Food as Medicine

Buying Food for a Healthy Diet

Posted on 24/02/2023 Leave a Comment

How to Buy Food for a Healthy Diet

I’m often asked how someone can improve their health and wellbeing through eating good food. A healthy eating plan starts in the kitchen. You need to have healthy food in your fridge and pantry so you can quickly prepare a healthy meal and not be tempted to make poor food choices.

Start with a Meal Plan

Before you do your weekly shop write down a meal plan. This doesn’t have to be a complicated, “set in stone” meal plan. You can outline what you think you will be eating and write a list that fits that broad plan. The best type of meal plan is a flexible one.

When shopping for food choose:

Nutrient dense foods
Wholegrain foods that have minimum processing e.g. whole wheat, brown rice, oats, wholegrain breads and cereals. Highly refined grains that have been enriched still do not compensate for the nutrients lost in processing.
Dried beans/pulses like borlotti beans, chickpeas, black beans, lentils and moong dahl. Dried beans can be soaked overnight and cooked the next day. Beans/pulses are a great source of protein and fibre, which helps slow glucose absorption and keeps blood glucose levels stable. Dried beans/pulses can be used to make lots of delicious meals e.g. beans and rice, and dahl, or pulses can be added to a meat based casserole. Canned beans and pulses are an alternative for those who prefer not to cook their own.
Fresh fruit and vegetables over processed ones (dried, canned, frozen, juices, and juice drinks). It’s ok to have some frozen fruit and vegetables in the freezer for when you run out of fresh produce, however, remember fresh really is best. Select a variety of vegetables from the leafy green, red, orange and yellow groups.
Meat, poultry, fish that is low in visible fat.
Low fat (not no fat) dairy products – milk, cheese, yoghurt, soy products.
A variety of foods from all food groups.

Read the food label so you know:

The calorie/kj content of a standard serve of that food.

What other nutrients are in the food – look out for:
- fibre content,
- sugar (including corn syrup, honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrate),
- saturated fats & trans fats,
- salt,
- added nutrients,
- flavours & colours (natural & artificial).

Be wary of anything labelled ‘light’, low fat, low salt or low/no cholesterol. What else is in the food? e.g. many low/no fat foods are high in sugar.

Want to know how to improve the role food has to your overall health and wellbeing? Book an appointment with me – see Bookings page.

Healthy Gut Healthy You

Posted on 30/11/2021 1 Comment

Your Gut -The Seat of Health

What is your gut

For many people, the gut is a bit of a mystery – food goes in one end, something happens in the middle, and thensomething else happens at the other end. As long as the gut remains a diligent servant, quietly going about its duties and keeping us oblivious, most don’t give it a second thought.

Where does your gut start and end?

Your gut starts in your mouth and ends at your anus. Your ongoing health and wellbeing depends on the health of your whole gut i.e. it’s necessary to consider the health of your entire gut – oral health to colonic health.

What does your gut do

Your gut is responsible for the physical and chemical breakdown of the food you eat. Along the way nutrients and water are absorbed. At the end waste is expelled.

Accessory glands and organs

You gut doesn’t work alone. Salivary glands in your mouth moisten food and provide enzymes to start the breakdown of starch. The liver, gall bladder and pancreas add other enzymes to aid the breakdown of food to molecules small enough for the body to absorb.

How does it work

Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of smooth muscle in along the gut – it starts when our swallow your food and continues on the end. Good gut motility (how much your smooth muscle contracts) is essential to the health and function of the gut.

More Than a Processing Station for Nutrients.

Natural medicine practitioners have long recognisedthe crucial role that the gut plays in our health. Clinical observations and scientific confirmation have revealedlinks with almost every health condition – from depression to diabetes, autism and autoimmunity.

What we are justbeginning to appreciate is that the gut is registering a mindboggling amount of information every day; and we are unaware of it.

Gut Feelings: Who Has Them?

The gut is an essential part of our interaction with the world. As well as happily digesting our food, the gut is working as a sense organ – it’s our primary environmental interface, with more nerves than the rest of the peripheralnervous system put together.

With all this sensing and sampling occurring the gut is the greatest source of microbial and environmental antigens, and our body is keenly interested in their composition

Which brings us to the microbiome

Bacteria are critical for human survival, living both within and on your body.

Having the right types of bacteria in the right place and the right balance can help your body function optimally.

It is estimated that for every one human cell in your body, there are ten bacterial cells; this means you are about 1% human and 99% bacteria! There are billions of different types of bacteria in your body, all playing different roles to keep your health in check. When these bacteria are out of balance, it can make you susceptible to digestive symptoms and conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); as well as having an impact on immunity, allergies, metabolism, and skin health.

When the microbiome becomesunbalanced (dysbiosis) you become susceptible to a range of health conditions – IBS, SIBO, changes to immunity (autoimmune, allergies), changes in metabolism, mood changes, skin health. When your diet is not supportive of your gut, the density of immune and sensory cells can become the gut’s Achilles heel, generating significant inflammation, pain and systemic dysfunction.

Diet is the Key

Eat a predominantly plant-based diet – choose from a wide selection of colourful vegetables and fruits, perhaps some chickpeas or lentils, and other plant-based wholefoods every day.

You need to eat 6-9 cups of vegetables and fruits every day to get the amount of fibre your gut needs. Choose a range of different vegetables and fruits each day – preferably seasonal vegetables and fruits. Variety is the key

Resistance Starch – gold for your gut bugs

Resistance starch is a type of insoluble fibre that behaves more like a soluble fibre – it feeds your gut bugs.By feeding your beneficial gut bugs, resistance starch supresses potential pathogens and is important for metabolic and heart health.

Sources of Resistant Starch

Foods high in resistant starch included legumes (e.g red kidney beans, butter beans, adzuki beans, lentils, black eyed beans, chickpeas); whole grain cereals e.g brown rice; cooked and chilled white rice, potatoes, sweet potato and pasta (cooking and chilling causes modest rises in resistant starch); cashews, green peas, green banana flour, unripe bananas.
Regularly include foods high in resistant starch in your daily diet – your gut bugs will thank you. Remember, happy gut bugs means happy you 😊

Next Steps

Seek advice from an accredited and registered Naturopath – they will guide you through the changes needed to improve your diet, microbiome and, therefore, improve your overall health. Their professional advice is invaluable

Three Stages of Fatigue

Posted on 23/08/2021 Leave a Comment

Three Stages of Fatigue

It’s rare for people to go from feeling ok to feeling fatigued. The journey to exhaustion generally goes through three stages. Recognising and addressing fatigue in the early stages can reduce the risk on moving onto later stages.

Stage One – constantly on alert

· You feel constantly alarmed, even when they are not in stressful situations

· You may experience anxiety – constantly worrying about even trivial things

· Your immunity is low – you catch everything that’s going around

· Insomnia – poor sleep leads to more fatigue

At this stage your cortisol levels may be elevated.

Stage Two – feeling stressed and tired is constant

This stage is when cortisol becomes dominant. Cortisol is fat sparing, so quite often in this phase people feel they are gaining weight and/or can’t lose weight.

· Sleep problems start to escalate, often manifesting as waking through the night, waking up tired, or having trouble going to sleep

· Concentrating on a task becomes more and more difficult

· Energy crashes happen throughout the day

· Other changes to hormones and blood glucose levels can lead to other health problems

Stage Three – exhaustion

Completing even day to day tasks becomes a challenge.

In this stage cortisol levels are often low.

· Fatigue is overwhelming

· Anxiety and depression escalate

· People often have constant body aches and pains

· Immunity is low

Get Help Sooner Rather Than Later

Recognising the Stages of Fatigue is essential to making a recovery before you reach the exhaustion phase.The sooner you ask for help the sooner you will start to feel better.

Seek advice from an accredited and registered Naturopath – they will guide you through the changes needed to address your fatigue, as well as prescribing personalised herbs and nutritional supplements to help you feel better faster. Their professional advice is invaluable.

Tiredness and Fatigue

Posted on 23/08/2021 Leave a Comment

Tiredness and Fatigue: A Crisis in Modern Society

Are you just tired or are you fatigued.

Fatigue can be defined as a generalised malaise that impacts on a person’s physical and mental health. People often lack motivation (and the energy) tocomplete even simple day to day tasks.

People with fatigue may experience:

· Low energy and vitality

· Poor physical performance, along with low stamina and strength

· Mood disorders such as low mood and/or depression

· Poor memory, inability to concentrate

The interplay between physical and cognitive performance is disrupted, and a cycle of physical fatigue leading to cognitive fatigue leading to physical fatigue – the cycle can go on and on.

When defining fatigue, it’s essential to differentiate between daytime sleepiness and fatigue. People with fatigue often say things like ‘I’m exhausted allthe time’, or ‘I can’t concentrate on anything’.

Mitochondria and Fatigue

Fatigue and mitochondria are linked.

Mitochondria are tiny organelles found in most cells of the body that are responsible for energy production.

Mitochondria produce energy. No matter whether you are at rest or exercising vigorously you need energy to function properly. Energy production is a complex process that relies on the Krebs or Citric Acid Cycle, and the Electron Transport Chain. Simply put, glucose goes in one end and energy comes out the other.

Adequate amounts of energy are needed by cells and organs in order to function properly and maintain metabolism.

Many drivers of fatigue impact on the health and function of mitochondria.

Drivers of Fatigue

The underlying causes of fatigue are many and varied. Most people who have fatigue often have more than one reason why they are fatigued. Causes include:

· Infection – microbial and/or viral. It’s worth noting that post-viral fatigue is a well-known phenomenon in Naturopathy. Naturopaths and Herbalists have been helping patients overcome post-infection fatigue for decades.

· Nutritional deficiencies can play a major role in fatigue. Mitochondria need more than just glucose to make energy. To make energy each mitochondria needs a mix of B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, cysteine, lipoic acid, iron, copper and Coenzyme Q10. These nutrients need to be in the right proportion – too little and your mitochondria can’t do their job, too much can cause toxic stress. Mitochondria can be damaged by oxidative stress, drugs and alcohol, environmental toxins, ageing and genetic vulnerabilities.

· Low iron, which leads to low cellular oxygen (iron in haemoglobin carries oxygen around the body distributing it to cells)

· Lifestyle factors such as poor sleep habits, lack of exercise, and lack of fresh air can all lead to fatigue.

· Hormonal changes – stress hormones such as cortisol and DHEA, sex hormones such as testosterone

· Gastrointestinal issues – malabsorption, dysbiosis

A major driver of fatigue is thyroid dysfunction. Low levels of thyroid hormones (T4 and T3), poor conversion of T4 to T3, and cellular hypothyroidism are key drivers of thyroid related fatigue. Thyroid and fatigue is a topic in itself, so I won’t cover it in this Blog.

Helping patients with ongoing fatigue is a matter of peeling away at the layers that make up the cause. It is rare that there is one clear driver of fatigue.

Treating Fatigue

Pathology testing is often used to detect changes to biochemistry and nutrient levels which may provide valuable clues to the underlying cause of fatigue. Once nutritional abnormalities are identified, a tailored prescription of nutritional supplements can make a significant change to energy levels.

Common supplements prescribed to help patients with fatigue include magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D, carnitine, CoQ10, and lipoic acid.

Eating the right food can help as well. Including good fats, fibre, vegetables and fruits (6-9 cups daily), and good sources of protein can provide your body with the nutrients and fuel it needs to function better.

Avoiding refined food, particularly added sugar, and alcohol can be of great benefit.

Specific medicinal herbs can help with fatigue. Different herbs are prescribed depending on what fatigue signs and symptoms to patient has. There is no ‘one size fits all’ herbal prescription for fatigue. What suits one patient, won’t suit another.

Adrenal Fatigue – an overused and misunderstood term

There is a need to move away from the term adrenal fatigue as this does not really describe what is happening. Adrenal insufficiency may be a better description as it does address the completely exhausted phase of fatigue where the adrenal glands do not produce adequate amounts of cortisol. Adrenal dysfunction may better describe what is happening in the adrenal glands. However, as the adrenal glands do not work alone, they are part of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. All three have a role to play in fatigue.

It doesn’t matter what we call it, millions of people with fatigue suffer from similar signs and symptoms. Naming a disease doesn’t necessarily change the treatment.

How Long Before I Feel Better?

Most patients who come to see me for fatigue are looking for a quick fix. While it’s possible to have people starting to feel better in a short time, the reversal of fatigue can take some time, and is often dependent on the patient making some diet and lifestyle changes. Many patients need to look at and change their working and sleep habits, for example, before they can truly start to feel better.

It’s essential to find and address the underlying causeof the fatigue. Without doing this it’s an uphill struggle to reverse fatigue.

Diet and Cancer

Posted on 23/08/2021 Leave a Comment

Diet and Cancer: Choosing the Eating Plan (diet) that’s Best for You

Put ‘diet and cancer’ into your internet search engine and you will be overwhelmed by the number of results. He is some answers to common questions about diet and cancer.

To start with, there is no one size fits all answer to the question. A better way to think about diet and cancer is to frame the question around the person who has the cancer diagnosis and ask what is the best diet for them. Even then you will probably be overwhelmed by the number of results.

Information that can inform the choice of diet plan for people with cancer includes:

· The person themselves: age, gender, overall health, current diet, their medical history, even their ethnicity may have an influence

· The type of cancer the person has – what stage are they at? Has the cancer spread? What treatment are they having or have they had? How did they react to that treatment?

· Support network: who will support them in changing their diet, socio-economic factors (can they afford to change their diet)

· How willing are they to change – motivation to change can be the key.

It’s worth noting that often when a person changes from a less healthy diet to one which is more focussed on getting the right nutrition into the body there can be benefits. For example, body composition may change, blood glucose levels may stabilise, patients may have improved energy, blood lipid profiles may improve. These factors together may lead to an overall improvement in prognosis. These benefits may happen regardless which particular diet the person chooses to follow.

Cancer Diets and Research

Research into diets and cancer is limited. When choosing a diet for cancer take into account the research that has been done.

Ketogenic Diet

This is the diet I am asked the most about when it comes to cancer.

The theory behind a ketogenic diet is that the low carb nature of the diet will ‘starve’ cancer cells of the glucose they rely on to proliferate.

In the past 50+ years there has been a limited number of human studies into the benefits of a ketogenic diet in cancer. While encouraging, current research into ketogenic diets and cancer does not draw an overwhelming positive conclusion. While there may be clear benefits in some cancers, the same cannot be said for all cancers.

This doesn’t mean a ketogenic diet won’t be of benefit.

Changing to a ketogenic diet can be challenging. The change to complex carbohydrates, and vegetables that have a moderate or high amount of carbohydrate can feel limiting. Generally, carbohydrates in the diet are replaced with fats and protein. You can still eat vegetables like spinach, zucchini, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, cucumbers and avocado (for example). Foods like bread, pasta, crackers and biscuits, potatoes, carrots, beetroot, onions, and parsnips, and legumes are to be excluded.

It’s worth noting that once starved of sugar, cancer cells my start looking elsewhere for nutrients.

Mediterranean Diet

This diet is high in plant foods and low in animal foods. Food is fresh, seasonal, and diverse. There is very little refined foods. Eating a Mediterranean diet provides a balance of food factors that can influence (lower risk, and/or slow progress) the development, progression and invasion of tumours.

Research has indicated that the Mediterranean diet does reduce the risk of certain cancers: i.e gastric, colorectal, liver, and breast cancers. For other cancers there are mixed results.

Like the ketogenic diet, research into the Mediterranean diet and cancer is currently limited.

Changing to a Mediterranean diet is often seen as relatively easy. The emphasis on the wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, and legumes, is often easier to adjust to. The emphasis on vegetables and other plant foods can reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.

Plant Based or Vegetarian Diet

Similar to the Mediterranean diet without the meat. High in plant fibre (good for the gut), antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods.

Difficulty with this diet is getting adequate protein (plant-based protein foods need to be correctly combined to ensure people get a full range of essential amino acids).

Some nutritional deficiencies are more common with a plant-based diet. People would benefit from having their nutritional status assessed to ensure they are not deficient in key nutrients.

Low Fat Diet

A low fat diet may be combined with other diets, e.g low fat plant based diet.

While saturated fat in the diet is linked with increased risk of some cancers, a low fat diet is not necessarily beneficial to people with cancer. A better way to think about fat in the diet is to look at saturated versus unsaturated fat. People with cancer may benefit from limiting saturated fat in the diet. Saturated fat is commonly found in animal based foods, as well as some vegetable based foods like coconut.

Fasting

No discussion on diet and cancer is complete without looking at fasting.

Fasting is defined as no food for periods of time lasting 12 to 72 hours.

Research on fasting and cancer is still in the early stages, However, early evidence indicates that positive changes in metabolism may be beneficial to cancer management.

Different types of fasting include:

· Time restricted eating where the person abstains from food for 12 to 16 hours. Another way to look at this is to only eat during an 8-10 hour window

· Whole day fasting is when a person doesn’t eat for 24 to 72 hours

· 5/2 diet is where the person eats a normal diet 5 days a week, then only eat 500-600 calories on the next 2 days.

Which type of fasting you choose is up to you. For many people time restricted eating the is easiest, while others prefer to fast for 1-3 days at a time. The key with fasting is to choose a regime that suits you. While fasting, it’s essential to follow a healthy diet in between. Fasting doesn’t mean a free for all when you do eat. Continue to eat a wide variety of plant based foods and animal protein (if you choose to eat meat), avoid saturated fats, processed foods, added sugar, and excessive carbohydrates.

There is some evidence that fasting around some chemotherapy treatments is beneficial to the efficacy of the treatment.

Fasting is not recommended for people who are losing weight or have suffered significant weight loss.

Seek Professional Advice

Before you start on a new eating plan or diet consult a qualified nutritionist – someone who has experience with people with cancer.

Be wary of anyone who offers a ‘miracle’ diet. If a diet looks too good to be true it probably is. While some people get excellent results following a particular diet, this does not mean you will as well.

Questions to ask if a clinician recommends a particular diet for you

What studies are they basing the recommendation on?

Are these studies in vitro, animal or human studies?

What clinical evidence do they have to support the diet they recommend?

Were the studies conducted in patients with the same or similar cancer to you?

More Information

The Cancer Council provides quite a bit of useful information on diet, exercise and cancer.

Menopause and Genitourinary Changes

Posted on 25/02/2021 Leave a Comment

Let’s Talk About Menopause and Genitourinary Changes
This Blog follows on from my earlier Blog on Menopause.
Genitourinary changes as a result of menopause are rarely talked about by women. It can be a thorny subject and women may be embarrassed or uncomfortable to talk about what’s going on ‘down there’. They may feel it’s a private matter. We need to get better at talking about all the symptoms of menopause. The more we talk about it, the more normal these symptoms become.
Declines in female hormones impact on the genitourinary system causing chronic pain, irritation, urinary infections (UTIs), dry vagina, skin fissures, and fear of intercourse because of pain. While hot flushes and mood swings tend to settle with time, genitourinary changes don’t.
Sometimes symptoms are so bad women cannot wear jeans or tight clothes, or feel uncomfortable sitting down.
What’s Happening
Common symptoms of genitourinary changes include vaginal dryness, burning and/or itching around the vagina, painful intercourse, urinary incontinence, recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), and stress incontinence. The vaginal microbiome can change due to changes in pH of the vagina.
Anatomical changes can include a loss of fullness in the genital area, and weakened pelvic floor muscles.
Treatments
The good news is there is help available.
While there are pharmaceutical interventions for menopause symptoms, many women prefer a more natural approach such as medicinal herbs and nutritional supplements for the management of their symptoms. In my experience, around 95% of women who seek naturopathic help will benefit from the herbs and/or supplements prescribed.
Often a combination of oral and topical applications is appropriate.
A pH correct, water based lubricant can ease vaginal dryness and reduce pain during intercourse.
Vaginal creams based on medicinal herbs and specific nutrients can help.
A physiotherapist who specialises in pelvic floor problems can help with urinary incontinence, bladder weakness, weak pelvic floor muscles, and prolapse of the uterus. Correct diagnosis and treatment can provide relief of symptoms and confidence to get on with day to day life.
Entire Physio in Queanbeyan has a physiotherapist who specialises in women’s’ pelvic floor issues.
Personal care products can make symptoms worse e.g soap, bath gels, lubricants, condoms, panty liners or pads can all make symptoms worse. Use a low irritant soap, and stay away from anything that may irritate.
Talk to an accredited naturopath or herbalist to find out what medical herbs and supplements will suit your individual needs.
Vaginal Microbiome
No Blog on menopause is complete without discussion on the vaginal microbiome. The most prominent microbe in the vagina is Lactobacilli. As oestrogen declines so does the prevalence of Lactobacilli, leading to a change in pH. This in turn increases vaginal dryness and may decrease libido.
Changes in the vaginal microbiome during menopause have been implicated in chronic UTIs.
Probiotics taken orally and/or used as a pessary can assist in correcting the vaginal microbiome of menopausal women.
It’s essential you consult a qualified naturopath or herbalist before using probiotics as a pessary.
Seek Help
As difficult as it is to talk about genitourinary changes associated with menopause it’s important you seek help. There are sympathetic Naturopaths and Herbalists who will listen to your concerns and prescribe a suitable, personalized treatment plan.
If your own GP is hard to talk to, ask your female friends who they see. There are GPs and specialists out there who will listen to your concerns and help you.