...and we like to write about how we can all achieve better health, naturally. Sometimes tips on how you can DIY to better health and sometimes on the therapies that can make a difference to you, your health and wellbeing. Thank you for reading, We hope you enjoy :)
Breakfast like a king lunch like peasant and dine like a pauper- you might have heard that before, but is it fact or is it fiction when it comes to helping you lose weight?
In some recent research carried out under study conditions, participants ate exactly what they were given, no more no less. It was done over a period of four weeks and they ate the same amount of calories, they all ate the same nutritional values and same balance of protein, fat and carbs. Some ate the bigger meals in the morning and some in the evening.
The results?
The results showed that there is no difference in how much weight people lost. So you may think that when you eat makes no difference. BUT that’s not true & the reason why was actually in the participant feedback rather than the study results. There was a significant difference that in the real world(so non study conditions)I think will make a major impact and that is that, consistently the people that were having the Big Breakfast in the morning and the light meals later on reported that they weren’t hungry as opposed to the other group where they were eating bigger meals at night were hungry on the exact same calorie controlled diet.
So in the real world what’s going to work?
If you’re going to feel hungry, you’re going to eat more. If you’re not going to feel hungry, you’re going to eat less. So maybe there’s something in it after all. I don’t think there’s any one magic bullet when it comes to weight loss, I think a lot of it is in our heads, how we think and feel. There’s a lot of what we eat that messes with our hormones & hormones are a massive thing on how body stores fat, how our bodies work and function so there’s not just one thing, it’s a multitude of things. If we add in one thing here and one thing there, the whole combination together can make a really big difference in being successful in being a healthier weight and having a healthy body in general, not just that but the impact that has on our minds, because it’s frequently underestimated the amount of difference in what we eat has on our mental health. So it all combines!
Many of the foods we eat can irritate and damage the very delicate and critically important digestive system in our bodies, which can in turn lead to anything from inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract to an immune response. Even nutrient absorption can be affected. One such food is wheat, which contains gluten.
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein found in foods processed from wheat and similar cereals, including barley, spelt and rye. It contains gliadins and glutenins, the two main components of the gluten fraction of wheat seeds. Both are known intestinal irritants. Gluten is primarily used in modern food processing to give elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture. Greater refinement of the gluten leads to chewier products, while less refinement yields softer baked goods. One of the most common ways that we now take in carbohydrates is through grains in our diet, especially wheat. It is a staple food, with 600 million tonnes eaten every year. On average, it makes up roughly half of the calorie intake of a person’s diet. Unfortunately, gluten constitutes 78% of the total protein in modern wheat. What this means in practice is that gluten sensitivities and allergies are extremely common. In fact, it is thought that as many as 1 in 10 people are sensitive to gluten, while coeliac disease (an autoimmune condition related to gluten intake) affects almost 1 in 100 people.
Gluten sensitivity
Often, people with a sensitivity to gluten have no digestive symptoms at all. This can make diagnosis very difficult, and may also mean that appropriate dietary changes are not made by the sufferer. Where symptoms are present, some of the most common include:
bloating
diarrhoea
constipation
diverticulitis
digestive problems, even as drastic as Crohn’s disease
fatigue
upper respiratory tract problems (such as sinusitis and ‘glue’ ear)
depression
and behavioral problems in children (such as ADHD).
Of all the grains causing gluten sensitivities, wheat is the number one culprit. Gluten sensitivity is not a food allergy; it is a condition of the gut. After eating gluten-foods, undigested gluten proteins resting in the intestines are treated by the body like an invader, resulting in irritation of the gut and the flattening of the microvilli (finger-like protrusions that run along the intestinal walls). Without the microvilli, there is far less surface area with which to absorb nutrients from food. This is why those with gluten sensitivities can sometimes experience symptoms of malabsorption, such as chronic fatigue, nutrient deficiencies, anaemia, osteoporosis, nausea, skin rashes, depression and more. If gluten is eliminated from the diet, the gut usually heals and the symptoms disappear over time. This is therefore usually the recommended course of action, along with supporting supplementation (see below).
Coeliac disease
Unlike a gluten sensitivity, coeliac disease involves an abnormal immune reaction to partially digested gliadin. Coeliac disease is neither a food allergy nor an intolerance – it is an autoimmune disease. The body’s immune system attacks itself when gluten is eaten. This can cause serious and lasting damage to the lining of the gut and may mean that the body is unable to properly absorb nutrients from food. Symptoms of coeliac disease range from mild to severe bloating, excessive flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal cramps, fatigue, aches and pains, flu-like symptoms, and/or mood swings. It is now recognised as one of the most common chronic health disorders in Western countries, yet it is still one of the most under-diagnosed. As the symptoms are so broad, they can be attributed to a wide range of other health conditions. As such, coeliac disease is often misdiagnosed as, for instance, fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
Up until about a decade ago, most medical experts believed that coeliac disease was relatively rare and only affected about 1 in 2,500 people. It was also thought to be a disease that primarily affected children and young people. More recent studies, along with advances in diagnosis, have shown that the condition is much more prevalent.
Addressing the underlying problem
Gluten sensitivity can be one of the symptoms of a leaky gut syndrome. It is no surprise that when the lining of the intestines becomes more permeable, it can lead to a problem with many food sensitivities. Gluten (and dairy!) is very commonly encountered ‘maintaining cause’ in the digestive problems I see in my clinic. It is always worth looking back to determine what could have contributed to the body becoming more sensitized to particular food items- did it start after prolonged stress? Bouts of sore throats? Series of antibiotic treatments? Although removing gluten from the diet is always beneficial in such cases, it’s equally important to support the body in ‘sealing’ the damage which might have been contributing to unpleasant symptoms for even a number of years. Addressing the ‘root cause’ of the problem (whether it’s stress management or rebalancing the aftermath of antibiotic or steroid treatment) will help your body build resilience and minimise chances of a relapse.
Extra support for a gluten-free gut
As with a gluten sensitivity, coeliac disease is usually treated by simply adopting a gluten-free diet, i.e. excluding all foods that contain gluten. This is a permanent step in the case of coeliac disease, and usually recommended to be permanent in the case of gluten sensitivity- although it doesn’t have to be. A gluten-free diet is an effective means of preventing damage (or at least further damage) to the lining of the intestines and avoiding the associated symptoms of both conditions, even if such approach doesn’t address the problem in itself. And these days, maintaining a gluten-free diet isn’t the hardship it was even ten years ago. If you are happy to focus on only eliminating gluten out of your diet, there are now whole dedicated areas of most large supermarkets and health stores for “free from” ranges. However, as with any restricted diet, it is important to continue to ensure a balanced diet and the intake of a broad spectrum of nutrients. Given the reduced number of food choices, this can sometimes be a challenge, particularly in the early days. But careful meal planning will help, along with opting for seasonal, preferably organic food. In addition, many people with a gluten sensitivity or coeliac disease choose to supplement their diets for extra support, both in terms of nutrient intake and for digestive health. This can be particularly helpful where the gut is irritated and inflamed from years of gluten exposure. Multi-strain probiotics (beneficial bacteria), prebiotics (food for beneficial bacteria), Omega oils and the amino acid glutamine are particular favourites for supporting a healthy gut, lower levels of inflammation, along with gut wall integrity. What’s more, many of the better food and dietary supplements will also be gluten-free.
The answer is undoubtedly yes! We all do, maybe it stays in our heads, maybe it’s out loud, but either way we all do it.
But, did you know the importance of your self talk? And that it can either help you to get what you want out of life or block you from getting it?
Once you know, you know. It’s not whether you talk out load or not, it’s the type of language you use that makes the difference between achieving what you want… or not.
Newsflash!!
**Your automatic thoughts are changeable **
It takes practice, but it can be quite fast once you make the decision to just do it.
So here’s how.
start noticing what kind of self talk pops up for you. Is it worrying thoughts of what might go wrong? Critical thoughts about yourself or your abilities?
Jot them down
When you have a reasonable sized list to work with, have a look at what you’ve written. Would you say any of those things out loud to someone you love and or respect? Probably not. Think what the opposite is to each negative thing you have written. E.g. I’m rubbish at cooking (but would like to be good). Could be changed to; I can give myself the time and space and correct ingredients and practice to become better at cooking.
Write a new positive, kind sentence for every negative one.
Rip up the negative list and throw it away.
Every time you find yourself thinking or starting to think a negative or unkind thought, stop and swap it for a positive, kind one.
Practice, practice, practice! This will build new neural pathways in your brain (neuroplasticity) and gradually become your new automatic thinking process.
With these improved thoughts your mind will begin to automatically seek out the things you want, noticing opportunities that it would previously have steered you away from.
Have a go, it costs nothing and you have so much to gain. I’d love to hear how you get on.
A. Yes, if they want to be. The hypnotic state is natural and we all drift in and out of it many times a day. When working with a hypnotherapist, we use this natural state to make the changes you want to see in your life. We all have free will and we choose how much effort we want to put into something or guidance to follow.
Q. Does it work?
A. Much like the answer to the above question, yes if you want it enough. I can’t make anyone do something they don’t want to, or stop them from doing something that they want to do. But hypnotherapy is very powerful for getting you to feel differently in situations where you want to see and feel change.
Q. How will I know when I’m in a hypnotic trance?
A. Its not what most people expect and this is in part because we are all unique and experience things differently. For some its just a feeling of being a little relaxed, some people feel like they are floating, or sinking into the comfort of the chair. Some see colours and some feel like their hands have grown in size – yes I know that sounds odd, but its not uncommon for me to see a client look at their hands when they open their eyes to check what they look like.
Q. How many sessions will I need?
A. This depends what you are seeking hypnotherapy for. Generally, to stop smoking its a single session of 90 mins. Simple phobias, 2-3 sessions on average. For anxiety usually around 5-10 sessions. For weight loss and IBS, I run a 5 session programme.
Q. How often will I need to come?
A. Weekly or fortnightly is best, there’s no point in coming more than once a week as your mind needs time to process what we do in the session, before the next one. More than 2 weeks and we lose momentum on what we’re working through, so 1-2 weeks between sessions is the ideal for the best outcome in the minimum amount of sessions.
If you have any questions that aren’t covered above, do let me know, I’ll be happy to do another Q & A, or feel free to book a free of charge consultation if you’d like a chat with me. Sally
