Why you shouldn't trust Food Pyramids

Food pyramids have been around for decades.  The first pyramid was published in Sweden in 1974.  However, the most widely known food pyramid was introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1992 (pictured on the left), was updated in 2005 and then replaced in 2011 by "my plate", which is only a slightly bettered version of the food pyramid.

Many nutritional experts, such as Harvard nutritionist Dr. Walter Willett, believe the 1992 pyramid does not reflect the latest research in dietetics.  Technically the pyramid allowed dietary choices that have been linked to heart disease:  three cups of whole milk and one 230g hamburger daily - for example.

The fats group as a whole have been put at the tip of the pyramid with a warning to eat as little as possible, which is problematic in itself.  If you take the pyramid at face value you would believe that you should avoid the fats group as much as possible - this could lead to the health problems.  Fat is essential to maintain optimum health.  Research has found that unsaturated fats aid in weight loss, reduce heart disease risk, lower blood sugar and even lower cholesterol.  This type of fat can be found in olive oil, nuts, seafood, and avocados.  Also, they keep you feeling satisfied for longer, and help keep blood sugar at steady levels and help brain function.

However, one of the most worrying parts of the food pyramid released by the USDA is the widest section at the bottom suggests that what we should eat the most of is grains, pasta and breads despite the evidence showing that grains break down into sugar in your body and therefore promote fat accumulation and drives insulin resistance and related diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

So why grains?  They are cheap and easy to grow and they are also cheap and easy to buy, you can feed more people cheaply with grains than growing vegetables or raising cattle.

Saturated fat has always had a bad name too, but there is also mounting evidence that saturated fat is actually an incredibly healthy, nourishing, and all-natural fat that we humans have been thriving on for generations.  Saturated fats when included in the diet, give lots of energy and leave you feeling satisfied for longer therefore preventing you from eating too much.  They are also necessary for the absorption of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E and K and are also needed for mineral absorption and many biological precesses.  (For more information on this type of fats you can see my post The Truth About Saturated Fats).

Dr. Mercola has designed a food pyramid based on Nutritional Science - which would promote optimal

health.  He believes, and I am inclined to agree with him, that the USDA pyramid is based on agricultural subsidies and industry lobbying efforts.  His pyramid is almost like turning the USDA pyramid upside down.  He features healthful fats and vegetables on the bottom - the base for what we should all be eating.  50% of our daily calorie intake should come from healthful fats and vegetables such as, avocados, coconut oil, nuts and raw butter.  Vegetables should represent the main bulk of your daily intake, they are low in calories but high in a huge number of critical nutrients.

He then goes on to suggest high quality proteins, followed by a moderate amount of fruits.  Why so few fruits?  Well according to Mercola, lots of fruits are very high in fructose, the natural sugar found in fruit, and Mercola would really prefer we stay as far away from fructose as possible.  Here I am in two minds... yes, if you eat lots of fruits with a high fructose content it is possible that you will have to deal with health problems, however, Mercola's main problem seems to be with High Fructose Corn Syrup which has been highly processed and is completely different from the natural Fructose found in fruits.  The human body has ways of digesting the natural fruit fructose, as with everything - just don't over do it!  There are plenty of tables on the Internet which show the content of fructose in different fruits.  My advice would be to keep the high fructose fruits to a minimun and in the mornings to give you an energy boost through the day, and lower fructose fruits in the afternoon evening when you don't need so much energy.

Finally at the very top of Mercola's pyramid you'll find grains and sugars.  This top part could be eliminated entirely from your diet and he assures your health will benefit greatly is you chose to do so.

Apart from the fructose question, I totally agree with Mercola's pyramid.  I highly recommend you read his article in full, you can follow this link to read it: Dr Mercola's article.

Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Past brings health to the present...

We all know that our diets have changed beyond recognition over the years.  The incredible amounts of processed foods that find their way to our table is now, unfortunately, not even considered a worry.  It is something that has become "normal".  However, lots of us now feed our children things that we never had as children - now I say "things" because most of them can't be considered foods at all.  Processed meats in the form of hamburgers, sausages, chicken nuggets even ham - considered a health food by many dieters, cooked packaged ham in convenient slices often comes full of sugar, milk protein, potato starch... and so the ingredient list on a packet of ham goes on and on...

So maybe we really should dig back into history where cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, and childhood obesity were rare and certainly didn't have the scarily fast rising rate all these health problems have nowadays.  Quite often, getting back to basics for health is the way to go.

So here are 6 ancient superfoods that will give your modern lifestyle a health kick:

1.  I have often written about the need for Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish such as Salmon to improve

brain function among other things.  Used in ancient Rome and Scandinavian cultures, Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO) has been used for thousands of years, these fats are rich in essential fatty acids DHA and EPA and are essential for healthy weight management and for brain nerve health.  FCLO is also a good source of Vitamins A and D which are fat soluble vitamins and the fermentation process maintains these nutrients intact and vital.  If you can't find Fermented Col Liver Oil near you, try Krill Oil.  Krill Oil is water soluble making it far easier for the body to absorb the vitamins and essential fatty acids contained in it.

2.  Unfortunately for us humans, the majority of the meat we eat has been tortured instead of raised.  No, I'm not a vegetarian, I love a juicy steak every now and again but it really should be organic - as in grass-fed, roaming round green pastures and enjoying life before it ends up on my plate!  Most beef produced in the US (and most other countries too) have been dragged up on factory farms and packed full of hormones antibiotics and vaccines against disease.  It is far more difficult to find a healthy piece of meat nowadays.  Throughout history cows were allowed to roam free grazing on grass, this type of beef is naturally leaner than factory farmed animals and the fat it does have has great benefits for us humans: a standard 100g serving contains 35mg of those beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids I was talking about before, compared with only 10mg in factory produced meat.  Happy grass-fed animals also have twice the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) per serving.  Higher CLA levels have been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer and easier weight loss.

3.  The ancient Chinese called this brew the "Immortal Health Elixir", Kombucha is a fermented tea
that has been around for over 2000 years.  This drink is very high in B Vitamins which help to increase energy levels and decrease inflammation in the body.  This fermented tea is packed full of probiotic cultures with help digestion and increase immunity.  Recent studies have shown that glucaric acid - found in high quantities in Kombucha - helps prevent cancer.  This is available in health food stores or you can make your own at home.

4.  There's nothing more appetizing than a heartwarming soup (at least it is in winter).  Stock, the base of all soups and many other dishes, has been considered and essential healing food by ancient populations on every continent.  The boiling of organic beef or chicken bones from 6 to 40 hours produces a stock packed full of minerales, antioxidants and vitamins, all of which are released from the bones during the boiling process and then easily absorbed by the body when ingested.  This is a great superfood and aids in weight loss resistance, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and autoimmune responses.

5.  Traditionally part of the Central American diet for thousands of years, the sweet potato eventually

made it's way to Europe thanks to Christopher Columbus on his return.  The sweet potato is extremely high in Vitamin A which is essential for healthy skin and eyes.  But it's benefits do not stop there, this vegetable are packed full of vitamin C, manganese, Vitamin B6, potassium, copper and very high in fiber.

6.  The ancient Koreans ate Kimchi in vast quantities and they considered it to have healing properties.  Kimchi is a blend of fermented vegetables and spices which has been associated with lowering of blood pressure and weight loss.  Studies have also shown Kimchi to have anti-cancer properties and a decrease in atherosclerosis and autoimmune responses.  You can make this at home or buy in a shop, but if you do buy it a a shop, be careful with the sugar and salt content used to prolong it's shelf life.

Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Grow your own... wherever you live...

It is consistently more and more difficult to find organic vegetables and fruits, readily available and at an affordable price, at least it is in some countries.  Other lucky people like the Americans have Farmer's Markets in most cities, something that should be promoted in all major cities all over the developed world.  Why only the developed world?  Because that is where our diet and our health is suffering in favor of accessibility to all vegetables and fruits all year round instead of just seasonal ones, and mass production to meet demand which means that most of our vegetables and fruits are picked before they are ripe and kept in cold storage until they reach the consumer.  They are treated with unhealthy levels of pesticides so that as much of the crop as possible is viable - all of which enter our bodies when we eat them.  And don't even get me started on GMO produce and the lack of labeling.

Let's face it, nowadays we know very little about what we are putting in our bodies and the potential effects that food can have on our health.  Our busy lifestyles mean that we want convenience above health.

Prices for organic foods are still a lot higher in comparison to the mass produced foods and people are now beginning to try to grow their own.  I have had a vegetable patch for the past 6 years, as an inexperienced gardener I tend to stick to the summer months for growing as I am scared of trying during the winter months for lack of a green house and the fact that where we live, temperatures do go way below freezing in winter.  But this year I have promised myself I am at least going to try and carry on after the summer bonanza of wonderful home grown produce.  I grow: potatoes, lettuces, tomatoes, runner beans, peppers, onions, egg plant, leeks, courgettes (squash), pumpkins, cucumbers, and I am still trying to grow strawberries although the birds usually get to them before I do!

My husband was skeptical the frist year I said I was going to plant a vegetable patch.  He's is not a great

vegetable eater and prefers salads as his main source of vegetables, and will only really eat fruit if it is already cleaned, peeled and cut into bite sizes chunks in a dish and put in front of him.  So, I almost jumped for joy the first time I gave him produce from our garden and he readily admitted that he'd never tasted anything like it.  I made the Spanish version of ratatouille (Pisto), made with courgettes, onions, tomatoes and peppers - he will now eat it happily and can't wait for the vegetables from our garden to be ready to eat - he has even taken on watering the garden in the evenings and is all for starting a project for a green house to extend our own veggie growing all year round.  Now if he can be convinced maybe you can too.

Now, I admit, we are lucky, we have a garden with enough space for a veggie patch and the kids still have loads of space to play without destroying the tomatoes - now if I could just get the dog to stay away... yes, it seems my veggies are so good that even the dog eats them!

Lots of people don't have a garden, and lots of city dwellers don't even have a balcony or terrace that they could use to grow their own veggies - or so they think.  However, you really don't need that much space to have your own little area to grow vegetables.  You would be surprised as to how much produce you can get from a small number of plants.  Quite often I have so much produce that I end up giving it away to friends and neighbors and turning it into tomato sauce and preserving it for the year to come.

One of the major requirements for your vegetables to flourish is sunlight, so as long as you have a sunny room, terrace or balcony you can put them on your are ready to go.  However, in hot countries such as Spain, be careful with the summer heat if your plants are on a cement terrace or balcony it can get too hot for them, so best to have them somewhere you can move them with ease to the shade.  A good idea for this is to put them on a base that has wheels and you can move them easily.  You will need containers of at least 10 inches wide and 12 inches deep - the bigger the pot the better as they need space to grow.  Make sure the containers you use have drainage wholes in the bottom to stop the roots from rotting.  You can also get very creative and make the containers into decorations too.


Tomatoes are ideal for home growing, especially the baby or cherry variety as your will get lots from just a couple of plants, peppers are also good and lettuces just keep producing as long as you cut them
and eat them leaving the roots in the soil.  Courgettes need a lot of space as the plants can grow to be quite big and I wouldn't recommend pumpkins or cucumbers unless you have space to let them crawl... you can train them to grow up and over a trellis and go vertical instead of horizontal to save space.  Lots of people are using hanging baskets to grow vegetables nowadays and therefore economizing on space, believe it or not some can even be grown upside down.  Another way of economizing space is to use walls!  Yes there are even ways to grow veggies on walls - but I would recommend them being outside walls!

So who is going to give it a try?  I'd love to hear about your experience.

Useful Links:

Grow Food not Lawns
Gardening Know How

Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Wear your conscience on your wrist.

Have you ever wondered how many calories you burn per day?  How much you move or how well you sleep?

If you have read any of my previous posts, and I hope you have, you will know that 3 things are essential for optimal health:

1. Exercise/ perpetual movement
2. Diet
3. Sleep

These are the 3 golden rules.  Exercise and perpetual motion are key to combating our sedentary lifestyles, diet is key to nourishing the body and sleep is essential for mental and physical well being.

There are several gadgets available to help you monitor the 3 golden rules and, as it turns out, they tend to motivate you into taking action.

This is something I have witnessed close at hand.  I gave my husband a Jawbone Up band for his birthday last month, and believe me it has worked wonders and achieved changes in him that I had failed to do until now.  I have a Nike Fuel Band that he gave me for my birthday - the Jawbone Up wasn't available back in March, so I know the benefits of wearing your conscience on your wrist, as these gadgets are just that.  Your conscience! 

You set a daily goal of "Fuel" you have to generate or steps you have to take depending on which tracker you decide to use.  And believe me, you really want to achieve that goal everyday otherwise you tend to feel that you have failed!  These gadgets really do get you moving and also make you more aware of just what you are putting into your body during each day.

One of the things Nutritionists like myself know is that if a patient writes down exactly what they eat every day they are far more conscious of how much they are eating and are much more successful in following a weight loss program and in keeping off the weight they have lost.  These new gadgets are very good at keeping people mindful of what they are doing and eating at the touch of a button.

Now my general diet is healthy but my husband was finding it difficult in his stress filled life to stick to eating healthy foods, especially if you consider he travels a lot and different cultures with different ways of eating make it much more difficult to stick to what he knows is the right way to eat.  

Jawbone Up:

I find this to be a very complete tracker.  It monitors the steps you take, the calories you burn, the

calories you ingest and your sleep patterns.  Whoever said that too much information is not a good thing?  It is also discrete and can be worn by anyone in any situation.  It also gives you advice and sends you motivational messages through an app.  You have to input your food and drink intake via the app and it calculates the calories you have consumed.  It does not have a display on the band and it doesn't sync via bluetooth - you have to plug it in to your smart phone in order to download information.  You can compare with your friends through the app and see who is the most active and who is leading the healthiest lifestyle.  The sleep monitor tells you how long it took you to go to sleep and how deeply you slept during the sleep cycles.  The information is then presented in the app and it gives you advice on things you can change to improve.  You can also connect other gadgets such as the Withings scales to monitor your weight through the Jawbone app.

Nike Fuel Band:

Slightly less discrete visually and has less options.  It monitors the steps you take and how many calories your burn and how much "fuel" you produce through your activity.  This "fuel" is not useful for anything it is just a way of gauging how active you are.  It doesn't monitor your sleep patterns and there is no place on the app to input your food intake.  It does have a display on the band so you don't need to sync it to the app to see how you are doing during the day.  The app shows when you were most active during each day and how many days you have been active, plus the calories burned and the number of steps you have taken each day.  Of the two this is the simplest device and I sync it once a day via bluetooth which is very convenient.  You set a daily goal of how much "fuel" you want to achieve with a minimum of 2000 and once you reach your goal you can see just how far past that goal you can go.  The app also gives you motivational messages when you sync and you can compete with your friends to see just who is the most active.

I put these two first as they are the ones we have used and tested at home.  However, there are many more gadgets out there that do the same or similar:

The Fitbit Flex is another band, I did buy this one for my husband but ended up taking it back the next day, it was very chunky and a bit uncomfortable.  It also monitors steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned and via the app you can input food and drink intake and monitor sleep patterns.

One to watch out for is the Withings Smart Activity Tracker, this is a tiny clip on monitor that you wear.  Withings, as far as I am concerned, is a great company producing many handy health gadgets such as the scales that connect via WIFI to your computer or the blood pressure monitor you can plug into your smart phone.  The Smart Activity Tracker measures sleep quality, food intake, movement and pulse rate with a touch sensitive front and a heart rate sensor in the back.  It connects via bluetooth to the Withings Health Mate app.

The Fitbit One, is another cool gadget doing much the same: tracks steps/ movement, distance travelled, calories burned and sleep patterns.  One thing this one has that the others don't is that it has a built in altimeter which allows you to factor in stairs and hill-climbs for better accuracy in the calories burned area.  This also syncs via bluetooth to your computer or smartphone.  This is not a band, this you can keep in your pocket or clip on to your belt, so no need to wear it on your wrist if you don't like that kind of thing.

However, what all these have in common is that they literally are the voice of your conscience.  They really do get you moving and monitoring your food and drink intake.  People have found that they have lost weight and generally tend to move a lot more just by wearing one of these - let's face it, you certainly don't want your app telling you that you didn't reach your daily goal!  That would be really annoying!

Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com