Monthly Archives

December 2019

Dec 30

#33 New years resolutions

By Sunday Shutdown Series No Comments

SUNDAY SHUTDOWN #33 NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS: because they will be across your feed for the next few weeks.⠀

The truth is…

it’s estimated that around 80% of NY resolutions fail. Why. Quite simply because for most of us we want to do everything at once.⠀
❗️We are all or nothing.⠀
❗️Which means we do everything or we do nothing.⠀
❗️Which means when we miss one thing, we deem ourselves a failure.⠀
❗️Why does New Year = New You?⠀
❗️And even moreso why do you need a new you?⠀

So yes I’m shutting down the new years resolution because you can make a change at any time. And I’d urge you to ask yourself if the new year is the right time as more than likely you’ll be starting a whole host of other things too.⠀

If it is, then great but it’s best to start with one thing, just one.

If it’s related to eating better perhaps aiming for 5 portions of fruit & veg a day is a good place to start, or having a meat free day per week, meal prepping for one extra dinner or just being more conscious around your food choices and journalling to reflect that.⠀
If it’s related to exercise and movement, start with one or two sessions a week, then move to three and maybe four. Not everyday.⠀

Also, perhaps don’t tackle both food and exercise at once. Just a thought.⠀

Finally, don’t forget to make note of what you’ve changed. Be accountable to yourself that you will do what you’ve set out. Have clear goals, clear intentions and review them. Just like you would for a meeting at work.⠀

On that note, Sunday shutdowns will return in the new year, and we’ve got a pretty good line up.⠀

Dec 30

#32 Collagen

By Sunday Shutdown Series, Supplements No Comments

SUNDAY SHUTDOWN #32 Collagen

Collagen supplements are relatively new to the market and claims about health include maintaining a healthy gut, glowing skin, improved mood as well as promoting healthy hair, nails and skin. It comes in the form of tablets, drinks, topical creams, bars and powders.

With our skin starting to age from our mid 20’s onwards, many are actively freaking out about lines and wrinkles and will do anything to stop it.

Studies…

There are many studies showing collagen works in a laboratory environment but move away from there and into the real world and there is pretty much no evidence for its positive use in humans on any of the health claims listed above. Once you consume collagen, it has to survive being digested (the stomach is very acidic) get into your blood and then be transfused into your skin before it can be used. Collagen is once again cleverly used to pray on our insecurities.

However, the good news is taking collagen supplements is unlikely to be harmful due to the minimal doses being consumed within these supplements. Personally I wouldn’t recommend spending your hard earned cash on something that’s not proven to work. However, that’s up to you. Some of the best things you can do to protect your skin is stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, eat lots of fruit and veg, exercise regularly and don’t smoke or consume alcohol excessively.

There is a little bit of research into the positive effects of collagen hydrolysate supplementation on bone density and joint health, however you ain’t gonna get this from a drink with collagen added to it. Yet again these studies were a mix of animal, lab and human studies with doses of up to 12g per day and the effects were short term. For perspective, in a tablet you’ll get about 1 gram. (Porfirio, E 2016 and Liu et al 2018)

What do the the experts say?

Whilst on the topic of skincare and the effect ingesting collagen can have on your skin, I’d recommend taking a look at Anjali Mahto on Instagram. Clear cut evidence for your skin who also supports that the science here is sketchy at best.

Dec 23

GRANOLA

By Recipes No Comments
I honestly thought I’d posted this a long time ago. But alas I haven’t so here it is. Use what you’ve got in your house and mix it up where you want to. I don’t have set quantities I just chuck in what I’ve got in the cupboard.

INGREDIENTS
Oats (generally I put more oats than anything else as these are the base)
Desiccated coconut
Sultanas
Dried apricots, roughly chopped
Dates, roughly chopped
Prunes, roughly chopped
Almonds, crushed
Peanuts, raw (not salted or roasted)
Cashews, crushed
Mixed seeds – sunflower, sesame, pumpkin
Chia seeds
Honey, max 2 dessert spoons

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180C
Line a roasting tray with baking paper
Mix all dried ingredients together in a big bowl
Pour ingredients into tray
Drizzle with honey
Bake for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. The granola should be golden and crunchy. You can leave it in the oven for a little bit longer just be careful as it will burn quickly!

Dec 10

Plant drinks. Is yours fortified with iodine?

By Plant based, Supplements, Vegan, Vitamins No Comments

Did you know that as humans our main source of iodine comes from cows milk. And that organic cows milk actually has a lower iodine concentration by around a third. Especially important throughout pregnancy for foetal brain development but also for the general population too. So when we make the switch to a plant based alternative, that’s one micronutrient we are actively removing from our diet. A lot of the time unknowingly.

Some brands will add iodine in, but even some of the most well-known don’t. This isn’t law in the UK so it’s completely their decision if they want to add it in or not. Cost comes to mind?
Marksandspencer and Oatly both add iodine to their standard plant milks, and Alpro do to their soy original only. Double check the label for piece of mind. Does it contain iodine? It will say on the nutrition panel. If it doesn’t then look for another one.

Supplements

If you are adopting a vegan diet then unless you are consuming fortified drinks or other fortified foods you may need a supplement. It should be in the form of potassium iodide or potassium iodate. The UK adult recommendation is 150mcg/day and your supplement should not exceed this amount.

Food sources

Seaweed is also good source, so sushi or those seaweed sheets you can get for snacks are great. However, they don’t need to be consumed every single day as their iodine content varies considerably. There are also some seaweed/kelp iodine supplements on the market however it is not advisable to take these due to the point mentioned above.

Other food sources are white fish like cod or haddock and eggs. Or if you can consume a mixture of dairy and plant drinks that’s a good option too.

If in any doubt a blood test from your GP will be able to detect your current levels

Further reading

And if you would like some further reading, there was a review published in 2017 by Sarah Bath et al “Iodine concentration of milk-alternative drinks available in the UK in comparison to cows’ milk”

It’s just useful to remember this will be ever changing as manufacturers change their recipes so best to check the label.