Here’s a treat for those of you who aren’t that keen on traditional Christmas pudding, this is a gluten and dairy free brownie, high in protein and good fats, it tastes fabulous. Grain free and fairly low in sugar too.
Protein rich foods do not raise blood sugar levels, so a great option for staying calm at Christmas and reducing insulin spikes.
Makes 10 brownies
Ingredients
*200 grams of ground almonds
*125grams of organic raw cocoa powder
3 organic eggs seperated
100ml of melted coconut oil
splash of vanilla essence or orange essence/zest
*½ tsp of sea salt
*1 tsp of baking powder
*125g raw sugar or Demerara sugar
Optional additions, Large handful of dark chocolate chips – I added these, was a nice addition, I recommend it!! or a large handful of toasted hazelnuts also yummy.
Pre-heat the oven at 180 or 170 degrees. Prepare a tray by cutting some baking parchment, to line the tin, and brush with coconut oil. You will need three bowls.
Bowl 1 Mix the *dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Bowl 2 Add the melted coconut oil, egg yolks together with the vanilla, mix with a spoon or electric mixer until its all comes together and it turns yellow.
Bowl 3 Whisk the eggs whites (electric whisk or mixer is best, but not mandatory) until they are stiff and you can turn the bowl upside down without them falling out. Leave them to one side;
Add bowl 1 into bowl 2 together, and mix until amalgamated, you can add some dark chocolate chips or and the hazelnuts now, adds a nice extra decadence. Once that has come together, take a bowl and fold in the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until it combines, using a metal spoon, it will become much more liquid at this point.
Bake for 15 to 20 mins in the middle of the oven. Remove once cooked through and leave to cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares or shapes of your choice and serve with ice cream or chocolate sauce. Delicious! Best served warm.
Sprinkle with some icing sugar for that Christmas look!
Let me know how much you love these little brownies.
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All consultation now taking place on Zoom!
Hello, hope you are staying well in these unusual times.
All consultations are now bookable using the links below and will take place on Zoom. I wanted to assure you all that Zoom consultations work very well and I have had some great results with my clients, it is not all about weighing and measuring, its about knowledge, support and correct advice. It is the new normal.
New book your Zoom consultation here:
Covid-19
Covid-19 is taking up a lot of space in our inboxes, TV and life. I am a great believer in looking after our own health naturally, using diet, lifestyle, emotional support and where necessary dietary supplementation. I am sharing some research I have carried out on supplementation and foods to support the immune system and help you take control of your health and life.
World Earth Day 2020
Bringing awareness of our actions, big or small to change our lives and our world, not just today but forever! What will you change? The theme this year is climate change, I am sure we have all noticed the amazing clear skies and freshness in the air since lockdown, the peace and quiet, the calm which is surrounding the pandemic and the buzz and fear that many are experiencing. Environmentally the pandemic is a good news story. But how do we find a balance with our mental health and economically, what can we as individuals do? Check out the website
Good news story
Nutritional supplement sales have soared in the UK and Europe since the corona virus pandemic, it is reassuring that the public are taking control of their health using natural means to support their immune systems. I thought this was a good opportunity to share my knowledge with you all, some of you have already benefited from a free 20mins chat to discuss immune support, but those who haven’t had an appointment recently.
Book a free 10mins chat to reconnect:
I am offering you all an opportunity to have a chat and reconnect, ask a few questions and to say hi. Here’s my calendar if you fancy a cuppa
Purchasing supplements during lockdown www.naturaldispensary.co.uk is still open, they are operating a skeleton staff and often need to close the site whilst to they get the orders out, do bear with them they do re-open and deliveries are working. Remember the discount code is JD15 to get the 15% off and free delivery on orders over £25.
Dietary sources recommended:
- Vitamin D – easy get outside and expose your skin to the sun, even sitting at an open window can be beneficial. Oily fish and eggs are a dietary source, but the sun exposure is the best, remember to get outside and expose your arms and legs daily whilst the sun is shining! Mushrooms also have vitamin D and you can leave them in the sun, and they produce their own vitamin D – amazing!
- Vitamin A – True vitamin A is found in eggs, milk and liver (liver being the best source and availability). Beta carotene is found in colourful fruits and vegetables and can be converted to vitamin A. However, it is thought that around 40-50% of us are not efficient at this due to genetics, eating more foods with true vitamin A is therefore recommended right now. Liver pate is a good option
- Vitamin C Broccoli, purple sprouting broccoli, kiwi fruit, papaya, berries, all fruit and veg has vitamin C!
- Zinc is found in nuts, seeds, red meat and of course seafood especially oysters.
- Selenium is really high in brazil nuts and maybe two per day is good enough
- Potassium starting from the highest: potatoes with their skins on, lentils, sweet potato, beans, coconut water, yoghurt, salmon, cod, spinach and banana. Potassium is a potent anti-inflammatory and it is thought the covid-19 causes low potassium creating or exacerbating the inflammatory storm in the lungs this has been discussed on the news recently when covid-19 becomes deadly. As with all research, it is early days, but including potassium rich foods right now won’t hurt right! Remember your dietary choices far out weigh taking supplements, you can do both, but just taking supplements and not changing your diet… I don’t recommend it.
Dietary changes to support immunity
When we are looking at dietary intervention to support our immunity, a reduction in fast or simple sugars from sweeties, desserts, added sugar and alcohol is the most helpful. Ultra-processed foods are deficient in nutrients like zinc and selenium and vitamins and can leave us searching for more food to boost our mineral levels, often ending up with even more junk food in the diet, creating further depletions and cravings, it’s a cycle of poor health.
Sugar crashes the immune system, 150grams will create a window of approximately 5 hours allowing viruses and bacteria to take hold whilst your immune system is trying to reboot.
Including a balance and variety of vegetables from onions, garlic, ginger, sweet potatoes, brown rice, black rice, peas, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower. Supporting a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut, plus including all the other foods mentioned above. It’s easy, avoid food in boxes, plastic containers and packets.
Good news…stop peeling your roots!
The soil and bacteria on the outsides of your root vegetables are supportive of a healthy gut, so the good news is you don’t have to peel them. I haven’t peeled a carrot for years. This is a good news story!
Bonus recipe for lentil soup (good source of potassium!)
This is such a quick and easy soup with hardly any chopping!
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
350g red lentils (rinsed)
2.5 pints of stock – you choose your favourite stock (I used chicken bone broth when I have it)
1 400ml of chopped tomatoes
1 carrot chopped not peeled
Celery finely chopped
Olive oil (two tablespoons)
Spices:
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- Pinch of ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon of chilli powder
Super easy, dice the onion and sweat for 5-10mins with the lid on no browning of the onion. Add the spices and cook for a further 10mins.
Into the saucepan add the lentils and cook for another 10mins and add the carrots and celery, then add the tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer for a further 15mins.
When cooled blend until smooth and serve with coconut yoghurt or sour cream and toasted onions and a toasted wholemeal pitta bread with mango chutney and a tomato and cucumber salad with sliced spring onions.
BEING ALONE
These strange times of isolation is about learning to be alone but not lonely. This passage resonated with me, I thought I would share with you. (credit Deane Jade) I will leave you with this. Stay well.
Learning to be alone but not lonely.
Some people seek out relationships to avoid or soothe the pain of being alone, they will stay in relationshipS that are not working as a way of avoiding this pain. We all know that this creates a different kind of loneliness, or aloneness. Even in the best relationships, there always comes a time when our friends, family and partners may not be available, and we find we are alone.
What do you do when you feel alone? Do you seek out relationships or stay in relationships because you can’t deal with being alone? The time you are in fact alone can be unbearably painful. The time you are with someone will be bittersweet because you will know on some level that you will be alone again soon.
Or perhaps you throw yourself into overeating, over exercise, drinking, recreational drugs or sex to numb your pain or to distance yourself from the loneliness you feel, for a while.
One of the markers for emotional maturing is learning to bear with and even thrive when alone. Your successful ability to be alone is what allows you to have the best relationships of your life.
The successful ability to be alone can mean the ability to feel alone and lonely without the need to seek someone out to fill the void. It can also mean being alone but not being lonely, with the void filled with creativity, self-expression or passion for pursuit of something that matters to you.
How can you be alone and have amazing relationships?
You can prefer to be alone than to be with someone who does not respect or honour you and take you for who you are rather than who they want you to be or how you want to look.
In times of trouble, you hand your partner, when appropriate, the responsibility of handling their feelings without trying to fix them, without giving in to the fear of being alone if you do not help them, you have already faced that fear.
If a relationship with a friend or partner is hurting you and the other person cannot or does not alter their behaviour to help make a difference, you have the power to walk away because you are unafraid even though you may feel sad or bereft at losing them.
You have leverage with your partner – often, your partner will change their behaviours rather than risk losing you. And they listen to you because it must be so, because you have the good self-esteem and you have expressed your needs in an assertive manner without being angry or emotional.
Stay safe, stay home and eat well.
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Ok, celery has always been known as the best diet food to eat as it takes more calories to eat it than it provides… Probably not true, but ask anyone over 35 and they will say the same!
However it now seems that celery is the next veggie to get some serious press.
Celery and mint morning smoothie:
- 3 *organic stems of celery washed
- Frozen spinach (two rounds)
- Coconut water 50ml
- Filter water 100ml
- Fresh mint rinsed (this helps the taste)
*choose organic as celery is one of the most chemically sprayed veggies along with cucumber and having so much regularly it would be a bit silly not to.
Blend until smooth, add in some ice and a paper straw to make it look even more beautiful!
What do you think, do this daily and see how you feel in a two weeks. Why not let me know if you notice a difference to your skin, pain or other symptoms like acid reflux.
A little bit about celery. It is mainly water a great source of fibre. Celery’s main nutrients are vitamin K, folate or vitamin B9 and potassium, magnesium, calcium and a small amount of vitamin C and vitamin B6.
Other healthy components listed below may be responsible for its healing properties:
- Limonene
- selinene
- caffeic acid
- p-coumaric acid
- ferulic acid
- pthalides
- apigenin
- luteolin
- tannin
- saponin
- kaempferol
Adding celery to pasta sauces, risotto’s and other recipes is great too (best to chop is really small) and using it as spoons for dips and nut butters, but for a real hit try this daily:
Important: When using food as medicine it needs to taken regularly and in larger than normal amounts, it is therefore important to make sure that your medications or health conditions will not be impacted by a sudden increase in one particular vegetable or fruit: For example large amounts of licorice tea can increase blood pressure, so be sure to check with your health professional for any potential risks when using food as medicine.
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Who wants to feel great and relaxed on Christmas day? Here’s a few tips to help:
Have a good breakfast on Christmas day morning – include protein such as:
- Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on sourdough toast
- Scrambled tofu with mushrooms and grilled tomatoes
- Greek yoghurt, ground flaxseeds, oats and berries
- Sourdough toast with avocado and bacon.
- Smoothie (I am going to make mine the night before to make sure I eat something…. I will be in charge of cooking so will find it really hard to sit down and eat breakfast. Mine will have berries, courgette, avocado, probiotic powder and flaxseeds…super healthy and will keep me going til lunch.
Food is to be enjoyed, remember it is only one day, be mindful of quantities and try to follow these simple suggestions below. If you can’t or don’t want to, that’s great too. Happy Christmas! I follow these tips because it helps keep my mood stable and prevents crazy arguments!
Have some raw nuts and a satsuma to nibble on before dinner is served, helps curb the need for chocolate whilst you wait, dinner is alway late right?
Dinner: Ensure you have 1/2 your plate made up of vegetables, 1/4 carbohydrate – sorry that’s the roast potatoes and 1/4 protein – either goose or turkey or nut roast (lobster). There is always lots of choice of vegetables on Christmas day in my house, from red cabbage, sweet potato, tenderstem broccoli, carrots and peas and Brussel sprouts. Eating too much of the carbohydrate, ie the roast potatoes can unbalance your blood sugar levels, leaving you craving for turkey sandwiches within an hour!! Or eating more chocolate money…
Dessert: Moderation is the key word here. If you are making or buying your pudding add some extra nuts for protein. If you are hosting Christmas day, use some smaller dessert bowls.
Raise a glass of bubbles and enjoy a nice long walk to the local pub or friends house to walk to get your digestion moving, rather than nodding off in front of the TV! Get some fresh air into your lungs and your circulation moving reading for some games later on.
Ever thought of making your own chocolate coated Brazil nuts, a Christmas favourite in my house. Melt some dark chocolate and add in your nuts and give it all a good stir(all nuts are good with chocolate). Once they are all coated, put them onto some parchment paper and cool. They are really tasty and rich. Because of the protein and fat they satisfy us and keep our energy going for a long time and keeps us from snacking! (low in sugar and carbohydrate). And they are just so yummy, why not add in some spices like cinnamon and star anise or nutmeg… lovely and Christmasy
Happy Holidays
Nutrition appointments available in Fulham, Richmond, South Molton Street and on Skype
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Special 20% discount starts today at 3pm! click here to order on their secure site!
I believe in putting healthy stuff on my skin as well as eating healthily too. One of the reasons why I am an ambassador for Neals Yard, I encourage my clients to clean up their skin care and home products as part of their journey of becoming well again, in most cases. No chemicals, no toxins (parabens, mineral oils) and mostly organic with essential oils. The products are gorgeous and smell lovely. My favourite is the Rose beauty balm and the Frankincense range and the beauty sleep elixir.
Here is an opportunity to use my site with Neals Yard for online orders Perfect Christmas present ideas too. Enjoy, any questions let me know.
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I encourage my clients to eat a colourful diet, full of fabulous seasonal vegetables. And now it is that time of year and the pumpkins/squash are in season. These are a great alternative to traditional carbohyrates like potato as they are more nutrition, slower releasing energy and packed with betacarotene. Betacarotene is an antioxidant, which fights free radicals. Betacarotene is converted to vitamin A, which is an essential fat soluble vitamin. We need this for healthy liver function, gut lining, healthy skin and eyes. Around 40% of our population can’t convert betacarotene into vitamin A. The best dietary sources are Liver, eggs and cod liver oil (supplement). If you don’t like the idea of eating liver, liver pate is also high in vitamin A. Having poor digestion caused by poor bile flow can inhibit the absorption of fat soluble vitamins, which are A, D, E and K. Improving bile flow can support detoxification and hormonal balance (I see this a lot with my clients with these issues and even mental health issues). I will post my favourite smoothie which is good for bile flow in another post, in the meantime you can eat lots of beetroot, rocket and dandelion root coffee.
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PCOS or polycystic ovary syndrome is identified from a set of symptoms, which then allows your Doctor to diagnose you. It is thought to be triggered by stress (from emotional trauma, food intolerance, inflammation, genetics) that disrupts insulin levels, which increases testosterone resulting in a number of symptoms:
- Irregular or no periods
- Acne
- Hirsutism (lots of bodily hair and facial hair caused by too much testosterone)
- Mood disorders
- PMS and more
Because everyone is different, there is often a different cause or etiology creating these symptoms. Your Doctor will carry our blood tests that measure your sex hormones and insulin levels and will often refer you to a consultant who will check the size of your ovaries and see if there are any fluid-filled sacs (follicles) surrounding the eggs. Because of the presence of these sacs it can prevent the egg being released at ovulation and prevent a period.
If you are newly diagnosed or have been living with PCOS for a while and would like some help with natural alternatives get in touch. Julie can help bring the body back to balance using dietary, lifestyle changes and dietary supplements, often looking deeper into your physiological issues to really get to the root cause, allowing you to turn your health around. Acupuncture or reflexology can also help calm down the sympathetic nervous system reducing stress hormones which disrupt the sex hormones, a combination of nutrition and acupuncture can be really powerful in bringing balance back.
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When I write a blog, it is usually something that has focused my interest, either due to a personal interest or via my clients experiences. I have recently become aware of some male fertility issues, and thought I haven’t seen men in my clinic with concerns around fertility. I therefore thought it would be useful to research some recent science on male fertility for you, lets see how we can improve the chances of creating a mini me with the backing of some good science!
Here is a summary of a recent scientific study, which looked at the ageing male and fertility, miscarriage and birth defects, of course ageing isn’t the only reason, but interesting anyway:
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The age of the male partner has significant impact on reproduction. Older men tend to have older female partners, and increasing male age is associated with increased time to conception. This reflects the age-related increase in acquired medical conditions, decreases in semen quality, and increasing rates of DNA fragmentation seen in sperm.
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The risk of developing a medical condition or of being exposed to environmental toxins increases with age. For men, viral orchitis and sexually transmitted infections can lead to infertility due to germinal cell damage, ischemia, or the immune response to the infection.
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Declining testosterone may cause decline in libido, erectile dysfunction, and difficulty achieving ejaculation. The level of testosterone does appear to influence sexual function.
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Ageing has a significant impact on male sexual function, sperm parameters, and fertility, which all contribute to decreased fecundability, increased time to conception, and increased miscarriage rates. There are clearly many unknowns that remain with regard to male aging and fertility. Further research will allow a better understanding of age and its impact on all areas of male fertility.
Specific nutrients, below, have successfully improved fertility in men. Supporting detoxification of heavy metals and pesticides from the body, improving vitamin and mineral status, ensuring adequate protein, iron and zinc in the diet are key, especially vegetarians and vegans who focus on grain based food and processed vegan protein sources. Grains, beans and pulses contain anti nutrients (lectins) which bind to iron and other minerals and can leave the body depleted, it is a protein and therefore can cause intolerances and gut issues in sensitive individuals.
Science backed research suggests that regular exercise, a Mediterranean diet rich in oily fish, olive oil and vegetables and wearing appropriate underwear (cotton lose fitting) can help.
There are also some supplements which can also support male fertility, I have included the references below:
Zinc Zinc is an essential nutrient and needed for many pathways including sugar metabolism and creation of stomach stomach, to name a few. Zinc in the seminal plasma of infertile males was significantly lower than that in normal males. Zinc supplementation could significantly increase the semen volume, sperm motility and percentage of normal sperm morphology of infertile males, suggesting that zinc supplementation might increase male reproductive function.
CoQ10 Fat soluble vitamin like substance that supports energy pathways in the body, it is present in all tissues particularly the heart and other muscles. It was found that the concentration of CoQ10 was correlated with key semen parameters such as sperm concentration, motility and morphology because the total antioxidant capacity improves. Thakur suggested that daily administration of 150 mg CoQ10 improved semen parameters in infertile men
Selenium An essential trace element in formation of sperm and testosterone biosynthesis.
N-acetyl-cysteine used together with Selenium this supplement supported further benefits to semen parameters.
Vitamin E Administration of supplementations like L-carnitine, selenium, vitamin C and vitamin E may lead to improving sperm concentration, motility and morphology, and sometimes DNA integrity
There are many fertility supplements out there, which may be fine, but if you are serious about improving your chances of a healthy baby, get in touch with me and I can support you both on a 6 month programme to reduce heavy metals, support gut health and improve your over all health and wellbeing and get your sperm and egg in the best condition ready for conception. I can recommend some great personal trainers too, who I have used myself to get fit and motivated to feel great and look great.
References:
Harris ID, Fronczak C, Roth L, Meacham RB. Fertility and the Aging Male. Reviews in Urology. 2011;13(4):e184-e190
Association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and semen quality parameters in male partners of couples attempting fertility Dimitrios Karayiannis Meropi D. Kontogianni Christina Mendorou Lygeri DoukaMinas Mastrominas Nikos Yiannakouris. Human Reproduction, Volume 32, Issue 1, 1 January 2017, Pages 215–222
Zhao J, Dong X, Hu X, et al. Zinc levels in seminal plasma and their correlation with male infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports. 2016;6:22386. doi:10.1038/srep22386
Effect of Ubiquinol Therapy on Sperm Parameters and Serum Testosterone Levels in Oligoasthenozoospermic Infertile Men. Thakur AS, Littarru GP, Funahashi I, Painkara US, Dange NS, Chauhan P
J Clin Diagn Res. 2015 Sep; 9(9):BC01-3. Selenium in mammalian spermiogenesis.Flohé L Biol Chem. 2007 Oct; 388(10):987-95.
Coenzyme Q₁₀, α-tocopherol, and oxidative stress could be important metabolic biomarkers of male infertility. Gvozdjáková A, Kucharská J, Dubravicky J, Mojto V, Singh RB Dis Markers. 2015; 2015():827941.
Assessment of the level of trace element zinc in seminal plasma of males and evaluation of its role in male infertility. Khan MS, Zaman S, Sajjad M, Shoaib M, Gilani G Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2011 Jul; 1(2):93-6.
Selenium-vitamin E supplementation in infertile men: effects on semen parameters and pregnancy rate. Moslemi MK, Tavanbakhsh S Int J Gen Med. 2011 Jan 23; 4():99-104.
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I always get my clients to eat as many different colours of vegetables and fruit as possible! “Eating a rainbow” is a lovely way of improving your diet, it looks good, tastes good and does you good. If someone delivers you a plat of food and its beige, do you feel excited, and more importantly does it taste nice?
I find it is not well understood why we are told to eat our vegetables, I thought this might help encourage you to eat more of them!
There are so many nutrients in vegetables and fruit and these can help reduce cholesterol, keep blood pressure levels steady, protect our DNA from damage (damaged DNA leads to disease) support our immune systems and help keep us at a healthy weight, because they provide fibre which keeps you full for longer and supports a healthy gut bacteria. They all have their own unique vitamins, minerals and phytonutrient content too unlike carbohydrate rich foods like rice and pasta.
Eating a salad of cucumber, red peppers, sweet potato, rocket, endive and red onion would be super colourful, and super healthy
too. Try it yourselves and let me know how you get on!
Here is a great info-graphic to help you choose vegetables and fruits of different colours, and it shows you the benefits of each!
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During the freezing weather in London, the beast from the east I wanted a healthy option that was also warm and hearty! It needed to keep me going until lunch time.
Buckwheat and quinoa porridge with grated apple and dark brown sugar and milled flaxseeds!
I know, it was a real treat. I used a brand called clear spring pictured below. I used Mylk, which is a plant based milk made with coconut cream and cashew nuts, super delicious. This is a high fibre, slow energy releasing breakfast, great for improving gut health! Next time you need a warm hearty and healthy breakfast, try this!
Keep watching as I am posting more of my breakfasts soon! What do you have on a cold morning?
Nutritional Therapy Link 