first port of call.  Together with getting off your sofa!

So, what are the foods that will make a difference, which will help you avoid taking medications, those statins that can have side effects and which are so very controversial?

Take a look at the photo accompanying this blog.
Eat more of these foods, the likes of flax seeds containing plant sterols that are shown to significantly lower cholesterol.  And oats with their soluble fibre.  More leafy green fibre such as spinach, chard, kale, radicchio, romaine lettuce, fennel, dandelion, spring greens, rocket, chicory… the list is endless!  And more cruciferous veg like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage.
Also tocotrienols – found in the Vit E family and in the likes of walnuts and virgin olive oil which have shown improvement in arterial health.
And turmeric, always!  It’s not just a way of lowering inflammation but it improves vascular function in coronary artery disease and can suppress early atherosclerotic lesions (similar to lovastatin).

Eat far less meat, less overall saturated fats, less ‘whites’ (rice, potatoes, sugar, flour), less fried foods, far less sugars and salt.
Give up smoking, hooray!
And try to get stress levels down, down….

Last but by no means least, get moving.
Exercise will help rebalance your body, move your blood, shift stagnation, drop some kilos, soften the stress in your life, improve energy and alertness, increase happy hormones – and will most definitely help lower your high cholesterol.

 

Recently I saw two new clients who are having serious problems eating food.  People with allergies and intolerances are frequent clients, however both these people have quite extreme issues going on.
One has been on such a restrictive diet for the past year he’s now frightened to try anything new, or for that matter anything old.  He saw his doctor in January who said he had IBS and reflux; he was given antacids and told to watch what he eats.
All year this man has been watching his food, to the point that there isn’t much now left on his plate to watch.  After seeing his doctor back in January, he began searching online, trying out too many different hypo-allergenic diets, gradually eliminating so many foods that he’s now left with a sad and paltry selection; some quite bizarre.  He’s tired all the time, he tells me, and has lost too much weight.  “My joints hurt. I don’t know what to eat coz everything gives me heartburn”.  As he talks his leg jiggles the table between us.

Another new client the day after was a woman eating a reasonably healthy diet.  After hearing, however, about her regular reactions that are verging on anaphalaxis, I was surprised – in awe! –  at the variety of food she’s actually coping with.
Her allergy consultant has prescribed steroids which she takes when she has these severe reactions, worse and more frequent in recent times:  A tightening in her chest and throat, swollen lips, breathlessness, sometimes a sudden drop in blood pressure.  Scary stuff indeed.  She’s had to swap meds several times as she reacts to those as well (no surprise).
“What can I eat?” she asked.  Such an upbeat smiley woman, I would’ve loved to have given her an instant answer.

So, what to recommend when food becomes the enemy?

It may sound simplistic, or like some grandmother’s proverb but the logical start is, heal the gut.  These words are repeated around the globe every day by most nutritional therapists I’m sure!  And not just when food intolerances or bloating, flatulence, reflux and the like have become issues.  Given that 70% of our immune system is in our gastrointestinal system, we should all be wanting our digestion to be as happy as possible.

Healing the gut might mean different things for different people.  Removing certain gut microbes that shouldn’t be there, or are running rampant; increasing beneficial gut bacteria, strengthening the gut wall junctions, improving bile flow, increasing low levels of digestive enzymes or gastric acid a.o.  Some or all of the above; depends on the individual.
At the same time, too, expanding that digestive picture to include other important players linked to the health of our GI tract –  like the endocrine and nervous systems.

Food naturally will come into it, has to be part of the equation.  Not just because we have to eat to survive, or because that’s why people seek out a nutritional therapist, to find out which foods they should eat.
More due to that well-worn saying, we are what we eat – so true (just a shame it’s lost its impact with over-use). 

Food is a big part of healing the GI tract, of reducing chronic inflammation, of sustaining energy and improving well being.  Some foods have the potential to scupper digestive, or overall health – just think how sugar can spike everything into chaos in the body when it takes over every meal and isn’t treated with caution, kept to just an occasional treat.
Other foods have the nutrients, the astonishing ability to improve our immune health.  Those superpower foods, the likes of turmeric, green tea, fish oils, rainbow plant-based and fermented foods.  Or simply eating a balanced diet with healthy fats and quality protein (not to mention the humble green leafy veg, my fave… I’ll stop there, lol!)

After this posed question – what can I eat? – a dialogue begins. Discussing family history and other current health issues;  peeling back the layers and connecting as many dots as possible.  Trying not to overwhelm with too much information – that can be hard.  Working through food diaries and the results of lab tests. Seeing some of the puzzle pieces come together.
More often than not, the first step will focus on that healing of the gut as well as making careful changes to diet and invariably to lifestyle as well.  Suggesting people change habits they may rely on because they are part of their history, or convenient, needs to be considered.  The process has to be manageable and not too unfamiliar or threatening.

Removing, replacing, healing and restoring.  Adapting to the individual, to that person’s specific needs.  It’s a process, one step at a time.  A sharing of knowledge where it’s important to respect the difficulties in play.  Showing how food can be such a powerful medicine – as well as something delicious to eat!  And always with the aim of helping clients make food their friend and not the enemy. 

Appleaday’s Xmas gift this year, a 10% discount on first consultations – skype or 1:1 – during the month of Feburary 2020.  Email or message me on social media for available dates & times.

(Please note: the two clients above gave me permission to use some of their information.  I’ve kept it as general and vague as possible for privacy reasons).

 

Last week’s online docuseries, ‘The Broken Brain’, looked at so many different aspects of brain health that I thought it would be a great theme to address here in my blog over the coming months.

Today’s focus is on depression.  Not only do I see it a lot in clinic but also this is a condition that’s not gender or age specific.  It’s global; it’s on the rise.

Some of the recommendations I’m sharing from ‘The Broken Brain’ may initially sound too difficult.  Exercise can be a hard one for some when motivation is missing.

Or it may sound trite hearing “don’t eat processed, reduce sugar”.  I agree, this isn’t new news, but the science behind it, which I’ll be sharing here, makes so much sense and can be empowering.

However deep you may be in your illness, here are some ideas and recommendations from the docuseries – gems of information to add to what you may or may not already be doing.

Depression can be such a complex, and sometimes seemingly impenetrable, health condition which is why the functional medicine approach works well.  It looks at the whole picture rather than just the symptoms plus it can give more time to the patient, which is often lacking in conventional medicine.

Antidepressants or SSRIs may be valid short-term conventional remedies to get you through a period of depression due to, say, grieving or trauma or stress.  They may end up being part of the prescriptive ‘whole’ treatment for someone, however, there can be side-effects to medications – an emotional blunting or a feeling of un-wellness as well as all the other mentioned side effects listed in the medication box!
(Saying that, if you are taking medication you must never stop cold turkey. Discuss any changes you’d like to make with your doctor or healthcare professional. Reductions should be made slowly, gradually, and with supervision).

Like most chronic health conditions, there are many different possible players with depression.

The first questions to answer may sound simplistic for a disorder that’s so multifaceted:
How did it all start? What else was going on at the time?  You may not know yourself – what did indeed kick start it all!?  It may feel like something you’ve lived with forever.

There are therapies that can help here – counselling or CBT or psychotherapy to name but a few.   Search online, read about what is available in your area and seek support.

An action plan, however, that you can try for yourself could be to mentally page through your life’s events, writing a journal, putting down memories that come into your head.  Doors can open up and let fresh air blow in, awakening thoughts which may help your process of understanding why you feel the way you do.
Possibly an ah-ha moment or two.

There are currently 3 epidemics that are affecting mental health – and overall health – in a big way.

1)    Too much cortisol.  This is an important stress hormone that works in tandem with adrenalin, another stress hormone; cortisol is supposed to ease off once the stressful situation – say, a tiger attack – is over.
I say tiger attack because this is how your body still functions.  Nothing has changed much since early man’s days, so your body can’t differentiate between that tiger attack, or being stuck in traffic or running very late for an appointment.  There’s no sliding scale, no ‘less’ pumping of stress hormones.
In our current society, cortisol levels often stay raised because the stress doesn’t stop, it just moves from one deadline to the next, from one traffic jam or ‘must do’ situation to the next.  Finances, relationships, children, partners, jobs, school pick-ups, cooking meals…you name it, they are all potential and willing stressors in today’s fast paced world.
Even ‘playtime’ can be stressful (& is often self-imposed) with less outdoor sport or walks and social interaction, and more ‘online’ time, computer screens, social media time, mobile texting.

Stress is a big driver of depression.  It cannot be underestimated.
Walking and even gentle movement if you find you can’t do more robust exercise, can relieve it by releasing endorphins, those happy neurotransmitters, especially if you combine it with scenery – the green outdoors, fresh air, parks, forests – and light.

Walking in sunshine ticks that other ‘outdoor’ box.  Vitamin D, which is often low with depression, is made in your body and requires good cholesterol levels (cholesterol is not always the enemy!), and exposure to sunshine, at least 15 minutes on bare legs, arms, face…the more the better.  Out of season, you could try using a lightbox.

Other de-stressors could be hobbies, movement classes (stretching, pilates, yoga) and mindfulness, a term we are hearing a lot at the moment – probably because it works!
There are currently so many mindfulness groups and sessions available around the country, around the world, so take a look at local noticeboards in your library, or ask in your local surgery or wellness centre.
For those who love ‘apps’, there is a plethora of relaxation apps – Insight Timer and Headspace to name just two.  These can also help with sleep which is so essential for brain health.  Even being deprived of sleep for only a couple of nights can heighten sensations of negativity and low mood!

2)    Too much insulin.
Every time you eat something sweet, the hormone insulin is released from the pancreas to get the blood sugar back in balance, to move that sugar/energy to the body’s cells where the brain is assuming it must be needed (why else would this body have eaten so much glucose – must need energy to run away from that tiger, assumes the brain).

Think how many times a day you may be eating something sweet – from that white toast, to the pure orange juice (no fibre to slow down the sugar spike) and the biscuit or chocolate and evening glass of beer….
Insulin is being summoned by the brain again and again throughout your day – used and abused until your body becomes insulin resistant, unresponsive to the very hormone that is trying to keep blood sugar balanced.
This is our current diabetes, aka insulin epidemic. Worldwide.

Another fact about sugar is that it causes inflammation in the body plus, if inflammation is already going on – being overweight, ill from viral, bacterial infections, allergies, joint pain, migraines  a.o. – it will just make things worse.

I’m referring to sugar in any form, not just the white stuff with your cuppa.  Sugar in honey, maple syrup, alcohol, white bread (chew long enough and note how sweet those simple sugars in the bread taste) and fruit – but yes, fruit has fibre to slow down the sugar hit in the blood plus vitamins, phytonutrients, antioxidants – so a little is good.
And, most important, hidden sugars added to processed foods, often in the form of ‘ose’ names on labels (maltose, fructose, dextrose, lactose… loads of ose!)
Google all forms of sugar and be astounded.
Too many canned, bottled, packaged foods contain these ‘-ose’ sugars because your taste buds love them, they’re addictive, and so they sell and make money for the manufacturers at your health’s expense.  Bluntly stated.

If you’re suffering from depression you may not like hearing that the very sweet food which feels like it’s lifting your mood is actually making your depression worse.  The fact is, the lift is temporary.  No sooner do you get that blood sugar spike, the brain will want to get it back to normal by calling in the insulin to drag it out of your blood – and you’ll experience a crash.  That in turn will make you reach for yet more sugar.
Up and down, this seesaw can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes, weight gain and more depression.

Stopping sugar cold turkey is not the answer, but slowly reducing it might be.  And what a great step forward – to help not just your mind, but to reduce the inflammation in your body and keep diabetes at a distance.

What can you eat instead?  Fruit, as mentioned above, has many great nutrients, and will still help satisfy the sweet tooth to some extent.  Best eaten in moderation – a couple of fruit a day such as a handful of berries, stewed apples or pears, some banana.  Adding warm spices to stewed fruit such as cardamom or cinnamon will also help with blood sugar balancing.
And then an occasional sweet treat, a reward treat that you keep under control – as much as possible 🙂

Small steps are so effective – don’t beat yourself up if they don’t work all the time.  Early days, one step at a time.

3) The third epidemic is not having enough thyroid hormone.
The endocrine – hormone – system is interconnected which means that the aforementioned adrenal stress can have a knock-on effect on your thyroid hormone.
Burning the candle at both ends for too long can result in adrenal fatigue and possibly hypothyroidism (you can also become hypothyroid via an auto immune route, but that’s another story for another day).
Your thyroid gland is responsible for your metabolism, for how efficiently you function, how energetic you feel, how fast your body digests and eliminates food and so on.
A healthy thyroid is about feeling sparkly rather than sluggish; feeling upbeat rather than low.

Its health will affect other hormones and neurotransmitters and has a direct impact on your nervous system health.  Low thyroid – hypothyroidism – often has depression as one of its symptoms, so ask your doctor to check your thyroid levels because your depression may actually be a result of low thyroid function.

Drivers of inflammation that can lead to depression reel of the tongue easily:
Diet, stress, lack of exercise, toxins, infections….I’ve talked about some of these already.

Diet plays a huge role.  Are you eating the necessary nutrients that will help make your hormones and neurotransmitters in order to keep your nervous system healthy and buoyant?

Good levels of protein – for cellular repair and feeling satiated – such as oily fish – ideal also for their brain-supportive DHA/EPA healthy fat levels – but also organic chicken, some organic or free-range meats, local lamb….
And if you’re vegetarian and don’t have intolerances or problems digesting pulses and eggs (choline in eggs, yes, another great brain food), do include these daily.

Go for smart carbs with low glycaemic load – all those rainbow vegetables which smack of vitality.
The more colour, the more phytonutrients they contain! These colours, just like the strong tastes or smells in certain foods (think of garlic, onion, cruciferous veg etc), equate to the plant’s effective defence system and dense phytonutrient content that will improve your own defences, your immune system and general wellbeing – and subsequently your state of mind.

The brain is the fattiest organ in your body.  About 60% in fact.  Therefore essential fatty acids, specifically omega 3s, are crucial for good brain function.  Oily fish are the best source, but flaxseed, chia, all sorts of wild plants contain levels of omega 3s.  (If you were going to supplement anything, it would be omega 3 fish oils that I’d be recommending first of all).

Consider, too, the healthy fats found in nuts and seeds, in avocados, olives and olive oil…  And the saturated vegetable fat in coconut oil – how wonderful because saturated fats don’t oxidise in the brain the way unsaturated fats can be prone to free radical damage.

The next aspect to consider is, are you absorbing what you eat?  I’ve seen more lab tests this year showing hidden infections and intestinal permeability than ever before.  These will be compromising digestion & as a result will reduce absorption of the nutrients in your food.
If you have digestive symptoms – discomfort, reflux, flatulence, burping, pain – it would be invaluable to have a comprehensive stool test (sadly our NHS does not offer these tests) to ascertain if any hidden infections are in play.

Toxins!  A huge topic, but briefly a lot of people can react negatively, with mood disorders, to toxic exposure such as chemical cleaning agents, fumes from carpets and paints a.o.  Think about any toxic exposure you may have in the work place – chemicals? Mould in the building?  Smokers around you?
Heavy metals is another blog in itself, but needless to say, this will be pulling down your immune system, and that in turn will affect your mind health.  No myth that mercury caused the hatters of old to go mad.  It is indeed toxic to the brain and can still be found in some amalgams, and certainly in some fish esp. large, old fish such as tuna, swordfish…

Finally and so importantly, exercise… or movement.  Whatever you would like to call it!  Whether it’s kickboxing or running or cycling or fast walking, rowing…..
There are so many options, you just need to find the one that appeals.  Dancing may be your thing!  All will be great for circulation, for bone health, for improving motivation and increasing those ‘happy’ hormones.

A last word about supplements.
There are a lot of supplements which you can read about online, and which are advertised to relieve your depression.

It is something to consider however start with the food you’re eating, the thoughts you’re thinking.  Add a generous dash of daily movement, some kind and helpful support, tests from your doctor or private labs to rule out thyroid or gut issues….and take it from there.

You may find that swapping some foods, adding others, and going to a local zumba class gives you the uplifting start you need.
There are certainly wonderful herbs and complexes to suit all sorts of mood problems.  All very individual, so it’s best to speak to a functional medicine therapist about it.

Make a start and then see where you want to go from there.  Wishing you well on your journey!

I’ve had an afternoon of discovering all sorts of facts about figs, from reading online sources and my tome of a herbal compendium.  Also after picking loads of them earlier today from a heavily-laden tree – a battle between me and the wasp population of Kefalonia!

According to Dr Mercola’s site, the fig has been around so long that remnants of the fruit have been found in Neolithic excavation sites dating back to c 5000 BC.  It was thought to have first been cultivated in Egypt, then brought to Ancient Crete and then onto mainland Greece around 9th century BC.  Here the fig was held in such esteem that laws prohibited the export of the best quality ones – much the same as in Ancient Rome, where it was also considered sacred; in fact the wolf that nurtured the twin founders of Rome – Romulus and Remus – is pictured resting beneath a fig tree.  A random fact!

if you’re waiting to see a fig flower you’ll wait a long time and end up very frustrated. The tree doesn’t blossom as you’d expect since the flowers are on the inside, producing all those mini seeds you bite into when you eat them.

I’m not a fan of wasps, as many will know, but it’s a tiny wasp that pollinates the fig tree – hooray for some wasp benefits.  However, it’s also the larger wasp variety that’s currently beating me to the fruit – and happy to sting for them!

There’s such a wide variety of fig fruit, from the purple-skinned/pink flesh ‘Black Mission’, to the ‘Brown Turkey’ (purple skinned/red flesh), to ‘Kadota’, Calymyrna’ and ‘Adriatic’ (green-skinned/beige-pink flesh) – and many more.
I’ve used the green Adriatic fig for my jam recipe that I recently pictured on instagram (and is the ‘mush’ photo above); this is also the type which is most commonly used to make fig bars.

Before they’re perfectly ripe, the fruit are sticky with ‘latex’ which can really irritate the skin, so if you’re picking them early, wear gloves.

As for their health benefits, apart from being high in fibre – definitely their global claim to fame – figs are a great source of minerals such as magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper and calcium; a large fig provides as much calcium as 1/2 cup milk.

Figs are also high in Vitamins K and B6, and are a high anti oxidant source [antioxidants fight so -called free radicals which our bodies have to deal with on a daily basis, both from natural metabolic processes producing ‘rubbish’, to external environmental sources adding to that toxic load].

The riper the fig, the more antioxidants they provide – and interestingly, all the nutrients mentioned above are potentiated when the fruit is dried.

What else?  In some cultures, fig leaves are also on the menu; the leaves apparently have anti-diabetic properties and can reduce the amount of insulin needed by those requiring injections. Saying that, don’t randomly eat the leaves!  A liquid extract was made from these leaves in a monitored lab study, and added to the breakfast of insulin-dependent diabetic subjects, resulting in these surprisingly beneficial facts.  Perhaps a qualified herbalist will be able to tell us more – please do if you’re reading this!

Figs are used as poultices for wounds and warts, plus the fruit and leaves have been crushed and then gargled to relieve sore throats.  Dried figs supposedly are heart protective, have inhibitive effects regarding some cancers esp. post menopausal breast cancer (according to the Mercola site), lower blood pressure and seem to have benefits re macular degeneration – more studies needed, however, on that last one as I’ve found no research results other than the obvious antioxidant benefits.

So, overall, figs are a fab fruit.
Make the most of them whilst they’re in season 🙂
I add them to my no-grain granola – the recipe for that  can be found on a past recipe page here – and it was easy to make a compote or jam.  You can also roast them with a drizzle of honey or add to a rocket salad or make an Ottolenghi-type tart with fetta…or just buy one and enjoy it as is.  The possibilities are endless and delicious!

 

I was talking about the Special Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) with a client yesterday, and how there are similarities to the paleo diet in that the foods recommended are the ones that early man ate before agriculture began.
If we think what a positive impact agriculture has had, giving us a global food source which many cultures literally rely on, why is it that grains can have such a negative impact on some people?

According to Breakingtheviciouscycle.info, a SCD site which offers loads of information, testimonials and recipes, we evolved over millions of years, eating predominantly meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts and fruits.

Starches, legumes (lentils, chickpeas, borlotti beans and so on), and grains (bread, pasta, crispbreads, biscuits, cakes…. I’m being very explicit here for anyone in denial ;),  are considered the new foods on the block.

The complex carbohydrates, the disaccharides and polysaccharides in these ‘new’ foods are simply harder to digest, especially for people whose digestions are more sensitive, reactive or inflammed due to a number of other possible underlying causes apart from diet.

Keeping it simple, getting back-to-basics (ie. early man diet!) seems to work wonders in people who have digestive problems – in particular those with IBD such as Crohn’s disease of Ulcerative colitis (UC).

This morning a fascinating blog from Timeforwellness popped into my inbox and, again, the topic of SCD came up.  This time discussion of a study looking into the benefits of SCD regarding infectious bowel diseases.

A small study of 12 patients set out to assess the impact of  SCD in paediatric patients with mild to moderate Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis.

The results were so heartening!

After 12 weeks on the diet, disease activity had decreased considerably for both diseases, and the C-reactive protein (CRP is one of a few inflammatory markers used in practice to measure ‘inflammation’ in the body) had normalized in most patients.  Even the stool analyses showed significant changes in microbial composition.
For 10 of the 12 patients, dietary therapy proved to be extremely effective.

Remission and normalization in patients with IBD is what anyone with these diseases would hope for.

As the SCD is quite limiting, it’s best to work with a health professional or nutritional therapist who will help put a diet plan together and also help you rule out other triggers or mediators in the disease process.