A little side line of mine is beginning to come to fruition...........healthy eating 'treats'. Who out there doesn't like a little sweet treat every now and again, or even more regularly than that! But most of the cakes, biscuits, scones, flapjacks etc that you can buy anywhere from supermarkets to little corner cafes contain so much refined sugar and flours, and hydrogated fats that you end up feeling guilty , with weight problems, particularly fat around your middle, and other health problems, which takes away alot of the enjoyment of eating them in the first place.
All my 'treats' are full of organic ingredients and NO hydrogenated fats and NO refined sugar and NO refined carbohydrates, so you can enjoy them without the guilt and without the blood sugar spikes. Still in moderation though.
Here's a recipe for Chocolate Brownies for you to try, and if you do please let me know what you think. I love them and so do my kids. The variations are endless too, try adding different nuts, coconut, berries, seeds etc. for a different treat every time.
INGREDIENTS :
Plain chocolate, at least 70% cocoa, and organic 175g
Butter, organic 175g
Cocoa powder, organic 40g
Baking Powder ( I use wheat free) 1/4 tsp
Buckwheat flour, organic,85g
Seasalt, optional 1/4tsp
Vanilla essence 1 tsp
Zylitol/Agave syrup mix 300g
Method:
Melt butter and chocolate over pan of boiling water
Sieve flour, cocoa powder,baking powder into bowl.
Whizz up eggs and zylitol/syrup with electric mixer for a few minutes until frothy.
Mix flour mixture into egg mixture and add choc/butter mixture.
Pour into lined baking tin (I use grease proof paper) and bake for 20 minutes, approx, at 180 degrees. Leave to cool before transferring to a cooling tray and cutting into pieces. A little goes a long way.
Hope you like it. RX
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Monday, 16 March 2009
Think Before You Drink
This blog post is for all of you out there who still drink soft carbonated drinks as a 'treat'( or for any other reason!).
I see this alot with having kids, parents letting their child have a coke as a treat, and in limited quantites (80/20 rule) this is fine. Don't get me wrong, by the way, my kids love sweets and confectionery as much as any other, but thankfully we've managed to steer clear of the dreaded fizz!(although their dad does drink it and I can't persuade him otherwise).
I read a really funny article the other day in a magazine on alternative cleaning products. One suggestion for cleaning the toilet, was to use Coca Cola. Apparently if you have a stained toilet and you pour a can of coke down it, leave it over night and then flush (you may need to assist this process with a brush depending....) your toilet will look as good as new!
Apparently it's all down to the acidity of the coke! So what's it doing to our insides then when we consume gallons of the stuff?! think about it.........
It was a tongue in cheek article but I tried it the other day and it worked a treat. Better to use it for cleaning toilets and polishing bumpers on cars (another useful tip) than for pouring down your gullet. Why?..........because it soooooooooo bad for you in any great quantity, and you really don't need it. No you really don't need it.
Apart from colourings, flavourings, and artificial sweeteners in the case of Diet Coke, soft drinks and energy drinks tend to include relatively large amouunts of caffeine. And the downsides of lots of caffeine are :
Raised blood sugar, giving you an energy spike and then shortly after an energy slump - when you reach for another drink.....
Heartburn and other digestive problems, from bloating to IBS.
A horrible coating on your teeth and tongue. Yuk!
Its a diuretic, making you lose water, leading to dehydration.
It overstimulates the nervous system, leading to allsorts of nasties from irritability, insomnia, rapid and irregular hearbeat and in extreme cases a risk of a heat attack.
May contain pesticides used during the growing of the coffee beans, and these contain cancer causing compounds (so choose organic caffeinated drinks if you have to drink them).
On the caffeinated drinks scale Coco Cola is not top of the list for the amount of caffeine it contains per can,34mg. An 8oz regular coffee will contain anywhere between 60-120mg of caffeine, and a regular cup of tea approx 45mg.With the recommended 'safe' levels of daily caffeine consumption currently standing at around 300mg it's easy to 'overdose' if you're a regular fizzy drink and Starbucks merchant.
Dark chocolate unfortunately also contains caffeine (my vice and I refuse to give it up, but it is somewhat self limiting), with 1oz of the yummy stuff containing approx 20mg. However, you do get the added benefits of antioxidants and flavanoids if you pick the good organic stuff.
Worth thinking about giving up the fizz ..........? Especially when cold fresh water and herbal teas taste so good, why bother with the sugary/artificially sweetened/non nutrient stuff?
Oh and also in the article I read, and equally as tongue in cheek as the loo cleaning tip, you can use shampoo to clean limescale off the bath tub, biological washing powder to remove food from a saucepan, and indigestion tablets to unblock a plughole!!
Today's Tip : Sit down and drink a large glass of pure, clear, fresh water and tell me you didn't enjoy it.
I see this alot with having kids, parents letting their child have a coke as a treat, and in limited quantites (80/20 rule) this is fine. Don't get me wrong, by the way, my kids love sweets and confectionery as much as any other, but thankfully we've managed to steer clear of the dreaded fizz!(although their dad does drink it and I can't persuade him otherwise).
I read a really funny article the other day in a magazine on alternative cleaning products. One suggestion for cleaning the toilet, was to use Coca Cola. Apparently if you have a stained toilet and you pour a can of coke down it, leave it over night and then flush (you may need to assist this process with a brush depending....) your toilet will look as good as new!
Apparently it's all down to the acidity of the coke! So what's it doing to our insides then when we consume gallons of the stuff?! think about it.........
It was a tongue in cheek article but I tried it the other day and it worked a treat. Better to use it for cleaning toilets and polishing bumpers on cars (another useful tip) than for pouring down your gullet. Why?..........because it soooooooooo bad for you in any great quantity, and you really don't need it. No you really don't need it.
Apart from colourings, flavourings, and artificial sweeteners in the case of Diet Coke, soft drinks and energy drinks tend to include relatively large amouunts of caffeine. And the downsides of lots of caffeine are :
Raised blood sugar, giving you an energy spike and then shortly after an energy slump - when you reach for another drink.....
Heartburn and other digestive problems, from bloating to IBS.
A horrible coating on your teeth and tongue. Yuk!
Its a diuretic, making you lose water, leading to dehydration.
It overstimulates the nervous system, leading to allsorts of nasties from irritability, insomnia, rapid and irregular hearbeat and in extreme cases a risk of a heat attack.
May contain pesticides used during the growing of the coffee beans, and these contain cancer causing compounds (so choose organic caffeinated drinks if you have to drink them).
On the caffeinated drinks scale Coco Cola is not top of the list for the amount of caffeine it contains per can,34mg. An 8oz regular coffee will contain anywhere between 60-120mg of caffeine, and a regular cup of tea approx 45mg.With the recommended 'safe' levels of daily caffeine consumption currently standing at around 300mg it's easy to 'overdose' if you're a regular fizzy drink and Starbucks merchant.
Dark chocolate unfortunately also contains caffeine (my vice and I refuse to give it up, but it is somewhat self limiting), with 1oz of the yummy stuff containing approx 20mg. However, you do get the added benefits of antioxidants and flavanoids if you pick the good organic stuff.
Worth thinking about giving up the fizz ..........? Especially when cold fresh water and herbal teas taste so good, why bother with the sugary/artificially sweetened/non nutrient stuff?
Oh and also in the article I read, and equally as tongue in cheek as the loo cleaning tip, you can use shampoo to clean limescale off the bath tub, biological washing powder to remove food from a saucepan, and indigestion tablets to unblock a plughole!!
Today's Tip : Sit down and drink a large glass of pure, clear, fresh water and tell me you didn't enjoy it.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
LIVE YOUR LIFE
Here's a dead easy to read blog post full of healthy, holistic tips to live your life by. Choose one, choose two choose ten or choose 'em all. Up to you. Whichever, you'll be helping your mind and your body in the long run! Enjoy, and lets have some comments and suggestions back. Let's see how long we can get this list.
- Be open to change
- Don't obsess about your weight, eat right for your Metabolic Type
- Listen to your body, it's usually right
- Ditch eating soya foods
- Don't give up, don't beat yourself up, rather learn by your mistakes
- Use supplements wisely
- Love yourself, you're gorgeous
- Eat enough, no starvation diets, they mess up your metabolism
- Drink more water - ditch the fizz!
- Eat consciously - not whilst watching telly, reading etc.
- Vary your food
- Eat meat, good meat, free range, organic, grass fed
- Don't nuke your food, particularly in plastic food containers
- Don't eat food labelled 'low fat' - if they've taken the fat out, they've added some rubbish in to make it tasty. Read the label, I guarantee it. Anyway, we all need some fat, just make it good fat - hydrogenated trans fats have no place in our body
- Eat real unprocessed food, as close to nature as possible. If it grows, it tends to be a good place to start
- Exercise reguarly doing something you enjoy
- Get some sunshine between 11am and 2pm, increase the Vitamin D levels in your body and fresh air in your lungs
- Go to bed for quality sleep by 10.30pm at least four nights a week
- Leave the white processed goods on the shelves in the supermarket - flours, breads, pastas,sugars etc. They're very refined
- Avoid artificial sweeteners- they are seriosuly rubbish!
- Avoid NSAIDS (non steroidal anti inflammatories) where at all possible. If you need them regularly your body is trying to tell you something - listen to it, as I mentioned earlier.
- If you need sugar use honey, xylitol, or agave syrup. At least they have the nutrients still intact. White refined sugar has not.
Hope this lot has given you something to think about. And please let's have some comments and some additions to the list.
RX
I'm going on a book keeping course now, oh no boring! I've been told I'll need caffeine to stay awake - will try peppermint tea, see how that goes down.
- Be open to change
- Don't obsess about your weight, eat right for your Metabolic Type
- Listen to your body, it's usually right
- Ditch eating soya foods
- Don't give up, don't beat yourself up, rather learn by your mistakes
- Use supplements wisely
- Love yourself, you're gorgeous
- Eat enough, no starvation diets, they mess up your metabolism
- Drink more water - ditch the fizz!
- Eat consciously - not whilst watching telly, reading etc.
- Vary your food
- Eat meat, good meat, free range, organic, grass fed
- Don't nuke your food, particularly in plastic food containers
- Don't eat food labelled 'low fat' - if they've taken the fat out, they've added some rubbish in to make it tasty. Read the label, I guarantee it. Anyway, we all need some fat, just make it good fat - hydrogenated trans fats have no place in our body
- Eat real unprocessed food, as close to nature as possible. If it grows, it tends to be a good place to start
- Exercise reguarly doing something you enjoy
- Get some sunshine between 11am and 2pm, increase the Vitamin D levels in your body and fresh air in your lungs
- Go to bed for quality sleep by 10.30pm at least four nights a week
- Leave the white processed goods on the shelves in the supermarket - flours, breads, pastas,sugars etc. They're very refined
- Avoid artificial sweeteners- they are seriosuly rubbish!
- Avoid NSAIDS (non steroidal anti inflammatories) where at all possible. If you need them regularly your body is trying to tell you something - listen to it, as I mentioned earlier.
- If you need sugar use honey, xylitol, or agave syrup. At least they have the nutrients still intact. White refined sugar has not.
Hope this lot has given you something to think about. And please let's have some comments and some additions to the list.
RX
I'm going on a book keeping course now, oh no boring! I've been told I'll need caffeine to stay awake - will try peppermint tea, see how that goes down.
FUN FITNESS
I went to see Flashdance at the Grand Theatre in Leeds last night, wow what a show! It was lively, sexy, funny, full of amazing talent, and overall a great nights entertainment.
It also rekindled my love of Pole Dancing - this featured fairly heavily and the girls who were dancing were awesome.
I've had a pole in my lounge for over a year now after having lessons the year before - not only is it a great talking point for visitors but it is truly great exercise. And so much harder than it looks.
There are classes springing up in lots of gyms around the country and are well worth trying for the following reasons:
They're fun, sexy and enjoyable.
Sessions on the pole work the whole body from head to toe.
A session can boost metabolism as much any other resistance class.
Pole dancing is a top exercise for improving:
- core stability
- back strength
- upper body strength (this is a biggy, it's dead hard on your arms and shoulders!)
- flexibility
- co-ordination
Don't think strip joints anymore (although I'm sure they're still popular in them) think main stream, healthy, fun exercise with attitude.
I loved my lessons, and loved my workout this morning in my lounge, after last nights theatre trip reminder, and feel great now. My whole body feels like it's been 'worked' and I love that feeling.
Take care when you're starting out - and don't use oils on the pole! I had a lesson after someone with oil on their legs which left the pole greasy, and slipped doing a handstand and damaged a rotator cuff muscle, ouch! But in the main have had the most fun with this different form of exercise.
My children love pretending to be firemen, so it provides fun for them too! And last year at the Vitality Show (Olympia end of March this year- worth a visit) there were guys having a go. They were covered in bruises which shows how tough it is( and the skimpy shorts weren't the most attractive thing I've seen on a man but...).
Today's Tip : Variation is the key to sticking to exercise!
It also rekindled my love of Pole Dancing - this featured fairly heavily and the girls who were dancing were awesome.
I've had a pole in my lounge for over a year now after having lessons the year before - not only is it a great talking point for visitors but it is truly great exercise. And so much harder than it looks.
There are classes springing up in lots of gyms around the country and are well worth trying for the following reasons:
They're fun, sexy and enjoyable.
Sessions on the pole work the whole body from head to toe.
A session can boost metabolism as much any other resistance class.
Pole dancing is a top exercise for improving:
- core stability
- back strength
- upper body strength (this is a biggy, it's dead hard on your arms and shoulders!)
- flexibility
- co-ordination
Don't think strip joints anymore (although I'm sure they're still popular in them) think main stream, healthy, fun exercise with attitude.
I loved my lessons, and loved my workout this morning in my lounge, after last nights theatre trip reminder, and feel great now. My whole body feels like it's been 'worked' and I love that feeling.
Take care when you're starting out - and don't use oils on the pole! I had a lesson after someone with oil on their legs which left the pole greasy, and slipped doing a handstand and damaged a rotator cuff muscle, ouch! But in the main have had the most fun with this different form of exercise.
My children love pretending to be firemen, so it provides fun for them too! And last year at the Vitality Show (Olympia end of March this year- worth a visit) there were guys having a go. They were covered in bruises which shows how tough it is( and the skimpy shorts weren't the most attractive thing I've seen on a man but...).
Today's Tip : Variation is the key to sticking to exercise!
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
C.R.A.P FOOD
And by CRAP I mean caffeine,refined,alcohol or processed - and todays blog covers a very,very processed product and that's most yoghurts sold in supermarkets, under the guise of being good for you.!
I have a bee in my bonnet as a member of my family keeps offering my eldest son (who is eight) one of the above after his tea at their house. Now,they might be on a diet (even then these products won't help) but Benjamin most certainly is not.
The yoghurt in question is Muller Light Vanilla Flavour, and this is just one of a range of flavours that Muller offer, and as far as I can make out in my little study of the yoghurt market they seem to dominate the cooler shelves in most supermarkets.
Take a look at their web site, it's super and at least the milk they use to make the yoghurt is from cows who live and graze in Shropshire, which is where their products are processed.
However, these little pots of creaminess are not superfoods. They will not add a great deal, if anything, to the average persons diet.They are not a necessary part of our daily adult diet, let alone an eight year olds who needs to grow strong and healthy.
I'm not just having a go at Muller here,but all the other so called 'healthy yoghurts' which are either rammed full of sweeteners (see earlier blog on these dreaded things) or refined sugar - they are nothing more than liquid candy.
I had a look at the ingredients and this is what's in the vanilla one :
Water, yoghurt,fructose, maize starch, gelatine, flavourings, colourings, aspartame and pectins. Ok, any of those (apart from water) ever feature in a list of superfoods to be eaten as part of a healthy diet????!!!!
We all need some fat in our diets, it serves lots of essential purposes :
insulation/skin/energy store/cell membranes/hormone prodcution/assist vitamin absorption/maintain bodily systems and more. This should be good fat by the way, not the hydrogenated fats and trans fats found in so many pre-prepared foods.
So to eat something that has had the fat extracted from it (as their 99% fat free products have) is counter productive. Not only is their no goodness in it, but it has been processed highly to take the fat out in the first place.
They claim there are only 100 calories in a pot, no preservatives, no artificial colours and it's rich in calcium (33% RDA). But,the sugar and sweeteners will spike blood sugar and then drop it, leaving you wanting more to eat half an hour or so later. Your body will be wondering when the nutrititious food is coming that it can work with to give you decent energy, and so again you'll crave more food. Counter productive big time!
If you do like the creamy, sensual texture and taste of yoghurt and need something sweet (and can tolerate dairy!) why not check out the organic plain probiotic yoghurts, which offer nothing other than yoghurt and some friendly bacteria for your gut - sheep and goats yoghurts taste yum too. Add to it any of the following and you've got a delicious dessert that your body will thank you for : chopped nuts,berries, agave syrup, xylitol, cinnamon, vanilla extract, or a little Manuka honey. Enjoy!
Today's Tip : Eat consciously - think about what's going into your mouth, at least 80% of the time.
I have a bee in my bonnet as a member of my family keeps offering my eldest son (who is eight) one of the above after his tea at their house. Now,they might be on a diet (even then these products won't help) but Benjamin most certainly is not.
The yoghurt in question is Muller Light Vanilla Flavour, and this is just one of a range of flavours that Muller offer, and as far as I can make out in my little study of the yoghurt market they seem to dominate the cooler shelves in most supermarkets.
Take a look at their web site, it's super and at least the milk they use to make the yoghurt is from cows who live and graze in Shropshire, which is where their products are processed.
However, these little pots of creaminess are not superfoods. They will not add a great deal, if anything, to the average persons diet.They are not a necessary part of our daily adult diet, let alone an eight year olds who needs to grow strong and healthy.
I'm not just having a go at Muller here,but all the other so called 'healthy yoghurts' which are either rammed full of sweeteners (see earlier blog on these dreaded things) or refined sugar - they are nothing more than liquid candy.
I had a look at the ingredients and this is what's in the vanilla one :
Water, yoghurt,fructose, maize starch, gelatine, flavourings, colourings, aspartame and pectins. Ok, any of those (apart from water) ever feature in a list of superfoods to be eaten as part of a healthy diet????!!!!
We all need some fat in our diets, it serves lots of essential purposes :
insulation/skin/energy store/cell membranes/hormone prodcution/assist vitamin absorption/maintain bodily systems and more. This should be good fat by the way, not the hydrogenated fats and trans fats found in so many pre-prepared foods.
So to eat something that has had the fat extracted from it (as their 99% fat free products have) is counter productive. Not only is their no goodness in it, but it has been processed highly to take the fat out in the first place.
They claim there are only 100 calories in a pot, no preservatives, no artificial colours and it's rich in calcium (33% RDA). But,the sugar and sweeteners will spike blood sugar and then drop it, leaving you wanting more to eat half an hour or so later. Your body will be wondering when the nutrititious food is coming that it can work with to give you decent energy, and so again you'll crave more food. Counter productive big time!
If you do like the creamy, sensual texture and taste of yoghurt and need something sweet (and can tolerate dairy!) why not check out the organic plain probiotic yoghurts, which offer nothing other than yoghurt and some friendly bacteria for your gut - sheep and goats yoghurts taste yum too. Add to it any of the following and you've got a delicious dessert that your body will thank you for : chopped nuts,berries, agave syrup, xylitol, cinnamon, vanilla extract, or a little Manuka honey. Enjoy!
Today's Tip : Eat consciously - think about what's going into your mouth, at least 80% of the time.
Friday, 27 February 2009
SWEET STUFF!
Having said all that yesterday about diabetes, I realise that none of us are perfect and we all like the sweeter things in life every now and again. I'm not a saint either, and dark chocolate is my downfall - Green and Blacks, Seeds Of Change, you name it I looooooooooove it with a passion. But I limit it, and I try to eat it with protein so it doesn't spike my blood sugar and mess with my insulin levels.
Most of the time, I'm in control and this works.
What do you do if you fancy a dessert after a meal though? Can you still indulge in the odd sweet treat which somehow feels right after something savoury. I blame my mum, she is the most fabulous cook and always made us puddings at home, so now my subconcious says "ok where is it", as soon as I've had my main meal!
Most of the time I fight it and move swiftly on to other things, keeping myself busy enough to forget pudding. But on the odd occasion I let my mind win I have a couple of options that I consider well tasty, and sweet, but overall still healthy.
The first one is chocolate mousse.
A friend and I had fun making this the other night after dinner. All we had was a bar of Green and Blacks dark chocolate, 70% cocoa, and some eggs in the fridge(full fat organic double cream would have been lovely as we're both protein types but we didn't have any and the garage over the road only sold Elmlea - don't ever go down that route, it contains hydrogenated fat!)
So, we whisked up the egg whites, melted the chocolate and poured the egg yolks and the frothy stuff into the chocolate, mixed it about abit, put it into a dessert dish in the fridge to set. It was delicious, and the sugar limited. And no hydrogenated fats in sight. Hurray! Result. Have a look at all the ingredients contained in the chocolate mousses you can buy in the supermarkets - you can guarantee there'll be more than two and some of them will be non nutrient foods.
The higher the percentage of cocoa contained in the chocolate, the lower the sugar levels. Organic is worth buying to avoid any nasties!
Yesterday, I was home alone and knew I'd fancy something sweet after lunch, so I put a banana in the freezer (peeled in a bag) and left it for a couple of hours. When it was frozen I put it into my super duper juicer (every home should have one) along with some raspberries, some cinnamon, some coconut milk,and a spoonful of organic cocoa powder and whizzed it up for 30 seconds or so. Hey presto, home made (soft) ice cream that tasted delicious, and with no processed sugars in it.
Try it, make it up as you go along depending on what you've got in the fridge at the time, use other berries, mango, yoghurt, milk, vanilla extract, agave syrup etc.
Today's Tip : You don't have to feel deprived not eating junky CRAP foods, but rather delighted that your body is receiving the best you can give it.
Most of the time, I'm in control and this works.
What do you do if you fancy a dessert after a meal though? Can you still indulge in the odd sweet treat which somehow feels right after something savoury. I blame my mum, she is the most fabulous cook and always made us puddings at home, so now my subconcious says "ok where is it", as soon as I've had my main meal!
Most of the time I fight it and move swiftly on to other things, keeping myself busy enough to forget pudding. But on the odd occasion I let my mind win I have a couple of options that I consider well tasty, and sweet, but overall still healthy.
The first one is chocolate mousse.
A friend and I had fun making this the other night after dinner. All we had was a bar of Green and Blacks dark chocolate, 70% cocoa, and some eggs in the fridge(full fat organic double cream would have been lovely as we're both protein types but we didn't have any and the garage over the road only sold Elmlea - don't ever go down that route, it contains hydrogenated fat!)
So, we whisked up the egg whites, melted the chocolate and poured the egg yolks and the frothy stuff into the chocolate, mixed it about abit, put it into a dessert dish in the fridge to set. It was delicious, and the sugar limited. And no hydrogenated fats in sight. Hurray! Result. Have a look at all the ingredients contained in the chocolate mousses you can buy in the supermarkets - you can guarantee there'll be more than two and some of them will be non nutrient foods.
The higher the percentage of cocoa contained in the chocolate, the lower the sugar levels. Organic is worth buying to avoid any nasties!
Yesterday, I was home alone and knew I'd fancy something sweet after lunch, so I put a banana in the freezer (peeled in a bag) and left it for a couple of hours. When it was frozen I put it into my super duper juicer (every home should have one) along with some raspberries, some cinnamon, some coconut milk,and a spoonful of organic cocoa powder and whizzed it up for 30 seconds or so. Hey presto, home made (soft) ice cream that tasted delicious, and with no processed sugars in it.
Try it, make it up as you go along depending on what you've got in the fridge at the time, use other berries, mango, yoghurt, milk, vanilla extract, agave syrup etc.
Today's Tip : You don't have to feel deprived not eating junky CRAP foods, but rather delighted that your body is receiving the best you can give it.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
NHS DRAIN
So diabetes has hit the headlines as an epidemic and a major resource drain to the NHS! Well, what a surprise on both counts!
Type 2 diabetes (or often called adult onset) is a relatively new disease - and guess what causes it? Poor diet and a lack of exercise resulting in the body becoming resistant to insulin, the substance that controls our blood sugar levels, and usually becoming overweight.
When you stuff your face with sugary foods/carbs your body struggles to deal with it effectively and long term diabetes can occur.
Apparently there has been a 74% rise in new cases over the last six years in this country, and surprise, surprise (sorry I have little patience with all of this!) 80% of Type 2 sufferers are OVERWEIGHT and so need help with weight management, nutritional and dietary advice, and exercise.
It's not rocket science how we got to this stage, or how this disease could be prevented and it's about time the government started a major programme into getting our food industry sorted out, especially as the NHS is struggling big time. The multi national food corporations making foods such as breakfast cereals (see earlier angry blog) are happy and able to promote their products as healthy and nutritious despite many of them being almost half full of nasty sugary substances which help cause diabetes in the first place.
If we didn't fill ourselves up on junk foods that consist of carbs = sugars then our blood sugar levels wouldn't be all over the place and insulin production/dispersion within our body's would be normal and (type 2)diabetes wouldn't occur.
The best way to prevent obesity, diabetes and other nasty and unnecessary illnesses is to eat a healthy diet focussing on LOW GLYCAEMIC INDEX foods. These are foods which will keep blood sugars stable and no surprise that most of these foods are the 'goodies' out there, such as unprocessed unrefined carbohydrates, pulses and fruit and vegetables. (Worth reading some of the stuff Patrick Holford writes on Low GL stuff - he has several books out on the subject. Google him for more info. He's a bit controversial at the minute but I like him. I've attended his weekend work shops and several seminars and learnt lots. The guy speaks sense, again it's not rocket science).
Metabolic Typing (see lots of earlier blogs or email me for more details) gives you a food list that is right for your type and if this is cross referenced with a low GL food listing then you're on to a winner.
Today's Tip : Look after your blood sugar starting today!
Type 2 diabetes (or often called adult onset) is a relatively new disease - and guess what causes it? Poor diet and a lack of exercise resulting in the body becoming resistant to insulin, the substance that controls our blood sugar levels, and usually becoming overweight.
When you stuff your face with sugary foods/carbs your body struggles to deal with it effectively and long term diabetes can occur.
Apparently there has been a 74% rise in new cases over the last six years in this country, and surprise, surprise (sorry I have little patience with all of this!) 80% of Type 2 sufferers are OVERWEIGHT and so need help with weight management, nutritional and dietary advice, and exercise.
It's not rocket science how we got to this stage, or how this disease could be prevented and it's about time the government started a major programme into getting our food industry sorted out, especially as the NHS is struggling big time. The multi national food corporations making foods such as breakfast cereals (see earlier angry blog) are happy and able to promote their products as healthy and nutritious despite many of them being almost half full of nasty sugary substances which help cause diabetes in the first place.
If we didn't fill ourselves up on junk foods that consist of carbs = sugars then our blood sugar levels wouldn't be all over the place and insulin production/dispersion within our body's would be normal and (type 2)diabetes wouldn't occur.
The best way to prevent obesity, diabetes and other nasty and unnecessary illnesses is to eat a healthy diet focussing on LOW GLYCAEMIC INDEX foods. These are foods which will keep blood sugars stable and no surprise that most of these foods are the 'goodies' out there, such as unprocessed unrefined carbohydrates, pulses and fruit and vegetables. (Worth reading some of the stuff Patrick Holford writes on Low GL stuff - he has several books out on the subject. Google him for more info. He's a bit controversial at the minute but I like him. I've attended his weekend work shops and several seminars and learnt lots. The guy speaks sense, again it's not rocket science).
Metabolic Typing (see lots of earlier blogs or email me for more details) gives you a food list that is right for your type and if this is cross referenced with a low GL food listing then you're on to a winner.
Today's Tip : Look after your blood sugar starting today!
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