Mediterranean mealtimes

Having just got back from my holidays in Europe I wanted to share with you some insights and recipes from around the continent all this week. This isn't just because I'm a fan of european food but also because our neighbours across the channel have lower rates of heart disease and obesity than in the UK so have some valuable lessons to teach us.

I'm a people watcher, especially when abroad, and love to watch how locals interact with each other and compare with how things are done back home.

Continental meal time rituals contrast markedly with the general trend in the UK. Rather than wolfing down processed meals either on the go, or in front of the tv, meals are a lengthy affair with a strong focus on the social and family aspect rather than just filling a hungry stomach.

Food is usually eaten slowly and at a table with friends or family. Attention is paid to the food and it's enjoyment - all the easier as the high importance placed on fresh quality ingredients leads to more appetising cuisine. Unpleasant/poor quality food is discarded rather than being eaten for the sake of it.

Fresh produce is often bought daily at markets, where customers reject poor quality produce, rather than grabbing whatever they can find at a tesco metro on the way home from work. It helps that non-UK europeans have shorter working days leaving more time for food shopping and preparation.

Through this slower and more thoughtful approach to food a healthier relationship develops with binge/comfort eating and drinking much less common than in the UK. A stressful day is counteracted with a whinge to a friend over a glass of wine rather than home alone with a tub of haagan daas.

Hopefully you'll enjoy this weeks recipes and when serving them up try and bring a flavour of the mediterranean meatime to your home.
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Taking a time-out

Anyone reading through my client testimonials on my website may be surprised to read that I recommended a client regularly sat on her sofa and read Grazia - not your typical health advice!

The reason for this was to give her a 'time out' from a usually hectic day. The city can be a very punishing place to work - long hours, heavy socialising and high stress occupations can zap your vitality, and that's why 'me time' is so important.

Some city folk use the gym as a stress-buster but this can be part of the stress mix as well - tiring on the body and sometimes another level of competition - to be more fit, thin or well built than the next person!

Real me time simply involves chilling out and doing something totally relaxing which has no point other than to help you unwind.

This time should involve peace and quiet so if you have kids or live in a full house this may mean escaping to somewhere you won't be disturbed .. in the study, in the bathroom (have a nice long soak in the tub), in the garden or even stroll down to the park and chill out for ten minutes on a bench. Sit or lie down, keep music or the tv off and either let your mind wander or chill with a non-work related magazine or book.

And on that note I should let you know that I'll be taking a two week 'time-out' myself from next week, including from my blog. Nutritionist in the City will be back at the end of July and if any of you are also taking a break this month have a lovely holiday.
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Why brown is best

Firstly apologies to anyone on the e-mail subscription receiving two blogs this morning - it appears I missed the cut off for the e-mail last night! For anyone on the blog feed ignore this - you get them as I write them!

I find it quite common for people to associate being slim with being healthy - not a bad assumption. However in naturally slim people who can eat whatever they fancy and never gain weight (sadly I don't fall into this group) they can take this as a license to eat unhealthily, assuming that because they don't gain weight it is not doing them harm. This is a dangerous and incorrect assumption.

As evidence of this a study of 200,000 individuals by the Harvard School of Public Health found that if you eat five or more servings of white rice per week your risk of diabetes is 17 per cent higher than compared to a control diet and if you eat two or more servings of brown rice a week your chances are 11 percent lower when compared to the control. Having read this I went straight to Leon for lunch (all their hot dishes come served with brown rice)!

The reason for this increased risk in diabetes is that refined carbohydrates such as white rice, white bread, white pasta and foods with added sugar are quickly broken down into simple sugars by the gut and then absorbed quickly into the blood stream. This rapid increase in blood sugar stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin to reduce blood sugar levels to a safe range (storing the excess sugar in the muscles as glycogen or in the tissues as fat). A diet high in refined carbohydrates therefore means a greater production of insulin which over time can lead to the cells in the body becoming desensitized to insulin, causing insulin resistance and putting a strain on the pancreas. All of which can ultimately lead to Type II Diabetes.

Unrefined brown rice contains the fibre, removed in processing, which slows digestion resulting in a slower release of sugars into the blood stream and is also rich in vitamins and mineral. However brown rice is often perceived as a food for dieters or the health obsessed.

Eating low GI (glycemic foods) is not just good for keeping weight off but also important for your health in general. So even if you're super slim always choose wholemeal or unrefined carbohydrates such as wholegrain or rye bread, brown rice and oats over the white refined options.

For a readable explanation on the glycemic index and how to eat low GI I recommend 'the Montignac diet' by Michel Montignac. I don't agree 100 per cent with all the recommendations but it explains this subject very well and is the most social-life friendly 'diet' I've ever come across!
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The economist and the salad crisper

I was forwarded this link today by a reader who described the author, Dan Riely as "a really famous economist (and probably the nicest guy in economics)" (cute)!

http://danariely.com/2010/07/05/a-crisper-solution/  

It's an interesting light-hearted comment on the psychology behind how we choose what to eat and he makes a good point about fruit and veg languishing in the salad drawer at the bottom of the fridge until they go off because you don't see them there to remember to eat them.

Fruit and vegetables perish quite quickly so it can be hard to keep a fresh stock in the house. Dan comments about it being confusing as to the expiry dates of fruit and vegetables - however most packaged fruit and veg will say this on the label - aim to eat them by the 'sell by' rather than the 'use by' date - you'll find this sometimes only gives you a couple of days to eat them, so aim to buy your fruit and veg fresh twice a week rather than leaving it to the big weekly shop for the maximum vitamin content.

Without healthy foods to hand or in sight you're likely to eat the less healthy snack foods you have lying around.  I know that the days I eat unhealthily that it's usually due to me having run out of healthy foods in the house, so keep a supply of fruit and veg in the freezer, tinned pulses and chopped tomatoes in the store cupboard and plenty of nuts, seeds and oat or rice cakes to snack on.

Also try and keep your fridge stocked with healthy but also appealing looking foods on the shelves that you can see.  Making your healthy food look good will not only encourage you to eat healthily but will help you get the most pleasure out of your food.  A simple grated carrot salad with a sprinkling of french vinaigrette and a sprig of parsley on it looks way more appealing that a whole peeled carrot! and is therefore much more enjoyable to eat.  Not everyone has time for Masterchef level presentation, but next time you cook up your dinner spend a couple of minutes on presentation.  

A couple of post-scripts today:

Firstly, for anyone based in Canary Wharf I recently discovered Kruger in the South Collonade as a good place to pick up a healthy and affordable lunch.  I'd been before for their fresh fruit and vegetable juices, but on the weekend picked up a lovely herb chicken breast salad for £3.25, a snip by city standards.

Secondly, for anyone interested in having a consultation I now have a website with details of my services, please forward on to anyone who may be interested: www.nutritioninthecity.com 

Not so special K

With holidays approaching I've noticed a few people who've been using the Special K diet to crash diet with varying success. This involves eating a bowl of Special K for breakfast, one for lunch and a 'nutritionally balanced' dinner for two weeks. Fruit and vegetables are allowed as snacks although I've noticed alot of people on this diet don't snack between the meals.
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Of course this diet may help you lose weight in the short-term as a low calorie diet but the results are rarely long-lasting and here's why:

Firstly any very low calorie diets cause a loss of water from the body as the body starts using up the sugar stores in your muscles which are bound with water. This creates an initial weight loss which isn't fat and will therefore be reversed as soon as you up your calorie intake/revert to normal eating.

It encourages an evening binge - there are only 168 calories per bowl of Special K, so unless you snack you'll only have had 336 calories by dinner time which, given I eat at least 1800 calories a day, really is very little. You're therefore likely to be ravenous by dinner time and eat a big meal. This means you'll be eating most of your calories at the end of the day when you're unlikely to burn them off, a sure recipe for weight gain. You should instead be eating most of your calories early in the day to get your metabolism fired up. Infact if you're going to replace any meal with a bowl of cereal as a means to weight loss then it should be your dinner!

If you do eat a nutritionally balanced dinner then you're likely to be eating close to 1000 calories a day on this diet, which is way too little for any adult. Consequently your body will perceive this as starvation to a certain degree and compensate in the long-run by slowing your metabolism and storing an increased percentage of the calories you eat as fat, making it harder and harder to lose weight and keep it off.

Along with 7.5g of sugar per bowl, Special K contains a lot of wheat and dairy, the two most common food allergens. Therefore if you are allergic/intolerant to one of these (something you may not yet realise) you may find it hard to lose weight as your body will respond to the high intake of these foods by retaining more water.
 
Of course I would always recommend a much more balanced approach to weight loss but there are some positive elements to this approach in that it can help people who graze constantly get back into a routine of regular meals and help them exercise portion control. But if you really want to look and feel special this isn't how I'd go about it!
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The zero calorie super-nutrient

Another scorching weekend, plenty of opportunities to catch some sun, enjoy some sport and get a bit dehydrated!  Which brings me onto one of the most important nutrients for the body ... water.  It's free (unless like me you drink bottled), easily available, has zero calories and is beneficial for every system in the body ... what an all round good guy!

Water is essential for energy production in the body and so dehydration can lead to poor energy (and reduced fat burning), impaired concentration and mental focus and poor sports performance.  Water is also used by the liver in detoxification and helps prevent constipation, so being well hydrated helps the body eliminate toxins.  It is also found in every cell in the body including your skin, keeping your skin cells plump and your skin looking healthy. 

I have touched on the importance of water intake in a few of my recent blogs so don't want to labour the point but feel I also need to clear up some confusion as to what counts as water intake!!

Basically it's water, or herbal teas, or water when mixed with fruit juice and that's it ... not water with sugary cordial/squash, water in a fizzy drink or cups of tea or coffee ... yes these all contain water however drinking these is not the same as drinking pure water and here's why:

Caffeine ... is a diuretic, which means it actually encourages your kidneys to excrete more water so drinking tea and coffee actually dehydrates you and mean you have to drink more water to compensate.  The same is true of beer and cider.

Sugary or fizzy drinks ... are not natural to the body and so require some detoxification by the liver.  This process uses up water and therefore, whilst diluted squash will still hydrate you, it will not do so to the same extent as pure water.  This is much more the case for alcohol which places a much bigger burden on the liver.

Making it happen

Most people working in the city will be required to set goals or objectives for the year as part of their appraisal process at work. This can sometimes be a pain but does help provide focus the mind on what you should be working on/towards. However people rarely set such explicit goals outside of their work environment and particularly in relation to their health.

I am often surprised at how many people have health problems or frequently feel 'under the weather' but accept this as their lot. Complacency when it comes to your health is foolish as a slight health problem now could develop into something more serious or debilitating later, and it is also a shame to continue in ill health when full health may be possible.

This is where goal setting comes, focussing the mind and getting you on the road to full health:

Firstly make a list of anything you're not happy with regarding your health be it your weight, fitness, condition of your skin, stress levels, blood pressure etc.

Then write corresponding goals, such as lose 6lbs, be able to run for 40minutes without a break, have a clear complexion etc.

Next write down five things you could do to achieve each of these goals (if you don't know how to tackle them consult a nutritional therapist).

Once a week review your goals and note your successes. Write down a progress report as to how you got on with the five tasks for each issue and plan new tasks for the week ahead.

By consciously focussing on your goals and how to achieve them you may be surprised at how quickly you make progress.
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