Fish for your mind and now for your feet!!

I heard about fish eating the hard skin of your feet last summer, and it sounded great. I meant to try it since as I know there were some in Camden Town but never managed too. Yesterday at Wood Green shopping centre I had the opportunity to try it. At the beginning was very ticklish but as after few minutes it was so relaxing and it felt like little current massaging your feet. There was a woman next to me that was very regular to her feet being nibbled by the little fish. She went few times in Camden Town and she had already two treatments that week alone. She said that her feet were great during the summer. We trying to convince some of the onlookers that it felt great and I think quite few people were thinking piranha biting your feet. They do not bite but nibble your skin. Also many were thinking who putting your feet in there where everyone else put their feet! Well if you go bare feet on the beach or walk bare feet in the swimming pools than you should not worry about the fish tank as that is much cleaner than the sand and the swimming pool floors!! The water in the tank is warm and you feel like you want to be there all day really. It seems that some hospital in London might be using these fish for medical reasons. You need to be referred by your doctor, but hey how great would be to be referred by your doctor to have your feet or body nipped. The name of the fish is Garra Rufa and they live and breed in the outdoors of some Turkish spas. They are used there and other parts for psoriasis condition, where you bath in a pool. That must be quite a fantastic experience!! It helps the skin condition for a while, but as psoriasis is a lot to do with internal mechanism errors and external endogenous factors you need a continuous trip to the Spa (hey could be worse!). The Garra rufa fish also lives in the Northern and Central Middle East, Syria, Iraq and Iran. It is protected legally from commercial exploitation in Turkey. Well that is great!! You can take or eat oily fish for your mind and now you can get them to heal your feet!! Worth to try for 5 to 10 pounds for 15 minutes….

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

The liver and Christmas parties...

The importance of liver

The liver is quite often forgotten by people or not thought about at all. Even though the liver is the only organs that can regenerate, when it cannot cope with too much work, you can start feeling it by having spots on your face or forehead, feeling sluggish, having headaches and feeling tired and having the feeling of being spaced out. Even if you are eating healthy but loosing weight for any reason the liver is the one that will have to do a lot of the work by eliminating all the toxins freed by the fat cells or any cell. The liver also is the one that makes protein that you need for repair of cells as well as transforming excess sugar into fat for storage. It is the major detox organ for drugs, hormones, as well as being the organ where vitamin D is activated. The liver is also a storage place for some of the vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E, K, and B12. Now it is Christmas time again and time for Christmas parties and overindulgence of alcohol based drinks and overeating time. It is good to have fun but think of your liver as well. So even though you do not want to miss out on a Christmas party, take few steps to help your liver to cope with the extra work. Take some extra vitamin B, vitamin C, as well as milk thistle, dandelion root tea or tincture. Drink water between alcoholic drinks, fruits such as mandarins, and other seasonal fruits, as well as vegetables such as chicory salad, fennel, beetroots, artichokes, rockets, watercress, cabbage family and radicchio. If you drink water between the alcohol you will not drink as much and you will still have plenty of fun. Eat some food with your alcohol, which helps with reducing the effect of the alcohol. By taking the few steps above you can still have fun without the feeling that you need a month to feel good again after your parties. And most of all enjoy yourself……..

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Simple recipe and its nutritional value

Here is one of the many symple recipes with its nutritional value:

Mediterranean salmon (taken from good housekeeping booklet, modified)

Hands on time 15 min – plus marinating. Cooking time 12 min. – serves 2 –

Ingredients

2 x 125g salmon fillets, skinned

1 tbsp pesto

10 g sun dried tomatoes, chopped

40 g black olive

Organic lemon (as the zest need to be used is better to use an organic lemon)

Preparation and cooking

- Mix the salmon, pesto, olives and sun-dried tomatoes in a bow. Sprinkle over the zest of ½ lemon. Cover and chill for 30 min. You can set up this part the night before or two days before.

- Preheat oven to 200 degree C (180 with fan) mark 6. Arrange the salmon in ovenproof serving dish, spooning over the marinade.

- Cut the lemon into 3 wedges and put around the salmon. Cook for 10-12 min or until the fish flakes when pushed with a knife.

Health benefits of the ingredients:

Salmon = source of omega 3 essential oil, proteins, potassium, selenium, vitamin B12, wild Alaskan salmon has got a higher content of omega 3 and less heavy metals and pesticides residue.

Pesto = contains mainly basil benefits includes helping the digestive system, is a mild sedative for relaxation, has been used for kidney support and slow circulation.

Pine nuts: (this is another ingredient of pesto, as well as the garlic and the parmisan cheese or pecorino cheese) contain more protein than any other nuts and in 100g of nuts it contains about 24g of protein, is a source of goo fiber, and some fat which is mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are the good fats, only 10 percent is saturated. Pine nuts also contain b vitamins, vitamin E, zinc and potassium.

Garlic: Garlic nutritional values are amazing. Garlic is an anti-fungal, anti-microbial activity, it has been researched into his lowering of cholesterol, and it seems to increase the immune system activity and therefore helping with fighting colds and flue. The sulphur compound are the main active ingredients such as allicin, diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide, which are released when garlic is crashed. Garlic also contain a good amount of vitamin B6, manganese, selenium, vitamin C, phosphorous, calcium potassium, iron and copper.

Cheese: Parmesan cheese and pecorino cheese are a good source of protein, calcium and other minerals but the amount that would be in pesto would not count as much for their real benefit.

Sun dried tomatoes = Tomatoes are low calories food, and the main benefit of the tomatoes is its content of antioxidants such as beta-carotene and lycopene. Tomatoes also contain biotin, vitamin C (if fresh not sun-dried), vitamin K, B6, B5, niacin, folic acid and fiber.

Black olive = Olives like the tomatoes and cucumber are fruits, and not vegetables. But they are the source of monosaturated fats which are one of the good oils or fats. The black olives are the same as green but at different degree of ripeness. Usually black olives that are less bitter are soaked in brine straight away and for longer. Olives are a good source of omega 9 which is one of the monosaturated fatty acids and vitamin E.

Lemons = Lemons are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium folic acid, flavonoids and the phytochemical limonene (this can help the liver for some parts of detoxification)

Enjoy the cooking and eating. This can be done when you have little time or it can be taken for the next day lunch.

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/



Jamie's Oliver revolution

Well, watching  the programme last night, again I was amazed at the problem that Jamie faced. Again they still had rubbish food in the freezer and the dilemma is 'what to do with it'. Sincerely I would say gave it to the dogs, but I think that would be very cruel. I would not give that food to the dogs or homeless as that would be animal and human cruelty. I cannot believe that the US government still does not get it, how can you feed that rubbish food to the children? how can you let your kids eat the rubbish in the brown bag that I saw. What are the parents thinking? that their child will grow healthy with sweets and bright colorant??? I think parents and teachers as well as the kids should try to get that any, any junk food is bad for you. How can you go back to have your child not eat the healthy food and compare the junk food such as chocolate milk to real milk?? The children will adjust to anything, is the parents that don't and I have seen it with some of my clients. So parents and adults please think of what you eat. Because what you eat is how your body function. All the vitamins, minerals, good fats, carbohydrates, proteins are the ones that makes your body function well or bad (if you eat junk food or sugary foods).  And the healthier and nutritious your food is the better your child is going to grow, which should be healthy, not tired, not too hyper and not overweight and obese..
http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Jamie's Oliver USA

Well, watching Jamie's Oliver programme last night, I was so glad that the radio presenter finally saw the reality of his town and the other side of the coin. It was not just about him wanted to keep eating his junk food is saving his town from dying young and badly.... Well done to Jamie Oliver for not giving up even though he had so many obstacle, and I suppose after he trying UK he knew how to get the people finally. Great in involving the University with the dancing... He made cooking fun and enjoyable and obviously well done to the teachers and the students that did it so well.... Great hopefully now that Jamie is out of there the town and a lot more towns in America will take up cooking lessons and keep up with the healthy eating. It just means that McDonald and all the other junk food chain will earn less money... Great!!! So for anybody else keep staying healthy and have fun trying new recipes.....

www.nutritionhealth.net

French fries - vegetables or .....

Again I watched Jamie Oliver's programme yesterday and it is becoming quite amusing the more I watch it.  The teenagers that he got for his cooking skills, are amazing. They are probably a minority of kids that really understand that if you want to change something you need to make a big effort. They went from not knowing how to cook anything to cooking an entire meal for 80 + people, how great that is!! I am sure their parents or guardian have no choice but make a difference. But what about the rest of the school!! Will they understand the change that they need to make now for the future? I hope so.

Now going towards explaining French fries. I like a good French fries and once a year I probably have it somewhere nice. But just to be very precise, French fries are NOT A VEGETABLE, they are not part of the 5 a day scheme and they do not count towards a healthy eating!!! The lady that organized the meals for the schools in America, is very supportive of Jamie's mission and she wants to do her best to change the meals, but I do not think she understood that French fries are not better than freshly cooked noodles with few types of vegetables in there.... French fries are tasty but unfortunately they don't have anything healthy in them. Potatoes are not part of the vegetables either, they are starchy food, like rice and pasta, and, cooked with the skin on, they are a very good source of some minerals and vitamins as well as fiber (which helps in case you suffer of constipation, with some of the actual vegetables fibers). So again I hope that the people in America start thinking of their own health, as I do not think anybody else is doing anything there to change the bad habits that they got into... Also I still think the radio present of Huntington is a a... hole as he should be quite and keep his opinion of eating bad food for himself. If he and his family wants to eat unhealthy food that should be their choice but if the rest of the kids and family in his town wants to try the healthy option he should let them do that and be quite..... or even better be supportive, that is if he really cares about his listeners and he does not want them to have a heart attack while they are listening to his opinion!!

www.nutritionhealth.net

Support for Jamie Oliver's mission

I have a great respect for Jamie Oliver and his mission of trying to make the nation, first with UK and now with America a better place. Making people more conscious of where the food come from before all the big chain of fast foods and easy food came along. Before all that happen every child and every woman knew what a vegetable was, and how to cook it. In a sad sense, we were much more healthier at a time or depression and low food than now. As before everyone that had a piece of soil or land would plant their own vegetables to eat and not flowers. Not that flowers are not great, but that is not the point. I am lucky that I grew up in a countryside where everything came from my parents garden. Vegetables, fruits, and meat. The only thing was missing was fish from their land, but leaving quite close to the sea you could easily find freshly caught fish sold off the boat! My son is also lucky, because he often visits my parents and knows what a tomato plant look like, the pear plant, the olives, plant, the salad plant and all that. He is very lucky also because I taught him what different fruits and vegetables are and he loves them. In Italy where I send him for the summer the play scheme where he stays have their own vegetables and they make the kids go and pick their own vegetables up! Which is fantastic!! And apparently all the kids that did not eat vegetables they started eating the vegetables they picked up!! Going back to Jamie Oliver mission,  I am also lucky that the school where my son goes, use a lot of their own herbs, use organic food as much as possible and they have fruits and salad as well as vegetables in their menu. Definitely the smaller kids do not complain and they are learning to eat vegetables. I might have to thank Jamie Oliver for his mission here in UK as my son's started his school after Jamie Oliver started to stir up the kitchens. Well, I would have done packed lunch, but for somebody that is tight for time everyday would have been a big mission, as well as my son not having warm meals everyday. He does not like sandwiches all the time which is good, but it meant that he would have a cold lunch everyday. Now again going back to Jamie Oliver mission, I was reading in the observer about the community that he managed to set up for cooking lessons for adults and children!! What a fantastic ideas. That would make a huge difference in the health of the adults, young, elderly, and children as they would know more about food and what healthy food means!! they would eat much more healthily which it means less burden on the NHS in the future.... So why now is the government cutting the funds for that!! Instead of taxing people with money they again taxing people without the money. Agian the health of the Nation will have a repercussion later if the kids do not learn now how to eat and cook. Maybe the government is not thinking of the future as they might not be in power later on. Anyway the other big thank you to Jamie Oliver is for trying so hard to change an entire town in America if not the entire America with his mission. And you would think that they would say thank you themselves and be happy.  Last night when I saw the programme I was very much saddened by the fact that his enthusiasm at the beginning was met with mistrust and anger and even the Radio host that should be thinking 'hey this is for the health of the people in our town, let's give it a try people and support him', he was against Jamie. I think the host of the radio was very selfish and not really considering the hundreds of people and children with big problems not knowing the name of one single vegetable and where their food came from.... I think as a radio presenter he should make a better judgement of what helps the listener and what is good for them rather than attacking Jamie Oliver for trying to help the children being healthier...... Again I felt very sorry for Jamie Oliver that seems like he had to beg for a job in the school to stay on and teach them what a good meal would be for the children.... How can they ever go back to that rubbish that they gave to the children, how can the parents ever go back to give their children that rubbish... Jamie Oliver does not have to do this, he can stay at his home writing and cooking in his own restaurant and no bother about any of this! He knows that his children will eat healthily, he does not need to beg for a job,, he does not need to do any of this... He is doing this because he is passionate about food, passionate about what health is and he wants to help.. He could have easily stayed at home and not care and have more time with his family.... And I hope that the people in UK and America understand how lucky they are that somebody like JAMIE OLIVER is teaching them to be healthier and how to cook... What an honour!!!! So well done Jamie Oliver and thank you for doing this......

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

B vitamins and Alzheimers and homocysteine connection

Hey, finally there is prove that the B vitamins, especially B12, B6 and folic acid are beneficial in prevention of Alzheimer. But the homocysteine connection is also beneficial for the prevention of heart conditions, including reducing high blood pressure. Measuring the homocysteine level with a simple blood test will give an indication on how much B vitamins you need to take for how long and than keep maintaining a basic dose to keep you healthy. If you have a family history of dementia or Alzheimer it is worth to start early to keep it down and prevent it. And if you are older you can still take it and prevent any further damage by taking the B vitamins. Again a simple blood tests should be done. Some GP are very helpful and would send you for the test themselves. For the doctor is worth suggesting the tests and giving B vitamins as a prevention rather than spend much more later if the person gets either the Dementia or Heart problems.

www.nutritionhealth.net

Sunshine - reminder of importance of vitamin D

I just came back from Italy where my parents live and it is amazing what a difference in weather there is. It seems that you are in a different world altogether. The problem in England is that the luck of much sunshine can affect the mood and increase the risk of mould allergies or infections. August has been a very wet month and getting some sun on your body seems to warm up everything even the joints that start aching after so much humidity. Just to remind also people that from November till March/April in England the sun is not strong enough to give you the minimum amount of vitamin D that the body needs. So store up now and during the winter time take extra vitamin D or D3 for the elderly or people with kidney problems which is the active form of the vitamin D. Enjoy as much sun as possible now (the safer hours are up till 11am and after 3pm).

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Green leafy vegetables

I always recommend to my client to eat green leafy vegetables. There are many reason why, one they contains lots of minerals, especially magnesium with all the benefit that magnesium has. Another one is being leafy there are also part of the leaf that is not absorbed but digested and worked on by the friendly bacteria which in turns make any elimination of toxins and unwated waste more easily. Now one of the new reseach (mentioned by Dr Briffa in his blog) has the benefit of preventing diabetes type 2. Which I am not surprised as magnesium is an important mineral also for the control of insulin but also I suppose the people that eat more leafy vegetables, also tends to eat less sweet, white pasta or bread and usually either cook their own foods or eat as heatlhy as it can be. It does not mean that just eating leafy vegetables will stop the diabetes, again is a lifestyle change rather than just one thing. Such as walking or doing exercise and implement the healthy eating as a regular thing rather than an occasional meal. ....... Enjoy your greens!!!http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Detox for a week with healthy eating

This can be tried by anyway that would like a bit of challenge and a chance to change their diet. Here is a week of healthy eating to see what difference it makes to your inside and outside.

Every day for – 7am till 9am - Breakfast with 4-5 strawberries, a palm full of blueberries, and blackberries, cherries two tablespoon of mixed nuts or seeds, and live organic yogurt (3 tablespoon).

Mid morning and afternoon snacks 11am and 3-4 pm: 2 nectarines or blueberries and blackberries with 1 pot of yogurt, or one slice of cantaloupe melon with two tablespoon of mixed seeds

Lunch 12pm -2pm: Salad with salmon, tuna, eggs or beans, or chicken with vegetables or a fistful of brown rice with beans, fish or chicken. Alternatively an omelette with mushroom or any other vegetable with salad can be made.

Dinners: 7-9pm – fish, chicken, beans or lean lamb with a lettuce mixed salad (heart of Romaine, rockets, Cos salads, carrots, celery, cucumber with 1 teaspoon of vinegar with one tablespoon of olive oil (cold pressed). Eat the salad before your dinner. With the protein have some leafy vegetables such as kale, pak choi, greens, spinach (slightly cooked)

Drink up to 2 litres of water away from your meals throughout the day. Walk for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour everyday (now that the weather is good, should not be a problem) and most of all enjoy the week.

One coffee or one tea a day only is allowed, no juices only fresh produce, no alcohol.

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Heartburn and GERG

Many people and even some children suffer of heartburn or excess acid. Quite often what food and drink is consumed might make a huge difference and reduce the heartburn or high acidity. Here are some suggestions and facts about heartburn:
Triggers factors


• Heavy meals

• Lying down or bending after a meal

• Eating immediately prior to exercise

• Prior esophageal surgery

• Esophageal stricture (narrowing of the esophagus)

• Cigarette smoking

• Alcohol intake

Sign and symptoms

Heartburn -- a burning sensation under the sternum in the chest -- is the primary symptom of GERD. Heartburn often occurs after a meal and worsens at night, when you are lying flat. It is more likely to occur following a heavy meal, or if you bend, lift, or lie down just after eating.

Other symptoms of GERD include:

• Regurgitation of food

• Belching

• Nausea and vomiting

• Chronic cough, wheezing

• Sore throat, hoarseness or change in voice, difficulty swallowing

• Chest pain

Life style

• Avoid behavior that does not allow food to easily move down into and through the stomach. This includes bending, lying down, or participating in jarring exercises soon after a meal.

• Don't eat heavy meals

• Avoid acidic foods and drinks. These include caffeinated beverages, decaffeinated coffee, and orange juice

• Avoid alcohol, chocolate, spearmint, and peppermint. These can relax the low esophageal sphincter.

• Avoid carbonated beverages

• Avoid eating fatty foods, including full-fat milk, which also may relax the lower esophageal sphincter tone. Avoid fried foods.

• Citrus foods

• Take medication with plenty of water

• Lose weight if you are overweight

• Quit smoking

• Avoid cranberry juice

• Avoid Italian heavy food,

• Avoid Mexican foods

• Avoid Tomatoes

• Processed foods

• Sugar

• Drink a big glass of water when the reflux starts, - Chew well - Eat plenty of raw vegetables - Eat slowly - Do not eat 3 hours before going to bed

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

NAET for allergies and intolerances

Naet for allergies and intolerances is a treatments that many people do not much about it. Read more on my website

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Summer healthy desserts

Finally it is summer and as everybody else kids and adults would like something sweet and cold. Well there is a healthy desserts that can be done for both adults and kids. Home made ice lolly. You can buy the ice lolly mould at amazon. Buy the fresh seasonal fruits, such as cherries, berries, water melons, cantaloupe and mix them up in a blender you can add some yogurt or freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice and fill the mould. Put them in a freezer for about 6 hours and you have healthy desserts. You can also just make the smoothies if you do not fancy an ice lolly. But these desserts are very popular with children as they can help making them and they taste good as well as being healthy. .. Enjoy them.....

summer healthy desserts

Child constipation

Many children, amazingly enough, suffer from constipation. Here are some advice on how to solve the problem and make the child intestine work nicely every day.

Children can become constipated as a result of holding back stool. They might no want to stop playing to go to the loo. That means that the stool becomes drier and more painful to pass. That will lead to avoid going to the loo because is too painful and etc….

Important points:

1. Make sure that your child drinks up to a litre of water of more per day, throughout the day. Have her/him drink water, herbal tea, very very diluted juices and soups readily available and encourage your child to drink them often.

2. Increase the fiber in their diet: Simply add a piece of fruit such as banana, apple, orange, pear or prune. The whole fruit provide the most fiber. Give your child a fruit half an hour or an hour before the main meals or 1 hour after her meal.

A dry pitted prune soaked overnight in a glass of water contains extra moisture and is easier to digest. Make sure that is soaked in a 1 glass of water and they drink the juice from that as well as the prune. Vegetables and whole grains are also rich sources of fiber. Beans and lentils very good source of fiber, you can mash or blend them. Zucchini and cooked spinach as well as cooked broccoli will help. Green leafy vegetables are full of magnesium and other minerals that will help her constipation. Have them eat one or two of these everyday. Make sure that they eat what vegetables they like as well as the vegetables that are good for her, maybe with an incentive, such as you can have an homemade ice lolly (made from fresh seasonal fruits). Add some Udo’s oil, 1 teaspoon with each meal. That will help soothe their stools as well as providing essential oils for their growth.

3. Serving warm liquids or hot oatmeal every morning acts gently to stimulate the intestinal tract, in addition to being a fiber provider.

4. For an overnight relief of constipation, mix ½ cup of prune juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with 1 cup of spring water. Have your child drink this before bedtime.

5. Give them acidophilus, the recommended dose half an hour before going to bed.

6. If your child’s stool has an exceptionally foul odor, consider giving them chlorophyll supplements. Chlorophyll is high in trace minerals, especially magnesium and has natural antibacterial properties.

7. Simmer a half teaspoon of flax seed in two glasses of water for fifteen minutes. Use the liquid to make the oatmeal in the morning.

8. Massage your child’s lower abdomen for comfort and to help to get things moving.

9. Gently massage your child’s abdomen, following the natural movement of the intestine which is clockwise. Start in the lower right corner, move up towards the ribs, over to the left side and then down toward the pelvis.

10. Make sure that your child runs around for 1 hour everyday, this stimulates the elimination system.

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Resveratrol

I was researching resveratrol and it is amazing how many benefits it has been connected too. It is not only a powerful antioxidant but much more. Resveratrol (RSV) is a phytochemical found in the skin of grapes and particularly the red grapes. A phytochemical is a chemical that may affect the health but it is not considered an essential nutrient. RSV has been shown to positive effect on inflammation, platelet and as it has also been shown to have a phytoestrogen effect, it might help to prevent breast cancer caused by the oestrogen. Phytoestrogens have shown to inhibit cancer formation and growth, reduce cholesterol levels and have some benefits in preventing osteoporosis, especially after menopause. RSV is mainly known as powerful antioxidant which has been shown to help prevent the destruction of the vascular endothelium. RSV is high in red wine and this has been indicated to be the reason for the so called French paradox, where in certain region of France, people drink more red wine and the mortality from coronary heart disease is lower than any other region. RSV has also been shown (in animals studies) to increase aerobic capacity (energy created in the mitrochondria, which is part of our cells that make our energy). RSV induces the genes for oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial biogenesis and it has been shown to protect the animal against a diet-induces obesity and insulin resistance. So do we now start drinking a lot more of red wine or should we eat other healthy food which contains this nutrient. Well a glass of red wine a day might help, but more than that it starts to counteract the good effect of the RSV nutrients, so not worth drinking much more because of that. Eating red grapes might be good but too much of eat would give you a running for the toilet and feeling of bloating, therefore moderation on this too. RSV is made synthetically from the Japanese plant knotweed for the supplements production. Well I think drinking a glass of really good red wine few times a week, or everyday with your food, some grapes and maybe adding some supplements if there is a history of heart problems might have a good effect on preventing some of the disorders mentioned above.

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Naet treatments for weight loss and allergies

Being overweight nowdays is a major issue, as there is an abundance of food around (in the more rich country) and less exercise or work of the adults and children. We sit at our desk most of the time, and the children after a school day they other play with the Nintendo ds or Xbox or whatever computer gadget they have. Most parents complain about their children being a bit overweight and the majority of the children that are overweight, have the same diets as the parents which is junk food, salty foods, no vegetables or fruits and lots of sweets and fizzy drink. Now for the majority of the overweight adults and children, as sedentary work and choice of food is the main problem. For some the hormonal glands are the problems (very rare though). For a lot of adults, emotions play a major part of their problems. For others is the choice of certain foods that they are allergic or intolerant too that they keep eating that leads to put on more weight that they would otherwise, even though they exercise 3 times or more a week. Let’s have a look at the more scientific problem with being overweight and/or obesity. Obesity is the modern lifestyle disease. The body mass index (BMI), is the measurements that the science use to see if a person or child is overweight or obese and at risk of physical problems due to the weight, such as heart disease, high cholesterol and or diabetes. A BMI of more than 25 is considered overweight and above 30 obese. Obesity seems to affect more women than men; there is a genetic susceptibility for obesity as well as lifestyle, dietary intake and lack of exercise (11, 13, 17). Many studies, therapist and doctors have been trying to find one solution for being overweight or obese. For example leptin has been identified as the obesity gene (ob). Leptin is expressed in the fat cells and codes for the protein leptin. It acts as a hormone in the hypothalamus, and it has shown to promote a negative energy balance by suppressing appetite and increase energy expenditure. Therefore a lack of ‘ob’ has been suggested to cause obesity in susceptible people (17). But unfortunately this is only for very few obese people, not many obese people have a deficiency of this gene, therefore all the other factors have to be accounted for before blaming the individual gene. Quite often obese people and children are malnourished, even though they consume a high amount of food, which is usually highly processed fats, refined carbohydrates and fizzy drinks that are empty calories food. Abdominal obesity (the so called apple shape) has been associated with elevated markers that are connected to heart diseases and strokes (11, 18). In this case the waist-hip ratio, as in the apple shape individual, has been shown to be more relevant in predicting the syndrome X disorder than the BMI factor (18). High oestrogen has been also connected to increase appetite and therefore increase in weight (11). Eating breakfast reduces total calorie intake and late night eating increases it, therefore breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and an emphasis on not skipping it is important even if the person does not feel hungry. Usually once a person gets used to eating breakfast the evening meal might be lighter and therefore their appetite in the morning increases (11). In summary obesity should be addressed from every angle that include testing and assessing any body glandular disorders, good planned dietary intervention, addressing any nutritional deficiency, testing and eliminating allergies or intolerances, physical exercise that is suitable for the individual as well as emotional support (11, 13, 17). NAET is a method of testing and treating allergies, intolerances and sensitivities. I have treated children and adults with NAET and eliminated allergies and intolerances as well as some of the disorders that allergies and intolerances can cause, reduce asthma attacks, eczema, hayfever, headaches, fertility problems, candida and weight problems.

Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) NTCC - More on the therapy and the therapist on

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Protection from the sun inside out!!

Protecting the skin from the inside out is not that difficult. What you need to do is eating a lot of orange and yellow foods, which contains the most beta-carotene, which will not only protect the skin but also the eyes from the damage of the sun (I still recommend to wear sunglasses and sun cream if you are in the sun in the hottest of times such as from 11am till 3pm or and for a long periods of times). The foods that you should include in your diet in greater quantity for your protection are the following: carrots (juices or slightly cooked you absorb the beta-carotenes better), squash, pumpkins, cantaloupe melons, apricots, mangoes, yams, sweet potatoes, spinach and green peppers. To protect your eyes a bit more, blueberries and berries in general increase the range of antioxidants and therefore protect them more from the damage of the sun. In general colourful fruits and vegetables will be full of antioxidant and vitamins and you might also eat less of the sweet foods that do not contain any or little nutrients, therefore loosing weight as well, without much effort.…. Enjoy your spring and summer with the most nutritious food and you will see and feel the difference as well as getting a safer tan……

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Easter time and lots of Easter eggs around

Easter is back again, and for most kids and some chocolate fun people, Easter is about chocolate eggs rather than any of the religious part of Easter. Nutritionally chocolate has been the bad and the good food. Even though, I think there is not as much as good and bad food but healthy and unhealthy food. Even the healthy food for some can be unhealthy if they are allergic to it. I had treated a little girl with NAET (see my website for more information), just before last year at Easter time. The girl, who is now 12 years old, had been having terrible headaches since she was 6 years old when she ate even a small piece of chocolate. Naturally for her was not as nice when she went to parties when Easter time would come and she could not have much of the Easter eggs!! I treated her a week before Easter and when she came back from the Easter holidays last year for a check up, she said she had had a big chocolate egg with some more small little eggs, with not so much approval from the mother obviously!! But the girls was very very happy, and in some way even the mother as she did not suffer of headaches anymore if she had any chocolate. I saw her a week ago and she is still eating her chocolate almost every day (not a big portion) with no headaches or any other problems at all (she is very healthy and active so no problems in having a bit of chocolate as a dessert). Now I love chocolate but unfortunately my liver does not, so I cannot eat a lot of it. But when I do eat it, nutritionally,  the darker the better, because it contains a good amount of antioxidant and iron (even though you do not absorb much of the iron!). Well I think if you do not exaggerate with the chocolate a little bit of Chocolate Eggs is not too bad for anyone and not even unhealthy, as long as you have a good healthy meals in between... Enjoy your Easter and the Easter eggs!!!!!

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

An apple a day!

One apple a day
Almost everyone know the expression ‘one apple a day keeps the doctor away’, even in Italy when I grew up! Being lucky enough to grow up in the countryside in Italy and near the seaside I did not realize then that not everyone had the same fortune of picking up their own fruits and vegetables from their front yard. I remember just going under the tree and picking up the fruits of the season wash eat or clean it and eat it. I don’t think I have ever tasted the same fruit ever again really. Or I still do when I go back to Italy and my parents still pick up pears from the tree for our breakfast. But all fruits have really a good amount of nutrients and vitamins, so why just apples are the ones that are so important or why the expression. I am not sure where it started or when but here are some apple history and qualities:
There are about 25 types of apples and they vary in colour and texture, from green to red. Some are sweet such Red Delicious, Royal Gala (my favourite) to Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Cox Apple, etc.. It seems that the original apple tree comes from Eastern Europe and Southwester Asia. Because of the cultivations and hybridization (is the process of combining different varieties or species of trees and make a new type) there are now many more varieties of apples from the first original apple tree. In the past the apple was thought to keep people forever young. Scientifically the consumption of apples in many studies have show to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, type 2 diabetes (as it releases the blood sugar slowly). Here are some of the nutritional benefits of apples. Apples contain high amounts of flavonoids especially quercetin. Quercetin is an antioxidant that protects the integrity of the cell membrane. Our body is formed of millions of cells and the outside of the cell can be under oxidation attack all the time. Quercetin and other antioxidant such as vitamin C, and many more flavonoids found in coloured fruits and vegetables, protect our cells from being destroyed. Quercetin also blocks the inflammatory cascade, which involves quite a lot of the inflammatory disorders such as asthma, arthritis, allergies, etc... Of course you could be allergic to the apple and so in that case you need to find the solutions for that (see my website for treatments). Pectin is another ingredient in apples; pectin can help lower cholesterol levels by improving the intestinal motility and reducing therefore the reuptake of fat and toxins (in few words good for elimination of food waste). One medium whole apple supplies 3 grams of fibres; eating about two apples a day will reduce the cholesterol up to 11 percent. Pectin is good not only to relieve constipation but also diarrhoea (Kaopectate is an over the counter medication for diarrhoea that contains pectin). Nutritionally raw apples contain vitamin C, pectin, fibres, potassium, phytochemicals such as ellagic acid (anti-oxidant) and quercetin. So really when they say that one apple a day keeps the doctor away is quite true but it is also true that many fruits also contain some sort of nutritional value, antioxidants, and fibres and therefore is worth to vary and combine our fruits to get the most of goodness from them. So hopefully the above has convinced you a bit to start eating keeping an apple or two in your lunch box or bag or any other fruits. Fruits salads are really good to have and enjoy!!!!

 

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Tiredness

Many people are tired nowadays, either they run around too much or try to fit too much in a short period. Also many people wake up already tired. If you are one of the ones that wake up tired, it means that something is not quite right. There are various reasons for that. What I am concentrating on is food that we eat and water that we drink, as well as a possible cause is the liver being sluggish to detoxifying. What I have found that certain foods, and especially sugary foods, wheat, cheese and dairy products can cause water retentions, and also the body to work at a slower rate. Quite often eliminating wheat or reducing it, makes people have more energy during the day and in the morning when they wake. Drinking enough water, which can be between a litre and half to two litres or more, depends if you are working somewhere with air conditioning or heating system, or if you exercise or cycle to work. Dairy and especially cheese, is another food that makes the body sluggish. Try to eliminate some of the food above to see which one gives you more energy and either stay off it for a long time or reduce the amount that you have a day.

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Hypoglycaemia

Hypoglycaemia is a condition where the blood sugar level goes very low. The condition can cause dizziness, moodiness, irritation, tiredness, foggy heads and among others heart palpitation day and or night. I always knew that I could not go without eating for more than 3 hours, if by chance I do, or I have to wait for dinner, lunch or even breakfast, I become a hungry and angry lion!!. Travelling is the worse time when I am not prepared and the only things that you find is fast releasing sugary foods, which makes things better at first and than I get another dip in my sugar level and I start the lion behaviour again!! Now usually to avoid all that, during the day I keep that under control by eating snacks such as seeds and nuts, as well as apples and pears or mandarins. I had a blood test lately as I was having a raised heart beat at night and not sleeping well. I thought I was under stress and that was the cause of it, but to be in the safe side I thought to have it checked with my doctor anyway. Heart is good, which is a relief. The day I did my blood test, I had breakfast which is oat muesli, with nuts and fruits and yogurt, and two hours later I had my blood test. I had a call in the afternoon from the doctor asking if I was ok. I said yes, of course I was. The reason he called was that he was worried as the blood test showed that I was hypoglycaemic and he thought that I was walking around feeling faint or dizzy. I said I was quite well, as I kept my blood sugar level in control by eating my snacks etc. So I had to repeat the blood test, but as I wanted to think why would I be hypoglycaemic after having a slow releasing breakfast, I said to him that I would repeat the test the week after as I wanted to do something before hand. Well thinking of my habit of eating, during the day I was fine, but I eat quite early at 6pm with my son and than I do not eat anything till the next day at 8am. Now for me, but also for many people suffering from hypoglycaemia, that is a long gap. What I did to see if it worked, I ate nuts with yogurt or some slow sugar releasing fruits such as apple, pear and or mandarins around 9pm and see if that will make a change. As vitamin D in England is not made through the skin as the sun rays are not strong enough, from November till March, I decided to take extra dosage. Vitamin D as well as chromium has a very important role in the insulin metabolism. Well on Monday I repeated the blood test, without the breakfast in the morning as suggested and well, no hypoglycaemia, I was fine. This in a way warned me about the long gap without eating, even from the evening to the mornings. Now, my theory on this episode is that it takes two meals for the blood sugar level to stabilize and therefore is an interesting fact. For me and my colleagues at least is a very important point. Many people do not eat breakfast and sometimes skip even the lunch, which it means that the body stays in red alert for many hours after the first meal. This means that if somebody does not eat breakfast it takes two meals for the blood sugar level to stabilize, that might be a reason why many people feel much more energetic after their evening meals, while they feel tired after lunch. Obviously what you eat for breakfast and lunch is as important as skipping the meals to stabilize the blood sugar level. This is especially important in people with a family history of late diabetes (type II) or even type I diabetes. So having breakfast and not leaving a long gap between one meal and the other is as important as eating the right food!!!

www.nutritionhealh.net

How to improve your immune system to fight colds

January till March most people get a cold for one reason or another. Food that can help the immune system include garlic, onions, leeks, pumpkins and any of the vegetables will gives help with fighting infections and get your immune system strong. Supplement wise, vitamin C (up to 2000 mg a day or bowel tolerance), zinc, echinecea if taking as soon as you get the cold, aconites same as echinecea, wild oregano is very good for fighting viruses, fungi and bacterial infections, colloidal silver, as well. One extra vitamin that is needed during the winter months, especially in England is vitamin D, as the ray from the sun are stron enought to promote the making of vitamin D through the skin. Vitamin D as well as being involved in the calcium and magensium uptake is also involved in the immune system. Have a good supply of the supplements, support your liver always and intestinal tract with probiotics to avoid getting any bug through the intestine and you should get either much healthier or fight the bugs quicker and faster.

http://www.nutritionhealth.net/

Christmas indulgence and New Year Resolutions!!

Many people, including me, eat too much over Christmas and New Year, and many drink too much to celebrate the new Year. Once all the festivity are done, we realize that we need to go back to not eating drinking too much because we have put on some extra weight. I noticed that eating a lot more bread and wheat as Italian do, as well as plenty of extra salt, did not agree with me at all. Nothing to do with allergies, but pure retention from eating too much carbohydrates. I am also very greedy on chocolate, the darker the better and that for my poor liver and body did not go well either. Now back to my routine of eating food that does not contain wheat or salt seems quite boring. But I do feel much better in the morning, less tired and less water retention! Now I would love to change my entire family way of cooking, but it does taste good when you eat it. My family actually lower down on salt big time since I suggested that, even my father which things that a salad with no salt is like being a rabbit and eating it from the soil directly might have more taste!! Anyway for people that needs to detox after the holidays, eat plenty of fresh fruits (I know is cold but worth it), plenty of freshly cooked vegetables stews, soups and green vegetables. For the once that do not like beans and lentils much, try the chicken or low fat meats or if you like the fish, eat the fish with vegetables, sweet potatoes or rice and after two weeks you will have lost the weight as well as feeling great, obviously no alcohol too for a month to give your liver a rest!!
Buon appetito to all!!

www.nutritionhealth.net