Category: Simple ideas for better health

36419295 - vitamin d colorful word on the white background

Do you need a vitamin D supplement?

If you’re living in the UK, the answer is yes (at least for the next 6 months).

If you’re someone who enjoys a couple of sun holidays each year, you might think you’re covered for vitamin D. The truth is, you’re probably not.

The basics

Vitamin D is actually a hormone, not a vitamin. It’s main role in helping the body absorb calcium, keeping bones strong, but it’s also been linked to muscle strength and immune function.

Vitamin D is made by the body when sunlight (specifically UVB rays) hits our skin. Your body can actually manufacture a huge quantity of vitamin D in a very short space of time. Under the right conditions, 10- 15 minutes of sun exposure a day is enough to keep levels in the healthy range.

Why we’re all deficient

The problem is, here in the UK we don’t get the right sort of exposure. UVB exposure (the kind you need to make vitamin D) is affected by latitude. If you live below 37 degrees north, UVB is sufficient to make vitamin D all year round – but the further away from the equator you are, the less UVB there is.

The UK lies at 50–60 degrees north, which means that from April to October, the rays aren’t strong enough for us to make vitamin D. It’s not just hearsay either – at last count, data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey found 40 per cent of UK adults had low vitamin D levels in the winter.

Latitude isn’t the only issue – pollution, cloud cover and clothing reduce vitamin D production. And using a sun cream with an SPF of 15 blocks it almost entirely.

A healthy diet can’t help

Vitamin D is one place a healthy diet doesn’t help – small amounts of vitamin D are found in oily fish, eggs and fortified cereals, but dietary intakes only contributes about 10 per cent of what we need.

To put it into perspective, an egg yolk or a serve of fortified cereal contains around 1 microgram of vitamin D. We need 10 micrograms (mcg) a day.  Unless you’re gobbling salmon fillets daily, you’re probably not getting enough from food.

Supplement advice

In July this year Public Health England (an independent body of experts who advise the government on health matters) recommended everyone over the age of one should take a vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter.

This is based on evidence that the current intakes aren’t enough to protect our bone and muscular health, and that many of us have low levels during the cold months.  Since the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are limited, the only way to know if you have sufficient levels is to get a blood test. If you’re keen to check yours you can ask your doctor. Alternatively,  Birmingham based city assays offer a postal service, which is around £25.

If you’re someone who gets little sun exposure – whether that’s because you prefer to cover up, or spend a lot of time indoors – year round supplementation is recommended. The same is advised for people with dark skin, from African, Afro-Carribean and South Asian backgrounds, as their bodies naturally make less vitamin D.

How much do I need?

To keep levels in the healthy range, 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D a day is recommended – and the advice is to take this as a supplement during the autumn and winter – from October through April.

You can buy vitamin D over the counter from a pharmacy, or in the supermarket. A three month supply will cost you around £2.10 – a small price to pay for safeguarding your bone health.

As always, don’t assume more is better – taking mega doses can be harmful, and around 1% of people tested have dangerous levels due to over-supplementation. Up to 25 micrograms (mcg) is generally considered safe.

Questions? E-mail or tweet me…

 

32155740 - turmeric and turmeric powder on white background

Can a daily teaspoon of turmeric help prevent cancer?

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For thousands of years turmeric has been used in Indian and Ayurvedic medicine to treat cuts, sprains and swelling. 32155740 - turmeric and turmeric powder on white background

Around the 1940’s, scientists worked out that the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial benefits were down to curcumin – the pigment in turmeric responsible for it’s bright golden hue. So far so good.

Turmeric or curcumin?

The problem however, is harnessing the anti-inflammatory power of curcumin. By weight, turmeric is only 2-3% curcumin, and curcumin is very poorly absorbed.

This means that you’d need to consume around 20-30 teaspoons of turmeric to get what scientists believe is an effective anti-inflammatory dose of curcumin – some 200-500 mg two to four times daily.

Ultimately this means taking a curcumin supplement containing the concentrated dose, leaving powdered turmeric out in the cold. Or at least to one side.

As a dietitian, I’m all for the power of natural foods, including spices, but for anti-inflammatory benefits at least, curcumin supplements have been the smart choice.

New backing for turmeric

That doesn’t mean there’s no point in adding turmeric to your food though. An exciting new study, led by University College, London for the BBC series Trust Me I’m A Doctor found that a teaspoon of turmeric daily changed the expression of genes involved in predicting cancer risk.

In the study, 100 volunteers from North East England were split into three groups. One group was given a capsule containing 3.2 grams of turmeric (abut a teaspoon). A second group took a dummy capsule and the third group was asked to add a teaspoon of turmeric to their food every day.

After 6 weeks, they found that the group adding turmeric to their food had significant changes in the expression of genes linked with cancer, allergies and depression. What was interesting though is that these changes weren’t seen in the turmeric capsule group.

It’s not clear why, but the researchers think it might be to do with the way turmeric is absorbed when it’s heated, or mixed other foods or nutrients. The volunteers weren’t instructed on how to use the spice, so some added to drinks, others used in curries or sprinkled onto food. For example we know that it’s better absorbed when eaten with fatty foods like olive oil, avocado or fish.

We need more research, but it’s exciting to see evidence that simple adding turmeric to meals can have a positive effect. And this isn’t the first of its kind – in a 1990’s study of smokers; half a teaspoon of turmeric given daily for 30 days reduced the number of chemicals excreted in their urine.

Turmeric in the kitchen

Although it’s not conclusive, this research is good reason to add more turmeric to your diet.

The spice goes well with cinnamon and ginger and is great as a marinade for chicken, fish or pulses. You can also easily add to soups, stews and curries. Another favourite is  ‘golden milk’ – a popular traditional Indian drink. Mix half a teaspoon of turmeric with a cup of hot milk, a pinch of cinnamon and a small squeeze of honey.

short_smoothie

Sunday night smoothie bags

smoothie bagsSmoothies are great as a speedy breakfast or post workout snack, plus you can sneak in a couple of portions of fruit, a handful of veg, some heathy fats or an anti-inflammatory spice like turmeric or cinnamon.

Despite being easy to throw in the blender, some mornings you don’t have time to chop fruit or find the oats hidden in your cupboard. If this sounds familiar, say hello to a new habit – Sunday night smoothie bags.

the Sunday smoothie bag habit

Simply spend 15 minutes on a Sunday night chopping whatever fruits you have to hand (or head to the market on a Sunday – soft fruits like bananas, berries, pineapple, pears, are great), divide between zip lock bags, then add your other favourite ingredients – a couple of handfuls of spinach, a spoon of seeds or a scoop of protein powder. The beauty is you can put in whatever you like – add cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder or keep it simple with strawberries and oats. Make five bags and you’ll have one for every day of the work week.

Once you’ll got all your ingredients in, squeeze out the air and seal, then write the contents on the bag (unless they’re all the same!) and then store in the freezer. When you’re ready to use, takes our your bag, add a cup of milk/mylk or coconut water to your blender cup, then add the smoothie mix and blend – you get a super creamy smoothie in under 3 minutes.

What you need

A roll of zip lock bags, chopping board, knife, fruit, spices, seeds,

Smoothie bag combos to try 
  • 1 banana + 2 handfuls spinach + 1 scoop vanilla protein + 1 spoon seed mix
  • 2 handfuls pineapple + few mint leaves + 1 spoon chia seeds
  • 1 cup strawberries + half banana + handful oats + 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 avocado +  2 handful spinach + half banana + 1/2 scoop protein powder
  • 1 x orange + handful mango chunks + 1 handful spinach
  • 1 cup raspberries + 1 scoop protein powder + handful spinach + 1 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 cup pineapple + half cucumber + handful spinach
meat

Am I eating too much meat?

The headlines following the release of the WHO’s report on meat and cancer this week made for pretty scary reading.

Even if you’re not a bacon sandwich connoisseur, you’ve probably been left wondering if you’re eating too much meat.  This post will hopefully make things clearer.

What the report actually says

The new report comes from IARC – the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an independent body of experts tasked by the WHO to review the evidence between meat and cancer risk.

After reviewing around 800 pieces of evidence which looked at the association between meat intake and cancer across the globe they concluded there was enough evidence to class processed meat as a class one carcinogen (cancer forming agent), the same as tobacco, alcohol and sun-beds.

But just because tobacco and processed meat are in the same group, it doesn’t mean they carry the same risk.

So eating processed meat iSN’T as bad as smoking?

No. The category explains how likely something is to cause cancer, but not how many cancers it causes.  (Cancer Research UK have given a brilliant example here)

Let’s take tobacco and cancer. Cancer Research estimate smoking causes 19% of all cancers. If we all stopped smoking, there would be 64,400 fewer cases.

Now let’s take processed meat and cancer – remember they are in the same group. Cancer Research estimate red and processed meat cause 3% of cancers.  If we ate no red or processed meat, there would be 8,800 fewer cases.

So how much is my risk increased by?

IARC concluded if you eat 50 grams of processed meat a day (~3 rashers of bacon), your increase your risk of bowel cancer by 18%. This sounds a lot, but it’s relative risk i.e. relative to someone who doesn’t eat any.

Because the absolute risk of developing bowel cancer is low (about 6% in your lifetime) an 18% increase changes your risk from around 6% to 7%.

This about the same increase in risk as obesity or a lack of exercise. So if you eat lots of processed meat, reducing your intake of processed meat might help, but according to one expert, getting a colonoscopy, being  healthy weight and getting some exercise are equally as important in terms of risk reduction.

What counts as processed meat anyway?

This is not always explained very well. The WHO say processed meat is “any meat which has been salted, cured, fermented, smoked or has undergone a process to enhance flavour or improve preservation”.

So that means hot dogs, ham, sausages, corned beef, beef jerky, canned meat and salami, but not mince or fresh hamburgers.

What about red meat?

The IARC report red meat as as probable, not convincing, cause – so less convincing, a class 2,  the same group as shift work and being a hairdresser.

For every 100g serving a day of red meat, the relative risk is 1.17, so around the same for processed meat. The number of people eating this much? Around 24% of men and 9% of women.

It’s also worth bearing in mind the way you cook meat makes a difference (in short, burnt or very well cooked meats likely carry more risk).

What does this mean for me?

Although this is a new report, it doesn’t actually change the existing advice which is;

  1. Limit processed meat (occasional is OK)
  2. Enjoy red meat in moderation (2-3 red meat meals /week is under the 500 gram cooked guide)
  3. Include some meat-less meals each week. Plant based proteins and fish are great options.

Data shows that on average, we eat about 71 grams of meat a day, which is in line with the recommendation to stay at 70 grams or less.

Bottom line – if you like meat, it’s OK to keep eating it in moderation as part of a healthy diet, and if you choose not to eat it that’s ok too. And if you do eat lots of processed meat, you might want to think about cutting down.

caffeine

Is coffee bad for me?

I love my morning cup of coffee. It’s not a replacement for sleep or an energising breakfast, but it’s one thing I enjoy and don’t want to give up. But am I doing myself harm?

Caffeine is regularly blamed for sleepless nights, anxiety, cellulite and bad skin, which means most of us have attempted to crack our caffeine habit at one time or another. But is a cup of coffee really all that bad?

After looking into the evidence it’s time to set the record straight (spoiler alert – coffee isn’t bad. In fact, there are some surprising health benefits. Here’s what you need to know…)

Coffee and performance

Feel more awake after your coffee? You’re right. Caffeine is a stimulant that improves alertness and ability to perform brain-taxing tasks, which means a cup of coffee before work is a good time to take advantage of those effects.

The other ideal time to benefit from coffee is pre-workout. A cup of coffee before you hit the gym or the great outdoors improves motor control and reduces your sensation of of pain and fatigue (which means you can push that bit harder). For athletes, it’s one of the only legal performance-enhancing aids – when caffeine is consumed pre-workout, subjects feel less tired and can exercise for longer. Effects are noticeable at doses as low as 1mg per kg of body weight – a single shot of espresso contains around 100mg.

Coffee, diabetes and heart disease

The benefits of caffeine aren’t just limited to performance. It might seem odd, but lots of studies show regular coffee intake is associated with a lower risk of diabetes. We don’t know why, but researchers think the effects are thanks to compounds in coffee beans that appear to improve blood glucose control.

Similarly in an analysis of data on coffee and heart disease risk, scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded 1-2 cups of coffee per day could lower the risk of heart disease.

Some of the benefits might be down to antioxidants. Although we naturally think of fruits and vegetables as high antioxidant foods, a 2005 study from the University of Scranton found coffee was the number one source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet. Antioxidants help protect our cells from damage, reducing the risk of chronic disease.

What about sleep, hydration and anxiety?

It would be unfair to talk about the positives of caffeine without being honest about the effects of high intakes. Because caffeine is a stimulant, large intakes can disrupt sleep. In a 2013 study scientists looked at the effect of a big cup of coffee consumed at bedtime, 3 hours before or 6 hours before sleep. They found caffeine reduced total sleep time each time, which means if you want to get a peaceful night, stick to drinking it in the morning to give it plenty of time to leave your system.

High intakes of caffeine have also been linked to anxiety, particularly in those who are more at risk of suffering from depression and anxiety. If you identify with this, it’s wise to be aware of the effect of high amounts of caffeine on your mood, and switch in more caffeine-free options.

As for hydration, the happy news is that research has failed to prove that coffee can cause dehydration. In one study published in the Journal of the American College Of Nutrition, regular coffee drinkers had the same levels of hydration as those who stuck to water.

It’s true caffeine has a slight diuretic effect (meaning it makes you produce more urine), but the amount you lose is offset by the amount of liquid in a cup of coffee. The exception to this rule is espresso, so make like the Italians and serve your espresso with a glass of water.

Bottom line A  coffee or two a day isn’t bad for you – in fact it can actually do you good. For maximum benefit (and to avoid sleepless nights) drink your coffee in the morning or before a workout.

NB. Women who are pregnant are advised to limit their caffeine intake to 200mg a day – the equivalent of two cups of instant coffee.

coconut oil

Coconut oil – what’s the hype?

From hair masks to morning coffee, coconut oil has found its way to the top of the health-food chain as a magical fat-melting elixir, but is it really good for you?

Fat facts

Extracted from the flesh of mature coconuts, coconut oil is a solid saturated fat. In fact almost 90 per cent of the fat in coconut oil is saturated, which got it slapped with a big fat red flag for many years.

Fast forward to the noughties and we’re waking up to evidence that shows there’s less association between fat and heart health than previously thought. In fact, a recent study funded by the British Heart Foundation didn’t to find any evidence that swapping saturated for unsaturated fats reduces the risk of developing heart disease. (If you are looking for heart health benefits, monounsaturated fats from avocado, olive oil and nuts are a better bet).

A different sort of saturate 

To get to the bottom of the coconut oil argument it’s important to know that the saturated fats in coconut oil are ‘medium chain triglycerides (or MCT)’ – meaning they are strung together in chains of 6-10 fatty acids.

It’s this characteristic which makes coconut oil unique, as medium chain fats are directly absorbed from your digestive tract, and don’t require bile acids for digestion. This means they are easily burned as an energy source, rather than being stored as fat, which has led to claims that coconut oil can help you lose weight. But is it true?

Weight loss aid

Scientific studies using coconut oil are few and far between, but there are a couple which show possible benefit. In one 2008 trial, overweight adults were asked to include a daily dose of either MCT oil or olive oil as part of a calorie controlled diet. After four months weight loss in the MCT group was double that seen in in the olive oil group.

In another pilot study to assess the safety of coconut oil use in weight loss, 20 overweight Malaysian adults were assigned to take 30ml of coconut oil a day for four weeks. Results showed a significant reduction in waist size in the men, with no changes in cholesterol profile.

Coconut oil and the athlete

Because coconut oil can be used for energy some say it can be used to spare carbohydrate reserves during endurance exercise. However, results are mixed, with some demonstrating benefit, and some showing disadvantage due to stomach cramps.

The other application for athletes is in boosting immune function. About half the fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, which has shown antibacterial and antiviral activity.

Coconut oil and cooking 

Because it is primarily saturated, coconut oil is a stable fat to cook with, and has a high smoke point, which means the fats are not easily oxidized or damaged through cooking. Coconut oil is good for frying and works well in curries and baking.

The last word  

Bottom line – as a fat coconut oil is still a calorie dense nutrient – one tablespoon provides 117 calories and 14g of fat – so don’t go no lathering it over everything and expect to lose weight. However, used in moderation as part of a balanced diet, evidence suggests it won’t cause you harm.

Try using coconut oil in curries and stir-fries, but choose a cold pressed virgin variety rather than cheaper refined versions that have undergone hydrogenation – this is the sort to avoid, as hydrogenated fats DO have negative effects on blood fats.

eggs large

Should you be eating more protein?

Protein has been getting a lot of airtime recently. It’s the one nutrient we’re all becoming more aware of, and yesterday I posted a link to research from Canada suggesting its time recommendations on protein needs are updated.

How much?

Current guidelines say we should be eating about 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight, so if you weigh 60 kilos, that’s about 48 grams. A chicken breast or can of tuna will give you around 30 grams, so this isn’t hard to meet – in fact unless you’re following a vegan diet it’s unlikely you fall short.

The problem is, these  recommendations are based on the amount of protein we need to avoid  running into problems – to make sure we have enough for normal tissue repair and turnover, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the optimal amount. In fact, lots of evidence exists to suggest that eating more protein could benefit us in lots of ways. Protein helps keep us full – it suppresses appetite and helps preserve lean muscle mass (that’s the stuff you want more of) when dieting.

If you take two groups of people on a weight loss diet and give one group more protein, they tend to feel less hungry, lose more weight and retain more muscle, which is important for keeping weight off in the long term. This is one of the reasons I recommend people eat more protein rich meals when trying to lose weight. But it’s not just weight loss. If you want to build muscle, if you exercise regularly or just want to prevent losing muscle as you age, eating more protein is also a wise move. That’s important because losing muscle mass means a slowing of metabolic rate and an increased risk of trips and falls as you get older.

Space it out 

There’s also the question of how we space out our protein intake. Most of us have a low protein breakfast (cereal), a small amount at lunch in a sandwich or salad, saving the big protein portion for a meat or fish based dinner.  This is the opposite of emerging research which shows eating a protein at each meal is the best way to optimise muscle mass and help regulate appetite (see here for more info).

Bottom line? Even if you don’t choose to eat more protein overall, changing the way you eat it – so eating a decent portion three times a day rather than just at your evening meal – is likely to benefit you.

It’s worth noting that any recommendation to eat more protein comes with the concern about sustainability. Don’t forget that eating meat and fish isn’t the only way to increase protein intake. Eggs, milk and yoghurt are protein rich (Greek yoghurt contains twice the protein of regular yoghurt), and whey is a great option after exercise because it reaches your muscles quickly.  Plant proteins like beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu and soy are also great for boosting protein intake, and they have the added benefit of fibre and antioxidants.