everywomanover29 blog

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

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

By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

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

By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

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

By Trudy Scott 12 Comments

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

Sweet misery & sugar wisdom in the Sacramento magazine

By Trudy Scott 14 Comments

I was recently interviewed (together with Dr Dennis Godby ND and Monica Randel, RD) by Cathy Cassinos-Carr for an article in the Health section of The Sacramento Magazine. It is called Sweet Misery: Seven spoonfuls of wisdom about sugar. Cathy has done an amazing job explaining why we don’t want sugar in our diets!

“Sugar can raise cholesterol, it suppresses the immune system, it has been connected to cancer, it masks other problems (such as anxiety or depression), it speeds the aging process, it is linked to candida, IBS and other digestive problems, and finally it can prevent us from eating the good stuff”.

“Craving sugar does not mean we’re weak or that we’re a failure. It means we’ve got some brain chemistry, nutrient or hormonal imbalances that need fixing, or perhaps candida. Quitting [sugar] is not about willpower.”—Trudy Scott

Read the whole article here http://www.sacmag.com/media/Sacramento-Magazine/August-2010/Health-Sweet-Misery/

No coffee, adrenal support and amino acids: free of anxiety, high energy and great sleep!

By Trudy Scott 21 Comments

Feel on top of the world!

This is such a great client testimonial that I really want to share it here on my blog. It shows how a few small changes can make the world of difference; that you don’t have to resort to drugs for anxiety or sleep or energy drinks for fatigue! And that you can feel on top on the world!

Everyone is unique, so find the root cause of your problems. For Sylvie, it was quitting coffee, supporting her adrenals nutritionally and rebalancing her neurotransmitters with amino acids.

When my energy level started to go down and my anxiety level kept going up for no apparent reason I started to look for ways to change that. I could not understand why since I knew I was eating pretty well and exercising regularly. This is when I attended a workshop on “5 Main Reasons for Anxiety and 3 Simple Dietary Changes” by Trudy Scott. Trudy was talking about neurotransmitters and amino acids which I had never heard of before. During my first visit in her office she introduced me to amino acids and recommended a particular test (Adrenal Stress Index). I started feeling the benefit of the amino acids right away – less anxiety and more energy. When the results from the test came back it was very obvious that I needed extra supplements. I always thought that if you eat well you don’t need anything else but I realized that sometimes food is just not enough! And the right type of supplements can really help you get back to where you want to be! The only dietary change I made was to stop coffee. I did not believe at first that it would make any difference since I only had 1 cup a day! But it did. And every time I doubt it and have one coffee again I feel the difference! Now, with all these changes I have zero anxiety, a high energy level and I sleep very well.

For other testimonials about the amazing healing power of food and nutrients: https://www.everywomanover29.com/testimonials.html

Do you crave sugar all the time, use willpower and feel deprived?

By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

Here I am outside the Crave restaurant in Phoenix, AZ – I can help you to “Crave Not” without feeling deprived and no will-power required! (photo taken by my wonderful friend and fellow nutritionist, Robin Nielsen)

Do you crave sugar all the time, use willpower and feel deprived?

?       Are your sugar cravings out of control?

?       Are you the queen of willpower – sometimes – and then you slip up?

?       Do you feel guilty when you do slip up and indulge?

?       Do you feel deprived when you aren’t eating sugar?

?       Do you feel awful when you are eating sugar?

?       Is sugar comforting for you and do you LOVE certain foods?

?       Does the mention of chocolate or ice-cream bring a smile to your face?

?       Do you find yourself substituting “healthier” sweeteners like agave, stevia, honey, dried fruits etc?  (sugar is sugar! If you crave that sweet taste you have an issue – really!)

?       Do you use sugar for an energy pick-up and mood boost?

?       Do you eat sugar to calm down?

If you answer yes to at least three of the above questions then it’s very probable that you have sugar and carb cravings that could be the result of one of the following:

?       what you eat – so skip the junk food, processed food and even healthy whole wheat bread if you have an intolerance to it. Eat real whole food instead.

?       when you eat – so don’t skip breakfast and eat frequently enough to keep your blood sugar stable

?       how much protein you eat – have protein at breakfast and at each meal and snack (about a palm-sized portion at each meal)

?       low zinc levels (which are very common) – assess and address with supplements and/or a zinc-rich diet (red meat and oysters are a great source)

?       burned out adrenals – do a saliva test to assess and address nutrient-wise, slow down and de-stress

?       low levels of certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin or endorphins – assess and address with the amazing amino acids like tryptophan, 5-HTP or DPA

?       candida and yeast infections – assess and get on an anti-candida program

?       toxins and pollution – do a detox at least twice a year

The first place I often start with my sugar-addicted clients is with the amazing amino acids and they see really dramatic results in few days, often in 24 hours! And they have more energy and focus, they sleep better, their mood improves, and worry and anxiety disappear.  This way it’s also so much easier to make all the food changes without it having to be a pure will-power thing and so you won’t feel deprived. We do of course also address all the other possible causes, as a holistic approach is the way to go.

If you address the root causes of your cravings then you won’t have to use will-power (really!) and sugar becomes a “take it or leave it” deal (really!) and you won’t feel deprived (really!).

If you need the support and guidance and are ready for this, contact me to set up a complimentary 15 minute consultation. All my programs are listed here https://www.everywomanover29.com/services.html It’s the perfect time to get your cravings under control before the holidays!