It’s evident that
our modern day diet is making us fat
and sick but what’s less obvious is its effect on mental health. With depression
rates doubling alongside obesity rates in the last decade, is too much food
making us unhappy as well as unhealthy?
According to Dr Drew Ramsey,
Assistant Clinical Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and
Surgeons, and author of ‘The Happiness
Diet’, the basic ingredients for happiness all start in food. He says, “Over
the past several generations, small, seemingly insignificant changes to our
diet have stripped it of nutrients like magnesium, vitamin B12, iron and vitamin
D, as well as some very special fats essential for happy, well-balanced
brains. Making the right choices at meal times will maximise your chances of
staying both healthy
and happy.”
As more and more research
demonstrates the connections between how you eat
and how you feel, it’s time to bust through the blues and pile your plate with
mood-enhancing meals. Your wellness
looks at the top feel-good foods to put a smile on your face.
Chicken is great sources of tryptophan, an
amino acid used by the body
to make serotonin, one of the most important brain chemicals affecting mood.
Legumes (lentils, beans) offer slowly digested
carbohydrates that enhance your mood by regulating
serotonin as well as helping to maintain blood sugar levels.
Oily Fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) are loaded with omega-3
essential fats (EPA and DHA) that are needed for both hormone and mood
regulation.
Whole
Grains (oats,
quinoa, brown rice) provide slow energy-releasing
carbohydrates to keep blood sugar levels and mood stable. Selenium in grains
also helps mood
by regulating function of the thyroid gland.
Dark Green Vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale, beet leaves) are
fantastic sources
of folate, needed to synthesise mood chemicals like serotonin
and dopamine.
Organic
Eggs are rich in vitamin B6 which is
crucial for brain function, B12
which helps avoid agitation and loss of focus
plus choline which is linked to reduced anxiety.
Nuts and Seeds (walnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin,
sunflower, chia seeds) are super sources of omega-3,
selenium and magnesium. Magnesium helps in the production of serotonin and is
vital for energy
production.
Dark Chocolate Reach for your favourite treat next time you feel
down in the dumps. Choose 70% or more raw cacao
brands as these are rich in antioxidants and feel good
chemicals known as endorphins.
After the festive season of indulgence, January is
a time of resolutions, cutting back and willpower. Most people assume
eliminating fat from the diet
is the best way to cut calories and lose weight
but this isn’t necessarily true.
In Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM), as with most ancient medicinal systems, food
is viewed as the first and best treatment for both prevention and cure of
diseases and illness. But how does it work and can this
prehistoric system be applied to a modern day menu?
TCM believes that all things in the world can be divided
into five vibrational families or ‘energy fields’ namely – fire, earth, metal, water and wood. In the
body these five elements relate to the major organs necessary for survival – heart
and small intestine, stomach and spleen, large intestine and lungs, bladder and
kidneys and liver and gallbladder. These five elements
are also associated with different seasons: Wood with spring, fire with summer,
earth with late summer, metal with autumn and water with winter.
According to TCM when the season
changes different organs become vulnerable. In the current winter season
the water element predominates and our kidneys and bladder need extra support.
In winter our metabolism slows and energy
levels are a little lower. The kidneys are the storehouse of energy in the body
that fuel our body’s activities and the function of our organ
systems. Cooler weather drives the energetic field inwards so it is important
to keep the body
warm, especially the lower back area where the kidneys are located.
We must nourish the body
with warming, hearty foods and hot drinks. Add warming spices like ginger,
cardamom, cloves, cumin, turmeric, garlic, fenugreek and cinnamon.
Blend foods to make them easier to digest. Warm soups and stews are ideal at
this time. The taste associated with kidneys is salt,
though it must be used in moderation. Choose Himalayan
Rock Salt to gain the benefits of other minerals as well as sodium. Miso,
seaweeds and sea vegetables
should also be included at this time.
Increasingly common
— yet often overlooked — thyroid disease
affects millions and can affect multiple systems in your body.
Here’s what you need to know about your thyroid now, as reported by Jill
Grunewald.
1. The thyroid
is a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck that controls metabolism and energy,
and is hailed as the “master gland” of our complex,
interdependent endocrine system. It’s the spoon that stirs our hormonal soup,
producing several hormones that transport energy into every cell in the body
vital for feeling happy, warm, and lithe. The gland acts as boss of our
metabolism.
2. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include
weight gain and fatigue — as well as constipation, depression, low body
temperature, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, edema (fluid
retention), hair loss,
infertility, joint aches and light sensitivity.
3. It’s estimated that hypothyroidism,
or underactive thyroid, affects more than 30 million women and 15 million men.
(Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid, is much less
common.)
4. The most common cause of hypothyroidism
is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition that causes the body to
attack its own thyroid
tissue. Autoimmune disease accounts for 90 percent of Americans with
hypothyroidism. The other 10 percent are afflicted with non-autoimmune hypothyroidism.
5. Hashimoto’s is one of the most common
autoimmune
diseases in the United States. When a person has Hashimoto’s, antibodies
specifically attack and damage his or her thyroid tissue.
6. Patients
with hypothyroidism suffer from symptoms that are rarely traced to a sluggish
thyroid. If you’re feeling
blue or unmotivated, you may be prescribed an antidepressant. If you’re
constipated, you’re told to take a laxative. If you’re having difficulty sleeping,
you’re given a sleeping aid. The list goes on.
7. Thyroid
experts often advise to cut gluten from the diet and eat foods with
thyroid-friendly vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin
D, iron, selenium, and zinc. Other foods that inhibit thyroid health: raw
cruciferous vegetables, soy, sugar and caffeine.
8. Some people
need thyroid drugs to treat Hashimoto’s. In some cases, medication is required
indefinitely, especially when Hashimoto’s has gone undiagnosed
and the thyroid is no longer producing hormones. It’s important to work with a
qualified doctor to find what type of medication
and dosage works well for you.
9. The specific hormones the thyroid
produces that are most critical to our health are triiodothyronine (T3) and
thyroxine (T4), both of which regulate metabolism. The most popular thyroid
drug, Levothyroxine (commonly known as Synthroid), is a synthetic T4-only drug.
10. T4 is a mostly inactive hormone
and is the forerunner to T3, which is the predominant and active hormone and
which has the greatest affect on our health and wellbeing.
The body is designed to convert T4 to T3, but many people have trouble with
this conversion, mostly due to stress,
hormonal and gut imbalances, and nutritional deficiencies.
11. T4 drugs like Synthroid
or levothyroxine are often prescribed, but many still complain of symptoms even
when lab results come back normal. What often works is a combination T4-T3
medication. Biodentical T4-T3, known most commonly as Armour Thyroid,
for example, comes from dried porcine thyroid. These natural hormones have been
successfully used since the late 1800s and, after decades of the prevalence of
T4-only prescriptions, are gaining use again.
Starting an exercise regime for weight
loss can be stressful as your muscles and joints adapt to the new demands put
upon them. Most people find the first few sessions of exercise
– whether running, gym work or just brisk walking
– are the most troublesome. However you don’t need to suffer aches and pains in
silence as there are steps that can be taken to ease these niggles.
Those that favour pounding the pavements
may find their knee and ankle joints can feel achy with almost a throbbing
sensation. This is usually just a low grade inflammatory
reaction to the extra impact through the joint and can be eased by the standard
RICE regime (Rest, Ice, Compression,
Elevation). Applying ice and keeping the feet elevated helps flush fresh blood
into the area to stimulate an anti-inflammatory
response.
Those who prefer gym exercises
such as abdominal crunches, press ups or classes such as step aerobics quite
often suffer from something known as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). This can
be alleviated through
a number of different methods such as massage, gentle stretching and applying
warmth. Have a hot soak at the end of the day, a deep bubble bath, which helps
to relax tight, aching muscles.
Sore muscles don’t necessarily mean you have to stop exercising, and for people
keen to keep moving forwards once they’ve caught the exercise
bug, muscle relaxants applied directly to the muscle will ease soreness by
increasing blood flow to the area. Their analgesic properties ease muscular
aches.
When starting any exercise
regime always seek advice from your doctor and follow the advice of a trained
fitness expert. Exercising for weight
loss can be challenging and frustrating so it’s always worth respecting your
body and allowing it time to recover. usually advise exercising every other day so your body
can adapt to the new strains put upon it. Treat your ‘off’ day as a recovery
day where you muscles and joints are preparing for their next bout of exercise – that way your body will
respond and you can continue your weight loss goals and hopefully avoid injury!
You may think of gardening as just a relaxing hobby, but
it is often so much more. Aside from the obvious advantage of growing
nutritious fruits and vegetables,
it also offers an effective physical workout. As you stand, bend or squat,
plant seeds or pull weeds, you’re working most of your major muscle
groups, including your arms, shoulders, back, legs, and abdomen. This gentle
working and stretching improves joint flexibility and muscle
strength, as well as burning calories.
Gardening
is also beneficial for mental health. In today’s fast-paced, buzzing world, it
provides a relaxing break from life’s pressures,
helping to calm and clear your mind.
Research shows that gardening is an
excellent stress reliever. A Dutch study found, for example, that gardening for
half an hour following a stressful task not only improved mood but also lowered
levels of the stress
hormone, cortisol, better than spending the same amount of time reading indoors.
Gardening
also lets you explore your creativity. Planning and maintaining a garden
is a constant process of deciding which plants
to put where, which directly involves your imagination. And as well as
visualising how the garden
will look, you need to use logical
deduction to decide which plants go together, which should not, which need sun,
which need shade or protecting
from the wind, and so on. As with any mental activity this creative reasoning
helps to keep your brain
sharp, particularly in later life.
You may find that getting to grips
with your garden
also benefits your spiritual wellness.
It’s easy to spend a great deal of time cut off from nature,
in your home and place of work, walking paved streets and driving through busy
cities. It may sound clichéd, but gardening
really does provide an opportunity to reconnect with nature,
and remember that we are just one part of the diverse ecosystem
that makes up our planet.
Whether you’re a
gym bunny, weekend runner or enjoy a daily brisk walk, showering after you’ve
worked up a sweat is essential. But,
rather than simply keeping you clean, a post-workout shower can also enhance muscle
recovery, boost immunity, reduce stress and even help with weight loss.
Some sports
actively encourage showering as an integral part of their training regime. The
Tae Kwando moral code, for example suggests that a cold shower
(known as naengsoo machal) helps students ‘build pride and tenacity’. Exposure
to cold water has also been found to increase the body’s
supply of a powerful antioxidant called glutathione which is important for
liver health
and immune response. Don’t overdo it, however, as excessive exposure to cold
can have the opposite effect and increase your susceptibility to infection
(as can over-exercising).
Hygiene Showering is especially important if
you play contact sports – sweat
will mix with small cuts and abrasions and needs to be cleaned as soon as
possible to prevent infection. For swimmers this is equally important as swimming
pool chlorine can damage your hair and skin if you simply towel off after
getting out.
Recovery Your shower can help reduce aching after a hard
session, as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can be prevented with an
ice-cold shower
in which you hold the showerhead directly over the muscles you’ve worked. Elite
athletes use an ice-bath, but putting your shower on the coldest setting is a
quick and easy alternative. If you exercise daily or more
than once a day, this simple tip means you can start your next session without
the DOMS that might otherwise reduce the intensity of
your next session. And if you still feel ‘tight’ in the morning, a hot shower
will increase blood flow, allowing your muscles to relax.
Fat loss However unlikely it sounds, a cold
shower can help with weight
loss. Why? Because your metabolic rate can increase up to five times its
resting level during a cold shower to maintain your core body
temperature at 37 degrees C – meaning you burn more calories just to stay warm.
Most of this extra heat comes from increased fat
burning in your liver,
by increasing heat production in a type of fat known as brown adipose tissue ,
and from the act of muscle shivering – research shows the energy used by
shivering muscles
mostly comes from stored fat. If you don’t fancy a freezing
cold shower, you can still gain benefits from a shower that’s cold enough to
cause shivering without shaking, which increases muscle
tone. Experts in cold immersion suggest immersing your face first. This
triggers a nerve reflex that decreases your heart
rate as part of the so-called diving response. Then immerse your whole body
in the cold flow for ten to twenty seconds before turning the shower off. This
short exposure is all you need to start burning fat for heat. Lather up with body
gel and shampoo for a minute, then turn the cold shower back on. It won’t feel
so cold,
as your body has already adapted. Alternatively, start with a warm shower,
then slowly reduce the temperature
to the coldest setting for a maximum of three minutes.
With so many
Americans suffering from obesity and diabetes,
it is becoming more important than ever to be aware of your food’s
effect on your blood sugar levels.
Having high or low blood
sugar can lead to myriad issues, such as decreased insulin sensitivity, mood
swings, stress, headaches, and mental
fogginess. But, luckily, these 6 habits can benefit your insulin
sensitivity and keep you healthy
in the long term.
Fat slows down sugar absorption in the
bloodstream and prevents a roller coaster of spikes and crashes. Many people
are afraid of fat,
but eating fat will not make you fat. Once more: eating fat does not
make you fat. In fact, fat keeps you satisfied longer, which can discourage
overeating, so don’t nix it from your diet.
If you’re trying to keep your sugar
levels balanced, make fats — like coconut oil, chia seeds, nuts, egg yolks,
avocado — a steady part of your diet. Worried about all
that saturated fat giving you heart
disease? According to the research, there’s no significant link between the
two.
Don‘t eat constantly.
Eating
many small meals can actually disturb your body’s natural hunger signals.
Instead of force-feeding yourself every few hours in the name of health, wait until
you are authentically hungry to eat.
This can be hard to get used to at
first, especially if your body
is used to constantly snacking. However, by restricting your eating for a few
days, you’ll start to understand when your body actually needs food
in contrast to when you find it comforting to have a snack. Your body knows
when it needs food. Once you start listening to what your body needs, it will
become infinitely easier for everything else to fall into place.
Like fat, protein slows the
absorption of sugar in
the body. If you are indulging in a sugary food, like a big slice of apple pie,
it is smart to balance it with a small companion of protein
— like Greek yogurt, beans or lentils.
This simple combination can mean the
difference between a blood
sugar spike (and inevitable fat storage) and a steady
rise. It will also fill you up and dissuade you from licking clean the entire
pie plate. Additionally, research has shown that eating a high protein
breakfast can actually benefit your sugar
levels at meals later in the day.
Fruits and roots
are great sources of carbohydrates on their own. Grains
can cause inflammation for many people, so eating complex starches likes sweet
potatoes and fiber-rich fruits like apples are often a better carbohydrate
bet for smart digestion and blood sugar levels. The fiber in these natural,
wholesome foods actually slows the absorption of sugar, making them supportive
of healthy blood sugar
levels. Again, be sure to balance these with protein and/or fat for the most
controlled blood sugar rise.
Balancing blood sugar and maintaining
a healthy
weight isn’t all about what you eat or don’t eat. Studies have actually
shown that chronic poor sleep can increase your risk for obesity and diabetes.
Not only does too little sleep
affect your judgement and leptin levels (the hormone responsible for satiety),
but it also decreases your insulin sensitivity. Aim for 7-9 hours a night, and
cut out all electronics an hour before bedtime to ensure a quality night’s shut
eye.
If your body is stressed or
imbalanced, heavy-duty cardio
may not be the best idea. Cardio can increase cortisol levels, which in turn
wreaks havoc on the body. Instead, practice yoga
and Pilates — both of which can be intense, but generally tend to decrease
cortisol levels. Moderate strength training has also been shown to have blood sugar-balancing
effects. Steady, long-term exercise is always the smart choice for your body,
mind, and wellbeing.
If you keep your lifestyle balanced, it
will be easier to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Have a balanced plate
of fats, proteins, and wholesome carbohydrates when you’re hungry. Get a
balanced night of sleep.
Practice moderate exercise that will improve, not hinder, your progress. By
taking small steps to improve your quality of life, an improvement in health
and wellbeing will soon follow.
