Who Wins The Fat War: Butter or Margarine?

Every now and then a new research paper comes along and exposes the fault lines between conventional and holistic thinking on what is good for you.

A couple of weeks ago, the American Heart Association (AHA) released a report titled “Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease” which championed the view that saturated fats like butter and coconut oil were, in fact, bad for you. The card carrying members of the Dieticians Association of Australia reading this news over their morning bowl of oat bran and skim milk didn’t bat an eyelid but the paleo loving hipsters however, were spitting out their bullet proof coffees in disgust.

So who’s side are you on?

It comes down to whether you spread margarine or butter on your toast. Margarine, for me, always conjures up images of 1980’s Peter Russell-Clarke and his parody of a bionic cow, imploring us to eat the real thing.

You might imagine that as we get a better understanding of the importance of replacing processed foods with whole foods that margarine would be tossed on the scrap heap of failed food fads. Not so, as any trip to the supermarket will attest. Manufacturers of processed foods are massive corporations who will naturally protect their commercial interests and there are many who pointedly suggest the AHA is beholden to the “big food” lobbyists.

Each side of the debate accuses the other of cherry picking the data to suit their own arguments so if you’re hoping for a consensus you could be waiting a long time.

For me, I would rather consume quality unprocessed fats, including saturated fats like butter and coconut oil as part of a nutrient rich diet rather than think I can eat refined fats like margarine with impunity. I’m also a sucker for the flavour of butter so my tastebuds probably have more sway that I’d like to admit.

Concerns about saturated fat are founded on the belief the prevailing belief that they are a key contributor to high cholesterol and heart disease, however there is a counter argument that diets high in sugar and refined foods are to blame. Whatever you choose to believe, keep an eye on your cholesterol and if you have any concerns see a healthcare professional of your choice.

Wes Smith is Live Well's Director and has 20 years experience as a practitioner and wellness educator. He has a special interest in working with chronic immune issues, stress, anxiety and depression. 

Wes is passionate about inspiring and educating people to create and sustain their vitality and wellbeing so they can live life to the full.

Wes also enjoys teaching meditation and is the creator of meditatewithwes.com an online resource for learning how to meditate. es has a B.App.Sc.(Acup), Diploma of Herbal Medicine, a Yoga Teaching Diploma and is an APHRA registered acupuncturist. Learn more about acupuncture, herbal medicine and meditation.

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How to live seasonally for winter health with Traditional Chinese medicine

As we move into winter it's time to rug up, keep warm and pay particular attention to our health.  According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), winter is the season associated with the Kidneys, the energy system which holds our body’s most basic and fundamental energy. It is also believed that by harmonising oneself with the seasons you can stay healthier and prevent disease, so winter is a good time to strengthen the kidneys. It is also a good time to look inward, reflecting on ourselves with meditation, writing, or other inward practices such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong. These practices help us to connect to our inner selves and help to support kidney energy. They are very helpful to relax the mind, calm our emotions and raise the spirit. 

The body part associated with the kidneys are the bones, so it is important to pay close attention to the bones in the winter months making sure to tonify and heal any problems in this area. This is also why winter is a time when Chinese medicine prescribes bone broths as nutritional therapy, as they are warming, nourishing and especially good for the bones and kidney energy. Bone broths are also powerful Jing tonics, as Jing is produced by the bones. Jing is depleted by activities such as extreme and prolonged stress, lack of quality sleep, working long hours and excess consumption of alcohol and recreational drugs. Winter is the best time to supplement the body’s Jing supply, and bone broth is ideal to do just that.

There are many foods that are beneficial for us to eat during winter. These foods are the ones that naturally grow in this season - pumpkin, potatoes, root vegetables, winter greens, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, apples and pears. In winter, our bodies need warming foods like soups made with hearty vegetables, and rich stocks cooked with animal bones are best. Foods that specifically nourish and warm the kidneys are: black beans, kidney beans, broths cooked with bones, lamb, chicken, walnuts, chestnuts, black sesame seeds and dark leafy greens.

A small amount of unrefined sea salt is also helpful as the taste associated with the kidneys organ is salty, but remember, moderation in all things is important and too much salt can damage the kidneys. Cooking should be for longer periods with low heat and less water. This infuses foods with heat that helps to keep the body warm in the cold winter months. Hearty soups, whole grains and roasted nuts are good on cold days and offer nourishment to feed the body and tonify the kidneys in cold winter months.

The principle of harmony between what we eat and the season we eat it in is based on hundreds of years of practical experience. Chinese nutritional therapy is an important component of Chinese medicine and there is a long held understanding that food that we consume has a profound effect on the body, affecting our health and wellbeing. 

Sally Nourse

Sally has a special interest in working with couples to overcome fertility challenges as well as continuing to support women throughout pregnancy and beyond. 

Sally has a Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine) from the University of Technology Sydney and a Diploma of Health Science in Eastern Massage therapy (Shiatsu and Tuina) from the Canberra Institute of Technology.

To find out more about acupuncture and how it can help with infertility, endometriosis, stress, anxiety, back pain and throughout pregnancy please click on the links. 

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Superfoods… Fad, Fact or Fiction?

Are Superfoods some mysterious, amazing or secret product that will prolong your life or are they a clever marketing ploy by the food and manufacturing industry?

There’s a lot of chatter on social media, blogs, websites, books, supplements… all about superfoods. Due to the welcome arrival of spring, I decided September is a great time to investigate superfoods to find out if they really can make us live longer, healthier and happier lives.

What are Superfoods?

If you google the word ‘superfood’ you’re more likely to come across statements such as: “Nutrient powerhouses!” “Packed with antioxidants!” “Reduce the risk of chronic disease!” and less likely to find an actual medical or scientific definition… and that’s probably because there isn’t one. The closest we could find to a definition that was reasonably consistent was the Oxford Dictionary definition: “Superfood: noun, a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being’ .

So, what is ‘a nutrient-rich food’?

Broadly speaking, nutrients is the stuff our body needs on a daily basis to keep us moving, thinking, smiling and looking great! Scientifically speaking, nutrients generate the energy to support our metabolism, they regulate our body functions and they supply materials for repair, growth and maintenance of body tissue. They’re divided up into macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

Therefore, a nutrient-rich (or nutrient dense) food is basically a term used to identify the ratio of nutrients to calories (energy) in a particular food or substance. For example, a fresh apple contains about 68 calories but it’s also high in fibre (which will fill you up and keep your digestive tract healthy) and it contains potassium and vitamins C and K. In terms of being nutrient-dense, you get a lot of bang for your buck with an apple: low in calories, high in nutrients… just like all fruit, vegetables, whole grains, meat and dairy.

So, nutrient-dense foods are low in calories but high in nutrients, like the apple and they are opposite to energy-dense foods which are high in calories and low in nutrients, like a Kit Kat.
A Kit Kat (just the little 2 Finger one J) has 105 calories, zero fibre, zero vitamins and it’s high in sugar and saturated fat. Kit Kats, like alcohol, chocolate, cakes and biscuits taste amazing and can bring a smile to your face, but they won’t contrite much to the energy your body needs to fuel itself.

A superfood by any other name…

We now know that the term ‘superfood’ has no scientific definition, but has an accepted definition of ‘nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being’. We also now know that ‘nutrient-rich’ foods are low in calories and high in nutrients such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains etc. Does that mean that superfoods are just regular, boring old wholesome foods that humans have been eating for centuries?

Seems pretty straightforward so far, but we want to go a bit deeper. So join me next week for “Superfoods… Fad, Fact or Fiction? (Part 2)” where we find out what the experts say about superfoods.

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Are the foods you’re eating making you sick?

Have you ever noticed you feel bloated, heavy, tired or irritable after eating? If you have then there is a very good chance your body is reacting badly to some of the foods you are eating. 

Whilst it might seem obvious that if you suffer from digestive complaints like irritable bowel syndrome, re-flux, constipation or diarrhoea that food allergy or intolerance may be involved, these symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg.

Food intolerances are also often responsible for:
•    headaches;
•    tiredness;
•    skin rashes;
•    aches and pains;
•    stiff joints;
•    insomnia;
•    poor memory and concentration;
•    anxiety; and
•    depression, just to name a few.

If you have suspicions that food intolerance is contributing to less than optimal health then it’s a good idea to get them checked out. 

To help solve the mystery of whether you have food intolerances and which foods are the culprits, our kinesiology practitioner is offering 15 minute food intolerance consultations for just $30. Kinesiology works by getting feedback direct from the source: your body and it is the fastest, most accurate way I know to test for food intolerance.

Allergy or intolerance?

Allergies are typically more sudden and severe, think of the anaphylactic response many children have to peanuts. Intolerances on the other hand are slower to appear and can be more difficult to pin point.

Allergies and intolerances are caused by the immune system flagging something you ingest as threatening to the body’s equilibrium. It’s important to understand that the immune system has to make thousands of decisions a day and it is not always at the top of it’s game, with stress being the main reason it will falter.  

Of course it’s not always the immune system’s fault. Too often the foods we eat are highly processed which means the immune system is being asked more complex questions compared to if we were to eat food in its more unrefined and natural state. So much of the benefit of eating whole food based diet is that your body and in particular your immune system and digestion find so much easier to process real food.

The most common allergies we come across at Live Well are to wheat (and other sources of gluten) and to dairy products. The way to treat allergies is to remove the offending foods for a period of 1 to 3 months and at the same time tackle the underlying drivers of intolerance, usually stress. 

Given time, digestive organs that have been irritated and inflamed by the continual presence of a food that you have been intolerant to can recover and regain their resilience. 

After a period of abstinence there many be some foods that you can reintroduce without any side effects and there may be others that even a small amount of will trigger symptoms. You body will soon tell you just as long as you’re listening.

So don’t suffer any longer, book a 15 minute food intolerance consultations for just $30. These session will fill up fast so don’t miss out!

Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine

It has long been a tenet in natural medicine that you can prevent and cure disease by changing your diet. What’s fascinating is that modern medical research is belatedly arriving at the same conclusion.

It’s the emerging scientific understanding of the crucial role that bacteria plays in our digestion which is set to revolutionise the way we treat disease and promote wellbeing.

To cut a long story short; if you eat well you cultivate healthy gut bacteria. If you eat a poor diet with lots of refined foods then the impact on your gut bacteria is calamitous and that has big consequences that can take years off your life and leave you vulnerable to a host of conditions ranging from heart disease, to cancer, asthma, allergies, arthritis, autism, depression, multiple sclerosis and diabetes.

The crux of this story comes down to link between the bacteria in your gut and the functioning of your immune system. Basically it is in your gut where your immune system gets schooled on what is benign and what needs to be attacked. If you’re lucky enough to be born vaginally then this education starts at birth where, as you pass through your mother’s birth canal, you are populated with lots of healthy bacteria that caesarian babies miss out on. Similarly if you’re breastfed, you ingest the perfect nutrients to support development of healthy bacteria.

Of course the other common factor in the decimation of healthy gut bacteria is the exposure to antibiotics. Clearly each medical intervention has its place but they also all have their consequences.

Even having the best possible start doesn’t count for much if you feed your gut bacteria the wrong kinds of foods. Prolonged exposure to a typical modern Western diet, which is overly reliant on processed foods and significantly lacking in fiber is enough to send your healthy bacteria packing and importantly, develops a tendency towards systemic inflammation. Now inflammation may not sound too scary but it is code for a malfunctioning immune system and is the same mechanism that drives autoimmune disease and a whole lot of nasty disease processes, so take heed!

Oh and the other evidence emerging from the latest research is that vinegar can help restore the healthy gut bacteria. That’s what naturopaths have been saying for centuries. It’s good to be getting everyone on the same page at last, Hippocrates would surely be smiling in his grave.