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

How does fish oil help?
Recent research published in the Journal Nutrition concludes that it seems likely that eating fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids may protect against periodontal disease in the elderly. The participants in this study that had the lowest omega 3 intake had significantly fewer teeth than those with the highest omega 3 intake.
The anti inflammatory action of omega 3 has long been known but to many people internal inflammation is an abstract concept. Now with such obvious benefits coming to light, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore.

In order to optimize omega 3 intake and absorption consider the following;

• Eat 3 servings of cold water fish a week. These include mackerel, trout, herring and sardines
• Use seeds including hemp. sunflower, pumpkin and flax in abundance
• Use cold pressed oils such as olive, flaxseed and walnut
• Avoid processed foods including baked goods, breakfast cereals and ready meals
• Ensure the animal products you consume are from grass fed, free ranging herds and flocks
• Use a balanced, reputable essential fatty acid supplement

Free food intolerance test indicator and free 15 minute consultation.
Due to the success of this offer from last months news letter I’ve decided to extend it indefinitely.
The Foodprint® Indicator is a simple pin-prick test that gives a positive or negative result within 10 days. Valued at £19.00 this is now available for free From Jamie Richards Nutrition. Contact me directly for a free 15 minute telephone consultation if you feel you are reacting to certain foods. From there I can arrange to send you a free indicator kit and discuss what options are open to you if the result is positive.

Cyclist No.1
Lastly, watch this space. I’ve just joined the team at the soon to be launched Cyclist No.1 website. As part of the deal I’ll be conducting an on-going case study of Cyclist No.1’s very own Gary Lake as he trains and prepares for The Bontrager Twentyfour12 24 hour mountain bike endurance event in Plymouth later this year. That’s 24 hours of solid mountain biking without sleep. As he’s never attempted anything like this before we’ve already put Gary through his paces over at True Zone Training and the good news is that he looks like he’s physically capable if finishing. I’ll be keeping a log of all the help and advice Gary is getting, and passing on all the relevant material as it becomes available.

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

Free food intolerance test indicator and free 15 minute consultation.
The Foodprint® Indicator is a simple pin-prick test that gives a positive or negative result within 10 days. Valued at £19.00 this is now available for free From Jamie Richards Nutrition. Contact me directly for a free 15 minute telephone consultation if you feel you are reacting to certain foods. From there I can arrange to send you a free indicator kit and discuss what options are open to you if the result is positive.

Fat burner coach
Jamie Richards Nutrition in association with Personal Space Training presents a 6 part series of intelligent weight management classes at the Personal Space Studio in Bristol. Learn how to:

• Reduce fat
• Stop cravings
• Increase energy
• Stop dieting, start eating

Each class is 60-90 minutes long and is accompanied by menu plans, recipes, shopping lists and simple ‘how to’ principles. The course will run on Sunday evenings starting in February (date TBC). Contact me directly to register your interest or for further details.

Inspired Times
I continue to write for Inspired Times magazine which continues to need your valued support. This website doesn’t exist to sell magazines but Inspired Times continues to put a smile on my face and Sharon and the gang deserve recognition and success for all their endeavours. All my previous articles can be found here.

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

The Mediterranean diet really is the buzz trend right now. It must surely be one of the most commonly used terms in nutrition these days, having successfully crossed the void between complementary nutrition and conventional medicine. Extensively studied, the list of health benefits is impressive – reduced risk of cancer, reduced age-related memory decline, improved weight loss, reduced cholesterol, lowered risk of heart disease and more recently with improved mood and reduced depression. This is all good stuff and there is little doubt about the benefits to be gained from adopting the principles of a Mediterranean diet.

So just why is the Mediterranean diet so good and what can we take out of it to benefit our own health and that of our families? The top preventable diseases in western society are smoking tobacco, drinking too much alcohol, high blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity, high salt intake and omega 3 fatty acid deficiencies. Other than smoking, the Mediterranean diet broadly addresses all these issues. It even allows for a small glass of red wine or two with your main meal. It’s not a greatly restrictive diet, you don’t have to count calories and, with little skill in the kitchen, the results taste fantastic. Great, I hear you say, sounds like the one for me, where do I sign up?

However, there’s a problem. On the one hand, we’re encouraged to adopt this diet, but as we enter our supermarkets the reality of it hits home. In amongst the piles of sugar, salt and fat laden products, where do we start?

Successive governments have allowed and encouraged the relentless surge of the convenience food industry. We can’t rely on them to change now, can we? Right now, with the emergence of the Mediterranean diet, there is a real opportunity for our government to send out a strong message of intent by dramatically cutting the salt, fat and sugar content of convenience foods. Imagine the biggest health shake up this country has ever known, the prime minister rolls up his sleeves, clears our supermarket shelves of convenience foods and fills them with ingredients that fit the Mediterranean diet plan. GP surgeries are fitted with demo kitchens and, much like the Spanish, we’re all encouraged to sit down and eat with our families and then take a siesta. … I can dream can’t I?

Besides, is following the Mediterranean diet really all we need to do in the UK to put an end to diet-related illness? A one size fits all diet for the 21st century? I’d argue not. If only life were that simple. It is a sunny place to start, but there are other factors to consider here. As food becomes scarcer in the world, local food will undoubtedly become far more important to us. What’s growing in our fields will increasingly dictate what’s on our plates in the not too distant future, not what they’re eating for lunch in Tuscany. Our climate also plays an important part. Is a fresh raw salad of any use to us on a cold, damp January evening when only a hearty broth will really do the trick? And let’s not forget that we are all individuals with different tastes and needs.

Having said that, we do need to do something and the Mediterranean diet would be a huge leap in the right direction. It would take us a step back to times when fresh food preparation was part of our everyday lives and involved imagination and a large measure of frugality. I think mostly it is the principles of the Mediterranean diet that we could adopt and adapt.

For starters here’s my own adaptation:

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 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 and ‘transit time’.

Lastly, and to avoid finishing an article with the words ‘transit time’, enjoy a small glass of red wine with your evening meal. Bon Appétit!

Most people are surprised to hear that the majority of sweeteners in processed food come from corn. In a complicated, industrial and highly chemical process HFCS is produced by processing corn starch to yield glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a high percentage of fructose. Unfortunately for us, this process is made cheap by American Government funding and is an ideal outlet for US corn producers and their unwanted genetically modified wares. (Before I get any complaints pointing out that not all US corn is genetically modified, I would point out that at least two of the enzymes used in HFCS production most certainly are.)

So, why is this stuff bad for you? After all we are told that fructose is one of the safer sweeteners. The medical profession tells us that fructose is safer for diabetics to consume than sugar. Sugar (sucrose) is made up of fructose and glucose but it now appears that the fructose part of sugar is far more damaging when delivered in higher quantities than nature intended. Processed and no longer ‘bound up’ in sucrose, the fructose also becomes more readily available, causing it to ‘flood’ our system. Once in there HFCS is known to deplete chromium, an important mineral that helps us process glucose, contributing to blood sugar irregularities.

Furthermore, every cell in the body has a mechanism for metabolising glucose but only the liver can metabolise fructose. The liver then has a tendency to convert much of it to fat. So consumption of HFCS puts an additional strain on the liver, not unlike alcohol. This may be one of the reasons for the incredible rise in non alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition virtually unheard of 30 years ago. This is when the liver of someone that drinks alcohol in moderation (or not at all), resembles that of an alcoholic, due entirely to their diet. When you consider how widespread the use of HFCS is, especially in children’s food, then alarm bells should surely be ringing. Worryingly, they aren’t.

The list of companies using HFCS is far too extensive for me to publish here so I’ll just give you a flavour of how widespread it is.

• Capri Sun
• Most if not all canned and bottled soft drinks from the USA
• Kellogg’s
• Sara Lee (Heart healthy bread)
• Heinz
• Nutri Grain
• Vicks (yes the cough syrup)
• Ocean spray
• Ben and Jerry’s
• Tropicana smoothies

Frankly it would be easier to produce a list of what doesn’t contain HFCS.

You can avoid it by always checking the labels, eating plenty of home made food and steering well clear of canned and bottled soft drinks.

The perfect gravy
This will be my last news letter before the new year so I’d like to end on a positive note and give you the best Christmas tip that I can. After an exhaustive search I can confirm that Jamie Oliver’s ‘consistently good gravy‘ truly is consistently good. No matter how much you struggle with the roast dinner, this is a simple and enjoyable way of making a perfect, tasty and nutritious gravy to top it all off.

All that remains is for me to wish you all a fantastic holiday season and a wonderful new year. Happy eating.

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

Cholesterol and statins
I’m going to spend much more time on this in another news letter but I really wanted to raise the topic now. A close family member recently had a high total cholesterol reading of 6. They are otherwise fit and healthy with no obvious risk factors for heart disease and a willingness to change their lifestyle. They were immediately prescribed 40mg Simvastatin. 40mg is the most potent statin available from that particular manufacturer. Both the World Health Organisation and the statin manufacturers themselves recommend that statins are a last resort in lowering cholesterol, used only after nutritional and lifestyle factors have failed. When questioned the GP immediately agreed to refer my relative to a dietician and that the prescription was somewhat premature under the circumstances. They’re now undertaking a 3 month programme of nutrition, exercise and supplementation with a view to re tested at the end of that period. I’ll keep you posted on the results when they come in.
My point? Don’t be afraid to question exactly why you are being prescribed something and to find out what the alternatives are.
Contact me directly for more advice on how to lower cholesterol levels without the need for statins.

Multiple Sclerosis
As many of you know this subject is very close to my heart. I’ve recently been in touch with a great chap called Ashton Embury of Direct MS. He’s part of a fantastic group researching MS over in Canada. Ashton has written an article about chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCVSI) and I wanted to share it with any of you who have an interest in that condition. Don’t be scared by the title, this is a new and exciting angle on the possible treatment of MS. Feel free to pass it on. ccsvi a huge breakthrough in ms

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

The fact is that local, seasonal, organic pretty much was our lifestyle, rich or poor, until around 60 years ago. Then, in post-war Britain, science and intensive farming were embraced as the gateway to the future. This was seen as a way to rise from the misery of rationing and begin to prosper once more.

The nation began to be wowed by the wonders of modern food production and exotic fruits from around the world. Years rolled by and the wonders of processed food continued. This may be one of the worse confessions I’ll ever make, but who can forget the joy of Angel Delight? Or, boil in the bag cod with parsley sauce, dried chicken chow mien with those crunchy noodles and their first trip to McDonalds? Not me! Never before had the human diet changed so drastically in such a short space of time. It has possibly also led to the most detrimental dietary changes in our history – ones we are only now beginning to fully understand.

So, what was so good about this local, seasonal and organic food of our yester years?

Local
Locally-grown and locally-eaten food is picked and eaten when ripe and at its nutritious best. ‘Fresh’ food sold in our supermarkets, on the other hand, is often picked long before it is ripe, transported from near and far, stored in a warehouse, then left on a supermarket shelf for days. I ask you, how ‘fresh’ is that?

Seasonal
Populations in Asia have a far better reputation for holding onto traditions than we do in the west. Chinese herbal doctors have followed a diet of the seasons for centuries now. This keeps our body healthy by aligning us with nature and eating foods that are naturally available in our own environment. Scientifically, we now know that force-growing crops at the wrong time of year creates a different nutrient profile to those that are seasonally grown. For me, this shows how easy it is to become separated from the seasons while seemingly eating a ‘healthy’ diet.

Organic
Many studies have shown that organically-grown foods are more nutrient dense than intensively-farmed ones. Chemically fertilized plants often look larger and lusher, but lush growth means more watery tissue and a growing susceptibility to disease. Because of this, the nutritive quality of the plant also suffers. The use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has long been a contentious issue. Pesticides protect plants from the surrounding environment, but is this a good thing? Organic plants are more exposed to the elements. With that comes stress and disease – by standing on their own two feet they develop an inner strength that exposure to these elements demands. This causes the organic plants to produce more protective and anti-stress compounds and we get the benefit of these compounds when we eat them! Chemically-enhanced plants often look particularly attractive but nutritionally they usually have only a feeble offering and really aren’t fit for purpose.

As a nutritional therapist I use food to promote optimum health. My recommendations must be realistic and achievable and this is where the local, seasonal and organic idealism can fall down. In an ideal world we’d all have unlimited access to local, seasonal and organic food, and have the time and knowledge to cook and prepare it. We need the help and resources to re-establish this much needed connection between consumers, producers and the land our food comes from. The good news is that this help is now here in abundance. There has been a quiet food revolution going on that is challenging the way we shop and eat in this country. The Food for Life partnership is doing amazing work in schools across the country and the Making Local Food Work project is a great online resource.

What can you do? Why not check out your local farmers’ market or speak to your greengrocer about what they have that’s local and in season? You could join a community farm project or order a UK only vegetable box from one of the many locally-based companies. Get a seasonal cook book and learn how to make tasty, nutritious meals from the less popular winter vegetables. The Boxing Clever Cookbook by Jacqui Jones and Joan Wilmot has recipes like Swede in cider that are a real January treat in my home. A quick online search produces a wealth of allotment and garden sharing sites for those of you who want to grow your own. We’re only limited by our imaginations. Start looking for new and healthier ways of eating. The rewards are truly delicious’.

There is increasing evidence that deficiencies in micro nutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc and vitamin A are a contributing factor in chronic weight gain. Consider for a moment that obesity is in fact a form of malnutrition. This is often referred to as ‘hidden hunger’. Put simply, our poor food choices aren’t providing the nutrients we need to remain fit and healthy.

With that in mind, what then happens if the only advice you receive from well meaning IVF clinics is to severely restrict the same diet you are already on? The result would be lowered micro nutrient status and a reduction in your chances to conceive and maintain a healthy, happy pregnancy. Not to mention little or no chance of achieving sustainable weight loss.

Now combine this naive misinformation with new, over the counter weight loss solutions. I give you …

Alli the wonder drug?
Alli, the first weight loss pill sold without prescription is currently being investigated by the FDA in America amid claims that it can cause major liver damage. GlaxoSmithKline issued a statement pointing out that there can be many causes of liver damage, and people who are overweight and obese are often predisposed to such disorders. They also said that the drug works in the gastrointestinal tract and there was ‘no obvious biological mechanism to suggest liver damage can occur’.

The truth is they may well be right! Alli probably doesn’t directly harm the liver. They have done their homework and their testing and, my guess is, their defence is solid. The problem is that this isn’t the whole story as far as weight loss goes and here’s one of the reasons why.

Fat deposits store toxins. When our bodies are overloaded and stressed, synthetic chemicals, food additives, drug residues and the like are stored in our fat cells for safe keeping. Most of this storage takes place in and around the liver so that the liver can easily process them when it gets the opportunity. Chances are that individuals with serious weight issues unknowingly have a seriously overweight and fatty liver that doesn’t funtion very well. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what might happen when sudden weight loss occurs without taking adequate time to prepare for it. The liver is suddenly exposed to an increase in toxins released due to the breakdown of fat cells.

In addition these poor unsuspecting souls are also more than likely deficient in many if not all the micro nutrients necessary to deal with this type of cascade. Not least the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K because Alli has already restricted their absorption from food.

Alli has produced £56 million in sales in the EU between April and June this year. The current advice from the FDA is to continue taking Alli as directed.

What can you do?
Enlist the help of a qualified nutritional therapist who understands Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) that promote proven, safe, sustainable weight loss with added health benefits. Maximising your fertility should involve optimising nutrition by incorporating whole foods, essential fats and the broadest range of micro nutrients possible.

Beetroot juice helps athletes train for longer?
Research conducted in The University of Exeter has shown that regular consumption of beetroot juice can increase stamina and endurance. The high nitrate content of the beetroot juice leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake. This makes you more ‘oxygen efficient’ making exercise less tiring. The use of beetroot juice also led to lower resting blood pressure readings.

Running
The half marathon takes place in Bristol next Sunday. Another chance to enjoy the traffic free town centre that so many people are promoting. I’ll be there trying to knock at least 15 minutes off last years time by attempting to come in at just under 1hr 35mins. Wish me luck!

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

• Walk to and from the shops
• Buy only free ranging, grass fed meat and dairy products
• Avoid buying processed foods especially baked goods, breakfast cereals, meats and ready meals
• Avoid buying margarines, vegetable oils and foods stored in vegetable oils (especially those in plastic containers)
• Buy enough vegetables to ensure half your plate/serving contains a wide variety of the non-starchy variety

Imagine, 5 small changes that begin to directly address the preventable causes of death in our population. No supplements, no expense, no effort. Just a simple change in shopping habits.

Influenza prevention. Is good hygiene enough?
Mucosal cells provide a huge percentage of our overall immunity protecting us from viral and bacterial infections. Nutri-Link Clinical Education have recently published a paper on optimising mucosal health using nutritional strategies.

• What is the mucosa?

Put simply it is a mucus secreting membrane coating all body passages and cavities. In this instance we are referring to the mucosa of the respiratory and digestive tract.

• Why is it important?

It is our first line of defence against invading pathogens, providing a barrier with a wide number of defence mechanisms

• What can you do to improve it?

Our secretory IgA (sIgA) provides the first line of immune defence at the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and genitourinary tracts, where more than 95% of infections are initiated. Certain probiotics may increase SIgA and improve immune tolerance, as well as restricting viral and pathogen adhesion and penetration.
One strain of probiotic known as Saccharomyces Boulardii has been shown in animal and human studies to be an effective promoter of SIgA.
Optimising vitamin D levels appears to have a profound effect on human immunity including the prevention of influenza. It is thought to do this by optimizing the immune response within mucosal cells.
In one 2007 study Colostrum supplementation was shown to be at least 3 times more effective than vaccination to prevent flu. Colostrum contains a range of immune regulating components thought to support the mucosa of the intestinal tract where many instances of flu start.

Please contact me directly if you would like any further information on this subject.

Save the Bees
I wrote a little about bees last month and this month I wanted to highlight The Soil Association campaign to save honey bees by banning neonicotinoids. If you can spare 2 minutes take a read and sign the petition here

That’s it for this month. Good health and happy eating to all of you.

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