It may well be the time for good cheer and festivities, but if you are prone to ‘the blues’, to feeling down, where even the smallest things require an enormous effort and you carry with you a heavy sense of hopelessness; if all you really want to do is crawl in to bed and never come out,  then the thought of putting on your glad rags and partying the night away can be utterly overwhelming, never mind revving yourself up for a house full of family for Christmas day.

Depression can take many forms. Clinical depression is a serious mental illness that usually requires long-term medication to maintain a healthy balance of brain chemicals to keep the levels of depression under control. Other, less severe forms of depression can sometimes respond well and be managed by using some nutritional interventions.

Mild to moderate depression can be triggered by a difficult life event; by prolonged high levels of stress or anxiety; a poor diet lacking in certain essential nutrients; an excess of alcohol and/or recreational drugs or a genetic predisposition. Symptoms include episodes of sleeplessness, low sex drive, loss of appetite, or a craving for high-carbohydrate foods, low mood, obviously, poor concentration, and a real lack of motivation and self-belief.

What many people do not realise is how food can affect brain chemical balance. In just the same way as any other organ in the body requires specific nutrients for optimum function, so too healthy brain function can be maintained through healthy food and lifestyle practices.

With this is mind, I was at a Christmas party last night and when asked about my work I explained what nutritional therapy is and gave the example of how eating certain foods can help with certain cases of mental illness. The woman I was speaking with found this utterly remarkable and was keen to hear more.  I gave the example of depression. She failed to understand why people didn’t just go the gym to get a hit of endorphins, the way she does. I explained that once depression takes hold it can be extremely hard to find the energy and motivation to do anything very much, never mind going to the gym.

It struck me as interesting though, as this woman had clearly found her own strategy for coping with her stress and anxiety levels by thrashing it out at the gym. I am well aware that depression is far more fickle and pervasive than feeling a little stressed out, wound up or jaded, but I wanted to run through some healthy guidelines for helping to keep your brain chemicals in good order:

Omega 3: yes, yet again, this essential oil, woefully lacking in most Westerners diet, is utterly critical for healthy brain function including ensuring the feel good chemicals and well balanced.

Vitamin D: another nutrient severely lacking in many people, especially during the winter. Low vitamin D levels are strongly correlated to low mood depression.

-Tryptophan: this an amino acid, found in certain proteins and is the precursor to the manufacture of serotonin, one of the main ‘feel-good’ chemicals in the brain. Interestingly, there are high levels of tryptophan in white meat, especially turkey, so it makes sense to feast on turkey during holiday times when tensions can be high with all those visitors and demands on your time.

Whole grains: especially brown rice and whole oats. These foods contain good levels of various B vitamins essential for supporting adrenal function (helping with feelings of stress and anxiety) and good for supporting the nervous system and getting a good nights sleep.

Organic, free-range eggs: containing great levels of protein and, if organic and free range, will also contain lots of omega 3 and vitamin D.

Stable blood sugar: ensure regular, well-balanced meals with good levels of protein, whole grains and fresh veg. This will help maintain steady blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar can trigger low mood, energy slumps and feelings of anxiety.

Stay off the refined carbs: sugar, white bread, processed snacks, cakes, biscuits etc. play havoc with blood sugar levels and can negatively affect brain chemical balance.

Manage your stress: easier said than done, but high levels of stress over a prolonged period can result in serious levels of depression due to the stress hormone cortisol -  a well studied depressant.

Get outside! A good brisk walk can significantly lift a low mood. Even if you don’t feel like it, force yourself to get outside. It doesn’t matter if the sun isn’t shining, you’re brain chemicals will still benefit from revving up your body and being out in the daylight.

I appreciate that this is a somewhat simplistic approach to depression and I in no way wish to trivialize what is often a very debilitating, misunderstood and under diagnosed problem. Equally, please do no underestimate the power of healthy eating on certain mental health issues.

There are some specific supplements that can significantly boost serotonin, dopamine and melatonin levels, all involved in mood regulation, stress management and sleep. If you feel you need some help with managing your depression naturally, please get in touch.

You may have heard that lemon water is good for you, but you may not know why. Well, there are many great reasons to start your day with this cheap and refreshing tonic. Having a large (pref. a pint) glass of warm water with the freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon (or lime), will:

•  Give you a great energy boost first thing in the morning due to its great hydrating and oxygenating effects. Have it as soon as you get up, before eating anything, to get the best results.

• Improve your mental clarity as the body loses a lot of moisture throughout the night so you will be in need of good hydration first thing in the morning. As I’ve posted before, even a tiny amount of dehydration leads to sluggishness in body and mind.

• Many people rely on caffeinated drinks to get them going in the morning, but this over-stimulates the adrenal glands, resulting in a downer shortly afterwards, and caffeine is a diuretic causing more dehydration and the loss of minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium. Lemon juice not only rehydrates, it is high in vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium.

• Lemon water will stimulate your hydrochloric acid and digestive enzyme production, preparing your body for food, so you digest and absorb the goodness from your breakfast much better.

• Fresh lemon has been shown to stimulate liver function, specifically the production of many of the liver enzymes that help the body to detoxify.

• Citric acid, found in high levels in lemon juice, helps to prevent excess calcium building up on artery walls and as kidney stones.

• Lemon water taken regularly has been shown to reduce blood pressure and dilutes uric acid in the body – a build up of which can cause the potentially excruciating conditions gout and arthritis.

• and, it helps with excess acidity in the body. I appreciate this is counter-intuitive as citrus fruits are acidic, but due to the process of digestion, it becomes buffered and actually helps keep the digestive system at a healthy pH balance.

Go on, try it. Once you start you’ll wonder how you ever got going without it. oh, by the way, if you have weak / thin tooth enamel, it’s best to drink your lemon water with a straw so you bypass your teeth and protect your enamel from the weakening effect of the lemon juice.

It is pretty widely known that garlic is a really healthy food. The reasons behind its healthy status are manifold and include being strongly antibiotic and blood cleansing – so very good for acne sufferers; it is also a powerful anti-fungal and anti-viral. Garlic has been shown to help reduce high levels of the unhealthy type cholesterol (LDL) and for lowering blood pressure; it is high is selenium, a potent anti-oxidant and it has been shown to offer great protection for the cardiovascular system and from various cancers – pretty amazing, no?

These incredible healthy-giving powers are mainly attributed to the active ingredient allicin, a sulphur compound. The allinanse enzyme gets activated once the cell walls of the garlic clove have been damaged. Therefore, in order to get the most out of your garlic, chop or crush it well before you heat it or add other ingredients. I find the best way to do this is to prep your garlic before you do any other preparation for the dish you are making. Allow it to sit and add to your cooking as late as possible to retain as much of the healthy active ingredietns as possible.

Microwaving garlic pretty much renders its health properties inactive (I think this is probably true for many nutrients in food) and eating it raw, having let it sit once crushed for a least 10 minutes, provides the optimum levels but if you have a delicate digestive system, you may find raw garlic causes a burning sensation and, of course, you’ll be a bit stinky. Chewing parsley can help with garlicky breath and will also provide you with a wealth of vitamins and anti-oxidants, so it’s a win win!

I was giving a talk at a vocal health forum recently. The room was filled with singers and singing teachers. After the forum a number people came to complaining of acid reflux and how taking antacids prescribed by their doctor, was having no benefit. I have also worked with several singers in the past with acid issues but this problem is in no way exclusive to singers. Because acid reflux is very detrimental to a singers voice, singers are far more likely to seek help rather than suffer in silence like many people do who do not feel so protective about their throats.

Acid reflux is quite simply stomach acid coming up the oesophagus (throat) rather than staying in the stomach. The acid in the stomach is incredibly strong and is there to kill off bacteria and other nasties in our food as well as helping to break down our food before it passes in to the intestines for absorption.

Acid reflux is generally considered an excess acid problem where too much of the stomach acid forces its way back up the throat, irritating the tissues and causing burping and an uncomfortable burning sensation. The same symptoms can also come for too little stomach acid. As you can see in the diagram, there is a sphincter at the top of the stomach. When the stomach has food in it, acid is added to the contents of the stomach and that top sphincter should jam shut so nothing can escape back up. If your body does not produce enough acid., the opening does not close properly, allowing acid to leak back up the throat.

Other symptoms of low stomach acid include bloating, as your food will not be getting broken down properly so will be fermenting in the gut; foul-smelling wind; poor bowel functioning – usually constipation; bad breath; feeling heavy and full for a long time after eating and if this condition goes on for some time you will become fatigued and run down as your absorption of nutrients from your food will be seriously impaired, potentially leading to much more serious aliments.

There are 2 simple tests you can do to get a good idea if your digestive issues and/or heart burn are caused by too little stomach acid. Firstly, get out the good old apple cider vinegar  (ACV) – see a past blog for more on this great health tonic. Use a high quality, unpasteurised ACV. Take 1 tablespoon in some water with your first mouthful of food. This will help generate a balanced amount of stomach acid and make your sphincter shut properly. If you find you feel better after a meal using the ACV, it is very likely you have low acid. If you feel worse, you are probably producing too much stomach acid.

Another test, add a level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to a glass of water and drink on an empty stomach. The bicarb will react with your stomach acid and cause gases to be produced. If after a few minutes you do NOT start to burp, your acid levels are low.

Remedies include taking a betaine and pepsin supplement – this supplies hydrochloric acid to your stomach; use ACV when you eat; have a broad spectrum digestive enzyme to help breakdown your food and CHEW, CHEW, CHEW – this will stimulate stomach acid production.

Let me make something very clear from the get-go. Having a week every month of feeling bloated, overly emotional and depressed, having sore breasts, a spotty chin, craving carbs and feeling crabby is not normal. It is very common but it is wrong to assume that this is just part what it is to be female.

So, if you do dread the week before your period, you need to do something about it because it is perfectly possible for you to have no symptoms at all – honestly.

Start by cleaning up your diet. Lots of fresh fruit and veg; whole grains like brown rice, oats, pot barely and quinoa; keep well hydrated with fresh water and herbal teas; eat minimal amounts of refined carbs (ideally eliminate them) such a white bread, cakes, biscuits, crisps etc. and highly processed foods; avoid hydrogenated fats and eat only small but regular amounts of good quality fish and meat.

Cutting out sugary and fatty foods will make a big difference. Including lot of fresh, healthy foods will further help, not just because they are healthy foods but they also have a direct impact on your hormonal management as the fibres in these foods aid in the elimination of excess hormones which are passed from the liver to the intestines. Plenty of dietary fibre ensures these hormones are not re-circulated.

Also, the nutrients in these foods, especially magnesium, calcium, chromium and zinc are all instrumental in hormonal management and blood sugar control, so important pre-menstrually. So eat small, regular meals with a good balance of healthy carbs, high quality protein, healthy fats and plenty of fibre to keep you on an even keel.

Exercise  -helps with blood sugar management, stress management and hormonal regulation, plus it elevates mood.

Relaxation and plenty of sleep are also key. So limit the alcohol, get to bed early and try some meditation, yoga, taking regular walks – whatever it takes to help you feel relaxed and calm.

There are several very effective natural remedies you can take to further ease your PMS and to regulate an irregular cycle. Here’s a list of some reliable favourites for those of you who suffer:

- High potency fish oil capsules – no I don’t have shares in little oily fish, but I ought to! Women who suffer with PMS almost always have very low omega 3 intake. Increasing your cellular levels of omega 3 will make a big difference to your hormonal management.

-  Agnus Casts (Chaste Tree): A herb that can be taken as a tincture or capsule. It is adaptogenic, so helps to balance the hormones by triggering the pituitary gland. It is a very effective  but I do advise  getting some professional advice on taking this herbal remedy.

- Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA): This is a form of omega 6 and is very effective at mitigating PMS symptoms. It is most often taken in the form of evening primrose oil (EPO) but borage oil is a more potent source although they contain the same active ingredient. So, when buying either EPO or borage oil check on the amount of GLA in the product as this is the active ingredient. You should be getting at least 150mg of GLA per capsule.

Raspberry Leaf – as a tea or a tincture is very soothing and helps balance female hormones.

Acupuncture – many studies have been conducted on the efficacy of acupuncture for hormonal issues.

So, get going on cleaning up your diet, get active, get some sleep, deal with your stress and try out regular supplementation of fish oils, GLA and maybe a herbal remedy. You may well find significant relief from the misery that is PMS.