supplements and diet

I’m eating a healthy diet do I need to take any vitamins? I believe that a good, varied diet is of paramount importance. I do not believe that you cannot replace food with vitamin and mineral supplements, or with meal replacement drinks and be healthy. However, sadly our food is not what it used to be. With nutrient depletion in the soil due to intensive farming, and long-distance shipping and storage of fruits and vegetables, levels of nutrients in our food has been steadily declining over the last fifty years. Additionally, refined foods, such as white flour, pasta, bread and rice have had up to 90% of the minerals stripped from them during this refining process.

For these reasons, I think that a good all round multi-vitamin and mineral is a good 'supplement' to your diet. It will help to make up for those minor dietary indiscretions that are inevitable through life and will boost their intake of the nutrients that are vital wellbeing.

Boost your libido through diet

I’m a 32 year old female is there any way that food can help boost my libido? At night all I want to do is go to sleep!! Your libido is driven by your hormones, and a disruption in these can affect your sex drive. The most important hormone for libido for both sexes is testosterone; nutritionally speaking this is dependent on the production of zinc and vitamin B6. To boost levels of zinc eating shellfish, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds as well as pine nuts, lentils and poultry. Vitamin B6 can be found in bananas, tuna, avocadoes and chickpeas. If you’re tired, stressed, unhappy, overweight or just generally unhappy about your body this can make it hard to feel desirable. Eating a healthy diet of whole unprocessed natural foods with a wide range of fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and seeds can help boost your energy and mood. Our perception of ourselves is also affected by what we eat, do you feel better after you have eat a bowl of homemade stew and crusty wholemeal bread or a fast food take away?

If after making all these changes you still don’t feel better, it could be worth getting your hormone levels checked out at your GPs.

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER AND FOOD

Seasonal affective disorder is a depressive condition triggered by lack of sunlight. Your mood is hugely influenced by your diet and there are many things you can do nutritionally speaking to help boost it. The levels of serotonin in our body can drop for a number of reasons. One is a lack of sunlight, which is why many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder. This can be made worse if your diet is lacking in pro-serotonin foods, such as protein and essential fatty acids. And again this can be made worse still if your consumption of anti-serotonin foods such as caffeinated drinks, coffee, diet drinks or foods is high as this which inhibit the natural production of this ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter. To help boost your mood ensure you keep your blood sugar levels even and eat little and often, combining both protein and carbohydrates and example of this could be fruit and yogurt, vegetables and hummus, oatcakes and cheese or a chicken salad. Oily fish and eggs provide both essential fatty acids and vitamin D research had shown that minor deficiencies in these nutrients can affect mood. Cutting out processed foods, coffee and sugar and increase fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, meats and lentils. When we support ourselves nutritionally and nourish our bodies with the right foods, we can literally eat ourselves happy.

Diet and ADHD

Some doctors believe that children with ADHD may not have enough of a neurotransmitter called dopamine; they may also lack the neurotransmitter noradrenaline. Dopamine and noradrenaline are neurotransmitters that can influence and help determine our mood and emotions. Without enough dopamine or noradrenaline, the front part of the brain cannot deal with and react to information in the way that it should. Drug treatments for ADHD aim to increase the amount of dopamine or noradrenaline in the brain. However, there are many factors which can affect the levels of neurotransmitters in our brain and our diet is a key component. What we eat provides the body with the building blocks to make these neurotransmitters. By supporting the body on a nutritional level it could be possible to boost the levels of these transmitters which could have a direct effect on behaviour. It is also important to understand that this works both ways, so if deficiencies are present it can exacerbate the condition making behaviour worse.

There are many other nutritional facts that could be beneficial for those diagnosed with ADHD.

Balancing blood sugar levels. A study of 265 hyperactive children found that more than three-quarters of them displayed abnormal glucose tolerance. That means that their bodies were less able to cope with excess sugar intake and maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Keeping blood sugar levels balanced could be helpful in moderating children’s behaviour. Having high and low levels of blood sugar can lead to various symptoms such as mood swings, indecisiveness and some research even states that low blood sugar can cause people to behave in an unsocial manner.

Ensuring adequate intake of essential fatty acids. In 2006 the Daily Mail ran a feature starting that ‘’Fish oil 'calms children better than Ritalin ‘’.This was based on Australian research that looked at the effect of Eye Q fish oil capsules on a group seven to 12-year-olds with ADHD. One half of the group were given the fish oil capsules and the other half took a placebo. Within three months, the behaviour of those on the fish oils had dramatically improved and, by seven months, many of the children were less restless and doing better at school .

Research at Oxford University also found similar results. In a double-blind trial using Omega 3 and Omega 6 fish oil supplement Eye Q with 41 children aged 8 to 12 years who had ADHD symptoms, the children receiving extra essential fats in supplements were both behaving and learning better within 12 weeks . Ensuring your child has no nutritional deficiencies.

The brain bio centre highlights that Zinc and magnesium are the most commonly deficient nutrients in children with ADHD. The symptoms of the deficiency of these minerals are similar to the symptoms of ADHD. Low levels of magnesium have been noted to cause excessive fidgeting, anxiousness, restlessness, insomnia, coordination problems and learning difficulties, in children with a normal I.Q.

Most importantly, we must remember that every child is an individual and should be treated as such. You can ask your GP for a referral to a dietician or find a local nutritionist or nutritional therapist for a personalised tailored diet to help your child specifically.

Quinoa salad

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 cups of vegetable broth/ marigold reduced salt vegetable bouilon powder
• 1/4 cup 3-6-9 oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper  coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 and a 1/2 cups of quinoa
• 1/2 red onion finely diced
• small bunch of fresh parsley (we prefer flat-leaf, but curly works too)
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers cubed
• 2-3 ripe tomatoes cubed

Instructions

Cook quinoa in vegetable broth until it fluffs up, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While quinoa is cooking, whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper.

Wash the parsley then use a salad spinner or paper towels to thoroughly dry it. Remove all the stems, then grab a handful and roll it up and slice the roll as thinly as possible. Chop the parsley in the opposite direction to the direction you sliced and you should get it pretty evenly chopped.

Add the parsley to a large bowl along with the cubed cucumbers, cubed tomatoes and diced onions. Add the cooled quinoa along with the dressing and toss everything together.