food and mood

Natural remedies for a cold, flu and sore throat

March 30, 2012 By Trudy Scott 21 Comments

On my recent food-mood trip to Boston, I was able to keep going for three days despite the fact that I had picked up a bug or two! I had a slight sore throat before leaving and the long flight and time change didn’t help. It was also a pretty demanding 3 days of all-day presenting on Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind, Improve Mood & End Cravings. Each day I lectured for about 7 hours and had about an hour of Q&A time answering questions. I really thought I might lose my voice by the end of day two but these natural remedies for colds, flu and sore throats really saved the day!

Vitamin D (5000IU), which has important antimicrobial properties
Vitamin C (1000mg 4 x day) and Zinc (30mg), both of which help with the common cold
Boiron Cold Calm, a homeopathic product that is amazing for cold symptoms
Boiron Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic product that is amazing for flu symptoms
Boiron Roxalia, a homeopathic product for hoarseness/voice strain. I love Boiron Cold Calm and Oscillococcinum and always have some on hand, especially when travelling. The Roxalia product was new to me but worked wonders for all the talking and I think should be a standard for speakers and singers! You can check out all the Boiron products here. Another favorite is the Arnica cream which I used on my aching feet (all that standing!)
I drank warm herbal tea all day. I had a jug of hot water up near the podium and enjoyed sipping on Throat Coat!
I also gargled twice a day with a few drops of tea tree oil diluted in warm water
And another new one for me was Manuka lozenges – lozenges made from pure manuka New Zealand honey, very soothing on the throat and with great anti-bacterial properties. This is a keeper too!

I did of course also make sure to eat well, drink plenty of filtered water and get a good night’s sleep. I hope you can benefit from some of these wonderful natural remedies too.

HMN twitter Food Mood party: more on pyroluria and zinc

January 25, 2012 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

Do you experience anxiety, social phobia and inner tension that you cover up? Do you have poor dream recall? If yes, then read on.

On January 10^th The Holistic Moms Network invited me to answer questions at their January 10^th twitter party on Food and Mood. It was a great virtual “event” with really great questions.

A colleague, Mira Dessy, Certified Nutrition Educator and holistic health columnist, provided a great summary of much of the discussion. I added some information on sugar and cravings and I’d like to add to the discussion on zinc.

There are a subset of anxious people who do need higher amounts than the average person. From Mira’s blog “Zinc can be found in beef (grass fed is best), calf liver, venison, spinach, shitake mushrooms, and pumpkin seeds. It’s very important for pregnant women and children to get enough zinc with the addendum that zinc is a trace mineral and we do not need massive doses of it.” I agree, we don’t need massive doses but if you have pyroluria (anxiety, social phobia, inner tension you cover up – here is the complete pyroluria questionnaire) you will benefit from zinc and vitamin B6 supplements (at a minimum).

Again, thanks to Mira and read her blog to get the rest of the discussion. And thanks to HMN! Do come to the next HMN twitter party – they are a lot of fun and very informative!

Much of this information relating to anxiety and mood and food (and so much more) is covered in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

Carob Cinnamon Delight instead of coffee – a calming hot beverage

December 23, 2011 By Trudy Scott 34 Comments

hot drink recipe trudy scott

Carob is a delicious alternative to coffee or hot chocolate as it doesn’t contain caffeine. It has a definite chocolate-like flavor and is something I recommend to my clients who may be looking for a healthier alternative or who can’t tolerate coffee or chocolate. Carob is originally from the eastern Mediterranean region, Northern Africa and the western part of Asia. Ceratonia siliqua or carob is also known as locust bean gum.

Consider trying carob if you are anxious and stressed. There are a subset of those with anxiety who are more prone to the anxiety-provoking effects of coffee and some very sensitive people may even find the caffeine in chocolate to be too stimulating.

In fact a 2002 study found that carob may actually have calming effects. It is also antioxidant rich, contains the polyphenol gallic acid which has been shown to help metabolic syndrome, it has been shown to lower total and LDL cholesterol, it has chemoprotective properties and helps with digestion.

Here is a recipe for a delicious beverage you can make using carob powder:

Carob Cinnamon Delight al la Trudy

¾ cup of boiling water

1 Tablespoon carob powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Coconut milk (full-fat) or fresh raw cream (if you can tolerate dairy)

Boil the water, add carob and cinnamon and top up with coconut milk (or cream), stir and enjoy! The carob tends to settle a bit so you’ll probably need to stir it again when you’re half way through drinking it.

If you are going to give up coffee it’s good to have some alternative beverages on hand You could try delicious herbal teas (such as licorice, lemon-ginger, and mint), coffee substitutes such as Dandy Blend, rooibos or green rooibos (herbal teas from South Africa that appears to have health benefits similar to those of green tea), or one of my favorites – carob!

I’d love to get your feedback on how you enjoyed this and any variations you’ve tried.

Enjoy!

P.S. Check out my book The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings for other calming tips.

Gluten Elimination Challenge: An Easy Way to Figure Out If It Affects You! (part 2)

March 31, 2011 By Trudy Scott 20 Comments

The easiest and most affordable way to figure out if gluten affects you is to do a 2-week gluten elimination trial (and see how you feel) and then provoke or challenge with gluten (and see how you feel). The 2 week trial will mean zero consumption of food containing wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, triticale or oats. Oats must also be excluded as they are frequently contaminated with gluten during processing. It really is best that you eat home-made, real, whole foods (always, but especially during the trial) as gluten is so often “hidden” in many processed foods. Watch for ingredients like hydrolyzed protein, textured vegetable protein and all derivatives of wheat, oats, rye and barley (including barley malt, modified starch, most soy sauces and natural flavoring).

Other wonderful grains and nutritious starchy vegetables

Rice, corn and buckwheat are acceptable, as are the wonderful ancient grains like quinoa and amaranth. You can find gluten-free-everything – pasta, crackers, you-name-it – made from rice, bean, potato, coconut and corn flour. There are also many wonderful recipes books but some call for margarine, soy milk and excessive sugar – so make substitutions as needed. Rather than simply replacing the problem grain with another grain, consider incorporating more vegetables into your diet. Starchy vegetables like sweet potato and squashes are a wonderfully nutritious source of carbohydrates.

Adding back the gluten

Once you have removed the gluten from your diet and seen improvements in your mood and other symptoms (digestive, pain, skin etc), add it back after 2 weeks and see if it affects you adversely. This test is often more powerful for my clients than any lab test. I’ve seen symptoms ranging from severe mood swings to terrible anxiety to stomach aches to general aches and pains to fatigue and brain fog (and all of the above in some very sensitive individuals). If you experience any of the above, then it’s important that you remove gluten from your diet and work with someone to do additional testing. I’ll cover additional testing in a future blog post.

See here for part 1 (Gluten, your mood and your health) and read more about this and other food intolerances 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

Gluten, your mood and your health (part 1)

February 28, 2011 By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

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!