Cheers!

Ok, I don't drink... nothing wrong with that, many people do drink moderately - a nice glass of wine, or two...

Anyway, thing is I often say to people, "Of course you can have a glass of red wine with your lunch," and invariably they answer,

"What about white wine, can I have that?"

So let's talk about wine and the difference between red and white...

Wine is, as we all know, basically fermented grape juice but the difference as to the color depends on whether the grape juice is fermented with or without the seeds and skins.

White wine is made from grapes where the skin and seeds have been removed prior to pressing and fermenting.

Red wine is made from grapes, skins, seeds and stalks, all chucked in together and pressed - or
trampled and them fermented.  It is the pigment in the skin of the grapes that gives red wine its color, and it is also where the antioxidant resveratrol is found which gives red wine a "healthier" label... or does it?

A nutritional comparison of 1 glass of red or white wine would look something like this (depending on the wine):

As you can see, red wine has a very slight edge over white due to its slightly higher vitamin and mineral content (I have listed just a few, wines also contain vitamin B6, manganese, riboflavin, etc..)

Why you should drink red wine:

Resveratrol, found in the skin of grapes, has been heralded as a superfood for its anti-inflammatory

and antioxidant activity.  We still need more testing to be done, but so far it has been found to help with:

Alzheimer's Disease:  Resveratrol seems to stop the formation of beta-amyloid, these are particles that play a key part in plaque formation in the brain that are a present in Alzheimer's Disease.

Cancer prevention:  the jury is still out on this one, but it is thought that resveratrol may help in the prevention and treatment of some cancers.

Anti-aging:  Resveratrol's antioxidant activity activates genes that prevent disease due to aging.

Joint Pain:  Resverarol's protective anti-inflammatory activity means that cartilage is protected and doesn't damage so easily.

HDL:  HDL or good cholesterol because of its heart protective properties is linked to lower rates of heart disease.  It was found that adults who drank 1-2 glasses of red wine daily increased their HDL levels between 11-16% in a four week period compared to those who just drank water or water with a grape extract.  Therefore, it is believed that drinking red wine has a protective effect on the cardiovascular system and has been linked to a 30% lower risk of dying from heart disease.

However, this information does not mean you can drink as much as you like with the excuse of how healthy it is!!!  it is important to limit the amount of wine (or any alcohol) you drink, 1 glass a day is enough to reap the benefits.

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

How your skin reacts to foods

Our skin is the biggest organ in the human body, it acts as a protective barrier that separates the organism from the surrounding environment, protecting it and contributing to keep it's structures intact, all while acting as a communication system with the environment.

Our skin is also affected by the way we treat ourselves... too much sun can be harmful, but not enough can too.  Smoking and drinking too much are known causes of early aging and we have all been told by the cosmetic manufacturers that we really need to look after our skin and use expensive creams to achieve a youthful aspect.

Back in January of this year, I wrote a post on feeding your skin, and how to help from the inside out, but here's a little bit of information on how daily foods can affect the aspect of our skin.  So let's start off with my personal favorite!

Sugar.

I actually am in the process of seeing how long I can go for without refined sugar.  I LOVE anything sweet and I am incapable of eating a small square or two of chocolate.  If I open the packet, the whole lot is likely to disappear.  But on 31st May this year I decided to switch to a low carb - high fat diet and it is amazing the difference it has made to my skin.

Sugar causes lines and wrinkles on the upper forehead, saggy skin under the eyes, blemishes and

large pustular or cystic acne which is widespread over the face as opposed to concentrated in certain areas.  It can also cause a gaunt appearance with thinning of the skin, and an unhealthy pasty white hue complexion.

This is because sugar leads to glycation, a process where excess glucose molecules cling to your collagen and distort it and make it stiff.  It is amazing what quitting or even reducing sugar can do for your skin, and you will literally see the difference in a matter of days to a couple of weeks.  A client of mine had terrible acne, for a totally different reason she decided to break her addiction to ice cream.  What she didn't expect was to get a vast improvement to her skin.

Dairy.

I'm putting this after sugar as the two have a lot in common... lactose is the sugar in milk so the two are strongly related (this is why the client I mentioned above got such an improvement on giving up ice cream... no sugar, no dairy... win win).  As we age our bodies find it increasingly hard to digest lactose, so even if you believe you have never had a problem with dairy, you might just find it's affecting you now.  Being unable to digest lactose is due to a loss of enzymes which leads to inflammation throughout your body, including your face which may appear tired and red.

Dairy can produce dark circles and/or bags under the eyes, swollen eyelids, widespread acne and other blemishes, spots concentrated on the chin and pale cheeks.  We do not NEED dairy produce in our diets, but if you can't live without it then keep it below 5% of your diet.

Wine.

Sorry!  Yes, wine is good for us in many ways, especially where antioxidants are concerned.  However it does have a few negative effects as well, such as oral health problems.  And yes, it can also affect your skin.  This is because wine has a very high sugar content (all alcohol does), there is also a potential pesticide and sulphite problem, but wine also causes dehydration.  So don't forget to moderate the wine and keep up the water intake at the same time, other wise you skin will become ruddy, saggy and wrinkly.

Wine and dehydration lead to pronounced lines or blemishes between the eyebrows and droopy eyelids.  The fine skin under the eyes becomes lined and wrinkled.  The dehydration causes feathery lines on the cheeks, a reddish skin tone, deep folds from the nose to the mouth and enlarged pores.

Gluten.

Yes, I know, gluten-free diets are all the rage at the moment, but please, if you don't recognize these symptoms in your skin and you aren't celiac or gluten intolerant then YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP GLUTEN.

Some people who may not realize they have a problem with gluten might recognize some of the symptoms here; blemishes on the forehead and puffy cheeks and jowls and an all round bloated appearance to the face.  Redness and/or red spots on the cheeks and blemishes or darkened areas on the chin.  If this is you then it would be a good idea to quit gluten for 3 months and see how you feel and look.  If you like, after that initial 3 month period you could try reintroducing gluten and see if it affects you.  Do this little by little.  Try a piece of bread, for example and then wait for 4 days to see if you notice anything out of the ordinary, gas, headache, skin breakout.

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

Science and food... what the evidence says

I spend every day reading clinical studies on different foods and how they affect our health - or help it.  And I totally understand that people are genuinely confused as to what you CAN eat without worrying about the negative effects those foods can have on your weight and health.  Heck, I'm confused most of the time too!

We are constantly bombarded, day in and day out by the "health" industry and the food industry telling us that sugar is fine one day and then saying it needs taxing the next (I agree with this last point and one day I might just write a book about that one!), if low fat is heart healthy and then saying that low fat is heart dangerous... or high carb is fine for weight loss... oh no wait a minute... no it isn't!  Aren't you confused?

I hope my blog goes a long way to helping you understand what is right for you and what isn't.  I do try and base my information on scientific findings, but even those can be misleading.  The success of a clinical study depends on 3 factors; the number of participants involved, the duration of the study and the interpretation of the results.  Small studies with short durations give quick results that may not extend to a wider population and could change over time - for example.  Quite often the press pick up on once phrase and the whole thing goes viral without actually reading the entire study.  So most should be considered in their entirety before making conclusions.

However, there are some foods out there that have bad press which needs to be reassessed.  I wrote recently about how good avocados are for you and coffee has had a negative image for years.  Chocolate has been considered the devil since the beginning of time and wine was usually struck off in any weight loss plan.  We have been told for years that eggs raise cholesterol and therefore are a risk to heart health, and nuts are so fattening you shouldn't even be in the same room with them - same goes for pickles!

So, as I am not one for bashing anyone or anything over the head without proof... here's mine...

EGGS

I love eggs.  Considered one of the purest forms of protein, also considered to raise cholesterol and study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eggs can help your body better absorb other vegetables' nutrients - more importantly it is the fat in the yolk that creates this better absorption.  So, add an egg to your favorite vegetable dishes. make you fat as the yolk is supposedly pure fat.  Truth is, the egg as a whole is packed with fat, protein, loads of vitamins and minerales and is very low in carbs.  They could also help you to absorb other nutrients more efficiently.  According to a new

PICKLES

Fermented foods are fashionable at the moment and for good reason.  They are extremely good for your gut health, and if your gut isn't healthy then you really are going to have problems - even in your mental health!  The Leiden Institute of Brain and Cognition has carried out an albeit small study with only 40 participants, which found that the participants who consumed probiotics for four weeks, spent less time dwelling on bad past experiences or negative feelings.

Fermented foods are packed with probiotics which could also help reduce social anxiety.  700 college students were surveyed on their eating and exercise habits and their personalities.  The scientists that carried out the survey discovered that those who described themselves as anxious had better social behavior if they ate probiotics.

NUTS

Wonderful and healthful nuts, packed with healthy fats, fiber and vitamins but feared for their high caloric value.  However, fear not!  Maastricht University discovered that people who ate about 10g of nuts every day had a 23% reduced risk of dying from heart attacks, diabetes, respiratory failure, and cancer, compared to people who ate less.  However, eating more than 10g a day did not increase the protective benefits so there is no need to go crazy and eat huge amounts.  Just remember to keep them raw and avoid peanuts!

AVOCADOS

Another one of my favorites!  Now to add to all those benefits is the avocado's LDL (bad cholesterol) lowering properties, making it heart healthy - or so new research published in the Journal of American Heart Association.  Another small study and funded by Hass Avocado Board and including only 45 participants so could be considered questionable on all levels... but it does shed light on the positive effect of the healthy fat found in avocados on cholesterol... Seeing as there is no reason NOT to eat avocados, this just adds to the positives.

Professor Paul Spagnuolo from the University of Waterloo has found that a lipid in avocados attacks leukemia stem cells directly without harming other healthy cells.  Obviously this would be a major breakthrough in cancer research but the drug is still a long way from being approved for use in human cancer patients.

CHOCOLATE

The never ending chocolate debate.  Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants which can't be bad, right?  Just keep it in moderation.  Although a study at Columbia University and NYU found that participants who ate a lot of chocolate - 100g of cocoa powder which contains 100mg of flavanols - got higher scores on memory tests than those who ate a little.  This means that chocolate is actually good for your brain.  However, to get that much from regular chocolate means you would have to consume 44 pounds a day and I really don't think your waistline would appreciate it even if you were capable.

Chocolate can also be considered good for you heart, or simply not bad for it.  A study in the British Medical Journal states that eating up to 100g of chocolate a day is linked to lowered heart disease and stroke risk.  But it could just mean that people with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease eat less chocolate than those who don't.

COFFEE

Can't live without it, but you think you should cut back because of the caffeine?  However, one thing all scientists seem to agree on is that drinking coffee isn't harmful at all.  In fact, a review of 40 different on the link between coffee and different kinds of cancer found that coffee consumption is inversely linked to the risk of various different types of cancer including breast, pancreas, bladder, prostate and throat.  The American Heart Association research has shown that higher levels of coffee consumption means a lower risk of stroke.  Also another study from Kyoto University discovered a reduced risk of death from heart disease in participants who had at least one cup a day.

Another study from the University of Texas shows that a few cups a day (2-3) could help lower the risk of erectile dysfunction.  This, they believe, is due to the fact that caffeine helps relax muscles and arteries, improving blood flow to the area in question.

WINE

Specifically red.  Full of an antioxidant called resveratrol, red wine is believed to be heart healthy and maybe even gut healthy due to it's fermentation and now, thanks to a study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, it may even improve weight loss too.  Red wine in mice has been found to help them metabolize fat and sugar more efficiently - however we will have to wait and see if it has the same results in humans.

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