Better Health: Not Just for the New Year

2012 is Flying By, so Keep on the Right Track!

Let's Keep it simple, the year is speeding away from us all ready, our dietary changes we made in January to help improve our health, or to lose weight, or the opportunity to take up a new sport or look good for the summer beaches may already be slipping away from us!

But I know from a very old patient of mine, her January resolution was to change her diet and unhealthy lifestyle to affect not only the beginning of a new year, but to make changes, many simple, commonsense changes that would help improve her life forever....

Her goal was simple, to not become Diabetic like two members of her family, of course because of the inherent risks to health and wellbeing from this condition, but also the fact she hated needles...and the thought of insulin injections was a none starter. Period!

Goals are good, and though we can have short term goals, long term benefits can never be too far away if we make the right changes.

Lots of Fruit & Veg, variety and colour are essential

With that in mind, in terms of Nutrition and Fitness tips for my patients and clients, if there are no underlying medical conditions then l tend to give advice on the following items that are detailed more in my previous work on balanced Energy Levels that are hopefully helpful, healthy tips for everyday life. These include:

• Concentrate on better Blood Sugar balance throughout each day to promote better sustained energy levels
• Sustained energy levels gives an individual the chance to get through busy days without out overeating and hopefully time and energy to find space in schedule to do some exercise each day.
• Balanced, quality meals with good quality healthy snacks, leaving opportunity to still enjoy some treats, which are a TREAT...and not the norm!
• Emphasis on good quality, lower GI carbohydrates during the day time, with good protein sources at each main meal
• Above and beyond emphasis on getting more than the recommended 5-a-day fruits and vegetables. Try 8-12 portions with plenty of Variety and colour on the plate
• Balanced portion sizes on the plate, more about Quality, nutritionally dense foods...less about quantity and how much food.
• Less alcohol and no smoking. Emphasis placed on good fluid intake to stop dehydration that can sometimes promote the feeling of hunger in some people and make them eat more when actually they need to drink more fluids. Good Hydration helps with the digestive system to help with the proper, daily removal of waste products from our body
• Salt reduction to promote healthy Blood pressure
• Exercise: Experts/Research points to minimum of 15 minutes of Exercise per day.
• Balanced food intake=balanced blood sugar=balanced energy=More quality less quantity=chance for effective exercise=potential weight loss/weight control/weight management. A very common sense approach to daily life.

Better Nutrition can help longterm health

Exercise: Give your Body & Mind 15 minutes of Care

With my Exercise/Fitness recommendations to patients, l usually stick to a very common sense approach that looks at what people can easily do at home or within their local area instead of paying for gym membership that doesn’t always get used or doesn’t suit many people.

For a minimum of 15 minutes of exercise per day as I discussed in previous work on Fitness, l like the National Trust promotion of outdoor exercise that anyone of any level can utilise, at anytime of the year, on their own or with friends and all done at your own pace.

National Trust Outdoor Gyms 

 

These common sense approaches to food and Fitness are used with most of my patients and tweaked depending on needs.

A well planned food buying and cooking plan, eating well balanced meals/snacks to provide balanced blood sugar for balanced energy needs hopefully promotes the need to eat less amounts of food, especially High calorie/High GI type Food and give you a chance to burn off more calories and waste inches than you might gain whilst eating too much of the wrong kind of thing and doing nothing.

 

Eat what we need, use what we need, to help us work and exercise, to sleep well in a less stress induced environment, and when we do come to play and enjoy ourselves, go out for a meal, have a glass of wine or some chocolate we wont feel too guilty as the client/patient knows they are more in control of what their body needs at the most important times, ie, work, family life, exercise, Stressful life periods.

Nutrition Advice

For more benefits of a well balanced diet, healthier lifestyle and learning simple tips to improve energy and find time for some Exercise, then come and visit me at the SoOrganic Greenwich Clinic.

Get Fitter and Healthy

Healthy Eating, Diet & Weight Management Clinics

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Improve Your Energy: Nutrition from Dusk till Dawn

No, not another enthusiastic but lame attempt to act by Tarantino, or Mr Clooney doing battle with Miss Hayek over some snakes and redneck vampires! 

Alas no, more a regular question from far and wide, be it the happy hard working postman l have seen for years past my parents house, or the tired check out girl at the supermarket, or the rushing business types in and out of Canary wharf, the lads playing five a side on a Tuesday night or the busy parents juggling kids and the weekly shop!

George's need of energy for vampire Killing is happily a unique one!

Just how do you keep up your energy levels to cope with all that comes our individual and collective way each and every day.....and still hopefully promote a somewhat peaceful and happy deep sleep.....before it starts all over again!

Well, simply, l try and do as much as this each day and see how l get on and adapt accordingly....yes, adapt accordingly, as we are all individuals and will all have different wants and needs.

When you need it....feed it!

Daily Nutritional Guidelines: Morning till Night.

Keep it Simple!

Good Diet = Healthy and Balanced: A diet providing adequate nutritional support for health and a healthy immune system.

Your diet should provide all the essential macro and micro nutrients required to promote and maintain good health.

Your diet should be rich in natural soluble fibre and complex carbohydrates as found in fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. Processed and highly refined foods such as microwave meals should be avoided.

INCREASE +

• Your intake of whole grains. Try to vary grains to consume such as Brown rice, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat and quinoa all of which can replace much of your wheat intake. 

Try some wheat free Grains

• Your intake of fruits and Vegetables using the Five-a-day’ message as your minimum, aiming for 8-10 portions per day.

A variety of fruit, especially berries

• Your consumption of raw seeds providing essential fatty acids, (pumpkin, sesame, flax, sunflower etc) and nuts (pecan, walnut, pistachios, hazelnut, cashew, brazils, almond etc.) to 3 Servings per day.  These snacks SHOULD REPLACE confectionary, highly refined sugar snacks, biscuits or crisps. 

Certain nuts could be beneficial to health and a great snack

• Your Intake of pulses and beans (lentils, chickpeas, haricot beans, black beans, Navy beans, Lima beans, and soybeans etc), to 3-4 servings per week.   *Men should consider avoiding soy and soy products as well as woman of child bearing age as it may cause fertility concerns.

Legumes, beans pulses great in salads, soups and stews

• Your Intake of oily fish (herring, pilchards, wild salmon, trout etc.) to 2-3 servings per week).

Oily Fish such as Wild salmon & Mackerel

REDUCE –

 Turkey is an alternative to too much Red Meat

• Your consumption of red meat (beef, lamb, perk) to 1-2 servings per week. Substitute with fish, lean free-range chicken or turkey, or vegetarian alternatives such as tofu or substitute with beans or lentils. 

• Your Intake of saturated fats from meat and dairy
• Your consumption of refined foods (white bread, pasta, rice flour, cakes, biscuits, pizza, sugar and confectionary).
• Your intake of processed foods, frozen meals and Take-away food.
• Your intake of tea and coffee. A useful way is to alternate glasses of water with cups of tea or coffee. Increase water intake up to 8 glasses per day (maximum 2 litres).
• Your intake of alcohol

• Your intake of surgery and carbonated drinks 

Feeling Bloated through too much fizzy pop or excess alcohol

AVOID –

• All trans and hydrogenated fats.
• Saturated fats in processed meats and all processed foods.
• Adding salt to your food. Check packaging of food for added salt/sodium levels
• Adding sugar to food and drinks where possible.
• Carbonated drinks containing Phosphoric Acid, (potentially detrimental to bone integrity).

Mountains of salt on your food not what the Dr ordered!

CONSIDER !!

• Reducing your intake of dairy produce (milk, cheese, yoghurt). Soya-based equivalents, or rice, almond or oat milk alternatives can be used for variety.

Watch out for excess dairy intake

ENSURE

Lentils & pulses offer great food option

• You include in your diet sufficient, high-quality protein from chicken, turkey, fish, pulses, legumes & lentils.
• You include fibre to ensure a healthy digestive system. Avoid bran, as this can deplete your mineral levels. Good sources of fibre include whole grains, fruit, vegetables, beans, pulses, lentils, and oats.

Blood Sugar Balance=Balanced Energy

Blood Sugar Balance for Energy each Day will help us through our busy day at work place or home and provide the basis, along with adequate exercise to maintain a healthy weight, help with stress management and promote Better health and Well being.

·        Balanced Blood Sugar: Eating balanced meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner with appropriate snacks in between.

·        Fruits and vegetables: Increased fruits and vegetables 6-8 portions per day. Try a weekly large fruit salad that keeps in the fridge. Mixed berries, fresh (organic if possible) or frozen, use for breakfast or take into work.

·        Carbohydrates during the day: Try and consume good quality complex carbohydrates during the Breakfast period and Lunchtime to provide Energy throughout the day and essential B vitamins. Try not consume Carbohydrates during the evening period, try salad’s, stir fry, stews, soups, small quantities of roasted vegetables

·        Meats and Fish: Try to eat protein at all meals, chicken, Turkey or quantities of oil fish that contain Essential Fatty Acids, Wild Salmon, Trout, mackerel and sardines.

·        Fluids: Plenty of fluids, 6-8 glasses of water per day (filter jug may be good investment), Herbal Teas, Green Tea, 100% Fruit Juices

Find the foods that are right for you and your Energy levels.

In practice, this could be:

Breakfast:   Lemon Juice in warm water/herbal; tea

                    Porridge oats with water

          Or      weetabix/oatabix (with Fresh/Frozen Berries, honey, cinnamon)

                    Nuts and seeds (almonds, sunflower pumpkin        

                    Home made/Sugar free muesli

                    Low fat/Bio yoghurt fresh fruit salad (berries        

                    Chopped apple/pear/banana

                    Small fruit smoothie (Avocado, Berries, Banana)

                   Weekend: Try poached egg, grilled mushrooms,

                                      Tomatoes and wholemeal or rye toast

Mid-Morning Snack:  Oatcakes (savory, ginger)

                                      Nuts and seeds mixture

                                      Apple/pear. Chopped Veg Sticks and 

                                      houmous

Lunch:  Leftovers, ie, Chunky homemade veggie soups. Or

              Vegetable curry (remember not to re-heat rice)

              Vegetable (beans, lentils, Veg) /chicken/turkey stew

              Boiled Eggs, Oily fish (Tinned Wild salmon/sardines)

              Colourful/varied mix salad. Olive oil Vinaigrette

              (mix Extra Virgin olive oil with Apple cider Vinegar, lemon Juice)

              Or Wholemeal bread/rye bread, salad (watercress,

              Lettuce, tomatoes) with tuna, wild salmon, avocado

Mid-afternoon snack:  Oatcakes, Nuts and seeds, fruit,

                                        Chopped veggie sticks

Dinner:  Vegetable stir-fry, grilled/steamed salmon. Or

               Veggie of lean meat stew

               Lean red meat/or chicken/turkey (free-range)

               Baked sweet potato, Leeks, kale/Broccoli, Steamed veggies.

               Berry Fruit salad, small pieces of dark chocolate

Drink plenty of fluid and be careful of portion sizes.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10): Vital Energy, Vital Health

Lying at the heart of our cells energy producing process, CoQ10 is vital for health and the energy process, very important for our heart and Blood vessels, as well assisting beneficial blood Sugar Balance.

Sources of CoQ10 include Fish, Calf’s Liver and Germ portion of whole grains.

Supplemental use may also help provide adequate levels of this important nutrient.

Recommended Product: http://www.cytoplan.co.uk

Nutrition Advice

For more benefits of a well balanced diet, healthier lifestyle and getting energised for a busy life balance come and visit me at my clinic and see what positive changes maybe suitable for you.

Get Fit and Healthy in 2011 

Healthy Eating, Diet & Weight Management Clinics

Introductory offers May - August £30 Off 1st Consultations

Full Consultations, Drop in sessions & Home Visits

See shop for Details (Limited Availability).

Home Sweet Clinic!

Ray of Sunshine Nutrition  
So Organic Greenwich
22 Nelson Road
Royal Greenwich
London
SE10 9JB
020 8305 5357

View Larger Map

Walk..................................................Don't run.

School Sports day indoors!

Those unforgettable shouts from across the corridor in that horrible school, and all l was doing was running to the toilet to save the school cleaners some time and money, but alas it seems those educational masters of doom and gloom may have been on to something if a recent report is anything to go by.




New research that brings together 40 years of studies into the benefits of exercise and health reveals that it only takes 30 minutes a day of exercise to cut your risk of many illnesses, including, hypertension, obesity, depression, osteoporosis and potentially many forms of Cancer, as Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for the World Cancer Research Fund, points out-

"There is now very strong evidence that being physically active can reduce risk of cancer. For example, we estimate that about 12 per cent of bowel cancer cases in the UK could be prevented through people being more active. "The evidence also shows that physical activity also probably reduces risk of breast cancer and cancer of the womb lining."

It may be that a simple, brisk daily walk around your local park, beach, country path, hilltop lookout could do the trick just as good as taking up running like Usain Bolt or Paula Radcliffe, or simply just me legging it to the toilet during Geography class at secondary school!



The Report taken from the International Journal of Clinical Practice, found being fit, active and healthy ranks alongside not smoking in our personal choices to reduce the risk of illness and disease and stay healthy.

Make use of whats around you

5 days a week of 30 minute walk's around the Royal parks of London (You can't beat Greenwich or Regents park in my eyes), the Malvern hills or South Downs, the South West Costal path, along Hadrians wall or up and down the Glens of Scotland, the benefits are universal to men and woman of all age groups, and importantly in regards cancer, physical activity after diagnosis can aid recovery and improve survival chances.







The author of the study, Physiotherapist Leslie Afford from the school of physiotherapy at the University of East Anglia, England, pointed out that living a healthy, long life and avoiding the pitfalls of ill health and disease were a complex mix of factors because of the individual nature of human beings, but pointed out that-

"Individuals have an element of control over some of these factors, including obesity, diet, smoking and physical activity."

Best foot forward

He went on to highlight that it's not always easy to make many lifestyle changes all at once, but 

"they can still gain health benefits from increasing the amount of regular exercise they take."

Luckily for all of us, the report points out that it's never too late to start those brisk walks, that cycle on one of the country's many cycle routes or putting yourself forward as the UK's next Ironman or Triathlete, older people will also see the benefits of regular activity or exercise.

So many Parks....let's use them.

And though exercise and activity may not necessarily affect weight loss unless accompanied by dietary control, exercise and activity will have many other beneficial affects, one of those which could be to lift mood, anxiety and depression in someone normally inactive, providing them the catalyst to make wider changes that will look at food intake and diet that could help with weight loss...........opting out of that vicious Circle, instead,  being a nice circle to jump into!

I say, if you can Jog, swim, cycle or gym 3 times a week, or on the other side, a good walk 5 times a week, which for some may just mean giving up public transport (a lot easier when the Unions go on strike in London leaving you stranded with no option but to walk), or getting of the bus a couple of stops early, or making use of a canal tow path or cycle path or riverside walk.

Keep going on strike.....less obesity!

I gave up the Gym nearly 5 years ago, and as long as you make cleverer more informed choices in regards your food intake, finding what you as an individual needs (and what you don't need most of the time), being aware of Blood Sugar Balance/Control and controlling the amount we eat, the portion sizes, which we in the West are not used to, well, ever since the 1940's, then it maybe a lot easier to find exercise and activity which we as an individual enjoy and benefit from instead of believing an unused Gym membership is the answer......it is for some, but not the many.

So get out of the house and find that activity that's right for you....and if you get fired because your late for work....either blame the unions....or Health reports like this!