functional nutrition

Calcium for bone health

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I’ve never been a fan of numbers, not in maths at school nor in my work as a nutritionist. Counting calories, for instance, has not been a tool I’ve wanted or needed when helping people gain or lose weight. Not only can calorie counting rob food of its delight and purpose, but it can morph into an unhealthy preoccupation, become disordered, turning into a cause of mental distress.  There are far easier and more enjoyable ways to lose or gain weight.

Back to numbers.  Despite all the above proclamations I have been counting over the past month, not calories or days till our hols, but milligrams of calcium.

This is mainly due to two women I saw in clinic, both of whom have osteopenia (reduced bone density) and are concerned about the progression to osteoporosis, a disease of serious bone loss and fragility. This alerted me, among other alerts, to their calcium intake.

Both their food diaries showed a distinct lack of calcium foods.  One woman, in her early fifties, is lactose intolerant and therefore not eating dairy (dairy being the biggest calcium source, although admittedly not always well absorbed due to other health factors).
The second client, in her early sixties, is following a vegan diet which, again, lacks these dairy sources, but is also low in the stand-out calcium-rich vegetables, and too high in spinach intake – a calcium blocker – and low in fortified plant yoghurts or mylks.

Osteoporosis is known as the silent killer.  We don’t know we have it, that we’re losing bone, until we fall or simply trip, and end up with a fracture.  Or a tooth falls out, or gum disease is advanced.  Our blood and body tissues require stable calcium levels, so if we’re not ingesting/absorbing enough calcium from food our bodies will rob calcium from our stores, namely from our bones.  Back pain, a stooped posture, loss of height, these are all possible early signs of bone loss before that fracture happens, so, if this speaks to you, or if osteoporosis is in the family, I’d recommend asking for a bone density scan to assess your risk.

Women, especially menopausal women over 50, are more susceptible to osteoporosis (bottom line is that our bone-protective oestrogen does a dive in menopause).  Other reasons for this susceptibility include lifespan – women tend to live longer than men – and also women generally have smaller, more delicate bones which means less mass to lose without consequences.
However, diet, gut health, hormones, inflammation, genetics, exercise, all play a role in bone health, so if any of these are stacked against you then, male or female, you may be susceptible.  An excellent book about osteo by someone who had it is by Keith McCormick  , a male, case in point.

Back to counting.
Ideally, if you’re a woman over 50, you want to aim for 1200 mg daily calcium intake.  For women between 19 and 50 years it’s 1000 mg;  for men 19-70 it’s also 1000 mg.  And after 70 years, 1300 mg is the recommended daily intake for both men and women.

There are many books on osteoporosis with meal plans and recipes which will be looking at the total picture and which I’d highly recommend for anyone concerned about their bones.  However, if it’s calcium alone that you’re now thinking about because perhaps you don’t eat dairy, or you’re wondering whether you should supplement, there are online calcium calculators, a free way of working out your daily calcium intake.  These calculator sites are not an exact science, I’ll say that now.  There are some discrepancies between them which I’m assuming are due to variations in growing methods, countries, environmental conditions at source, and processing.

However, the general message is pretty clear.  There are some stand out plant-based calcium sources.  As far as vegetables are concerned, kale, turnip greens, broccoli, bok choy, chinese cabbage are all leafy greens with high to high-medium calcium levels.
Chickpeas, navy beans, soybeans and white beans have good amounts.  Almonds are high in calcium (also high oxalates so go easy), and sesame seeds are high (think tahini paste in dressings, sauces…)
Two dried figs will give a 65mg hit and an orange 55 mg.
In addition, choosing a calcium fortified plant mylk or plant yoghurt will make a big daily difference.

And if you eat animal protein, a small can of sardines in your lunch salad will pack a big punch, more than canned salmon with bones, which is nonetheless a good source.  Eggs surprise me as they give us so much, but here they offer very little calcium (unless you munch on the shell, which I’d not recommend),

These above-mentioned foods – as well as dairy, of course –  kept coming up on various sites.  There was good consensus about their calcium worth.  I used the International Osteoporosis Foundation calcium calculator list as well as the Bone health and osteoporosis foundation, and an NHS site.
When I couldn’t find some foods I like to eat (samphire or seaweeds), I typed in amount of calcium for that food.  I cross checked a few because of some oddities (who the heck is eating uncooked chickpeas or raw butterbeans?); also due to some striking variances in Ca milligram amounts.  As stated above, I can only put this down to different sources, growing conditions in different countries/oceans and different processing.

Googling lists, and checking milligram in calcium may feel a bit ho-hum tedious, but you only need to do the maths once, then you have your very own calcium score.

Apart from the above, I’ve listed below a few random high-to-moderate calcium foods to help you get started.  Also some info about oxalate foods, which can block calcium.  I’ve included a few of the disparate ranges from different sites in the hope that someone out there will find some definitives – let me know please 🙂

A final word, no maths, no counting.
When it comes to health, very little works in isolation. Strong bones are not simply about calcium, but this post isn’t about the other players like magnesium and phosporus, boron, D3 and K2.  Nor is it about the importance of gut health and nutrient absorption, immunomodulation, and the gut-brain-bone axis.  I’m also not touching on the very essential role resistance or weight-bearing exercise plays, how it stimulates bones, egging them on to remodel and strengthen; the same mindset as use it or lose it, or do or die.

I’ve focused on calcium because it’s so often NOT on our radar, and also because food is a safe way to improve our calcium levels.
Saying that, if your calcium intake remains low even with some food changes, you can now work out how low it is, and supplement accordingly, instead of taking a one-size-fits-all high dose which may cause bloating or digestive issues and potentially lead to hypercalcaemia, kidney stones or possible heart problems.  There are a number of calcium supplements which range from low to higher levels. Contact me if you can’t find them.
And if you’d like to read more about bones, the full gamut on how to avoid osteoporosis, the above McCormick book, The Whole body approach to Osteoporosis, is very good. However, there are many other good books out there.

Wishing you all a happy weekend, and if you’re in a sunny place, grab lots of Vit D3.  Among many other talents, Vitamin D3 is also a big player in bone health 🙂

 

Food list:

kale, cooked, 1 cup/c130g = 170-200mg calcium
broccoli, cooked 90g   =  50 – 100mg (yes, different lists!)
bok choy, cooked 70g = 160 – 180mg
turnip greens, cooked 52g = 100 – 190 mg
2 dried figs = 65 mg
1 orange = 55 mg
tahini, one tbsp, 15g = 50 – 60mg
tofu, firm, 100g = 120 – 300 mg
plant-based mylk, soy, almond, oat 100 ml = 120mg (a chai latte therefore could be c 240mg Ca)
chickpeas, 100g = 60 – 100mg
soybeans, 150g = 170-470mg (!)
white beans (eg. butterbeans, cannellini beans) 1 cup = 160mg
canned sardines or pilchards, small tin = 350 mg (however I also found a list stating 500mg – due perhaps to different ocean source & processing?)
canned salmon with bones, small tin:  70mg – 200mg (one source, Cheena, a Canadian wild sockeye states a whopping 2000mg for their large 180g can)
almonds, 10 nuts, c 12g = 32mg
sesame seeds, 15g = 100 mg
kelp (like kombu) and wakame, 100g =  150 – 168mg
samphire, 100g = 150mg

Dairy:
cheddar, 30g = 240 mg
fetta, 60g= 270 mg
full fat yoghurt, 170g = 310 – 380mg
semi skmmed milk, 200ml = 240mg

Note: spinach has high calcium content but is also a very high oxalate vegetable, much higher than, say, kale.  It is often mentioned as NOT being a recommended calcium source food since oxalates are compounds that bind with minerals, preventing their absorption;  minerals such as calcium and magnesium.  So it would be wise to eat far less-to-no spinach if you have osteopenia.  If you do a search for high oxalate foods you may find you’re eating too many of them daily, so, reducing them would be recommended if you are concerned about bone loss.  

Roasted curry veg with herby yoghurt

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After making this dish about six times in the last month I can truly say it’s become – yet another! – favourite.
It was inspired by Sarah Cobacho’s plantbased baked curry vegetables with raita sauce but I’ve added and tweaked, changed amounts and called the sauce a more prosaic, but equally scrummy, ‘herby yoghurt’ as raita means something else to me.   I’m so happy to have found Sarah’s delicious recipe to play with and reinvent.  I hope you enjoy playing as well, and making it your own.

Ingredients

2 very generous servings… or 4 modest ones

The herby yoghurt sauce:

250 g plant-based yoghurt (I used Greek-style Koko or Alpro; thicker, creamier than most other plant-based)
1 heaped tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
small bunch coriander, (chopped = about ½ compact cup)
small bunch mint, chopped = c ¼ cup)
chili flakes (optional, for the chili lovers out there.  The roasted veg below also have some chili)
sea salt to taste

The veg and protein:

350g small or new potatoes with skins, halved
½ small butternut squash, peeled, cubed
½ cauliflower, cut into florets
½ broccoli, ditto florets
1 red onion, cut into 1/8
150g cherry tomatoes
250g cooked chickpeas (I used left-over cooked lentils one time instead; also worked although I added them later, with the kale, so they kept soft)
big handful of shredded kale
40 g roasted slivered almonds, to decorate the finished bowls

The oil mix to slather

½ cup olive oil
1 tsp garam masala
dash, or more, of chili powder or flakes
2 tsp curry powder
juice of one lemon

Method:

Use three bowls – 2 small, one large – for your vegetables.  The two small ones are for the potatoes and kale resp. and the large will hold the rest of the vegetables and cooked chickpeas.
Mix all the oil ingredients together and massage into your respective veg bowls.

Preheat your fan oven to 180 C.
Blend the sauce ingredients at least 1/2 hour before needed so the yoghurt sauce isn’t too ‘sloppy’.  Ideally make the sauce ahead of time, the day before, and refrigerate.
As always, taste test to see if you want to add more of any sauce ingredient you especially love.

Place the halved and oiled potatoes on the oven tray and roast for 15 minutes.  Flip over and add the rest of the vegetables and chickpeas (not the kale), and roast for another 20 minutes, adding the oiled kale for the last 10 minutes.  Test with a fork to make sure it’s the texture you like, and be mindful nothing roasts ‘dry’ or burns.

To serve: spoon the green yoghurt sauce into the base of the bowls, then top with roasted vegetables and chickpeas.  Scatter the roasted almonds on top, delicious!

Vegan savoury strudel, gf and df

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This recipe was inspired by Elke’s Austrian take on a Greek spanakopita (spinach pie).  Instead of the usual triangle slices of a traditional spanakopita, she opted for the strudel “log” shape, and added loads more delicious spinach than one normally finds in these pies.
I’ve tweaked the recipe yet again by adding more vegetables to the spinach.  So it’s no longer a spanakopita but a roasted sweet potato, spinach and leek ‘strudel’!  And with a gluten-free puff pastry and dairy-free fetta; a vegan version to see how it works.
Worked a treat!

The store-bought ‘Jus-roll’ gluten-free puff pastry makes it all so very easy and quick.  And Violife’s vegan Greek fetta is delicious and a great option for anyone going vegan, or with a casein (dairy protein) or lactose intolerance.
You can steam the sweet potato cubes, definitely the healthy option, but as I was roasting a lunch the day before I decided to add the sweet potato cubes to the oven; also the pine nuts right at the end.  Less work the following day when I was playing with this recipe.

Ingredients:

For six slices

1 packet Jus-roll gluten free puff pastry (or regular Jus-roll puff; or filo.. shortcrust, whatever you like)
400g packet spinach, roughly chopped
green part of one leek, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, squeezed (two at the start, one added near the end)
1 large sweet potato, about 250g, cubed, then either roasted or steamed before you start your log
dollop of olive oil for a light fry and to lightly brush onto the log before baking
80g toasted pine nuts
100g Violife ‘Greek white’ (or non vegan, regular Greek fetta)

Method:

If you haven’t roasted your pine nuts, nor your cubed sweet potato, do this first.  When done put aside where no one will be tempted to have a nibble.

For the filling, pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on a medium heat then add the sliced leek and 2 of the pressed garlic.  Gently fry until the leek’s transparent.
Toss in the roughly chopped spinach and wilt.  Hover near the pan otherwise your delicious leafy spinach pile will vanish to an overwilted green sludge.  The same goes for the pine nuts, keep close, for if you leave the kitchen even for a moment they are bound to burn.  Hover.  Keep watch.

Add the roasted/steamed sweet potato cubes to the pan of spinach to warm through, then that last garlic clove.  Stir in the roasted pine nuts.

Wait for everything to cool before adding the crumbled fetta.

With ‘Jus-roll’ you can literally unravel it from the box and start filling it with your cooked veg, so easy.
However, if it’s too thick for your taste roll it thinner and larger.  Whatever you decide, ensure you have parchment underneath it (the paper it comes wrapped in its box), so you can easily lift the filled roll onto the oven tray.

Spoon the filling along the long side of half the pastry, leaving a clear 2-3 cms edge all around so you can seal it without the filling oozing out.  To make your log just fold over the pastry and, with water-wet fingers, press the edges closed then go over them with a fork to create a neater, tighter finish.  Brush with oil and prick the pastry, to stop a gap forming inside as it cooks.

Bake in a moderate fan oven, about 180 C degrees (c350 F), until light golden brown, approx 30 – 45 mins (depending on everyone’s unique oven.  Like us, they have personalities and might decide to take longer to colour your strudel).

Slice and serve with a leafy colourful salad, or as part of a delicious summer garden spread.

Kali oreksi! Bon appetit x

 

Christmas parsnip loaf

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This loaf is a perfect Christmas dish containing all the typical seasonal ingredients: cranberries, chestnuts, sage and parsnips.  It’s easy to prepare the day before, just cover and chill until ready for the final stage of baking.  I use ground almonds as a gluten free option to breadcrumbs although the latter probably helps hold it together better, so your choice here!

Ingredients

For a 900g loaf tin to serve 4 generous portions:

3 tbsp butter
3 red onions, chopped
8-10 sage leaves, torn, plus 8 extra leaves for the sage butter
220g packet of cooked chestnuts
130g walnuts or pecans
100g ground almonds (or 100g breadcrumbs)
1/2 tsp allspice or mace
2 beaten eggs
600g cranberries
120g caster sugar
550g parsnips, preferably long and thin

Method

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large pan and cook the chopped onion over a gentle heat for about 15 minutes until soft.  Stir in the chopped sage until it slightly crisps, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

The nuts:

Pulse the chestnuts in a food processor until chopped  but you want to have some texture, not nut dust!  Repeat with the walnuts/pecans.  Transfer these to the same mixing bowl then add the ground almonds (or breadcrumbs), allspice or mace, the beaten eggs, some sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Mix well.

The cranberries:

Put the cranberries and caster sugar into a pot and simmer for about 10 minutes over a medium to high heat.  As the sugar melts and cranberries pop it will become thicker and eventually sticky. Set aside to cool.

Grease your 900g loaf tin. Line it with baking paper, covering the base and ends.

The parsnips:

Halve lengthways then boil for about 3 mins and drain well.  Cut and layer the parsnips so they fit snugly (see ‘layering’ section next).  Any left over parsnip pieces can be chopped and added to any empty spaces, or roughly chopped into the onion/nut mixture.

Layering your loaf:

Heat the oven to 160 C (320F).  After a bottom layer of snug soldier parsnips, add 1/3 of the onion/nut mixture and press down firmly.
Next, add 1/3 of the sticky cranberry mix, leaving a small gap round the edges to stop it leaking when cooking, and thus sticking to the baking paper.
Repeat the last of the parsnips followed by another 1/3 of nut mix and another 1/3 of cranberry.  Finish with the final nut mix, pressing down firmly again.  Put the final 1/3 of sticky cranberry into a pan, adding some water and heating until it is more like a sauce.

Cover with baking paper then bake in the 160C oven for one hour.  Remove the baking paper from the top for the last 10 minutes to slightly crisp.

To serve:

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a small pan and sizzle those sage leaves you put aside at the start, until they crisp.

Using a rounded knife gently loosen the sides of the baked loaf and turn out onto a plate.  Drizzle with the sage butter and leaves and serve in slices, with extra cranberry sauce on the side.

Have a great Christmas!

 

Beetroot orange salad or its haloumi cousin

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It’s been too long since I’ve shared a recipe but I promise it has not been due to lack of cooking or food inspiration.  This year I’ve spent far more hours helping clients put meal plans together, so yes, I’ve been very busy adjusting or concocting recipes but I’ve had less time to share them here in writing.
And now that it’s freezing outside in Dorset – in most of UK in fact – when everyone is hankering for steaming stews or warming soups I’m about to hand you some salad ideas!
(Well, it’s warm somewhere in the world right now 😉 )
There is some method to my madness.  What I’ve found over these past cold weeks is that I’m still wanting to keep the fresh crispness of salads in my life.  By adding a warm component to the salad leaves – in this case cooked warm beetroot – it’s proving to be a delicious accompaniment to our caper wild salmon or roasted chicken.  And it’s satisfying my craving for crispy fresh, raw veg.  Is this me trying to hang onto the hot summer?

Another easy version is to keep the core family together, ie. the salad leaves, orange and poms, but replace the warm beetroot with grilled slices of haloumi, equally scrummy.

Enjoy, and do share some photos of yours  x

Ingredients:

Rocket or any mixed leaves for your salad base.  Your choice how much!
1 large orange, segmented (remove the white membranes if you have time on your hands)
3 medium beetroot, cooked then remove skins and quarter or cube the beets
3-5 tbsp pomegranate seeds
sunflower seeds to sprinkle

Ingredients for dressing:

Add to a jar:  the juice of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon, a generous dollop of virgin olive oil, 1 pressed garlic clove, sea salt and some water to bind the mixture. Shake, taste and adjust x

Method:

Simply layer your salad by starting with the mixed leaves, then adding the warm (or cold, your choice) cubed/quartered beetroot and segmented orange pieces.  Then finally sprinkle those glorious pomegranate seeds on top, and that’s it.  The joy of this salad is that the fabulous tastes are what sell it, not any complicated prep or cooking.

Cypriot grain salad

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This is a delicious salad a friend brought to the table on my recent trip back to Sydney when a gaggle of us got together for a catch up feast.  It’s inspired by the ‘Hellenic Republic’ grain salad recipe by Melbourne chef George Dimitrios Calombaris.


Instead of freekah (cracked wheat) I used quinoa only because I didn’t have freekah in my pantry.  It’s a good gluten-free option although be aware that pseudo grains like quinoa can be a problem for grain-, or gluten-sensitive peeps.
I also used dairy-free coconut yoghurt as that’s what I had at hand – and with that the salad morphed into a vegan recipe!  And even though df yoghurt doesn’t sound very Hellenic it was absolutely delicious with the cumin and pomegranate swirled in it.  Also I snuck in some rocket because I love leafy greens and it’s such an easy way to get more into your daily diet.
All in all, this is a well-rounded dish with all the macronutrients you need, so enjoy it on its own, or alongside other dishes for a feast.  Last week we ate it as a side with falafel, very yummy.

 

Ingredients

(serves 4)

100g red and white quinoa (or freekah)
100g Puy lentils
1 bunch coriander, chopped
1 bunch parsely, chopped
handful rocket or any salad leaves you like
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp (c 30g) toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
2-3 tbsp small capers
70g currants
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
100g pomegranate seeds (or a whole pomegranate)
100g Greek yoghurt or dairy free alternative
1 heaped tsp ground cumin

Method

Boil the Puy lentils and quinoa separately in water until cooked to your liking.  Drain and cool.
In a bowl, add these to the chopped herbs, toasted nuts and seeds, capers, currants, lemon juice and olive oil.  Mix well and then stir in the rocket or salad leaves.
Add the ground cumin and pomegranate to the yoghurt and dollop on top of the salad.
Easy, quick and very scrummy!

Red lentil curry coconut dahl

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A scrummy lentil recipe for you to try, plus some quirky facts that take the lowly lentil to an altogether new level.
This recipe’s become a fast favourite.  We’ve eaten it as part of a meze feast, as a side to fish & veg as well as a stand-alone with wild basmati rice and a huge bowl of crunchy mixed leafies.

Lentils have certainly come a long way since I first spied them decades ago, an overcooked brown mound heaped beside some dry nut roast.  It took the deliciously exotic recipes from Asia and the Middle East to spark my interest and open up all sorts of lentil possibilities.

They’ve actually come an even longer way.  Not just the oldest cultivated legume but they’re also mentioned in the bible.  And as I was wading through lentil articles online I stumbled upon a blog, ‘The History of Lentils’ that claimed archeologists found lentil artifacts dating back to 8000 BC from the banks of the Euphrates.
Lentil artifacts?!  Can’t imagine what that means, can you?  I think of artifacts being ancient urns, crudely made stone weapons or broken bits of corners of obscure things… but not lentils.  [I have, however, since learned that organic material, when found alongside ancient artifacts, do have a name: biofacts.  Who knew?]
Whatever this dig on the Euphrates banks found, I now have an image I can’t shake from my head of an ancient cooking pot with petrified lentils stuck to the base (‘coz we all know how easy it is to overcook & burn them, even back in the day…back in the ancient day).

At different times over the milennia, and in different global cultures, lentils have see-sawed between poor man’s supper and sumptuous king’s feast.  What’s remained steadfast and certain is that they’ve always been nourishing, packed with fibre and protein, B vitamins, iron, zinc, potassium…

If you’re thinking split lentils are the same as split peas because they look so similar, they’re not.  The name says it all.
Split peas come from dried field peas and lentils are seeds found in pods on small plants with branching vines that love dry, warm climates.  This is one reason they’ve not been traditionally grown here in UK (although this, too, has changed.  Hodmedod’s, a Suffolk company specialising in pulses, seeds and grains, were the first to successfully grow them back in 2017, and since then it seems everyone’s giving them a go).
Undoubtedly lentils’ first love must be the prairies, since Canada’s production and export of the not-so-lowly lentil far outstrips the rest of the world’s production by thousands of tons.

Lentils come in all sorts of colours, another reason to love them  – how many foods have this talent?  There’s black beluga here on the left of the photo (looking a little like caviar), and then various shades of brown, including the smaller puy ones (and a packet from Greece).  Plus green, red and yellow, and no doubt more I haven’t come across yet.

Pulses, even lentils, should be soaked overnight before rinsing and cooking in water.  Soaking, cooking and sprouting helps break down the oligosaccharides in the tough outer skin, that can cause bloating and gas for some.  Soaking also reduces the phytic acid, which can block absorption of important minerals in our foods.

The split red lentils in this recipe are smaller than the more common brown and green variety, and because they’ve been hulled (outer covering removed) and split, those hard-to-digest carbs have already been removed so they do not need soaking, just a rinse before cooking to ensure no small stones within are masquerading as lentils.
If you’re using canned pulses, give them a thorough rinse as they’ve been canned in firming agent, an additive that stops them turning to mush (another good reason to choose dried rather than canned).

Here’s the recipe and bravo for getting to the end of this lentil story.  I don’t know about you, but after discovering all these snippets I actually love this little pulse even more!

Ingredients

(serves 4 as a main)

100g dried red lentils
One 400 ml tin coconut milk
olive oil to gently fry:
3 large banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
5 cms peeled fresh ginger,  grated
Optional: 1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped (or dried chilli, as much as your tastebuds enjoy)
20 dried curry leaves, crumbled and stems removed
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 heaped tsp mild curry powder (or sharp if you want more zing)
200g very ripe tomatoes, or 200g from a 400g can tomatoes – OR 2 heaped tbsp tomato paste
a pinch of sea salt
500ml water, more or less (depends on what tomatoes you use)

Method

Pour the olive oil in a large pan and heat on medium.  Add the shallots until they’re transparent, not too coloured, then the grated ginger, chilli and curry leaves.
Stir through and heat for a few minutes.
Next add all the spices and chopped tomatoes (or paste) and the lentils.  Mix for another few minutes then pour in the coconut milk plus c 500ml water and that smidgeon of salt.  Check regularly as you may want to add more water if you used the tomato paste and not the fresh & juicier toms.

Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens and the lentils are done.  Stir occasionally throughout to stop them becoming future lentil petrified artifacts!

Let me know if you love it too 🙂

 

 

Sharing thoughts and inspirations this Christmas

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In these days before Christmas, when some of us are seeing well-laid plans scuppered, or Xmas traditions taken away due to Omicron looming large, it feels like the right time to share some positives from my world of functional nutrition.  Not about Covid or immune health (we need a break, plus I wrote about it here back in March). https://www.appleaday.org.uk/immune-health-natural-tool-kit/

Instead, some books and a few of the many health ‘influencers’ and podcasts that have inspired and taught me, plus some health facts about the vagus nerve, which may sound random, but isn’t, because it has popped up at so many webinars, online conferences and health discussions this year.

Introducing the vagus nerve (VN):

This nerve may not be on your radar, but one of the reasons it keeps coming up in the health world is because it’s the main neural highway running from the brain down the length of the body.
In fact, it’s the longest nerve in the autonomic nervous system, and it travels or ‘wanders’ (= latin vagus) down the body to the colon, innervating organs as it passes the cardiovascular, digestive and reproductive systems, taking information from each and sending on messages from the brain.  Little wonder it has the potential to impact health!

The trouble is, like so many body parts, this nerve can lose tone from middle age.  It’s also affected by a sedentary lifestyle or chronic stress, trauma, poor diet, and more of the usual western world lifestyle habits.
And this loss of vagal tone can then undermine the organs and systems it passes through, affecting mood, digestion, breathing, heart rate, reflex actions, even relaxation.

So how do you improve vagal tone?

Meditation, yoga, pilates (really most form of exercise), will help improve your autonomic nervous system and the vagus nerve.  And then, interestingly, taking cold showers or swimming in cold water (maybe not something to start now if you’re living in the northern hemisphere!)

There are other even more unexpected and unusual practices that are at the top of the list when you read about improving vagal tone.  And they’re very do-able.

Humming or singing loudly 
How lovely is this!  By humming or singing, you actively stimulate the laryngeal muscles and improve the signalling of the VN.  If you don’t have a voice others appreciate sing in the car to the radio; it won’t complain!

Laugh loudly (the harder the better)
A smilar mechanism to singing, plus research already tells us that laughter improves physical and mental well being.  So if it also specifically helps vagal tone, there’s another reason to watch more comedies over Christmas.

Gargle with vigour!
Ideally 3x daily for a minimum of 20 seconds, which may sound short, but isn’t when you’re starting out.  Anecdotal evidence shows it can improve gut health, specifically peristalsis and symptoms of a hiatus hernia.
When you gargle you activate the three pharyngeal muscles at the back of the throat which stimulates the vagal nerve.   You’ll feel your diaphragm and muscles around your stomach and oesophagus getting quite a work out, and if tears pool in your eyes it’s apparently a sign you’re doing it correctly.  According to Dr N. Habib who wrote a comprehensive book called ‘Activate your vagus nerve’ (yes, there are specialised books about it), the superior salivary nucleus is being stimulated, which triggers the glands around your eyes to produce fluid.
Like brushing your teeth, gargling should become part of your life…. your new noisy singing life!
And by adding salt to the gargle water you have the added benefit of an antimicrobial oral wash.

If any of this sounds like a Christmas fairytale just search online for vagus nerve and you’ll be inundated with a plethora of articles and studies referencing its importance.

Podcasts on health and life

Podcasts are such a great platform to hear the latest in health!  I love them and wish I had more time to listen to more…
Rangan Chatterjee’s ‘Feel Better Live More’ is still my overall favourite with so many expert guests sharing their unique insights and wisdom.
I particularly liked the May interview with investigative journalist, James Nestor.  The latter has written a brilliant book, ‘Breath’  which covers far more aspects of breathing than I ever thought possible.  In using himself as a guinea pig in all the different breathing techniques that are out there, he not only tells a great story but ultimately makes it clear how we should all be breathing for good health.
Another interview on July’s ‘Feel Better Live More’ that has stayed with me, was with Dr Rahul Jandial, a neuro surgeon.  He talked about the trials and joys of his training years and subsequent career, and how humbled he is by his patients.  Jandial’s book, ‘Life on a Knife’s edge’ is extraordinary, illuminating and at times unnerving.

Other great podcasts I try to find time for:
The happiness lab,  The Doctor’s Pharmacy, Natural MD Radio & Huberman lab (which is full of science if you’re into it)

 Some health books of many to ponder  

‘Hormone Intelligence’, by Aviva Romm;  should be on all bookshelves – and she’s written more excellent books!
‘Untamed – Stop pleasing, start living’, by Glennon Doyle. The title says it all.
‘Breath’ by James Nestor.  A must for anyone who breathes
‘The metabolic approach to cancer’, by Dr Nasha Winters.  An extraordinary functional ND, author, speaker, global cancer consultant who survived stage 4 cancer some 25 or 30 years ago.  Her next book is coming out in February  ‘Mistletoe and the Emerging future of Integrative Oncology’
(mistletoe extract has a century-old history of use in complementary medicine especially regarding cancer.  In Europe, mistletoe extract injections are among the most prescribed therapies used to treat cancer alongside chemo or exclusively.  Studies and testing have been ongoing for decades so I’m looking forward to discovering what Dr Winters puts forward in her book.

Health influencers, some of the people who’ve inspired me

Dr Caroline Leaf, a neuroscientist and mental health expert; always seems to find the perfect single sentence or paragraph to sum up a very long and difficult complex issue.
Robyn Puglia, functional medicine practitioner; lecturer, teacher and more.  Also runs online talks and QA sessions on facebook with the brilliant thryoid and brain author/educator Dr Datis Kharrazian (check out his weekly talks on his facebook page).
Ben Brown, functional nutritionist, lecturer and more; website newsletters offer well-researched commentary on current health conditions and studies.
Dr Nasha Winters, mentioned above; some of her talks and interviews are available on YouTube.
Avivia Romm, also mentioned above; her website is an encyclopaedia of knowledge 

So many other health professionals who are daily influencers for me, who are part of my practitioner world – Debbie Cotton, Moira Bradfield, Jason Hawrelak, Emma Beswick…. There will be YouTube talks by them out there.

As for food authors there are so many new, fab cookbooks available, I can’t keep up with them.  For me, Ottolenghi continues to deliver and I am currently still working my way through the vegetarian recipes in ‘Flavour’ (just reduce the sugar which he SO loves to add, in some form or other, to his recipes).
His mushroom-lentil ragu dish is a winner for us and will be part of our Xmas menu this year.

Niki Webster (aka Rebel recipes), is about to bring out another vegan cookbook, watch her space!

And for anyone wanting to do gluten free baking, Naomi Devlin offers so many excellent workshops online, take a look at her website.

Finally, my dear friend, and surrogate mum, 94 year old Hedi continues to be a big influencer for me.  She can still walk the length of Regent street and then enjoy a hearty meal.  I think she invented the word resilience.

I’d love to hear from you!

Tell me about some of the positives you’ve found this year, whether it’s some people you’ve met or books or happenings that have made your life, or illness, or Covid journey, aka slog, a little easier.

I’m back in my zoom clinic here, in Dorset, on Tuesday, 4th January.  As always I’m offering a Christmas gift discount for the month of January; 10% for all consultations.  Just email me for bookings.

Until then I’m sending you all huge hugs and lotsa merries, and a happy 2022 for us all.

Stay well friends!

x

Mindfulness, what’s in a word?

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I’d like to find another word for mindfulness.  Not that it isn’t apt, on the contrary, being mindful in our lives can be life changing, mind blowing.  But we’re hearing the word used so much these days, a little like the hackneyed terms ‘life changing and mind blowing’,  that it can end up falling on deaf ears or meaning nothing at all to some people.

A male client on zoom yesterday rolled his eyes when I mentioned mindfulness.  “No, that whacky stuff’s not for me,” he said.
There’s not much whacky about it; pretty straight forward in fact.  Mindfulness is about tapping into something that was commonplace for our grandparents:  taking each day, each moment, as it came; not having to juggle deadlines, childcare, finances, nights out and traffic holdups.  These days there’s not a lot of Living each Moment, and therein lies a big part of our global chronic health crisis. The speed and stress of daily life is throwing us out of kilter, making many of us sick.

However, saying all that, I get what this client meant.  Even though he hasn’t tried it, he said it sounded too vague, that ‘mindfulness’ didn’t explain enough of what it was about or how to do it.  For him the name seemed to be a big part of why he hadn’t tried it. Hence my search for another word, a new title.

‘Being in the moment,’ or ‘living in the present’ may say more about what it is, but clients have told me they don’t think it’ll work for them, or, like this man, it sounds too ‘out there’.  Someone once told me she was already being careful and didn’t need to do a course on it.
For others it doesn’t sound medical enough, doesn’t carry enough gravitas.  I can’t help wondering if these people are still hanging out for the ‘one thing fixes all’ remedy.  The trouble here is that we’re not living in a one-pill-fixes-all world. Our current chronic diseases are too complex for monotherapies.

The compelling science behind how mindfulness works – how it can kick in a relaxation response that lowers stress & anxiety, how it can lessen gut pain, even body inflammation, and that it’s something that can alter the microbiome and, amazingly, gene expression – all this information seems to only reach those interested in health or lifestyle therapies, and not the ones who might need it the most.  It’s not on their radar until ill health has exhausted conventional medical routes and they somehow find a book or hear about cognitive therapy or an MBCT class (mindfulness based stress reduction), or they start working with a functional nutritionist, like me, who encourages it for helping with anxiety or IBS symptoms.

The thing about starting mindfulness is that we’re already doing it, this living in the present.  Some of us are just not doing it as consciously as we should.  And even though mindfulness is about developing a daily practice that will grow into something bigger and more sustained, into a higher awareness of our days, and of the many ‘present moments’, the key to starting it is to begin small, to keep it do-able.

I’m not a mindfulness expert or teacher, however the weekly mindfulness classes I went to about eight, maybe more?, years ago opened my eyes to the possibility of having a mindful practice in my daily life.
I remember during one of the early classes we were told to walk barefoot in the grass and listen carefully to the sounds around us, and then try doing it at home every day for any length of time we could manage.  It was a lightbulb moment for me, realizing it could be something enjoyable, something I could easily do inbetween work.  Also that I wouldn’t have to sit cross-legged for an hour cancelling all thoughts and finding a higher plane (which of course was my misinterpretation of meditation!)

Slowing down my daily pace in some way, at some point in the day, was key for me when I began (I’m speaking from the perspective of a busy person with a busy mind who likes to pack in lots).

In those early days, the more I read about mindfulness, the more I realized there was no rule about timing, no rule about what mindful practice I should do.  Listening to the breath is often a starting point, and it can be the exclusive daily practice for many.  I love it, all the more so since reading James Nestor’s book, Breath.  However, I’ve met clients over the years who hate it, who say they get anxious listening to their breath, so it really is very individual.
An hour of sewing or gardening might be mindful time for one but torture for another.  Examining pebbles on the beach for an hour might bore most people to tears except me.  Sitting still to watch the day slowly shift from twilight to sunset might be your daily quiet time but only a holiday treat for another. Closing your eyes for ten or more minutes, listening to your breath might be a huge leap of faith.

When I talk about mindfulness to clients I suggest they try whatever they enjoy, something that will slow them down into the Now moment.  Start their practice in small increments and take it from there, not beating themselves up if they need more time to get into a daily routine.  This was the sustaining advice I was given when I was first introduced to mindfulness.  After that, there’s a whole world of excellent books and qualfied teachers out there.

Now back to my first thought.  Is there another word you can think of for Mindfulness, something that might reinject it with oomph, or explain it better?  Something to describe this mindful awareness of our daily moments?  If so, I’d really love to hear from you. x

Asian-style soup

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This is my wellness soup.  I’m such a fan of zingy fresh spices like lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and ginger.  If I want a comfort soup this is it.  All the more so if adding chicken, with its high tryptophan, an amino acid that’s the precursor to our feel-good serotonin.
The soup can actually be anything you want.  Vegan, pescatarian or a good ‘ole chicken soup with an Asian swing to it.  Here are some options for you to try.

Ingredients

4 servings

Spices for the broth:

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp grated or ground turmeric
1 heaped tbsp brown miso paste
1 crushed, then finely sliced lemon grass
5 dried kaffir lime leaves, crushed with stems removed
4 cms fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
1.5 litres veg broth or water

*If doing a veg-only soup, ie. no marinade, add c4 tbsp tamari, 1/2 cup chopped coriander, 3 crushed garlic cloves and, if you want a kick, some chilli flakes to the above.  Also more veg broth to compensate for not having the fish/chicken liquid marinade to add to the pot.

The vegetables:

1/2 leek, sliced
150 g brussel sprouts, halved
200g broccoli florets
100g green beans, halved
100g mangetout or sugar snap peas
large handful spinach, shredded
another generous one of kale, finely shredded
4 mini bok choy (or 4 large if you can’t get minis)
olive oil to start the stir fry
sesame oil to drizzle at the very end
chopped coriander to decorate
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

The optional chicken or salmon:

3 fillets free range or organic chicken, cut into chunks or thick slices
OR
3 wild salmon fillets, whole

Marinate the chicken or fish for at least 4 hours in:
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/4 tsp dried chilli
1 tsp garam masala
3 crushed garlic
4-5 tbsp tamari
plus enough veg broth to cover the chicken/fish.

Method:

If I’m making my soup with either salmon or the chicken slices, I poach them first.  That way I can remove the fish skin easily and break it into smaller pieces, put aside and focus on the soup and veg.  You can of course poach whilst making the veg broth, whatever works for you.

Gently fry the leek in olive oil on a medium heat until soft.  Add all the spices, stirring well.
Pour in the vegetable broth plus the chicken/fish marinade [or the additions mentioned above for the  *veg-only].
Bring to the boil then simmer.
Add the vegetables to the broth, starting with the halved brussels which may take longer depending on size, then the beans and broccoli.  After simmering about 6-8 minutes (check the sprouts aren’t still rock hard), add the mangetout, bok choy, kale and spinach which only need a bat of an eyelid to wilt.  Now find room for the cooked chicken or salmon!

Serve in deep bowls, drizzle with sesame oil and top with chopped coriander and a wedge of lime, yumm!