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Spring
Cleanse
Spring is here; your body however may not have come
out of hibernation yet.
With a little help your body can be encouraged to
wake up full of vim and
vitality.
The body naturally wants to regenerate itself in the
Spring, the days are
longer, weather brightening up (we hope), and the
sluggish feeling is ready to
shed its skin; it may need a little help though; with
the right mix of foods,
nutrients and herbs the liver, kidneys and lymph will
re-awaken and
regardless of your age you will feel like frolicking
in the fields like a new born
lamb.
The liver for example has to clear waste and toxins
out of the body, as well
as metabolising food, keeping hormones in balance,
it plays a part in the
immune system, helps to control blood sugars and keeps
cholesterol levels down,
these vital functions will all happen assuming that
the liver is in good
health; after a long winter eating and drinking perhaps
more than we should at
Christmas or one too many chocolate eggs at Easter
our liver may not be
functioning as well as it could. Most of us could
really benefit from cleansing the
liver in the spring, conditions such as fatigue, weight
issues, headaches,
allergies, bad breath and depression can all be helped
by giving the liver a
spring cleanse.
So give your body a treat that will last for the whole
year. It is possible
to be full of positive energy all the year through,
if you look after the
body and give it the right raw materials for your
personal needs.
For a personal plan or if you would like more details,
please do just ask.
Tis the season to be sneezing...
Whilst some are feeling a spring in there step as a long,
cold, wet winter
draws to an end, others are approaching the warmer months
with dread and
foreboding. Why? Well I will tell you; Hay fever, this problematic
condition
ranges from a little snuffle in some, through to being virtually
bedridden in
others.
The good news is help is at hand.
Alternative treatments are often considerably more effective
than their
orthodox counterparts in the treatment of conditions such
as this.
Medical Nutrition, which is my speciality, deals with the
route cause of the
problem - namely why is your body reacting so badly to pollen.
Pollen has
been around for millennia, indeed so has Hay fever, however,
it appears to be
a recent phenomena that so many more people are suffering
from, than those
in bygone days. The main reason, I believe, for this is
that we are not as
healthy as our forbears; immune systems are weaker and therefore
they react to
foreign bodies such as pollen’s and food’s in
an undesirable way.
I have helped many people with Hay fever, they too are now
smiling and
leaping at the prospect of winter’s end and spring’s
beginning.
For a personal plan or if you would like more details, please
do just ask
Student Nutrition
Leaving home may be for many a daunting prospect, having to care 100% for oneself, doing your own washing, cleaning and cooking.
If there is one part of this which can be achieved easily and cheaply, whilst at the same time, if approached in the right way enjoyable, its cooking. This life skill is something which never needs to be a chore, if you look after your body with good nutritious food your body will reward you by looking good and performing well, no matter what else is going on in your life.
Nurturing yourself with good wholesome food is a way of saying ‘I am worth it’, and you are; everybody is worth it. There is nothing more enjoyable than the satisfaction of putting good food into your body.
Good food does not need to be expensive, good cooking does not need to take a long time, there are many things which can be prepared quickly between writing an essay and dashing out to meet friends. Not only will it give you greater energy, but it will also enhance your learning ability and reduce the chances of falling asleep during lectures (regardless of how the lecturer drones!).
I will be running Student Survival Cookery Courses this September which will give you all you need to stay healthy when away from home, and thus reducing the worry of your parents whilst you are away.
For more information, please click on courses
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Nettle Soup
This is a family favourite, my girls look forward
to the nettle picking
season every year and really enjoy the eating of the
soup as well.
Full of magnesium, iron and potassium this soup is
a great blood cleanser
and really gets the body up and running again after
a long winter.
Nature has been very clever in providing us with such
a wonderful source of
nourishment in the Spring when our bodies naturally
want to regenerate
themselves.
Nettles were in fact introduced to the UK by the Romans
as a vegetable -
they were so strong and healthy they took over nearly
the whole of Europe and
North Africa, must have been all that Magnesium giving
them energy! |
1/ Bag of nettle tops (top 4 inches) - April - May
- use rubber or gardening
gloves to pick
2/ Bag of wild garlic leaves
3/ Wash wild garlic leaves
4/ Put nettle tops in pan and pour boiling water
over - leave for 5 mins and drain.
5/ Soften large onion in pan with olive oil
6/ Add nettle tops and wild garlic leaves
7/ Pour over chicken, vegetable or bullion stock
8/ Add chopped peeled potatoes (this will thicken
the soup)
9/ Bring to boil and then simmer till cooked
10/ Blitz and add fresh ground black pepper
Serve and enjoy
Wild Garlic Pesto
4 large handfuls of Wild Garlic Leaves (in season
April)
1 bag of Hazelnuts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of 1 lemon
In a magi mix put the leaves and whiz until roughly
chopped.
Lightly toast the Hazelnuts in a pan, (heat the
pan, put in nuts, shake for
about 30 seconds, turn off heat and leave in pan)
Once nuts are toasted put in magi mix with leaves
and whiz until chopped
Pour over Olive Oil, about 1ž4 pint
Add lemon juice and a little black pepper.
Put into small glass jars, and cover the top with
some more olive oil.
Will keep for ages in fridge or freeze.
Use with brown rice, in soups, with pasta, in stews
and sauces.
When first made it has a very strong flavour, this
mellows in a day or so,
so delicious so nutritious, full of antibacterial/viral
properties, magnesium,
blood cleanser, immune booster. The leaves are also
good in salad.
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Men's Health Magazine - Parusha Lewis
Go from string bean to broad bean Read the MH Veggie’s guide to bulking up
Meat vs Plant protein. So you think muscle is all about meat-eating? Wrong. Carl Lewis, the Olympic champion was a vegan, Bill Pearl, four time Mr Universe and bodybuilder, and Stan Price, world-record holder in bench press were vegetarians too.
Daily needs
A strength athlete requires 1.6 –1.7g of protein/kg body weight and an endurance athlete requires 1.2 –1.4g of protein/kg body weight. So if you’re 90kg/14stone 17lbs you’ll only need 108g – 153g of protein a day, which is easily achievable through eating the correct vegetables and grains. “The world of plants is a wonderful thing, and can provide us with all our dietary requirements,” says Tara Holt, Holistic Medical Nutritionist at The Hale Clinic and The London Road Clinic, Sherborne.
Perfect protein
“To get a complete protein takes a little effort,” says Tara. “A complete protein is one that provides your body with essential amino acids in the right ratio to one another. Lentils, beans, brown rice or chickpeas on their own don’t provide this but if you put a combination of these on a plate, you will then have a complete protein.”
The pros and cons
“A diet too high in any protein can cause health problems as the body has to deal with the by-products and acidity of the protein,” says Tara. An excess of animal protein can cause many health problems (osteoporosis, kidney dysfunction, increased risk of heart attack and cancers) but a vegetarian diet may prevent many of these conditions. Plant proteins have no cholesterol or unsaturated fat and are high in vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and antioxidants). “Vegetarian food is easier to digest and provides fibre which keeps the digestive system moving well,” says Tara.
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