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Carbs Are Not The Answer

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Thank you to the very lovely Polly of msmugs.com for my gift of this fabulous mug. Indeed, carbs are not the answer, certainly if they are highly refined and processed, but let’s not make an enemy of all carbs. The carbohydrate food group is huge. It includes all vegetables, fruit and grains as well as sugars. There are carbs in nuts and seeds, there are carbs in beans and lentils, there’s lots of carbs in milk. In fact, the only foods that contain very little to zero carbs are meat, fish, eggs, pure fats and oils and some forms of dairy foods such a mature cheeses and butter.

So the big conundrum is about how many carbs should we be eating and which forms of carbs are best. I am really opposed to using apps for counting food grams of any kind as this inevitably makes choosing what to eat an intellectual process rather than an instinctive, intuitive one. We need to think less and feel more about what to eat and when. Everyone has different needs based on many factors, not least activity levels, muscle-mass, gut bacteria and to a certain extent, genes.

The simple answer is to eat carbohydrate-based foods as they appear in nature, or as close to as possible; eat then in conjunction with a balance of other natural foods that contain protein and fat – think eggs, meat fish, cheese, and if they are foods that contained high levels of concentrated carbs, such as potatoes, grains (wheat, rice, corn, oats etc.) or something that contains sugars, keep them to a minimum.

Many of you know that I choose to avoid GPS foods (Grains, Potatoes and Sugars/Sweet Tasting Foods), as these are all high carbohydrate foods that convert very rapidly in to the blood stream as glucose (sugar). This can be a problem if your body doesn’t manage blood glucose levels well. The reality is that the majority of adults in the UK, indeed around the world, struggle to maintain healthy levels of glucose in the blood. We should be averaging around 1 teaspoon of glucose in the full 5 litres of our blood. This level will go up after foods, but the less it goes up and the more quickly it returns to base-line, the better for our health. To have chronically high blood glucose levels is so very bad for the brain and the body. It is something we all need to be aiming to avoid if we are to age well. Therefore, reducing or avoiding GPS foods serves that purpose.

Chronically high blood glucose levels can not only result in type 2 diabetes, it can cause fatty liver, fatty pancreas, general body fat increase, inflammation throughout the body, plaque accumulation in the brain, hardening of arteries and so many more life limiting illnesses, so it really is prudent, even if you have no apparent symptoms of ill health, to eat fewer of the foods that cause blood glucose to rapidly rise – the GPS foods.

If you are feeling tired, low, upset, bored, happy or all of the above, it can be so tempting to indulge in a doughnut or have a few biscuits with a cuppa because of the momentary pleasure a high carb food can bring. But refined grains, sweet foods, even potatoes very rapidly become sugar in the blood, triggering all sorts of reactions that can lead to wanting more to eat, to energy crashes, to insane sugar cravings and over the long term, serious health issues.

So no, Carbs Are Not The Answer however quick, convenient, cheap, available or desirable they may be. The longer you go without, the easier it is to continue to go without. Try 14 days of nothing sweet or starchy, not even fruit or artificial sweeteners (they are evil), stay off bread, crackers, pastries and biscuits; avoid processed foods as they will almost always contain some degree of grain flour, potatoes and / or sweetening agents, and notice how quickly you start to appreciate the joy of more subtly flavoured, natural foods. Use natural seasonings, herbs and spices to add nutrients and intertest and explore the joy of great quality natural fats and oils like butter, extra virgin olive oil, black seed oil, avocado and coconut to bring texture, flavor, unctuousness and ultimately satisfaction to your meals rather than going for a quick sugar hit. The long-term benefits are endless energy, clarity of mind, reduction in body fat and now more food monster moments…so why would you?

Why Drinking Water Doesn’t Help Us Hydrate

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Lately I have become very interested in hydration. Most people are aware that dehydration is not desirable and that drinking water throughout the day is advisable. The reality is, hydrating the body on a truly deep and useful level requires a whole lot more than just drinking plain water.

Many, if not all people in the Western world are dehydrated to some degree due to central heating, air conditioning and a highly processed, ‘dead’ diet that can further ‘dry-up’ the body. We lose around 1 litre of water through our breath and skin at night, so on waking we are all in need of rehydration just to start the day back at a well-hydrated state. We sweat out water when we are exercising, and we can trigger dehydration through excess alcohol, caffeine and chemical consumption. Dehydration on a tiny scale can cause major energy dips, headaches and a build-up of toxicity due to the thickening of the blood and lymph. This results in the slowing of the delivery of oxygen and other nutrients to your muscles and toxins being re-circulated rather than eliminated.

Dehydration on a cellular level can interfere with good cellular communication too. Once this starts to happen, we begin to compromise function of our cells. Getting nutrients in to the cells and toxins out of the cells suffers as does and the cells ability to communicate with the rest of the body, critical to enable your body to self-regulated the myriad of functions that are occurring second by second within the body.

The consequences to poor hydration on a cellular are unending and put simply, can only lead a perpetual decrease in good function and therefore, good health. Symptoms are likely to show up as fatigue; brain fog and poor concentration; poor digestion; hormonal deregulation; aches and pains; sluggish liver and so much more. Also, the body when dehydrated will not be able to benefit from otherwise healthful interventions such as exercise; the consumption of supplements; muscular and skeletal adjustments such as osteopathy and massage. The body cannot take on and hold these seemingly positive, external influences as the body is too ‘dry’, often resulting in negative rather than positive outcomes.

So how do we ensure we are getting in enough water and getting it to where it’s needed most? Well, let’s first look at the common belief that we need to be drinking 3 litres of water a day. I never suggest this to my patients. Having small, regular amounts of plain, non-tap water (due to the chlorine and other chemicals) throughout the day is a good idea, but it’s key to understand that plain water flushes through the kidneys and bladder, which is not at all a bad thing, but this does not provide water inside the cells. A regular flush can keep the kidneys functioning well and the bladder clear of infection, but this is a very different function to the water going in to, rather than through us. To hydrate on a cellular level, which is essential for the good function of all cells, you need to do the following on a daily basis:

Hydration Protocol

• Structure your Water: Every morning, on rising, drink a pint of warm water with the juice of half a lemon or lime. Also, add a very small amount of natural salt, ideally Rose Himalayan or similar and a teaspoon of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Adding Aloe Vera juice is also very useful. Drink slowly, use straw to protect your teeth and make this an absolute on a daily basis. You’ll soon miss it if you don’t.
Alternate throughout the day drinking herbals teas, plain water, and ‘structured’ water or diluted coconut water if exercising and sweating a lot. Water kefir, if not too sweet,is also a good

• Increase your daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. The water contained within fresh produce is in a structured form called gel water. This is highly hydrating. Succulent plants like Aloe Vera clearly hold their water in a gel-like structure, but all water inside vegetables is contained in this way and it is this structured, gel water that the cells utilise really well.

• Eat more ‘swollen’ foods such as beans and lentils, soaked nuts and seeds (see below).

• Eat soaked chia and flax seeds on a regular basis: These seeds absorb large amounts of water that is then taken up within the body: Put chia and flax in a bowl, cover well with water and leave overnight at room temperature. Eat the following day mixed with live natural yogurt, coconut yogurt or great to add to smoothies. If you have a grinder, you will get even more benefit if you freshly grind and soak these seeds. Put 1-2 tablespoons in the grinder and blitz to a rough meal. Put in a bowl, cover with water to about 1 cm over the level of the seeds and leave at room temperature. All the liquid should be absorbed by the morning, but the seed mix should be a little loose, not too solid. You may need to experiment with how much water to add.

• Get your minerals: Having good levels of minerals in the body is also essential to allow the body to take up the water inside the cells. Potassium is key, found in green leafy vegetables, so too magnesium. A master mineral involved in many functions in the body and nowadays greatly lacking in our processed diet, magnesium is found in nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, vegetables, beans and lentils, quinoa. You can greatly increase your magnesium level by having Epsom salt baths – put 2 large handfuls of Epsom salts in a hot bath and soak for at least 15 minutes. Sulphur is also very important, found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale and cauliflower, also present in eggs, onions and garlic.

• Infrared saunas and flotation tanks are also known to greatly improve cellular hydration. If you are lucky to have access to either of these, aim to do so on a regular basis.

Cured Vs Processed Meat – there’s a world of difference.

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If you’re at all familiar with what I do, you will know that I am passionate about good quality food.This tends to mean minimally processed, wholesome and natural. However, there is a process that was developed thousands of years ago to preserve foods from spoiling, that actually enhances the nutritional benefits and digestibility of food. It’s called Fermentation and it is this ancient art (the science of which is called Zymology) that determines the critical difference between a processed meat and a cured meat – curing being a form of fermentation.

The process of fermentation is found in many foods: chocolate, tea, coffee, olives, cheese, yogurt, kefir, wine, beer, vinegar, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, tempeh, miso, fish sauce and, yes, traditional salamis, pepperoni, chorizo, pancetta and many more hams and other deliciously tasty, deeply coloured, complex flavoured charcuterie, often pork based but not always.

Fermenting, or curing of meats (and fish), requires a process to halt the growth of nasty bacteria that cause food to spoil: salt (brining) being the classic method as salt draws out moisture from the food, so the bacteria can’t survive – the salt also draws moisture out of the actual bacteria too – eeek! Spices as well as salt can be added, depending on the end product, and then a special bacteria will be injected to inoculate the meat, just as a starter culture is used for yogurt, kefir, kombucha etc.

Then time does the rest, developing flavour, texture and all-round goodness, and this is the BIG difference between modern processed meats, where the process is quick and un-natural. Nitrates and nitrites artificially enhance flavour and maintain a pinkness that we have come to think of as fresh and good quality whereas well-cured meats can be almost deep purple in colour, showing age and natural flavour development. Cured meats have a dry texture and an intense, tangy flavour – that’s
the fermentation. All fermented foods should have a tang, like sour dough bread does in a way modern bread does not, as the beneficial bacteria that do the fermenting, ‘eat’ up natural sugars presntbin the food. Also, like good dark chocolate, great charcuterie packs a flavour punch that makes scoffing loads of it pretty impossible.

These are great artisan foods that should be eaten with reverence and deligh not feared as unhealthy and naughty. Processed meat has none of the beneficial qualities of a cured meat: they contain man-made chemicals for colour; preservatives to extend shelf-life; many have a very low percentage meat content, which begs the question, what else is in there and hence, consuming too much does appear to increase risk of heart disease.

This is not the same with cured meats – they get better with age naturally. Think of ‘plastic’ cheese in a tube or a triangle or the shiny, slimy stuff that is sold to put in burger buns – it’s obvious there’s nothing good about these ‘cheeses’. The same goes for perfectly square or round slices of bright pink ham, mushy, pink sausages and other such cheap, highly processed meat products wheresas aged, traditionally made cheeses and charcuterie are not only ok, but good for you.

I am not a food snob, I just want there to be some clarity around which foods are healthy and which foods are not. To lump all cheeses together or to put processed and cured meats in the same ‘deadly’ category, is a nonsense and causes confusion and the denial of these really top quality foods.

I am passionate about this, not only because I love that these ancient arts of preserving foods add a whole host of beneficial microbes to our gut. I love to eat great food and the pleasure and nourishment that comes from eating great food, generally leads people to source and stick to more of the good and less of the bad. Eat less but get better quality.

Meanwhile, I am in Mallorca and I watched in wonder as all the locals picked up their weekly stash of bacteria-ridden loveliness at the local market – a sight to behold and the copious tasters I gladly accepted. Beyond delicious ?

What Does it Mean to Detox?

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I’ve long been cynical of the hype surrounding seasonal, quick-fix detoxing. There are all sorts of supplements, courses, treatments and spa stays that sell the concept of detox support and enhancement but these things fail to address the reality of what is going on inside our bodies. Although it can make us feel like we are doing good for our health, a short, sharp detox and best will do little good and at worst can add to our toxic burden if your body cannot process and eliminate any toxins you are liberating efficiently.

The process of detoxification is constantly going on inside the body and there are many complex, cellular systems that break down toxins and allow them to be removed via the skin, urine, breath and stool. There are certainly things that we can do to enhance this process, not least, trying to avoid some of the toxin exposure, discussed below. What is important is to see this as an on-going process that never comes to an end, so employing daily, doable actions that enable your body to manage you toxin burden is really advisable.

We all have a toxic burden. No-one, however clean living, can avoid some degree of exposure. Degree of exposure, coupled with naturally ability to detox (some people are genetically more able than others), nutritional status, activity level and even state of mind can all contribute to our toxic load. Too much exposure of toxins for too long with impaired detox processes can lead to a toxic burden known to be at the route of much chronic disease, chronic fatigue, brain fog and hormonal imbalance.

This might all make a bit more sense when you take in to account the relentless level of toxin exposure the modern world throws at us. Here are just a few examples:

– Personal care products from sun-creams to moisturizer, shampoo to shower gel, make up to nail varnish remover
– Make up
– Cleaning solutions
– Pesticides and fungicides on and in our fruit and veg ( a huge subject in itself)
– Artificial flavouring and colourings in food
– Medications
– Chemicals in water
– Alcohol
– Processed oils in foods (trans fats)
– Plastics from food packaging
– Preservatives and emulsifiers in food
– That new car & carpet smell – not good
– Paint fumes
– Perfume
– Air fresheners
– Hair colourants
– Scented candles

We also manufacture our own toxins inside of all our cells, just from living, breathing, digestion and especially when exercising. So detoxification is a 24/7 process and how well me manage it comes down to a lot of factors.

Some people (including myself) have a certain genetic profile that makes detoxing less efficient. A process called methylation is hugely involved in breaking down toxins and if you don’t methylate well (me) this adds to the problem. Taking the pre-methylated B vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid can help.

Supporting your detox processes with the following guidelines is certainly prudent. Many of these recommendations are useful as they help the body’s production of Glutathione, produced by every cell, which supports your internal, processes of detoxing and helps protect the body from environmental toxins:

Lifestyle Factors
Sweat: getting hot and sweaty regularly encourages release of toxins. Saunas can be good for this too.
Skin brushing: Use a natural bristle brush and always brush on dry skin, up towards the heart.
Eat sulphur-based foods: eggs, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, onions and garlic. Sulphur not only supports liver detox processes, it is also a key ingredient for making glutathione.
Eat 4 -5 Brazil nuts daily to get a good dose of selenium, a mineal key to your body’s production of Glutathione.
Keep well hydrated

Supplements to Enhance Your Detox Processes
Milk Thistle: a medicinal herb that supports liver processes and glutathione production
N-Acetyl-Cysteine: a precursor to glutathione
B vitamins (look for the ‘methylated’ form)

and do what you can to use natural skin care and home care products and where possible eat organic fruit and veg. To find out more about the cleanest and dirtiest products and produce, this is a great website.

The ABC of Omega 3

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A lot of questions have come in lately about the essential fatty acid omega 3 and how to ensure we are getting enough of this ‘essential’ nutrient. Omega 3 is known as an essential fatty acid or EFA because it is essential to healthy function but cannot be made by the body so it is essential that we get it from food. The same applies to omega 6, but that’s for another day.

EFAs are known as super poly-unsaturated oils. This means they are extremely vulnerable to damage. Exposure to heat, light and oxygen will rapidly turn the precious fats rancid. Hence, when you extract and EFA for its source food, think fish oil from the fish or flax oil from the flax seed, the oil immediately starts to spoil. This makes treatment of foods that contain omega 3 a really important issue and crucially the making of supplements too.

Omega 3 fatty acids are found in precious few food sources. Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, herring, anchovies, tuna and wild salmon along with a little omega 3 in the meat of animals fed exclusively on grass and some free range organic eggs have a little too. When you understand how many bodily functions require omega 3, the issue of getting enough become clear:

Omega 3 is very anti-inflammatory, which helps with healing and general function; it is important in the regulation of many hormones; supports healthy brain function including improving mood regulation; eye heath requires large amounts of omega 3; immune regulation; body fat management; joint health; heart health and reduction in blood pressure are just some of the benefits.

Omega 3, along with omega 6, is also found in small amounts in some nuts and seeds, ,flax seeds and chia seeds being particularly rich in omega 3, as are walnuts (ever eaten some walnuts and noticed a sour smell and taste – this is the precious oils turning rancid). However, and this is really critical, there is NO EPA or DHA in these sources of omega 3. What does this mean? Plant source of omega 3 are not biologically available. The body has to covert plant omega 3 (short chain fatty acid) to active omega 3 (long chain), which comes in 2 forms, EPA and DHA. DHA is especially rich and required in the brain, and EPA is highly anti-inflammatory and nourishing for the body. To convert plant omega 3 to active is partly a genetic predisposition but also a matter of health. This conversion is difficult and minimal. Even in a really healthy body, only 2- 4% of the omega 3 gets converted to activated omega 3, so masses would have to be consumed. But many people are simply not able to make the conversion at all due to poor gut health.

Getting enough omega 3, due to the few foods that contain it, can be tough. It is suggested that oily fish should be consumed 3 – 5 times a week. As farmed salmon, the vast majority of salmon in the supermarkets, has very little omega 3 due to the way they are farmed and tuna should be limited to once or twice a month due to the mercury levels in big sea fish, this means eating small, deep water fish, the fishy ones! Very few people do this.

So where do omega 3 supplements fit in? Well, the jury is out. I don’t think there is any doubt that getting nutrients from whole foods is always preferable to using supplements, but if we are not getting what we need from our diet, are supplements a good option? Some people are allergic to fish, many people don’t like oily fish, there’s the vegetarians and vegans who won’t eat fish, so this makes supplements are really the only option.

Your choice of supplemental omega 3 in a readily absorbable form are, fish oils, krill oil and omega 3 from algae. That’s because we eat fish that contain omega 3, fish eat krill for omega 3 and krill eat algae. So there is a very specific algae that has recently become widely available in supplement form that is the only non-animal source of EPA and DHA.

In my experience, many fish oil capsules are rancid. If you get nasty fishy burps, don’t consume them. Krill oil, a lovely deep red colour, is generally better absorbed and has the added bonus of containing a very potent anti-oxidant called astaxanthin, which is good for you and prevents krill oil turning rancid. Krill will be more expensive than fish oil capsules but you need far less as its higher absorption rate requires only small amounts to be taken. Always check that the krill is sustainably sourced as krill is a massively important food source for fish, birds and wales. Krill and fish contain more EPA to DHA, EPA being essential for managing inflammation. Algae has a higher amount of DHA, brain food. Taken with food, these precious oils should be well absorbed, but quality is really important, so you generally get what you pay for and always check that the bottles are opaque and kept cool so avoid light and heat damage.

Although there are questions about the benefits of omega 3 taken as a supplement, considering its crucial role in our health and its lack in our foods, it is probably a good strategy. I take an algae and a krill daily as well eating whole, fresh nuts and seeds and I use freshly ground and soaked flax seeds for their numerous benefits. My genetics suggest I am not a good converter, but there are many other benefits to freshly ground flax seeds and just maybe, due to my high fibre diet with lots of fermented foods, my gut is in good enough shape to convert some flax omega 3 in to these super-helpful long-chains. I eat oily fish whenever possible, but in reality it is once a week and not more. I eat really good eggs, probably 6 -8 a week and grass-fed meat once a week to once a fortnight.

I hope that helps with your questions on omega 3s. Let me know what else you need some help with. Here’s to health and happiness.

Rev up the healing power of your garlic

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Super-charge the extraordinary healing powers of garlic by chopping, crushing or grating & leave exposed to the air for at least 10 minutes. The allicin, the active compound that revs up immunity, helps protect from cancer, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol management, is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal & anti-viral becomes 100x more potent when you break open the cells of the garlic & expose to the air. Even better, the garlic retains its potency even during cooking if you do this. So prep your garlic before you do anything else and then add it to your dish after at least 10 minutes. Get garlicking everyone!