The Nutrition Coach Blog London Nutritionist The Nutrition Coach offers advice on healthy living, nutrition and diet issues such as IBS, bloating, gluten intolerance and more.

When Food Intolerance is actually something else – getting back to the root causes

James came to see me in January with symptoms of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) – he had seen his doctor who had rule out the possibility of anything serious and the doctor had given him som peppermint oil to help with cramping symptoms.  James was convinced he had food intolerance as the symptoms seemed to get worse when he ate certain foods – the trouble was that on some occasions even when he avoided certain trigger foods he still had the symptoms.  He was keen to learn just what foods were to blame as try as he might he couldn’t see a pattern.  

When he came to me I took a detailed case history ( asked him loads of questions) and it turned out the symptoms had started at Christmas time with a bout of gastric flu –  before that he said he had a very sturdy gut.  He said he was able to eat anything!   This gave me the clue that perhaps rather than food intolerance -this might be a case of infection.  Instead of a food intolerance test I got him to do a gut test instead ( stool test)..  The results took about four weeks to come back and in the meantime we worked on improving his diet – although improving the diet did help improve the symptoms somewhat, the symptoms were still there.

Once we got the results back he had a very common parasite (very common in the UK) B.hominis –  This parasite makes the gut more sensitive to foods and in his case was the root of the problem.  We worked on getting rid of this parasite and improving gut ecology and immunity.   Now five months later he is in a much better position – his symptoms are heaps better.  We still have work to do but with persistence we can definitely see light at the end of the tunnel!

Supporting Your Thyroid  and a Healthy Weight Through Nutrition

by London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Hi again! In part 1 of this series on the thyroid we talked about what the thyroid is, how it might be affecting your weight, symptoms of an underactive thyroid and a simple test you can do at home to give you an indication, but no firm diagnosis, as to how well your thyroid is functioning.

In this 2^nd part of the series, we’ll look at how you can support optimal thyroid functioning, and therefore optimal weight management, through nutrition.

Foods to help support optimal thyroid functioning

1. Iodine is required to manufacture the thyroid hormones. Without sufficient iodine, your thyroid cannot produce adequate thyroid hormones to help your body function on an optimal level. Seafoods, iodised salt and sea vegetables such as kelp, as well as foods grown in iodine rich soil, are rich sources of iodine. It should be noted, however, that too much iodine can actually trigger thyroid problems and worsen symptoms, so it’s important to have a healthy balance.

2.       Zinc is another essential mineral for optimising thyroid health.

3.      Selenium: This mineral is critical for the proper functioning of your thyroid gland, and is used to produce and regulate the active T3 hormone. Selenium can be found in foods such as shrimp, snapper, tuna, cod, halibut, calf’s liver, button and shitake mushrooms and Brazil nuts.

4.      Zinc, Iron and Copper are needed in trace amounts for your healthy thyroid function. Low levels of zinc have been linked to low levels of TSH, whereas iron deficiency has been linked to decreased thyroid efficiency. Copper is also necessary for the production of thyroid hormones. Seafood, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds can help provide these trace metals in your diet.

5.      B vitamins help to manufacture thyroid hormones and play an important role in healthy thyroid function. They are found in whole grains, pulses and green leafy vegetables.

Foods which can compromise optimal thyroid functioning

Goitrogens get their name from the term “goiter,” which means an enlargement of the thyroid gland. If the thyroid gland is having difficulty making thyroid hormone, it may enlarge as a way of trying to compensate for this inadequate hormone production. “Goitrogens,” like circumstances that cause goiter, cause difficulty for the thyroid in making its hormone.

Although research studies are limited in this area, cooking does appear to help inactivate the goitrogenic compounds found in food. Both isoflavones (found in soy foods) and isothiocyanates (found in cruciferous vegetables) appear to be heat-sensitive, and cooking appears to lower the availability of these substances.

Please remember that you do not need to avoid the foods below unless you have a confirmed underactive thyroid, as many have numerous important health benefits.

1. Soy: The principal goitrogens in soybeans are the estrogenic plant hormones known as isoflavones. The antinutrients known as saponins in soy may also be goitrogens. Cooking and processing methods, using heat, pressure, and alkaline solutions, will neither deactivate nor remove isoflavones or saponins.

2. Cruciferous vegetables: compounds called isothiocyanates found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are goitrogens as well. While it’s true that large amounts could interfere with thyroid function, especially if eaten raw, they offer a myriad of other health benefits that make the benefits outweigh the risks for most people. If you know you have thyroid disease and want to be especially careful, steaming these vegetables reduces the goitrogenic effect.

3. Other foods: millet, peaches, peanuts, radishes, soybean and soy products, including tofu, spinach and strawberries

Do you think you might have an underactive thyroid that is stopping you from shedding those pounds, despite eating healthily and exercising regularly? Then please call us on 0845 050 2442 for speedy and expert advice.

Wishing you the best of health

London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Obviously as nutritionists (nutritional therapists) we are involved with working with people to improve the diet. Sometimes when people are feeling exhausted it is really because they are eating a diet that does not support their energy requirements – someone on a very low carbohydrate diet (somehow these days it seems that all carbs are classed as “evil”!) or someone eating loads of sugar and sweet treats, for example, is likely to experience trouble with their blood sugar (fluctuatingenergy levels) other reasons for tiredness might be:

1. Low levels of iron

2. Poor diet – low in nutrients, including essential fats

3. Not enough water

4. Not enough sleep or poor quality sleep

5. Infections – or recovery from infections

6. Thyroid function

7. Too much exercise/not enough exercise

8. Recovery from infection/virus

One other area nutritional therapist might consider is adrenal function – The adrenals glands are where your stress hormones come from and allow you to cope with stress. Medically low adrenal function is not recognised only a complete lack of hormone is recognised as a medical condition and is really rare (Addison’s disease) – although President Kennedy suffered and managed to cover it up successfully.

It is possible that your adrenal glands can get tired, if you have been under stress for a number of years without respite. It means that the production of cortisol (flight and fight hormone) is reduced – you do need stress hormones to feel energetic and to cope with the stress that is thrown at us. There are many ways to look after the adrenal glands:

1. Get to bed early – 10.00pm would be ideal

2. Eat a diet that balances your energy across the day (low GI diet would be ideal)

3. Take time for relaxation – breathing is important

4. Take time for exercise – but make sure that you don’t over do it if you are tired. Try yoga/pilates too

5. Make sure you are taking your holidays

6. Draw your boundaries at work – make sure that you get home at a decent time

How do you know if you have adrenal fatigue? Come and talk to a nutritional therapist at The Nutrition Coach to find out more – 0845 0502442

Contact us

For those of you who have reached the end of their tether on conventional diets look no futher than our Dump the Diet course. I am extremely passionate about this course. I began teaching it over 10 years ago and have never got tired of it or its message! It liberates eating from what I call “Dieting Mentality” – so although the course is based around principles to follow and adhere to (of course! Everything that we want to achieve and succeed at has structure – a good part of the course is about getting away from the guilt about food, eating and what we should or should not be doing. Getting on with the action of applying the principles is really important but getting out of and away from our heads (!) is probably 90% of the secret of the course’s success!

Find out more about our Dump The Diet (Weight Loss) Course – Ring 0845 050 2442

Londonnutritionist

Part 1

by London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Have you tried every diet known to man, really watch what and how much you eat, exercise regularly and find that you STILL CAN’T LOSE THE WEIGHT???!! Well, here’s some good news. Research is pointing to the fact that an underactive thyroid might be the number one cause of weight problems, especially among women.

So what is the thyroid and how might it be affecting your weight? Well, the thyroid gland is a small butterfly shaped gland with two lobes found just in front of your neck below the Adams Apple. One of its main functions is to control metabolism- that is, the rate at which we burn calories to maintain vital functions. Our bodies need fuel just as a car needs fuel to power itself, so whether we are sleeping, shopping or exercising, we are constantly burning calories.

Now, your thyroid gland produces two main hormones. One is called thyroxine (T4) and the other is called triiodothyronine (T3). The thyroid produces approximately 80% T4 and 20% T3. T4 is generally considered to be inactive and only becomes active when converted to T3, although some researchers believe that T4 does, in fact, have a function. T3 is an active hormone needed by all of the cells and tissues of the body and is the one which does all the work of regulating the body’s metabolism.

Thyroid problems often run in families and can happen at any age. Things can go wrong with the thyroid in two ways:

Hyperthyroidism, also called an overactive thyroid where the thyroid produces more thyroid hormone than it should which causes the metabolism to run too fast.

Hypothyroidism, also called an underactive thyroid where the thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone which causes our metabolism to work too slowly.

What are the symptoms Of An Underactive Thyroid (Hypothyroidism)

• Fatigue is the most common. You feel tired and exhausted like you can’t enough sleep, or want to take daytime naps
• You’ve gained weight inappropriately or you are finding it difficult to lose weight despite proper diet and exercise
• You feel depressed or sad
• Impaired memory & concentration
• Sensitivity to cold
• Cold hands & Feet
• Constipation
• Difficult for a person to sweat and their perspiration may be decreased or even absent even during heavy exercise and hot weather
• Your skin can become dry, cold, rough and scaly
• You are losing hair, particularly from the outer part of your eyebrows
• Nails are breaking or splitting and are brittle

Does this sound like you? Then read on…

A Simple Test To Provisionally Evaluate Thyroid Function

If you’ve read this article and some of the symptoms ring true for you, but you are not sure if you have low thyroid, there is a simple test called the Broda Barnes Temperature Test which can give you an indication, but NOT A FIRM  DIAGNOSIS, as to whether or not your thyroid is functioning optimally.

Here’s what to do.  Starting on the 2^nd day of your period, take your body temperature for 14 mornings in a row. Shake down a glass thermometer and place it by your bed before you go to sleep. Upon waking, place the thermometer in your armpit for a full 10 minutes. It is important to move as little as possible during this time. Don’t get up for any reason. After ten minutes, record the temperature and date. This should be done for 14 consecutive mornings. Individuals with normal functioning thyroids have a basal body temperature between 36.6 ° C and 36.8°C. Basal body temperatures below this range may reflect hypothyroidism.

How Can Nutrition Help You Lose Weight?

In part 2 of this series, we’ll be looking at how you can support optimal thyroid functioning, and therefore optimal weight management, through nutrition.

But what about those of you who may have been to the doctor’s to check out your thyroid functioning and been told that it’s working fine, but you still feel there’s something not quite right? Well, in part 2 we’ll be looking at what and how to eat to support your thyroid, but also at the latest cutting edge technology which can help us determine whether you might be what is described as borderline hypothyroid. This means that your thyroid might not be under functioning so poorly that you are diagnosed as having an underactive thyroid, but it might be sluggish enough to be causing you weight management problems. And this is what I’ll be discussing next time.

Wishing you the best of health

London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Can’t wait till next time? Want to know NOW what you can do to shed the pounds and find out how well your thyroid is functioning?

Then get in touch with our London clinic either online or by phone on 0845 0502 442 for speedy and expert advice.

Spring is finally here!  People have peeled off their winter coats, the birds are chirping, the daffodils are out, trees have blossomed, bikes are everywhere and runners too – but, do you still feel blue?

Does it feel like everyone around you has energy and looks healthy as if its’ been spring all year long, and not a horribly cold winter? Have you gained weight over the winter because you’ve over indulged during the festive season and been less physically active because of the cold? Have you lost energy and feel fatigued?  Well then maybe the metabolic balance program is for you to speed your metabolism up and wake from hibernation.

The metabolic program is a diet individually tailored to your body chemistry through the aid of a blood test.  Foods will be specifically selected for you to adjust your metabolism, gain vitality and boost weight loss.  All foods included on the diet are natural and wholesome and will provide you with the right levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to re-balance your metabolism.

The program includes:

• A blood test and diagnostic session
• A four -stage diet program
• A food plan individually tailored to you
• Seven appointments to give you the support you need throughout the diet to achieve your goals

Many people have succeeded from this nutritionally sound program and so can you.

If you’d like to find out more about Metabolic Balance and weight loss, get in touch with our London clinic either online or by phone on 0845 0502 442.