Core to my MSc. programme is the idea that we are all unique, and that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all diet. You may think that’s a great way for nutritionists to justify their existence on the planet but the more I read, the more true it becomes. Continue reading
The Eatwell Guide is in the news yet again. Zoe Harcombe is doing a magnificent job of pointing out its many flaws, and I’m tempted to leave her to it. But I thought you might like to hear my views on it too. I’ll be brief! Continue reading
These last few days, during a gap between modules on my MSc, I’ve been enjoying updating my knowledge about the latest advances in cancer treatments. Our understanding of the way cancer behaves is changing and evolving, and with it our ability to influence its growth and behaviour. I’ve been closely following this field for a couple of decades and feel genuinely excited about the things I’m reading and learning. Continue reading
Or why bank holiday Monday might be the worst day to sunbathe ever.
I know! It’s another cloudy bank holiday in the UK, but if it were full-on sun we’d be stripping off, baring lily white legs and shoulders, and wondering if it will shine long enough to be worth getting the sun cream out. Is it a factor 15 or factor 30 day? Gone are the days of coconut oil and tin foil! Continue reading
In attempting to explain the importance of gut flora, I often ask people to imagine themselves as an outside-in planet.
Your digestive tract is densely populated with micro-organisms in a similar way to humans on the face of the earth, though the scale is somewhat different. While there are billions of humans on Planet Earth, there are trillions of bugs inside you – about ten times as many critters as you have cells, all eking out a living on you and from you. And, if you play your cards right, they have plenty to give you in return.
If you are positively prune-like at the end of Dry January then I hope you feel justifiably proud of yourself. Maybe you’ve seen some health benefits too? I’ve heard people say they sleep better, feel more alert, less depressed and can see improvements in their skin and digestion. It’s a great start to the year.
But what next? Continue reading
I have always been mad about biology. From the moment in Lower Remove classroom when I opened my first Biology text book under the watchful eye of Sister Prudence (who instructed us not to look, yet, at page 24 where all the books naturally fell open) I was hooked. Continue reading
Perhaps more than any other holiday, Christmas is the one where we take time off specifically (or so it seems) to beat ourselves up. It’s a time of excess drinking, eating, spending and partying, and it takes its toll. Continue reading
It’s three years this month since I wrote The Dissident Diet, based on my own experience of losing three stone, and a pilot study carried out with 16 people who needed to do the same. At the time it was ground-breaking, and more than a little brave, for a professional nutritionist to recommend a ketogenic diet when so many people in nutrition and medicine felt it was dangerous. Continue reading
On the off-chance that I haven’t bored you enough already with the story of my latest medical escapade, I’d like to share what I learned while ‘inside’ the NHS. It’s a message that I believe affects us all, no matter how confidently healthy, no matter how cocooned with private health care, and no matter how meticulous you are about your own diet and exercise. Continue reading
When I discovered that ‘healthy whole grain carbohydrates’ were causing my worrying weight problem I felt like I’d stumbled across the Holy Grail. That was back in 2012 when I published The Dissident Diet. I wrote it as a healthier version of the ketogenic/Atkins diet with an emphasis on losing weight. Continue reading
I’m sharing this excellent article from Vicky Unwin’s site. With one in two of us in the UK facing cancer this may be something to factor into your election decision making.
Facing up to the statistics around your cancer diagnosis can be difficult, and a lot of people would rather not know. I don’t blame you. No one wants to hear that sort of news, especially when it’s unlikely to be correct.
As a nutritional therapist, I always find it hard to swallow when clients come back from the oncologist having been told that there’s no point changing their diet. Even if we accept that diet is not going to cure cancer, it can make you feel much better and be of great help in dealing with side effects. Continue reading
On Friday, I got some great news: I’m officially recognised as being a trusted and trustable UK Health Professional. Continue reading
I wonder if you watched Panorama this week? It was a gently uplifting programme which explained some exciting new human cancer experiments which are yielding some impressive results. Continue reading
As I prepare for the first ‘Get Comfortable with Cancer’ workshop, I’m aware of a huge bubble of potential. The day already exists In my imagination and there’s a lot of work to do to translate that vision and excitement into the uplifting and inspiring day I want it to be. As well as making your more comfortable, I’d like to think that you will end the day with more confidence, and with more knowledge.
This is such a great explanation of such an exciting understanding of the way cancer works, and the potential for containing it by paying attention to our health, that I’m simply going to repost the link so you can read it in situ.
http://healthinsightuk.org/2015/01/21/cancer-and-genes-have-we-got-it-badly-wrong/
I’m not trying to spoil your Christmas dinner. In fact, I was sort of hoping to make you laugh. We’ve been told that just about everything else causes cancer, why not turkey? Continue reading
This week saw the publication of a ground-breaking editorial piece in the BMJ by the one and only Ben Goldacre of Bad Science fame. Continue reading
I’m increasingly convinced that eating too often is bad for your health. Here’s another piece of the jigsaw. Continue reading
I know I’m probably more focussed on food than most, but from my perspective there has never been more conflict around what we should and shouldn’t be eating: fats vs carbs, meat vs veg, gluten vs dairy, fruit juice vs coca cola, organic vs not. It’s not easy to keep up, even as a professional. Continue reading
It’s amazing how life keeps teaching me lessons. For the last 3 months my ability to face the world with a smile has been somewhat challenged. Continue reading
Suddenly the media seems full of stories about the damaging effects of sugar. The understanding that it’s at the root of our obesity epidemic is spreading, and we are gradually realising that eating fat is not the reason we’re getting fat. Continue reading
Complementary and ‘alternative’ therapies are often criticised for not being ‘evidence-based’, while a lot of evidence-based medicine is not as clearly proven as they would have you believe. Continue reading
As I was writing the previous post, I triggered a memory. To be accurate, it was more of a feeling.
I sensed all over again the confusion and frustration Continue reading
Here’s what I notice… across a growing number of clients…
Patients who ask the oncology team if diet can make a difference invariably get the answer no.
Patients who tell the oncology team that they are trying to help themselves with diet often get told to be very careful, or to stop.
In 1971, president Richard Nixon declared war on cancer when he signed the National Cancer Act. At the time the scientific community was confident that we were no more than a decade away from a cure; their confidence based on a new understanding of DNA and the observation that cancer tumour cells all seemed to contain significant DNA, or gene, mutations. Continue reading
The idea of a leaky gut has always struck me as rather amusing, it’s such a funny name, but if you are a sufferer you won’t be laughing. Most of us go through periods of poor digestive function, often linked to stress and illness, but prolonged poor digestion will put you at risk of leaky gut, and that can have profound effects on your long term health. Continue reading
Fasting during Lent used to be a common practice, linked more with spiritual discipline than physiological benefit. The recent focus on fasting for weight loss has brought it back into vogue. Continue reading