It’s the workhorse vitamin, reinforcing your bones, bolstering your immune system and easing harmful inflammation.
The latest evidence suggests that vitamin D may reduced respiratory infections, autoimmune diseases and even your risk of dying from cancer.
The NHS suggests that between March and September, you’re probably getting plenty from the sun – but after that, you’re at risk of deficiency.
If this is severe, you could develop symptoms such as muscle weakness, fragile bones and bone pain.
Aim to take 1000 IU (international units) each day. While 600 IU is enough to avoid deficiency, a little more may help you build up your blood level of vitamin D, so you can unlock its full disease-preventing potential.
Enzymes in your skin can convert UV rays into vitamin D, but the amount generated depends on your skin colour, where you live and the time of year. So, seek it out in food. Canned salmon (716 IU in a serving) and cooked trout (648 IU) will push you towards the goal. A portobello mushroom contains 316 IU, a glass of milk has 100 and an egg has about 40.
Prioritise these foods rich in vitamin D, as they also carry other disease-preventing benefits. However, taking a supplement will ensure you hit your IU target.
The best way to build immunity defense is with a healthy and nutritious diet. 50% of the food we consume in the Western World is processed, meaning somewhere down the line in its production, it has been chemically or mechanically altered.
Consuming these foods regularly is a dietary regime that can lead to a whole host of health complications, not least making us more vulnerable to experiencing regular colds and flu.
Many people are turning their focus towards more plant-based and whole-food diets that are far kinder to our bodies.
If you are a Vegetarian or Vegan, note that many meat substitutes are in fact also processed food, so try and get your protein from more natural sources such as lentils, beans and oats.
Try and also consume ingredients such as garlic, ginger and turmeric, all of which possess properties that can help the body’s immune system feel boosted and stronger, keeping you from getting ill.
There are three types of Diabetes: Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease where the pancreas produces very little insulin or no insulin at all. Type 2 diabetes is, largely a lifestyle disease, found mainly in adults as they get older. Gestation diabetes is developed by pregnant women and it usually goes away after birth.
This suggests that type 2 diabetes can be both prevented and reversed. So what are the steps that can make sure we never suffer from it, or if we do, we manage to get out of its grip? In truth they are basic, but that’s what also makes them difficult, and they are just three:
Exercise
Diet
Nutrition
While this is the usual formula of “exercise more and eat less” the reality is a lot more involved and a number of very recent studies have given us a lot of what we need to successfully unpack it. Diabetes type 2 can be controlled with drugs but these sometimes have unpleasant side-effects and the quality of life of the sufferer drops, anyway so it is worth exploring the alternatives.
Exercise for diabetics
A 15-year long study that looked at two control groups, one using diet and exercise and the other medication found that the diet and exercise group fared by far the best, reducing the incidence of diabetes by almost a third, as opposed to just 18% in the group using medication.
Beginners could start with brisk walks and vigorous swimming and then, as their physical conditioning improves, move on to slightly more demanding aerobic activity.
Resistance exercise should be undertaken at least twice weekly on non-consecutive days involving either moderate or vigorous workouts.
The study however found that combined aerobic and resistance training three times a week in individuals with type 2 diabetes may be of greater benefit to blood glucose control than either aerobic or resistance exercise alone.
Diet for Diabetics
Diet can no more be divorced from effective diabetes type 2 prevention than it can from any other aspect of fitness and exercise. But that doesn’t mean restrictions. As a matter of fact restrictions, quite naturally, lead to over-indulging in other foods and also breaking the restrictions from time to time which means that overall health and weight goals are compromised.
Studies have shown that high-fat diets affect insulin production in the body and increase the likelihood of type 2 diabetes. So a reduction in fat intake is the first step. In addition to this, the latest studies have indicated that when diabetics eat vegetables and protein first and carbohydrates afterwards in their meal, glucose levels in the blood drop.
While more work needs to be done in this area, the suggestion is that the way foods are combined and the order in which they are consumed affects the chemical processes of the body in ways that can help those with diabetes type 2.
When it comes to protein a recent study found that people who ate diets high in red meat, especially processed red meat, had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate red or processed meat, so protein quality does matter.
As a matter of fact in what is definitely good news for those who suffer from diabetes and exercise, researchers discovered that whey protein, which is used by athletes and weightlifters to improve fitness, stimulates the production of a gut hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which boosts insulin.
From a dietary point of view then diabetes sufferers should:
Reduce fat in their diets
Generally have diets that in the long term are low in fat and carbs
Eat vegetables and protein first in their meals and carbohydrates last
Make sure there is high quality protein in their diet and use whey as a means of boosting their protein intake
For diabetes type 2, in particular, there is the suggestion that a diet that is high in protein can reverse the disease and when combined with exercise it can potentially cure it.
Nutrition for Diabetics
One of the problems with diabetes of all types is the fact that it damages nerve endings leading to reduced feedback, slowed responses and an impaired control over our body. The medical term for this is peripheral neuropathy and it can seriously affect the quality of life of diabetes sufferers.
There is good news here too with studies showing that nerve damage can be reversed provided nutrition is improved to include: Alpha lipoic acid (which protects nerve cells from further damage and assists in the repair of damaged nerve cells), L-arginine, (to improve blood flow), Omega-3s and omega-6s (which also aid in nerve repair) and B vitamins (there is some evidence that taking a balanced B complex, helps with peripheral neuropathy).
Having some extra virgin olive oil in the diet can help reverse a lot of the nerve damage and may also help combat type 2 diabetes directly.
Summing up
Type 2 diabetes does not have to be a permanent condition but we do need to take active control of our lifestyle by making the right choices in terms of staying fit, losing some weight and eating foods that help our body stay healthier. The quality of protein we consume is also important particularly when it comes to preventing type 2 diabetes or reducing its impact, when it is already present.
The body is a complex chemical factory. When things go awry we can still work to improve its chances of rebalancing and recovering through our own actions.
Taking
time to cook more ambitiously or to cook a meal slowly is a luxury that can be
enjoyed on weekends, or to unwind during the week after a long, busy day.
Really
investing in the preparing and cooking of a meal is an opportunity to ground
yourself and truly be in the moment, taking care and paying attention to
details.
Washing
and cutting ingredients, tasting and adjusting the balance of flavours,
textures, and seasoning all require full attention. Cooking is one of the
easiest ways to practice mindfulness.
Take a
moment to think about your food – where it came from, how it was grown, what it
cost the earth to produce it – and appreciate what is given to you.
Making
sure you eat three satisfying meals a day, with an optional two snacks, is
crucial to warding off any food cravings in between meals. Have plenty of the
following in your everyday diet, rather than taking supplements that may
disrupt your nutritional balance.
Chromium –
this regulate blood-sugar levels and is found in wholegrain cereals, black
pepper, thyme, organic meat and cheese.
Magnesium
– found in meats, green leafy vegetables, dairy products, beans, apricots,
curry powder, wholegrain cereals, wheatgerm and nuts.
Iron –
iron from red meat (especially liver) Is most easily used by the body; other
good sources of fish and Sawyer, and you can get some from eggs and green leafy
vegetables.
Zinc –
rich sources are wholegrains, brewer’s yeast, wheatgerm, seafood and meat.
Tryptophan
– milk and eggs contain plenty of this amino acid.
Many
people choose to buy organic when possible, especially for soy products that
are most likely genetically modified if they’re not organic.
Genetically
modified (GM) foods are possibly harmless for our health, and our history of
eating this kind of food is relatively short, so it’s a gamble to eat lots of
it.
Another
issue with GM foods is that these crops are threatening the natural diversity
of original seeds. Farmers worldwide have reacted with despair at the
dependency on global seed manufacturers who restrict the varieties of plants
grown for food to a few favoured for their reliability, not quality.
Genetically
modified foods are not the standard everywhere, of course, and several
countries have placed restrictions on GM crops to protect the environment.
Supporting small scale, organic farming is a good thing.
A
vegetarian diet can seem extreme to some, but it’s a natural and nourishing way
to eat. Many cultures around the world have a tradition of vegetarianism dating
back thousands of years.
Science
and health authorities are pretty much in agreement that the plant-based diet
is the most vital way to eat.
Today,
more and more people are choosing a vegan lifestyle. As long as you eat with
variety and make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need, you’re eating
well.
Plant-based
food is climate-smart to, using less energy and water than it takes to produce
meat and fish.
You may
think it’ll be motivational, and allow you to keep tabs on whether your
workouts and nutrition are working for you, but if fat loss is your goal, then
weighing yourself could be counter-intuitive.
The number
on the scales may plateau, and even rise. That’s because muscle is a much
denser tissue. If you compare a pound of fat and a pound of muscle, the size of
the latter is much smaller.
To
summarise, muscle weighs more than fat. So as you build muscle, you may
actually find you weigh more when stepping on the scales.
What you
should actually be considering is body fat percentage. Women between 20 and 40
years old should be aiming for between 21 and 33 per cent.
Alternatively,
you could take holistic approach to measuring progress.
How do your clothes fit?
What has your mood been like? Do you have more
energy?
Are you sleeping better?
It is all
too easy to get hung up on the numbers, bring your focus back to how you feel.
When it
comes to nutritional benefits, vitamins have long stood front and centre. But
what about those equally important essential mineral workhorses that labour
undercover with no recognition?
I’m
talking trace minerals, compounds needed – albeit in microscopic quantities –
to keep your body running as nature intended. Unlike vitamins, there are no
non-essential minerals, meaning you have to get them all via your diet.
Although
trace minerals are, typically, harder to be lacking in, certain current food
trends – swerving dairy, for example – could put you at risk of deficiency,
symptoms of which include chronic fatigue, cognitive decline and depression.
Here are
some of the key essential minerals to get yourself acquainted with:
1. Iodine: The Thyroid Manager
Not only is iodine crucial for neurological development, it also plays a major
role in healthy thyroid function. Without it, your active thyroid hormone,
triiodothyronine, wouldn’t exist.
Which food is it in?
White fish and dairy products.
2. Copper: The Fat Burner
Research has shown that copper is essential for metabolising fat. It’s also
proven as a brain booster; deficiency has been linked to Alzheimer’s.
Which food is it in?
Sunflower seeds, cashew nuts, green olives and shellfish.
3. Selenium: The Immune System Helper
Selenium boosts immune system function and is a key player in egg formation and
fertilisation.
Which food is it in?
Brazil nuts and eggs.
4. Molybdenum: The Liver Lover
Molybdenum supports an enzyme called sulphate oxidase, which is integral to the
conversion of toxic sulphites into more inert sulphates, which the body can
then excrete in the urine.
Which food is it in?
Foods that grow above ground are higher in molybdenum than those that grow
below. Think cauliflower, beans and oats.
5. Manganese: The Bone Booster
This one is essential for bone growth and can help to reverse bone mineral
density loss when taken as part of a calcium, copper and zinc supplement.
Manganese activates glycosyl transferases, an enzyme need for the formation of
proteoglycan molecules present in cartilage.
Which food is it in?
Tea is probably the simplest source for most people. Not a tea person? Try
porridge with cinnamon or cloves instead.
Lactic acid build-up is often blamed for post-workout muscle soreness, but lactic acid isn’t the problem; it breaks down quickly and is no longer present when the muscle soreness hits.
Why muscle soreness occurs is still a grey area, but anti-inflammatory herbs and spices can help: ginger, oregano and rosemary in food as a tincture or in essential-oil massage.
Turmeric
is great to have daily with a little black pepper to enhance absorption. Aim
for a teaspoon of turmeric per day.
Tart
cherry juice has been shown to lessen pain and improve strength recovery in
athletes at 2 cups per day; it also helps you sleep which is important for
muscle repair.
Beta-glucan-rich
medicinal mushrooms, cordyceps and chaga help mitigate oxidative stress,
support community, and assist in muscle recovery.
