Looks like summer is finally over and autumn is taking its grip. We often see quite a few neck related injuries around this time of year as people are only just changing into winter clothing and get caught out on cold nights and early mornings. We can also be outdoors for extended periods, watching the kids play sport and then of course there is Halloween and Guy Fawkes night.  A good idea is always to have a scarf handy to stop the neck muscles from getting cold, they are often the ones most exposed. Cold neck muscles can often result in a very stiff, painful neck. Equally we might still be sleeping with the window open and any draft over muscles will result in them tightening up.

It is often a time when I see an increase in sports related injuries in the clinic. Some of us are taking up sports again after a summer lay off, sprains and strains are common. During the warmth of the summer months there is less need to be properly warmed up as our muscles are already warm. As the temperature cools a proper warm up is essential to avoid injury. It is also important to be wearing the appropriate clothing…a sweat licking base layer is essential!

Warming up prepares the body for subsequent activity. It is often used as an injury prevention strategy and a way of developing sports performance. For the more serious athlete, it can be an effective use of time to focus on fundamental skills and movement patterns that lay the foundations for sports-specific performance.

15 to 20 mins is ideally the time we should put aside to warm up. This should start with a jog of approx 5 mins, fast enough to just break sweat. At this point depending on the activity a selection of stretches should be performed. Researched has showed that dynamic stretching is more effective than static as part of a warm up. Dynamic stretching is including a stretch as part of a continuous movement of the muscles being stretched. For example exaggerated repeated lunges, moving forward from one leg to the other dynamically, stretch most muscles of the lower extremity. For the sport you are about to perform think of the movements you will make and choose a series of exercises to dynamically stretch those muscles. Once these stretches have been performed 10 mins approx, it is a good idea to finish off with a few short sprints, between 6 and 10 over no more than 50 metres, increasing the pace on each one until the last is done at 90%.

I shall follow on from the Love your Liver theme. This month’s recipe is full of nutrients that will make your liver hug itself with joy. Beetroot and cabbage are amongst the long list of foods that your liver loves, so I thought what better time to share this wonderful Russian Borscht recipe with you.

Note: From start to finish, this recipe takes about 2hrs. Boiling the beetroots takes around an hr. I tend to boil them the day before and store them in their juice in the fridge.

Russian Borscht (beetroot soup)

Ingredients

Method:

Tip:  This soup tastes great fresh but it’s even better the day after!!! When cooled and stored properly, this soup will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Enjoy,

Kaysha Thomas

Toxins enter the body in many ways. Through the food and substances enter our digestive system, through our lungs, they’re even absorbed through our skin.

This quick self-test to help raise awareness of the impact some everyday activities have on the liver. For most, many of these activities form a part of everyday life. Take a look and see how often you may be unknowingly overloading your liver.

Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the following questions.

If you answered yes to more than 10 of these questions then your liver is likely to need some TLC. But do not despair; you have now identified the key areas where you should look to reduce your toxic load. You don’t need to go on a radical detoxification programme. Making small changes every day for life is the best way to improve your health long-term.

Please note: This test isn’t a diagnostic tool. If you are concerned about your health of your liver, it’s advisable to visit your GP in the first instance.

If you’d like more information on how to reduce your toxic load, email me at kaysha@zingnutrition.co.uk to arrange a call back.

Kaysha Thomas (Dip. IoN)

As the end of January is almost upon us, let’s take a moment to focus on an organ that some of us may take for granted every now and again. So much so, there is an entire month dedicated to pay homage to it. The organ I’m referring to is the liver. January is National Love your Liver month; where many of us embark on detoxes such as Dry January.

As our second largest organ in the body (after the skin) the liver takes care of us in more ways than we realise. We often associate the liver with detoxification and we’re right to do so. Every toxin that enters our body is processed by our liver. A lesser known fact is that our livers are responsible for over 500 vital functions. Amongst those are; carbohydrate metabolism, hormone metabolism, cholesterol metabolism and the storage of vitamins and minerals.

 

The liver doesn’t have any nerve endings, so we may not always be aware that it’s under strain. We can often experience symptoms that we don’t always realise relate to back the liver such as:

 

Below are 5 foods for a healthy liver:

Artichokes

Beetroot

Vegetables from the Brassica family (e.g. cabbage, sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower)

Garlic

Lemons / Limes

This list is by no means exhaustive, however,  it’s a good place to start!

For further information check out the Love your Liver website:

http://loveyourliver.org.uk/

Kaysha Thomas (Dip. IoN)

Our Nutritional Therapist Kaysha Thomas (Dip. IoN) offers nutritional consultations at the Lucerne Clinic 8am to 6pm on Saturdays. Call 07583 000 109 for a free 15 minute consultation and see how Nutritional Therapy can help you achieve your health goals.

What is Nutritional Therapy?

 

Nutritional Therapy applies the knowledge of nutritional science to promote optimum health and well-being. Nutritional Therapists, unlike dietitians, don’t simply treat symptoms: my holistic approach pinpoints the nutritional imbalances that are causing your ailments, and works to devise a nutrition plan to help you gain and maintain long-term health.

 

What can Nutritional Therapy help me with?

 

Assessing and making changes to your diet and overall nutrition can have a positive effect on all areas of your body. Your nutrition plan can be tailored, depending on your goals, to help you maintain optimum energy levels, boost your emotional and psychological wellbeing, improve the condition of your skin, hair and nails, increase your overall physical fitness and much more!

 

What happens in a Nutritional Therapy consultation?

 

I work on the basis that each person is unique. Consultations are tailored to your needs, tastes, level of motivation and lifestyle. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach doesn’t work when it comes to individual bodies and lifestyles, and I take time to get to know you and recommend a personalised plan of action.

 

Initial Consultation

 

An initial consultation takes 60 to 90 minutes. Here, I identify health goals and ailments which you’d like to address. I assess your general health, family health history, dietary habits and lifestyle. This allows me to create a personalised nutrition and lifestyle plan that helps you achieve your ultimate health goal.

 

Follow-Up

 

It’s recommended that you book a follow-up consultation 4-6 weeks after your Initial Consultation. By this time you will be seeing positive results. I monitor your progress and review your dietary and lifestyle plan. Together, we’ll continue to make adjustments and add new recommendations to keep you on track. If you have been sent for any tests, I would also incorporate their results in your new plan.

 

Special Introductory Offer: Receive a £10 M&S voucher with your Initial Nutritional Therapy consultation before 16th February 2014.

It was once claimed that girls who slept with a leek under their pillow on St David’s Day would see their future husband in their dreams. Thankfully, we have come a long way since then! Leeks are wonderfully versatile, flavoursome and of course packed full of lots of nutrients.  They belong to the same family of plants as onions and garlic but have a milder taste.

Health benefits

Leeks contain  a number of nutrients that are beneficial to our health. They provide excellent levels of vitamin K and vitamin A. They are also a great source of vitamin B6, copper, iron, folate (B9) and vitamin C, iron, magnesium, manganese, vitamin E, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

On top of all that, they also contain high amount of antioxidants in the form of polyphenols (protective against heart disease and cancer). And like the rest of the members of its family, the sulphur found in leeks aids detoxification.

Storage

Best stored in the fridge. Leeks generally keep for around 4-5 days, after that they start to lose their crunchiness.

Quick ways to cook

Prepare the leaks by removing the outer leaves and slice off roots and about two thirds of the green end. Rinse well. Thinly slice into rounds. Leeks taste great sautéed and added to stews and soups, stir-fries and omelettes.

Recipe: Chilli prawn sauce

This is a quick, easy and versatile sauce. You can substitute the prawns for chicken breasts or even use chickpeas or butter beans for a vegan option.

Ingredients

250g king prawns (uncooked gives the best flavour)

1 lemon or lime
1 medium leek
1 clove of garlic
1 red chilli (or a dash of chilli powder)
1 400g can of chopped tomatoes or a 500g of tomato passata
A handful of fresh parsley
1 courgette
1 yellow bell pepper (red, green or orange work fine too!)
250g box of chestnut mushrooms
A handful of frozen petit pois
1tbsp olive oil

Method:

 

Heart Disease is the biggest cause of premature death in the UK. Around 2.7 million people in the UK live with coronary heart disease.  Just over half of these people are under 75.

The term Heart Disease encompasses several types of conditions including; heart attacks, stroke and disturbance to your heart’s rhythm.  In most cases, Heart Disease is completely preventable. The earlier you can recognise the symptoms and minimise the risk factors, the easier it is to reverse.

Risks

Symptoms

And what about saturated fat?

A very interesting subject which really deserves a separate post. But in short, LDL cholesterol is made up of two sub particles. Saturated fats such as the ones we find in red meat, butter and eggs, have been shown to raise large LDL sub particles.  Recent evidence suggests that these particles don’t appear to cause damage to our arteries. Small LDL sub particles, however, do cause damage.  Levels of small LDL sub particles increase when we eat a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar.  Yes, we should limit the amount of saturated fats we eat,  but cutting them out and replacing them with low fat / high sugar alternatives will do you more harm than good. Hydrogenated should be avoided completely.

How to find out your hip to waist ratio

Heart friendly foods

Heart Protection Strategy

Heart Disease is responsible for nearly 74,000 deaths in the UK each year, that’s an average of 200 people each day.  Through good nutrition and healthy lifestyle changes, we can greatly reduce those numbers. Details of your blood cholesterol, triglyceride,  HbA1c and blood pressure can all be obtained as part of a regular GP  blood test and check-up.

Contributed by Kaysha Thomas  (Nutritional Therapist at Lucerne Clinic)

Resources

British Heart Foundation: http://www.bhf.org.uk

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: http://ajcn.nutrition.org

Health Defence 2nd Edition – Dr Paul Clayton