Sticking to a healthy lifestyle can sometimes become a burden. I have long since ditched the notion of weighing potions and counting calories – it is boring, cumbersome and frankly calorie controlled diets don’t work long term anyway. SO what are the short cuts you can take to make it easier to get healthier? Here are my top tips that cover everything from cooking, eating out, working out and even what to do in the bedroom….

• If you are cooking a healthy meal, ALWAYS double up on ingredients and freeze a potion or two. Home cooked frozen food is great as a back up – take out the freezer in the morning and it just needs re-heated (not in a microwave which destroys many nutrients).
• If you are the kind of person that succumbs to mid-afternoon snacking on junk then ditch the caffeine which makes you much more prone to cravings and bring fruit / nuts / seeds with you instead. Keep a stash of healthy snacks in the drawer at work.
• When going out for a meal avoid eating the entire bread basket before the starter even comes! You’ll ruin your good intentions and your appetite. Ask them to ‘hold the bread’ and nibble on olives instead.
• You have been asked out on a date but don’t want to ditch the diet? Stick to Thia, fish restaurants or experiment with the more unusual Lebanese or Jamican. Avoid Italian, Indian and the greasy spoon should not even get a look in!
• Get off the treadmill! If you join a gym, don’t be shy. Ask for help with your gym programme and maximise the knowledge of the staff. If you usually drive to your workout could you jog or cycle instead – a perfect warm up and not nearly as boring as watching the minutes tick by on machines.
• Getting frisky is a great way to boost health, wellbeing and confidence, provided it is with the right person! A healthy sex life can add years to your life expectancy – and summer sunshine can bring out the flirt in all of us. It goes without saying that sex must be safe.
• After cooking, eating, working out and finding a mate – the next in line is sleep! Not only might you need a good nights rest after a day like that but sleep is when your body rejuvenates. Too little sleep and your immunity will suffer and you age faster. Try going to bed ½ hr to 1hr earlier than normal and see how much better you feel. Goodnight!

* * *

Originally written for The National, UAE’s national daily!

Cards, flowers and chocolates are all very well but really caring for the women in your life – or looking after you – requires more than just Hallmark and Hershey’s.

Women are complex (so says the man in my life!); I choose to take it as a compliment! Hormonally we are certainly more complex and our needs for minerals such as iron and B vitamins ebb and flow with our cycle. But it is in the field of functional food and not supplements where women can make sure they get what their body requires whilst also making life simpler.

In any women’s store cupboard should be wheatgerm, a cheap health-food basic that is simply the embryo of the wheat kernel. For those that avoid wheat based products, no need to worry, the kernel contains only the good stuff and is not associated with any of the negative wheat-based problems.

Wheatgerm is one of the best sources of folic acid; a nutrient that is not just important for childbearing years but that also reduces a compound in your body called homocysteine. Lower levels of homocysteine have been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis bone fractures, and dementia. It also contains powerful antioxidants that help prevent free radical damage and ageing.

The good news for those of you with kiddies is that it is pretty much undetectable even by the palates of picky eaters. Indeed, in our house, wheatgerm is welcomed as ‘sprinkles’ – an addition to smoothies, yoghurt or cereal.

For a real treat though, fill the house with the scent of freshly made guilt-free biscuits that contain a good serving of wheatgerm. Even better, boys, get your apron on and show us girls what you are made of!

Oaty Wheatgerm Biscuits

Preheat oven to 350°F

Combine ¾ cup oil, 1 cup of honey and 2 tablespoons of molasses.

Add two eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add two teaspoons of vanilla essence.

Combine ¾ cup soya flour, sifted with ½ cup milk powder (skimmed for lower fat), also sifted.

Add raisins (or dates), walnuts, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 ½ cups of wheat germ and 2 cups of oatmeal or porridge oats.

Stir all wet ingredients into dry ingredients and blend well.

Drop by teaspoons onto lightly oiled baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

* * *

Originally written for Foodies Magazine!

Donna Karen does it, Alicia Silverstone sells it and it might just be the secret to Demi Moore’s coupling with a gorgeous man 15 years her junior. And you really should know about it if you are looking to lose weight.

I am talking about raw food.

As it happens, I am on a raw food detox this week at Champneys in Tring. An enthusiastic groups of top stylists, models and normal everyday folk are dipping their toes in the water of a new way of eating that is seen as the ultimate trendy health kick in Los Angeles. Weight loss is so far averaging at ½ lb a day; can’t complain about that!
Saying that though, the raw movement itself is focused less on the weight loss (although it is an amazing way to shift that muffin top!) and instead on the activity of the enzymes that are only present in raw food. Here’s the science bit…

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalyze (i.e., increase the rates of) chemical reactions. In the 1930′s, when enzymes first came to the attention of biochemists, just 80 were identified; today, over 5,000 have been discovered.

These enzymes are abundant in raw food, yet there are none, nada, zero in cooked food. It is these enzymes that provide the energy for your body to work well on the inside, thus helping you to look better on the outside.

So the science goes, when you eat raw food, rather than drawing out your body’s finite resources to digest it, the food comes with its very own DIY digestion kit. So, your body can use that energy elsewhere for all-important jobs like fat burning and keeping your immune system working well.

It might just explain why Demi looks younger now than she did 15 years ago (although cynics will say that the surgeon’s knife might have had something to do with it).

Londoners can indulge in gourmet-style raw food at the healthy food mecca of the WholeFoods market in Kensington. This store started way back when in a funky little town in Arizona, USA, yet has ended up on the speed dial of super-fit celebs who are frequently seen picking up their weekly essentials there, fresh-faced from their yoga class.

My mate Chad Sarno is a world famous raw food chef (and bessie mates with the likes of Woody Harrelson) who has developed his own Gourmet raw food restaurant and has just moved it to the WholeFoods store. Courgette pasta anyone? Raw coco ice cream? Don’t laugh, it will soon be going mainstream. If you don’t want to wait that long, try out raw bars in your local health food shop – the chocolate flavour is my favourite!

For those of you looking for more heavyweight credibility as to the benefit of this way of eating, turn to the landmark book’ Megatrends’ by John Naisbitt, who worked directly for President Kennedy when he was just 34!

Put simply, Naisbitt says that the little energy bundles that enzymes provide are the future of medicine. “Biology will be to the 21st century what physics and chemistry were to the 20th century. The main area of interest will be the production of enzymes or living catalysts,” he says. Wise words indeed.

Finally, if eco is your thing (and let’s face it, your simply not on trend if it’s not) then raw food ticks the green box too. Less cooking equals less electricity; less animal produce equals less impact on the environment from farming. Stella and Gwyneth would definitely approve.

Give it a shot by building up gradually. Start by making one meal completely raw and then add in two raw snacks a day. When you feel ready – and with spring in the air – now is definitely the time to do it. Switch your main meal to a large salad with lots of yummy ingredients.

Given the UK climate, going 100% raw is unlikely to ever be a good idea as it can’t make you feel toasty in the way a warm broth or pot of stew can. However, attempting a 60-80% raw diet this spring will certainly pay back in terms of that summer bikini body.

As for the last few days of my raw food detox, well, tonight’s menu includes a dessert of raw cheesecake and for that, I am truly grateful.

I am doing something really novel, and frankly terrifying this Valentine’s Day. I arranged a Christmas present for my husband: gift voucher for a photo shoot. So what you say? A nude photo shoot. Oh.

We are ‘shooting’ on Valentine’s Day, mainly so that I can drink copious amounts of champagne to give me some Dutch courage. I had thought it would seem romantic, silly and hopefully, a little sexy. Now I’m living on sheer adrenaline, with a body regime to out-do a Gladiator. I have never been more thankful that I run a spa business. Bootcamp? I’m in. Detox? Why not. Colonic? What the heck.

This is all very far from chocolates and red roses of course. But we all want to feel good on Valentine’s Day, don’t we? A chance to wow your partner, a hot date, or perhaps you’ve simply had one of those reality-check moments and you need a bit of a shake up.

The reality is often a full-throttle, ill-fated crash diet, expensive quick-fixes and fillers, none of which do the job well enough. The folklore of dieting is littered with stories of see-saw loss and gain, monster-sized cravings and side effects of faddy eating restrictions that include bad-breath, dodgy tummies and turning into a bitch from hell. Not pretty and certainly not photo shoot material.

First rule, anyone even thinking about aiming for size zero, do yourself a favour and eat a large box of chocolates, please. For others that have been on the endless hamster wheel of dieting and are ready to jump off, it’s all about strategic eating. Lots of vegetables, twice daily servings of protein such as fish or eggs with good amounts of H2O in between. Oats, millet and brown rice are carbohydrates that will keep you going for longer.

My favourite piece of gym-kit at the moment is the Powerplate, an evil machine that gets you toned in places you didn’t know you had places. It’s over and done with in just 25 minutes. A good trainer can actually make it fun, honestly.

Finally, peachy skin. A good diet is the biggest aspect of this, since it hydrates the skin from the inside out. However, there is nothing like a bit of pampering to make both sexes feel more in the Valentine’s mood. So, book your beloved in for a massage. You could even go for side-by-side treatments. For those willing to experiment, try out my homemade recipe for massage oil – naked of course!

massage oil

The base of every good massage oil is vegetable oil, preferably a variety that is light and nourishing. One of my personal favorites is hazelnut oil. Start with a cupful. Next, add in essential oils such as cinnamon, orange, and ylang ylang. When combined, the aroma-therapeutic power of these oils is said to be magnified. To make your massage oil, mix together the cup of base oil with ten drops of cinnamon, ten drops of orange, and twenty drops of ylang ylang. What you don’t use on Valentine’s Day you should store in a glass container.

Foodies magazine http://ht.ly/3OKJx

Sticking to a healthy lifestyle can sometimes become a burden. I have long since ditched the notion of weighing potions and counting calories – it is boring, cumbersome and frankly calorie controlled diets don’t work long term anyway.

SO what are the short cuts you can take to make it easier to get healthier? Here are my top tips that cover everything from cooking, eating out, working out and even what to do in the bedroom….

1. If you are cooking a healthy meal, ALWAYS double up on ingredients and freeze a potion or two. Home cooked frozen food is great as a back up – take out the freezer in the morning and it just needs re-heated (not in a microwave which destroys many nutrients).
2. If you are the kind of person that succumbs to mid-afternoon snacking on junk then ditch the caffeine which makes you much more prone to cravings and bring fruit / nuts / seeds with you instead. Keep a stash of healthy snacks in the drawer at work.
3. When going out for a meal avoid eating the entire bread basket before the starter even comes! You’ll ruin your good intentions and your appetite. Ask them to ‘hold the bread’ and nibble on olives instead.
4. You have been asked out on a date but don’t want to ditch the diet? Stick to Thia, fish restaurants or experiment with the more unusual Lebanese or Jamican. Avoid Italian, Indian and the greasy spoon should not even get a look in!
5. Get off the treadmill! If you join a gym, don’t be shy. Ask for help with your gym programme and maximise the knowledge of the staff. If you usually drive to your workout could you jog or cycle instead – a perfect warm up and not nearly as boring as watching the minutes tick by on machines.
6. Getting frisky is a great way to boost health, wellbeing and confidence, provided it is with the right person! A healthy sex life can add years to your life expectancy – and summer sunshine can bring out the flirt in all of us. It goes without saying that sex must be safe.
7. After cooking, eating, working out and finding a mate – the next in line is sleep! Not only might you need a good nights rest after a day like that but sleep is when your body rejuvenates. Too little sleep and your immunity will suffer and you age faster. Try going to bed ½ hr to 1hr earlier than normal and see how much better you feel. Goodnight!

About Amanda Hamilton

“Amanda Hamilton is one of Europe’s leading nutritionists and detox specialists, having written two best-selling books and devised and presented the highly popular “Spa of Embarrassing Illnesses” TV series among other TV credits. Her company also runs detox, weight loss, boot camp and health retreats at stunning spa destinations in the UK and abroad, and her highly popular LifeChanging Weight Loss Programme. See more at www.amandahamilton.co.uk and www.amandahamiltonweightloss.com

Domestic Santa challenges aside, the more pressing challenge for most parents is not how to conjure up a mermaid but how to avoid the Santa-size belly.

Tis’ the season to be jolly means much merriment as induced by several extra after-work jars, fizz to get the parties started and a general increase in volumes of vino.

Not wanting to be a scrooge on all things merry-making, here’s my survival guide for alcohol; It will save the hangover too.

It pays to remember that alcohol is not only high in ‘empty’ calories (in other words, the calories don’t fill you up) it also reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

This is because your body uses more than one source of fuel, thus, if alcohol is consumed then this alcohol ‘energy’ will be used instead of fat.  In a triple whammy on the waistband, the wee dram will also be boost appetite whilst preventing the absorption of many of the essential nutrients needed for successful weight loss. Damn.

Having just come back from a week in France I’ve got to say they do drinking better. Fine wine is served in little goblets not trendy glasses that could double as a vase. It is taken with meals rather than on it’s own and quite frankly, they know when to stop. Binge drinking just is not elegant on the streets of Paris.

Back home where drinking culture is rather more Neanderthal at times (or is that doing Neanderthals a disservice?), try these tactics.

#1 – For every drink, have a glass of water.

#2 – Drink out of a smaller glass. Simple but effective.

#3 – Stock up on some grown-up alcohol alternatives such as fizzy apple juice, elderflower cordial and my personal favourite, Fever Tree tonic.

Dressed up with some ice, herbs such as mint and some chopped fruit and they almost taste as good as the real thing. Honest.

Alcohol free (but still yummy) cocktails courtesy of the famous Salvatori  Calabrese himself, sometime “Something for the Weekend” mixologist and legend:

Safe Sex on the Beach

Add 1 large (50ml) shot of peach juice, 3 large shots of pineapple juice, 3 large shots of orange juice, and the juice of half a lime to a cocktail shaker half filled with ice. Stir and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with a lime wedge, strawberry and orange twist. Wonderfully sharp and great for your liver. Cheers!

About Amanda Hamilton

“Amanda Hamilton is one of Europe’s leading nutritionists and detox specialists, having written two best-selling books and devised and presented the highly popular “Spa of Embarrassing Illnesses” TV series among other TV credits. Her company also runs detox, weight loss, boot camp and health retreats at stunning spa destinations in the UK and abroad, and her highly popular LifeChanging Weight Loss Programme. See more at www.amandahamilton.co.uk and www.amandahamiltonweightloss.com

Did you know you can only improve bone density until around 30 but from that point onwards, it is about minimizing risk rather than building bone.

It is not a sexy subject. At the age of 30 there are other things to worry about – mortgages, fertility, children – or the perpetual struggle to lose weight – which ironically is one of the risk factors towards the development of osteoporosis.

My dear old Gran who recently passed away at the grand age of 95 frequently said that all she needed to regain her get up and go was a new skeleton.

But opinions on how to treat osteoporosis or osteopenia are, dare I say it, fractured.

In the US alone, since 2003 annual sales of osteoporosis drugs have about doubled to $8.3 billion, according to Kalorama Information, a provider of market research on medicine. It’s a big problem, and with an ageing population, getting bigger by the year.

Many people know that calcium is vital for bones and consume milk no doubt partially in the belief to get their daily quote yet it is those countries where populations consume the least dairy where there is the least incidence of osteoporosis.

A National Institutes of Health study at the University of California, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that “women who ate most of their protein from animal sources had three times the rate of bone loss and 3.7 times the rate of hip fractures as women who ate most of their protein from vegetable sources.” The study’s conclusion: “An increase in vegetable protein intake and a decrease in animal protein intake may decrease bone loss and the risk of hip fracture.”

After reviewing studies on the link between protein intake and urinary calcium loss, dairy industry researcher Dr. Robert P. Heaney found that as consumption of protein increases, so does the amount of calcium lost in the urine: “This effect has been documented in several different study designs for more than 70 years,” he writes, adding, “The net effect is such that, if protein intake is doubled without changing intake of other nutrients, urinary calcium content increases by about 50 percent.”

Excessive protein would mean more than two servings of meat a day and this can make the bloodstream more acidic, which in turn causes the body to release calcium from yours bones to reduce acidity. So, although milk and cheese are high in calcium, they often accompany excess stimulants such as coffee, alcohol or tea and lack of bone building minerals such as magnesium, boron, zinc and silica.

Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) looked at all aspects of diet and bone health and found that high consumption of fruits and vegetables positively affected bone health and that dairy consumption did not. Such findings do not surprise nutritional researchers: The calcium absorption rate from milk is approximately 30 percent, while figures for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, and some other green leafy vegetables range from 40 percent to 64 percent.

As well as too much (animal) protein and too low an intake of fruits and vegetables, other factors that can adversely affect calcium balance include blood sugar problems (most often experienced as intense cravings for sugar or refined carbohydrates).

All of the research supports what nutritionists and public health officials have preached for some time, namely the importance of a balanced diet with a high proportion of fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and a lower proportion of meat and dairy.

And the last skeleton-preserving factor? Exercise, or more specifically weight training and conditioning. Experts in Integrated Medicine such as Dirgot Rakel, MD, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital support what your personal trainer or high school gym teacher said all along: Exercise is essential but not all work outs are created equal when it comes to building bone mass. Weight bearing, non attritional, exercise such as working out with weights, jumping/squats and running can stimulate bone growth, especially as we get older.

Perversely, as well as diet, weight training and conditioning – properly overseen by a coach or personal trainer – is especially important as we get older for keeping bone density from degrading, and quite literally, keeping the skeleton together.

So, this Halloween take inspiration for a better old age from those skeletons; there are no tricks but lots of treats to be had from better diet and specific weight training conditioning for your old age.

About Amanda Hamilton

“Amanda Hamilton is one of Europe’s leading nutritionists and detox specialists, having written two best-selling books and devised and presented the highly popular “Spa of Embarrassing Illnesses” TV series among other TV credits. Her company also runs detox, weight loss, boot camp and health retreats at stunning spa destinations in the UK and abroad, and her highly popular LifeChanging Weight Loss Programme. See more at www.amandahamilton.co.uk and www.amandahamiltonweightloss.com

Writing her column in UAE’s top newspaper, The National, Amanda comments:

Suppose you had the opportunity to free yourself from all worldly responsibilities for ten days. You have a room in a quiet, secluded retreat, free from all disturbances. All your basic needs would be met at no cost to you. The only rules you’d need to follow are a vow of silence and spending the vast majority of your waking hours with your eyes closed. Would you accept?

Depending on your take on the world, it may sound like a blissful escape from the chaos of life or some kind of jail sentence! Neither could be further from the truth.

Meditation can be viewed in scientific terms for its effects on the mind and the body. During meditation, a marked increase in blood flow slows heart rate, blood pressure drops to within normal ranges and recent research indicates that meditation can boost the immune system and reduce free radicals, in effect, a slowing down of the ageing process.

And what of the mind? Less stress, better sleep, insight and self-awareness. Scientists tell us we use only a fraction of the capability of our minds – a mere 10%. The rest they say is hidden under the mysterious blanket of the subconscious.

But what is it in the simple teachings of the Dalai Lama that has captured the minds of celebrity devotees for whom the outer world is a playground?

I thought that the experience of 10 days of silent meditation might gift me a peek underneath the covers of consciousness. Yes reader, I accepted the challenge and headed to the inspired setting of the Himalayas.

I had dabbled in meditation solely at the end of my trendy yoga class so choosing a technique was based solely on practicalities. My retreat was called ‘Vipassana.’ It was free, non-religious, it sounded painless and it was said to be the technique used by Buddha to gain enlightenment. Enlightenment seemed too lofty a goal so I opted for “less mind, more soul”, a classic 21^st century crisis.

A bumpy journey in a shabby rickshaw took me to a tiny hamlet at the foot the sacred river Ganges. Concrete beds, cold water and sparse food were all part of the experience designed to remove the shackles of the ego. Apparently, behind the sensations of cold, hunger and pain (you try sitting stock still for several hours) was the real experience of self.

My only comfort during the first few days of adjusting to such a harsh regime was the thought of athletes who report of being in “the zone,” mind over matter in extreme circumstances. Was it a case of different technique but same experience?

Several days passed; was I losing my mind or meeting it? My image of blissful navel gazing was never more than wishful thinking. The Vipassana technique is designed to guide you towards the observation of the ultimate reality – your reality.

On the fifth day of my exile I began to believe this might be true. This sleepless night, I felt as if my life was turned inside out. I re-lived my life from the point of view of others, directly experiencing the emotions they felt as a result of my actions. Painful as it was, after 24 hrs of no sleep, I had become the observer.

From that point onwards my time was peppered with moments unexplainable in scientific terms. How is it possible to feel the hard ground beneath yet with a certainty that “I” was entirely separate? Visions and dreams came that I would later discover had been written about since ancient times as signals that the psychic self has been awoken from slumber.

I had always thought about meditation as an escape, an indulgent way to withdraw from ‘real’ life. However, my experience was that mediation was a headlong, full-throttle journey towards reality, rather than away from it.

Much is claimed about the power of meditation to manifest great piles of money and endless pleasure – it being the subject of many a bestselling book. In my humble opinion, that is nonsense!

I do believe however that meditation allows us to feel more clearly what truly matters to us. In other words, not money or power but emotion, a richer inner experience rather than outer if you like. As for manifesting what we want in life, I had wished to become a mother and in the five years since that Himalayan retreat I have become a Mum of four!