cholesterolmaint

sugar

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Mrs Magic / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Big news at the moment is…SUGAR! Finally people are starting to realise that sugar is one of the leading causes of weight issues, these days it’s probably more of a problem than fat. It’s no surprise to us, as we have been advising people who want to get healthy to try and cut sugar out of their diet for years, but this is not always made easy by food manufacturers and there are a lot of misleading claims made about the health of certain products. One of the adverts which annoys me the most at the moment is the one that is trying to sell Nutella to us as a health food, telling us it contains nuts and slow release sugars…ok maybe it does, but that does not alter the fact that the product itself is 55% sugar and therefore probably not the healthiest choice we could be making. Then again maybe I shouldn’t get upset about that, after all most of us would expect chocolate spread to be high in sugar, like many people may not be surprised that coco pops are 35% sugar. What may surprise you though is that cereals which are held up as healthy and good for people trying to lose weight are also high in sugar. For example All Bran contains 22% (that’s nearly a 1/4 as sugar) and Special K contains 6.8g per serving, which is actually more sugar than you would find in a McVities Chocolate Cake Slice! On top of this did you know that a weight watchers digestive biscuit has more sugar in than a standard digestive?!

The problem with all this is that when you eat something which is high in sugar, the energy from that food is released very quickly into your blood stream. Your body then produces insulin, which tells the cells of your body to take the sugar out of the blood stream to make energy. However, when you eat more energy than your cells actually need, insulin will store the rest of that sugar for later. Most of that excess sugar will be stored in the fat cells around your middle. Is it any wonder then, that despite their best efforts many people struggle to get the weight off eating foods they are told are healthy?

Weight issues are not the only thing affected by this high intake of sugars either. We see a lot of people with bowel issues, bloating and wind, who are surprised to learn that we believe the sugars are feeding the fermentation in their guts which is causing the problems. Cutting out sugars in those situations can make a massive difference – one girl I saw recently had been struggling with bloating and pain for years and was shocked that such a simple step made a massive difference to her in just two weeks!

Cutting sugar down then could be a key to weight loss and bowel problems, but we know it is often easier said than done – sugar is addictive and many people struggle with sugar cravings and sugar dips which affect their energy levels and their mood. There are things that you can do to help though and getting on top of those cravings and keeping your blood sugar levels balanced is a real key to this. We tend to suggest using a supplement like Higher Natures Metabolic Balance to start off with. This supplement is designed using nutrients like chromium and magnesium to help support healthy blood sugar levels, which will in turn reduce fat storage, and sugar cravings. Once the sugar cravings are more controlled, a low sugar diet is easier to stick to and weight loss tends to follow. When we see people for our weight loss clinic then, one of the first things we do is work with them to get as many sugars out of their diet as possible, get their blood sugar levels balanced and get rid of their sugar cravings and it is surprising how quickly this can be achieved. Using a low sugar diet alongside Metabolic Balance can knock those cravings and the cycle of fat storage and low energy levels on the head and give weight loss a real kick start.

cholesterolmaint

Love your Liver – Detox and Lose Weight

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kanenas.net / Foter.com / CC BY

I read this week that film actress Gwynth Paltrow was saying that the best way to detox and lose weight was to limit your calorie intake take to 300 per day!! Not Possible!! Someone living a normal life, with jobs to do and children to run around after, cannot possibly function properly on 300 calories a day! Not only that, as we all know, when following a diet which restricts calories so hugely, the weight may come piling off quickly, but, it piles back on even quicker!
Actually, one of the best ways to detox AND lose weight is to follow a sugar free diet, which has plenty of fresh vegetables and protein rich foods like beans. Ideally you should Focus on foods like flax seeds, beetroot, walnuts, oily fish, garlic, greens and tomatoes and whilst avoiding alcohol and fizzy drinks. Drink plenty of water and limit tea and coffee. This limits all the stimulants and things that strip your body of nutrients. It also ensures that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs to heal itself and cleanse the tissues.
But as well as this it is absolutely vital to look at the health of your liver. Any detox diet which does not look at cleansing the liver, is not going to work as well as you would want it to. Your liver is your body’s main detoxifying organ – it breaks down all the wastes and eliminates them. It deals with all the chemicals and medications. Therefore, you can detox your tissues with juices, or cocao or lemon juice etc, but unless you clean your liver out, those toxins are not going to leave your body as effectively as you would like.
Your liver is also your main metabolic organ. Signs of a sluggish liver, to a practitioner of natural medicine will include weight gain, bloating, indigestion, skin problems, low energy, bowel problems and sugar cravings. Boosting the liver function then could be really useful – not just in ensuring that your body is detoxing properly but also in helping shift a few excess pounds. The best way to support your liver in my opinion is with Vogels Milk Thistle Complex This combines milk Thistle, which has been reported in clinical trials to help promote the regeneration of liver cells, with artichoke, which helps lubricate the bowel, easing bowel issues. Artichoke also helps with indigestion symptoms and bloating, making it a great addition to this remedy. Milk Thistle Complex also contains dandelion, which again with the breakdown of fats. Taking a course of this whilst following the simple dietary guidelines I have laid down, should help you achieve what you want from a detox, without starvation or feeling awful. We do have a free diet sheet available to support this – if you would like it, please contact us and we will email it to you.