The CP Diary

Today’s journal is about why I have decided to stop eating meat and chicken. It wasn’t something I took lightly but because I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, meat and chicken has been a constant trigger for my IBS and digestion problems. The other reason is far more complex than that.

There has been a lot of media coverage about meat products and how potentially harmful it can be for our health. Meat can contain bacteria and carcinogens that can remain in the body for years and whilst farmers still continue to use antibiotics, dioxins, hormones …

Anything to do with diet and nutrition has always been close to my heart and something I will continue to take an interest in.

I am going to journal about fruit and vegetables today, because not only are they fundamental, but most importantly they form the basis of nutrition, but the stark truth is that what we eat on our plate as far as fruit and vegetables are concerned, may not be as nutritious as we think.

Modern farming uses artificial fertilizers and pesticides to encourage plant growth, but robs the soil of its nutrients without replacing them …

I haven’t blogged about saturated fats in this context before, so what are they? They are naturally occurring fats found in animal based products such as lamb, beef and pork. When left at room temperature saturated fats will set. Non-saturated fats left at room temperature, will still stay in liquid form. That’s how we can tell the difference.

Eating too many saturated fats can be catastrophic on our health. They higher blood cholesterol levels, increase our risk of coronary heart disease and can cause blocked arteries, a stroke or a heart …

In my journal yesterday I talked about arthritis and came up with one or two suggestions on how to help address the problems associated with the condition. I will now go on to look at those in more detail.

To identify and avoid allergens, we must first of all test for allergies, because sometimes the pain we experience comes from the food that we eat. The most effective test is called an ‘IgG ELISA’ test, which takes a finger prick, blood sample.

There is of course the usual elimination diet challenge which allows us to look for likely …

As a follow on from my journal yesterday when I talked about Osteoporosis and the problems I may face in my future, I am going to now look at the foods that may help prevent the condition.

The idea is that we consume less animal proteins that contain saturated fats and consume more of the good fats such as nuts and seeds, pulses and grains.  We should also reduce full fat dairy products to low fat ones, or change to calcium-rich alternative milks like soya; that are low in saturated fat. We know milk and milk products contain an acid-forming …

With the busy lifestyles’ we lead, it almost seems a daunting task to keep up on eating healthy; because it’s more time-consuming and time isn’t what we have, but personally I feel that it would be more difficult trying  to get well again when we’re ill. Taking the time now to work on keeping our immunity at optimum level therefore has to be more beneficial.

My ten tips are summarised below:

• Avoid eating anything refined, processed foods, white and sugary foods and any foods containing artificial additives and preservatives;

Growing up, it was mother in particular, who always had an interest in health and health products, I’m not sure why but I just remember it being like that… my interest grew from there.

Why do we need vitamins? We need vitamins to balance our hormones; so that our immune system will work better; so that our body will produce the energy it needs for us to be able to live without struggle; help protect our cells and make our skin healthy.

Vitamins support the nervous system, the brain and protect our cells from oxidation. Vitamins have different …

My last journal was about antioxidant foods and problems with food. Because of those problems… it is important to supplement the diet with extra vitamins and minerals so that we can help balance the body.

I always look for a comprehensive multivitamin and mineral. The ideal levels for supplement will depend on the quality of our diet and other factors such as stress levels, age, pollution exposure and exercise.

A vitamin supplement should include: Vitamin C; Vitamin A; Vitamin E; Vitamin D; Vitamin B1; Vitamin B2; Vitamin B3 (called niacin); Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Folic acid.

As a follow on from my previous journal on antioxidant foods, I continue below:

• Garlic: contains sulphur compounds that give garlic its taste and pungent aroma, but it also helps prevent cancer, heart disease and slows down the aging process. Garlic’s properties help with anti-fungal problems, yeast infections and those suffering with asthma;

• Spinach: contains the antioxidant Lutein, which helps protect against free radicals and helps protect our vision. Various studies have shown that those who eat spinach are less likely to suffer with cataracts or macular degeneration;

Taking a break from my usual themes, I thought I’d write about one of the most important nutrients that should be a consideration for all of us – “antioxidants.”

Antioxidants slow down or prevent oxidization of our cells. They are the nutrients found in food. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals, which can cause damage. Antioxidants help prevent and repair damage done by free radicals.

It is now generally accepted that health problems such as heart disease and cancer can in part be contributed by …