Is canned salmon good to eat?
Posted on 29. Jul, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Food, Diet & Health, Womens Health
Canned salmon can, in fact, be a great way to get oily fish regularly into the diet. It is especially useful for those who can’t always afford fresh fish, and since alot of canned salmon is wild, it is often a better alternative if your only source of fresh is farmed salmon. Do read labels however, to check that it is wild that you are buying! If you buy fish with bones, you also benefit from additional calcium – in a very absorbable and natural form! Of course tinned varieties are available all year too. If it’s packed in it’s own oil, even better as you can benefit from extra fish oil (a potent anti-inflammatory), and therefore extra Omega-3 fatty acids – EPA and DHA – once again, in a very natural, balanced form. Wild salmon is also one of few dietary sources of Vitamin D, a nutrient that is receiving a lot of attention as being fundamental to the entire functioning of the human body – especially with regards immunity, bone health and reduced disease risk. Just an added note – if you can also find low-salt varieties of canned fish, that would also be a bonus, especially for those individuals who need to be vigilant of excess salt in the diet.
A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Woman – Part 2
Posted on 22. Jul, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Body Shape and Weight Loss, Digestion & Metabolism, Food, Diet & Health, Womens Health
The general focus of the diet…
The diet should be as clean as possible. This means eating food that contains NO unnecessary additives, preservatives, hormones or hormone-mimicking chemicals (xenoestrogens), sugars, or trans fats/hydrogenated fats. Eating only natural, unprocessed foods (in itself) will ensure that all these biochemically and hormonally disruptive substances are kept to an absolute minimum.
Highly beneficial foods…
Nutritional science has come a long way, and it is now known that the following foods are highly beneficial for proper hormone production and healthy oestrogen metabolism.
How much water do I need to drink?
Posted on 20. Jul, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Body Shape and Weight Loss, Food, Diet & Health, Sport & Fitness
The amount of water one person needs can be very different to another – just as the case is with the amount of food or calories we need. Our water needs are dependent on the environment, or temperature of our surroundings, how much water is in the food we eat (high water foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, and meals such as soups, salads and juices), how many dehydrating fluids and foods we consume (e.g. strong caffeinated beverages, diuretic herbal teas, alcohol, sugar, sugary drinks etc.), how active we are and consequently how much fluid we lose through sweat, and finally, how much lean tissue versus fat we carry. That’s right, our body composition determines in part our fluid needs.
Obvious signs of deyhration…
Signs and symtpoms that indicate you’re not drinking enough water can include over-heating, flushing of the skin, headaches, skin itchiness, dry skin, and constipation. However one of the best ways to determine your unique hydration status is to monitor the colour of your pee! Use the chart below, and experiment with increasing your water intake slowly, across the day, until your urine is the colour indicated by the numbers 1, 2 or 3 on the colour scale. Remember plain water, as well as the above-mentioned hydrating foods and meals, all contribute to “watering” the body effectively. Your fluid needs may therefore change on a daily basis.
The Pee Chart
This is a quick and easy way to know instantly whether you are hydrated, mildly dehydrated, or worse – severely dehydrated! Check out the pee chart here… 
Your target is to make sure your pee is the same colour as the numbers 1, 2, or 3. Colours 4 and 5 suggest dehydration and numbers 7 and 8, severe dehydration.
A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Woman – Part 1
Posted on 14. Jul, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Body Shape and Weight Loss, Food, Diet & Health, Sport & Fitness, Womens Health
A “healthy diet for a healthy woman” should provide the correct “material”, to encourage normal healthy production, balance, detoxification and excretion of oestrogen and other hormones. The organs to nourish and support include the ovaries and adrenals (for production), the liver (for detoxification), and the kidneys and bowel (for excretion via faeces and urine). Naturally, these organs need to be in good working order, and nourished correctly! Incidentally, the skin is also a major “detox” organ, and must also be fed properly and allowed to “breathe”!
In a nutshell… (more…)
Care of the female body – Part 2
Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Food, Diet & Health, Mind and Body, Womens Health
Continuing on from Part 1 of “Care of the female body with nutrition and lifestyle“, here in Part 2, I look at the importance of bowel health, the environment, specific supplements for women and the mind-body connection…
The importance of bowel health…
Bowel health is crucial to so many aspects of health. In fact, I’d go, as far as to say, a healthy gut is the key to overall health. Unfortunately, it is often a neglected part of any treatment plan or focus, and little attention is paid to optimising digestive health. Gastrointestinal function, and the science of gut health has progressed leaps and bounds in the last few decades, and new information emerges all the time as to the role of gut bacterial balance, as well as regards the “gut-brain link”. Gastrointestinal ecology is directly linked to immune function, affects digestive capacity, and can even affect our ability to lose weight. The gut also communicates with our brain, as thoughts and feelings are often expressed through the gut. Experiencing “butterflies in the stomach” is a good example of this “two-way communication” at work.
Stress, emotions and gut health… (more…)
Care of the female body with nutrition and healthy living
Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Body Shape and Weight Loss, Food, Diet & Health, Womens Health
The first part of this article covers the following areas…
* Hormone balance
* Strengthening the “detox” system and why this is so important
* Feeding the body with the correct nutrition
* Beware of the nemesis – sugar!
Maintaining good female health requires a strong, yet delicate approach. When faced with ill health and disease (including cancer), women require a truly holistic, and individual approach to treatment and recovery. Areas such as nutrition, lifestyle evaluation, genetics, stress reduction, hormone balance, and even self-empowerment are all important areas to acknowledge and address. All can influence the growth and proliferation of rogue cells in the body (which often lead to the development of cancer), as well as influence overall “health and recovery”. (more…)
The Beauty and Power of Water
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Digestion & Metabolism, Food, Diet & Health, Mind and Body
When we read or hear recommendations about health, or healthy ways of living that we’ve heard over and over again, we often stop listening! We become a bit complacent, often saying to ourselves “I already know that, and I already do that”. This must certainly be the case with water! How many times have you heard about the importance of drinking enough water? But do you really know how important water is, and how beneficial it is to stay optimally hydrated… read on and I promise you’ll begin to see water in a whole new light!
Easy ways to get essential fats into the diet
Posted on 18. Jun, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Body Shape and Weight Loss, Food, Diet & Health, Womens Health
A vast majority of people living in the western world are known to eat too much fat. However, it’s not just the amount of fat that’s often a cause for concern (and a cause of disease), it’s that we’re simply not eating the right kinds of fat. The fats we really need for good health and longevity are not being consumed in sufficient amounts. Our fat intake over the past few decades seems to have gone badly awry!
Essential fatty acids
The role of certain “essential fats” in human nutrition has long been recognised. Dietary fats called omega-3 and omega-6 fats help regulate several aspects of metabolism, such as blood viscosity, inflammatory processes, blood fat and cholesterol levels, and fluid balance too. In addition, it is now widely accepted that a low ratio of essential fats to saturated fat is closely linked with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease.
The body makes all the fatty acids it needs, except for two “essential” fats. These are (more…)
Healthy Sunbathing – 9 Key Tips
Posted on 11. Jun, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Food, Diet & Health, Mind and Body
* Firstly, consider the sun as your friend, and don’t be sun-phobic. Take advantage of all its beneficial effects while avoiding the damaging effects due to chronic excessive exposure.
* Identify your skin type and sunbathe sensibly. Darker skins have more melanin, which filters out a lot of the UV rays.
* Frequent, short exposures are better than prolonged exposure, and the best time to sunbathe is spring or early summer.
* Early morning sunshine is particularly beneficial to lifting mood.
* Wear a hat if the sun is very intense.
* Watch your diet and eat plenty of organic and colourful whole foods, fruits, vegetables, some oily fish, and raw seeds and nuts. These foods contain all the protective nutrients the skin and body needs and thrives on.
* For natural sun protection, apply olive oil and/or aloe vera after sunbathing. Japanese researchers (New Sci, May 11, 2000) found that olive oil applied after sun exposure prevents skin cancer!
* Take a daily antioxidant supplement that contains vitamins C and E.
* Be aware that the following drugs increase the likelihood of skin burning: barbiturates, phenothiazines, demeclocycline, chlorothiazides and promethazine. If in doubt, check with your GP.
Vitamin D – 6 useful facts
Posted on 05. Jun, 2010 by Lucy-Ann in Food, Diet & Health
* Vitamin D is a hormone and is measured by assessing levels of 25-OH Vitamin D (the active form of vitamin D) in the blood. A healthy amount is 50-100 ng/mL. A deficiency is considered to be < 20 ng/mL and “insufficiency” is considered to be 20-49 ng/mL
* An optimal intake of Vitamin D (taking into account the latest science and vitamin D recommendations) we need to aim for is approximately 2000iu per day.
* Vitamin D is produced when exposed skin has a photochemical reaction to ultraviolet light rays from the sun. Practically all vitamin D that circulates in the body is made this way. To give you an idea of how much you can get via sun exposure (our best and most natural source of Vitamin D), 20 minutes of full sun exposure will provide up to 20,000iu. Darker skinned people produce less than this as the melanin in their skin acts as a sunscreen against UVB rays.
* Foods that naturally contain vitamin D include – a 4oz (120g) salmon steak, which contains approximately 739iu Vitamin D, eggs (25iu), sardines (600iu), and cod liver oil (up to 1300iu per tablespoon). Vitamin D is also found in foods such as seaweeds (which also contains calcium and phosphorous), algaes such as chlorella, and shiitake mushrooms.
* During winter and early spring the sun is thought to be too weak in the UK to photosynthesise adequate vitamin D – or when the UV index is below 3
* Hypovitaminosis D (i.e. chronically low vitamin D) increases the risk of infection, cancer, autoimmune disease, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, diabetes and/or insulin resistance, musculoskeletal pain, epilepsy, and migraine.
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