Sugar what you need to know …
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 sugar 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 of sugar 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. How you can reduce your sugar intake? 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
Obesity Statistics and Health Risks
While obesity stats might be shocking, the good news is that there is still time to do something about it. Here, we get clear on the obesity statistics and share how 121 Dietitian has been successfully helping patients to lose weight for good. A person with obesity (BMI – Body Mass Index of 30 and above) is: 6 times more likely to develop high blood pressure 4 times more likely to develop diabetes 2 times more likely to develop arthritis 6 times more likely to suffer gall bladder disease More likely to be infertile More likely to suffer from back and joint problems More likely to have problems with asthma exacerbated Increased risk of suffering depression More likely to suffer sleep problems such as sleep apnoea Increased risk of heart problems and stroke And have a shortened lifespan (1 in every 11 deaths in the UK is linked to obesity related problems) More likely to have nutritional deficiencies Reverse these obesity statistics This is not a scare tactic message, but rather, we feel, an important message to highlight the negative health implications associated with obesity that we treat every day. It may surprise you to know that many of the men and women who come to our clinics are unaware of the risks associated with obesity. When informed they are so grateful they could do something about it before their problems became irreversible. If you wish to reverse the risks as mentioned above, the good news is something can be done. Losing weight and lowering your BMI (body mass index) to normal or lower levels, or with a 5-10% reduction in weight as a starting point will significantly reduce your likelihood of developing these potentially serious medical conditions. Significant weight loss can resolve many pre-existing conditions associated with obesity. Of course there are also many, many psychological benefits in losing excess weight. People become more confident, feel less isolated, feel more attractive and feel more assertive as well as the obvious benefits associated with feeling healthy like a new wardrobe! HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND ENJOY DOING SO! Our team are highly skilled weight management Dietitians, providing a unique evidence based programme, tailored to each individual. Over the years, we have helped many people to successfully lose weight, when they have struggled in the past. You will learn how to enjoy foods and how to manage your diet, weight and health for life. No kcal counting, macros…. If you need to lose more weight, then you can safely do so, as you will know exactly how to do it safely for optimizing health for life. Unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop this has been expertly created for you. If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018 rechecked Jan 2021.
Eat right for mental health and overall wellbeing
How and what we eat has an overarching effect on the mental health and body. We all know that, don’t we? But really have you been doing anything about it? If you are in the camp of the invincible guts of steel, or “never taken a day off in my life” type person then you are either in luck, on borrowed time or in a minority! More and more people we find are attending 121 Dietitian’s clinics with symptoms they just can’t get answers/pills or potions for, and its having a detrimental effect on their mind and body so I thought I would write a little about it and how we have been able to help. For some people it may not have been an overnight change but crept up over a few years, or for others it may have been a bolt out of the blue. Everyone and their circumstances are different, however the symptoms are often similar, or cross over with other illnesses making diagnosis vague and frustrating. But ultimately the most detrimental outcome for each person sitting beside me is that the problem is ongoing and impacting on their quality of life. Work suffers, family life is stressed, holidays become an idea of hell than heaven…. One recent example: Jen, she attended our clinic Jan 2014, a woman in her 30’s, busy life, young family and working a full-time job, full of life, shopping wasn’t always a priority and food was from ready-made meals for her and her partner. She started out in March 2012 with some episodes of feeling tired, low in mood, then progressed to feeling very low all the time coupled with some aches and pains, loss of appetite, change in bowel habits, unable to sleep well, feeling real fatigue, colder than others, weight gain, brain fog, forgetfulness, hair thinning……. She felt alone, worried and isolated. She had been for some tests and told she had fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and needed to exercise more. She didn’t get the answers she needed so attended our clinic. She had a life before this and wanted it back. We requested a series of blood tests for her re: her nutritional status, full thyroid function and antibodies, cholesterol profile, etc, we took her body composition and waist circumference. Jen also completed our questionnaire and 7 day food diary. Tests showed that Jen was in poor nutritional health, she had multiple low levels (not out of range but very low levels sub-optimal for health) of essential nutrients in her blood. She had an elevated glucose and triglyceride level. Her macro and micro vitamins intake were minimal with a high sugar/salt, sat fat intake. These problems, you may be surprised to read, however were not addressed at this stage. This was not until we got her GUT working again, if the gut isn’t absorbing then those expensive vitamins and minerals pills and potions that you are encouraged to buy (and Jen had stack loads in her bathroom cabinet) would be a waste of time. Having a poor gut function like IBS impacts on more than the GUT and as mentioned above it has a negative effect on overall health, with prescribed antidepressants, antacids, laxatives…..being common. To fix this we guided Jen through our excellent Low FODMAP elimination programme. 8 weeks later with full support she came back a changed lady her IBS symptoms had improved significantly. Next we were ready to address the diet for her mood, total health and for her life back. As Jen was carrying extra weight she decided to enrol in our Counterweight Weight management programme, a 12 month fully supported evidence based programme. Returning for the last appointment she has now lost the weight she had been so desperate to shift, she had fixed her GUT, and is now eating a nutrient rich diet. This in turn has helped her low mood, her family life, energy levels and is now looking forward to a holiday abroad with her family, something she feared greatly when we first met her. Jen is one of many we see men, women and children are all reporting problems. Mental Health – So why is this happening? Many factors can play a part here but certainly modernisation is a big one. We are living faster lives with fast foods and less down time to relax. We have over recent centuries moved from a whole foods diet to one that is based on processed and refined foods. These processed foods are leading not only to greater ill health: obesity, heart disease and inflammatory diseases, they are also leading to greater emotional distress in the form of depression, anxiety and insomnia. Eating a diet filled with chips, fast food and fizzy drinks is leading to an epidemic of “mental illness.” We also eat too quickly, chewing food has declined and food is beige, soft and gulped down, not allowing our mouth enzymes a look in. Good Nutrition is vital for your mind and body. This does not have to be difficult, so many people are confused with all the shouting and pushing of some extremes. Adhering to veganism, vegetarianism, Low carbs or paleo is not required. If the first changes you make are by concentrating on cutting out industrial based processed foods and eating more from scratch, cooking meals in the kitchen, focusing on a whole foods diet filled with wholesome prepared meals then you are doing well. Sitting and savouring food with family and friends is a part of life and its importance should not be overlooked for total happiness and health. At 121 Dietitian we look at the full person. We spend a large amount of our time building a profile of the individual’s health by using blood results, checking symptoms, assessing the diet and body composition and most importantly discussing with the patient how they feel. Our programmes are detailed but we get the results to get people’s lives back. If your GUT is down so
This valentine’s day take care of your heart!
Its national heart month and Valentine’s day so what can you do to help your heart? You may be taking a medication to lower your cholesterol or perhaps wishing to avoid the risk. By following some key advice it might be possible to manage your cholesterol reducing the need for medication. If you have high cholesterol, it is of concern, because over time plaque build up can lead to a blockage resulting in a heart attack or stroke. Test results should be broken down as follows: • HDL – “good” cholesterol. Aim to have a good level as HDL works to clean up your blood vessels. • LDL – “bad” cholesterol. Should be low. High levels can cause arterial plaque build up. • Triglycerides – You want this number to be low. Research has shown the following dietary changes to be effective in improving cholesterol levels . . . If your HDL cholesterol is too low you need to: • Exercise regularly, Eat monounsaturated fats and Omega-3’s: olive oil, almonds, walnuts, fatty fish, avocado, and flaxseed, Maintain a healthy body weight, Incorporate colourful fruits and vegetables such as beets, plums, red cabbage, and red grapes, Quit smoking, Limit simple carbohydrates such as white flour, sugar, and fizzy drinks, choose wholegrain foods, fruits and vegetable, pulses. If your LDL cholesterol is too high: • Limit your intake of saturated fats, Avoid hydrogenated oils (trans fat), Get adequate fibre from whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, Incorporate food high in antioxidants: rich colourful diet, Incorporate more healthy fats listed above. If your Triglycerides are too high: • Limit simple carbohydrates as above, Eat oily fish, Limit alcohol. Unsure what to eat? A Dietitian can create a personalised plan to assist you further. Pancake Day Of course at 121 Dietitian it hasn’t skipped our notice that today also happens to be pancake day. In honour of the occasion we’d also like to share with you an alternative pancake recipe! Apple & Cinnamon Batter Puddings. 55g plain wholemeal flour 25g light soft brown sugar 11/2tsp ground cinnamon 1 large egg 125ml semi skimmed milk 2 small apples 2 tsp sunflower oil Prep time 15 mins Baking time 20 mins Serves 4 Set oven to 220◦C and allow to preheat. Mix the flour, cinnamon & sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Add the egg to the well with a little milk & whisk together with the flour. Gradually whisk in the remaining milk. Make sure to draw the flour in from the sides of the bowl to mix into a smooth batter. Pour batter into a jug & set aside. Peel core & cut the apples into 8 wedges. Add 1/2tsp into each well of a Yorkshire oudding tin. Heat the tin in the oven for 2-3 mins. Remove the tin from the oven & place 4 apple wedges into each well ( be careful of hot oil splashes!) Stir the batter again before pouring it evenly into the wells over the apple wedges. Bake in the oven for around 20 mins or until the puddings are cooked, have risen and are nicely browned. Remove puddings & serve immediately. Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.
World Heart Day
This Saturday 29th September 2012 is World Heart Day. World Heart Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the world’s biggest killer, Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD). CVD is a name given to disorders of the heart & blood vessels which include Heart Disease, Stroke & hypertension. In Northern Ireland 2010 there were 4476 deaths caused by CVD, a high figure given that 80% of CVD is behaviour related. Behavioural risks include smoking, increased blood pressure & being overweight and something we can do something about. Exercising regularly. Maintaining a healthy weight. Eating a healthy balanced diet. Not smoking. Eating for Heart Health Aim for 2 portions of fish per week, one of which should be oily e.g. salmon, trout & mackerel. Oily fish is a great source of omega 3, a fatty acid which helps to protect your heart. Eat whole grains & high fibre foods. Foods such as wholegrain bread, breakfast cereals, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, beans, oats, & lentils contain soluble fibre which can help to lower cholesterol. Limit your salt intake aim for no more than 6g salt per day. Remember most of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy so check the labels. High intake of salt is linked to high blood pressure. Don’t drink alcohol excessively. This has been linked to increased formation of blood clots & increased blood pressure. Limit your total fat intake in particular saturated fats & trans fats. This will help to keep blood cholesterol down. Shopping tips for Heart Health Use traffic light labels to help you identify foods which are moderate (amber) & high (red) in salt, saturated fats & total fats. These foods should be eaten in moderate amounts. Aim for foods with more green lights. Go for wholegrain varieties of breakfast cereals, bread & past. Choose brown rice instead of white. Remember your 2 portions of fish. Include lots of fruit and vegetables in your shopping. These are a great source of fibre as well as vitamins and minerals. Never go shopping on an empty stomach or you are likely to be drawn to high fat/calorie foods. If it is an area you want to learn more about or need assistance in making those permanent changes then please get in touch, follow us on facebook and twitter. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.
