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Constipation Crisis!

April 26, 2010 By kbuchanan Leave a Comment

I read this article today on realage.com and I was amazed at the statistics about constipation! It states that 30% of people in Western countries have chronic constipation. Wow – that is a big number.

I have had pretty bad constipation in my life, when I used to suffer with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It is an awful thing to deal with, so the fact that so many people deal with it on a regular basis is crazy.

Most people probably take over the counter medicines to deal with constipation. Or they might just put up with it. If you’re one of these people, I would suggest you do more about it.

Consequences

By leaving your constipation alone, you are allowing toxins to sit in your digestive tract, possibly seeping back into your body. Remember what bowel movements do – they get rid of waste from your body – so, by allowing that waste to just sit in your body, you are endangering yourself (and living very uncomfortably.)

What to do

You’ve got constipation for a reason. Maybe it is your diet – too much sugar, not enough fiber, too many processed foods, can all cause constipation. Maybe you’re not active – not getting out there and exercising (even regular walking) can slow down the digestive system. Maybe you’re eating something that your body doesn’t agree with – consuming things you are intolerant to can cause constipation. Maybe you’ve got a combination of all these and more!

Start by setting out a natural healthy eating plan. Ask if you’re not sure what this entails. Follow that plan for a few weeks and see how your constipation eases. You shouldn’t have to be on over the counter medicine every day of your life! There are changes you can and should make to get rid of the issue and live a healthier life.

To your health

Kimberly

Filed Under: Wellness Tagged With: constipation, health, healthy eating, real age

Recipe using Macadamia Nuts

April 2, 2010 By kbuchanan 1 Comment

I was recently at the Vitality Show in London, which was a really exciting show! It represented all things health, beauty, and wellness related.

One of the booths I visited was interesting – it was all about macadamia nuts! From all the time I’ve spent in Hawaii, I love macadamia nuts, but they don’t seem to be all that popular here in the UK. And I think they get a bad reputation sometimes because they are pretty fatty…but, it is unsaturated fat that it is high in.

Besides offering healthy fats, they have fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. So, they are great to use in a natural weight loss plan! Or in any plan for healthy eating!

I picked up this recipe which is absolutely delicious.

Macadamia Nut Roast

Ingredients:

800g mixed root vegetables (potatoes, parsnips, swede, sweet potato) peeled and roughly chopped

1 large onion, peeled and diced

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp macadamia oil (or olive oil if more readily available)

200g carrots, peeled and grated

300g macadamia nuts, chopped

3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

Bread crumbs or oats (optional)

Preparation:

Cook all the root veg in boiling water until they are tender. While the veg are cooking, fry the onion, celery, and garlic in the oil until soft.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Drain the veg and then mash them roughly. Mix the grated carrots, most of the nuts, parsley, lemon juice and seasoning into the mashed vegetables. You should be able to form a moist ball in your hand with the mixture. If it is too wet, mix in some bread crumbs or oats.

Spoon the mixture into a lightly-oiled ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top.

Cover with oiled foil and cook for 30 minutes. Take off the foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the top is browned and the vegetables are cooked thoroughly.

Let the roast sit for 10 minutes before cutting it. Serve with salad garnish.

You can find this and other macadamia nut recipes at www.macadamias.org.uk.

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: healthy eating, macadamia nut recipe, macadamia nuts, natural weight loss

How to Beat Afternoon Fatigue

January 16, 2010 By kbuchanan 1 Comment

The Afternoon Slump

Whether you work in an office, from home, at a construction site, out there on the roads everyday, or anywhere else, I think most of you will have experienced the afternoon slump. This is something that seems to kick in somewhere between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, or if you have an early lunch, maybe sooner. It makes you feel like curling up and going to sleep.

I can remember times when I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open in front of my computer. It was the worst feeling and it was horrible thinking that someone might see me with my eyes closed, even if just for a second!

And since a midday kip normally isn’t possible, due to work commitments, location (I certainly don’t have a nap room at my office!), or any other reason, what do we end up doing?

This slump usually makes us reach for something to bring us back to life. Some form of caffeine. Maybe chocolate. Maybe even just some fresh air or an ice cold glass of water.

How to Avoid It

Whatever it is that helps you get through this afternoon fatigue, you don’t have to deal with this feeling ever again. What is it that has rid me of the PM slump and can help you do the same?

Nutrition.

What you eat (especially at lunch time) can help you avoid the afternoon tiredness. Once I started cutting out high carb lunches, and/or sugary things right after my lunches, I noticed a huge change in my energy levels.

What exactly did I do? I substituted bread heavy sandwiches (i.e. baguettes, baps, rolls) with whole grain sliced bread sandwiches. Or I substituted any type of sandwich with a salad. I also made sure I was getting wholesome vegetables in my meal. Just to clarify, this doesn’t include iceberg lettuce and a couple of slices of cucumber. I’m talking about hearty vegetables, like spinach, rocket, or other nutrient packed leafy greens. Broccoli, green beans, carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, and sweet potato are good options (and there are plenty of others.) You can steam some of these to have as a side dish with your salad/sandwich, or you can just have them raw, either on your salad or on the side.

One other thing I did was to make sure I was getting some healthy fats. This includes putting some good quality olive oil on my salad, having some avocado, or adding seeds/nuts to my meal. These all provide the “good” fats to your meal and help you stay full for longer.

Finally, I made sure to have some lean protein. If you’re a meat eater, this can be turkey, chicken, or fish. If you’re a vegetarian, this can be low-fat cheeses or tofu. Just like fats, protein also helps you stay full longer.

Sweet Tooth

Now, regarding what I said about not having sweets, candy, cookies, etc right after eating, here is what I found. If I really needed to have something sugary, I waited until a couple of hours after I had my lunch before I indulged. By doing this, I was giving my lunch a chance to digest a bit and my blood sugar levels a chance to stabilize before feeding sugar into my body.

Now, I have to just say a quick piece here about sweets. If you’re trying to follow a healthy eating plan to lose weight, just be a healthy person, or for any other reason, sugary things should not be a big part of your daily diet. This includes sugary drinks…even fruit juice.

Blood Sugar Levels

Why does eating high carb (especially low quality carb) and sugary things make you tired? The short answer to this is that these things all hit the blood stream really quickly and heavily, causing the blood sugar levels to increase rapidly. This makes the body give out insulin to help control the blood sugar levels. Because the blood sugar levels were sent so high, the amount of insulin given out is more than what is necessary to control it, and therefore, it brings the blood sugar levels down to an even lower level than they were at before you ate anything.

Where does that leave you? Tired. And probably wanting more food and/or caffeine to compensate for that.

This is not a healthy cycle to put your body through on a daily basis.

In Summary

The things I’ve talked about in this article should actually apply to all of your meals. If you follow these principles, you will have more energy, feel happier, be healthier, and lose weight. Even if you’re happy with your current weight, if you’re not eating like this now and you change your habits to follow these principles, you’ll probably lose a few pounds.

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Diet, fatigue, healthy eating, Lose Weight, Nutrition