Under active thyroid - why raw kale may not be for you.

Kale

January seems to be the time everyone vows that its a new year so they will become a new person, make positive changes to their diet and over hauling their health. Detox diets have become increasingly popular these days along with a whole host of other diet trends. However I think January is a time to go gentle on yourself. A time to remove all the indulgent treats you may have consumed over the festivities and go back to basics. Eat whole foods and get back in touch with local seasonal ingredients.

Kale is a very nourishing ingredient for seasonal eaters as it is one of the few green vegetables that is abundant during January in the UK. I use as substituted for cabbage or spinach, it makes a decadent side dish when blanched and sautéed with a little oil and garlic, served with a splash of tamari (a wheat free soya sauce) and a sprinkling of chopped, roasted almonds. Kale helps your body detox naturally - so you don't need to buy expensive powdered supplements.

Liver health

Kale plays an important role in liver health. Kale increases the amount of glucosinolate in the body which helps add enzyme production in the liver. These natural enzymes help flush toxins out of the body. Kale and other leafy greens are one of our most powerful allies in cleansing the liver, leafy greens can be eaten raw, cooked, or juiced. Kale is also extremely high in plant chlorophylls,which help suck up environmental toxins from the blood stream. Its argued that they can neutralise heavy metals in the body as well as chemicals and pesticides. 

Calcium

When many people go on detox diets they often cut out dairy and worry about having low levels of minerals such as calcium. Thanks to the Dairy Council milk is renowned for its levels of calcium however gram for gram kale has more calcium than cow’s milk. Although it is important to know that Kale does losing a substantial amount of calcium when it’s cooked, so if you’re eating it for its calcium content it’s best to eat it raw in salads or added to smoothies for the most benefit of calcium.

Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

Kale is considered to be an anti-inflammatory food, Research has also shown that kale contains 45 different flavonoids with a variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects! On top of that Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fibre and carotenoids.

Air of caution for those with a sluggish or undertake thyroid.

Kale is a dietary goitrogen. Goitrogens are substances (whether in drugs, chemicals, or foods) that disrupt the production of thyroid hormones by interfering with iodine uptake in the thyroid gland. So basically Kale when raw everyday may make you more vulnerable to developing an underactive thyroid. (Eaten cooked it wont have this effect.) As with everything variety and moderation is the name of the game. Have in smoothies once or twice a week, eat cooked and add to stews to ensure you get the best out of this nutrient rich green.

Four reasons why you should drink lemon water every morning.

Four reasons why you should drink lemon water every morning!

Health is very often easier to achieve that we believe and far less complicated than we make it out to be. I believe that good health comes from the things you do everyday. Changing the things you do everyday can help you reach health goals faster . One of the healthy habits I encourage my clients is to have is a mug of warm water with freshly squeezed lemon in the morning. Simply use half a fresh lemon per mug and pour warm water and sip ideally through a straw.

Lemons are a rich source of nutrients, they including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fibre. 

Drinking lemon water in the morning could bring about a wide range of benefits.

1.Reduces inflammation.

Drinking lemon on a regular basis, may help decrease the acidity in your body. It is also believed to removes uric acid in your joints, which is one of the main causes of inflammation.

2.Aids digestion.

Lemon water encourages healthy digestion. Lemons contain citrus flavonols that are believed responsible for lemon’s traditional use as a digestive tonic. Lemon water is traditionally understood to support digestive hydrochloric acid in the stomach which helps aid digestion. 

3.Healthy Skin

The antioxidants and vitamin C in lemons may help to decrease blemishes and wrinkles too. Vitamin C and other antioxidants in lemons are believed to combat free radical damage. Antioxidant intake can help minimising wrinkles. 

4.Immunity 

Lemons are high in the antioxidant vitamin - vitamin C, which is well known for its supportive role in healthy immune function which may reduce the risk of respiratory infection. Lemons also contain saponins which show antimicrobial properties that may help keep cold and flu at bay. Vitamin C also enhances iron absorption in the body; iron plays an important role in immunity.

Drinking lemon water first thing in the morning can also help people reduce their caffeine consumption which has many benefits for the body. Not only are the benefits of lemon water endless, it’s one of the most substantial yet simple changes you can make for your health.

It is important to note that Lemon juice can damage the enamel of your teeth, so I encourage clients to sip it through a straw.

RIP Dr Wayne Dyer - The man I've never met yet who changed my life.

My friend emailed me on Monday night asking if I had heard the news of Dr Wayne Dyers passing.

I hadn't I had but as soon as I read the email, I cried.

I cried over a man I'd never met and didn't know personally, yet despite this, his work has had a profound and long lasting effect on my life.

In 2010 life as I knew it changed and I felt like I was a broken soul, I was so sad, totally lost and I vividly remember thinking I'd never smile again. Sounds dramatic but I remember laying on my bed after leaving hospital in so much pain thinking It would never be possible to heal from the sadness that seem to had swallowed me whole.

A friend one day told me you need to read this book, the book was Dr Wayne Dyers your erroneous zone - how to escape negative thinking and take control of your life.

It's the book that really did make me see the error of my thinking, I think all my life I had believed that my worth came from other people, that if people didn't like me I wasn't of value or their must be something wrong with me. I believed that my weight dictated my lovability. I had a lots of erroneous zones.

The book gave me hope, it helped me see that there was another way of thinking, and just because I currently felt that way didn't mean I would always feel that way. The book allowed me and showed me that I could change my thoughts and that I was responsible for how I viewed events and the meaning I gave them.

One of my all time favourite quotes of Dr Wayne dyers is "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change"

I started to think that what if everything that had happened to me was for my greater good? Even the bad stuff.....especially the bad stuff.

Five years on I can say all of the pain, the sadness has dissolved. It's been healed, however I think it's so important to talk about pain and depression that took over my life because too many people suffer alone in silence feeling like there is something wrong with them.

Of course there are times when my old erroneous zones pop up but I no longer dwell on my thoughts like i previously did - I know I have the power to change them to work for me.

To many people suffer in sadness because they fear being labeled crazy, they fear being judged, they fear too many things.

For the longest time I didn't want to admit I was depressed but I was, I mean what happy person doesn't think that they will never smile again.

I thankfully no longer suffer from depression, does it mean I will never again? I can't say that for sure but what I do know is the more i feed my mind thoughts that feel good, nourish my body with whole food and fuel my soul by living my passion the less likely that is too happen. Now some may say I over simply thing, and what worked for me may not work for others, but we must be so careful of how we feed our minds, the thoughts we think can dictate and shape our life. We can limit our life out of fear.

In my darkest days the most I would do was get out of bed, I remember my sister actually clapping and dancing around the lounge once when she came to visiting me all because she saw I was up and showered! That's how bad I once was, but I'm not that person anymore.

Dr Wayne dyers book helped me realise that the thought I had been thinking we harming me not helping me or allowing me to heal.

I think one of the last book that Dr Wayne Dyer wrote was one called don't die with music still in you, for the longest time I was alive but not living, when you hear of someone's death it can shake you and make you realise that life is so fleeting.

Here are a few of the most lessons I learn from the book

Trust yourself Don't look outside of yourself for worth, self worth comes from self, it's based on what you think of yourself - if your worth it's from others it's other worth not Self worth.

When we spend too much time worrying about what other people think of us we give up our power and this is counterproductive.

We need to deeper the connection with ourself and trust that connection.

We need to step out of comfort and into growth.

Action cures fear - when we take positive steps in the direction we know is right for us good things happen.

Dr Wayne Dyer - you sure did shine your light and light up the world, you message will live on. Despite never meeting you or knowing you personally your written work helped me changed my life and for that I will always be grateful.

They called me a Fat nutritionist, here is what I think of that!

When cruel words are spoken and doubt kicks in! 

Last night I looked at Twitter and here are some of the comments that were written about me 

"She's not even thin"
"She's a Fat nutritionist"
"If she's so healthy why is she so fat"

There were just some of the milder comments that were on my Twitter last night

At first It was a hard to read as someone who spent almost two decades hating her reflection it was almost like having my worst fears confirmed, everyone thinks I'm unattractive was my first thought with so many people telling me my body isn't acceptable it was hard to feel positive. It wasn't so nice and if I'm honest, in fact some of the comments made me feel a little bit like crying. It's taken me a really long time to not only like how I look but actually really appreciate and have love for my body. My ego went into overdrive when I read the comments and again if I'm honest my initial reaction was to hide away.

However, my current job is one where I help women and girls love themselves to health so I needed to become my own best friend and had to have a kind compassionate word to myself and take my own advice! Yes I am a nutritionist and I'm not ashamed to say I'm a good one, I know because people regularly tell me. Clients thank me and praise me for the advice I've given them and say the advice has helped them change their life. I've helped clients come off diabetic medication, come off anti- depressants and my favourite was a lady who had been trying to get pregnant for 7 years and conceived naturally after changing her diet for three months!!

My weight doesn't affect my brains ability to think to know or understand. No I'm not a size 8 I may not be a stereotypical ‘thin’ nutritionist I am actually a size 12 and I'm healthy and a knowledgeable nutritionist. So whilst some people may make unkind comments about my weight - I no longer hate my body the way I spent so many years doing.

You see, I now have a fully functioning body I was diagnosed at 24 with poly cystic ovary syndrome and told if I wanted children I would need IVF however a recent scan showed I no longer have the condition & I now have regular periods. I also spent a lot of my twenties depressed whereas I now wake up happy - happy to be alive, thankful to live and grateful for my body. Do I have dips in my mood? – Yes of course I do - I am human, but to me my happiness is no longer controlled by my reflection nor on someone else option of my body and that in itself is a revelation.

I like my body, no - make that - I love my body it's fully functioning! It's a vessel how it looks or what size I am is not the sole focus of my life anymore. And trust me for the longest time it was, I've put off so many thing and not done things for exactly that reason the fear of what people would think or say about me but that wasn't living at all that was hiding, it was silly, it was restrictive and it wasn't fun. In order to practise what I preach I had to have a compassionate word with myself which helped me to conquered my returning body demons, I have learnt to see that my weight is not my worth, and believe me for the longest time I truly did think my physical looks were what made me lovable or not.

We live in a world where girls are constantly told they need to look a particular way to be loved and this is so sad. We body bash and body shame women every day you only have to look at blogs, newspapers, magazines and even the TV women worldwide are constantly body bashed firstly for gaining weight secondly for losing weight they can't win, one minute they are too fat the next too thin and even if they look drop dead gorgeous the papers then print stories about how they rate their hair, dress or something else they can take them down on. The media constantly criticises. It's sad and it needs to stop, why can't we embrace the bodies we have and focus on health not weight?

Weight doesn't indicate someone’s health. I see many women who's height to weight ratio means they should be perfectly healthy however many of these women and girls sit in my office crying telling me they under eat, binge and then over exercise to compensate and hate the way they look. This is far from healthy. I've been both heavier and slimmer in fact there was a time where I didn't eat any solid food for possibly around 8 weeks or so I lost around three stone and everyone told me how good I looked - I was in fact pretty ill, constantly cold and very depressed but all people told me was I looked nice!! This is a very warped world to live in and a tragic message to send to young girls and women.

I see a lot of girls in my clinic with distorted body image and borderline eating disorders and I believe that we as a nation really need to act out of kindness more often. Praise people for their talents, their kindness not for good genetics or their current eating habits.

Why are people so happy to throw about unkind words? Words can be like weapons they can wound sometimes, whilst we can choose how we interpret them, sometimes they hit a nerve and logic is lost. Words can and do hurt but we as women can unit and change this. Personally I believe as women we need to become kinder firstly to ourselves and then to other women we need to stand united and act out of kindness and respect. I'm not sure that being mean to anyone ever made anyone a better person.

Some may argue that going on a TV show was me just opening myself up for criticism. However I don't see it that way, why do we have to bench mark every woman on the way she looks? So what if I'm a few pounds heavier than people think I should be - my health is the best it's ever been. I'm no longer depressed, I have regular periods, if that means some people don't like my body then you know what I'm OK with that.

Self esteem comes from self, a few years ago this would have shattered me in a way I can't even articulate. There were so many cruel comments from people - however the reality is these people don't know me they've never met me so why should I really put that much importance on what they think of me. It's not their job to love my body after all it's mine. Whilst it's never nice to read unkind things about yourself and I'm not going to pretend they didn't hurt - momentarily it did.

The old wounds reopened and I fleetingly questioned myself. But such is life, my doctor thinks I'm a healthy weight for my height, I have a healthy body and for once I'm generally happy in my own skin. I never weigh myself anymore I used to weigh myself religiously a few times a day. That's stopped. My worth is not based on my weight anymore.

Wouldn't the world be a nicer place if people weren't quick to judge or be so critical of others? I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where women were encouraged to love their bodies no matter what their shape or size? However this body bashing of all shapes and sizes needs to stop in all forms. Thin, fat, curvy are all too often used in a derogatory manner that sends out the message that they are not good enough, not worthy and needs to be different. We as women need to love ourselves more and we need to teach others what's acceptable and what's not. If we don't love ourselves we live in a place of comparing ourselves and judging others and they are never good route to go down. If we constantly criticise our bodies it almost gives others permission to treat us the same.

Life is so short, so fleeting, some people will hate you some people will love you. Your job is to ignore the haters, surround yourself with people that love you and don't let anyone tell you how you should look. Healthy is the aim of the game not a number on the scales.

Feed your mind with thoughts that feel good.

Nourish your body with foods that are natural and delicious.

Fuel your soul by shining your light and living your passions.

Life is too short to be lived any other way. I personally think it would be heaven on earth if humans could treat everyone the way they wanted to be treated and speak only words they would like to have spoken back to them. So today I'm going to leave you with one thought - How beautiful would you be if the words you spoke and the comments you made appeared on your skin? Would it show that you’re compassionate, caring and kind OR judgmental, cruel and mean? I know where I'd rather be.

Eat to be Happy #TheBigFestival

CAN FOOD REALLY AFFECT MY MOOD?

Im sure you have heard the saying you are what you eat, and whilst we may believe it to some extent how often do you associate your bad mood with what you ate for lunch? 

Do you link your insomnia to your diet?

Have you ever thought that the road rage you feel could be related to your daily addiction to a large latte every mooring and afternoon?

All to often we go about our day prehaps your counting calories, or maybe you are mildly conscious of the food you eat, picking a salad over KFC for lunch has to be healthier right? or perhaps you've swapped your daily chocolate bar for dried fruit. 

But do you know that cravings, mood swings are very closely related to how we eat and what we eat? 

We can manipulate the way we eat, and pick whole foods that naturally promotes a good mood and balanced thoughts. We can pick foods that help our body naturally produce more of the feel good chemicals we need. 

WE REALLY CAN EAT OURSELVES HAPPY and I can show you how!

If you would like to learn how you can eat to be happy please come along to my talk next Friday August the 28th at noon I will be talking about the three ways you can eat yourself happy and be showing your specific food that can help change your mood.

You can get tickets over on Jamie Olivers The Big Festival website http://www.jamieoliver.com/thebigfeastival/

I would love to see you there, my talk is kindly being sponsored by Optibac probiotics, the primal kitchen and Kilner - and the first twenty people that come to my talk will get a lovely goodie bag full with food and products!