Seeking Health

Let’s start with wisdom by way of biology. In the earlier half of your cycle, your hormonal activity is designed to maximize your chances of being pregnant. Hormones flow abundantly, and testosterone is at a relative high. As a result, many women feel more energized, attractive, and aroused during this time.

I like to think of this as a “hormonal buffer”, which allows you to tolerate things that bother you, in favor of the deeply ingrained biological imperative to make babies.

In other words, if the paelolithic equivalent of dirty socks on the floor caused your cavewoman ancestor to have a meltdown while she was ovulating, you may not be here reading this today.

Then we come to the second half of the cycle. This is where all the problems happen because this is where there is a possibility that a sperm and egg have combined. It becomes biologically important for the female to become protective and wary of unwanted circumstances.

The hormonal buffer is no longer running high. Things that you don’t like become painfully obvious, and you react – sometimes in a way that you regret.

Here’s the important part: The things that bother you just before your period are probably the same things that you were tolerating during the rest of your cycle. You need to address them, so that you don’t reach that monthly breaking point. That’s the the first step in solving PMS naturally.

Remember, feelings are feedback. So don't dismiss your PMS emotions.

But there are other things you can do that will influence your biochemistry around your cycle.

#1 Exercise has been shown to improve mood in general, and PMS in particular. Types of exercise that have been studied include aerobic exercise (like walking or running), and yoga.

# 2 Vitex agnus-castus (aka Vitex or Chaste Tree) is a herb with a long history of use for female hormone problems. Research shows that it helps reduce PMS irritability, anger, bloating, headache and breast tenderness. It does this by interacting gently with opioid receptors – the part of our nervous system that reduces pain, and also regulates the menstrual cycle.

# 3 Magnesium and B6 are also helpful. Placebo controlled studies have shown that each of these nutrients reduced cravings, depression, anxiety and physical discomfort in PMS. They can be used separately or together.

One of the ways that both magnesium and B6 work is that they break down hormones that cause PMS symptoms. And remember that here in NZ our soil is pretty low in magnesium, so you may not be getting enough from your diet.

#4 Anti-inflammatory, mood-supportive diet: This is the most important in terms of the affect it has on your biochemistry.

A low fat, plant based diet has the helpful effect of reducing the amount of estrogen in the blood, sometimes to a striking degree. For many women, diets that avoid animal products and keep vegetable oils to a bare minimum cause a marked reduction in menstrual pain, presumably because of the diet’s effect on hormones.

There are several reasons why this diet affects hormones. First of all, meat and dairy contain estrogen and so add to your natural estrogen production. Also reducing the amount of fat in the food you eat reduces the amount of estrogen in your blood. This appears to be true for all fats—animal fats and vegetable oils.

Second, plant products contain fiber (roughage), which tends to carry estrogens out of the body. Here is how it works: The liver filters estrogens out of the blood and sends them down a small tube, called the bile duct, into the digestive tract. There, fiber from grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits soaks up the estrogens like a sponge. If plant foods are a major part of your diet, you’ll have plenty of fiber. But the amount of fiber in your diet is reduced when you have yogurt, chicken breast, eggs, or other animal products, because fiber comes only from plants. Without adequate fiber, the estrogens in your digestive tract end up being reabsorbed back into the bloodstream.

Certain foods that are common in vegetarian diets have special effects. Soy products, for example, contain phytoestrogens, which are very weak plant estrogens that reduce your natural estrogens’ ability to attach to your cells. The result is less estrogen stimulation of cells.

In addition to individual reports that low-fat, vegetarian diets can cause dramatic reductions in menstrual pain, vegetarians statistically also have fewer ovulatory disturbances. Some researchers have found that excess estrogen plays a role in PMS symptoms, too, and that shifting the balance of the diet away from fatty foods and toward high-fiber plant foods is helpful.

Remember, symptoms are signals. What do you think your PMS is telling you?

If it's time to look at what signals your symptoms are sending you, consider booking a Healthy Directions Strategy Session with me to discuss what changes you could make in your nutrition, exercise, mindset and lifestyle to prevent, reverse and heal from PMS, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol or digestive issues.

Just like we can delete old files from our computers we can also do the same for our brain!

You know which keys to press to de-frag your computer, now you can have me lightly touch such places on your head to release the electromagnetic energy that’s clogging up your system.

These places on your head are called Bars. There are 32 of them and when gently touched and turned on start to release the old files you no longer need. Of course you get to choose which files to delete. And the great thing is it’s so relaxing, afterwards you feel as if you have had a deeply relaxing massage even though you have only had your head lightly touched.

“OK, I’ll have some of that” you say. Great! Here’s how it works.

About 25 years ago a man named Gary Douglas came up with these energy Bars that run through the head. Each Bar pertains to some aspect of our life that we deal with every day: joy, sadness, money, control, creativity, creating connections, peace, gratitude, and more. He found out that when we touch each of these Bars, the particular aspect of that Bar gets defragged. By defragged, I mean that old habits and patterns surrounding that Bar are released. Poof! Gone! How cool is that? So some of the things we learned from our parents, grandma and grandpa, teachers, TV, books, etc. that are stored in our brain (a lot of which is subconscious) and which inhibit us from performing at our optimum potential, or being the person we want to be, can be released. Do you remember someone saying “you can’t do that you are ….too young, too old, aren’t this or that” What if you could delete those points of view and choose for yourself?

Have you ever wondered why you keep choosing the same things in your life that don’t really work for you? What would you like to choose more of, or choose something completely different – job, money, relationships, happiness.

“Getting your Bars run” can be done in a reclining chair or on a massage table. Some people fall asleep - and it’s OK to snore! One hour of un-interrupted deep relaxation, treat yourself you deserve it.

So if you are looking for a better night’s sleep, less stress, more ease in life, a greater level of happiness or to let go of some habits that no longer serve you come and have your Bars run.

Can you really wake up joyful each morning? Is it possible to not take things personally? What if things were not right or wrong, or good or bad? What if they were just ideas with no judgment? What would it take for your life to be easier? What else is possible? Get your Bars run and put easy and joyful into your daily vocabulary.

The medical establishment has been proving that the mind can heal the body for over 50 years. We call it “the placebo effect,” and we know that when patients in clinical trials get nothing but sugar pills, saline injections, or fake surgeries—but believe they might be getting the new wonder drug or miracle surgery—their bodies get better 18 to 80% of the time.

While many are aware of the seemingly mysterious placebo effect, fewer people know about its evil twin, “the nocebo effect.”

It turns out that negative beliefs harm the body.

Researchers in San Diego examined the death records of almost 30,000 Chinese-Americans and compared them to over 400,000 randomly selected white people. What they found was that Chinese-Americans, but not whites, die significantly earlier than normal (by as much as five years) if they have a combination of disease and birth year which Chinese astrology and Chinese medicine consider ill-fated.

The researchers found that the more strongly the Chinese-Americans attached to traditional Chinese superstitions, the earlier they died. When they examined the data, they concluded that the reduction in life expectancy could not be explained by genetic factors, the lifestyle choices or behaviour of the patients, the skill of the doctors, or any other variable.

Why Did The Chinese-Americans Die Younger?

The researchers concluded that they died younger not because they have Chinese genes, but because they have Chinese beliefs. They believe they will die younger because the stars have hexed them. And their negative beliefs manifested as a shorter life span.

It’s not just Chinese Americans whose fears about their health can result in negative health outcomes. One study showed that 79% of medical students report developing symptoms suggestive of the illnesses they are studying. Because they get paranoid and think they’ll get sick, their bodies comply by getting sick.

In addition to beliefs, other negative states of mind can also harm us. Chronic stress from negative attitudes and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can upset the body's hormone balance and deplete the brain chemicals required for feelings of happiness, as well as have a damaging impact on the immune system. New scientific understandings have also identified the process by which chronic stress can actually decrease our lifespan by shortening our telomeres (the “end caps” of our DNA strands, which play a big role in aging).

To find out more about the effects of negativity on your health join me in attending the next seminar lead by my friend, Elly McGuinness of Natural Balance Health and Fitness, this Thursday 2 July at 7.15pm. And not only will you learn lots more about a negative mindset and how to turn it around, but you’ll also get a free box of organic fruit – just the thing to brighten anyone’s state of mind.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/health-and-fitness-seminar-series-tickets-16671640325" target="_blank">Click here to register for Negative Nelly No More  

As a nutritionist, people often ask me what I eat. And usually the answer surprises them and embarasses me. You see, the truth is, my diet is pretty simple, predictable, repetitive and, well, boring. And that, surprisingly enough is one of the keys to my success in maintaining a trim figure.

It's really difficult to follow a diet and get results from it is when we are trying to eat different meals all the time with new and novel ingredients and recipes. People that tend to get the best results with their diet have a pretty consistent program in place. That means that what they’re doing every day is predicable. It’s incorporated into their routines. Those who wake up and ask themselves “what am I going to eat today?” have less chance of becoming successful.

I think it makes sense to make some of your meals predicable, and what others might call ‘boring.”

That means eating some of the same meals over and over and over again.

It may only appear boring to other people, but it has to be enjoyable for you. The meals that you’re going to eat over and over again should be tasty. They should be the sort of meals you never get tired of eating.

What are some of the benefits of eating the same meals over and over again?

1. It’s easier. It’s easy to stock up on the ingredients, always buy the same things, make the same recipe, and prepare it in advance. It’s just easier to know that what you’re going to be eating is, to some degree, predicable.
2. You can get health benefits. Why? Because if you carefully design those meals to be consistent, you can eat roughly the same number of calories, include certain foods that are very beneficial for health (like blueberries and flax seeds) that you would normally eat only occasionally.
3. You eat less. Variety leads to over-eating. When we have more options, we eat more. When we’re in front of a buffet we eat more then when we have only one option. When something is new, it’s exciting. A dog will prefer a new kind of dog food than the old one simply because it’s different, and will eat more of it as a result.
4. It’s less expensive. When you’re eating the same foods, you can make sure that you’re including foods that are less expensive and therefore you have less waste. You can include ingredients that are cheap and it’s just easier planning that way.
5. It becomes a habit. When you always eat the same things, it’s just part of your life.

So, how do we keep the consistent diet enjoyable? There are certain meals of the day that can be repeated over and over again.

The most obvious one is breakfast. Breakfast should be simple. It should be the same thing pretty much all the time. Why? We don’t expect breakfast to be exciting. We just want to eat some food to get our day started. Lunch could also be a fairly predictable affair.

Dinner is where we seek some variety. If we eat the same dinner meals over and over again, we’re going to get bored. Only a very few people can do it. However, you can still rotate some of the same dinners that you prefer and let’s say once or twice a week introduce something new; that way you’re eating something different every day. If you want to make it even simpler, use that system and make your lunch simply leftovers from dinner.

What are some good examples of meals that I personally like, and are simple, nutritious and made easily?

Breakfast

I essentially eat the same breakfast almost every day and have done for the last 6 or 7 years. I also have one alternate breakfast I use when I'm camping or away from home without my blender. Essentially two or breakfast meals are:

The Green Smoothie:My lovely man, Michael, makes my smoothie for me every morning. Essentially, he rotates about five different greens, adds bananas oranges, pineapple and kiwifruit, plus any other fruit we have, adds some green superfoods, and voila - breakfast every day of the week.

The Oatmeal Breakfast: I eat this on mornings when I'm camping or away from home. I like the oatmeal breakfast because it keeps my energy sustained for a long time and it’s also very cheap and easy to prepare. I mix in some date paste for sweetness, frozen berries (that way they thaw in the oatmeal), and I top it off with flax meal and cinnamon. Simple, delicious and very sustaining. When I do have oats for breakfast, I always also eat some steamed greens of some sort. I really try to incorporate greens into every meal.

To see how I eat for a whole day, watch "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA3XPxvyJ48" target="_blank">What I Eat Wednesday".

If you would like some help with your diet, consider getting a Nutritional Audit.

And, if you need help losing weight, contact me to make a time for a free Forever Slim Strategy Session and check out the Eat More to Weigh Less program.

It never ceases to amaze me that about 75% of the people who come to see me for physical health conditions also suffer from depression. Many cannot tolerate antidepressants, don’t benefit from them, or are reluctant to try medications or seek counselling. As a result, they suffer in silence and miss miss an average of 19 work days per year. Depression can aggravate other chronic illnesses as well, like diabetes and heart disease. We know that plant-based diets prevent and even treat these chronic illnesses, but can they also improve mood? A recent study published in the March/April issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion demonstrates how a plant-based nutrition program improves not only depression, but anxiety, fatigue, productivity, and other markers of well-being.

This 18-week study analyses the health benefits of adopting a plant-based vegan diet in a corporate setting. Study participants, employees who were either overweight or struggling with type 2 diabetes, adopted a low-fat vegan diet, favouring high-fibre, low-glycemic foods. They learned about preventive nutrition and new cooking tips through weekly “lunch and learn” sessions led by a clinician or cooking instructor. They also formed bonds, sharing helpful health tips along the way and connecting with the group on a daily basis through an online forum. Study participants alleviated symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue, and improved their productivity both at work and outside of work, according to the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI):

They also lost an average of 10 pounds, lowered LDL cholesterol levels by 13 points, and improved blood sugar control, if they had type 2 diabetes. When people improve their physical health they become more physically and socially active and their overall quality of life improves.

In another study, it was found that women who consume a diet defined as inflammatory—high in red meat, fish, sodas, and refined grains—have a higher risk for depression, compared with women who consume low amounts of these products. As part of the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers analyzed the diets of 43,685 women who were free of depression at the onset of the research and followed them for an average of 12 years. Using measurable lab values associated with depression as well as a physician’s diagnosis and use of antidepressants, they found that women who favored inflammatory food products were 41 percent more likely to be depressed.

How does a plant-based diet improve depression? Depression is related to inflammation in the body, a brain starved of nutrients and overloaded with toxins, and low levels of serotonin. If your brain is starving and toxic, you have every right to be depressed. Who wouldn't be?

Plant-based foods naturally lower inflammation in the body because they are naturally low in fat and animal protein, and high in antioxidants. High vegetable intake increases the amount of nutrients and especially B vitamins in the diet, which have been found to affect mood. Plants are also lower on the food chain and thus are lower in toxins.

So what are you waiting for? Jump right in with a low-fat, plant-based diet! It’s the best prescription to boost your mood, energy, and productivity, while reducing your risk for chronic illnesses.

Have you ever heard that vegans have better sex? Well, its true! Going vegan may be the best thing you could do for your sex life. There are countless reasons to become vegan, from animal rights to the environment, to boosting your performance in the sack! Here are six of the ways a vegan diet benefits you in the bedroom:

1. Increase Blood Flow

Going vegan is like running a roto-rooter through your arteries. diets high in animal products, and thus fat, not only restrict blood flow by narrowing your arteries, but also pump your body full of synthetic hormones and antibiotics.

Reduced blood flow becomes an issue for obvious reasons: you need sufficient blood flow to your nether regions in order to “perform” and enjoy. This applies to women as well, as we need sufficient blood flow to experience sexual arousal and multiple orgasms.

The synthetic hormones can mess with your body’s balance and, for men, lead to a lower sperm count, as well as increase your risk of testicular tumors. and there is nothing like a tumor to kill the mood.

Plus, a vegan diet usually leads to the loss of excess weight, making you sexier and more able to perform the more athletic positions, not to mention the increase in penis length when it’s not couched in fat.

2. Boost Energy

For energy in the sack and marathon sessions between the sheets, you need foods that provide sustainable energy. Fruit, in particular is fantastic for this as it is packed full of whole-food carbohydrates, the very fuel on which your cells run.Unlike processed sugar, fruit doesn’t give you a “crash” but rather provides a sustained release of energy. Plus, fruits like bananas contain potassium, which aids in the production of sex hormones. And, in general, not being weighed down by the bodily and dietary fat of a diet high in animal products tends to give you a boost!

3. Increase Natural Lubrication

The body requires water to stay hydrated and this extends to the production of natural lubrication. A vegan diet, which includes fruits and vegetables, can aid in increasing lubrication for women due to the high water content of produce. This has the added bonus of hydrating your skin for less wrinkles and dryness. Nothing keeps the party going like not having to reach for the lube!

4. Increase Libido

What you eat can’t help but affect your libido. You often hear of certain foods acting as aphrodisiacs. for example, many vegan foods are rich in zinc and vitamin b complexes, which are said to increase desire and testosterone. And aside from the nutritional boost, there are the other components of being vegan that we’re discussing: the smooth skin, increased stamina, weight loss, heightened energy, pleasant smell, et cetera, which all contribute to a raging libido. Plus, there’s just something sexy about eating in a cruelty-free, environmentally-friendly way. It’s just hot.

5. Smooth, Silky, Sexy Skin

Skin is kind of important in sex. And feeling comfortable and confident in your skin is just as important as the feel of your skin itself! A vegan diet covers both. Once again it’s fruits and vegetables for the win when it comes to healthy skin: being rich in vitamin c, a vegan diet is ideal for collagen metabolism, resulting in an increase of our skin’s elasticity. As mentioned above, the high water content of fruits and vegetables also help in hydrating your skin, making it smooth and soft to the touch. Then there are the antioxidants in many fruits and veggies, which can fight the signs of aging by kicking free radical ass. A vegan diet also improves acne and can leave your skin clear and ready for some action.

6. Better Tasting Bodily Fluids and Fresher Body Odor

Believe it or not but adopting a vegan diet makes you taste and smell better, both serious advantages in the bedroom. Going vegan usually means eating less acidic foods, leading to a more alkaline body chemistry and overall sweeter taste. And a vegan diet high in fruits and vegetables leads to fresh and pleasant body odor as opposed to the intense, foul odor created by a diet high in animals products. Tasting sweet and smelling fresh are two benefits of a vegan diet that your partner will enjoy even more than you!

Overall, going on a vegan diet will benefit your bedroom activities greatly. You’ll feel and look sexier, have more energy, taste and smell alluring and be able to go harder, longer! So go vegan for your sex life…your partner will thank you.

By Emily from "Bite-size Vegan"

Maca is a potent superfood with a 5,000+ year history yet has only been recently introduced to the Western world. Hailed as “Nature’s Viagra” and “Peruvian Ginseng” maca has a lot to offer both genders of all ages, as well as boasting a wide and impressive range of nutritional properties. Read on for more information about this wonder food and how you can bring its potency and multi-faceted health benefits into your diet.

What is maca?

Maca (Lepidium Meyenii) is a tuberous perennial plant that grows high in the Andean Mountains at altitudes of between 11,000 and 14,000 feet. Colour-wise it looks like a potato, but it is shaped like a large radish. It grows as a mat-like stem system. Its roots are the parts that are dried and stored and made into powder, which is how we buy it today.

Maca facts

• The maca plant is related to the radish.
• Maca is the only plant that can survive at this altitude because of the extreme weather conditions there – i.e. brutally hot temperatures by day and freezing cold temperatures by night.
• Maca is technically an herb but is eaten as a food.
• The root is approximately 8cm in diameter and of a pale white colour.
• Although it is perennial it is reproduced by seeds which require around 7-9 months for harvesting.

Maca history

• The Incas, a well-organised and developed Peruvian civilisation, would eat maca before battle for extra power and fierce strength. However, after battle they were prohibited from eating it to protect the conquered women from their powerful sexual impulses.
• The messengers and couriers had to walk vast distances throughout the huge Incan Empire – for their efforts they received maca from the Inca king.
• The Spanish became familiar with maca because of the conquest of the South American continent. They had found that their horses had become infertile due to the high altitude so the local population recommended that the Spaniards give mace to their horses – to excellent effect. Later they even collected their taxes in maca, which they transported back to Spain. For reasons unknown, maca fell into oblivion in Europe and only the Peruvians continued using maca – until recently.
• During the 1960’s and 70’s scientists carried out botanical research in Peru. They studied “the lost vegetation of the Andes” – one of these lost plants was maca. In 1998 Dr. Qun Yi Zheng and his colleagues conducted an in-depth analysis of maca, looking closely at maca’s nutritional properties (see later).
• Today maca’s popularity is on the increase. Acreage in Peru is increasing every year to meet demand and a number of scientists have turned their attention to the root. In Europe, the USA and Japan dietary supplements containing maca are gaining increasing numbers of fans.

Preparation

• In Peru maca is consumed in different ways: raw, baked or dried. Peruvians make cookies, tarts, hot porridge, chips and beverages with maca.
• In Europe and North America maca is mainly sold in dried powder form, which keeps safely and successfully for a number of years.

Uses

Maca is not a medicine but rather a very nutritious food with medicinal properties. It has been used as a food for thousands of years and is used primarily for:

• Energy and stamina

• Libido stimulation/enhancement

• Memory improvement

• Anemia and depression (the treatment of)

• Adrenal restoration

• Raise low blood pressure or lower high blood pressure

Research has shown that maca improves sexual functioning in many ways. It is said to improve sexual performance, the frequency with which people have sex and even to significantly increase sperm count! In men maca increases energy, athletic performance and stamina and regulates the hormonal balance and increases testosterone. It also acts as an aphrodisiac and fights erective dysfunctions and impotency. It can also ease the problems of male menopause. Older people say that they feel younger while taking maca. In women, maca increases lust or the sexual appetite and is also said to increase fertility.

Maca is well known as being a hormonal adaptogen, this means that in women the hormones are also regulated, leading to more stamina, vitality and the considerable easing of menopause and PMT (pre-menstrual tension). It is reported that Peruvian women never get hot flushes (or “flashes” as they are known stateside). Many women feel better after using maca for just one week – it is the ideal natural replacement for H.R.T (hormone replacement therapy) and I know one person who I know for sure has completely eradicated previously crippling period pains and sickness that she thought only surgery could remedy.

Nutritional properties

The soil in which it grows contains huge amounts of minerals which make the maca high in nutritional value. It is significantly high in potassium, calcium (higher levels than in milk), magnesium and iron.

Dried maca weighs in at about 60% carbohydrate, 9% fibre, and just over 10% protein. Its trace minerals include zinc, iodine, copper, selenium, bismuth, manganese and silica as well as B vitamins and an assortment of fatty acids.

This is just the basics; research is being carried out all the time. In modern times two groups of novel compounds have been discovered – the macamides and the macaenes. These agents are believed to be directly responsible for maca’s sex-boosting powers.

How to eat maca

As maca is a food it should be taken in decent sized quantities – in this case less is NOT more! To be consistent with Peruvian use the ideal “dosage” is 3000 – 5000 mg per day – but more is no bad idea. A tablespoon blended into a smoothie is the quickest and easiest way to get a good amount of maca into your daily diet. As it is a food and not a medicine, you cannot overdose. (Toxicity studies have been carried out in the US and have showed absolutely no toxicity and no adverse pharmalogic effects). Maca has a malty taste to it which is fairly strong, for this reason it is best taken in a capsule or taken as part of a drink or mixed into your food rather than taken alone.

Maca recipe

Maca has such a strong taste that it’s not always easy to find a way to take it in – but it’s so worth it! This is a drink that’s a great post breakfast drink or snack or one for late evening when it’s too late to eat.

Maca Milk

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds

3 cups water

1 level Tablespoon maca powder

2 Medjool dates

Directions:

Place almonds and water in a blender and blend on high speed until nuts are completely broken and almond milk is created.

Strain the almond milk through a fine sieve or nut milk bag into a bowl or jug. Save pulp for a dessert recipe, for dehydrating into almond flour, or compost.

Rinse blender and add back in the strained nut milk.

Add the maca powder and your chosen sweetener and blend.

Taste test for sweetness and add more maca or dates or agave if required.

Serve and savour!

* * * * *

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Go Raw! Weekly” – a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere, plus a fabulously info-packed bi-monthly raw food e-magazine with over 18 print-out-and-keep recipes. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com

Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. Don't see food as "good" or "bad." Eat what you want, when you want.

It kind of sounds like the best "diet" out there, right? This is the philosophy of Intuitive eating, which is based on the belief that you should eat based on hunger signals and listening to your body. Followers of intuitive eating state that we are all born with an inner wisdom that will tell us what to eat and when to eat, so that you’ll eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.

People like intuitive eating because they’re been told what they want to hear. And it is a very liberating philosophy if you’ve been stuck on the dieting merry-go-round for years and restricting your food intake.

But, does it work?

At first glance, intuitive eating makes sense. When we look at the rest of the animal kingdom, we see intuitive eating working perfectly. Even when animals inhabit areas where their natural food is in abundance, none are overweight. There are no zebras calculating the percentage of fat they are about to ingest; no lions ensuring that they're "in the zone" before sinking their teeth into a Thompson's gazelle; no cheetahs too fat to climb to the top branch of their abode without the use of an elevator.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it works as well for people. It’s never worked well for me or for my clients, and there’s no record of it working for anyone else in the scientific literature. So why does it seem to work well for other species but not for us?

The answer is that they’re all eating their species specific diet and we’re not. We evolved in a food environment that looked like this

and now we find ourselves in a food environment that looks like this.

All animals, including us, follow three motivating forces in life, called the motivational triad: we all attempt to increase our pleasure; we all attempt to decrease our pain; we all try to do this by using the least amount of energy. Animals following the motivational triad in natural surroundings will never go wrong, because in nature there are no short cuts. The problem is the modern world, where man has created a multitude of short cuts that lead directly to pleasure (and addiction), as well a whole new slew of problems that don't exist in nature - like obesity.

Just think about the type of foods you (and everyone else) typically craves. It’s not usually fruit and vegetables. Typically we crave foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt. These are nutrient-deficient, unhealthy foods that lead to a form of addiction. There is no nutritional reason for craving them. They don’t indicate some underlying nutritional need. We’re addicted to them because they increase our pleasure, distract us from our pain and all for very little effort.

The problem is modern processed food, artificially high in fat, artificially low in fibre, artificially sweetened and artificially processed like nowhere in nature. These foods quickly boost dopamine levels in the brain, allowing us to experience pleasure all the time, getting us hooked nearly as strong as an addiction to drugs. High fat foods are more appealing to animals (they cause more pleasure) because of their high-caloric density. Remember that animals will expend the least amount of energy while increasing their pleasure; finding more calories in one food is better than having to locate multiple sources to get the same total number of calories. However, natural high-fat foods are nowhere near as fatty as magic foods and they don't come close to modifying the brain chemistry in the same manner. Hence, animals in the wild don't have the problems that we have. But if you took that chimp out of the wild, and locked him inside your local McDonald's (such cruelty has got to be illegal), giving him the same access to all of their unnatural food, he would soon balloon to 110kg and look just like the customers waiting in line!

Our instinctual satiety mechanisms don't work with the magic foods of modern society. These mechanisms evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in the midst of natural surroundings, where there wasn't flour, refined sugar, Cola, hormone-administered beef, ice cream, cheese and the million other processed foods that line the shelves of our supermarkets and restaurants. When we eat these foods we can no longer rely on these mechanisms to tell us when we've had enough. But if we stop eating unnatural foods, it becomes impossible to over-eat and eventually maintain the weight intended by nature.

This is the way of eating that is taught in my Eat More to Weigh Less program. And it does have some commonalities with intuitive eating. Both Eat More to Weigh Less and intuitive eating reject the diet mentality by teaching you to honour your hunger and respect your fullness and to honour your feelings without using food.

The big difference is that while intuitive eating encourages you to eat whatever you feel like, Eat More to Weigh Less teaches you which foods are part of your species specific diet and which foods need to be eliminated from your diet. This allows you to eat as much as you want without falling into the pleasure trap of highly addictive foods.

For a free Eat More to Weigh Less Strategy Session with me, phone 357 4335 or email cath@ckinghealth.co.nz

Osteoporosis is a bone-thinning condition commonly seen in elderly men and in postmenopausal women. It can lead to dangerous and potentially disabling fractures, particularly in the vertebrae and the hip. Approximately one in two women and up to one in four men age 50 and older will break a bone due to osteoporosis.

Calcium is an essential mineral for maintenance of bone integrity, but studies show that adding more calcium to your diet doesn’t automatically protect your bones. In an 18-year prospective analysis of 72,000 postmenopausal women, researchers found that higher total calcium intake was not associated with decreased fracture risk.

In order to protect your bones you not only need calcium in your diet, but you also need to make sure you keep calcium in your bones.

How to Get Calcium Into Your Bones

1. Get calcium from greens, beans, or fortified foods.

Recommended calcium intake is 1,000 mg/day for men and women 19-50 years old, and 1,200 mg/day for those older than 51. As a general rule, the most healthful calcium sources are green leafy vegetables and legumes. While dairy products do contain calcium, they also contain animal proteins and growth factors, lactose sugar, contaminants, and a substantial amount of fat and cholesterol (in all but the defatted versions), making them an unfavorable choice for obtaining calcium.

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, mustard greens, green cabbage, and other greens are loaded with highly absorbable calcium and a host of other healthful nutrients. Exceptions include spinach and silverbeet, which contain calcium but hold onto it very tenaciously, making it difficult for you to absorb much of it. You will find plenty of calcium in chickpeas, tofu, or other bean or bean products as well. These beans and greens also contain magnesium, which your body requires along with calcium to build bones, making them optimal dietary choices for improving bone health.

Calcium-fortified products contain very concentrated amounts of calcium. For example, calcium-fortified orange or apple juices contain 300 milligrams or more of calcium per cup in a form as absorbable as cow’s milk.

2. Get adequate amounts of vitamin D.

Vitamin D controls your body’s use of calcium. Without vitamin D, only 10-15 percent of dietary calcium is absorbed. So, in order to maintain bone health and to experience benefits from calcium, vitamin D intake must be sufficient.

In fact, while calcium in dairy products alone may not directly strengthen bones, increasing intake of vitamin D has been shown to reduce fracture risk up to 26 percent. About 15 minutes of sunlight on your skin each day during the summer months normally produces all the vitamin D you need. If you get little or no sun exposure, or during winter, you can get vitamin D from a supplement or from fortified foods. The Recommended Dietary Allowance for adults is 600 IU (15 micrograms) per day.

How to Keep Calcium in Your Bones

Even more critical than getting calcium into your bones is keeping it there. Here are some ways you can accomplish this:

1. Avoid excess salt.

High salt intake is a commonly recognized risk factor for osteoporosis because it leads to calciuria, or excessive urinary calcium excretion. Most of the calcium in the body is stored in the bone, and the rest is found in the blood.

The blood level of calcium is carefully controlled. When it is too low, calcium from the bones dissolves into the bloodstream. When it is too high, the extra calcium either passes through the kidneys and out of the body through the urine or gets stored in the bones. Normal levels of calcium found in the urine are 100-250 mg/day. If you excrete more than this amount, calcium loss becomes a problem. Sodium in the foods you eat can greatly increase calcium loss through the kidneys.

In a study investigating the impact of salt intake as related to calcium absorption in postmenopausal women, salt was found to be responsible for a negative change in bone calcium balance, which measures how much calcium absorbed from the diet actually stays in the bones. It was also directly associated with increased urinary calcium excretion.

If you reduce your sodium intake to 1 to 2 grams per day, you will hold onto calcium better. To do this, avoid salty snack foods and canned goods with added sodium, and keep salt use low on the stove and at the table.

2. Get your protein from plants, not animal products.

Animal protein—in fish, poultry, red meat, eggs, and dairy products— tends to encourage calcium’s passage into the urine. This occurs because the high amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids in animal proteins cause an acidification of the blood, and calcium is released from the bones in order to neutralize it. Whether this leads to poorer bone health remains up for debate. However, plant protein—in beans, grains, and vegetables—does not appear to have this effect. In fact, a 1994 report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that when animal proteins were eliminated from the diet, calcium losses were cut in half.

3. Exercise.

Exercise is vital for keeping calcium in the bones and increasing bone density. Benefits have been observed in studies of both children and adults. In a year-long study of 320 postmenopausal women, those who completed aerobic, weight-bearing activity combined with weight lifting three times a week had a significant increase in regional bone density, compared with those who did not exercise.

Moreover, physical activities help to stimulate increases in bone diameter which can counteract the thinning of bones, and in turn, lessen the risk of fractures.

4. Don’t smoke.

Smoking is a risk factor for increased bone mineral density loss. Smoking may affect bone loss through toxic effects on bone collagen synthesis, changes in hormonal metabolism, and by decreasing efficiency of calcium absorption. A study of identical twins showed that if one twin had been a long-term smoker and the other had not, the smoker had more than a 40 percent higher risk of a fracture.

Recommendations for calcium intake are high, partly because high meat and salt intake, tobacco use, and physical inactivity of that are part of life in NZ, all lead to overly rapid and unnatural loss of calcium through the kidneys. By controlling these basic factors, you can have an enormous influence on whether calcium stays in your bones or drains out of your body.

Remember: Osteoporosis is much easier to prevent than to treat. Prevention of osteoporosis should begin in childhood and continue throughout one’s life.

If you're concerned about whether you're getting enough calcium in your diet, get a Nutritional Audit done on your diet. Contact me on 357 4335 or email cath@ckinghealth.co.nz to book.

Over the years carbs have gotten a really bad rap. Those in the Paleo movement have even convinced people that they are "carb addicts". This is such a pity, because it has people trying to avoid perfectly healthy, natural and energy-giving foods like fruit, potatoes, kumara, rice, quinoa,oats and millet.

One reason these foods have been so maligned is their connection with wheat.

Wheat has been an integral source of nutrition for thousands of years. It helped keep us from starvation and contributed to the growth of many civilizations. However, the current version of wheat isn't what it used to be, and wheat today is contributing to an ever increasing epidemic of obesity.

The wheat of our ancestors is incomparable to that which is popularly consumed today. Standing at approximately 18” tall, modern wheat is a dwarf version of the shoulder-high, nutritionally dense wheat of the past. Additionally, most wheat products consumed today are highly refined and potentially rancid.

So why can’t we just stop eating wheat and bread? There are many issues associated with consuming wheat-based products from a health perspective, one of which is that they seem to be incredibly addictive. It's been estimated that up to three-fourths of all overweight people have an addiction to bread.

Are you an addict?

Here are some signs you may have a problem with wheat:

* Strong cravings for products such as bread, cookies, pastries, cakes, pasta, etc.

* A feeling of calm and comfort after eating bread products

* A strong compulsion to eat bread products in preference of other foods

* A drive to eat more carb-rich items soon after finishing a meal

The addictive nature of bread and bread products shows up, for example, when we may decide we will avoid bread for a meal and yet find ourselves unable to resist when the bread basket in placed in front of us. Some people can happily be satisfied with one dinner roll while others will find themselves unable to quench their desire for more at every meal and maybe even having sweet snacks in between. Why do some people have such a hard time with bread?

Here’s What Happens Physically

Bread and many processed foods are refined carbohydrates, and have been stripped down of all the nutrients and fiber. Carbohydrates are basically sugar molecules that are linked together. These types of molecules enter your bloodstream easily. Simple sugars enter the bloodstream quickly, but chains of sugars, like those contained in bread products, give you a MASSIVE sugar hit to your bloodstream, even more quickly than table sugar.

When these chains of carbohydrates break down in your system, there is such a large glucose spike, it triggers your body to protect itself by releasing insulin and getting those sugars out of the bloodstream ASAP by storing them as fat. If too much insulin is released to deal with the blood sugar level, then suddenly you can crash and feel the need to eat more bread to get some “energy” back again. It becomes a vicious cycle leading to insulin resistance where the body stops using insulin properly and glucose becomes trapped in the bloodstream, ultimately resulting in Type 2 diabetes.

Emotional Motivations

In addition to the physical effects, there is also a psychological effect of eating bread. Wheat is difficult to digest. It pulls a lot of blood out of circulation and moves it into the digestive tract. The loss of blood dulls the mind, and creates a “food coma” effect. Bread is a “comfort” food because it is associated with a sense of well-being, notwithstanding an absence of sharp mental clarity, that many people choose to experience when they are stressed, bored, or otherwise unhappy.

Bread also boosts brain tryptophan levels, making us sleepy. This tryptophan boost increases brain serotonin levels over time, which makes us feel content. Further, the immediate reward of eating bread is a dopamine rush: the same neurotransmitter behind drug highs like with cocaine and amphetamines. This rush can lead to intrusive thoughts in your head and more cravings when you go too long without a fix.

The National Institute of Health Researchers found that bread stimulates the brain’s opiate receptors when consumed, eliciting a sense of euphoria. The more we eat it, the more we want to eat. The flavor, texture, and high glycemic content of bread makes it difficult to stop eating once you've started. In addition, 40% of people will go through something like an opiate withdrawal when they stop eating these products which can make the “giving up” process somewhat daunting.

Unlike street drugs, wheat products do more than rewire your neurological system. They will short-circuit your body’s systems by reprogramming your metabolism, stockpiling energy as unburnable fat, and causing more cravings which continue the up and down cycle.

Needless to say, eating bread is only a temporary solution to the problem and does not truly satisfy a person's real underlying needs, either emotionally or nutritionally, and so people become prone to overeating without ever finding true satisfaction from their food.

And, like any other addictive drug, the positive effects of eating carbs diminish over time, while the addiction remains. So we have to eat more and more bread to achieve the same feeling of well-being in our brain. As we gain weight, we get less and less reward and more and more metabolic problems.

If you feel you may be addicted to bread or wheat products, join me for a FREE Eat More to Weigh Less Strategy Session.