Fast food is bad for your liver!Sunday, November 20th, 2011 / General News
We know that eating fast, rubbishy food is bad for our heart, weight, cholesterol levels and so on but did you know that fast food can affect your liver! A study found that people who ate two fast-food meals a day, doubled their daily calories, and who didn’t take any exercise sedentary developed significantly higher (unhealthy) levels in liver function tests in comparison to a control group. It was thought likley that the liver changes were due to increased carbohydrate and sugar intake. So, for the sake of your liver, ditch the high sugar foods and try to eat two portions of fruit a day, four portions of vegetables a day, as well as whole grains, legumes (beans and lentils) and fish on a regular basis.
Vitamin D (or the lack of it)Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 / General News
We’ve known for a while that Vitamin D is critical for bone health, but, recently we’re also discovering it’s important to heart, immune and mental health as well. It’s difficult to get healthy levels of D from food (although oily fish a good source) and we get most of it from the action of the sun on our skin. But, in the northern hemisphere there is so little sun in winter that many of us are deficient in Vitamin D. So, I would advise taking a good quality D supplement now that winter is fast approaching. Brrrrr!
Taken antibiotics recently?Thursday, November 10th, 2011 / General News
Antibiotics, in the right place and the right time, can be life saving. But, if you’ve had a long course of antibiotics or have been taking them frequently, it is likely that, as well as wiping out the bad bacteria in your body, they have also wiped out the good bacteria in your bowel – these are essential for health. When your good bowel bacteria are low, the first signs are often digestive upsets, bloating and wind So, if you’ve had antibiotics, I strongly recommend that you take course of probiotics (good bacteria) to raise the levels of these health-giving bugs in your gut again. Drop me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to recommend a good probiotic to you.
Protein-packed smoothiesFriday, November 4th, 2011 / General News
Smoothies, as well as being delicious, are packed full of vital minerals and vitamins which support your immune system to protect you against infection, allergies and cancers. However, there’s lots of fruit sugars in a smooothie, so to help keep your blood sugar in balance, try adding a few tablespoons of protein powder to your drink (protein helps the sugars be absorbed more slowly into your blood stream). Try hemp, soya or whey powder that you can get from your local health food store. Enjoy!