real food Archives - BRISBANE NUTRITIONIST KATIE KING

On the weekend, we provided comments for an article in the Courier-Mail, on this very topic ‘staying healthy whilst working from home’. Since your working environment may have changed dramatically recently, here are some tips for staying healthy despite the change to routine:

If you’re used to packing a healthy lunch each day continue to do this every morning before you actually start work. If you don’t prepare something healthy in advance, you’ll go to the fridge mindlessly at lunchtime and be more inclined to choose something less healthy… or even Uber eats instead!
Keep a large glass of water at your desk and continually sip throughout the day. Topping up gives you a chance to stretch your legs, gets the blood pumping and gives you a moment to refocus. If you don’t stay hydrated you may mistake hunger for thirst. Plus you’ll feel lethargic and might even get a headache.
If you’re in an exercise pattern already, keep it the same! Don’t promise yourself you will ‘just do it later’ because chances are you won’t. Slot it in as normal. And if it’s not part of your routine, then with all the extra time you have minus commuting… Why not make it a habit from now?
Stock on up fresh veggies to use as a base for salads or lunchtime wraps and fruit for snacking. There are amply supplies of fresh products at your local fruit and veg markets. It’s the supermarkets that have been cleaned out. Support the little guys. And stocking up on pasta and confectionery has no benefits right now or ever for that matter.
As the weather cools, consider popping something rich in nutrients into a slow cooker first thing in the morning. It will be ready in time for lunch. vegetable-rich dishes with either pulses or some form of meat protein are a great, healthy and filling option. Keep an eye on our Facebook page as we will be sharing heaps of recipe ideas over the coming weeks.
Actually, eat proper meals. If you get into the habit of skipping lunch altogether, you will be hungry and you’ll go for quick snack foods high in sugar continuously for fast pick me ups and you’ll only come crashing down again.

From personal experience (keeping it real as always) the hardest part about working from home is avoiding mindless eating as a result of procrastination. To avoid this, it’s best to make sure you don’t have temptations lying around – like chocolates, chips, and biscuits. Apps that boost productivity are really handy as well. For example, the Pomodoro app is a free download on your computer that encourages you to focus for 25 minutes at a time and then allows you a 5-minute break. Psychologically it works! It’s like having a robot boss on your computer keeping you accountable to your work and stopping you from mindlessly walking to the kitchen!

We hope that helps. If it’s business as usual for you (but from home instead) and you’d like to seize this opportunity to work on your general health, reach out and book an appointment here – we are still operating by Skype / in clinic 6 days a week.

GENERAL HEALTH

Is salt good for me?

Katie King Jan 13, 2020Jan 13, 2020 Leave a comment

We’ve been told for decades that we should reduce our salt intake, but what if salt is actually good for you?

Salt (or sodium chloride, as it’s scientifically called) is made up of about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. The words ‘salt’ and ‘sodium’ are often used interchangeably, as salt is the highest dietary source of sodium, however, sodium is also found naturally in foods, such as seafood, spinach, celery and beetroot.

Sodium is an essential nutrient that is required for the normal functioning of our body:

Our bodies use salt to balance the amount of fluid in our tissues and blood.
Salt facilitates nerve and muscle function and helps to maintain healthy blood pressure.
The chloride in salt is used to produce hydrochloric acid, which helps to break down food in our stomach and helps absorb nutrients.
Adequate amounts of salt are necessary for thyroid and adrenal function.
Salt also plays an important role in food preservation.

In fact, it’s impossible to live a life without any salt – it’s essential to life!

Our bodies constantly lose salt through bodily functions, like sweating, so it must be replaced. But it’s all about balance – consuming too much sodium (particularly refined salt) may lead to oedema (swelling), increased blood pressure, and other conditions.

And salt isn’t just salt – your standard white table salt is considerably different from the salts you find in nature.

Table salt is a refined form of natural salt that has been processed; heated to extreme temperatures which change its structure and destroys many beneficial compounds; bleached white; treated with chemicals to remove all trace minerals. The problem is that these trace minerals are essential for our body and our health.

Unfortunately, it’s this refined salt that is used in most packaged and processed foods, like breads, processed meats, soups and sauces, and salty snacks.

Refined table salt is not a health ‘food’ and should be limited in your diet.

So, what’s the healthiest salt?

Choose an unrefined salt that is found in nature. Unrefined natural salts contain sodium and chloride as well as other essential minerals that act as important electrolytes in the body.

Pink Himalayan salt comes from ancient seabeds in the Himalayan mountains. Himalayan salt is rich in minerals, in fact, it contains all 84 essential trace elements required by your body. Its pink colour comes from the rich iron content.

Celtic Sea salt is an unprocessed, natural salt from the coastal regions in France near the Celtic Sea. Unlike regular, refined table salt, Celtic Sea salt retains the beneficial trace minerals and nutrients, like potassium and magnesium, needed by the human body.

Murray River salt flakes are produced from using the mineralised brines from the ancient saline aquifers of the Murray Darling Basin. The brine is pumped into shallow lake beds and dried out in the sun, leaving layers of salt to be harvested. As well as sodium, Murray River salt contains other important minerals (magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium and iodine).

Similarly, unrefined sea salt is produced by pumping seawater into ponds and allowing the water to evaporate leaving salt to crystallize on the floor of the pond. It is then scooped up, washed in seawater, dried and packaged.

Australian Pink Lake salt comes from a lake in Western Victoria. The lake is fed by natural salt aquifers and dries out each summer to reveal a bed of salmon coloured pink salt. This natural salt is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, iron, manganese, zinc and copper.

How much salt should you have?

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends a suggested dietary target of 2,000mg of sodium (which is equivalent to about 5 grams or 1 teaspoon of salt) for adults daily. But it’s easy to get much more than this when you are eating a lot of processed and packaged foods.

About 75% of the salt we eat comes from processed foods, rather than from salt added to cooking and foods.

On the other hand, eating a mostly real, whole food diet – consisting of lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, quality protein, healthy fats, whole grains, legumes, raw nuts and seeds, and water – will naturally help to keep your daily salt intake within a healthy range.

Listen to your body… When you are eating a mostly real food diet you can let your taste buds guide your salt intake. Salt your food as you cook, keep the sea salt grinder on the table and enjoy fermented foods (such as pickles and sauerkraut).

The take-home message… Salt is an essential nutrient. Avoid refined salt, limit your intake processed/packaged foods (which contain high levels of refined salt), and use an unrefined, natural salt to taste.

And remember that you may need more salt on days when you are sweating a lot and/or drinking lots of water.

Written by Nicole Bence. You can book with Nicole here.

*Note: If you have hypertension or kidney disease, please consult your health care practitioner before you make any changes to your consumption of salt.

Diabetes, Uncategorized

Case Study: Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

Arlie Miguel Nov 6, 2019 Leave a comment

This is a synopsis of the journey of a 50 year old male client of The Balanced Nutritionist who presented with Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension and raised liver enzymes on July 5^th 2019. This client wanted to release 25kg of body weight to return to a healthy weight range. In addition, he wanted to minimize his need for medication and better manage his conditions with nutrition and lifestyle. For privacy reasons, this client will be referred to simply as ‘D’ throughout this case study.

The purpose of this report is to draw attention to the power of individualized dietary interventions and professional support in the presence of chronic health conditions. Between the 5^th of July and the 12^th of October, D released 25kg of body weight, was taken off all diabetes medication (as directed by his GP), significantly lowered his blood pressure medication and improved his overall wellbeing. For the full journey, see below:

Initial consultation July 5^th presenting concerns:

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, diagnosed more than 10 years ago. Oral medication (metformin) in use,. Most recent HbA1c* was 11.6
Blood pressure issues for close to 15 years.
Triglycerides were 3.2 on latest blood tests despite cholesterol medication.
Minor reflux
Occasional muscle cramping particularly in feet
Uncomfortable with current weight
Unable to exercise due to shoulder and hip issues
Energy not ideal particularly in the afternoon
Family history of blood pressure issues and diabetes type 2
Motivated to change nutrition and lifestyle to release weight and improve blood pressure and diabetes management.

Initial consultation July 5^th Medications and stats:

Diabetic medication twice daily / blood pressure managed with 2 separate medications taken twice daily / cholesterol medication
Weight: 124.9kg / waist measurement 114cm

Initial consultation July 5^th nutritional and lifestyle habits:

D was not a big drinker; a couple of nights per week
Rarely drank soft drink
Water intake was around 1L
Plenty of protein in the diet, but perhaps a little too much mindless snacking as a habit – this was most likely driving up blood sugar and making weight loss challenging.

Initial consultation July 5^th Initial recommendations:

Advised to bring in some low impact exercise
Reduced size of breakfast and asked D to eliminate snacking altogether, focusing on just 3 quality meals
Increased hydration
D began logging BSLs* regularly
D began keeping a food diary which generally helps with more mindful eating by default

Second consultation 3^rd August Medications and stats:

D had followed recommendations to a tee
BSLs had initially ranged from 8 to 11mmol/L in early July. By the middle of the month they were more often sitting between 5.5 and 7.5mmol/L (readings taken at various times through the day).
Diabetic mediation reduced and evening blood pressure medication reduced as directed by GP
Weight 118kg; a reduction of 6kg.
Waist circumference 110cm; a reduction of 4cm

Second consultation 3^rd August Recommendations:

D embarked on structured Metabolic Balance® program*
Foods and quantities matched to D based on extensive blood work, medications, medical conditions and physical statistics.
GP aware and supportive of this dietary approach

Third consultation 23^rd August Medications and stats:

Under direction of GP, metformin (oral diabetic medication) was stopped after 10 years of being mediated for diabetes.
Fasting BSLs consistently sitting between 4.8 and 5.
No issues with hypoglycaemia* although blood pressure dipping low at times hence further changes to blood pressure as per below
Evening BP medication no longer used (as directed by GP)
Weight reduced to and waist
Energy fairly consistent, rarely feeling hungry.
Hamstring pulled unfortunately so not much chance of introducing structured exercise into lifestyle at this point

Third consultation 23^rd August Recommendations:

Continue with structured food plan, addition of more healthy fats
Keep consulting with GP and keep recording daily blood pressure to ensure medication adjusted accordingly to ensure no low blood pressure episodes.

Fourth consultation 14^th September Medications and Stats:

Current medications consisting only of ½ dose of morning blood pressure pills plus cholesterol pill.
Still consistently releasing over 1kg of body weight a week, with minimal loss of lean body mass*
Had introduced a few meals off the plan and noted a fast response to ‘white carbs’ i.e. white rice – a good lesson to learn moving forward*

Fourth consultation 14^th September Recommendations:

Advised to start trialling some foods outside of original plan and monitor blood sugar response particularly to other low GI carbohydrates
Avoid ‘white’ cabohydrates and high wheat carbs at all costs due to effect on BSL
Prescribed multi mineral formula to support nutrient status whilst still releasing weight

Fifth consultation 12^th October Medications and stats:

Current weight is 100kg, and according to VLA, body fat is now ideal for frame size. An overall loss of 25kg.
Waist measurement down to 97cm*, an overall reduction of 17cm.
D wanting to discuss remaining BP medication and cholesterol medication with GP

Fifth consultation 12^th October Recommendations

Relaxing some aspects of the program with a view of maintain wellbeing and blood sugar readings. Review again in 6 weeks.
Bring in some exercise with a view for this to become habitual once received the all clear on injuries.

This synopsis of D’s journey so far has been written based on the CARE case report guidelines to ensure the synopsis is as objective as possible. This summary was prepared in consultation with clinical notes taken during consultations. D has read this report in full and confirms it’s accuracy as well as providing consent for it to be published.

The take home points for the reader of this case study include:

Comprehensive and individualised nutritional prescriptions are a truly powerful solution to chronic and debilitating health conditions
Food groups don’t necessarily have to be excluded. Exclusions of any whole foods should be based on an individual’s reaction to them – not on a societal level.
Professional advice and support is critical particularly where medical conditions and medications are involved. D benefited from the support of Katie King, nutritionist as well as his General Practitioner to monitor his medications closely.
This is not individualised advice. Consult a professional if you want results like this.
These results are proportionate to effort. We can guide, support and advice but ultimately D had the right mindset to make changes to his nutrition and he deserves these results.

*The term ‘diabetes reversal’ is used in medical literature and the exact criteria for reversal is still debated. However, according to the World Health Organisation, most agree that a HbA1c under the diabetic threshold of 6.5% without the use of medication does qualify. More here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520897/

*HbA1c: a test which gives an average of the previous 2-3 months blood sugar results)

*The specific instructions given to this client have been deliberately excluded from this case study as they suited this particular person. The same interventions applied to someone else may not have the same outcome. For safe and effective results, you should work with a suitably qualified practitioner. Book your consultation here.

*BSLs: blood sugar levels

*Metabolic Balance® program is a German medical program that we have received extensive training in and offer at The Balanced Nutritionist. The exact foods and quantities of foods ideal for a person (based on extensive blood work, medications, medical conditions and physical statistics) are prescribed to a person and a structured program follows. Meals are clean, but balanced. Each meal contains protein and fibre rich vegetables as well as fruits and even starch are generally included in a Metabolic Balance® program.

*Hypoglyaemia: low blood sugar (to the extent that it may lead to disturbing symptoms like dizziness, feeling faint, weak or shaky.)

*Lean body mass: the difference between total body weight and fat mass; ideally you always want to preserve lean body mass as it accounts for muscle mass.

*VLA: a scientifically validated test we use in clinic to accurately monitor changes in body fat, lean body mass, hydration and cellular health.

*White carbs: please note that each diabetic is unique. Some, for example may respond fine to fruit others may find it spikes blood sugar. Part of the journey of any diabetic who wants to manage their condition as best as they can through diet, is discovery which foods are most problematic for them. They should then be avoided at all costs.

*Waist measurement: according to the World Health Organisation and the Australian Heart Foundation (https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/know-your-risks/healthy-weight/waist-measurement) , a waist measurement is an important measurement of overall risk of chronic disease, particularly cardiovascular disease. Men should strive for a waist measurement below 94cm and women under 80cm.

MAIL US TODAY

info@thebalancednutritionist.com.au

I’m Brisbane Nutritionist Katie King

Contact Us:

Email: info@thebalancednutritionist.com.au
Phone: 0422 888 114

Tag Archives: real food

Tips for staying healthy whilst working from home