Why am I constantly tired? Is this normal?
Does the idea of springing out of bed in the mornings and breezing through your day seem like something you outgrew when you hit your teens? Or do you look back and wonder when you stopped feeling that way and started putting constant tiredness and lack of energy down to age?
As we hit our 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, many of us despair at the vague signs of ageing that creep in over time. Whether it’s a few grey hairs, thinner hair or a noticeable difficulty in retaining the same shape we had in our 20s, we generally figure out that it’s a sign of us approaching a new life stage and needing to consider the way we look after our bodies to slow the process down!
Energy is one of those things, that we can easily pass off as something you just have less of as you get a little older. But hang on, isn’t our 40s meant to be the new 30s and our 50s the new 40s? Aren’t we supposed to be glowing with vitality and self confidence as we celebrate more years of wisdom and getting more in tune with what we need in life?
Would it surprise you to know, that being tired all the time, having big energy slumps throughout the day and lacking in energy isn’t something we should consider as normal?
Here’s the thing about energy – it is one of the many signs that your body gives out about how much stress your systems are under. The problem with accepting constant tiredness and low energy as normal, is that we miss the chance to sit up and take notice, potentially avoiding years of misery and ill health later on.
WHAT YOUR TIREDNESS AND LOW ENERGY MAY BE TRYING TO TELL YOU:
Well, this should come as no surprise, but you’re not getting enough rest! (Duh.)
Excessive screen time, going through traumatic life events or trying to please everyone at your own cost may be causing overstimulation and stress
That you could potentially have high amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone) rushing around more often than is good for you, and that this could be also preventing you from sleeping well
That stress and anxiety is taking a toll not only on your mind but your hormones, digestion and essentially everything your body needs energy to do
Your body is struggling to cope with high sugar foods and over time this could increase your risk for insulin resistance, weight gain and diabetes
There might be foods in your diet that are creating inflammation in your body
You might not have the ideal conditions to digest your food properly or get the nutrients from it
You may need some emotional or mental health support
Your diet might be lacking in vital nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fats, carbohydrates and proteins), or you have an increased requirement for some nutrients compared to the average person
You may be frequently dehydrated
Other toxins and stimulants may be putting your body under stress
That your female hormones may be out of balance and are interacting with high cortisol levels
You might have underlying undiagnosed conditions
A WORD ON ADRENAL HEALTH
What is adrenal health? Your adrenal glands sit just on top of your kidneys. They help along with your kidneys to control your blood pressure, but their main role is to produce cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline. Adrenaline helps to keep you alive – we need it in little sharp bursts to maintain balance in some of our body systems (such as our heart rate) and it is useful for spurring us on to react immediately to danger.
But, in our modern world, where threats can involve the idea of being late to work or school, someone cutting in front of you on the road, the sudden realisation that we’ve forgotten a friend’s birthday, or someone making an unkind comment on a social media post, we experience the state of fight and flight far too often. We are not fleeing tigers every day, but our adrenals think we are! For this we can thank the oldest part of the brain, the amygdala which evolved when we would have been escaping mortal danger quite often (but not on a daily school run).
So every time we get that threat trigger, our brain tells our adrenals to pump out adrenaline and over time we end up with more circulating cortisol too. Cortisol then prevents us from sleeping well because we can only make the sleep hormone melatonin when we are not making cortisol. Over time, our adrenals will get more and more tired and that’s when you notice the tiredness and low energy getting increasingly worse.
If this goes on unchecked for a long time, we eventually might reach a phase of burnout. It might be incredibly hard to get up in the mornings. Little events may trigger strong emotional reactions, even having no control over bursting into tears in public. We might be quite to lose our temper, overreacting and then feeling terribly guilty afterwards multiple times a day.
For some people, when this burnout continues to spiral, they reach a point of not being able to feel joy, to care about their jobs, even to be able to react quickly to genuinely dangerous situations. It might feel like brain fog, or it might just be a sense of not being able to feel anything. This can make life very difficult as we start to lose our ability to function, engage in life and nurture relationships with loved ones.
This last stage happens because our adrenals have lost the ability to respond quickly, or our receptors for cortisol and adrenaline have been overworked. Either way, you can recover from this state and you can start to feel more “normal” again.
So much to figure out! But don’t panic – you don’t need to know everything and fix everything in one go. The last thing you need is more overwhelm!
HERE ARE SOME STEPS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS CAUSING YOUR LOW ENERGY AND SUPPORT RECOVERY:
SEE YOUR GP – If you have unexplained fatigue or low energy, especially if you also have unexplained weight loss, unexplained bleeding or heavy periods, it is worth a visit to your GP for them to investigate any possible medical causes. It’s always best to get this done soon and put your mind at rest
START A BEDTIME ROUTINE – Taking steps to get your body and mind into a restful state for sleep in the hours before bed can help to improve the quality of your sleep. Think about how you might reduce screen time in the last 1-2 hours, having a comfortable uncluttered space to sleep in that’s not too warm, including some relaxing activities such as a nice bath, drinking a relaxing tea, gentle yoga, meditation, breathing or reading can all help
ASK FOR HELP OR SUPPORT – It can help to talk how you’re feeling through with a supportive relative or friend, and if you need mental or emotional support, you could consider who you might be able to reach out to locally or online too. Feeling supported and cared for can really help, but equally somebody could help you to plot out aspects of your lifestyle that might need some tweaking and to set out a realistic plan of action to start reducing the stress on your mind and body
MAKE SOME GRADUAL IMPROVEMENTS TO YOUR DIET AND WATER INTAKE – You don’t need to attempt to fix everything in one go, but moving towards a diet higher in fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, plenty of water and if you eat it, dairy, meat and fish could be a long term project. You can read more about supporting a healthy body in my blogs about weight gain during COVID and healthy diets for busy mums. You will find that reducing your sugar intake, eating good quality proteins and carbohydrates, along with sufficient water will help to make a big difference. A health coach or nutritional therapist may help you work on this by providing a personalised meal plan that works for you, and potentially identifying some of the other causes of your low energy.
CONSIDER SAFE SUPPLEMENTS – If your diet needs some improvement, or you are already eating well and still don’t feel great, you could try a good quality multivitamin for a few weeks. Speaking to a trusted manufacturer of high quality supplements could help. Some of us can unknowingly have a higher need for iron, vitamin D, vitamin A, B vitamins, magnesium or a variety of other nutrients. But it’s best to speak to your doctor and potentially a qualified nutritionist or nutritional therapist if you are considering having anything more than a typical multivitamin and mineral product.
INCLUDE SOME MOVEMENT EACH DAY – Depending on your fitness level, this could be as simple as gentle or brisk walks, a few stretches throughout the day, some cardio activity such as high intensity interval training (short sharp bursts) or an exercise class. Even housework and gardening can count! Moving helps to support your circulation, can help your immunity, detoxification and digestion. When any of these functions aren’t running optimally, they can affect your energy levels. Moderate activity can also boost your happy brain chemicals so you feel more upbeat afterwards too. The best exercise is one that you can safely enjoy – if it’s so much fun that it doesn’t feel like “hard work”, you’re more likely to want to keep doing it!
ASSESS YOUR STRESS LEVELS – We all know that life can be stressful, but it can start to snowball if we don’t have a few self care measures in place to keep it from getting too much. What we perceive as stress is really our response to situations, circumstances and events that we may not have full control over. Being aware of how stressed and overwhelmed you might feel can be an indicator of the need to take breaks, get help, say no to requests that put too much pressure on you, and start to notice what tends to trigger you. You can use all the strategies covered in the steps above to start to dial down your default ways of responding to stress. This isn’t to say that you will not have emotional responses to upsetting events and even little moments from day to day. The key is to notice those emotions and acknowledge them, without having high expectations of yourself to stuff them down and push on with your day.
EXPECT YOUR RECOVERY TO TAKE A WHILE – Although you may notice quick improvements with better food choices and some of the other steps, it’s difficult to know how quickly you can build your energy back up. You are unique and the causes of your low energy are likely to be different from other people, depending on what’s going on in your life. Giving yourself a high expectation of suddenly having a new spring in your step is another added pressure as we’ve covered above. Making changes will take time too – you can pace yourself and find manageable ways of creating healthier habits, and the more time you give yourself to get used to one or two at a time, the more likely they are to stick. If you have had adrenal fatigue for example, whereby your adrenals have been put under stress by (guess what?) stress, then most people find it takes a few months to start to really clear the fog and feel better.
If you’re a mum with young children or are a carer, you may have interruptions to your sleep and circumstances which provide an added challenge with keeping your energy in balance. The same strategies above can help though, and it’s important that you have support and are able to exercise self care regularly.
As the saying goes, put your oxygen mask on first.
If you need help identifying the causes of your low energy and feeling tired all the time, you can book in for a free consultation here.
Confused About Nutritionists and Dieticians? Here’s What You Need to Know
You’ve made the decision that you are ready to seek some support in improving your diet, and you’ve started the search for the person that is just right for you. The options that come up are a bit baffling…. nutritionist, nutritional therapist, dietician, health coach….. the list goes on. How do you tell the difference? Read on for a quick guide on what’s what.
First, let’s talk about Dieticians
Dieticians will often appear in the top search results and the interesting thing about these specialists is that in many cases, they aren’t necessarily your go-to for general help with your diet. Why? Because dieticians are the only nutritional specialists in the UK permitted to prescribe medication (think insulin, thyroid medicines etc) and to supervise patients with specific diets for serious medical conditions.
Dieticians therefore are often critical members of the medical team for patients within the NHS. What they do is a precious resource, and as such it is on offer to people only if they meet certain medical criteria. There are private dieticians and they offer vital services which provide other options for people in need of their expertise. But, for the majority of people seeking help to relieve symptoms aggravated by diet, or weight loss support, other nutrition specialists are often better to tap into.
Often people know roughly what they should be eating, but need personalised advice, coaching, or perhaps a greater understanding about what is preventing them from feeling better. There are plenty of different therapies and coaching programmes available for us to take ownership of our own health, but broadly speaking, what do they all do?
Nutritionists
At the time of writing this blog, anyone could legally call themselves a nutritionist. This may sound a little out there, but ‘nutritionist’ is currently not a protected or regulated title. So, the range of skills and training between nutritionists can be varied. However, nutritionists can have bachelors and masters degrees in nutrition which guarantee high levels of training. So don’t discount them yet!
Generally, nutritionists that have studied diplomas and degrees will look at health and nutrition through the eye of science-based-medicine. All their training will be based on what is scientifically proven, tried and tested. Any nutritional recommendations they make should therefore be based on what the best quality science available tells us is reliable and safe for clients.
Nutritionists work in a vast range of industries, ranging from health clinics and private practices to food production, technology, supplements, functional testing and more. You may have even spoken to one when you’ve made an enquiry about a product!
How do you know if a private nutritionist is adequately trained and has your best interests and safety as a priority? Be curious about what accreditations they have – are they registered with at least one? Are the organisations they are registered with credible and a true authority? How do their members stay accountable and do they have CPD (continued professional development) requirements and a strict code of conduct?
A Word About What Nutritionists Should Not Do….
Unless also having the appropriate medical qualifications, nutritionists are healthcare professionals, but they are not medical professionals. This means that they are not allowed to make claims that they can use nutrition to diagnose, treat or cure medical conditions. If you listen and read what they say carefully, you should hear talk of supporting health and promoting wellbeing. If anyone claims their methods can treat or cure an illness, they are providing misleading information and could offer advice that is unsafe or poorly researched. Avoid!
What Do Nutritional Therapists Do?
You might have come across nutritionists that you later discover are registered nutritional therapists. More people have heard of a nutritionist than a nutritional therapist, so it’s just a way of keeping things simple so you find what you’re looking for. Nutritional therapists must have studied as a minimum a diploma or degree, so they will have studied for at least three years, with many of their study requirements being at degree level.
Based on the concept that our bodies are designed to stay healthy with the right nutrition and environment, nutritional therapists help their clients to achieve optimal health. They enable people to support good health and prevent illness, instead of only reacting when we get ill. Nutritional therapists work alongside conventional medicine, rather than as an alternative. Whether you want to stay healthy or have a diagnosed medical condition, nutritional therapy can support you.
This is All Very Interesting, But Why Would Anyone Choose to Pay for Nutritional Therapy?
Often people only seek advice and support when pain and other symptoms become unbearable, or when the constraints of the health system leave them wanting to take proactive action and take back control of their health.
Certain life stages (think conception, pregnancy, menopause etc), health events or diagnoses can lead to someone wanting to eat more of the foods that help them to stay healthy and less of the foods that cause harm and aggravate symptoms. But one man’s (or woman) meat is another man’s poison – nutrition is highly individual. Genetics, upbringing, previous health, birth, childhood, life experiences and our environment can all leave us responding very differently to foods and having higher or lower requirements for different nutrients.
So, nutritional therapists provide a very tailored and personalised solution just for you. Investing in their expertise opens up the following to you as a client:
Meeting you where you are in your life, as a complex and unique individual, with compassion, care and non-judgement.
Assessing your health holistically, looking at all the parts of your body, emotional state and mind as interconnected and identifying underlying causes of symptoms.
While a doctor’s appointment is limited to a few minutes, you spend a great deal more time with a nutritional therapist. They will give you a very thorough comprehensive health assessment and delve deep into what could be underlying ill health.
Most nutritional therapists support you to make gradual manageable changes rather than strict rigid diets, helping you to create enjoyable healthy habits that stick.
Many provide meal plans, recipes or meal suggestions, with easy changes that fit in with busy family life.
Nutritional therapists can write letters on your behalf to take to your GP. This takes all the stress out of trying to explain to your doctor in a short few minutes the symptoms that need investigating. They also can advise on private tests, order the tests and interpret the results.
It’s Quite an Investment to See a Nutritional Therapist – Is it Really Worth it?
If you’ve ever looked up “how much does a nutritional therapist cost?” or “how much does a nutritionist cost?” and looked no further, you’re not alone! There are however a few things to consider about the value that a good nutritional therapy programme will add to your life so hang in there and find out more:
You only see the time that you are in the consultations and the time that you are in contact by email or phone but there’s so much more they do! Imagine your nutritional therapist as you would a good PA. Most of what they do is done behind the scenes. Before they’ve even seen you for your first appointment you can bet that they’ve already poured over your health questionnaire, done research that is highly specific to you, and possibly even picked the brains (not literally, ewwww!) of industry experts. Between appointments, they will spend more hours going over your case, more research, finding the best foods and supplements for you and leaving nothing to chance.
They can order tests for you that you cannot order without going through a practitioner. This may sound like an annoying barrier to getting those test results but for good reason. These private tests can provide information that you cannot get as standard with the NHS, and they can give you answers that you otherwise would never know about what is triggering unwelcome symptoms. But, if you’ve ever looked at one of the reports that comes back, it will look like a different language. Knowing what to do with those results is where your nutritional therapist can add value and give you answers. In most cases they will spend time speaking with the labs and test specialists getting very personalised advice for you.
Seeing a nutritional therapist can help you to completely transform your health and wellbeing. This transformation will last you a lifetime – it can help you to have better health as you age, allow you to stay more active, more engaged with life, enjoy time more with loved ones, it could even mean that you have more active years in a career that you enjoy. If you’ve ever had to take time off work for illness, you will know how important it is to stay fit and well, keep progressing in your career and have the health to enjoy your leisure time.
If you have kids, giving them a healthy foundation will set them up for success for life. It’s never too late to start instilling more healthy habits with your children!
Nutritional therapists also provide coaching – they are your accountability buddy, checking in with you, motivating you, helping you to break down those mental barriers to making those changes that stick.
How Do You Know Which Nutritional Therapist to Work With?
Look for a Registered Nutritional Therapist or a Registered Nutritionist with at least a diploma or degree in nutritional therapy, nutrition, nutrition science or similar. Most therapists will be registered with either BANT, CNHC or ANP. You can find qualified and accredited therapists at these sites, amongst others: Bant (British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine), Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council and the ANP (Association of Naturopathic Practitioners).
What About Health Coaches?
Health coaches have a particular skillset that works particularly well with certain health goals. If you have uncomplicated health issues and want someone to coach you to make diet and lifestyle changes that guarantee results, a health coach can be perfect. They have trained to use coaching skills to motivate, provide accountability and keep their clients on track, which for some people can be exactly what they need. They are not trained to investigate health issues or deal with complex conditions and illnesses in the same way that nutritional therapists are, which is why you would often choose one or the other depending on your own needs.
Want to find out more? Why not book a free 30-minute, no-obligation consultation.
What is the Best Diet for Busy Mums?
Have you tried every diet you can imagine and been cycling ‘on’ and ‘off’ diets for years? Not much fun, is it? When we all set out as independent adults, I can bet that most of us didn’t dream of being in the constant pursuit of the perfect diet. Or of the amount of money and time spent on products and programmes to shed a few pounds.
At the time of writing, we are living in a kind of limbo land between lockdown and “the new normal”. With a whole variety of completely mixed and natural reactions to the situation, many women have either found themselves eating in “emergency mode”, seeking out ways to eat more healthily to stay well or anything in between. Every different approach is perfectly understandable.
But, as a little weight gain has been hard to avoid for many, it’s also natural to be starting to wonder what to do now! Mums often ask me what the best diet is, so let’s dive in and find out.
Firstly, there tend to be two different uses of the word diet, and the distinction is important. In nutrition science, the word diet simply refers to typical intake of different foods for any person or group of people. This could be a cultural or geographical diet, or it could be influenced by health requirements or a preference for a particular style of eating.
The word diet as we tend to think of it more commonly, is associated with a very set and controlled way of eating. It could be designed with the aim of losing weight, gaining weight, changing body composition or for a particular health issue. Many of these diets may indeed lead to meeting a goal, but dieting this way often has some setbacks:
In many cases, diets make it impossible for people to eat their favourite meals and treats
The whole mindset of being “on a diet” immediately leaves us feeling that we are missing out. As soon as you put restrictions in and use words such as ‘can’t’ or ‘not allowed’, it is natural for us to rebel against these new rules imposed on us and start looking for loopholes to get some freedom back
Products designed to replace food, or our favourite treats are often artificial, lacking in nutrients and potentially more harmful than the food they replace
These products can be expensive and potentially dangerous
Socialising and eating out can become more difficult, more stressful and the joy of meeting up with loved ones is overshadowed by worrying about the food
Preparing for another diet can involve a lot of time planning, shopping for different food products and trying to get your head around the rules.
In susceptible individuals, dieting can encourage disordered eating behaviours and contribute to mental illness
Many diets are unrealistic, overly restrictive, bland and hard to keep up for several weeks or months
Every time we “fail” or fall off the wagon, our motivation and confidence take a real knocking
This often results in a rebound effect where all self-control goes out of the window, and we’re back to square one!
It’s also worth considering that fat has a few very important jobs to do. One of them is to store toxins, walling them off so that they can’t wreak havoc elsewhere in the body. So if we release a lot of fat from our cells very suddenly, we often end up with the “detox effect” and it’s not pretty!
Symptoms may range between headaches, mild or severe cold or flu-like symptoms, skin breakouts, mood swings, anxiety and agitation. Did anyone else experience the delightful halitosis effect in the early noughties, courtesy of Dr Atkins?
WHAT CAN I DO INSTEAD?
Firstly, it’s worth bearing in mind that as a grown adult, you have the right to decide what is right for you, and that intentionally or unintentionally, you create your own reality. If you allow other people’s rules to dictate how you eat, the value of your self-worth, and whether you are getting it “right” or “wrong”, then you’re letting these beliefs and rules put limitations on your way of living.
Is there a better way? Absolutely!
First, let’s work on your WHY. If you have been dieting to look better, to be accepted by other people or because somebody else has told you to, these reasons all suggest that you may need to take some time to work on your self-worth. No matter what you have been led to believe in your life, you deserve to enjoy life with confidence, be comfortable being you and surrounded by people that love you and make you feel great.
If you feel that you are lacking any of these really important aspects in your life, it may be worth exploring how you feel about your life as it currently is and what you could do to make it better. If you despair at the thought of this, know that feeling better is achievable but it is likely that it will be a slow process with lots of baby steps.
There are plenty of options open to you to help you on your way to making these changes. Confiding in someone you can trust is a great start – it’s important that you don’t work on this completely on your own. Finding a good counsellor or therapist may help you to gradually make sense of your situation and empower you to start speaking assertively and be kinder to yourself. A journal can help you to put your thoughts and feelings onto paper and get some clarity.
Using self-care to remind yourself that you do matter is really important. Whether that involves meditation, gentle exercise, getting more sleep, some pampering or just taking time away to do something that you really enjoy – it’s completely up to you. As you start to do more for yourself, you will start to feel more confidence as you are reinforcing your self-worth. And getting some time out is pretty good for you too!
Now back to that WHY. If you have a lot of weight to lose or are battling with chronic pain or an illness aggravated by lifestyle and diet, losing weight is of course a way of relieving your discomfort and supporting your health. And we will talk about the HOW shortly. But first, let’s think about what contributed to your weight gain in the first place. There could be so many reasons. Some are medical and may have been very difficult to prevent, for example taking certain medication or health issues, such as an underactive thyroid.
Whether the weight gain was unavoidable, or happened because of certain life events or your upbringing, in any case you are likely to benefit from some support. Getting your mindset working for you rather than against you, setting yourself up for success is vital. Having the self-belief that you can achieve your goals and that you deserve to feel great is more important than any diet programme.
Have you ever wondered why “healthy” people consistently make good food choices? It is likely that these are some of the reasons:
They have connected healthy natural foods with feeling better, and know which foods make them feel worse
They see the bigger picture – that overall a healthy diet will support their health and give them a better future
If they weren’t always healthy, at some point in their life they have decided to repeatedly choose healthier food options until it became habit
Does that sound boring? You may be surprised that the healthy option isn’t all about rabbit food and weird-flavoured “super foods”. Far from it! Food should be tasty, something we enjoy eating with our loved ones and get excited about cooking. And a healthy diet isn’t necessarily about a treat free, fun free carousel of samey meals either.
SO, BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION: WHAT IS THE BEST DIET?
If you set aside the discussion over finding a good reason to eat well, let’s for a moment consider what a good diet actually does for us. With the right balance of different types of food, we can aim to get enough carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. We need all of these to function, stay healthy, fit, alive and have children. While some fad diets may come and go, one diet that often ranks highly for meeting all the above requirements for Europeans is the traditional Mediterranean diet.
You may associate the Mediterranean diet with heaps of pasta, pizza and four course lunches, which might necessitate a little lie down after. But that’s not the traditional form of the diet! We are looking at the way of eating that worked well for hundreds of years, before food was mass produced and shipped across continents. Traditionally, food was grown and sourced locally, in season, and not processed in factories. It would have consisted of a large quantity and variety of plant foods, lots of brightly coloured fruits and veg, some whole grains, good fats and small amounts of fish, meat and dairy.
OK, so we don’t all live in places where we can easily source all of our food locally and in season. Supermarkets will continue to be a very convenient way of providing food, and the fact that they offer foods which do not grow locally does offer a benefit, because it does allow us to have more variety. But, we can aim for a middle road, one between following the principles of the Traditional Mediterranean Diet and having a realistic diet that still allows us to enjoy everything in moderation.
Moving away from measuring everything, calorie counting and relying on packaged foods that promise some kind of dietary benefit, convenience, or both, is a start. Using the nine steps below, will help you to gradually improve your eating habits, without making eating for a healthy weight something that controls your life and steals your joy.
HOW TO HAVE A HEALTHY DIET FOR LIFE
1. Make Changes Gradually – Forget “the diet starts tomorrow” trend, it’s so last decade! Every diet that uses this approach sets you up to fail. You don’t have to overhaul your kitchen in one go. Start with one small change, pick any from the steps below and get used to it. Take your time and be really proud of every single change that you manage to make stick. You’ve got this.
2. Drink Lots of Water – Keep hydrated, as much as possible with water rather than fizzy or sweet drinks. Even the sugar free drinks wreak havoc with your blood sugar balance. It may take time to retrain your taste buds, but they will get used to it! Teas and coffees count, just add an extra glass for each cup of coffee and try to keep to 1-3 caffeinated drinks a day max.
3. Limit Alcohol – OK, don’t stop reading just yet - I said limit, not cut out! Reducing the frequency and amount of alcoholic drinks you have each week can do wonders for your health, ideally at least 4-5 days alcohol free a week is a good goal to build up to.
4. Choose Complex Carbohydrates – These are your sources of energy, and they release more slowly into your bloodstream than simple carbohydrates. So less of the simple carbs such as refined sugar, white bread, pasta, rice etc and more wholegrain bread and pasta, oats, brown rice. You could try swapping sweet potato in for white potato and explore other whole grains such as quinoa, spelt, rye and buckwheat
5. Eat Plenty of Fruit and Veg – We’re told to aim for 5 a day, but many people don’t manage 5. If you can increase to 5, work your way up to 7! Eat the rainbow with lots of different colours, use fruit and veg as snacks too and work towards filling half your plate with veg. You can do it!
6. Have Protein with Every Meal and Snack – Protein will stop you from feeling peckish all the time, plus you need it for immunity, recovery from injury, your skin, even to think clearly! Go for fresh, minimally processed forms such as meats, eggs, good quality dairy, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils.
7. Use Good Quality Fats – Fat is not the enemy, if you eat the right types! Include some oily fish each week if you like it, then use good quality olive, nut and coconut oils, nuts and seeds. And some good quality butter and natural yogurt is pretty good, and don’t stress over eggs – they’re full of protein, vitamins and minerals.
8. Minimise Processed Food – This is the trick that nearly all diets miss – if you fill your plate with the right nutrients, you never need to calorie count or find diet products. By making most of your food come from the categories above, you will eat more real food and less of the stuff that’s full of sugar, additives and things on the ingredients list that are impossible to pronounce.
9. Have Treats Occasionally – It’s all about moderation. Sometimes the homemade all butter brownie, is better than any diet imitation than you can buy from the shop. It’s no wonder people give up on the synthetic, lacking in flavour, low-nutrient diet products and end up gorging on what they really want! Go for quality and really savour your treats rather than eating them whilst distracted. You can also find recipes to try making your own healthier versions of your favourite treats, such as with coconut nectar, pure maple syrup or dates.
If you work to the principals above, you can start to fine tune what you are eating, one small change at a time. Be realistic about how quickly you can make changes, but also know that you can achieve your goals if you work towards them consistently.
Got any questions? Feel free to book onto one of my free phone consultations.
Stay well x
Why do I Keep Getting Ill?
Every season seems to bring some particularly persistent bugs – flu and flu-like viruses that keep coming in waves, chest and throat infections, nasty sickness and tummy bugs. Even with a well-balanced diet, and seemingly doing all the right things to stay well, even the healthiest of individuals can be knocked off their feet!
Why do I keep getting sick?
Sure, you might get caught up in a bit of indulgence from time to time, including more alcohol consumption than normal. But it can be really frustrating to find yourself going down with yet another bug and getting sick every other week when you’ve barely recovered from the last one. What could be going on?
It helps to understand a bit about how the immune system works
You have numerous lines of defence all working in concert to protect you from getting ill. We produce a few different types of proteins called immunoglobulins and each type has a different job to do. Some of these, called Immunoglobulin A (IgA) are dispersed in bodily fluids such as your saliva and tears. IgA provides a first line of defence, potentially killing off anything unfamiliar that it comes into contact with, preventing it from going any further into the body.
IgE is better known for allergic reactions and potentially parasitic infections, while IgG is released in response to many of the foods you eat. However, IgG has a modulating effect, meaning that it’s presence doesn’t necessarily indicate an intolerance, IgG is there to help keep your immune system in check and to curb excessive immune reactions.
Then you have a whole host of different types of white blood cells. Some of these act quickly without having any specific knowledge of the material or organisms (living things such as viruses) that they are attacking.
Other white blood cells have a memory of a particular protein pattern (an antigen) found on the surface of a particular microbe or food molecule and will always start an immune reaction or an inflammatory cascade whenever they detect that same antigen in your system. This is the mechanism associated with auto-immunity, when your immune system sees protein patterns in something unfamiliar which are similar to protein patterns in some of your own body tissues and therefore your immune system will start to attack tissues such as joints, blood cells, or your digestive tract.
What to consider when your immunity is low
Certain foods or physical states will work to unbalance your immune system, triggering inflammation and keeping it busy so that when a bug comes along, you don’t have the reserves available to fight it. The following can overstimulate or suppress immunity:
Alcohol
You may notice that if you have a head cold, your runny nose stops for a while when you have consumed alcohol. This is because in the short term it turns part of your immune system off which may seem pretty convenient (please don’t drink alcohol to reduce your cold symptoms!) but whilst your immunity is suppressed, infective agents can actually take more of a foothold in your system, delaying how long it takes you to shake off illness.
Sugar
Spikes in blood sugar can in part trigger an inflammatory effect in your body. So if you are consuming lots of it or quite frequently, you will be in an inflammatory state more often. You need inflammation to repair injuries and to fight infections, but if inflammation is also happening excessively in response to what you eat, your defences will be depleted and ineffective when you need them.
Inflammatory foods
While some people seem to have stomachs of steel and can tolerate every food under the sun, many people may be sensitive to the inflammatory effects of some foods. There is a long list of qualities in foods that may trigger an immune response in susceptible individuals. Proteins can be a big trigger if they are picked up by the immune system, for example in milk, nuts, egg or gluten. Compounds such as lectins, oxalates, salicylates or histamine may also be involved. In conditions such as eczema, asthma, acne and polycystic ovarian syndrome, certain inflammatory fats can worsen symptoms, meanwhile distracting your immune system from protecting you from infections.
Inadequate nutrition
For example lacking or having an increased requirement for dietary nutrients needed to support immune function such as protein, vitamin C, zinc, magnesium and B vitamins. Often people on a restrictive diet or consuming more processed foods and less whole natural foods can fall short of many vitamins, minerals, good fats, protein or even simply adequate energy!
Dehydration
Water is needed to help release energy needed for all the hundreds of chemical reactions that are constantly occurring in your body. These include transporting vitamins and minerals to the organs and tissues that need them for repair, creating more immune cells and so on. You also need water to flush unwanted materials (including bacteria and viruses) out of your body.
Exercise
When you exercise, it is normal to have some inflammation to encourage repair of muscles. And rest after exercise is when the magic happens, we repair and build muscle tissue. But excessive exercise with inadequate rest can impair immunity and contribute to susceptibility to colds.
Cortisol
The stress hormone. You need cortisol to get you up and going in the morning, it also stimulates your thymus gland which helps regulate your immunity. If you don’t have a good cortisol spike in the morning, people with autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and Hashimotos (autoimmune hypothyroidism) can struggle with relapses or flare ups of their conditions. Chronic high cortisol caused by prolonged stress can have various effects on the body including:
An imbalance in hormones such as male and female sex hormones
Inability to produce the morning cortisol spike (as above) and dysregulation that may result in being tired but wired or lacking energy and poor cognitive function.
Impaired immunity
On this subject, low stress tolerance, unaddressed grief, trauma, depression, anxiety and a lack of relaxation or rest can all take a toll on your cortisol regulation and your immunity.
What to do to improve your immunity
I covered lots of nutritional steps that you can incorporate to support your immune system in earlier blogs about surviving the festive excesses and bouncing back from a stomach bug. So now I will go a little deeper into some of the lifestyle factors that may be hindering your ability to fend off seasonal bugs.
My Top 5 lifestyle tips to support immunity
1. Consider your alcohol and added sugar intake – it’s especially important to avoid alcohol when you are fighting an active infection or illness. But because alcohol and refined sugar are inflammatory, you may benefit by limiting the regularity and the quantity of them and replacing them with whole nutritious foods, plenty of water and calming herbal teas. If this seems like a difficult transition, try making one change at a time, give yourself time to adjust but remind yourself regularly why your body will thank you for them later!
2. Prioritise sleep – there is always so much to do and it may feel as though you will miss out on things by using more hours in the day to sleep. But not only will you get more out of your waking hours if you feel more rested, but you will also be helping your immune system to do it’s job, giving your hormones a chance to rebalance and helping to stabilise your appetite. You may even find that without giving it much thought, you make healthier food choices too!
3. Support your mental health – being aware of your state of mind and taking steps to address issues such as perceived stress, anxiety, overwhelm or depression is important and can seem difficult. It may be hard to know where to even start. Considering your workload and whether you can delegate, ask for help or whether some of your tasks are worth your time at all may help to reduce some of the load. Talking to friends and family or reaching out to a support network, doctor, therapist or mental health charity such as Mind may be a big step for you. YOU matter and people will always want to know how they can help.
4. Mindfulness and meditation – following on from above, many people find that they benefit from either of these. Learning to quieten the mental chatter, while also acknowledging thoughts that occur without judgement can not only help to lower anxiety levels but can also enhance your concentration, focus and memory. There are apps such as Calm and Headspace that you can try, many useful books, plus mindfulness and meditation courses that you can attend locally.
5. When you are ill, rest! How many times have you powered through a cold, only to feel ten times worse when you get to the weekend or a holiday? It’s not always easy to take time off and if you have children to look after or a job with lots of responsibility, you may feel like you have no choice but to carry on. But consider whether you have any options available – could family or friends lend a hand with the children so that you can catch up on some sleep? Is there a parent at your children’s school who would be happy to help with the school runs? Could your partner take over with making dinner or getting groceries in so that you can snuggle up on the sofa when you get home from work? Perhaps you could work from home? But if you really are fending off a nasty bug, the best thing to do is to take some time off, with luck you’ll bounce back quicker!
If you are persistently ill and would like help with getting your immunity and gut health back up to par or your energy back, get in touch at info@victoriabellnutrition.co.uk or call 07873 121616.
How to Survive Festive Excesses
No doubt you’re familiar with the situation: you’ve promised yourself that you’ll drink less/eat less/have more self-control this time, whether it’s one meal, night out or even the whole month of December!
But then things don’t go quite to plan – you were distracted and the nibbles were so moreish that you have no idea how many you tucked into. Someone has been topping up your drink and as a result you drank way more than you planned to! Or maybe you had the best intentions, you got to the party, meal or went to the kitchen for an evening snack and as if some switch went off in your head you suddenly thought “I’m going to make the most of this!”.
We’ve all fallen into traps like these, it’s so easily done. But to then feel like we’ve failed in some way or be self-critical of ourselves for being human takes away from what otherwise might have been quite an enjoyable time. Having less of an all or nothing approach to food can be a way of changing our mindset so that we don’t feel the need to go all out when we’ve let ourselves “off” for any given duration. This is something that I will explore in future blogs.
In this blog, let’s look at some ways to mitigate against the festive overindulgence so that you don’t end up feeling so much worse for it in the New Year! Firstly, you can take some steps to curb your intake of food or alcohol.
5 Ways to Prevent Overindulgence
1. Have a snack an hour or so before you go out. A good quality snack with some protein and possibly fibre too, will take the edge off your hunger so that you are not ravenous when food comes within sniffing distance! Good choices include nuts, fruit such as an apple, berries or banana, vegetable sticks, houmous, a small green smoothie with some added protein powder, oat cakes, a boiled egg, or some fish such as smoked salmon.
2. If you’re at a meal and there are vegetables available, aim to fill at least half the plate with them.
3. Drink plenty of water before you go out because we often mistake dehydration for hunger. Drinking glasses of water alongside your alcoholic drinks and before you go to bed will also help you to keep hydrated.
4. If you’re drinking spirits, ask for singles rather than doubles. If you’re drinking wine, go with smaller glasses as overall you are likely to drink less.
5. Slow down your eating. Really try to taste and enjoy your food and as much as possible be present in the moment so that you are mindful of what you are eating. You may find that by doing this, less is more satisfying and you won’t look down at an empty plate with no recall of eating the food on it! The second way to mitigate against overindulgence is to support your body’s natural processes of detoxifying and eliminating toxins. Not being able to safely get rid of the waste products from our food, especially alcohol, can also put a stress on our immune system which is why we often get under the weather after a few heavy nights or too much sugar.
10 Ways to Support Detox and Immunity through the Festive Season
1. Leafy greens - full of nutrients and antioxidants to support digestion and detoxification. Great cooked or try a fresh green smoothie or juice. Cruciferous vegetables are especially useful to increase the level of detoxification enzymes and protect the liver from damage. Try rocket, pak choi, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, horseradish, kale, radishes, spring greens, swede, turnips, watercress and wasabi. Eat cooked rather than raw if you have thyroid issues. Broccoli sprouts and broccoli sprout extract are known to be especially potent.
2. Rehydrate – it’s probably no surprise that increasing your water intake will help you feel better. If you need some inspiration, check out my guest blog with Backstobasics Osteopathy about creative ways to increase your water intake.
3. Good fats – All of the following help to normalise liver enzyme levels and prevent fat storage: Omega 3 essential fats help to reduce inflammation, find in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring. If you aren’t keen on fish, you can try a good quality fish oil supplement or a vegan source such as algae-based Omega
4. Nuts provide other good fats and vitamin E. Olive oil – as little as 1 teaspoon per day has been found to have a beneficial effect. Antioxidants – found in many everyday foods, these help to neutralise harmful free radicals, protect cells, improve liver detoxification enzyme levels and lower inflammation. Great choices include grapes, grape juice, coffee, black tea, green tea, beetroot juice, blueberries, cranberries and dark chocolate.
5. Foods containing Zinc – because overindulgence can give your immune system more work to do, it is likely to power through more zinc. Animal foods sources tend to be higher, especially shellfish, oysters, pork beef and chicken. If you are vegetarian try firm tofu, lentils, pumpkin seeds, yogurt, shiitake mushrooms and oats.
6. Vitamin C Rich Foods – vitamin C is a natural antioxidant so it is vital for immunity and supporting liver detoxification. Stock up on these great sources: kiwi fruit, guava, red peppers, blackberries, strawberries, oranges, broccoli, papaya, kale and tomatoes.
7. Citrus – as well as being a great source of vitamin C, lemon and water has long been known to support your liver and is great as your first drink of the day. Grapefruit contains antioxidants naringenin and naringin, known to reduce inflammation and protect cells.
8. Eggs – the yolks contain lecithin and choline, which is essential for your liver to break down and remove fat from the body. Choline is also needed for an antioxidant called glutathione. If you’re vegan, get plenty of quinoa, soybeans, peanuts, tofu and broccoli to get your choline.
9. Dandelion – a bitter herb which supports healthy digestion and is rich in vit A, C, D and B complex, iron, potassium and zinc. Try drinking the tea, dandelion coffee or dandelion greens.
10. Fibre helps to support healthy digestion and removal of waste products. Avocados, fennel, artichoke and onions are especially good for aiding detoxification. Apples contain pectin which helps to remove food additives and metals.
Would you like some expert advice for your team in the form of a nutrition talk in your workplace? You can find out more by contacting me at info@victoriabellnutrition.co.uk.
What is Vitamin D Deficiency?
Do you struggle more and more with your immunity or your moods as the winter goes on? Do you feel your best when the sun is shining and you’re getting lots of natural daylight? Have you been told that Vitamin D might help?
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is actually a hormone, and like vitamins is vital for our health and survival. Also like some vitamins, the body cannot produce it without consuming in the diet and from natural sunlight. Our skin absorbs UV-B sunlight, creating a prohormone which is then converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or Vitamin D3. The amount of Vitamin D you absorb and convert from daylight depends on tiny proteins called Vitamin D Receptors (VDRs).
What Does Vitamin D Do?
It may be best known for supporting immunity, but Vitamin D also:
Ensures calcium is absorbed to be stored in the bones, preventing fracture risk and osteoporosis
Is needed for muscle contraction and strength
Supports healthy lungs
Manages blood pressure and therefore protects the heart and arteries
Is involved in regulating kidney function
Contributes to stable moods
Plays a part in appetite control and weight management
Supports brain health and cognitive function
How do You Know if You are Vitamin D Deficient?
Symptoms can be vague, hard to pinpoint and overlap with symptoms of many other deficiencies and causes. Typical symptoms might include:
Tiredness
Muscle aches or weakness
Reduced endurance
Bone pain
Frequent respiratory illnesses
Frequent infections
Low moods and depression
Irritability
Infertility
Psoriasis
High blood pressure
Testing for Vitamin D levels is a standard blood test that your GP can request for you. Many surgeries have a nurse who can take the blood test there for your convenience. While serum 25 Hydroxyvitamin D under 50 nmol/L may be considered to be deficient, the optimal level is over 75 nmol/L.
What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency?
Some groups are considered to be at increased risk of deficiency, including:
People with darker skin
The elderly living in residential care
Those who are institutionalised
People who cover up most of their skin or spend little time outdoors
There is another cause for chronic vitamin D deficiency which involves a group of individuals who have a genetic alteration to the VDR gene. For these people, their DNA isn’t as efficient in instructing the body to produce Vitamin D Receptors compared to someone who doesn’t have the alteration. With less VDRs, less Vitamin D can be absorbed and converted.
A genetic test can identify whether you have this genetic alteration (also knows as a mutation or polymorphism). Some DNA profiles available in the UK test for genetics that we can reliably associate with potential health outcomes or dietary requirements. For some people identifying this VDR polymorphism can equip them to start a discussion with their doctor about whether they have an increased requirement for Vitamin D compared to the average person.
Identifying the optimal dosage for that individual can involve a process of trial and error until the right dosage is reached. In this case a doctor may prescribe an especially high dosage for a few weeks or months if the serum Vitamin D level is really low. These individuals often need to take a higher dosage of Vitamin D than a person without an increased need and may benefit from supplementing all year round.
Getting Vitamin D Through Food
We can consume some Vitamin D produced by other animals in the form of oily fish, cod liver oil, beef liver, egg yolks and cheese. Some foods are fortified with Vitamin D such as some dairy alternative milks, but if you are dairy free it is worth checking the label to make sure that they are fortified. Some mushrooms also contain a little Vitamin D. But these foods only contain small amounts and even if you are including plenty of animal-based foods in your diet it is unlikely that this will meet your daily needs.
Sunlight and Vitamin D
Natural daylight is by far the best way to meet your needs for Vitamin D during the spring and summer. It is recommended to get at least 20 minutes of light exposure on your skin, so doing so before the peak hours of sun before applying sun cream is recommended. Exposing arms and legs also helps absorb more Vitamin D. During most of the autumn and winter, the sunlight isn’t strong enough to provide enough Vitamin D for the average person. The NHS recommends that everyone considers supplementing with Vitamin D between October and March. Here’s more information about what the NHS recommends for Vitamin D deficiency.
Types of Supplements
According to the NHS, 10 micrograms which is equivalent to 800 IU (International Units) is adequate for non-risk groups. Many supplements are likely to come in 1000 IU doses which is still well within the safe range for individuals without an increased requirement.
Vitamin D can be found in many multivitamin supplements. If using a multivitamin, it is worth checking whether the dose is at least 10 micrograms or 800 IU to make sure you meet your daily requirement. You can also buy Vitamin D as a supplement on its own, or in formulas designed to support bone health. Including Vitamin K2 with the Vitamin D can also be beneficial. Capsule form suits some individuals, while some may find spray or drop forms are more easily absorbed.
Ensuring that children have adequate Vitamin D intake is also very important, especially for infants. See the NHS’s guidance on what is best for young children. Children’s Vitamin D can also come in a variety of formulations, including jellies, drops and sprays.
Tracking Your Vitamin D
It can take a while to feel the benefit of improving your Vitamin D levels. Retesting after a few weeks if you have previously been deficient can help to ensure that your level is within the optimal range. You can also ask your doctor to test your Vitamin D levels if you know at certain times of year you might be at risk of deficiency or you recognise familiar symptoms arising. Being aware of your requirement and how to make sure you are getting enough will help you to feel better in yourself in the long-run.
If you would like advice on how nutritional therapy can support your immunity, contact me at info@victoriabellnutrition.co.uk
How to Bounce Back from a Stomach Bug
It’s that time of year – we’ve all got so much to look forward to over the next few weeks and then we hear that a dreaded sickness bug has hit at work, school, or worse, within the family. There’s too much to do for you to be off your feet (or on the loo) for several days!
But by the time someone you’ve spent any time around becomes symptomatic, it’s probably too late – you’re either going to come down with it too, or you’ve struck lucky this time. The last thing anybody needs is to spend the next few weeks avoiding people due to a fear of becoming ill.
Anyone who has nursed one or more children through a particularly bad bout of sickness, or been through it themselves can relate to the anxiety that they can feel when the next wave of stomach bugs reportedly hits.
So, what can be done? First of all, it is good to understand what causes stomach bugs in the first place.
How Stomach Bugs Spread
The symptoms of a stomach bug and food poisoning can be quite similar and typically involve some or all, of the following:
Sickness
Nausea
Loss of appetite
Diarrhoea
Fever and chills
Abdominal pain and cramping
Muscle aches
Fatigue
Headaches
Dizziness
It’s really important to know when to seek medical advice, especially in children or with prolonged symptoms. See the NHS for advice on what to do.
Food poisoning most often involves harmful bacteria or parasites which have not been killed off by safe food preparation methods or food that has not been stored properly. Bacterial or parasitic gastrointestinal infections can be transmitted between people too, but most often a stomach bug is caused by a virus such as the norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus and astrovirus.
Viruses hijack our cells and use them to multiply and spread throughout the body. They can be spread by bodily fluids, therefore often by saliva or mucus being dispersed into the air or via commonly used surfaces such as door handles and shared towels. So coughing, sneezing and not washing hands properly are some of the biggest culprits of the spread!
What to do When Sickness and Diarrhoea Hits
Mostly importantly, staying at home and resting are best whilst you are unwell.
Seek medical advice as soon as possible if your symptoms are severe - as above, here’s the NHS’s advice on diarrhoa and vomiting.
If you feel dizzy or especially weak, see if someone can be at home with you.
Sip water regularly and if you have a prolonged period of sickness and diarrhoea, you could try naturally replacing fluids and lost electrolytes with coconut water.
It is no longer recommended to avoid all food – if you feel hungry you can try small amounts of bland foods if they will stay down. Good choices include bread, toast, bananas, rice, simple broths and soups.
Here are my Top 8 Tips to Support Your Recovery from Sickness and Diarrhoea
1. Take things slowly – if your digestion is still quite sensitive after the main symptoms have subsided, reintroduce foods slowly and stick to bland foods for a while until you feel better. Try little and often rather than large meals, unless you feel better by not eating too regularly. You may find that dairy doesn’t go down well for a while but don’t worry – keep it to a minimum for a little while then try and consume more when you feel better.
2. Use good quality foods to rebuild your strength – oat cakes or porridge oats can help, add water or an unsweetened dairy alternative if you are struggling temporarily with dairy. Small amounts of poultry, fish or eggs are good for protein, ripe fruits and wholegrain rice for carbohydrates. Include leafy greens for nutrients.
3. Try a homemade gut soothing drink – this recipe will help to replace electrolytes, calm the gut and soothe sore muscles: Cut 4-6 inches of ginger into thin slices and simmer in 1 litre of water for 15 minutes. Pour the liquid through a sieve into a jug and allow to cool. Add juice from 3 lemons, add to the water with half a teaspoon of sea salt. Have one to two cups per day, cold or gently warmed. Keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.
4. Try other non-caffeinated drinks such as peppermint, chamomile, lemon and ginger and lemon balm teas. Ideally drink warm or room temperature drinks to avoid giving your gut extra work to do.
5. Minimise sugars – you may find that you experience some bloating as your gut bacteria has a little field day whilst it is building back up. Sugars are likely to exacerbate the problem, so try to consume whole fruits and vegetables to get your energy, alongside good quality meats, fish and whole grains.
6. Repopulate your gut – with the effort of purging and evacuating the virus, your gut has most likely also flushed out some of your beneficial bacteria. So, once your digestion has settled a little, you may benefit from some beneficial bacteria-boosting foods such as live natural yogurt, kefir and sauerkraut. Taking a probiotic which is well tested for supporting immunity or more specifically recovering from gastric illnesses may also help.
7. Limit fatty foods – your digestion may have a difficult time dealing with these for a while. So use minimal fat in cooking, go for leaner meats, grill, bake or steam rather than frying.
8. Take activity carefully – when recovering, even walking across the room can feel like an effort! Start small with walking and some gentle stretches when you are ready. If you are a gym bunny or are used to endurance training, you may need to build up to it gradually. Exercise is a drain on your resources and if you are not well recovered, your immune system may continue to be vulnerable.
If you would like help with getting your energy back, or supporting your digestion and immunity, contact me at info@victoriabellnutrition.co.uk