Nutrition Dude

Eat Less Or Exercise More?

Did you read the new research in the weekend papers about the US and Australian research projects on why we've all got so much fatter? 

Apparently the reason is definitely down to over eating. Our exercise levels have stayed more or less the same over the last 30 years, but we are eating much more high calorie foods. Just a few hundred extra calories a day will make a big difference in 365 days.

And it's not just the obvious culprits like fast food. A tuna and mayo sandwich from a well known coffee shop was found to contain 50% more calories than a cheeseburger from you know who!

So we don't need to rush off to the gym or find where we left our jogging shoes, we just need to choose healthier foods. If you have not already signed up to our Nutrition Nuggets you can follow this link and get some healthy eating ideas.

http://www.nationalnutritionclinic.com/free-report-and-cd.htm 

Warm regards

Graham

Graham Rowan

Practice Director

National Nutrition Clinic

www.NationalNutritionClinic.com   

At Last! Tighter Regulation For Nutrition Practitioners...

I'm delighted to tell you that, after years of procrastination and passing-the-parcel, we now have a new regulator looking after the nutritional industry.

Normally, I would not get excited about yet another layer of bureacracy being inflicted on our business - but this time it's different. We've spent years trying to differentiate our honours-degree qualified Nutritional Consultants from the guy in the gym who does a weekend course then positions himself as a 'nutrition expert'. Now the government is going to do it for us...  

On January 19th 2009 the The Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) came into being. This is the new government recognised regulatory body for complementary & alternative medicine (CAM), funded by the Department of Health (DoH).

All our Nutritional Consultants have completed degrees which meet the Core Curriculum and National Occupational Standards of the Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC). The NTC register of nutritional therapy practitioners is one of the first to come under the jurisdiction of CNHC. In time, other complementary and alternative therapies will join the CNHC.

The CNHC is the ONLY regulator & is recognised by the DoH, NHS & other service providers.

The good news for you is that ALL our Nutritional Consultants fully meet the regulatory criteria of the CNHC. Some are already registered and the others are well advanced in the process. You can rest assured that you are dealing with the highest qualified Nutritional Consultants in the UK, who meet and exceed the standards laid down by the new government regulator.

In its role as regulator the CNHC has been charged with putting in place:

The National Occupational Standards (NOS)

• A Core Curriculum (CC)
• The Code of Ethics
• A complaints procedure
• A process for public protection

Skills for Health is the name of the appointed Skills Council undertaking a review of the National Occupational Standards for several disciplines, including nutritional therapy.

National Nutrition Clinic and our practitioners are committed to meeting all of these standards as they emerge. We aim to be the leaders in our field, and very much hope that this new regulatory initiative will make your choice easier while rewarding our practitioners for the years of study and clinical practice that they undergo before ever offering nutritional advice to a patient.

Graham Rowan

Director, National Nutrition Clinic

Why You Need To Ditch the Crisps...

Why You Need To Ditch the Crisps

I know you are more interested in Christmas shopping than healthy eating just now, but I'm going to nag you anyway.

Do you pick up a packet of ready salted on your way into the office? Does the deli man come round with the big basket each morning and tempt you with some salt'n vinegar with your egg and cress on wholemeal? 

 

Smart move or not?   Not!   You are actually planning on filling yourself up and boosting your energy with a

cocktail of trans-fats, salt, in all probability some monosodium glutamate (MSG), sugar and interesting additives.

Trans-fat is an artery-clogging fat formed when vegetable oils are hydrogenated.  This converts a relatively healthy, unsaturated liquid fat into a solid one giving it a longer shelf life amongst other things (appealing to food manufacturers).  This ‘shortening’ provides the crispy texture.

 

Trans fat increases levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol while lowering levels of ‘good’ cholesterol, as well as providing a source of free radicals.  Excess salt is associated with raised blood pressure and fluid retention.  We also have the possibility of sugar (addictive, immune depressing), MSG (associated with a variety of symptoms from headaches to insomnia) and additives (where do we start?)   The carbohydrate content is quickly absorbed and the energy given quickly lost ….. is this really the type of snack you are looking for?

For a healthy, longer lasting energy boost try a 1 ounce mixture of natural nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, along with one or two pieces of dried fruit such as apricots, dates or figs. The protein, fibre and essential fats found in the nuts take longer to absorb and digest than fast-burning carbohydrate snacks, giving you fuel to burn.   The fruit will also provide you with some energy boosting carbohydrate and the whole mixture provides a cocktail of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that will feed your body systems rather than robbing valuable nutrients.   You will avoid any cholesterol and your hunger will be much more effectively satisfied.

 

Try it and see for yourself!

Allergy Show Stampede!

What a show! We are still recovering from three hectic days at the Allergy and Gluten Free Show at Olympia last week.

We saw over seven hundred visitors on our stand during the show, many of them allergy and food intolerance sufferers looking for practical help from our nutritional therapists.

Our new A5 brochure was well received - lots of people were kind enough to comment on its fresh, positive look and the breadth of services we now offer.

We will be writing to everyone who left us their details, with a CD of free reports and a special offer for a nutrition consultation.

If you missed the show but would like to receive the CD, please register on the home page at www.NationalNutritionClinic.com and you will also receive a Nutrition Nugget in your mailbox each day.

Warm regards

Graham

   

Now Do You Believe Us?

I've been  banging the drum for years about the obesity time bomb, but most doctors and politicians have had other priorities. Have a look at the main findings of these three reports and tell me there isn't a problem!

British adults are the most obese in Europe

The UK now has a higher rate of obesity than anywhere else in the EU. In the UK22.6 per cent of adults are obese, compared to just 12.9 per cent in Germany, 9.4 per cent in Franceand 8.5 per cent in Italy (Department of Health, Health Profile of England 2007,22 October 2007).

Obesity could cost £60 billion by 2050 A government report, published last year projected: ‘The NHS costs attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to double to £10 billion per year by 2050. The wider costs to society and business are estimated to reach £49.9 billion per year (at today’s prices)’ (Foresight, Tackling Obesities: Future Choices, 17 October 2007)

Obesity Rising.  Between 1995 and 2005, the proportion of men classified as obese rose by half to 23 per cent of the male population, and the proportion of women by 42 per cent to around 25 per cent of the female population.  Nearly one in five children is now classified as obese (Our Future Health Secured: A Review of NHS Funding and Performance,11 September 2007). 

If anyone you care about has a problem with their weight, please refer them to our updated Personal Weight Loss Programme. With a combination of extensive screening using the latest biodermal technology, followed by 16 weeks of 1:1 support from our degree qualified nutritional therapists, we can help them change their relationship with food forever. This is the link:

http://www.nationalnutritionclinic.com/personal-weight-loss-clinic.htm

Warm regards

Graham

Learn To Love Your Liver...

In her new report on Eating for Healthy Skin, our nutrition consultant Fiona Pike talks about the importance of looking after your liver:

"Everything that you eat, inhale, put on your skin and drink is, at some point, filtered by your liver. It is a key organ to address when trying to achieve healthy skin. It has many roles: it forms part of the immune system, has a role in hormone regulation, it plays a fundamental role in the conversion of your food into a form recognised by your body; it helps regulate your energy levels and emotions and yet we abuse it constantly.

Over indulgence of alcohol, fatty foods, sugary food and drinks, high stress levels and lack of exercise all take its toll on your liver. You can help your liver by having some alcohol free days; eating fresh, clean foods and ensuring that you are paying some attention to your stress levels! The liver can heal itself and will work very hard for a very long time - if you look after it! All skin conditions indicate that in some respect the liver is under strain."

If you would like to see the full report, you can subscribe at:

http://www.nationalnutritionclinic.com/skin-clinic.htm

Until next time

Warm regards

Graham

So Overweight People Are Just Greedy?

I'm the last person to be hung up on political correctness, but I just can't believe what I'm reading about Dr Hamish Meldrum, head of the British Medical Association. He believes that overweight and obese people do not need help from their GPs or from medication. They are just plain greedy, and need to eat less and exercise more.

Very helpful. Thank you for that breath-taking statement of the bl**ding obvious. I suppose alcholics are just too thirsty?

I'm sure many overweight people do eat too much. I'm sure they don't all do as much exercise as they should. But I also know that the numbers have escalated out of control in the last twenty years, while successive governments have done nothing of any substance to address the problem. There is a time-bomb of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardio vascular disease waiting to hit the NHS as a result of the obesity epidemic.

Surely we need every resource capable of helping to defuse this timebomb to be working together within some kind of co-ordinated framework? If the medical profession simply slopes its shoulders and says 'not our problem, mate', where can we expect this leadership and co-ordination to come from? Politicians? Don't hold your breath.

Maybe this is the 'killer' issue that can put nutrition at the heart of our approach to health, rather than the study of the food that we eat and its impact on our bodies being treated as some kind of 'complementary' side show to 'real' medicine.

End of rant.

Best wishes

Graham

www.NationalNutritionClinic.com      

2007 Beckons

How was your Christmas?

Did you manage to retain some sense of balance or was it an orgy of gorging and bingeing? Today is an alcohol free day as I start to plan some new stuff for the clinic in 2007. We have at last gone live with our e:commerce site so people can buy stuff stright from the site. I won't bore you with the technicalities of html, shopping carts and payment gateway integration - believe me it's been a trial but I think we're there.

I'm now hard at work on the next issue of Good Living, which is long overdue mainly because I've been working on the e:commerce site. Lots of new articles and stuff to share with you to get 2007 off to a good start on the wellbeing front.

Our big theme for 2007 is weight loss and weight management, with two new programmes launching in January. The Natural Plan for those who don't feel comfortable with medication, and the Platinum Plan which combines our doctors, nutritional therapists and food intolerance screeners all working together in what I think is a unique way to help our patients shed the flab.

What are you doing for New Year's Eve? We are off to a fabulous dinner dance in Weybridge with a brilliant band fronted by our neighbour's son. He plays keyboards and trumpet and the band covers everything from Motown to jazz via blues and soul.  

Big upheaval on the domestic front in January as we move to Richmond. We are downsizing from a 5 bed house to a 2 bed flat so there are some painful decisions to be made. Ever tried selling second hand furniture? You can't give it away these days. Even charities have got warehouses full of the stuff...

Whatever you are doing at New Year, enjoy it and keep reading as we bring more advice, tips and hints and new stuff to you in 2007.

Warmest best wishes for 2007.

Graham

   

52 Ways To Look & Feel Great - Part 2

OK folks, WImbledon and the World Cup are over, so stop watching TV and get back to focusing on looking and feeling great.

Here's the next 5 ideas - adopt one a week and in no time you will be a new person. Fitter on the inside and better looking on the outside. Try it, and let me know how you get on :

Warm regards

Graham

The Nutrition Dude

www.NationalNutritionClinic.com

6. Ensure you eat enough protein – amino acids are our building blocks – this doesn’t mean    upping meat intake – try introducing nuts and seeds and pulses and legumes such as lentils, beans and chickpeas for added fibre.

7. Raw foods contain energy giving enzymes and are packed with nutrients – cut up fresh vegetables and use in healthy dips such as houmous and guacamole.

8. Avocados are a rich source of vitamin E, a valuable antioxidant as well as essential fats and other nutrients such as iron.

9. Soft, fizzy drinks are high in phosphorous which creates an acidity in the body.  Calcium is leached from the bones to help neutralise this acidity, bringing a risk for bone density. Substitute high juice concentrates or fresh fruit juices diluted with fizzy water. 

10. Peppermint, fennel and liquorice teas can help with digestion.

52 Ways To Look And Feel Great...

With the summer holidays fast approaching, this may not be the best time to take on board new ideas on how to look and feel great by making small changes to what you eat. But what the hell, it's free information so why not take 2 minutes to have a look.

The idea is to try one change a week for the next 12 months. All 52 tips have been developed by our nutritional therapists into a tips booklet which will soon be available to our patients. So you can have a sneak preview her on the clinic blog. Enjoy!

We'll start with tips 1-5. More soon when you've actioned these.

1.      Drink plenty of water – 1.5 to 2 litres a day.  Water is needed for the health of every cell in the body and can help improve skin quality, bowel movement and the flushing out of toxins and waste products.                                                                         

2.      Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, minimum 5 portions a day.  They contain valuable minerals, vitamins and antioxidants to help build up the immune system and fight the effects of ageing, as well as fibre and water to aid digestion and elimination.

3.      Try and increase the range of coloured food – eat the colours of the rainbow every day (ie yellow pepper, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries etc) for free radical fighting antioxidant action. Eat as much variety as possible – the more different food sources, the more nutrients.  Also it helps the body avoid ‘food frequency’ problems where the same food is eaten over and over until the enzymes literally get tired out and allergies and intolerances may occur.

4.      Reduce your intake of saturated fats found in animal products (meat and dairy essentially) – these can have an inflammatory effect within the body.

5.      Increase your intake of essential fats (omega 3 and omega 6 fats) found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines and fresh nuts and seeds.  These fats are good for mood, brain capacity, hormone balance, skin, digestive health and much more ….

Warm regards

Graham

www.NationalNutritionClinic.com