Stress 21st century style

Our 21st century lifestyles have become far removed from the lives people led just a short time ago. In the past they lived off the earth, in small communities with close friendships and shared common beliefs. In today’s society we have fewer close social ties, we learn from the TV and computer, we leave our families and support networks behind as we travel the world and have education that questions our beliefs.
This makes for a stressful existence and stress-related illness has become the leading health problem in Western society today. In addition, home entertainment, transport and communication all mean we can now move less whilst doing more.
Our minds are constantly stimulated and busy even though our bodies are often stationary. All these modern developments put entirely new and unique demands on our system and our system is now overloaded with messages and signals it can’t identify. Feeding the mind and nourishing the body is essential during times of stress. Essential fats, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and others are all depleted by stress so we need to make sure we have a diet that provides enough for now and adequate reserves for later. But have we? Or is our food ‘stressing us out’ still further?

Modern food modern problem

Alongside our stressful lives we live in an age of stimulants, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and poor diets. Sadly, the British average diet – aptly given the acronym BAD – is full of foods that tax our bodies rather than nourish them.
These are energy-rich, over-produced foods that contain few of the essential nutrients needed to feed our mentally active, physically inactive selves in the
21st century. We tend to use the same few ingredients such as white fl our, sugar, vegetable oils, alcohol, caffeine and processed meats. Many of these are empty calories that provide little but unhealthy fats, sugar and salt, often using more nutrients to digest than they actually provide in the first place. Some chemicals and toxins in our food and environment are so unfamiliar that the only thing our bodies can do is to store them out of the way in our fat cells. That makes shedding those extra pounds not only extremely difficult but potentially toxic as well. Our fruits and vegetables (the few that we eat) contain fewer essential vitamins and minerals than ever before making it even more difficult to get the nutrition we need. Many of us with tired minds are trapped on the energy roller coaster, using energy drinks, coffee and sweet foods as weapons of mass stimulation to lift us during the day and then wine to unwind in the evening. This causes our blood sugar levels to go from energetic highs to energy lows until we find our next fix. This is both stressful and inflammatory to our bodies.

The power of good nutrition

So, whilst our bodies need more nutritious, less calorie-dense foods, we have tended
to feed ourselves exactly the opposite. In looking for nutritional solutions to this new century we could do a lot worse than taking a step back into our past. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all our ancestors lived a life of nutritious bounty; many of them were far too hungry for that. But personal experience and scientific research have shown us the benefits of eating a more ‘primal diet’. A diet based on the foods humans have been eating longest, in terms of our time on this planet, and are well adapted to eating. A primal diet consists of animal foods (meat, fish and eggs), vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and water. The animal foods should be from coldwater fish or free ranging, grass-fed herds and flocks, while the vegetables and fruits should be seasonal and local.

• Eating grass-fed, free-ranging animals provides us with higher levels of health promoting essential fats, higher levels of vitamins and minerals, lower levels of saturated fats and therefore fewer total calories than their grain-fed counterparts. They more closely resemble the meats our ancestors ate
• Local and seasonal vegetables and fruit are picked and eaten when ripe and at their nutritious best, not picked early then shipped around the globe to be eaten weeks later. On the other hand, nuts and seeds have long been imported into this country. They travel well and contain many essential fats, trace minerals and additional fibre lacking in today’s foods
• The addition of herbs, spices, oils (especially olive oil) and vinegars add aromatic flavours that stimulate digestion and make food more filling and satisfying
• Lastly, take a moment away from the madness – good food is best eaten in a calm, relaxed atmosphere where you can consider and enjoy what you are eating

A recent editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that “It is difficult to refute the assertion that if modern populations returned to a hunter-gatherer state then obesity and diabetes would not be the major public health threats they now are.” This is a truly bold statement and a sad indictment of our society that it wasn’t headline news across the country.

• blindness
• epilepsy
• aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• severe PMS
• peptic ulcers
• aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
• hyperactivity in children
• severe depression
• aggressive behavior
• suicidal tendencies
• Hypothyroidism
• fibromyalgia
• and a whole lot more

It was introduced onto the market in the early 80s and is now so widespread it’s hard to avoid it. The biggest selling sports drinks in this country contain both aspartame and ace K and their use isn’t just for sporting reasons any more. I have numerous clients that are addicted to Diet soda or sports drinks often drinking up to 3 litres a day.

Aspartame is made up of 3 chemicals: Aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. I’m not going to go through each of these because this article might then become a tedious science lecture. Lets just take a look at methanol for now. Once the temperature of aspartame reaches 86 degrees F the methanol changes into formaldehyde and formic acid. Consuming this can then lead to methanol poisoning and extremely intensive treatment. Chronic exposure to formaldehyde can cause irreversible neurological damage.
If you remember your chemistry it’s formaldehyde that is used for embalming and reading The Douglas Report recently there is a thought provoking quote that reads. “Chemically speaking it is as if image conscious dieters, in their quest for weight loss, are sucking on the toe of a corpse. ‘Just for the taste of it.’”
What this means to you and me is that you should avoid any aspartame containing foods and drinks especially if they are exposed to heat. I took a stroll round our local Tesco the other morning and found several within seconds of getting in the door. There are even Tesco own brand sweetener cubes and granules based on aspartame that you are encouraged to add to your tea and to use for baking! A steaming cup of embalming fluid for me please barman.
I could continue to write about the health problems associated with these products but I think you all get the general idea and can see where I’m going with this. Stop using them immediately! Stop your kids from using them and share this information with those you care for. And try to make sure your schools, sports coaches and work colleagues know about it.
I’d like to see a complete ban on sports drink vending machines at playing fields that are used by school children in the Bristol area. If any of you have any experience in mounting this sort of campaign then please get in touch. If you have any further questions then feel free to drop me an email.

Case studies

28 year old tri athlete presented with ‘IBS’, bloating, wind, constipation and regular knee/structural pain

• Taking at least 1g ibuprofen per day for a considerable time to manage joint pain
• Training was sporadic due to regular injuries
• Unable to conduct any tests due to financial restraints
• Diet consisted of high calorie carbohydrate rich foods such as pasta, bananas, bread, potatoes and rice. Very little attention to protein, fibre, fats or micronutrients
• Job was stressful
• Upon introduction of high protein and high fibrous vegetable diet along with targeted supplements all digestive issues were considerably better
• Anti inflammatory foods and supplements were introduced and within 4 weeks he was able to stop taking ibuprofen
• Aggressive post raining nutrition was introduced
• At the second meeting we added adrenal glandulars and adaptogenic herbs to support the adrenals and energy production
• Digestive issues are under control but still has issues when away from home
• Body composition changed dramatically loosing 7% body fat and gaining lean muscle
• Is now managing injuries much better and is able to train harder resulting in several PBs

That’s it for now. Happy eating to all of you.

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist

As part of a survey, two thousand adults were questioned about their weight. Researchers found that 64% of them were determined to lose weight this year. They also found that 86% of the people who had previously resolved to diet at New Year admitted they had been unsuccessful. The UK diet industry is worth billions, yet is there any other industry that thrives on a failure rate of 80-90%? Even the word ‘diet’ is now taboo in nutritional circles. We prefer to use the terms ‘food plan’ or ‘meal programme’ when talking with our clients. The word ‘diet’ puts people into a tailspin, in fear of a future dominated by low fat spread, meal replacement drinks and calorie counting. It no longer refers to the everyday foods you and I choose to eat and is now associated with differing forms of restriction.

Restrictive diets

The truth is that most of these diets are highly restrictive. Restrictive diets are destined to fail and many play havoc with your health. Here’s why;

Diets which severely restrict calories effectively send the body into starvation mode as if there was a real famine situation. This then gradually reduces the body’s metabolism and the rate at which we burn calories. When we return to a more normal eating pattern, weight will accumulate very quickly. Many low fat diets fail to distinguish between the types of fat consumed. Whilst it may be unhealthy to consume a large amount of saturated fat in your diet it can also be very harmful to your health to cut out fat completely. The much-maligned saturated fats play many important roles in body chemistry and essential fats found in nuts, seeds and oily fish help to regulate metabolism and promote healthy weight control. Restricting particular food groups often leads to unpleasant side effects that may lead to further health complications. High protein diets can lead to headaches, irritability, hormonal and digestive problems, bad breath and sleep issues. In extreme cases they have been known to lead to kidney damage and other irreversible problems. Low carbohydrate diets can increase cravings for sugary foods because they reduce the body’s ability to make the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine.

Most ignore the fundamental nutritional issue facing us in the 21st century. Much of our food has extremely poor nutritional value whilst being highly addictive in nature. That leads us to want more of it even though it fails to provide many of the essential nutrients we need in order to thrive. It leaves us feeling hungry only a short time after eating it and we naturally want more.

Modern day eating

So, for those of you who have failed on a restrictive diet, your willpower hasn’t weakened; it’s just harder to eat healthily in modern society. Most people I speak with understand the basics of a healthy diet but they find it incredibly difficult to put the theory into practice. Many popular diets are associated with commercial products of poor nutritional value. Foods labelled ‘healthy’ aren’t always so. They’re commonly calorie dense, stripped of fibre, stripped of nutrients, with unnecessary added ingredients. I fail to see the ‘health’ in most of it.

For me, this isn’t about what we shouldn’t be eating. It’s all about what we should be eating. Eating fresh ingredients, cooked simply, with a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates to provide long term energy for the day. Foods that leave you feeling satisfied because they provide nutritional value. Foods that provide us with energy that allows us to be active and mobile. Foods that provide the optimum level of nutrients our bodies need to function and thrive.

An article written for Inspired Times magazine

Over recent years I have sometimes recommended agave syrup as a suitable replacement for sugar whilst at the same time pointing out the dangers of high fructose corn syrup .  All of the reasons for not using HFCS(such as the unnatural production process, the genetically modified enzymes, the damagingly high levels of fructose and the strain that this puts onto the liver) can in fact also be attributed to Agave syrup, and perhaps even more so because it has an even higher level of fructose than HFCS. There is a good argument to say that Agave syrup or Agave nectar should really be labelled ‘High fructose agave syrup’ but for some reason it isn’t.

So, just to be completely clear about this … Agave syrup goes through a complicated chemical refining process of enzymatic digestion, which converts the plant starch into the free, man-made chemical fructose that has a direct link to serious the degenerative disease conditions so prevalent in our culture.

While high fructose agave syrup won’t spike your blood sugar levels (and can therefore be called ‘low GI’), the fructose in it may cause: mineral depletion, liver inflammation, hardening of the arteries, insulin resistance leading to diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, obesity, and may be toxic for use during pregnancy. Lovely. Stop using it now.

Case studies

I’m going to begin publishing a number of case studies here on the site. This is to give you all a better idea of the sort of people who benefit from nutritional therapy and the wide range of issues that we see in the clinic.

• 74 year old woman presented with ‘IBS’ symptoms lasting 32 years
• Symptoms include bloating, tenderness, constipation, diarrhoea, wind and general discomfort 95% of the time
• Despite numerous medical investigations and visits to alternative/complementary practitioners the symptoms have continued unabated
• Upon further investigation it was shown she was harbouring 2 different forms of mould in her gut and all common beneficial bacteria were low
• In addition her stool pH was extremely low
• Other issues that arose during our consultation were a tendency to overeat when alone, not to chew food and to drink large amounts of water whilst eating
• We introduced a 12 week programme to remove the moulds and address the underlying bacterial imbalance. This included a 4 week preparation time to make the transition as tolerable as possible
• The programme included an alkalising diet, extensive supplementation to support the digestive system including the liver and prescription medication to remove the moulds
• 6 months after the start of treatment she has remained symptom free for approximately 7 weeks at time of writing
• Is now maintaining health gut health with the assistance a probiotic supplement and supporting an alkaline diet with the use of specific ‘green foods’

More case studies will follow in the coming months.

That’s it for now. Happy eating to all of you.

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist

To make a good broth use;

1 whole chicken or chicken legs and thighs (reserve the breast for other uses) preferably organic/free range. Cut into several pieces.
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 stick celery chopped
1 tablespoon of vinegar (releases the gelatine more easily)
Parsley
Lots of water to cover

Method
Leave all the ingredients (except the parsley) to soak for around an hour.
Bring to the boil and remove the scum that rises to the top. This should take no more than 10 minutes.
Cook for 3 – 10 hours. The longer you leave it the better.
10 minutes before the end of cooking, add the chopped parsley.
Remove the chicken from the broth and reserve the meat for other uses (great for salads). Strain the stock and refrigerate until the fat rises and congeals at the top. Skim that off and what you have left can be refrigerated (up to 5 days) or frozen for use as you please.

Not only is it extremely health, it tastes great too.
For a great post run drink or general tonic warm a mug full of broth, add a pinch of raw salt and enjoy.
Can also be used to simmer vegetables or for soups and sauces
Recipe from Nourishing Traditions – Sally Fallon

The Eatwell plate

Some of you who have heard me talk recently will know that I feel rather passionately about the Governments Eatwell plate seen here.

According to the most comprehensive review of health during the 13 years since the Labour government came to power, obesity and alcohol have blighted their record. I didn’t need to read the report. One look at the Eatwell plate is all I need to know that the government has no interest whatsoever in confronting this issue. I should add that the review only considered the Labour government but I’m sure it wouldn’t have been any different for any of the other major parties.
The small, carefully colour coded purple section at the bottom says ‘foods high in sugar and fat’. And in some ways it is right to limit these ‘treat’ foods to around 10%. But this conveniently ignores almost everything to the right of the plate in yellow and blue that is…………….high in sugar and fat and salt.
The most worrying thing about this is that it’s an institutional document designed to advise our nation, it’s schools and hospitals. After years of ‘battling’ obesity, this is the very best our Government and their ‘chief scientists’ can come up with. The very best information they can give you, and most worryingly your children, on what to eat each day includes cornflakes, wheatabix, sunflower oil, an abundance of cheese, white bread, pasta and (although I still can’t believe it) a can of cola. When I first saw it I checked to see if it was April fools day and then figured that someone had hacked the Food (non)Standards Agency web site. Whatever happened to water? What about olive oil? And did humans really evolve eating a diet of 33% starchy foods like processed grains. Well those that lived in the Nestle forest may have done.
Almost every piece of genuinely good research into nutrition and public health leads us to believe that a modified Mediterranean diet is the way to go. I’ve talked about it in more detail here. I wrote the Mediterranean article without ever looking at the Eatwell plate but now having seen ‘the plate’ I’m compelled to share my own ‘eat well’ principles with you again. It’s an evolving theory so there are one or two changes since the last one.

• Walk to and from the shops. It’s good exercise and encourages you to buy locally
• Buy only free ranging, grass fed meat and dairy products (including butter). They are higher in the health giving essential fatty acids like omega 3
• Use extra virgin olive oil in cooking and food preparation, and use it liberally
• Avoid buying processed foods, especially margarines, baked goods, breakfast cereals, meats and ready meals. They’re laden with salt, sugar and saturated fats
• Ensure half of your plate/serving contains a wide variety of non-starchy vegetables
• Experiment using plenty of herbs and spices in your cooking. These add flavour and improve digestion
• Take plenty of time to enjoy your food with friends and family and chew properly. Eating in a relaxed environment improves digestion
• Drink approximately 1.5 litres of water a day. If you can afford it, a home reverse osmosis re mineralising system is the very best option (more about water in another newsletter
• Avoid fizzy drinks and any foods containing corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup

St Lukes Medical Centre Stroud

Thursday May 6th was the first of what will hopefully be many happy Thursdays working at St Lukes. I’ll also be doing a number of talks and workshops there so watch this space for more information.

That’s it for now. Happy eating to all of you.

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist

Chicken noodle broth (vegan recipe below)

There are no amounts or exact guidelines here. Just variations of a concept. The idea is to take the goodness of the whole chicken then add a host of beneficial ingredients and flavours that stimulate the senses and your digestion. This has been my favourite meal for quite some time now and I don’t see that changing in a hurry.

• Whole organic chicken
• lemon grass
• ginger
• garlic
• fresh turmeric
• live miso
• limes
• lime leaves
• pak choi
• spring onions
• thick noodles
• soya sauce
• coriander
• sweet basil
• mushrooms of some kind

Place a whole organic chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Add a roughly chopped onion and some celery. Bring to the boil, skim and then simmer for around an hour. Remove the chicken and leave it to cool whilst you strain the stock and return it to the pan. At this point I normally have much more stock than I need so I put half of it to one side for the moment. To the other half I add 2 or 3 crushed lemon grass stalks (use the base of a saucepan or a rolling pin) and then a large thumb sized piece of ginger, some fresh turmeric and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic all finely chopped or minced. Add 6ish kaffir lime leaves and a desert spoon of light miso. Keep the broth simmering while you begin to strip the meat off the chicken. Add as much of the meat as you like and reserve the rest for another meal or two. Now add some noodles. I really like the King Soba pumpkin, ginger and brown rice ones right now. They’re substantial and have a nice bite to them. Add some greens like pak choi, chopped spring onions, a good splash of soya sauce and plenty of lime juice. Right at the end add a large amount of chopped coriander and some sweet basil.
Lastly, you can break up the chicken carcass and return to the left over stock. Add some more water and add a good dash of white wine vinegar to help release the goodness from the bones. Add some more onion and celery and simmer it for another 2 hours at least. Strain it off and allow it to cool. It will refrigerate well for 3 days or freeze for longer.

Extravagant pumpkin and coconut curry

There’s a fair bit of prep to do for this one but the cooking is a breeze and the end result is amazing. It’s well worth all the chopping.

• Coconut oil for frying. Olive oil if you don’t have coconut oil
• 2 red onions, finely chopped
• 3 stalks of lemongrass crushed, outer layer removed
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 8 spring onions, chopped
• grated zest and juice of 2 limes
• 2 kaffir lime leaves shredded
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds toasted and ground
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• thumb sized piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
• 3 chillies finely chopped. Seeds in or out, you choose
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• small handful of chopped basil
• large handful chopped coriander
• 1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 2kg pumpkin or butternut squash, skinned, deseeded and cut into chunks
• handful of cashew nuts, toasted – optional

Pre heat the oven to 200c, gas mark 6. I use a large casserole with a lid or you could use a wok and then transfer to an ovenproof dish as long as you cover it. In the casserole, fry the onions for a minute then add the garlic and lemon grass. I begin to add a little water at this point. After a minute, add the peanut butter and continue to cook until it becomes sauce like, adding a little water to help it break down. Then add all the remaining ingredients except the pumpkin and coconut milk. Cook for a further minute, combining all the ingredients. Lastly, add the coconut milk and pumpkin. Put the lid on the casserole and place in the centre of the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. I serve from the casserole at the table with some well cooked brown basmati rice (optional) and some extra toasted cashews to garnish.

A grown up soft drink – The Ginger Kicker

This isn’t quite a soft drink because of the Angostura bitters but they are in tiny quantities.
Finding drinks for occasions when others are knocking back the booze is quite a challenge. There are two problems with this drink. Firstly it’s really difficult to find a pub that has the ingredients or the inclination to make it. And secondly, when I make it at dinner parties everyone ditches the wine and piles in.
Take a large jug and fill it with ice. Add 6 drops of Angostura bitters. Fill the jug with 1/3 tonic water, 1/3 ginger ale and 1/3 ginger beer. Top off with the juice of a very juicy lemon, stir and enjoy.

Gary Lake’s endurance event

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Nutri-Link for their very kind support of the Amateur MTB marathon attempt. Nutri-Link are a practitioner only supplement company so there is very little commercial reward from being associated with this type of support. Now with a supply of high end supplements from Nutri-Link we can begin to push Gary onto the next level.

Lastly I’m really very proud to announce that I’ll be starting a weekly clinic at St Lukes Medical Centre in Stroud. It’s a wonderful place to work and I’m truly excited by the prospect. A start date should follow shortly.

That’s it for now. I’m off for a celebratory ginger kicker. Happy eating to all of you.

Imagine trying to load iTunes onto a Commodore 64 home computer or trying to play Super Mario Bros on an original Atari VCS machine. The operating systems on those ancient machines just wouldn’t recognise the new software and wouldn’t be able to translate the new code. In short, it simply wouldn’t work. Unlike computers, our own operating systems – our genes – can’t be upgraded so quickly. Evolution takes much longer to adjust. But in recent years, the messages that our lifestyles and diets are sending our genes have changed beyond recognition. Our genes are struggling to cope and it is no coincidence that during this time we have seen a rapid rise in obesity, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases related to stress and diet.

Stress and the 21st century
Our 21st century lifestyles have become far removed from the lives people led just a short time ago. In the past they lived off the earth, in small communities with close friendships and shared common beliefs. In today’s society we have fewer close social ties, we learn from the TV and computer, we leave our families and support networks behind as we travel the world and have education that questions our beliefs. This makes for a stressful existence and stress-related illness has become the leading health problem in Western society today. In addition, home entertainment, transport and communication all mean we can now move less whilst doing more. Our minds are constantly stimulated and busy even though our bodies are often stationary. All these modern developments put entirely new and unique demands on our system and our system is now overloaded with messages and signals it can’t identify.

Feeding the mind and nourishing the body is essential during times of stress. Essential fats, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and others are all depleted by stress so we need to make sure we have a diet that provides enough for now and adequate reserves for later. But have we? Or is our food ‘stressing us out’ still further?

Modern food, modern problem
Alongside our stressful lives we live in an age of stimulants, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and poor diets. Sadly, the British average diet, aptly acronymed BAD, is full of foods that tax our bodies rather than nourish them. These are energy rich, over produced foods that contain few of the essential nutrients needed to feed our mentally active, physically inactive selves in the 21st century. We tend to use the same few ingredients such as white flour, sugar, vegetable oils, alcohol, caffeine and processed meats. Many of these are empty calories that provide little but unhealthy fats, sugar and salt, often using more nutrients to digest than they actually provide in the first place. Some chemicals and toxins in our food and environment are so unfamiliar that the only thing our bodies can do is to store them out of the way in our fat cells. That makes shedding those extra pounds not only extremely difficult but potentially toxic as well. Our fruits and vegetables (the few that we eat) contain fewer essential vitamins and minerals than ever before making it even more difficult to get the nutrition we need. Many of us with tired minds are trapped on the energy roller coaster, using energy drinks, coffee and sweet foods as weapons of mass stimulation to lift us during the day and then wine to unwind in the evening. This causes our blood sugar levels to go from energetic highs to energy lows until we find our next fix. This is both stressful and inflammatory to our bodies.

The power of good nutrition
So, whilst our bodies need more nutritious, less calorie-dense foods, we have tended to feed ourselves exactly the opposite. In looking for nutritional solutions to this new century we could do a lot worse than taking a step back into our past. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all our ancestors lived a life of nutritious bounty; many of them were far too hungry for that. But personal experience and scientific research have shown us the benefits of eating a more ‘primal diet’. A diet based on the foods humans have been eating longest, in terms of our time on this planet, and are well adapted to eating.

A primal diet consists of animal foods (meat, fish and eggs), vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and water. The animal foods should be from cold water fish or free ranging, grass feed herds and flocks, while the vegetables and fruits should be seasonal and local.

• Eating grass fed, free ranging animals provides us with higher levels of health promoting essential fats, higher levels of vitamins and minerals, lower levels of saturated fats and therefore fewer total calories than their grain fed counterparts. They more closely resemble the meats our ancestors ate.
• Local and seasonal vegetables and fruit are picked and eaten when ripe and at its nutritious best, not picked early then shipped around the globe to be eaten weeks later. On the other hand, nuts and seeds have long been imported into this country. They travel well and contain many essential fats, trace minerals and additional fibre lacking in today’s foods.
• The addition of herbs, spices, oils (especially olive oil) and vinegars add aromatic flavours that stimulate digest¬ion and make food more filling and satisfying.

Lastly, take a moment away from the madness – good food is best eaten in a calm, relaxed atmosphere where you can consider and enjoy what you are eating.

A recent editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that “It is difficult to refute the assertion that if modern populations returned to a hunter-gatherer state then obesity and diabetes would not be the major public health threats they now are.” This is a truly bold statement and a sad indictment of our society that it wasn’t headline news across the country.

Let’s get this straight; Sports drinks taken at appropriate times in correct measures can clearly boost performance and recovery. The problem is there is so much for me to dislike about the whole industry and like a scab I just can’t stop picking at it.

Having looked into this over the last few years I am still confused by the terms ‘energy drinks’ and ’sports drinks’. Is there a difference? Red Bull for example clearly markets itself as an energy drink but it sponsors world wide sporting events and teams. It doesn’t provide electrolytes essential for maintaining proper hydration during exercise so it can’t really be considered a sports product. It also contains the controversial ingredient taurine. Red Bull promote its inclusion by claiming taurine loss “can occur in some physiological situations, such as high stress and physical exertion.” So is Red Bull marketing itself as a product for stressed individuals and the physically active? A great many individuals who pass through the nutrition clinic are highly stressed. Stress has become the leading health problem in Western society directly responsible for up to 90% of visits to primary care doctors. It might not surprise you to learn than at no point do we advise those individuals to consume any amount of sugary water containing taurine, caffeine and artificial sweeteners in order to address their stress issues.

Lucozade tries to help me out by making both energy and sports products. But Lucozade energy is marketed exactly like a sports drink for adventurers? There are many others on the market walking this blurred line between energy and sports products. Some like Powerade, fronted by Wayne Rooney and owned by Coca Cola don’t even have the decency to have a list of ingredients on line.

The vast majority contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and asulphamine K. The controversy surrounding these sweeteners has been raging for years and is best left for another news letter. At best they’re questionable and I can see no reason whatsoever for putting them into products that are aimed at promoting sports performance and vitality.

Children

Most worrying of all is that these products are aggressively marketed at the young and impressionable. There is very little research being carried out on the effects of long term usage of these products particularly by the young. The National Federation of State High School Associations in the USA made the following recommendations for young athletes.

• Energy drinks should not be used for hydration.
• Information about the absence of benefit and the presence of potential risk associated with energy drinks should be widely shared among all individuals who interact with young athletes.
• Energy drinks should not be consumed by athletes who are dehydrated.
• Energy drinks should not be consumed without prior medical approval, by athletes taking over the counter or prescription medications

I regularly visit a number of sports centres here in Bristol that are attended by school children throughout the day. They all have vending machines selling these products with no advice on their appropriate use. These aren’t even ‘young athletes’, they are school kids doing a little exercise. They don’t need energy drinks or sports performance enhancing products. They just need some fresh air and physical exertion. In fact I believe that these products should only be available to the over 16s.

What should a sports drink contain?

If you start your exercise in a well fed and well hydrated state I don’t believe you’ll need to take anything if you are exercising for less than an hour. If you’re going for more than an hour then you may benefit from a drink containing easy to digest sugars in the form of maltodextrin. It should also contain the electrolytes Sodium, Chloride, Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium to replace the electrolytes lost through perspiration, maintain hydration and to preserve muscle function. And absolutely nothing else unless you’re in a race situation in which case the addition of some caffeine during the latter stages might just get you over the finishing line with a PB. There are some companies out there making top quality products based on these principles, you just have to search for them.

What should an energy drink contain?

If you have having issues with fluctuating energy levels, poor concentration, reliance on stimulants and cravings for sweet foods then you might want to consider resolving your blood sugar imbalances rather than reaching for the quick fix. These can be addressed by better food choices and lifestyle changes. The use of energy drinks in everyday life simply isn’t sustainable.

Please note that due to supplier price changes the free food intolerance indicator tests must be submitted before March 31st. After that they will be £19.50

That’s it for this month. Happy eating to all of you

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist