CAM Conference - Female Health

Despite being absent from my blog pages for several months (ahem, over a year!) I am still practising as a Nutritional Therapist and also am now working in Corporate Employee Health and Wellbeing as well - which I find complement each other very well.

Recently I have attended several conferences to keep my CPD up to date and wanted to share a few fantastic tips that I have learnt from two in particular. I have pulled out the top 5 take-away points from each with the aim of providing you with a few practical tips that even busy people can achieve each week:

Healing Foods for healthy digestion and liver health - the two go hand in hand!

• Beetroot - it is thought that Betaine contained in beetroot may play an important role in our metabolism and support liver health. Try it raw grated in salads, make chocolate & Beetroot brownies (Hugh Fernley -Whittingstall does a great recipe!), beetroot and horseradish are best friends, try making as delicious soup.
• Cabbage - the humble cabbage is another important vegetable for our gut and liver health. It contains Glutamine, an amino acid that is known for its gut healing properties. Be inventive with your cabbage - steam lightly with chestnuts or mint and caraway seeds, make healthy coleslaws, oven bake red cabbage with apples and cinnamon. Juice cabbage with fennel, apple and mint.
• Apples - as apples are part of the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen (the most heavily sprayed foods) it's recommended to buy organic where possible. Apples are high in fibre, vitamin C and pectin which can have positive effects for both constipation and diarrhoea. Making stewed apples with cinnamon is a great low-sugar, low-fat dessert, baked apples with flaked almonds or just eat two apples a day!
• Onions - we probably all eat these almost every day but do you know if they are good for you? Well yes of course they are contain a high flavanoid content but mostly in their highest layers so don't be tempted to over peel. They are thought to stabilise bile and so can help those with a tendency for gall stones. Add to soups or stir-fries. Bake with fish or stuff one with savory rice and bake in oven.
• Sweet Potato - amazingly sweet and brightly coloured these root veg are fast overtaking the humble white potato in their mission to get our nation healthy. Lower GI than white potatoes they can be kept low by steaming rather than roasting Either way you will enjoy the benefits of the carotene, B6 and Vit C to help fight off those bugs this winter. Try sweet potato roasted, steamed, in soups, baking in muffins, jacket sweet potato or even grate into coleslaws with cabbage, apple, beetroot and onions to enjoy all the benefits of my top 5 gut and liver healing foods.

 

Top 3 things to know about hormonal balance/female health

• Balance blood sugar levels - our female hormones (oestrogen, progesterone) are made from the  cholesterol as long as the right balance of nutrients are available. If we have unbalanced blood sugar levels due to the British Average Diet (BAD) diet or stress our bodies may convert cholesterol to cortisol rather than our female hormones - resulting in an imbalance.
• Manage stress, eat protein or good fats at every meal, eliminate refined sugars, decrease caffeine and alcohol and try to get the majority of your 'starchy carbs' from root vegetables rather than grains - wholegrain are better than white, but better still are root veg (parsnips, beetroot, carrots, sweet pot, butternut squash).
• Support your gut health - ensure you have the right balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut. An imbalance known as dysbiosis can increase the presence of Beta-glucuronidase which ultimately can prevent old oestrogen's from being excreted from body, allowing them to be re-circulated and thus contributing to an imbalance of hormones.
• A good probiotic will help restore balance in the gut. Prebiotics foods are also helpful - up your intake of garlic and onions to help.
• Support your liver and detoxification - the liver plays an important role in detoxifying old hormones. One of the main detoxification pathways for oestrogen is known as Methylation. 
• Two key co-factors to support this process are B6 and Magnesium - present in wholegrains and dark-green leafy vegetables you can't get enough of your cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, kale, cabbage, cavalo nero. Be sure not to overcook them - ligthly steam for 6-7 mins should be sufficient. 

I hope you find these tips helpful and not too much science!! 

Please contact me if you want to understand more about how nutritional therapy can help you reach your full health potential.