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Grumpy, irritable and comfort eating?
This week there has been much written in the press about mental health, but something which is less touched on is a SAD; temporary condition which affects millions of people worldwide throughout the winter months.SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a condition which can have a profound effect on mood, and mental health from late autumn until the spring. Symptoms can include tearfulness, stress and anxiety, lack of concentration, irritability, feelings of low-esteem and worthlessness and general despair, and in severe cases sufferers can feel suicidal. A lack of sleep can often be a major issue, and it can also influence appetite, immunity and production of feel good hormones such as serotonin, which help us feel positive and motivated.
The main cause is the lack of sunlight, which causes the brain to produce more melatonin; a hormone which helps us sleep at night. Melatonin production is triggered by the brain as darkness sets in, and then cortisol is produced as daylight emerges to help us feel awake and active, so longer darker days can cause hormone imbalance which can impact on many facets of our well being. This hormone shift can encourage comfort eating and binging, blood sugar imbalance leading to mood swings, and weight gain. Another side effect can be an impaired immune system, which can explain why we are so susceptible to colds and flu at this time of year.
So what can you do to beat the winter blues?
- Help support your gut health by cutting back on sugary foods such as refined carbohydrates (cakes, biscuits, pasta, bread and potatoes), and foods we tend to be more intolerant to such as wheat and dairy. Switch white rice and bread for brown rice, grains and wheat germ. Sweet potatoes are a filling and good alternative to white varieties.
- Reduce stimulants; caffeine, alcohol and chocolate might offer a quick fix when you need a pick me up, but they can trigger cravings and play havoc with your blood sugar levels and brain function in the longer run.
- Increase your fruit and vegetable portions to boost your vitamin and mineral intake to support your immune system.
Eggs are the perfect winter fast food. Plenty of ways to cook them; they are cheap, nutritious and rich in Vitamin D and choline and which supports the brain.- Essential fats are vital for your brain function so include oily fish, nuts and seeds and olive oil.
- Look for foods that will help you produce serotonin. Turkey, chicken, fish, avocados, bananas and beans will help. These are also rich in Vitamin D to help make up for lack of sunlight.
- Get outside in the daylight as much as you can. Take time at lunchtime to leave your desk and go for a walk. If that’s isn’t feasible, look for daylight bulbs to use in your office or home.
Finally, comfort eating is fine if you choose the right options. One pot dishes such as bean and vegetable stews, shepherds pies, fish pies, or curries will give you nutritious filling meals to keep you going until the days start getting much longer!
So, if your friends, family or colleagues are grumpy and irritable this winter, a good place to start is with their diet. After all, as Paul Theroux once wrote “Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.”
Diary of a Metabolic Detox – Day 4
Day 4, and so far things seem to be going well.
Admittedly this programme has taken a degree of planning and preparation, but thank goodness for great health food shops in Brighton & Hove! Infinity Foods makes life so much easier and local grocers and supermarkets are now also stocking much more variety when it comes to alternative flours and unusual vegetables, so it’s more a question of being organised! My kitchen has transformed into a healthy mini-mart, but a good distraction for the weekend could be a kitchen cupboard clear out.This isn’t intended as a weight management exercise, but my clothes are definitely feeling looser, which is very motivating. More importantly, I have been sleeping very deeply, my mind feels clearer and I’m waking up quickly and with plenty of energy, so I seem to be getting through so much more during the day.
The hard part is planning meals. I have all the ingredients and plenty of menus, supplied both by the organisers but
also other participants who are kindly sharing theirs on the group Facebook page we are using; but fitting the meal preparation into a busy working day needs a bit of organisation. I have to say though, the results have been fun and I’ve tried all sorts of things which I have never sampled before. (Admission to former clients – I had never actually tried quinoa porridge before, but it’s genuinely delicious!)The other challenge is planning meals whilst away from home – a reality for most of us face on a regular basis, and one of my biggest this week. Again pre-planning so the key here. Work out where you are likely to be, and the options you will have available. If eating out in a restaurant, it is usually possible to look at the menu online before you go. This helps your brain engage with the choices you want to make and helps avoid making hasty bad decisions when faced with the waiter and his notebook. When heading out for a day’s work, take prepared food and snacks to avoid the temptation of the local sandwich shop or garage.
The foods, meals and supplements we are working have all been carefully selected to support the liver and gut with their natural processes of removing waste matter and toxins from the body. If these aren’t efficiently removed they can cause all sorts of problems such as IBS, bloating, PMS and a range of other hormone-associated complaints; so this really is the basis of achieving good health.
As for today; lunch will be an avocado salad (full of essential fats and Vitamin E) and tonight I’m aiming for something creative using chicken.
Watch this space, and visit my Pinterest and Facebook pages to see what I come up with. (with apologies to any proper cooks out there!)
If you have any detox recipes you would like to share, send them through and I will post my favourite on my recipe page.
P.S. This is the avocado salad I came up with – from anything I could find in the fridge, which ended up comprising:A mix of spinach, rocket and watercress; sliced avocado, tomatoes, bean sprouts, sliced pear, walnuts and pomegranate seeds; all drizzled with flax seed oil.
Slightly off-menu but it worked for me!
Last minute nutrition tips for Marathon runners
This weekend I was had the pleasure of mingling with an amazing group of runners in Brighton who have given up their time and energy to run the Marathon with Jack the Lad from the Heart Breakfast Show. They had all been moved by Jack’s support on air for my lovely friend Matt and his family who lost their beautiful 6 year old son, Felix, to Neuroblastoma – a rare form of childhood cancer, last August. This incredible team of over 160 runners, many first-timers, are in training as part of Jack’s Have a Heart team to raise vital funds for the Neuroblastoma Alliance which generously funded much of Felix’s treatment.
In return I hope I was able to give them some practical last minute nutrition advice to help them along the way. Here are some of the most common questions that came up today and which I promised to upload for them.
Should I be doing anything different with my nutrition in the last few weeks?A: The key thing is to ensure you are hydrating well and starting to get used to storing carbohydrates, but most importantly practise what you are going to do on the day.
If you are yet to do your final long run, use that as a dress rehearsal. Aim to get up at the same time you will have to on Marathon day and eat your breakfast around the same time (ie c 3 hours before the run starts). That will give you a realistic understanding of how your digestion might feel and cope on the day. Make sure you eat the type of breakfast you are likely to have on the day and also take on board the same fluids and carbs during your run to make sure they agree with your digestive system. Check with whichever Marathon you are running to see which brands will be available on the day and try them beforehand. If they don’t agree with you, find an alternative you like and make sure you have supplies or someone to hand them to you on the course.
What should I eat the week/night night before?A: A good carbohydrate rich meal is important to top up glycogen stores. The week before your Marathon, aim to consume about 60% carbs with each meal, since these will be your primary energy source. Essential fats such as oily fish, nuts and seeds and avocado should make up c 25% of your diet to support a healthy metabolism, and lean protein the final 15%. This protein is vital for muscular and tissue repair and to support your immune system. Load up with plenty of brightly coloured vegetables which will be rich in antioxidants and can help support against tissue damage.
The night before, ensure your meal is carbohydrate rich but avoid too much fibre or saturated fat since these can be harder to digest.
What about breakfast on the day?A: This is your last chance to load up your carbs for last minute glycogen stores. Porridge with some honey is a great breakfast; alternatively toast with honey or jam, cereals with a banana or even scrambled eggs on toast. Toasted bagels with cream cheese are a good carb rich but low fat choice, but if you really can’t stomach anything, keep a fruit smoothie or carbohydrate-rich shake handy – this is better than nothing. Again, avoid too much fibre or saturated fat since these can sit in your stomach and make running uncomfortable. Keep a small banana handy to have just before you run for a last minute top up of carbs and potassium.
How about my fluids?A: Start hydrating from now –don’t leave it until the last minute. Sip water regularly through the day with the aim of drinking c 2 litres or six large glasses a day – more if you are still running. Don’t drink alcohol the day before, and on the morning of the run, try to drink c 3-400ml of water on waking and then another 150ml just before you start. Take fluids on board regularly whilst running and ensure that includes some sports drinks; particularly in the latter stages when your glycogen stores will be depleted. It is the electrolytes in these which are vital since you will lose these through your sweat (even on a cool day) and it is important to replenish them.
If you are unsure if you are hydrating enough, check the colour of your urine after a training run to see how hydrated you have been. If your urine is dark you may need to take on more fluids, but if pale straw coloured, that suggests you are getting it right.
Coconut water is a great fluid to try – high in carbs, very low fat but most importantly very rich in key electrolytes. Try it before or during one of your training runs.
What can I do to help my body recover quickly?A: Immediately after the run, ensure you rehydrate with c 500ml of fluid within half an hour. Coconut water is good for this, as is chocolate milk. Also eat a high energy snack such a jelly babies, crisps or malt loaf. Keep sipping water for the rest of the day and within a few hours enjoy a good meal including both carbs ( to replenish glycogen stores), and protein (to help repair muscle and counteract tissue damage).
Why am I cramping after training or during the run?A: Cramping suggests your electrolytes or ‘salts’ (ie calcium, sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium) might have become depleted and this can affect the efficient contracting and relaxation of your muscles – including those in your gut. Ensure your diet is rich in these, particularly leading up to the run. Ladies can be particularly deficient in magnesium, often a major cause of cramping, so aim to eat plenty of pulses such as lentils, and green vegetables, avocado, nuts and seeds.
TIP TIPS:
Don’t do anything different the night before or on the day. Practise your meals and drinks on training days.
Don’t skip breakfast – if nothing else, drink a carb rich smoothie or shake.
Don’t forget that eating and drinking to rehydrate and recover afterwards is just as important as what you do before and during the run.
Take both water and sports drinks/carbs on during the run. Your body simply won’t be able to store enough glycogen to keep you going for 26 miles, and this can help avoid hitting the wall. Keep a handful of jelly babies on you or some carb gels.Most importantly, enjoy the day!
If you want to find out more about Felix’s story, check out http://www.felixsfootprint.com
If you are then as moved by the story as the rest of Jack’s Heart team, please follow the link on the above site to sponsor his dad, Matt, or go and cheer Matt and the Heart team along in Brighton on 15 April. You can also see part of Felix’s story on YouTube
Building Your Immunity Naturally
“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
A wise prediction from Thomas Edison at the turn of the 20th Century, but maybe one we have lost sight of.
Modern medicines focus on destroying the invader once it has attacked, but surely a better approach is to build our immunity naturally to fight the bugs off before they take hold?
So how does our immune system work?
The thymus gland, located in our chest in front of our heart, produces T-lymphocytes or T-cells, which are a critical feature of our immune system. These immune cells create and mobilise a defence army within us which then identifies the foreign invaders and attempts to destroy them. The thymus gland relies on a number of nutrients:
Vitamin C, sometimes referred to as the ‘master’ immune nutrient, is thought to nourish the thymus gland, in doing so helping immune cells develop and increasing our white blood cell count. It also has both anti viral and antibacterial properties and can act as a natural anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory.
Zinc also supports the thymus gland and helps increase white blood cell count, increasing the defence army and so reducing the duration of an infection.
Vitamin A supports the mucous linings found in the nose, throat, lungs and digestive tract, and can therefore help prevent viruses from taking hold. (Note: Pregnant women should beware Vitamin A rich foods since high levels in the diet can harm the foetus.)
Herbal remedies can also be incredibly powerful for both boosting the immune system and fighting infection
Echinacea has anti viral properties which stimulates production of immune cells. Trials published in The Lancet in 2007 indicated that those taking Echinacea were 35% less likely to get a cold when directly in contact with rhinovirus than those not taking the supplement. It also reduced duration of colds by 1.5 days. Trial participants saw greatest effectiveness when taken Echinacea alongside Vitamin C (reducing infection by 86%)
Golden Seal has antibiotic properties; Garlic and Calendula are both antiviral and anti bacterial.
Tea Tree oil works against staphylococcus, the bacteria responsible for infections ranging from a simple boil to MRSA which is now resisting conventional antibiotic treatments; hence the rise in popularity of Tea Tree hand washes and wipes.
The importance of probiotics:
With an increase in virulent infections such as the Norovirus vomiting bug over the winter, it is particularly important to try and improve the balance of good versus bad bacteria in the gut. Our gut provides a home to billions of bacteria , and the ‘good guys’ form a large part of our immune defence system; particularly from pathogens ingested through food. ‘Friendly’ or good bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, L-Bulgaris and Bifidobacteria are key to helping us fight infection, acting as nature’s antibiotic by consuming the nutrients that can feed and encourage ‘bad’ bacteria. They also proliferate to fill the receptor sites that harmful bacteria need to replicate infection.
Sugar is an important food source for all forms of bacteria, so best to avoid a sugar rich diet (white bread and pasta, refined carbohydrates, sweets and cakes, and sugary yoghurts) and instead include prebiotic foods (also known as Fructooligosacchaides or FOS) in your diet which will specifically help feed the good guys. Foods rich in prebiotics include chicory, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, garlic, leeks, bananas, legumes and whole grains.
TOP TIPS TO SUPPORT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
A diet rich in a variety of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and essential fats (oily fish, nuts and seeds) should give you a good supply of all these vital nutrients, but avoid too many processed foods and sugary foods. Go wild with the herbs and spices; a win-win since they are not only nutrient-rich but also to add flavour and interest to your cooking.
Good quality sleep is also vital for your immunity since much of our repair and rebuilding takes place whilst we are asleep, so try to ensure you get a good night’s rest as often as possible.
Drinking plenty of water will also not only help flush toxins through, but is required for every chemical reaction in our cells, so water is also an important immune support. Aim to drink around 2 litres or 6 large glasses a day, and for an extra immune boost, start your day with a glass of hot water with a squeeze of lemon or lime.
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