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Pistachio’s- some interesting facts

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Pistachio nut day is on 26th February 2021

We love pistachios here at 121 Dietitian so when we spotted there was a special world pistachio day we felt we had to give them a big shout out!

Did you know:

• Pistachio are nuts native to Western Asia and Asia Minor, archaeology suggests that pistachios were eaten as a common food as early as 6750 BC. Wow!
• They are one of the more expensive of the nuts out there because of the trees on which they grow. It only reaches production 15-20 years after being planted. Isn’t that crazy!
• Pistachio trees can only produce about 22kg of nuts each year. Furthermore, pistachios are sorted by hand and not by machine.
• Pistachio trees can only grow in cool winters and hot summers, meaning that there’s only a few locations in the world where the trees can grow.
• Iran is the biggest producer of pistachio nuts ahead of USA and then Turkey.

How to eat:

When eating pistachios from the shell, split the shell and eat the small kernel inside. The kernel may have a thin skin on it that do eat this for upping polyphenols. If you find a nut in a shell that doesn’t pry apart easily, simply use a nutcracker to open it up.

  • As a snack. Eating pistachios raw or roasted. Both in-shell and shelled pistachios are available in grocery stores.
  • Over salads. Shelled pistachios (either whole or chopped) are often sprinkled over salads. Pistachios can also be puréed and mixed with oil and herbs to make a creamy salad dressing.
  • Ground into sauces. Ground pistachios are popular as a base for sauces and dips, like pistachio-yogurt sauce.
  • Added to bread dough. Ground pistachios can be added to bread dough to give it a thicker texture with extra protein.
  • In desserts. Chopped pistachios are commonly mixed into or sprinkled atop desserts like ice cream, cake, truffles, and pastries.

Pistachios are also a common ingredient in dishes from an array of cultures:

• In Turkish dishes. Pistachios are most well-known in Turkish recipes for being minced and layered in the traditional baklava.
• In Italian dishes. Pistachios are a common addition to Italian pastas, either chopped and mixed in to the noodles or ground and made into a spiced pistachio sauce.
• In Indian dishes. Indian food makes ample use of pistachios, and they’re a staple ingredient in many Indian rice puddings, pilafs, cookies, and a spiced pistachio fudge called pista barfi.
• In Iranian dishes. pistachios are a common ingredient mixed into Iranian chicken and rice dishes, and also served as a traditional Persian snack, roasted with lemon juice and saffron and tossed with sea salt.

 

Nutrition

  • Pistachios are high in fibre: Eating pistachios can improve your gut health if you have no ongoing dysbiosis issues. Rich fibre foods help move food through the gut and prevent constipation and may help reduce the risk of colon cancer.
  • Pistachios are high in antioxidants: Pistachios are known to contain antioxidants that have strong cancer-fighting properties and cardiovascular disease prevention. Furthermore, pistachios also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that help maintain eye health and overall immunity.
  • Pistachios are great for vegans and vegetarians: With protein accounting for almost 21% of the total weight of the nut, pistachios contribute almost 6% to a person’s daily protein needs. For plant-based diets, pistachios provide that much-needed protein.
  • Relative to other tree nuts, pistachios have a lower amount of fat and calories but higher amounts of potassium, vitamin K, γ-tocopherol, and certain phytochemicals such as carotenoids, and phytosterols.
  • A handful of pistachios (45) contain 156 calories, 3 grams of fibre, and are one of the most vitamin B6-rich foods around.

Do you enjoy eating pistachio’s? they are so tasty if you haven’t tried them then don’t continue to miss out, try them as part of a bigger plan to increase variety in your diet.

Let us know what you think!!

Gillian x

info@121dietitian.com

Sugar Awareness Week 2021 What you need to know about sugar….

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It is Sugar awareness week 18th – 24th January 2021 so I thought I would take a look at this in more detail for you as it is one of the biggest concerns my patients have when I see them at my clinics.


What is sugar?
The term ‘sugar’ usually refers to what we know as table or granulated sugar – the type of sugar that we add to our tea or coffee. We also are familiar to the different variations which include caster sugar, icing sugar, brown sugar, demerara sugar, these are types mostly used in baking.
These, you may already know, are not the only sugars around. Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and vegetables, grains, and dairy.
All ‘sugars’ are carbohydrates and along with starch they one of our body’s main source of energy. Carbohydrates are required for our brains, bodies and nervous system. In fact it has been part of our diets for thousands of years. Sugar is found naturally in most foods like fruits, vegetables and milk as well as being an ingredient used in a wide range of foods and drinks.


Great, so what is all the fuss about?
Consuming whole foods that contain natural sugar is acceptable as part of a healthy intake when you have a healthy metabolism. Plant foods have high amounts of fibre, essential minerals, and antioxidants alongside smaller amounts of carbs, and dairy foods contain protein, fats and calcium which are important for the body.
Because of these extra components your body digests these foods slowly allowing the sugar in them to provide a steady supply of energy to your cells. A sufficient intake of fruits, vegetables, and fibre rich foods have been shown to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

So what’s the problem?
Increasing technology has brought many changes to our food production. More and more convenience foods are available that taste good, are very addictive and can be eaten 24/7.
Problems occur when regularly eating these processed foods leads you to consume too much “added sugar”. The food manufacturers add this to enhance the flavour or extend shelf life and this can often be hidden in foods you would never imagine.
In the modern diet, the top sources of sugar are soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavoured yogurts, cereals, biscuits, cakes, sweets and most processed foods. But added sugar is also present in items that you may not think of as sweetened, like soups, bread, processed meats, and condiments like ketchup.

How much sugar are we allowed?
Our recommended dietary intake of sugar per day:

Adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 tsps/sugar cubes).

Children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than 24g of free sugars a day (6 tsps/sugar cubes).

Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19g of free sugars a day (5 tsps/sugar cubes).

What we consume
Adults in the UK take in 3 times the recommended amount at an average of 22 teaspoons/cubes of added sugar per day, according to the NHS website.
Four to 10-year-olds are eating more than twice as much sugar as they should per day, equivalent to 13 tsps/sugar cubes (PHE 2018).


“Excess sugar’s impact on obesity, Blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, fatty liver and diabetes and this is well documented, but one area that may surprise many is how their taste for sugar can have a serious impact on their heart health and increase risk of stroke,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Impact on your heart
In a study published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr. Hu and his colleagues found an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease. Over the course of the 15-year study, people who are 17% to 21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who consumed 8% of their calories as added sugar.

“Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Hu.


Sugar has several indirect connections to affecting heart health:
1) high amounts of sugar overload the liver. “Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat,” says Dr. Hu. Over time, this can lead to a greater accumulation of fat, which may turn into fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease.
2) Consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease.
3) Excess consumption of sugar, especially sugary drinks, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods. This is why it is easier for people to add more calories to their regular diet when consuming sugary drinks.


What can you do??
Reading food labels is one of the best ways to monitor your intake of added sugar. Look for the following names for added sugar and try to either avoid, or cut back on the amount or frequency of the foods where they are found:

• brown sugar
• corn sweetener
• corn syrup
• fruit juice concentrates
• high-fructose corn syrup
• honey
• invert sugar
• malt sugar
• molasses

Also syrup sugar molecules ending in “ose” (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose).

Check the total sugar of the product, which includes added sugar, this is usually listed in grams.
If it says 5 grams of sugar per serving, but the normal amount you would eat is three or four servings, you will easily consume 20 grams of sugar which is way too much.
Also, watch the amount of sugar or syrups you add to your food or drinks. About half of added sugar comes from adding it to coffee and tea. A study in the May 2017 Public Health found that about two-thirds of coffee drinkers and one-third of tea drinkers put sugar or sugary flavourings in their drinks. The researchers also noted that more than 60% of the calories in their beverages came from added sugar.


Planning to make sugar cuts?????
Be careful when cutting back on added sugar as you may find yourself filling up on other foods to satisfy your sweet cravings. Foods like white bread, white rice and pasta can also increase glucose levels in addition to providing more sodium than you need so not ideal.

Really work at making healthy swaps:

  1. If you take sugar in your hot drinks cut down little by little to allow your taste buds to adjust.
  2. Don’t add jam ever day to your toast – if you are at increased health risk then think about choices that won’t spike your blood glucose, eggs are a good alternative and ditch the toast too.

If you are not sure how to make safe and healthy swaps, please do get in touch, we are experts in all areas of nutrition and health and we would love to help you.

Gillian x

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Call 07717392306
Email: info@121dietitian.com

2020 with COVID 19 – How our family recovered…

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2020 was a tough year for the world with the COVID 19 pandemic and 2021 continues to see no end to this virus. The vaccinations can hopefully help reduce hospital admissions however we still need to keep others safe.

Reflecting over the past year we have had our ups and downs but over all I am one of the lucky ones and wake everyday thankful for what we have. We are fortunate that my husband has a secure job and really glad my kids are easy to manage as teens. We are fortunate we can sleep and eat in the safety and comfort of our warm home and we have a large park beside us to walk our dog.

I am also very fortunate to be have my Dietetic nutritional consultancy business www.121dietitian.com online to continue to help and advise others. I am passionate about wholefood nutrition and this really matters with our current pandemic.

Not being able to visit loved ones has been very difficult. I am especially sad about not seeing my parents. My mum has Multiple Sclerosis and dependent on hoists and wheelchair and loves company. She needs many to assist her daily needs. Sadly they are 120 miles or a 3 hour car drive away in a different country – not easy to visit, so in between the lockdowns we have hopped in the car driven and spent a few hours chatting in the window to them returning home relieved they are safe and coping.

Summer 2020 was a tough time for my eldest 2 children: A-levels and GCSE’s were cancelled and they were hugely disappointed. They are now doing their best to continue focused for the future but it is damn hard. I am very proud of them.

Fast forward December 20 everything was going well, life was in a routine with work and school and we were preparing for Christmas at home. We managed to enjoy Christmas day and then COVID struck (brought home from my husbands work). We began to fall ill first my husband and then me. We told no one as we were scared of what was ahead. We self isolated and were fortunate to have extra food in with Christmas. The kids also had varying symptoms.

I can’t say for sure but as I write this we have got away lightly. Loss of taste and smell and fatigue being the most difficult for 2 weeks. We were dreading the worst as both myself and my husband are healthcare professionals and have seen first hand what COVID 19 is doing to people. The longer term damage of kidneys, heart, brain, stroke and lungs is all too real. I have over the past year of COVID been advising others on assisting their immunity and improving their overall health. Little did I think we would be saved by it too.

I personally feel that having underlying good health, eating a varied diet, taking Vitamin D, getting restorative sleep and keeping a safe alcohol intake has been advantageous in our recovery. 2021 has been a slow start for us but when you have your health you have your wealth so it can only hopefully get better.

From my experiencing with COVID 19 if you can do one thing in the next 12 months I would strongly urge you to please protect yourselves and your family from contracting COVID 19. Let 2021 be the year you make any changes you need. Optimise your diet. Have the best metabolic health you can. Take Vitamin D daily. Ensure you have the best sleep, activity, mood and gut possible. Stay well and stay safe.

If you need any guidance or chat further about any of this please do let me know. Take care. Gillian x

Please feel free to share our blogs to help others.

Tel: 07717392306

email: info@121dietitian.com

Please feel free to share our blog to help others

Healthy Snacks For Kids and Teens going back to school…

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The kids are back to school. Now the headaches is what to feed them each day. Having 3 kids I know how challenging feeding them can be! 🤪
Your child is going to need nutrients for brain power and the additional exercise they may not have been availing of for the last few months. 🧀

Don’t fall for the high-fat, nutrient-poor snacks that are lining our supermarket shelves. Here is a list of a few healthy snacks with a twist:

Healthy Snacks for all the family 🍇

  1. Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed pecans and freeze🍌
  2. Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or cream cheese. Top with raisins.
  3. Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with cream cheese and apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon.
  4. Take 2 oat cakes top with Greek yoghurt add some raspberries and enjoy.
  5. Put cubes of cheddar cheese and grapes on pretzel sticks.
  6. Spread peanut or almond butter on apple slices.🍎
  7. Take semi skimmed milk, frozen strawberries or raspberries or blueberries add some oats and seeds blend for thirty seconds for a delicious smoothie.
  8. Use wholemeal thins to make tasty sandwiches fill with colourful salad and home cooked meats like gammon, chicken or prawns, egg, houmous…🍖🍳🐟
  9. Sprinkle grated cheese over a wholemeal tortilla; fold in half and microwave for twenty seconds. Top with homemade avocado guacamole, cucumber, peppers, tomato salsa.🌶️
  10. Heat homemade soup: mushroom, tomato or chicken, bean and vegetable soup and enjoy with oat cakes and pate.
  11. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese and smoked paprika on hot popcorn.
  12. Banana pancakes – mash 1 ripe banana, add 1 egg and some wholemeal flour and mix – cook on pan in a little butter. No need to add anything as sweet enough.
  13. Spread mayo on a wholemeal tortilla. Top with a slice of turkey or ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce. Flavour with herbs and spices. Then roll it up 🌿
  14. Mini Pizza: Toast the bottom of an English muffin, add some passata on the top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and vegetables and grill.
  15. Fruit kebabs. Make fruit exciting by threading melon, grapes and pineapple chunks on a wooden skewer.
  16. Dark chocolate- 2 squares place in a cup add boiling water and top with milk.☕

Snacks to say “no” to:

  1. Chocolate type biscuit bars are not filling and high in sugar and saturated fat.
  2. Soft drinks. Eight to 10 teaspoons of sugar are found in the average can of soft drink. All sugar and no nutrients is not healthy and can lead to health problems like diabetes and weight gain. Read more about Sugar in our recent blog here.
  3. Sweets. Even when disguised with the word “fruit” included- avoid. A healthy snack provides good quality nutrients and protein —- something that sweets do not provide.
  4. Snack pots eg: ham, cheese, and biscuits – these are all highly processed in plastic packaging. Make your own with home made ingredients – much fresher and again less waste using a Tupperware box.
  5. Crisps are high in salt and saturated fat. Keep to a minimum.

Top tips:

✔️Buy some Tupperware boxes to reuse in small and large sizes to
carry food to school (reduces single use plastic waste).

✔️Use refillable water bottles for water. Try the glass ones that don’t break.

✔️Having the food at home means you are eating out less
which will save you money too!

These are just a few of our random suggestions to get you thinking, if you have any yourself please let us know.

If you need some help with your families healthy choices call: 07717392306 or email info@121dietitian.com

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Hashimoto’s and me -the best ever! Part 4…

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I was reflecting this morning and realized wow, what a year 2019 has been. My best health year for the past 10!

Clinical work has grown and has become immensely intense with more and more patients attending with multiple and complex issues. With my good health these challenges are no longer draining and so I continue to train in new services and collaborate with excellent health professionals and institutions to offer my expertise.

My niche is certainly assisting people who have nutritional issues that may also affect their health negatively in ways they did not realise: Eating disorders,  mental health and well-being, resistant weight, metabolic syndrome, gut health, fatigue, auto-immune conditions, hormonal issues, fertility, allergies, nutrigenomics, optimization of the workplace…..

I personally continue to follow my health programme to ensure that I remain optimised to keeps me tip-top. In addition I run with a running club and have completed several cross-country races and love Park run when I can ever get to it. (kids activities seem to dictate!)

Chronic Illness

Chronic illness is, I believe, like a jigsaw puzzle. Illness is complex and often can’t be completed/fixed in one go. In relation to chronic ill health, it can take several years for some people to manage this jigsaw – often following unscientific or expensive paths in desperation. The illness is often still there but the medications assists in just getting through the day. This way of living masks the underlying problems. Fixing the cause is King, and working with the body through its ups and downs is the only way out.

At 121 Dietitian,  availing of a full assessment allows a a complete evaluation of you diet, lifestyle, sleep, inflammation, blood results. A bespoke detailed written programme is then provided – and a follow up to check how all is progressing. Positive results can be achieved in a few weeks. Fantastic for the client and the reason I love to go to work.

I look forward to every day and hope that I can help you too feel the same. If you need some advice or direction please email: info@121dietitian.com or call +44 (0) 7717392306.

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Menopause: The Top Nutrients You Need To Know About

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Learn all about the top nutrients to help minimise the symptoms of menopause, assist with it and also maintain healthy bones.

Key nutrient are important to consider if you are going through the menopause. Whichever menopausal symptoms you experience, the change in the balance of your hormones is the cause. A well-balanced diet is essential because it helps the body adjust to the hormone changes.

Symptoms of the menopause can include any of the following;

  • Tiredness
  • Depression
  • Low libido
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Hot flushes
  • Bladder weakness
  • Dehydrated skin
  • Hair loss
  • Insomnia
  • Weight gain

There are a plethora of nutrients that help minimise the symptoms and even assist the passage of menopause and also help you maintain healthy bones.

Here a few major ones that you can consider:

B Vitamins

B Vitamins are known as the “stress vitamins”.  This is because symptoms of B-vitamin deficiency include tension, irritability, poor concentration and anxiety.

Fatigue – a common symptom of menopause – makes women feel deeply exhausted even though they haven’t done much physical activity throughout the day. B Vitamins help reduce the amount of stress on the adrenal glands, which are required to produce oestrogen during the menopause. They can be useful if you are suffering from reduced energy levels. It is important to take a complex and a formulation that you can absorb with no nasty fillers.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential to the manufacture of collagen. Collagen provides skin its elasticity. It helps prevent and treat vaginal dryness, a painful condition which develops when the vagina loses some of its ‘stretch’. Vitamin C can be easy to miss out on if you are watching your weight and possibly on a keto or restricted diet.

Vitamin D

This vitamin plays a very important role in the prevention of breast cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. We don’t get it naturally from food in sufficient amounts so the sun or a supplement is required. Again, you really need to ensure you take a balanced amount along with other key nutrients and select the active form, Vitamin D3.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is also helpful for vaginal dryness and has been proven to help reduce hot flushes. It can dampen the immune system which can be beneficial for some ladies as a short term assistant for hormonal balance.

Iron

Iron is required to help your red blood cells transport oxygen to the rest of the body. Men store more iron compared to women and the loss of blood each month during menstruation means that women require more iron than men. A deficiency of iron will result in anaemia, which makes you feel sluggish and tired all the time. It is really important to have a blood test to check your iron and ferritin levels as you do not want to take a supplement and potential cause iron toxicity.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Symptoms of a deficiency in Omega 3 fatty acids can include dry skin, lifeless hair, cracked nails, fatigue, depression, dry eyes, aching joints, and breast pain. Omega 3 supplements have been shown to reduce the frequency of hot flushes and improve depressive symptoms in menopausal women.

Magnesium

Magnesium plays a vital role in 300 different enzymatic functions. It is essential in maintaining optimum bone health, which is increasingly important during the menopause.  Known as “nature’s tranquiliser”, magnesium supplementation assists mood and anxiety. Picking the correct formulation for your symptoms is critical for success.

Calcium

Calcium is needed by the body to maintain bones, teeth, nails and hair. It is also required for healthy heart rhythm and blood pressure. To minimise the symptoms of menopause and maintain healthy bone mass, make sure to supply your body with these nutrients throughout the day. Dairy foods have become increasingly common to be eliminated from the diet of women for various reasons which can unfortunately leave ladies in deficit. Kale, spinach and tofu, are some examples of calcium rich non-dairy foods.

These nuggets are just a few simple suggestions. Dietary and lifestyle changes are integral in the stages of menopause. If you wish to explore this further Gillian Killiner is a dietary expert and lifestyle coach. She has helped thousands of women over her 22 years as a Dietitian. She would be delighted to help you… 

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