Nutrition Q & A
| Published: 29th September 2008 22:33 |
In this column, local Nutritional Coach, Monica McCusker answers your questions about food, diets and nutrition.
To submit your question, please use the comments box below or send an e-mail.
Q: I love my food and most diets I go on seem to restrict the amount I eat and leave me feeling hungry all the time. How can I lose weight without feeling hungry all the time?
A: If you follow a healthy diet based on a combination of complex carbohydrates (whole grains, brown rice, brown pasta, new potatoes, vegetables, fruit) with some form of protein (lean meat like chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, yoghurt, nuts, soya, seeds) at each meal, you'll be amazed how you can have a full plate of food and still lose weight. These two food groups help to balance your blood sugar and reduce your hunger while increasing your energy.
Q: Is there anything that I can eat or cut out of my diet that will help reduce my high blood pressure, the tablets I am taking don't agree with me?
A: Diet and high salt intake are two of the main causes of high blood pressure. You can change one of these immediately by reducing salt on and in your foods and eating salty foods like crisps and cheese. Increase the amount of foods in your diet that are high in magnesium: such as nuts, sesame seeds/tahini, legumes (chickpeas, haricot, kidney and soya beans) oats and millet and brown rice and potassium: such as seaweed (sushi), dried fruit, legumes, nuts, tomato puree and oily fish.
Q: Which is better for me margarine or butter? I am so confused with different messages and want to eat healthily.
A: Butter is better for your health than margarine, however if you have a tendency to be overweight or have high cholesterol you should not use too much of it. All margarines, to make them spreadable, contain hydrogenated fats. These fats are damaged natural fats and will block the places in your body that healthy fats (essential fatty acids) should go causing health problems, particularly to your heart and blood vessels.
Q: I've heard of Nutritional Therapy, but what is it and what's involved?
A: Nutritional therapists work with people to make subtle and supported changes in their diet that will improve their health and help them achieve the goals they have or to get rid of symptoms of poor health. If there are nutrients (vitamins, minerals etc) missing from the diet, they will recommend that you take foods or supplements high in these to bring you back into balance.
To contact local Nutritional Coach, Monica McCusker directly for nutrition and weight loss advice, please call her on 07740 680401 or send her an e-mail.
What do you think?
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Posts: 7It's butter on my toast from now on!
Joined: 11 Jun 2008Posts: 16
Joined: 14 Nov 2008Posts: 1
Yes, it is true - it's called food combining. The principle behind it is that different food groups: protein, carbohydrates and fats are digested at different rates in the body. When you eat all three food groups like we do with many of our meals such as shepherds pie, curry and rice, pizza the stomach and intestines end up digesting each food group differently. The result is that it can make us feel tired, get bloated, produce gas or have those gurgling noises in the tummy.
So if you follow the food combining principles: eating protein with vegetables or fat or carbohyrdates with vegetables, your digestion is much smoother and for many people it can lose to weight loss.
Joined: 11 Jun 2008Posts: 16
I am sooo pleased that you have answered this question. Having been to all kinds of 'food allergy' consultants it seems to me that the answer has been staring me in the face for so long -as yes I suffer from the symptons you have described if I eat 'sensibly'. I had become tired of trying diets or nutrition advice but am really delighted to have this reply from you, as now I know what it is that I do wrong...just one is told that they have to have a diet that is balanced with 'everything' and so one thinks - no, do not follow x - it is not balanced or whatever. I can now go back to the above 'seperation diet' knowing that for once I did read something based on truth and fact!! Thanks very much Monica!
