5 Ways to Reduce Sugar Intake this Holiday Season

If you are thinking there is lots of baking, cooking and entertaining to do and you will fall victim to high sugar load this holiday, here are some tips to help you reduce your sugar intake.

1. If you are baking, substitute stevia for sugar.  Stevia is derived from a plan, stevia rebaudina and is extremely sweet.  However, with a zero glycemic load, stevia is a good substitute for sugar for this season’s baking.
2. If you are drinking, don’t just think calories, think sugar as well.  Cocktails and ciders tend to have more sugar than distilled spirits.  Keep hydrated with water.  Have a glass of water for every glass of alcohol that you consume.  For coffees and the classic café fare, a long black will have much less sugar than a peppermint mocha.
3. Freeze your baked goods.  If you are preparing some cookies and tarts for entertaining, freeze them in an airtight container.  Take them out to thaw on the day you are entertaining.  This way, snacking on them on the days leading up to the party day is unlikely as they are stored away frozen in your freezer.
4. Have a plan, especially if you are not the host.  Select savoury treats more than sweet treats and if you want to have sweet treats, take a “sampler” size, not a full portion.  This will reduce added sugar that you consume.  Eat before you go, as functions often start later than the stated time and if you are famished, it more likely that you will pick on the wrong foods.  You can have a Shape Up Protein shake or half a keto bar before leaving for the function.  If you start with the right foods that contain a good amount of fats like salmon, avocado, chicken, turkey or nuts, it satisfies you faster and it is less likely that you will need the sweet stuff.
5. Reduce carbohydrates where possible.  Spuds, rice, pasta and bread contain too much carbohydrates.  Limiting your intake of these will cut down on your sugar consumption.

Just because it is the festive season does not mean that you need to allow sugar to free flow in you and create havoc.  A little sugar here and there is fine, but without being mindful, there can be an overload.  Enjoy the spirit of the season, spend quality time with family and friends and relax and rejuvenate!

P.S.  And if you happen to drink a bit too much, make sure you hydrate yourself post party, with coconut water and have a B vitamin!

Is coconut oil good for you? What oil should I be cooking with?

The market for oils for cooking, is becoming very confusing.  Whilst many are aware that some good oils are important for normal body functions, what constitutes good is debatable, as manufacturers justify why consumers should be using their oil.

Recently, there has been a lot of debate as to the claim made by coconut oil to be a healthy oil.  The rationale for the doubt creation is that there is not enough research to prove it.  How much research is adequate is dependent on who’s looking at it and what you are looking for.  In our quest to combat heart disease and move away from saturated fats (butter and lard) to polyunsaturated fats in the last 30 or so years, the incidence of heart disease has not decreased, if at all it has increased!

I invite you to look at the biochemistry of oil, of saturated fats and unsaturated fats.  What differentiates them is the number of double bonds in the chain.  The main fat in coconut oil is lauric acid.  Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, is easy to process and goes straight to your liver to produce energy, rather than stored.  It is easy to digest and supports thyroid function.  Coconut oil can withstand heating.

Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat, which means it contains a double bond, if you break it, you degrade the quality of the oil.  This is a good fat when used in low temperature cooking or in salads, not in high heat.

Rice bran oil has been a favourite, marketed for it high heat properties.  I have been asked often if rice bran oil is a good oil for cooking.  Information I have been able to access states that approximately half the oil is polyunsaturated and the half monounsaturated, so using biochemistry, is not an ideal oil for heating, because of the many double bonds that the polyunsaturated part of the oil contains.  However, rice bran oil claims a high smoking point.  Smoking point is increased in refined oils, i.e. the process of bleaching and filtering the oil from the naturally occurring ingredients like proteins, enzymes and minerals in the oil increases the smoking point.  The process of bleaching and filtering will result in an oil that is more neutral in taste, has a higher smoking point and longer shelf life. So the higher smoking point in rice bran oil will be from the refining process to allow for that to happen.

Soy, canola and corn oils are polyunsaturated fats.  They are heavily traded commodities, which makes genetic modification appealing for commercial purposes.  I do not favour these oils for cooking.  Some other fats I advise staying away from are margarines.  These products often have a Heart Foundation Tick, with very little saturated fats, but are highly processed.  How do you convert a liquid oil at room temperature into a solid form?  Solidification or hardening.  I’m not sure that the hardening of the liquid oil is not hardening our arteries as well!

In short, I would recommend using coconut oil for high heat cooking and olive oil for salads and stir frying or steam frying.  

Strategies to deal with Stress

As we are moving to the end of the year, stress levels increase. What should we be giving to the different people in our lives, what to wear to Christmas functions, when we don’t fit into our best party dress, what to do for the holidays, and the list goes on.  Here are some interesting facts regarding stress:

• Caffeine increases stress (and how often we resort to coffee when we are stressed)
• Stress shrinks the memory centre of your brain
• Stress makes you fat in the abdomen

Being stressed, fat and forgetful certainly do not seem to be a pleasant combination. 

Stress can affect each of us differently. Perhaps you are suffering from anxiety, feeling worried, depressed or irritable; even feeling exhausted and overwhelmed can indicate you are under stress. As well as affecting your ability to cope, stress may also be causing a disruption to your health. When under stress for a length of time, you may be more susceptible to tension headaches, high blood pressure, frequent colds and flus, digestive disorders or a worsening of an existing condition. So you can see, there are many reasons why it is so important to manage your stress now, before it starts impacting your health and wellbeing.

For most people, the dietary intake during periods of stress are also not the best.  It is often takeaway food on the go, or no food, or snacks all the time.  This does not help as the body is needing more nourishment but instead it is deprived of it.

Dietary and Lifestyle recommendations to distress include

1. Deep, slow, breathing, making sure that on inhalation, the abdomen extends.
2. Engage in some meditation, prayer or yoga daily to distress, unwind and refocus.
3. Have some ‘me’ time, be it an aromatherapy bath, listening to music, knitting, reading or cooking, whatever you enjoy that makes you feel relaxed.
4. Eat seasonally, organic where possible or fresh produce.  Make sure you include greens every day.  It does not have to be just eaten raw, it can be lightly cooked, stirfried, put into soups or juiced or blended in a smoothie.
5. Have adequate good fats – fish, seeds, nuts, olive and coconut oil.
6. Avoid excessive alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, additives and preservatives.

When you can differentiate between the different types of stress disorders, whether it is anxiety, worry, depression or irritability, the appropriate herbs can be selected to support the body’s response to stress. We offer a Natural Stress Less Program, if you have trouble destressing, talk to us about what we can help you with.

Simple Healthy Cooking - Cauliflower Fried “Rice”

½ of a large head of cauliflower, blended

250g chicken thigh sliced, marinated with salt

½ red capsicum

½ yellow capsicum

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons of Braggs liquid aminos to taste

3 tablespoons dehydrated sprouted buckwheat

A handful roasted cashews

A dollop of butter

Pepper to taste

Cut cauliflower in smaller pieces, put into blender and blend into fine bits. 

In a heated pan, put 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and add chopped garlic.  Once garlic is fragrant, add in chicken thigh slices and stir fry till chicken cooked.  Add in blended cauliflower and stir fry for 5-8 minutes.  Blend in chopped capsicum, stir fry for another 2-3 minutes and add liquid aminos in. 

Scoop into serving bowl, stir in a dollop of butter.  Add cashews and dehydrated buckwheat and some pepper.

Dehydrated Sprouted Buckwheat

1 cup buckwheat

Glass sprouter

Dehydrator

Soak buckwheat for 1-2 hours and drain.  Let buckwheat spout in glass sprouter. Rinse in cold running water 2-3 times a day and let the seeds continue to sprout.  Put sprouted buckwheat into dehydrator at medium to allow seeds to dehydrate for 5-6 hours.  When done, buckwheat sprouts are dry and tastes crunchy.  Store in airtight container and use in dishes and desserts.

Note:  Buckwheat is wheat free seed and is suitable for people on wheat and gluten free diets.  It helps to improve insulin sensitivity and makes a great snack.  Ground up, buckwheat flour can be added to pancakes.

Simple Healthy Cooking - Baked Garlic and Orange Chicken Nibbles

1kg chicken nibbles

Marinate:

4 cloves garlic

2 bird’s eye chillies (optional)

Rind of 1 orange, grated

Juice of half an orange

1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Blend grated orange rind, orange juice, salt, garlic and chillies.  Spread marinate into chicken nibbles and let it marinate for at least 20 minutes.  It tastes best if marinated for some time in the fridge.

Oil a baking pan and spread chicken nibbles onto the pan.  Bake at 170C for 30 minutes.

Managing Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common hormonal problem affecting 1 in 15 women. PCOS displays symptoms of missed or irregular menstrual cycles, high levels of male hormone (androgens) resulting in facial hair, male pattern baldness and/or acne, obesity and multiple fluid filled cysts in either ovaries as seen on an ultrasound. PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility.

What causes PCOS?

One of the common conditions PCOS women have is insulin resistance. Insulin resistance and increased luteinising hormone (LH) stimulate ovarian androgen production, resulting in higher levels of free testosterone in a woman’s body.  This increase in androgens causes acne, hirsutism (excessive hair growth on a woman’s face or body) and male pattern baldness.  Metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and obesity are frequently present in women with PCOS.  A decrease in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) cause impaired development of follicles.  This is a major cause of missed menstrual cycles (anovulation).  Metabolic syndrome is a condition of high levels of small low density cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, hypertension and high blood glucose levels and low level of high density cholesterol.

What other health problems are PCOS women at risk of?

Women with PCOS are at a much higher risk of developing diabetes before age 40.  The risk of heart attack is 4 to 7 times higher in women with PCOS than women of the same age without PCOS.  Women with PCOS are also at higher risk of developing endometrial cancer due to irregular menstrual periods and low levels of progesterone.  Progesterone causes the endometrium to shed each month as a menstrual period.  Without progesterone, the endometrium becomes thick in the absence of menstrual periods and this increases the risk of endometrial cancer.  Women with PCOS tend to have higher rates of gestational diabetes, miscarriage, preeclampsia and premature delivery of babies.  Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are modifiable conditions for PCOS and these can be improved with a good PCOS diet and exercise.

Diet for Managing PCOS

Because insulin resistance is the result of high level of insulin production that causes the cells to be less sensitive to insulin signaling for glucose update, successful management of insulin resistance can help manage PCOS. Successful management of insulin resistance will involve an uptake of low carbohydrate, low sugar and high protein foods. Low glycemic load carbohydrates cause less fluctuations in blood sugar levels and is beneficial for women with PCOS who normally suffer from insulin resistance. Therefore, women with PCOS should reduce consumption of processed foods and saturated fats, and revert to a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, eggs, legumes, seeds and nuts provide the nutrients without the unnecessary blood sugar fluctuations. Because women with PCOS have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts and legumes provide the diet with fibre, essential minerals and good fats for better lipids and cardiovascular risk management.  Chromium and magnesium are important to help maintain normal blood sugar and insulin levels. It is difficult to obtain a high level of chromium from food sources.  So, supplementation may be required.  Combining chromium with vitamin C and niacin can enhance its absorption. Foods containing chromium include brewer’s yeast, broccoli, romaine lettuce, raw onions and ripe tomatoes. Magnesium rich foods include green vegetables, broccoli, beans and nuts. Cinnamon and licorice are herbs known to improve insulin sensitivity and lower androgen levels.

Tips for creating vibrant, healthy skin

If you are suffering from distressing skin conditions like dermatitis, eczema, psoriais or acne, you will find that many of the conventional treatments available do not manage your symptoms effectively.  This is because skin problems are rarely caused by one single factor.  Your skin is the largest organ of your body.  Its function is to eliminate toxins, regulate body temperature and provide protection to the inside of your body from potential micro-organisms’ invasion. Your body literally shed millions of skin cells every day and your skin completely replaces itself roughly every 27 days.  This means that if you can identify and treat the factors contributing to your skin problems, you should start to see dramatic improvements to your skin within one to two months.

What causes skin conditions?

The skin is a reflection of the health of your internal environment.  There are often many things that can contribute to a skin condition.  Here are some possible reasons:

• if your internal digestive and detoxification systems are not functioning properly, your skin will suffer;
• if you are experiencing a high level of stress, then the inflammation this causes can become visible through the skin;
• if your circulation and / or lymphatic systems are congested, then your skin will reflect this; and
• if your diet lacks certain nutrients your body and your skin needs, you will be presented with a skin condition indicating that your body is not getting the nutrients it needs.

Improving the health of your skin is not just about applying creams or lotions onto your skin and hoping that the problem will go away.  You also need to address the underlying contributing factors to the skin problem.  Here are some simple tips to improve the health of your skin:

• Eat well, avoid junk foods and feed your skin.  Poor diet is one of the major contributing factors to skin issues.  A poor diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies as well as inflammation and your skin will be the first to show the effect of a poor or inappropriate diet.  Your skin needs certain nutrients.  Nutrients such as zinc, vitamin D and fish oil are vital for your skin health as well as for the immune system.  Deficiencies in these nutrients have been shown to have an impact on skin conditions. 
• Keep your bowel movement regular and maintain healthy bowel flora.  If you are constipated and not moving your bowel regularly, toxins will not be removed from your body efficiently.  Toxins reabsorbed back into your system may be removed through your skin and this can aggravate skin conditions.  Adequate good bacteria (or bowel flora) is essential for healthy skin.  Bowel flora is key for maintaining proper immune function and digestion, to prevent constipation and harmful microbial overgrowth of the skin and digestive system.  So, improving constipation and sluggish digestion will assist in treating skin conditions. 
• Manage your stress and exercise regularly.  Stress is one of the major contributing factors to skin conditions especially acne as it causes inflammation, depletes your immune system and destroys bowel flora.  If you feel that you are stress out, try some relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation.  Exercise can be a way to relax and manage stress as well.  Exercise helps the skin remove toxins through sweating as well as being anti-inflammatory.
• Detoxify your body regularly. If any of your five major channels of elimination, ie., the skin, the bowel, the kidneys, the lymphatic system and the lungs, is not functioning effectively and efficiently, the other channels are forced to work harder to help remove toxins the body is trying to eliminate. In most cases, congestion in one of these channels is expressed via the skin in the form of skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. Therefore, improving the capacity of your elimination channels through regular integrated detoxification program will help to improve the health of your skin.
• Skin conditions can be caused by a number of factors.  A personalised treatment program is often needed to address the specific underlying causes of your individual condition.  While treating the cause is key to the long term solution of your skin condition, you can also use natural topical creams containing natural herbs (such as chamomile, calendula, aloe vera), essential oils (such as lavender, sandlewood) and nutrients (such as vitamin D, E, B12, zinc) to help manage your symptoms, reduce skin inflammation and promote healing.

Skin conditions can be caused by a number of factors.  A personalised treatment program is often needed to address the specific underlying causes of your individual condition.  While treating the cause is key to the long term solution of your skin condition, you can also use natural topical creams containing natural herbs (such as chamomile, calendula, aloe vera), essential oils (such as lavender, sandlewood) and nutrients (such as vitamin D, E, B12, zinc) to help manage your symptoms, reduce skin inflammation and promote healing.