Probiotics or Prozac?

A friend of mine was telling me recently about how much her diet effects her mood, something I think a lot of people are unaware of. However if most people on a healthy diet were given a high sugar, high fat, low nutrient diet for a couple of weeks their mood would become depressed to some degree.

But it's not just the food you eat that's affecting your mood but also the bacteria growing in your gut. According to new research published inThe Economist, admittedly done on rats not humans, taking probiotics improved their mood and drive and reduced their levels of stress hormones.

So should doctors be prescribing probiotics rather than prozac? Well possibly (along with tyrosine and other nutrients needed for neurotransmitter production). But the link made in the article of most interest to me was that the over-prescription of antibiotics could be responsible for increasing the incidence of depression.

Certainly I think that doctors prescribe, and patients happily take, antibiotics without being fully aware of the possible repercussions. Every time you take probiotics you are killing off your gut bacteria, both good and bad, but the bad bacteria regrow more quickly so antibiotics make them more likely to take over. This can lead to gut disturbances, reduced immunity (your gut bacteria are a key part of your immune defence) and in depressed mood. Multiple courses over several years will put you at most risk, and any course of antibiotics should be followed by a course of probiotics, even just to lift your spirits.
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Memory lane

During my Jedward inspired clear out I found a load of old food diaries that I kept when I first became aware of the impact of diet on health and started trying to change my diet, many years ago.

I never thought I ate that unhealthily but, whilst I was pleased to see I was eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, I was shocked at the amount of dairy, wheat, sugar and caffeine I was consuming - I struggled to find a day that didn't include all four at least once (some days each meal was dairy + wheat based).

Given how rubbish I feel if I eat these foods now it's amazing to me how I even functioned, although I think I was using caffeine as a major crutch to keep me going.

The fact is that at the time I thought how I felt was normal, that not being able to stay awake in the afternoon was the hazards of a desk job and that my other health issues (digestive and skin) were unrelated to the huge amounts of wheat and dairy I was eating.

Now I often get comments on how virtuous I am with my food and the amount of self-control I must exercise. The fact is that the improvement in my health when I fundamentally changed my diet was so marked that it made it impossible to go back. The idea of feeling that tired and bloated is so hideous it can't be worth eating even the most delicious cake!

But I didn't change my diet overnight, it evolved gradually and that's the trick - start with small manageable changes and as you start to feel better you'll be motivated to make more until your diet eventually looks unrecognizable!
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Doing the Dukan

I thought low carb diets had died out with the nineties but they seem to be back in vogue with the popularity of the new Dukan diet.

Whilst low-carb diets can be very effective for short term weight loss their long term health benefits are questionable, particularly being high in saturated fats, low in fibre and low in antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C.

Atkins actually recognised this and improved on his diet in later books placing a greater emphasis of fruit and vegetables and minimising saturated fat intake. However the Dukan diet is infact a more extreme interpretation with absolutely no fruit or vegetables included in the initial phase and then still only allowed 5 days a week in the subsequent phase.

This leaves you with a menu of meat, fish, eggs and low fat dairy products and pretty much nothing else! Not exactly a balanced diet!

Obviously it's the quick results that attract dieters to such an extreme regimen, but if you are tempted to follow a low-carb diet I'd strongly recommend including at least 6 portions of vegetables daily plus topping up your vitamin C levels with lemon and lime juices. However thin it gets you, no diet is worth cutting out the most health giving foods on the planet. Plus, no one ever got overweight by eating too many greens!
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Your personalized diet plan

Today was a particularly hectic day and, having picked up some sushi on my way into work, I found that come lunchtime I didn't feel like anything that substantial, particularly as I didn't have alot of time and had to eat at my desk. So instead of the sushi I had some fruit salad with natural (soya) yoghurt and seeds - which was filling enough to keep me going and easy enough to digest so as not to slow me down in the afternoon. Don't worry, the sushi didn't go to waste - I just kept it in the fridge at work and then took it home for an early dinner when I could enjoy it uninterrupted.

The thing is on another day fruit and yoghurt wouldn't have been substantial enough at all and I'd need a bigger lunch. This is because how much and what you should eat at any given time all depends on hundreds of factors ... how much sleep you've had, how much water you've drunk, how much fruit and veg you've eaten (if you don't eat enough your body will keep you hungry to increase your intake of vitamins), how active you've been, how much stress you're under, if you're fighting off a cold etc etc.

So when I hear of people following a strict diet which tells them exactly how many calories to eat, or what to have in each meal every day it frustrates me. I'm all in favour of guiding people and suggesting healthy options, but no-one can possibly know what your body needs at any given time more than your body itself. The key is just to listen to the cues. For example the other day I had a very healthy lunch with rice, vegetables and some pulses. However at the end I felt distinctly unsatisfied - full in my stomach but also definitely needing to eat more. So I tuned into that feeling and thought about different foods I might like and through that realised that my body was craving protein.

I went straight down to the health food store to grab a bounce ball and a Sojade yoghurt and immediately felt alot better having eaten them both - no diet plan could have told me that was what I needed at that moment. Obviously if you find yourself craving Oreos or Ben and Jerrys that isn't a cue you should be following! But by tuning into your appetite and paying attention to foods you're attracted to you are much more likely to give your body the nutrients it needs to feel satisfied and for optimal health.

Unlikely inspiration

I never thought I'd ever be inspired by the words of Jedward, but having accidentally switched on Celebrity Big Brother I saw them scrubbing the BB house, declaring "A clean house means a clear mind".

Whilst I'm generally not a hoarder, I still occasionally like to have a proper clear out to make sure I'm not hanging onto anything I don't need. Usually starting with my slightly over full wardrobe as well as getting rid of any books, CDs or gadgets that I don't use/need.

I feel much more relaxed once I've decluttered, but it's not just the wardrobe and study that needs the occasional overhaul.

Overtime most people will accumulate various tins and sauces that get shoved to the back of the shelf and slide past their use by date unnoticed. My wonderful grandmother had butter from the world war II butter mountain still in her freezer in the eighties!

If you're not religious at having a good spring clean your cupboards could probably have some nasty surprises lurking at the back, so it might be time for a clear out.

Firstly get rid of anything passed it's use by date, then throw out anything that's in date but just isn't appealing to you so you'll probably never cook (or give to your flat mate/neighbour/dog). For oils, smell/taste and throw out at the slightest hint of rancidity, also make sure you're not storing them anywhere near a source of heat, eg. Next to your hob or in a cupboard next to your oven.

Do the same in your fridge, then empty it entirely and give it a good clean. Also check your freezer - dump anything that's been in there over a year, and see if it needs defrosting.

If you find your cupboards are now bare, stock up on some fresh goodies, and if you found you threw a lot of jars and sauces away make a note to only buy the smallest jars so you'll waste less next time you have a clear out.

I'm very anti waste, so for any none food items I make use of the following rather than putting them in the bin:
Clothes - if they're still in good nick, give to friends, if a bit worn put in the charity bins at the supermarket where you can also donate old shoes, bed linen and towels
Books/DVDs - very easy to sell second hand on amazon, or donate to your local library
Unwanted gifts - anything brand new is easily saleable on ebay, anything of low value or used can be given away on freecycle
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Sofa time

I'm not a big TV watcher but I do still enjoy an evening on the sofa watching the box every now and then. It's nice to have some sofa snack food to go with my TV viewing, but as per yesterday's blog it doesn't have to be unhealthy junk food to go with the junk TV - there are plenty of enjoyable snack foods that aren't full of saturated fats and salt.

The problem when you're eating and watching TV is that you can end up eating way more food than you really need, which is why I generally avoid it and don't recommend it to clients. When I am sofa snacking the key is to keep off the carbs ... Nachos are my total downfall, but there are plenty of other tasty lower carb sofa snacks:

- hummus, guacamole or salsa with carrot and cucumber sticks to dip

- fruit bowl to pick at - strawberries, grapes, melon sticks, have on it's own or serve with greek or soya yoghurt, or for a more decadent snack melt some dark chocolate and use it as a fondu dip

- unsalted nuts and dried fruit mix

- healthy flour free cookies such as these peanut butter cookies from elena's pantry

- have Appletizer, instead of coke or diet coke or make some virgin cocktails with fresh fruit juices instead of having a glass of wine

Another top tip to bring the grazing to an end, is to snack til you're satisfied and then brush your teeth - once you're minty fresh you definitely won't want to keep snacking.

Cauliflower toast for breakfast?

I was recently discussing healthy diets with Ms Haribo and she mentioned a recent diet she'd seen in a magazine where it suggested making some kind of fake toast out of cauliflower as it was 'less fattening'. Now I'm all in favour of healthy eating but I'm also adamant that food should be tasty and enjoyable - and cauliflower toast just doesn't sound appealing!

Even though some people will turn their noses up at 'healthy options' as tasteless or bland, the truth is that pretty much everyone likes healthy food, just not all of it. Most people have some types of fruit and vegetables that they enjoy and a lot of people enjoy grilled fish or stir fried chicken.

The key is to identify what healthy foods and meals you enjoy and have those so that healthy eating becomes an enjoyable experience.

I know that even if they weren't healthy some of my favourite meals would stay the same:
Pasta (gluten free) with tomato based sauces
Babyleaf salad with sliced avocado, baby tomatoes and vinaigrette
Sushi
Cashew and vegetable stir fry
Vegetable soup and a crusty wholemeal roll (gluten free)
Veggie chilli with a jacket potato
Nut roast with gravy, roasted sweet potatoes and peas
Homemade Nori rolls with brown rice, avocado, hummous and spinach
Toast with no sugar nut butter and st dalfour jam
Muesli
Fruit salad sprinkled with chopped nuts
Stewed fruit with cinnamon and custard (made with rice milk and vanilla essence, no sugar)

By planning to make healthy meals that you enjoy and keeping your cupboards stocked with the right ingredients to make them you'll be less likely to reach for the cookie jar or order a takeaway without feeling deprived.

It's also a good idea to keep something healthy in the freezer at all times so when the fridge is empty you've always got something good to eat.

If you're not sure where to start, take a walk through the fruit and veg section in your supermarket and add anything that you know you enjoy to your basket. When you get home look up some recipes that incorporate these ingredients and get cooking!

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