Weight gain in the menopause...

Menopause... who needs it, right?  Believe me I could well do without it.

One of the many problems when we women reach that stage in life is weight gain.  Unexplained and unwanted weight gain.  You have just spent most of your life trying to understand and love your body and all of a sudden it's all out of control again.

Jeez... it's tough.

Unfortunately for women our hormones and fat cells are closely linked in a complex web which is responsible for metabolism, appetite, digestion, heat regulation and detoxification.  This web is extremely difficult to regulate and any destabilization results in symptoms such as food cravings, hot flushes and of course, weight gain.

We need to make sure this intricate web is working harmoniously so that it remains stable.  There are many links between hormones and fat but one critical link is the connection between insulin, metabolism and body fat.

The human body has three primary hormones: insulin, adrenaline and cortisol.  Adrenaline and cortisol are stress hormones and insulin, as you already know, regulates blood sugar levels.  Stress is one of the most damaging things our bodies have to cope with.  So, if on top of stress our diet is high in processed foods, carbs and sugars, then our bodies will become insulin resistant - a recipe for disaster.

Life is stressful, and if your body is out of sync with one primary hormone then it will have difficulty producing the necessary levels for secondary hormones such as estrogen and progesterone.  Most of

us eat way too many carbohydrates, sweet and processed foods and not enough healthy fats.  If you have too many sweet foods in your diet or if you are living off carbs in the hope of less fat in your diet meaning less weight... then your body will become insulin resistant or at the least insulin sensitive and this means you body will convert everything it can into fat.

Weight gain can often be associated with estrogen levels.  The fluctuation of this hormone during perimenopause and it's relation to other hormones such as progesterone that can cause problems in maintaining the body's balance.  Here's a fact... fat cells can produce estrogen.  So your hormone depleted body stores fat as a precaution in case it's estrogen levels get too low, it will use the excess fat as a source of estrogen.

If on top of all this you have other conditions such as bone loss, stress or your diet doesn't have enough healthy fats in it, then your body will be even more likely to store fat as a safe guard.

As our hormones fluctuate so does our mood.  Our patience flies out the window and we can sometimes feel as if the whole world is against us or we turn into a fire breathing dragon from one innocent "Hello"!  Our emotions are at a very sensitive level, and if you have been an emotional eater in the past then at this stage of life it could get even worse.

If you find you are craving for "naughty" foods that you would only eat occasionally before, you might want to stop yourself and think about why you want that piece of cake.  Are you really hungry?
Many women when they reach menopause find themselves living alone... their children are off doing their own thing or away at university.  Their husbands are at work all the time or maybe they are single.  Quite often women feel lonely and turn to food for comfort... trying to fill a hole inside.  Maybe it's time to reflect on what you do every day.  Do you like what you do?  Do you need to change your job?  Maybe it is time to do something you have always wanted to or even start a new hobby.  Think about what gives you more... pleasure from something you enjoy or extra pounds from too much cake?

On of the most important things in life is to embrace who you are and the stage your are in.  If you go into menopause hating it, then it will probably be a terrible experience.  Open your heart and mind to it, embrace it and yourself.  Take a long look at how much stress is in your life and how you can make changes that will reduce stress, make you happier and how you can improve your diet.

Kick out the high sugar, processed foods and carbs and embrace healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.  Make small and achievable changes that give you happiness and satisfaction and work towards a goal.

Make YOU your priority.

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

Menopause Part 2

A few months ago my friend Mary Jo asked me to write a post about how to eat better during the menopause.  I am pleased to say that many of you found that post interesting and informative, and Mary Jo suggested that I could inform you all of other problems related to the menopause.

Well, here is the follow-up post concerning weight gain during the menopause.

A lot of women experience weight gain during the menopause, and it seems to deposit itself in one of two places - or both.  These places tend to be around the middle and/or the bust.  Lots of women who have never had a tummy suddenly find that they have a bulge.

Now bust enlargement due to the menopause is loved by some women who are suddenly enjoying a cleavage they never had before.  However, others find a large bust makes them look older, even matronly - think Mrs. Doubtfire!!!!

This weight gain is - as usual, down to hormones.  From the age of 40 onwards, the levels of estrogen in a woman's body will start to fluctuate drastically.  The idea is that less estrogen means smaller breasts as the milk glands shrink when the body passes it's child producing time.  However estrogen should be counter balanced by progesterone and progesterone levels can drop off 120 times quicker than estrogen levels.  This causes what doctors call "estrogen dominance", which can keep breasts large, even as overall estrogen levels drop.

At this stage in a woman's life, fat and estrogen team up together, dominant estrogen acts as a magnet for fat, storing it in certain areas such as the breasts and abdomen.

These stored fat cells can expand and produce estrogen of their own in order to help balance mood and wellbeing, and also for protection for your bones and heart.  Unfortunately, your body has decided that these expanded fat cells are really really important for survival and so they are extremely resistant to dieting.

However, through following a certain diet you can target those problem areas, by balancing your hormones correctly.  For this type of weight reduction, Max Tomlinson, a Naturopath from London, has devised an eating plan based on a Mediterranean-style diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, fish, healthy oils and no sugar, processed foods, little meat and a little alcohol.

Dairy products can be very high in estrogen.  Cow's tend to be milked constantly through other pregnancies, meaning that their hormone levels are very high.  Vegetable milks such as almond, coconut or rice milks are better.  However it is better to avoid soya milk as it may contain plant estrogen which can contribute to erratic and unbalanced hormones.

Favor citrus fruits as they contain a compound called d-limonene, a substance that has been shown to help the body break down and remove excess estrogen.  You can also increase your calcium D-glucarate intake by eating more legumes and fruits such as; peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries.  This helps to inhibit the action of enzymes that reduces the impact of estrogen on breast tissue.

We all know that vegetables are amazingly healthy, but in this case you should eat them raw or lightly steamed.  Cruciferous vegetables such as; broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, are rich in a chemical compound called dindolylmethane which helps the body to metabolize excess estrogen.

Eat brown bread.  Whole grains are so much better than refined grains.  Whole grains will boost your intake of insoluble fiber.  This is useful as the fiber binds itself to excess estrogen in the digestive tract and removes it.

You really need to cut back on sugars and that includes alcohol as sugar in the diet increases blood sugar levels which, in turn, stimulates the release of insulin.  Too much insulin motivates fat storage in the body and interferes with the delicate balance between estrogen and progesterone.

Alcohol also has a toxic effect on liver function which stops the liver breaking down estrogen and other hormones effectively.

Junk food is also a no no.  Highly processed foods can contain pesticides, herbicides and/or growth hormones which can disrupt hormones.

Get up and move.  Walk, swim, cycle - which ever you prefer but do it everyday.  Make sure you stay active.  I also recommend yoga or pilates.  Stretching and muscle tone is very important as we get older.

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

It's all in the mind...

A huge problem in today's society is weight gain.  More people are obese than ever before and that includes children.

Obesity is bankrupting our health services due to obesity related illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.  There is a huge weight loss industry generating millions of dollars which tells you to stop eating fat, stop eating carbs, stop eating.... exercise more...

But just as many criticize the medical profession for becoming too specialized; you see a cardiologist for heart disease, an oncologist for cancer, and endocrinologist for diabetes, and not treating people as a whole, the same can be said for the weight loss industry.

People aren't fat just because they eat too much.  There are many reasons why a person puts on weight... eating too much is just one of them.  There are medical reasons and also psychological reasons.  Stress, anxiety, and even emotional attachment to food all play a part in weight and if these are not taken into consideration and treated along with a weight loss program then in most cases, weight loss will not be sustained.

Orlando Health researchers have revealed that only 1 in 10 Americans recognize the importance of psychological well-being in weight loss.  People tend to attribute more importance to other components such as exercise when it comes to losing weight.

31% of Americans think exercise is the biggest barrier to sustaining weight loss, while 26% think that eating less is important and 17% blame the cost of a healthy lifestyle as the biggest problem to losing weight and keeping it off.  12% cited a lack of time to dedicate to changing their lifestyle to be healthier.

Dr. Diane Robinson, a neuropsychologist and the program director of integrative medicine at Orlando Health said:

"Most people focus almost entirely on the physical aspects of weight loss, like diet and exercise.  But there is an emotional component to food that the vast majority of people simply overlook and it can quickly sabotage their efforts."

Food has become the center of the social aspect of our lives.  When you meet up with friends it is
usually over lunch or dinner or drinks, special occasions are celebrated with food like cakes, or Thanksgiving or Christmas are centered around huge spreads of food, Valentine's Day chocolates, Halloween candy and we even reward or pacify our children with sweets.  

Many people turn to food in moments of emotional stress and anxiety, comfort food doesn't tend to be a salad with grilled fish.  Comfort food is high fat, high carb indulgence that leads to extra weight that we then can't shift.  Even when on a diet people tend to reward themselves with "treats" when they have reached a certain goal.  A too restrictive diet and cause feelings of deprivation and then a treat of a piece of chocolate means you end up eating the whole bar.

Finding out WHY you eat the way you do is of vital importance when losing weight.  You can't just treat the fat around your middle, you have to treat the psychological aspect of why you are eating in a way that has lead you to put on weight to start with.

Becoming aware of your habits is very important and isn't as difficult as it may seem.  Ask yourself simple questions when you are considering reaching for the cookie jar;

Am I hungry?  Or am I just bored or upset?  Keep a diary and write down what you have eaten and how you felt prior to eating and afterwards as well.  If you ask yourself the right questions you may discover that boredom is a large part of why you eat between meals.  So, what can you do instead?  If you are bored go out for a walk, or read a book.  I find doing housework keeps me occupied and makes me feel more positive because there is a positive end result.  Find what works for you to keep boredom at bay.

If you eat when you are upset, what is upsetting you?  What can you do about it?

If you eat when you are stressed, then you may need to find something that helps with stress relief.  Depending on what you like, stress relief could be a physical activity such as running or cycling.  For other people meditation works wonders - although here I believe that meditation works wonders for everyone.

We humans have a strong emotional attachment to food which is learned from a very young age.  So if your go-to reward is food, think about other rewards you'd enjoy which aren't food based.  Treat your self to a pampering session or a movie, a new item of clothing, indulge yourself in a non food based way.  Think about how you can reward your children without giving them food, maybe a small toy or movie night at home, a play date with a best friend.  There is so much we can do to reward ourselves without reaching for food.

The minute you identify your psychological triggers you will automatically begin to change your habits and the weight will drop off and stay off and you will be all the more happier for it.  You will also feel more in control of your life and more able to cope.

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

What bingeing really does to you

Who hasn't blown the diet on a weekend?  After controlling what you eat and drink all week it's really easy to go off the rails at the weekend.  Socializing at weekends makes it all the more difficult to avoid temptation and also the just plain boredom of a restrictive diet makes it easier to give in.

Lots of people think that no harm can come from indulging at the weekends when you've been good all week, and whereas indulging occasionally doesn't hurt, when it becomes a weekly habit there are consequences.

Binge eating can also be an eating disorder sometimes due to a mental or traumatic issue.  When recognized, the problem can be solved helped a number of treatments such as self help or support groups, therapy and even medication.  If you suspect you have an eating disorder then you should seek help from you GP.

However there are physiological consequences to over-indulging:

Bloating.

This is a pretty obvious consequence.  Eating a large amount of food, often in a very short period of time, leads to bloating and abdominal discomfort.  This bloating can also cause a feeling of being breathless as the swollen stomach pushes upwards reducing the lung space available.

Let's face it, you aren't going to binge on salad and grilled fish.  Most binge food is unhealthy junk food which is seriously lacking in fibre.  As fibre is what helps move food through the digestive tract, eating low fibre foods just makes all that junk food hang around for a lot longer and can lead to constipation.  So your binge will take longer to leave you!

Heartburn.

An overfull stomach can lead to pressure on the sphincter or the "door" on the bottom of the gullet, causing it to open.

This "door" is there to stop food and digestive juices from coming back up into the gullet.  But pressure from beneath can cause it to open and release some food or juices causing a burning sensation from your stomach up to your throat.  This can also cause vomiting.  The juices that are involved are highly acidic and can cause longterm damage to the tissues in the gullet, and if not addressed it can also affect gums and teeth where regular vomiting is experienced.

Hormonal Disruption.

Binge eating has been linked to the several hormones; oestrogen and progesterone - made in the ovaries, ghrelin and leptin - otherwise known as the hunger hormones, cortisol - the stress hormone and of course, insulin which helps our bodies to process sugar from food.

When you binge, you often do so on foods high in sugar, causing a spike in blood sugar which triggers the release of insulin from the pancreas so that the blood sugar is normalized by storing the excess sugar as fat.

This process is why we gain weight.  But the stress caused by the overproduction of hormones can cause other problems such as lack of energy, fatigue, and tiredness that produce a signal to the brain to eat more.  If this is sustained, it can cause obesity and other weight associated illnesses such as type 2 diabetes.

Undernourishment.

Yes, you can eat a lot and still be undernourished,  Bingeing on high calorie foods with little nutritional value will not give you the nutrients you need.

A stable balanced diet is needed to carry out our daily routines, and exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, so if you are not eating enough and going to the gym - or whatever exercise you choose - in order to slim down quicker, you will not be doing yourself any favors.  Undernourishment whether caused by bingeing on inappropriate foods or under-eating can cause longterm effects on the skin, heart and bones.

Women especially should have regular bone-density scans once they reach menopause.

Anxiety and Low Mood.

Someone trying to lose weight who binges can often feel ashamed, guilty, anxious and worried.  It can turn into a vicious cycle... you control your diet during the week, you feel you are justified to have a treat at the weekend and when you do you feel guilty afterwards... This can go on and on and become very difficult to break.

I know it isn't easy, but try not to binge on the weekend.  If you need a treat, set a date in the future and plan what you are going to have, like a piece of your favorite chocolate cake.  Then when the day comes, enjoy it... just the one piece mind, not the whole cake!  Make sure it is WORTH IT!

Weight Gain.

Of course, all of this does lead to you putting on weight.  The cycle of control and weight loss during the week and then bingeing and weight gain at the weekend is due mostly to WHAT you are bingeing on.  As I said before, it isn't that easy to binge on salad and grilled fish!

Be mindful of what you are eating and how that food nourishes your body, how it keeps you healthy.  If you do binge, don't ignore how it makes you feel... sluggish?  Exhausted?  Sick?  Remember those feelings the next time you are faced with temptation.  Ask yourself if what your are tempted by is worth the consequences?  How are you going to feel after you have eaten it?  Will you feel guilty and wish you hadn't eaten it?  Will it give you heartburn or gas?

Think before you eat....

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

It's not in the calories...

How many times have I said this?  No seriously, how many?  There is no need to count calories, weigh your food, or register how many calories you have eaten and how many you have burned.  A balanced diet with natural, unprocessed foods is what you need - that and exercise.

A balanced diet with healthy foods does a lot more for you than just losing weight - if necessary.  Our guts are full of bacteria - they are essential for health - but not all of them are good bacteria.  Professor Tim Spector, a genetics expert at King's College London, believes that our gut bacteria is responsible for weight gain - and loss.  He has found that the type and variety of gut bacteria have an amazing influence on many health aspects:

"Microbes are not only essential to how we digest food, they also control the calories we absorb and provide vital enzymes and vitamins, as well as keeping out immune systems healthy," he says.

He believes that the right diet and exercise regimen allows us to change out individual mix of gut bacteria and turn it into one that benefits us keeping us healthy, happy and at an ideal weight.

We are all unique right down to our gut bacteria.  Even identical twins that are genetically identical do not have the same reaction to diet and food, meaning their gut environments are different.  Prof. Spector has studied 11,000 sets of identical twins over 2 decades.  If he put twins on the same high fat, high calorie diet, they didn't necessarily gain weight in the same way; after 6 weeks some will have gained anything up to 13kg and others as little as 4kg.

His main concern is that the modern diet is affecting the bacteria in our guts, compared to our ancestors, we only have a fraction of the diversity of microbial species living in our guts.  15,000 years ago, our ancestors regularly ate around 150 ingredients in a week.  Nowadays, most people consume less than 20 separate food items, and a lot of these come from processed foods.

Prof. Spector decided to test the effect a junk food diet has on our gut bacteria.  To do this, he got his son to help.  Tom Spector, a 22 year old student, volunteered to eat only McDonald's and Coke for 10 days.  By day 6 he said he felt bloated and sluggish and by day 8 he started to sweat after eating.

Prof. Spector said:

"Tom found that his assignments took even longer than usual. Friends remarked that his skin seemed to have a yellow tinge and he looked unwell."

By the end of the experiment, Tom had put on 4lb (1.8kg).  But what was even more astonishing were the test results on his gut bacteria.  The results showed that by as little as day 3, 40% of his gut bacteria had died.  What's more, the bacteria that were still alive were mainly the dangerous kind and levels of health-promoting bacteria had taken a nose dive.

For example; Tom's level of firmicutes - which create chemicals that fuel our cells with sugars, fatty acids, proteins and vitamins and therefore enabling the body's systems to communicate with one another correctly - had halved.

Meanwhile, Tom showed higher levels of bacteria associated with inflammation, which is linked to heart disease, cancer and damage to the immune system.  Prof. Spector also found that certain rare bacteria species flourished on the diet, including Lautropia - which is usually only found in immune-deficient patients.

Tom's gut bacteria slowly returned to normal after he began eating healthily again - but it took a while.

So, how do you improve your gut bacteria?

A natural, varied and balanced diet with no processed foods, for starters.

Exercise is also very important.  Nutritionists at University College Cork, Ireland, found that athletes on the national Irish rugby team had much more diverse gut bacteria than normal and lower levels of inflammation.  Prof. Spector also found from his studies on twins that the amount of exercise they took was the strongest factor in promoting the richness of gut bacteria.

Avoid Artificial Sweeteners.  Anything that is categorized as "food" but made entirely in a lab  can't be good for anyone!

Rats fed with artificial sweeteners at the recommended human doses for 3 months were found to have significantly lower levels and diversity of gut bacteria.  Israeli researchers discovered that artificial sweeteners can alter the balance of gut bacteria in mice, so that the bugs, in turn, release chemicals that RAISE blood sugar levels, and therefore increase the risk of weight gain and diabetes.

The good news is that dark chocolate is GOOD for your gut.  Participants in a study at Reading University, UK, were given cocoa extracts for 4 weeks, researchers found that their levels of beneficial gut bacteria had risen significantly, and their levels of potentially harmful bacteria and inflammation had fallen.

Just remember it has to be dark chocolate.

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

High Fat - Low Carb

For decades we have been told that high carb - low fat dietas are the way to eat correctly AND lose weight.  However for decades, patients who have been advised to dieta that way (NOT by me), have complained that the diet wasn't working for them.  The doctors' usual thought process was - "Well you must be doing something wrong."

I have been going on about this for years and have written many posts on how high carb diets do not work and how fat is NOT DANGEROUS.

So, here's another one!

One of the major health problems of our time is insulin resistance.  A whopping two thirds of the population in the UK is insulin resistant.  Insulin resistance is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The reason why this is all connected is very simple:

When a person eats carbs they are broken down by the body into glucose.  Glucose is used for energy, but in order for the body to use glucose for energy, the glucose has to pass from the blood into the cells and in order to do that insulin must be secreted by the pancreas.

Insulin could be compared to a key - it fits perfectly into the cell wall allowing the glucose to access the cells, and therefore produce energy.  However, if a person is insulin resistant then the key doesn't fit properly.  Therefore the pancreas has to produce extra insulin.  The problem is that insulin is actually a weight-promoting hormone that increases fat storage.  So, if a person is insulin resistant then it makes sense that they will have difficulties losing weight if their pancreas is having to over produce insulin.

This is where high fat diets come into the picture.

Fat, especially saturated fats, have had a lot of bad press for decades.  According to most dietary advice, you should steer clear of foods high in fats - especially saturated ones, or you will die from heart disease.

One thing they don't tell you is that fat is actually essential to the body.  There are even vitamins that can only be absorbed by the body in the presence of fat.

A small study was carried out recently in the UK by Dr. Trudi Deakin, Dietitian:

Roughly 80 patients were given the choice of attending two educational sessions on diets, one on a Wednesday, and the other on a Friday.

The volunteers who attended the Wednesday session were taught high fat - low carb approach to dieting.

The group that attended the Friday session were given the standard talk about high carb - low fat diet options.

The groups were then weighed when they attended the talks and then again after 6 weeks of dieting.  According to Dr. Deakin, the results were emphatic:

The Wednesday group had reduced their carb intake from 48% of their daily calories to 14%.  As a result they had increased their fat intake from 32% to 59% of their daily calories.

After 6 weeks they had lost an average of 2.8kg and their average waist circumference had dropped by 3.1cm.

In comparison, the Friday group on the standard dietary advice (high carb - low fat) had lost an average of 1.6kg and only 1.3cm from their waists.

However, it gets even better!  After 2 months, the Wednesday group (high fat - low carb) had lost an average of 5kg and dropped 9.5cm from their waists.

Meanwhile, the Friday group (high carb - low fat) only lost 1kg and 0.1cm from their waists.

Eating a high carb diet leads to cravings and feeling hungry more often, which makes dieting a lot harder to control.

"There is not a single piece of clinical evidence that demonstrates saturated fat increases a person's risk of heart disease or stroke," Dr. Deakin said,

"The traditional view point is that saturated fat increases LDL levels (bad cholesterol).  But actually research has shown it is actually excess consumption of carbohydrate that increases bad cholesterol.

"When you eat carbohydrates it is initially used for energy, then any excess is stored as glycogen in the muscle and liver.

"But the rest is converted into fat which sits around your internal organs."

An example of healthy fats are nuts, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, oily fish, meat, etc...

A high fat - low carb diet can be delicious, just make sure it is also packed full of healthy vegetables!

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 Coca-Cola Experiment

By now, you should all know the perils of drinking too many soft drinks... if any at all.  The amount of sugar contained in drinks such as Coca-Cola is astronomical, and the diet versions aren't much healthier because of the sweeteners in them.

To prove this point, George Prior, a 50 year old entrepreneur from Los Angeles decided to see what would happen if he drank 10 cans of Coke a day for a month.  Before starting on this experiment, George was fit and healthy and weighed 12 stone (76 kg).

After the 30 day trial his stats were way different:  His normally healthy physique turned into a protruding pot belly and his weight went from 12 stone (76 kg) to 14 stone (88.9 kg), that's a 2 stone gain in just 30 days!  But that wasn't all; his blood pressure soared from 129/77 to 145/96 - the ideal level for blood pressure is 120/80 above this level the risk of heart disease or stroke is greatly increased.

Yet again is wasn't just the physical transformation that worried him, he feared he was becoming addicted to Coke after he experienced intense cravings.  Mr. Prior tried to maintain his normal Paleo diet which is a low carbohydrate diet which promotes eating lean meats, vegetables and nuts and berries, but he experienced severe sugar cravings that he found difficult to ignore.

"The most dramatic change was in weight: 23lb (10.4 kg) of gain over 30 days," he said, "I also seemed to develop a craving for Cokes, or other sugars, during the time I was drinking Cokes.  I'm urging people to examine the amount of sugar in their diets.  People need to be aware of the real and powerful damaging effects of sugar on their health."

Before (Left) and After (Right)

He also found that he felt full all the time and had to force himself to drink all 10 Cokes every day, he said he did the experiment in order to stir up debate and to get people talking about how much sugar they are actually consuming and how unhealthy it is.

"I would prefer not to do it again," he commented, "I don't like being this heavy."

After finishing his experiment Mr. Prior lost 5 lb (2.2 kg) in just four days.

A regular can of Coke contains 35g of sugar, the equivalent of 7 cubes of sugar.  In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the recommended daily allowance of sugar to be reduced from 50g to 25 g, or from 10 to five cubes a day.  So just ONE can of Coke is more than the recommended daily allowance.

Experts warn that soft drinks contain sugar but have no nutritional value whatsoever, and Mr. Prior said that he found it hard to eat as much food because the Coke left him feeling full at lunch and dinner.  Experts also warn that soft drinks are fueling the obesity epidemic and, consequently, other serious diseases including cancer, heart disease and stroke.

New York assemblyman, Karim Camara has called for sugar-laden beverages to carry warning labels similar to those found on cigarette packets, he said that soft drinks "are the new smoking".

The general public often doesn't realize just how much sugar they consume as most of it is in a liquid form.  Soft drinks and fruit juices are basically just liquid sugar and should be consumed in moderation.  Children should not be allowed these types of drinks even though most parents deem juices to be "healthy", when really they are just flavored sugar.

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

Can the sun keep you slim?

Scientists believe that going out in the sunshine could help keep our weight down.  They have found that moderate exposure to UV rays helps release a key protein, nitric oxide, which slows the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

It turns out that the skin releases nitric oxide after exposure to sunlight and that this protein plays a key role in the metabolism.

The experiments were carried out at Edinburgh and Southampton Universities.  Dr. Richard Weller, senior lecturer in dermatology at Edinburgh University, said:

"Studies such as this are helping us to understand how the sun can be good for us."

His team worked with scientists at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia.  They found that overfed mice exposed to UV light slowed their weight gain.  The mice showed fewer of the warning signs linked to type 2 diabetes, such as abnormal glucose levels and resistance to insulin.

Nitric Oxide plays a role in the way we digest and process food and sugar, potentially preventing harmful metabolic conditions like diabetes.

However, the scientists have warned that as the findings are in mice, they might not precisely translate into humans and insist that more studies are needed to confirm whether sunshine exposure has the same effect on weight gain and diabetes in humans, especially considering that mice are nocturnal creatures covered in fur and not usually exposed to high levels of sunlight.

The good news is that previous studies in humans have shown that nitric oxide can lower blood pressure, and these new findings add to already acquired evidence that supports the health benefits of moderate exposure to the sun.

Professor David Ray, Manchester University, said:

"This is an important study which shows that lifestyle factors beyond diet can help prevent weight gain and diabetes.

"These findings support the idea that a healthy lifestyle should include time outside in the sunshine, not only for exercise, but also to benefit from sunlight on the skin."

Dr. Colin Michie of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, added:

"This paper raises critical questions for us humans - are the effects the same in our children and ourselves, and, if so, can they be applied to prevent obestiy, treat metabolic syndrome and save vast amounts of pharmacological treatment?"

We can only hope so at this stage and hope that they will be able to carry out trials in humans.

Although the sun gets a lot of bad press because of high numbers of skin cancer, if you are careful and don't spend too much time baking in strong sunlight, there are a lot of health benefits associated with moderate exposure to sunlight.  It is also needed for the production of vitamin D - essential for healthy bones and general health.

The easiest way for children to have strong bones is to play outside in the fresh air and sunshine.  Impact sports such as brisk walking, running, skipping, jumping, and even dancing keep bones healthy and strong at all ages - especially when done outside.

So, get up and go outside - your body will thank you for it!


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

Just how dangerous are Diet Sodas?

Lots of us, and I mean lots - including me, drink diet sodas on a daily basis.  They are something that have been marketed as a way to help you in your quest to lose weight, maintain your healthy weight or as something diabetics can enjoy or a way to avoid the vast amount of sugar found in regular sodas.

But the truth about diet sodas is far uglier than companies such as Coca Cola or Pepsi Co would want us to know.  Aspartame, the chemical that gives diet soda and other goods their sweet taste, is also called NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure.  It was originally discovered by James Schlatter, a chemist at G.D. Searle Company who was testing an anti-ulcer drug but discovered aspartame instead.  It was first approved for use in dry goods in 1974, but Dr. John W. Olney, a neuroscience researcher and a consumer attorney James Turner filed objections in August 1974 and subsequent investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices caused the FDA to postpone approval of aspartame in December 1974.  However, it was finally approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated drinks in 1983.  Then in 1985 Monsanto bought G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Over the years, it has been found that aspartame accounts for over 75% of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA.  Many of these adverse reactions are actually extremely serious, including seizures and even death.  A report has documented 90 different symptoms caused by aspartame, such as:

• Headaches/ migraines
• Dizziness
• Seizures
• Nausea
• Numbness
• Muscle Spasms
• Weight GAIN
• Rashes
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Tachycardia
• Insomnia
• Vision Problems
• Hearing Loss
• Heart Palpitations
• Breathing Difficulties
• Anxiety Attacks
• Slurred Speech
• Loss of Taste
• Tinnitus
• Vertigo
• Memory Loss
• Joint Pain

But, unfortunately, that's not all.  Researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, say that certain chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by taking aspartame, these are:

• Brain Tumors
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Epilepsy
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Parkinson's Disease
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Mental Retardation
• Lymphoma
• Birth Defects
• Fibromyalgia
• DIABETES
• Systemic Lupus

Why is aspartame so dangerous?

When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 27ºC, the wood alcohol en aspartame converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis.  Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants.  The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.

Systemic Lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers.  The victim usually does not know that the aspartame is the culprit.  He or she continues to drink it, irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition.  In the case of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear and many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.

The good news is that symptoms from aspartame poisoning including: spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplained depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision or memory loss are reversible.

All you have to do is eliminate diet sodas and other forms of aspartame from your diet.  Diet soda is not a diet product. Diet sodas are a chemically altered, multiple sodium (salt) and aspartame containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates.  It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight than lose it.

These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs, formaldehyde is a toxin and is used primarily to preserve tissue specimens.

Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic when take without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance.  Especially diabetics, the aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage.  Aspartame consumption causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well.  Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet.  Children are especially susceptible to neurological disorders and should never be given artificial sweeteners.

A lot of the problem, as always, is political.  Monsanto funds, among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians.  This was recently exposed in the New York Times.  These organizations can not criticize any additives or convey their link to Monsanto because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products.

Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require warnings on labels of

products containing aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants.  The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral symptoms.  The bill was "killed".  It is known that powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for this - as always. 

As I have stated in many of my posts, the only way to truly look after your body is to eat as naturally as possible and to avoid all processed and chemically enhanced food products.  I admit, I have been an avid Diet Coke drinker for years, in fact it made up a large part of my daily beverage intake.  But, since reading up on the dangers of aspartame I have eliminated it from my life - for good.

Having information like this means that you can make an informed decision as to what goes into your body, and knowing the effects those product might have on your health.  There is no greater power than information.

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