Once you have decided on your diagnosis it is easy to trawl the mass media for cures. Information can be very conflicting and the products suggested varying in efficacy. Few treatments exclude dietary changes and this too can be a minefield. We are almost daily bombarded with different research supports varying eating regimes. From raw food, to the Atkins diet, to the low carbohydrate diet, the specific blood type diet, vegetarianism or veganism, never mind the anti-candida diet. On Monday we are told that coffee is bad for you and on Friday we read that coffee is the answer to Alzheimer’s disease. How are you to choose which protocol will give you your life back?

Diagnosis without specific testing is a gamble. Chances are you are spot on, but then again, you may be way off the mark and after a couple of months have invested a substantial amount of money and effort with no lasting success.

In my clinic I do not opt for the stab-in-the-dark approach. I am a woman of science and I prefer to see my suspicions either confirmed of dispelled before I suggest a specific, therapeutic approach. I have had many a patient walk into my clinic convinced that they have Candida (a common label for yeast overgrowth) because they have failed the spit in a glass test. They may have been on the anti-candida diet for years and have now reached the end of their tether. How liberating is it not when, after specific testing (for yeast investigation I only rely on a comprehensive stool analysis), their results reveal that they have no yeast overgrowth in the gut, which is supported by microscopic investigation.

All too often I notice that my patients come to me with questionable eating habits. I am not referring to the select few who enjoy a can of Red Bullas a breakfast option. Patients often choose the same food over and over without realizing that they are limited on variety. For example:

Breakfast: Wheetabix with semi-skimmed milk
Snack: Low fat yogurt
Lunch: Tuna and mayonnaise wholemeal baguette
Snack: Tea with semi-skimmed milk and a digestive biscuit
Dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese

The following options are all made of wheat, wheetabix, wholemeal baguette, digestive biscuit and pasta. These choices are all cow milk derived, semi-skimmed milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese.

The issue with the above choices is that these three meals and two snacks are almost exclusively based on two ingredients, wheat and dairy. There is no variety. Neither one of these two ingredients is a definitive problem when consumed sparingly (provided you have not been tested intolerant).

Often re-organising current eating habits is the starting point in addressing symptoms of ill health.

What is the best route to follow when you are experiencing ill health and your GP has exhausted all possible medical avenues? In my clinic I encourage specific testing to identify the root cause of your presenting symptoms. The results determine what individual protocol is suggested to assist you in reaching your goals in the shortest time possible.

Email me direct to order your test to be sent to you.

Protein is therefore needed for:

When protein is combined with carbohydrate intake it helps to regulate blood glucose fluctuations which can lead to mood disturbances, lack of energy and hormone disruption.

Individuals who choose to exclude meat and other animal products from their diet, should be made aware that they are choosing to eliminate a source of easily accessible protein. Without replacing protein with other alternatives, the body will still be supplied with sources of energy, in order to perform daily tasks or even more energy requiring activities such as sport, but without the ability to adequately stimulate growth and development.

Even though plant based foods contain protein, it is not as complete as in the case of animal products, which means that they do not contain all eight essential amino acids. In order to gain optimal health benefits, protein containing plant based products, should ideally be eaten in combination in order for all eight essential amino acids to be present.

Complete vegetable protein are soya products such as tofu, fermented natto and soya milk. Choose non genetically modified, organic sources for optimal benefit.

To include all eight essential amino acids combine beans and other legumes with whole grains such as:

Good sources of protein include:
Animal: turkey, chicken, lamb, pork, beef, eggs, pheasant, duck and game
Oily Fish: salmon, trout, halibut, mackerel, sardines, rollmops, tuna
Legumes: beans, chickpeas, lentils
Nuts: walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew, hazelnuts
Seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, linseeds, sesame, hemp

To ensure that you are optimally nurtured as 2010 draws to a close, follow these simple rules:

½ plate vegetables
¼ plate protein
¼ plate carbohydrate rich food