Your ability to lose weight largely comes down to the food choices that you make. The more heavily processed a grocery item is, the more it costs you to buy. For instance, a box of cereal costs over $5.00 and might last you a week max. It’s loaded with ingredients and additives not to mention a cardboard box and plastic inner bag. Compare this to a bag of quick cook oats. You can buy a 750 g bag of oats which would make you breakfast for a approx 3 weeks for a less an $1.00. This is seriously the best value and most nutritious breakfast cereal on the planet. It’s also minimally processed in comparison to a box of cereal. There’s no added anything. Just 100% oats which are a great source of B vitamins for mood, energy and metabolism. It also contains minerals and essential fatty acids such as Omega 3′s.
Best of all, in terms of herbal medicine, oats act as a nervine. This means that they nourish and tone the nervous system and reduce stress. To make oats into porridge it’s just a 1/2 cup or less of oats to a cup of water and cook. This rich, creamy mixture is also fantastic for stabilizing blood glucose levels and keeping you fuller for longer. Oats were originally used as the first medicine for diabetes. It was known as the oat cure. In addition to being a source of complex carbohydrates, oats are also a source of protein, the building blocks of the body. Oats are also a source of fibre which is essential for weight loss as a bowel that moves daily reduces additional weight from fecal matter. Oats are also a source of Beta-glycan which reduces cholesterol. It makes good nutritional and economic sense to eat foods which are minimally processed.
Fruits and vegies are another classic example of foods which are very cheap to buy in comparison to processed foods and yet the difference in price and nutrients is staggering. The empty calories in a couple of slices of white bread pale in comparison to an apple/pear.
White bread has been so refined that vitamins such as folate and B1 have had to be added back in to make up for the the absolute lack of nutrition that the refining process has created. White bread breaks down to a very simple sugar – glucose which causes a spike in blood glucose and insulin levels. In someone who is insulin resistant (significantly overweight) this means that the glucose will be converted into more fat stores as the body is unable to process it effectively.
In comparison, apples and pears while also a source of glucose, contain large amounts of fibre which slows down the absorption of glucose and helps to stabilize blood glucose levels. This reduces the risk of diabetes and weight gain. They also fill you up for longer. Interestingly, apples and pears also act as prebiotics in the gut. This means that they produce beneficial bacteria which assists with immunity, maintaining the pH of the blood, reducing cholesterol and creating some B vitamins. Bowel function is also greatly assisted, lessening the risk of bowel cancer.
Vegetables are very economical to buy and can really bulk up a meal. If you spent $30 a week on fruit and vegetables you would be astonished at how many meals you could create. It you combined this with $25-$30 worth of meat, fish and eggs plus $20 worth of nuts, you would have the basis for multiple meals and snacks. In these economically challenging times, a diet based on wholefoods can go a long way towards achieving a healthy weight and bank balance.
Recent research has shown that 75% of those surveyed had tried Natural Medicine in the last 12 months. As a Naturopath this comes as no surprise. My clinical experience has shown that my clients typically fit into one of four categories, especially if you’re over the age of 30.
1. The first group of clients are those who are passionate about healing themselves through natural medicine supplementation, improved nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle. They prefer to use natural medicine in preference to pharmaceutical drugs to treat their health conditions.
2. The second group are those clients that know that their diet is not healthy and they are experiencing health concerns such as weight gain, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, etc. but feel sure they can get on top of it, given the right information. Many of my clients who come for weight loss are already doing an exercise program but are just not getting the results that they desire because they don’t have all the information they need from a dietary or nutritional perspective to put it all together. There are also other things that affect a person’s ability to lose weight such as hormonal changes in the body (i.e. menopause, andropause, high cortisol levels, adrenal and thyroid issues), toxins, stress, inflammation, infection and allergies). Only by addressing all of these health concerns through natural medicine and diet, can real progress be made.
3. Another type of client that I regularly see are those using pharmaceutical drugs and experiencing lots of side-effects such as weight gain, reduced libido, reduced energy, etc. These clients are looking for a natural alternative to address their health concerns safely and without side-effects. A Naturopath is focused on treating the root cause of the illness rather than simply masking the symptoms. For example, instead of using antihistamines for Hay fever and affecting no real change, the Naturopathic approach would be to rebalance their immune system and supplement their diet with nutrients such as Omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium and zinc.
4. Finally, I see an increasing number of clients who have done the rounds of doctors and specialists and have completed untold numbers of tests, only to be given a complete bill of health. All the while these clients know in themselves that they are not well. In this instance the Naturopath is seen as someone who can explain why their body is producing the symptoms that it is and give them a holistic treatment plan incorporating natural medicine.
So did any of these client categories sound familiar to you?
Natural medicine focuses on changes to the diet, nutritional supplementation and herbal medicine. The treatment plan may also take into account environmental and emotional aspects of your health. For instance, what toxins have you been exposed to and what are your relationships like? Do you enjoy your work and how stressful is your life? Only by looking at the whole picture can potential explanations be given as to why your health has reached the state that it has. What is your body trying to tell you? What changes need to be made to ensure you have optimal health in the future?
Being the practitioner of last resort is not a glamorous title but it is an important one. When clients come to see me they’re frustrated, overwhelmed and at their wits end. They cannot understand why no-one can tell them what’s wrong with them let alone how to fix it. While these people are among my most challenging clients, they are also incredibly rewarding to work with, as each naturopathic consultation brings new information and improvements to their health.
As a Naturopath I get an unbelievable buzz out of helping people to help themselves. There is nothing better than providing an alternative to people who have tried everything else with little success. So if you fall into one of the above categories, you now know that Natural Medicine can help you to improve your health, not only for now but also well into the future.
Everyone likes to talk about weight loss but what type of weight are people actually losing? In this article, readers discover the truth about the term collectively known as weight loss.
In 2003 I attended a seminar entitled ‘Fat Loss not Weight Loss’ as part of my Naturopathic training. Early in the day the lecturer made a comment that I have never forgotten. “You can lose weight just by going to the toilet!” Although Mr. Eddy ND was stating the obvious; it wasn’t until that moment that it dawned on me just how misleading the term weight loss can be. Losing excess fat, fluid, waste or toxins, should be the goal of any healthy weight reduction program. However, for most people, the success of a weight loss program is measured simply by a decrease in kilograms on the scales.
So when ‘Anita’ weighs herself on the scales and she’s 2 kg lighter, she assumes that this is healthy and what she is doing is working. And of course this is understandable given that the generalized notion of weight loss, is all anybody ever talks about! But what if that 2 kg weight loss came at the expense of a reduction in muscle and bone mass? Muscle mass is heavier than fat mass so when it is lost it has a dramatic effect on the scales. The irony is that muscle mass drives metabolism and enables you to burn fat more effectively. So while losing muscle mass might look good on the scales, it actually weakens your overall physique and body structure, decreases your immunity and slows fat loss.
Therefore, as any of my clients can attest, it is essential that you know what type of weight you are actually losing. There have been instances among my male clientele where their overall weight has increased but their physique has improved substantially. This is because their increased weight came from muscle mass which enabled them to burn more fat. It should also be remembered that muscle mass also adds tone to the body and improves its overall appearance. It also produces increased stamina, strength and energy.
Overall physique is a very important consideration when attempting to reduce body weight. Many people have large frames with a high degree of muscle and bone mass. This can weigh quite heavily on the scales but it is very important for the body to have a strong structural framework. The body’s bone mass peaks at 20 years of age but according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 5 to 7 years after menopause bone mass declines by a whopping 20%.
This is because women lose the protective effects of estrogen after menopause which predisposes them to developing Osteoporosis (porous bones) which fracture and break easily. Therefore, maintaining a healthy amount of bone mass is essential to offset this hormonal change.
My advice to anyone undertaking a weight loss program is to make sure that they monitor and manage their progress with regular Body Composition Assessments (BCA) to ensure that muscle and bone mass is not being sacrificed in an effort to weigh less on the scales. Ideally BCA’s need to be done every three weeks as bone and muscle loss can occur with surprising speed.
On a final note I believe it’s unrealistic to compare one person’s weight loss success with another because there are so many variables. Among my clients there are examples of people who weigh lighter simply because they have a smaller frame. There are also examples of people who are heavier yet healthier than others, simply because they have more muscle and less fat mass overall.
Having conducted countless Body Composition Assessments, I can assure readers that there are definitely risks associated with weight loss if it is not monitored and managed correctly. Bathroom scales are next to useless because they do not give you the full picture. Be fully informed about your weight loss program and the type of weight you are losing to avoid serious health issues down the track.
