I know we all have busy lives but volunteering is such an amazing thing to do and the good feelings gained from helping others is reward in itself.  It helps you feel part of a community and being kind to others helps you feel ‘connected’ in a way that is often hard to achieve in our very individualised lives. I grew up in the north-east of England in a mining area where community values were very important and caring for one another a part of life. I guess I’ve just refused to ever let go of that and honestly can’t imagine life any other way.

There are opportunities for volunteering in just about everything - especially here in Brighton and Hove. From playing chess with isolated older people living in care homes to walking dogs or helping babies with developmental delay take those all important first steps.

Why not take some time this weekend to explore what’s out there and think about how you could contribute to your community? It doesn’t have to be something massively time-consuming or hard….taking your neighbour’s recycling out to the street every fortnight might take a little bit of pressure off someone who is frail or elderly and really make their day.

Here are some places to start….

Brighton and Hove Impetus (local volunteer work)

Brighton and Hove Volunteer Search – Community Base

Active Lightworks – volunteering opportunities for complementary therapists

BHV - youth volunteer programme

Portage and Early Support Scheme- volunteering opportunities with pre-school disabled children

Have a good weekend.

Of course most people with Coeliac find themselves in the position of constantly monitoring their food and drink for gluten but surely there must also be some responsibility on those of us in health roles to check products carefully and responsibly on behalf of our clients?

Coeliac UK are a fantastic organisation and provide an amazing service for health professionals including regular newsletters and a copy of their excellent Food and Drink Directory. I’d encourage anyone working in a health related role to join Coeliac UK as a Health Professional, read the website, sign up for the newsletter and take a bit of time to think through any implications for people with Coeliac within your own work practices. It doesn’t take long, it’s not difficult and we owe it to our clients.

Anyway…I was absolutely delighted to hear that Jamie was awarded the TED award this year. It’s not well known in this country but is huge in the US and the winner is granted ‘a wish’ and the backing of an array of talented people to help make the wish come true. Jamie’s wish :

“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Where America goes, the rest of us usually follow – so is there really anyone who can argue against that?

There has been quite a backlash on Twitter and I think many people feel this is a step too far in promoting sugary cereals. An occassional treat- maybe. Cereal for breakfast and snacks- definitely not in my opinion. Try some snacks based on the Change4Life recipe book instead…

And here’s a lovely little video aimed at promotion of a different kind – getting children interested in eating more fruit and veg – a  simple and effective way to support your child’s health. Be careful, it’s a very catchy tune. You might end up singing it for the rest of the day!

I often use Twitter to post links to recipes and have been asked to put some here on the blog for those who don’t use Twitter so here they are – do as I do and adjust the ingredients to your taste and to meet your dairy/gluten free requirements. This is usually quite easy in savoury dishes – substitute in cake recipes at your own risk…I have had many disasters this way. But this is how we become creative recipe converters so my work continues! Even the puppy turns up his nose at some of my gluten free disasters.

Here are a selection of some of the recipes I’ve tweeted over the last few weeks:

Roast Barramundi in honour of Australia Day today (Barramundi are produced in our very own New Forest)

Pasta with Walnut Sauce (contains dairy and wheat as it stands- try substituting silken tofu for the ricotta and gluten free bread and pasta)

Andean Bean Stew with Squash & Quinoa – you can use canned beans or chickpeas for this for a quicker preparation time.

Nigel Slater’s Beetroot Seed Cake – tastes amazing & much better than it sounds! Remember your reaction when you first heard about carrot cake?

Mark Hix Tomato Lentil Soup Quick, cheap,nutritious and tastes really great. Mark Hix is a master at simple cooking with great ingredients.Try it.

Jamie Oliver’s Andy the Gasmans Stew (lamb) – I tend to substitute sweet potatoes instead of white ones, double the vegetables and reduce the meat.Throw in handful of spinach at the end for extra nutrients!

Rainbow Superfood Salad – lovely with fish.

Fuss free fajitas From the MyChild website

Vietnamese Turkey Salad – very very quick and simple. Good for leftover chicken . Use herbs and spices to your taste.

Almond Milk (video). This recipe uses dates as a sweetener. Easy when you know how…

Anjum Anand’s Goan fish curry – I like this with some spinach or watercress thrown in at the end for contrast

Squash and Chickpea Soup – lovely winter warmer

Enjoy!

There was an interesting article in Community Care in November last year raising awareness about the levels of Anxiety and Depression amongst social work staff. The Unison survey it cites suggests that a third of council social workers here in the South East are on anti-depressants or other medication.  I hope that all that is happening with the reforms proposed by the Social Work Taskforce will help the plight of social care staff in the medium to long-term but in the short-term there are many social workers out there struggling to manage the stress inherent in front-line social work systems and they need our support.

Thinking back to my days on the front line, I wish I’d known more about how I could have chosen better foods and drinks to help manage my stress at that time –  nutrition is not a miracle cure but it can certainly make a difference and I have seen people beginning to cope much better with their lives simply by eating better , feeling physically stronger  and ‘calming down’ the biochemical stress response we can experience in response to certain eating patterns and foods.  That coffee and croissant in the morning is a classic example but can be hard to give up without some help finding realistic alternatives – after all, the visit to the coffee chain for a latte can be about so much more than just having a drink … a chance to leave the stressful office for a few precious minutes, a welcome distraction from the stress of hearing about dreadful abuse or trauma and an opportunity to enter into the ‘luxury world’ of the upmarket coffee shop, a milky comforting drink reminding us of childhood and warming us up on a cold day, a caffeine and sugar ‘hit’ to keep us going after being up all night writing court reports. The list goes on.

Maybe one day nutrition will be included in the ‘wellbeing’  services for social work staff. Real change can be achieved by helping people learn more about food and how it affects their body and their situation. After all, if it was as easy as saying  ’just cut down the coffee’ we’d all be a nation of herbal tea drinkers already!

In  the meantime, I’d encourage social workers to consider nutritional therapy as one way of helping to manage anxiety, depression and stress alongside therapeutic support and any prescribed medications.

To find a  nutritional therapist near you check the BANT website and always ask:

1) What are the therapists qualifications and level of study in nutrition – this varies enormously so do ensure your practitioner has a Degree or recognised Diploma

2) Are they professionally insured and First Aid trained .

3) Are they competent in checking drug-nutrient interactions

4) Are they registered with the Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC) or CNHC

5) Will they offer a free initial consultation – as with any other therapy, it is vital you feel you can ‘get on’ with your Nutritional Therapist and feel they can help you make food and lifestyle changes. Ask to meet up before you commit.

And for the rest of us, please spare a thought for social workers and think more deeply about why absence rates may be so high. They are doing their best for vulnerable children and adults in a world where resources are scarce and difficult decisions have to be made every day. Could you do their job?

I’m delighted to report I’ve just opened appointment bookings for my new programme ‘Change Nutrition,Change Health‘ to help those of you worried about ‘fat around the middle’, high blood pressure, cholesterol and risk of diabetes and heart disease. I was originally going to run these as small group sessions but following some feedback I am now running the programme on an individual basis – this will make it more accessible for those of you with hectic lifestyles and who prefer one-on-one support and flexible appointments to manage your health. You can find out more here or give me a call to book your free appointment to see if the programme is for you.

I may still run some group sessions later in the new year so if this is something you are interested in drop me a line as I’m always keen to make sure I offer the best service.

In the meantime, I hope you had a wonderful New Year and very best wishes for a happy, healthy and fun filled 2010.

Juices: If you have a good juicer (and don’t mind the washing up!) this can be a great way of getting 1 of your 5-a -day…which by the way should actually be more like around ‘8-10 a day’ for really optimum health. A juice can only ever count as ‘1 portion’ as it is the fibre in fruit and vegetables that contains many of the healthy compounds so whole fruit and vegetables should make up the rest of your daily intake. There are some great juicing recipes and books out there so take your pick and experiment. An important thing to remember is that although fruit contains many nutrients, it is also often very high in fruit sugars. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice might contain as many as 7 oranges with accompanying fruit sugar- you would never eat that many pieces of whole fruit in a sitting and without the accompanying fibre, this kind of pure fruit juice can give a real ’sugar hit’ and add to blood sugar imbalances. Instead try vegetable juices or mix fruit and vegetables together. I find most people enjoy apple,carrot and ginger as this is quite a sweet juice. Or try adding a beetroot for an amazing red juice with an earthy flavour. Here are some more ideas for recipes

Smoothies: I generally prefer smoothies to juicing as you can add in so many ‘extra bits’ for added nutrition and by blending the whole fruit the fibre is included so you don’t lose out on nutrients. ‘Smoothie Makers’ are really just blenders with a tap. I think a goblet style blender is just as good and more versatile – I’d say these are generally the best for making smoothies though some of my clients tell me they can achieve some great results with a good old stick blender so give it a try. There are some amazing goblet style blenders on the market, some so powerful they can make soups from scratch and heat them at the same time, but these are beyond the range of most of us (I am saving up for a Vitamix…long wait!). I currently use a Philips HR2094 which isn’t the cheapest but  is glass and quite sturdy so it can manage some heavy blending and can be used to make nut milk with its additional filter- it’s also very easy to clean.  This style blender has an adjustable speed dial which is great when adding large objects like quartered apples or soaked whole nuts as it can gradually break them down before turning up to full speed for a finer blend. I’m putting it through it’s paces at the moment so I’ll report in future blogs what it can and can’t do! (let’s hope I don’t kill it!)

Anyway, back to smoothies – there are many recipes out there for amazing smoothies. As a principle, I always try and add a protein food and sources of essential fatty acids to smoothies. Try adding a tablespoon of peanut or almond nut butter (available in health food shops) or if your blender is powerful enough, soak some cashews or almonds for a few hours then throw them in. Nuts really are a great source of protein, minerals and essential fatty acids. You can also add 3-4 tablespoons of whole fat plain yoghurt- additional protein and also contains some low levels of ‘good bacteria’ to support the gut.  For something more filling like a breakfast, add in 1/2 cup of porridge oats and blend away or pour a smoothie mix on your muesli for added spice. Blueberries make lovely purple milk- kids love it.

Here’s the smoothie I had as my mid morning snack today. I make them up as I go along adding whatever is handy and might add to the taste and nutrient content…

The smoothie with no name

1 apple- cored and cut into quarters

1/2 a greenish banana ( too sweet if allowed to brown)

3 medjool dates- stoned ( xmasleftovers)

4 strawberries

3 tbsp whole fat live yoghurt

1 tbsp almond nut butter (or any other nut butter)

1/2 tsp of Maca powder (optional – from health food shops)

1 tbsp organic cacao powder (optional)

Method

Put all of the above into the blender. Add a little water for the ‘first blend’ then, once a smooth paste has formed, add more to preferred consistency or top up with ice and blend until crushed

This is quite sweet and a moreish pick me up so a  good ‘not too wholesome  tasting’ smoothie while you are still in festive spirits. But don’t add real festive spirits…. not in the morning anyway  :)

Enjoy.

It’s a real credit to medical science that we now have so much information about how things may ‘look’  when people are starting off on this road to chronic illness. I think what is needed now is more targeted support to enable people to understand better what may be happening in their bodies and take practical steps to make a u-turn and get on a different road to better health. My plans for 2010 include some brand new Nutritional Courses for men and women who have Metabolic Syndrome & those who don’t have the diagnosis but are worried about an expanding waistline, high blood pressure or other important symptoms (see below) . I’ll be working individually with everyone on the course to make sure the nutritional programme is tailored to them as well as providing weekly group sessions where we learn more about the science behind some of the recommended nutrition and lifestyle changes. I think successful long term change is so much easier if we actually understand more about why it’s important for us as individuals. I’m in the middle of writing up the programme at the moment -it’s very exciting and I can’t wait to get going when the new year hits!

For now, here are the signs and symptoms to look out for….

If you have 3 of these you may be diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome. If you have any one of these, seek medical advice for further assessment and a check on the other symptoms so you can start making changes now if you are at risk. With health, the ‘head in the sand approach’ is never a good thing- check it out so you can take some control and keep yourself as well as you can for as long as you can :

1. Increased waist circumference (≥ 102 cm in men and ≥ 88 cm in women; ≥ 90 cm in Asian men and ≥ 80 cm in Asian women), indicating central obesity (’fat around the middle’)
2. Elevated triglycerides (fats in the blood)
3. Decreased HDL cholesterol (’good cholesterol’)
4. Blood pressure > 130/85 mm Hg or active treatment for hypertension
5. Fasting plasma (blood) glucose level > 5.6 mmol/l or active treatment for hyperglycaemia

More about the New Nutritional Courses in future posts – watch this space. Or, if you want to get in early, drop me a line for more information and you’ll be the first to know when the first run of dates are released in January

Happy holidays. And remember to boost up those vegetables on the Xmas dinner!