everywomanover29

Food, Mood and Women's Health – Be your healthiest, look and feel great!

Scarlett Johansson Oscars 2011: snacks and salmon!

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Scarlett Johansson looked absolutely stunning at the 2011 Oscars and you’ll never guess what she ate before she came – salmon!

Scarlett was interviewed on the Red Carpet and was asked: what is the most important thing about getting ready for the Oscars – the dress, the hair, the jewellery…?

And this is what she said: For me, what I eat before I come to the Oscars, is the most important thing. She said she’d actually just eaten some salmon and that it’s important to eat something good to control your blood sugar. She also said that it’s a little known fact that the celebs bring snacks to the Oscars.

Awesome and brilliant! Having some salmon or other form of protein or fat like eggs, meat or chicken before heading out to a big event will do wonders for keeping your blood sugar stable and keeping you feeling great, calm, stress-free and focused. Some great snack ideas to carry with you when you know you won’t be eating for awhile: nuts, fruit, grass-fed jerky, salmon jerky and my all time favorite, pemmican. A boiled egg is great too but may not go down well at the Oscars!

And yes I watched the Oscars! I have so much to learn about style and fashion! I’m a late bloomer….I’m the typical outdoorsy tomboy – love to travel, camp, bike, climb, ski and generally I’m happy to “rough-it”. But last year I decided to up-level my image and I worked with image consultant Anne Berit Olvsk. I had my colors done and I now actually enjoying shopping for clothes. So I figured the Oscars would be a great way to see some great style – outfits, hair, make-up, accessories, colors and more – and it was not disappointing! Scarlett looked stunning (check her out here and here), I got some great tips and heard Scarlett’s great food and snack advice! Yay Scarlett Johannson!

Gluten, your mood and your health (part 1)

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Looking at whole-wheat with a different set of eyes is so important if you have any mental or physical concerns! Perhaps you are one of the many people who cannot tolerate wheat and other gluten-containing grains. Wheat, rye, barley, spelt and kamut all contain gluten. Oats is often contaminated with gluten during processing and transportation. It really is best that you eat home-made, real, whole foods as gluten is so often “hidden” in many processed foods. Processed foods often contain ingredients like hydrolyzed protein, textured vegetable protein and derivatives of wheat, oats, rye and barley (including barley malt, modified starch, soy sauce and natural flavoring).

There are many studies supporting the gluten-mood connection – anxiety, social phobia, depression and schizophrenia. A study titled” Psychiatric symptoms and celiac disease” states that celiac disease “should be taken into consideration in patients with psychiatric disorders particularly if you are not responsive to psychopharmacological therapy, because withdrawal of gluten from the diet usually results in disappearance of symptoms”. Gluten can also cause fatigue, aches and pains, poor focus and of course digestive problems like constipation.

I assess all my clients for gluten intolerance and the majority have seen dramatic improvements on a gluten-free diet – improved mood, no more anxiety, more energy, better sleep and improved digestion. One of my clients saw an almost complete resolution of the eczema that had been plaguing her for over 10 years, was able to get off her antidepressants and lost over 10 pounds. Another client has her Hashimotos thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease) under control as a result of removing gluten from her diet. I’ve seen a number of people who have seen improvements in their rheumatoid arthritis (also an autoimmune disease) when they quit gluten.

You’ve probably seen it as a common theme in many of my presentations and many of my blog posts, such as Good Day Sacramento, Exercise and Food for Mood and Detox, Get Healthy and Lose Weight

I cover this subject extensively in my forthcoming book The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods you eat can calm your anxious mind, improve mood and end cravings. Find out more at www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

This is part 1 of the gluten-mood connection – part 2 is all about doing a 2-week gluten elimination trial so you can determine is gluten is possibly a problem food for you!

Food and Mood on Good Day Sacramento: Eggs are ok!

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My Food-Mood TV debut on Good Day Sacramento was a blast! And there really was a green “Green Room” where I waited to go on and watched what was happening in the studio. It went by so fast but I was well-prepared and loved it! And I was thrilled to share my message about Food and Mood for stress, anxiety and worry, depression, irritability and mood swings.

Now you get to enjoy it either watching and listening or reading the summary below. If you watch and listen…take note right at the end when someone (he’ll remain un-named!) yells that they want the sugar! It’s too funny!

Change Your Food – Change Your Mood!

  • Stress & overwhelm – Eat breakfast always & include protein. THE most important tip for all my clients is to eat breakfast every single day and include some protein such as eggs – this sets them up for the rest of the day so they don’t have blood sugar swings. And eggs (including the yolks!) really are ok to eat!
  • Anxiety & worry – Quit caffeine and try some herbal tea. There are a subset of people who are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine, found in coffee, tea, sodas, medications and even chocolate.
  • Depression – Eat grass-fed red meat and salmon or sardines. Beef jerky is one such choice. Grass-fed red meat actually has the same amount of omega-3s as salmon!
  • Irritability – Quit sugar and diet sodas. Sugary foods are empty calories and they deplete us of nutrients we need to feel calm and happy – like the B vitamins and zinc. 1 soda has a LOT of sugar: approximately 12 teaspoons and if you drink 5 sodas a week you’re consuming 60 teaspoons of sugar. Fruit is a much better choice. Sugar also has many other harmful effects
  • Mood swings – Avoid wheat and other gluten-containing grains such as oats, rye & barley – use rice and other non-gluten grains instead

In summary eat like our grandparents ate or as you did as a child – real whole food – quit the processed foods with sugars, additives, colors and ingredients you can’t pronounce!

You can use the amazing healing power of foods to improve your mood naturally so you can feel on top of the world without having to resort to medications!

I would like to add that is very simplistic and we are all unique individuals with our own unique biochemistry and nutritional needs – so what may work for one person may not work for the next person …but making the change to real whole food is a great starting place and implementing some of the above changes makes a huge difference for most people.

Much of the information covered is addressed in a special report called 5 Simple Steps to Reduce Anxiety Now, available at www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

Vitamin D for seasonal anxiety and depression, good immunity and more

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Have you had your vitamin D levels checked lately? And are you aware how common low vitamin D levels are, especially in the winter?  And why it’s important to make sure your levels are good?  Read on….

I have all my clients get their vitamin D level checked and the majority of them have low levels, especially during winter.  Keep this in mind: if you completely cover yourself in sun-block during the summer you may find your levels are low during this time of the year too.  During colder and darker days of winter, the winter blues or seasonal depression is more common and having sufficient vitamin D can actually improve your mood.  As well as the winter blues, certain people who are prone to low serotonin have more severe anxiety during the darker days of winter – I call it the winter mauves – and vitamin D can help with this too! Winter is a season when you especially want your levels to be good because good levels are so important for immunity – so get your levels up and avoid the colds and flu. This amazing nutrient is also crucial for optimal bone and heart health and also helps protect against cancer and fibromyalgia.

Have your doctor check your vitamin D status with a simple blood test. This is what should be tested:  25-hydroxy-vitamin D.

There is a ton of vitamin D research going on and there are some differences as to what is considered the ideal level and how much to take.

Dr. John Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D Council makes these recommendations which I am totally in agreement with:

–          the new vitamin D guidelines, released in November 2010 (600 IU /day for adults up to age seventy) are still too low

–          take 5000 IU daily until your level is between 50 and 80 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter), the midpoint of the current lab reference range of 32 to 100 ng/mL

–          once your levels are ideal, take a maintenance dose of 2000 to 5000 IU per day

–          and then test your levels every three months (you should see your levels increase pretty quickly over a 3 month period)

When supplementing, be sure to take vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).  You can now find really good vitamin D supplements in 1000 IU, 2000 IU and 5000 IU doses and many companies are now making it in convenient drops which are easier for some of my clients (and also children) to take.

Dr. John Cannell and the Vitamin D Council is a great resource for recent findings and information www.vitamindcouncil.org

And don’t forget to eat your deep water oily fish like sardines and salmon and plenty of pastured or organic eggs – all of which are great sources of vitamin D. Your body can also make its own vitamin D when you’re outdoors so get out in the sunshine and go for a walk or do something fun outside. And again a full-spectrum lamp is great to use during the winter. But if your levels are low you will need to supplement because food and sunshine (especially when further north like much of the USA) won’t be enough.

I find vitamin D so important for my clients with anxiety, and I devote a whole section on this important nutrient in my new book The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods you eat can calm your anxious mind, improve mood and end cravings. Find out more  at www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

Good vitamin D levels means feeling on top of the world, not getting sick, having a healthy heart and strong bones – and so much more.

Trudy's delicious bobotie recipe

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Trudy's bobotie - I made this for a party Saturday night and it was very popular!

Bobotie is a great traditional South African meat dish and is a delicious slightly spicy version of meatloaf (only way better!) and super for holiday parties. This is especially yummy in winter or cold with a salad in summer.  I’ve modified the traditional recipe as follows: added carrots and garlic, replaced the sugar with apple, did not use bread in the recipe, replaced cows milk with rice milk – and recommend organic produce and grass-fed or wild meat, plus organic or pastured eggs.

Trudy’s Bobotie

  • 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
  • 2 onions, peeled and sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped (more if you’re brave – I always use tons of garlic!)
  • 4 medium carrots, thinly chopped or grated
  • 2  pounds/1 kg  good quality grass-fed ground beef or bison
  • 1/2 cup rice milk (or organic raw cows milk if you are ok with dairy)
  • 1 tablespoon medium curry powder or garam masla
  • 1 small apple , finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup seedless organic raisins
  • 2 tablespoons chutney (find Mrs Balls South African chutney at World Markets)
  • 3 medium organic or pastured eggs

Cook onions and garlic over medium heat in oil until onions are transparent. Add ground beef and carrots. Cook until lightly browned and crumbly.

Add curry, apple, salt, pepper, turmeric, vinegar, raisins, chutney to the beef mixture and mix. Spoon the mixture into a greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes in preheated 350°F oven.

Beat eggs with milk and pour over the cooked meat and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Serve with brown rice, steamed veggies and extra chutney.

Serves: 6

The biochemistry of self-confidence, anxiety, motivation and focus

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Nutrient and neurotransmitter deficiencies (as well as hormonal imbalances) can contribute to poor self-confidence, low motivation and the blahs, feeling negative and being overly self-critical.

Poor self-confidence, worry, overwhelm, anxiety and negativity could all be signs of low serotonin.  Serotonin levels can be increased by:

  • Eating enough good quality protein since protein provides amino acids for making neurotransmitters.  Some examples of good quality protein: grass-fed organic beef, New Zealand lamb (which is always grass-fed and free of hormones and antibiotics), pastured eggs and chicken (preferable) or second best, organic, wild fish and seafood.
  • Eating plenty of veggies, fruit, good fats – all part of a whole foods diet – provides all the cofactors necessary for making neurotransmitters.
  • Exercise, sunshine and the use of a full-spectrum lamp also raises serotonin.
  • And of course you’ll feel more confident, less overwhelmed and anxious, and more optimistic very soon (5-10 minutes) after taking one of the amazing amino acids tryptophan or 5-HTP.

With sufficient levels of serotonin you will also sleep better, and you will not have the afternoon and evening sugar cravings that are common with low serotonin.

If you have low motivation, the blahs and feel depressed (the kind of depression where you don’t want to see anyone), these could be signs of low catecholamines. If this is the case, you’re also likely to also have low energy and poor focus, and possibly feel like you are all over the map (kind of like ADD).  Just so you know, negativity can be a sign of low serotonin and low catecholamines and many people have deficiencies in both areas.

  • Again, eating enough good quality protein and eating real food is crucial.
  • The amazing amino acid tyrosine can do wonders (also in 5-10 minutes) to raise catecholamines and get you super-motivated, laser-focused and full of energy.

And with good levels of catecholamines you won’t be drawn to sugary foods or beverages for an energy pick-up.

Here is additional information on the amino acids and how to do a trial