AMANDA HAMILTON SAYS YOU ‘CAN’ DO HEALTHY EATING

Nutritionist and broadcaster Amanda Hamilton is the latest to join the team of experts who say you ‘can’ do healthy eating as a spokesperson for Canned Food UK.

Amanda who is best known as a presenter on BBC Two programme ‘Something for the Weekend’ and the hit series “Spa of Embarrassing Illnesses”, joins celebrity chef James Martin and fellow nutritionists Amanda Ursell and Lyndel Costain in backing a health and nutrition campaign from Canned Food UK.

Amanda says “My ethos is all about providing simple, cost-effective ways of providing the right nutrients for ourselves and our families – and canned food sits alongside that perfectly. Many people overlook canned goods as a source of nutrition but as they are cooked in the can, the nutrients are locked in, preserving all the goodness naturally. And they also count towards your 5-A-Day.”

To mark Amanda joining the Canned Food UK team, she has contributed to a new leaflet ‘Open the Can for Healthy Eating’ providing a brief overview of the benefits of canned food, from nutrition to environmental benefits. Please visit www.cannedfood.co.uk to download or order a free copy, use the comprehensive recipe database or enter our free monthly competition.

As a mother of four, Amanda understands the importance of providing easy and delicious ways to give your family the healthy balanced diet that canned food can offer. The no-fuss, can-venience of cans mean that you can save your time and energy as no preparation is needed, simply open the can!

The long shelf life of cans means you can store all sorts of affordable, delicious additions to classic recipes, with absolutely no wastage. What’s more, the canning process locks in all the vitamins and minerals without containing any artificial preservatives.

- Ends -

For further information and for recipes and images, please contact

Hayley Longdin or Rebecca Curwin on 0121 265 2760, or email Hayley.longdin@trimediauk.com or Rebecca.curwin@trimediauk.com

AMANDA’S IS AMBASSADOR FOR “NAIRN’S NATURAL WOMAN” – HEALTHY TIPS NEEDED!

Amanda is an ambassador for the newly launched Nairn’s Natural Woman on behalf of nairn’s oat biscuits.

Check out her monthly top tips by visit www.nairnsnaturalwoman.com.

You can also send in your top natural tips and as well  download a special money off voucher to redeem against your next purchase of nairn’s oat biscuits.

Fighting ageing – why it takes more than just sunscreen!

Fighting ageing – why it takes more than just sunscreen!

Are you using sunscreen this summer to help prevent ageing?  If so, you have joined in the fight against free-radical damage.  It is all well and good to stay (mostly) out of the sun but the inner battle can be far more damaging.  Here’s a low down on how to protect your inner world – your cells – from ageing, thus having the potential to add years to life and life to years.

Meet Glutathione

Glutathione is an antioxidant enzyme often referred to as the body’s “master antioxidant” due to its central role in protecting the body’s cells from free radical damage. Glutathione is composed of the amino acids cysteine, glutamine and glycine and is concentrated in the liver, although it carries out its work throughout the body. This important enzyme is involved in protecting cells from environmental toxins, drugs and alcohol as well as toxins produced by the body itself as a result of normal metabolism. So important to health is glutathione that it’s depletion leads to cell death. Glutathione also has a major role to play in immunity – like all cells, immune cells rely up on glutathione for defense against free radicals.

HOW TO GET MORE OF IT!

Glutathione is not a micro-nutrient, we make it ourselves inside our cells.   It is probably the most important anti-oxidant and detox aide we have. However, just because we make it ourselves doesn’t mean it can be ignored – on the contrary, the vast majority of us could do with more or at the very least, protecting what we have got!

If the liver is overwhelmed by toxins from the gut and from chemicals, not all toxins entering the liver are detoxified and instead gain access to the bloodstream to travel anywhere in the body. These toxins and the excess of free radicals (highly reactive forms of oxygen) caused by poor liver function can cause direct damage to tissues and also initiate allergic or auto-immune reactions. Un-neutralized toxins are also expelled into the bile and can further damage the intestinal lining, setting up a toxic vicious cycle. This ‘toxic’ triangle (which we treat on detox retreats) plays a vital role in the protection, or otherwise, of glutathione.

No magic pill

For those that understand naturopathic thinking you will already know that there is no ‘magic’ pill. The only way to boost levels is to take a wide-spectrum anti-oxidant supplement, support the liver and take some added protection from specific nutrients if needed.

On top of this, if the liver is overwhelmed by toxins, these nutrients can become depleted and the liver will function inefficiently resulting in numerous symptoms and problems throughout the body. So, not only is it vital to take the right kind of supplements and eat well but to give your liver a rest and time to recuperate every now and then (yes, back to our detox retreats then!!).

Here are my top liver loving and anti-oxidant boosting measures:

Detox formula

Familiar to all who have been on retreats.  A one-stop shop for liver support. Buy it in our shop.

Milk Thistle (Silymarin)

The milk thistle plant contains silymarin and related flavonoids which are powerful antioxidants so protect the liver from damaging toxins and free radicals. They also stimulate healing and the production of new liver cells and cause the liver to increase production of glutathione.

Specific Nutrients

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

Cysteine is a sulphur containing amino acid and is a major component of glutathione (the others being glutamine and glycine). Supplementing cysteine boosts levels of this important ‘master antioxidant’. Cysteine is one of the best free radical destroyers and helps to detoxify harmful toxins in the body and also binds to potentially harmful heavy metals, removing them from the body. The best form to supplement is n-acetyl-cysteine as this has been shown to increase glutathione levels in the body more than cysteine and even glutathione itself. Typical doses are 500-1500mg per day in divided doses.

Taurine

Taurine is a unique amino acid in that it is not incorporated into proteins and enzymes. Instead it is essential for the formation of bile in the liver and acts as a potent detoxifier and antioxidant throughout the body. Alcohol and aldehydes are known to decrease levels of taurine in the liver and it is thought that this is because taurine is used up in protecting liver cells from damage due to these and other toxins.

Alpha Lipoic Acid

Alpha Lipoic Acid is a sulphurous fatty acid that was originally classified as a vitamin until it was discovered that it could be synthesized in the human body. As well as being a particularly powerful antioxidant in its own right, directly neutralizing free radicals, alpha lipoic acid also plays a role in recycling other important antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and glutathione.

B Vitamins

The B vitamins are all essential for healthy liver function. They are required for the formation of a huge number of enzymes including the P450 Cytochrome enzymes which are the basis of the phase 1 liver detoxification pathways. These B vitamin containing enzymes initiate the first part of the detoxification process before glutathione and the other phase 2 enzymes deal with the products of this. When the toxic load on the liver is increased the P450 enzymes tend to become more active which means the requirement for B vitamins increases.

Anti-oxidant Vitamins (A, C, E) – take as Antioxidant formula for optimum effect

Vitamins A, C and E are all powerful anti-oxidants and are utilized by phase 1 liver detoxification pathways. Recent research shows that vitamins C and E act synergistically to neutralize free radicals with vitamin C scavenging for free radicals in bodily fluids and vitamin E protecting the cell membranes. All of these vitamins help protect the body from environmental toxins and the fat soluble vitamins, A and E , also help protect and repair the intestinal tract thus also protecting the liver indirectly by reducing the severity of leaky gut syndrome. Vitamin E also protects vitamin A from damage by free radicals.

Exercise nutrition tips

I was watching all the gym-bunnies tonight whilst playing ‘sharks’ in the pool with the kids (equally exhausting!) and I thought it was about time I wrote something about nutrition specific to working out. After all, this is the peak time of year for gym memberships so chances are many of you are hard at it..

Carb loading is counter-productive for atheletic perforamce, weight management, energy and long term health.

When you eat an excess of carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, bagels, cakes, biscuits or any refined flour-based foods, too much sugar enters your bloodstream all at once. This triggers a release of insulin that stores that sugar away into cells since excess sugar damages drain and body cells. Guess what? Now there is not enough sugar in your bloodstream so your brain assumes you are in a time of famine and sends an alert to your adrenals to release adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline releases energy from sugar stored in your liver and muscles and, crucially, cortisol breaks down your own muscle mass to turn it into sugar. In short, because you have supplied your body with a very poor energy source, i.e. refined carbohydrate, it is forced to undertake a series of biochemical steps to ‘protect’ itself. Putting the body under this strain promotes weight gain (even if your body type is naturally thin these eating habits will eventually cause weight gain around the middle, often in the 20’s) poor performance and lowered immunity.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT A DIET OF REFINED CARBOHYDRATES IS NOT NATURAL IN ANY WAY TO THE HUMAN BODY.

If you are in the habit of ‘carb loading’ for your workout or snacking on refined carbohydrates then your adrenals will be continually called upon –which can in the long term lead to adrenal fatigue, exhaustion and eventually burn out. Long term results of adrenal fatigue include decreased muscle mass and increased fat around the middle, lowered metabolism and accelerated ageing.

OPTIMUM DIET FOR WORKING OUT

A regular diet of WHOLE FOODS (if you can’t pronounce what’s on the label, you shouldn’t be eating it!) with a combination of protein (good quality meat, fish, eggs and pulses – can supplement with whey powders); good fats from oily fish and flax / linseed oil blends plus moderate amounts of naturally rich foods such as nuts and nut butters, seeds and if liked, avocados; lots of green vegetables – the most nutritious foods for athletes and non-athletes alike and moderate amounts, 3 servings of complex carbohydrates a day (1 serving = 2 slices of wholemeal / rye bread, large cup of brown rice, bowl of muesli, whole-wheat pasta (small bowl), starchy foods such as sweet potatoes are also fine.

ACTIONS

CUT DOWN ON 80-100% of refined carbs – keep as ‘treats’ only for after meals
EAT NATURALLY – think about the difference between an apple and ‘apple flavoured sweets.’
CUT OUT ADDED SUGAR
DO NOT DRINK FRUIT JUICE OR IF YOU DO, DILUTE 3 TIMES TO WATER (fruit juice is very high in sugar with no fibre)

Eating for Two

Just got back from a week in France skiing with a great bunch of friends.  I am a true convert to off-piste skiing – I have come back to rainy Scotland mourning the mountains. Alas, no more skiing (and no apres ski!)  for me given the baby bump.

Beyond the slopes it was a tasty reminder of how those French do stodge well!  It proved to me that we are all products of our environment.  Sure, if the health food shop is just down the road and your are surrounded by friends and family to whom good eating is important then  it is a lot easier.

Get yourself halfway up the Alps where everyone is enjoying croissants and bacon for breakfast, hot chocolate and frites as a warm up to a cheese laden lunch then a full on 3 course dinner – and high tea of cakes and more hot chocolate mid afternoon – and it is rude not to join in!

Mind you, on holiday, skiing takes care of the exercise so it’s all part of the experience  but take away the mountain air and exhilaration of skiing and that’s a heck of a daily diet.

For sure though, next time someone comes to me for a consultation and starts to list the kind of menu we were served this week I will take more time over asking about their living circumstances!

I could, of course, use the old ‘I’m eating for two’ argument.  Sadly, it just ain’t true!

I want to blog about this myth since my protruding belly seems to be inviting these questions!

So, here goes for all you pregnant, soon to be pregnant or hoping to be, the truth about your baby-growing needs.

It is true that you need extra calories from nutrient-rich foods to help your baby grow, but you generally need to consume only 100 to 300 more calories than you did before you became pregnant to meet the needs of your growing baby. That equates to a mid-sized banana and a couple of slices of toast at most. I crave more protein when pregnant – even red meat every now and then although for me it’s lamb or venison over beef every time.

When it comes to weight gain, if you were average weight for your build before pregnancy (those who have been on a retreat know your body type!) should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Underweight women should gain 28-40 pounds during pregnancy. Overweight women may need to gain only 15-25 pounds during pregnancy.

But where does the extra weight go? To be-bunk yet more myths about being ‘fat’ rather than ‘pregnant,’ take a look at the table below.

Baby	8 pounds
Placenta	2-3 pounds
Amniotic fluid	2-3 pounds
Breast tissue	2-3 pounds
Blood supply	4 pounds
Fat stores for delivery and breastfeeding	5-9 pounds
Uterus increase	2-5 pounds
Total	25 to 35 pounds

Right, now that I have got that off my rather inflated chest I will bid you all goodnight!  Pregnancy is a great time to bag some extra sleep.