Junk food makes you stupid.

If I haven't given you enough reason to give up junk food already... here's another one.  Junk food can make you stupid as well as fat!

Researchers have found that 14-year-olds who had a higher intake of junk food scored lower in cognitive tests by the time they were 17 years old.

The study found that participants who had a higher intake of take-away food, fried potatoes, red and processed meat and soft drinks had negative associations that affected their reaction time, mental ability, visual attention, learning and memory.

Those participants were compared to participants who had a higher intake of fruits and leafy green vegetables.  The healthier eating participants had a positive cognitive performance.

Researcher Dr. Anett Nyaradi told Science Network that this difference could be due to the increased mircronutrient content found in leafy green vegetables, which has been shown to enhance cognitive development.  She went on to explain that several factors may be involved in the diet-related decline in cognitive skills, including the higher level of omega-6 fatty acids in fried foods and red meat.

Science Network explained that the metabolic pathways function best with a balanced 1:1 ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but the western diet shifts this ratio to 1:20 or 1:25 ratio.

Dr. Nyaradi aslo explained that a high intake of saturated fat and simple carbohydrates has been linked to impairment in the functioning of the hippocampus, the part of the brain centrally involved in learning and memory that increases its volume during adolescence.

"Adolescence represents a critical time period for brain development.  It is possible that poor diet is a significant risk factor during this period... indeed, our findings support this proposition," she said.  "These findings have important implications for future health policies and health promotion programs."

 And it isn't just adolescents.  In another study 4,000 Scottish children between the ages of 3 and 5 were examined to compare the intelligence dampening effects of fast food consumption versus meals made at home with fresh ingredients.

It was found that higher fast food consumption by the children was linked with lower intelligence, even after adjustments were made for wealth and social status.

Another Australian study from the University of Adelaide, published in August 2012, showed that toddlers who consume junk food grow less smart as they get older.  The study included 7,000 children who were examined at the ages of 6 months, 15 months, and 2 years to examine their diet.  When the children were examined again at 8 years of age, those consuming the most unhealthy diet had IQs up to 2 points lower than children eating a healthy diet.

So, what do you want for yourself and your family?

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com 

The importance of food combining

Food combining has been around for a very long time.  You've probably heard of it, and most people's reaction is; "Oh!  That's so complicated!"  It actually isn't.  Once you get the hang of it, it really is quite simple.  However, in my quest to find authors who explain it without causing mass hysteria I discovered a book called Food Combining Made Easy, by Herbert M. Shelton.

This book was first published in 1940, Herbert Shelton was ahead of his time and pioneered many of the pillars of the modern health food movement, including vegan diets, fasting, raw foodism, and the concept of natural hygiene.  His teachings inspired such followers as Mahatma Gandhi and George Bernard Shaw, along with many famous health food advocates throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Unfortunately I have to admit that I didn't find it as easy as I would have liked.  According to Shelton digestion all comes down to enzymes, he says:

"Each enzyme is specific in its action.  This is to say, it acts only upon one class of food substance.  The enzymes that act upon carbohydrates do not and cannot act upon proteins nor upon salts nor fats.  They are even more specific than this would indicate.  For example, in the digestion of closely related substances, such as the disaccharides (complex sugars), the enzyme that acts upon maltose is not capable of acting upon lactose.  Each sugar seems to require its own specific enzyme."

What this means is that an enzyme that digests carbohydrates, for example, will be paralyzed in an acidic environment.  Acidic environments are necessary for digesting proteins, so, if you eat a hamburger and the bun the mix of protein and carbohydrate means that the carbohydrate or the bun in this case, will stop being digested and left until the protein has been digested.

But he does have some great explanations.  In chapter III of his book he explains - at length - the right and wrong combinations, here is an abbreviation:

1. Protein - Starch combinations:  Eat protein foods and carbohydrate foods at separate meals.
2. Protein - protein combinations: Eat but one concentrated protein food at a meal.
3. Acid - Protein combinations:  Eat proteins and acids at separate meals.  Here acids means acid fruits.  For example, vinegar or other acid used in salads, or added to salad dressing, and eaten with a protein meal, reduce hydrochloric secretion and thus interfere with protein digestion.
4. Fat - Protein combinations: Eat fats and proteins at separate meals.  Fat inhibits the secretion of gastric juices that digest protein, however, an abundance of green vegetables, especially uncooked ones, counteract the inhibiting effect of fat.
5. Sugar - Protein combinations: Eat sugars and proteins at separate meals.
6. Sugar - Starch combinations:  Do not eat sugar with starch... this means no jam, honey, marmalade on your bread/ toast and no breads mixed with fruits.
7. Melons... always eat alone.

These are the basic rules of food combining.  However, I prefer a more user friendly approach!

Vegetables such as:

Lettuce, celery, endive, chicory, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, chard, cucumber, asparagus, Chinese cabbage, parsley, onions, leeks, garlic, zuccini, escarole, sweet pepper, tomato (although technically a fruit), etc

Proteins such as:

Nuts, peanuts, cheese, meat, fish, eggs, etc

Starches such as:

All cereals, potatoes, legumes, carrots, egg plant, radishes, turnips, peas, etc

Fruits such as:

Orange, grapefruit, pineapple, pomegranate, lemon, apple, grape, peach, plum, cherries, strawberries, pears, apricot, etc

Vegetables can be eaten either with protein or with starches.  But you should NEVER mix starches and proteins.  So no more hamburgers in a bun, or steak and fries, or pasta with a meat or fish sauce.

Fruits and Nuts should be eaten separately and preferably between meals.  This means that fruit or nuts should be eaten either 1 hour before a meal or 2-3 hours after a meal.  Never as a dessert!

On the whole I don't recommend drinking commercially prepared fruit juices.  It is always much better to eat the entire fruit than just have the juice.  If you want juice make it at home and drink it as quickly as possible.  There is a huge juice movement going on in the world right now and I am definitely not against it when carried out properly - juicing is helping thousands of people to lose weight and improve their health, but I insist it should be done correctly.

Food combining is part of the F.I.T Method and I would just like to remind you what the Method can do for you:

• More energy
• Better quality of sleep
• INSTANT WEIGHT LOSS
• Better digestive function on all levels.
• Scientific method
• Immediate guaranteed results
• Improvement in general health
• Personalized method


I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com