Diet and Nutrition

Let food be thy medicine

Never more than today is this true. Research is being released every week showing that what we eat is determining how our bodies are, from risk of cancer, to skin ageing, to digestion, to energy levels, to catarrh we are bombarded with information about what is good for you. There are now campaigns run by governments, retailers or charities telling us to have five portions of fruit and veg a day, eat more wholefoods or to cut down on sugar.

All things in moderation

Probably the best advice that can be given is to take everything in moderation. Ten cups of coffee, 2 litres of coke, 10 cups of chamomile tea or 3 mars bars a day will probably all one day be shown to be bad for us. However it is less likely that a sensible amount of any of these will be shown to be bad.

Take less Coffee and Tea

Tea and coffee are both rich sources of caffeine, a natural stimulant. As with almost every stimulant, long term use can affect your health and energy levels. Try reducing your intake and also consider taking a cup of water for every cup of coffee to limit the dehydrating effects of the tea or coffee.

Essential Fatty Acids

In our essential fatty acids section we go into the details of omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9 oils. As always a supplement may be avoided by simply adding the right foods to your diet. Nuts such as pumpkin seed, flax seed (also called linseed) and walnuts contain omega 3 fatty acids and could be added as a snack to your daily diet, or alternatively oily fish such as sardines and herring are amongst the richest sources of omega 3 oils.

Energy

Although sugars are discussed in more detail in our sugars section some very simple advice to avoid sugar highs and lows is to try to avoid highly refined foods; take brown rather that white bread, brown sugar rather than white sugar, fruit juice rather than cola. All the less processed foods will give a slower release of sugar into your body.

Home help for catarrh

We have helped a large number of people in our shop and clinic to manage their catarrh problems and one of the first pieces of advice is to reduce their intake of dairy products. The link between catarrh and dairy is now firmly believed by medical herbalists and is slowly being accepted in conventional Western medicine. We suggest trying to go for a month without dairy and decide for yourself if you benefit. The NHS Eatwell Guide gives the official government agency giving advice on diet etc.

Always seek professional advice if you are on any medication, have a long term illness, breastfeeding or pregnant. Always follow the recommended doses for vitamins, minerals and food supplements.