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Sugar – not so sweet

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sugarSugar’s been compared with cocaine and smoking, and was said by Amsterdam’s head of health services to be ‘addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times’. Strong stuff, but how much validity is there in this argument?

Some sugar facts:

•    In the US 100 years ago each person consumed around 12lbs of sugar a year.
•    Now on average each person consumes 168lbs of sugar a year.
•    Too much sugar decreases the body’s ability to fight infection by 30 per cent.
•    The increase in consumption of fizzy drinks in the UK over the past 15 years is 100% (Food Standards Agency).
•    The average person in the UK now consumes 20 teaspoonfuls of sugar a day. (NHS)
•    One quarter of adults in the UK are now obese (NHS).
•    It is predicted that by 2030 there will be  26 million obese people in the UK.

 
‘Anyone who knows anything about obesity, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s knows that sugar consumption is a major contributor,’  Patrick Holford, leading nutritionist and author claims.  ‘There is no ‘need’ for any refined sugar, so the WHO’s recommendation to have no more than 5 per cent of calories from sugar is a very good idea if the goal is to reduce these endemic diseases. The switch away from sucrose to cheaper corn-derived high fructose corn syrup, which more readily converts to fat, is clearly part responsible for the health mess we are now in.

‘We need to get tough on sugar,’ he continues. This also means making sugary foods less attractive through taxation and labelling. For example, a food with more than 5 per cent of calories from sugar could be required to say “sugar is bad for your health” much like cigarette packs were forced to do. None of this will be commercially popular. Sugar is big business and the last time the WHO tried to limit sugar intake the sugar industry in the US got the government to threaten withholding funding to the WHO. But the tides are turning because governments can’t afford the soaring health care costs. Nor will these kind of policies be publicly popular because sugar, like cigarettes, is addictive.’

Much of the blame is obviously down to eating too much chocolate,  too many cakes, sweets, desserts, biscuits, and colas and/or putting teaspoonfuls into tea and coffee. However the latest campaign against sugar is aimed at getting manufacturers to reduce or cut out  the amount of sugar they put in processed food.
What a con to label products as ‘low fat’ and then bung in five or six teaspoonfuls of sugar – a particular problem with ‘low fat’  yogurts.  Would you expect baked beans, spaghetti hoops, tomato ketchup or stir fry sauces to be laced with sugar too, and why?  Because it’s addictive and we just keep buying more and more, and the companies make lots of profits – that’s probably why.

 
The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to cut the recommended sugar intake by half. This includes all sugars “added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices”.   And Action On Sugar www.actiononsugar.org  is a public health campaign aimed at making the public more aware of sugar, so that they can avoid products that are full of hidden sugars. Children are a particularly vulnerable group targeted by the food industry who are keen to market calorie dense snacks and sugar-sweetened soft drinks to them, with great success.

So what are the health problems? 

Too much sugar lowers the immune system, interferes with blood sugar levels, makes us put on weight, and can cause diabetes.  ‘The more sweet foods we eat the more glucose we have in our blood, which must be removed by the body quickly,’ claims Patrick Holford, leading nutritionist and author.  ‘Therefore we produce more and more insulin to remove the glucose, which is far more than we need to power the body. What we don’t need gets converted and stored as fat.  When we run out of insulin we become diabetic. Once a person becomes obese their risk of diabetes becomes 77 times higher,’ according to Patrick.
Experts say that part of the problem is that sugary foods and drinks are now staples in many people’s diet instead of an occasional treat, and the need to reverse this trend is greater than ever.

What alternatives are there to sugar?

•    Agave – a syrup made from the agave plant from Mexico, which has fewer calories than sugar, is very tasty, but is high in fructose;
•    Stevia (available as Truvia and Natvia) which is from the leaves of the stevia plant in south America and is said to A herb used for centuries in its native South America. It’s calorie free and much sweeter than sugar;
•    Honey is as sweet as sugar, and has plenty of health benefits as it contains vitamins and minerals and is anti-bacterial (manuka honey is even better), but puts on the calories.

There are various other sweeteners that are natural and better than sugar, but the artificial sweeteners that are made in factories often carry side-effects to health (naming no names).  This month we have two copies of the e-Book: the Chocolate Cookbook, full of recipes for fructose-free cakes, fudges, brownies, smoothies, cheesecakes, mousses and ice-creams, to be won.  Go to: www.healthysoul.co.uk

Garlic lowers blood pressure

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garlicRecent research has shown that garlic can lower blood pressure but it has many other health-giving properties too.  Garlic is a traditional herbal remedy often recommended by herbalists and Chinese herbalists as it is naturally antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral and antibiotic.
It can thin the blood, lower blood pressure, fight infection, boost the immune system, prevent and ease colds and flu, encourage healthy skin, and kill off parasites that lurk in our systems. It is believed that it may even fight cancer.

Research at the University of Adelaide examined 11 studies in which participants had been given garlic supplements or a placebo. They found that taking a garlic supplement (from 600mg to 900mg) every day reduced blood pressure often by as much as medication such as beta blockers or ACE inhibitors would.

High blood pressure affects 16 million people in the UK. The researchers led by Dr Karin Ried at the University of Adelaide, found that garlic supplements reduced systolic blood pressure by 4.6mm HG on average but those with particularly high blood pressure showed even bigger reductions of systolic blood pressure – 8.4mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 7.3mm.

Reducing systolic blood pressure by four to five points and diastolic blood pressure by two to three points can cut the risk of heart disease or heart disease-related death by up to 20 per cent.

It hasn’t been shown in studies whether eating garlic has the same effect, but it would probably need to be a lot. It is the allicin in garlic which provides its health giving properties and gives it such a pungent smell.  Y you may need to eat a garlic clove a day to get the amount you can readily get in a supplement. Supplements of 600mg to 900mg have around 3.6mg to 5.4mg of allicin, whereas a fresh garlic clove contains 5mg to 9mg.

It is, however, a healthy choice to eat fresh garlic every day in cooking, and even better if you can eat it raw in tzatziki or other hot or cold food. It may mean that you stink of garlic though and not everyone is prepared to do that! Certainly worth doing if you are in the grip of a dreadful cold, because no-one wants to come near you anyway!

Featured products
Garlic (organic) Viridian Nutrition 30 capsules x 500 mg £8.85
***Please click here to purchase from the Nutri Centre***

Djokovic gluten free

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EVENTSNovak Djokovic’s book, Serve to Win (Bantam Press, £12.99), details his rise to success and how going gluten-free has helped him to go on to become one of the top players. The 27 year old tennis player now has 41 titles to his name including six Grand Slams.  Try our December competition to win a copy.

A few years ago he was suffering from health problems on court – breathing difficulties,  aches and pains, and persistent injuries. As soon as he gave up gluten – forgoing his favourite pizza, as well as pasta and bread – he began to feel clearer, lighter and quicker.  Gluten is a protein found in the cereals wheat, rye and barley.  His record shows the results, and he ends 2013 as the winner of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Allergy or intolerance?

Although often described as an allergy, it is usually food intolerance that affects people, but the symptoms can be wide-ranging.  Food intolerance manifests itself as discomfort because of the body’s inability to process a particular food, but it is not life-threatening. A food allergy can be very serious such as the anaphylactic shock response to peanuts that can endanger life.

The strange thing about food intolerance is that you may have absolutely no idea and it may only be obvious after a very long period of time, but you can take an intolerance test in your own home. There is such a huge range of symptoms that in general we put them down to other factors such as age, stress or just ‘one of those things’.

 

Symptoms include:

Abdominal pains

Aches and pains

Acne

Bloating

Constipation

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Depression

Diarrhoea

Dizziness

Eczema

Fatigue

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Itching

Fluid retention

Headaches

Hyperactivity

Loss of Appetite

Migraine

Nausea

Rashes

Respiratory Symptoms

Restless Leg Syndrome

Rhinitis

Sinusitis

Stomach cramps

Tension

Urticaria

Weight loss

Wheezing

(courtesy of Allergy UK)

Gluten is also a problem for anyone with coeliac disease and should be taken out of the diet once it is diagnosed. There are plenty of Free From foods in the supermarket nowadays that are gluten-free.

*Serve to Win published by Bantam Press, £12.99

Mineral deficiencies

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Vitamins and minerals are essential to life, but most people think that they get enough of them from their food. With the soil depleted of essential nutrients due to over-intensive farming, and with an environment that is completely polluted, it is unlikely that this is true.  Also read: Vitamins and Minerals Chart.

Chris Newbold, Head of Nutrition at BioCare gives the following advice on how to detect a deficiency:

Symptoms: Itchy skin, poor wound healing, white marks on nails.
Deficiency: Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral that plays a key role in normal function of the immune system, DNA synthesis, healthy bones, cognitive function, fertility and reproduction.  It contributes to the normal function of the immune system and normal function of bones, teeth, cartilage, gums, skin and blood vessels. Good natural sources of zinc include seeds, whole grains, crab, sardines and red meat.

Also try: BioCare Zinc Ascorbate (£11.55 for 60 capsules) from the Nutri Centre.

Symptoms: Exhaustion, poor concentration, loss of appetite, pale skin
Deficiency: Iron
Iron deficiency is Britain’s most common nutritional disorder. It affects up to 18 per cent of women due to blood loss through menstruation. Iron contributes to the formation of red blood cells and haemoglobin and oxygen transport in the body. Good natural sources of iron include red meat, eggs, green leafy vegetables.

Also try: BioCare Iron Complex (£14.10 for 90 capsules) from the Nutri Centre.

Symptoms: Frequent bouts of infections
Deficiency: Selenium
Selenium contributes to the protection of body cells, the function of the immune system and thyroid function. A diet low in selenium could affect the quality of a man’s sperm. Good natural sources include Brazil nuts.

Also try: BioCare Selenium (£10.25 for 120 capsules) from the Nutri Centre

Symptoms: Anxiety, irritability
Deficiency: Magnesium
Magnesium is a vital mineral that contributes to the normal function of heart muscle, energy-yielding metabolism and general muscle and nerve function. Good sources of magnesium include spinach, almonds and whole meal bread.

Also try: BioCare Magnesium EAP Complex (£22.55 for 90 capsules)  from the Nutri Centre

Symptoms: Mouth ulcers, frequent colds and infections, flaky skin
Deficiency: Vitamin A
Vitamin A is essential for helping fight infections, improving vision and keeping skin healthy. Deficiency in Vitamin A is rare but low intakes are relatively common in adults. However, pregnant women are advised not to take supplements containing Vitamin A because it has been linked to an increased risk of birth defects.  Good sources of Vitamin A include liver, eggs, cheese and yoghurt.

Also try: BioCare BioMulsion A (£11.20 for 10 ml) from the Nutri Centre

Juicing for health

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fruit and vegetables

The pioneer of modern juicing, Dr Norman Walker, lived to the ripe old age of 101 and attributed his longevity to his diet.  Advocates claim that home-made fresh fruit and vegetable juices boost the immune system, detoxify the body, fight disease, prevent premature ageing, make skin look smoother and younger and give you strong bones and nails.

Fresh fruit and veg are packed with anti-oxidants and in juice form they go straight into the system much quicker.

A – Z of fruit and veggies to juice

• Alfafa, apples, apricots
• Banana, beetroot, blackberries, broccoli, blackcurrant
• Cabbage, celery, cherry, carrot, cucumber
• Dandelion
• Fennel
• Garlic, ginger, grapes, grapefruit
• Herbs
• Kiwi fruit
• Leeks, lemon, lettuce, lime
• Mandarin, mango, mint
• Onion, oranges
• Parsley, pawpaw, peach, peppers, plums, pumpkin
• Radishes, raspberries
• Spinach, strawberries, sweet potatoes
• Tomatoes, turnip
• Watercress, water melon, wheatgrass

You can add spirulina, wheatgerm, sesame and cumin for extra health benefits. It is better to dilute dark vegetables such as watercress.

• Cooking removes much of the goodness as do canning, pasteurising and processing, whereas juicing provides all the pure nutrients at their freshest and most potent.

• It is important to buy organic if you are to avoid pesticides, fertilisers and genetically modified ingredients – or your ‘healthy’ drinks will be contaminated with chemicals which aren’t good for you.

Plenty of antioxidants

The main antioxidants that fight disease and provide health benefits are:
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Some amino acids and enzymes

Anna Selby, author of The Juice and Zest Book explains: ‘Enzymes in fruit and vegetables not only break down food in the digestive system, but they also make it easier to absorb all the other nutrients. Some enzymes are only found in one fruit – such as papain in papaya which is excellent for digestion.’

• Juicing of any fresh fruit or veg cleanses your liver and eliminates toxins at quite a fast rate
• …..so much so that even constipation sufferers will find themselves visiting the loo quite frequently at first!
• And even if your metabolism is out of sorts and sluggish, juices are easily digested.

Add some fibre

While juicing extracts so much of the goodness, it does remove fibre which is another essential component of healthy eating. To make up for this it is necessary to eat some whole fruit and vegetable as well.

The chances are your intake of raw produce will increase considerably, as the time it takes to drink carrot juice is much less than it would take to munch through a bunch of carrots.

Why home-made?

Compared with packaged juices you can’t beat your own. Drinking a fresh juice straightaway means that vital nutrients have not had a chance to escape. Supermarket cartons of juice can never be equally fresh, even if they are ‘freshly squeezed’ or organic.

Every fruit and vegetable has its own nutrients and each one is beneficial for specific ailments.

• Usually a mixture of juices is recommended.
• It is advisable not to overload the system with fruit, so after a fruit juice your next drink should be made up of vegetables.

Most fruit and a huge variety of vegetables can be juiced, even those veggies which you would never consider eating raw can be juiced with herbs, spices and fruits. For example:

• turnips
• sweet potatoes
• beetroot

Moderation in everything

It is important to start moderately with maybe two juice drinks a day, but not as a substitute for meals
The reason for caution is that elimination of toxins can mean:
• headaches
• light-headedness
• spots
• skin blemishes
• general feeling of malaise.

Healthy eating and juicing is a good idea, unless you are keen to detox for a short while and then you do a juice fast, by slowly building up the number of juices a day (it’s always preferable to consult a professional nutritionist if detoxing).

Advice and menus are provided in both Michael Van Straten’s book Super Juice, and Anna Selby’s Juice and Zest. Fasting should only be carried out when you have the time and energy to do it – not when you are working, not feeling well, or rushing out to pick up kids.

What to juice

Provided vegetables are organic they can be used in entirety – roots, leaves, stalks and all – and completely juiced down.

Only those tough skins that you would never eat such as orange peel, banana skins, and the outer husk of a melon should be discarded. If you are confident there are no pesticides on the skin put it all in and include small pips but leave out hard stones.

The excellent juicing books on the market include a variety of recipes to enable you to mix several together for maximum effect. They also indicate which mixes are most effective if you are suffering from specific problems.

A few juicing tips:

• Juice fruit and vegs separately and mix afterwards (except apples and carrots)
• Dilute dark juices like watercress with water or other juices
• Always dilute juices for children
• Scrub the outside of organic fruit and veg rather than peeling
• Choose organic produce
• Buy ripe fruit which is in season
• Avoid tired, wilted veggies and fruit

Good juice combinations

Apple: full of anti-oxidants. Helps fight infection, detoxifies, acts as laxative, energises, softens skin and relieves inflammation such as rheumatism. Combine with carrot, orange, pineapple, ginger.
Beetroot: full of iron and other nutrients. Good for kidney and liver problems, strengthening the blood, energizing. Mix with cucumber, spinach or celery.
Orange: packed with Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants. Stimulates the heart, circulation, digestive system, is a laxative, but high in acid so don’t have daily. Can be combined with carrot, limes, lemons, bananas.
Tomato: rich source of Vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid, calcium, magnesium and sodium and other nutrients. Good for boosting the immune system, protecting against disease and rehydrating the body. Can be drunk on its own or mixed with celery.
Mango: one a day is said to provide the full Vitamin C requirement. It fights disease, cleanses the blood and kidneys. For even more benefits mix with banana, apples, kiwi fruit or orange.
Spinach: fights cancer, and benefits ulcers, anaemia, arthritis and fatigue, strengthens bones and teeth, regulates blood pressure and acts as a laxative. Do not use too often and always combine. Try beetroot, apple, cabbage, or avocado mixes.
Blackberries: full of Vitamin C and other nutrients. General tonic and system cleanser as well as boost to immune system. Not very juicy so combine with water melon, or apple.
Fennel: is excellent for nausea and menstrual problems, cleanses skin and strengthens the blood. Always combine: with cucumber, or in a mix with apples, pears and carrots.

HOW TO CHOOSE A JUICER

The cost of juicers ranges enormously from around £40 to several hundred pounds. While cost is a consideration look at size as well. Anna Selby recommends a reasonably priced juicer, ‘Why buy a very large machine which you keep in the cupboard? I would rather have a small one which is out on the work surface all the time.’

Centrifugal juicers are the least expensive and contain a fast rotating plate and sharp grating surface at the bottom of the basket. The machine uses centrifugal force to fling the fruit and vegetables against the sides of the perforated basket and the juice from the pulp is separated and collected through a spout. Choose one with a stainless steel basket rather than aluminium which can leave traces in your juice.

The masticating juicers are much more expensive, starting at over £250, but are designed to get every bit of juice and goodness out. As the name implies the sharp teeth masticate the fruit and veg, pulverizing the cell walls to get maximum goodness out.

Presses are generally used for people who have life threatening illnesses such as cancer. After extracting with a juicer, the juice goes into the press to filter out cell wall material where toxins settle, if there are any.