Rewiring the ‘obese brain’
As discussed in my article How to make an ‘obese brain’; just add saturated fat, researchers believe that a diet high in saturated fat may cause permanent changes in the brain, driving cravings for high-kilojoule foods that sabotage the efforts of overweight people to lose weight and keep it off for good. That’s a depressing…
How to make an ‘obese brain’; just add saturated fat
The latest diet craze, the Paleo Diet, urges its followers to load up on saturated fat, found in animal flesh, eggs and dairy products, and a handful of plant products such as coconut oil. Paleo writers extol the virtues of saturated fat, claiming that its consumption is absolutely necessary for good health and weight loss.…
Top 10 tips for healthy eating – Part 1
Recently I was asked by food blogger, home cook and photographer extraordinaire, Megan Young of Veggies and Me, for my top 10 tips on healthy eating. (Read the whole post here.) In this post and the next one, I’m going to elaborate on these tips, so you can fully grasp the profound impact that implementing…
Winning the ‘food war’ with love
Many of the clients I see feel as if they are at war with food and with their bodies. Every day, their ‘logical brains’ are locked in mortal combat with their ’emotional brains’, the former telling them they should be making healthy food choices, while the latter constantly screams out for unhealthy ‘comfort foods’. If…
Inflammation: why you’re fat, sick, tired, depressed and in pain… and what to do about it
You may never have stopped to think about it, but every time you become unwell in any way, inflammation plays a key role. That role is obvious in diseases like arthritis – inflammation of the joints, but perhaps less obvious in, for example, the common cold – major symptoms of which are rhinitis, or inflammation…
Beautifully healthy
Ok, so you know eating fruits and vegetables is good for you. But if that hasn’t been enough to get you eating more of them, maybe I can appeal to your vanity: a new study has found that people who have the skin colouration typical of those with a high intake of carotenoids from fresh…
The pleasure trap – or how your brain gets tricked into thinking BAD is GOOD
The human brain and body are both adapted to live in a very different world than the one we inhabit today. Many of the health problems that are so prevalent in developed countries, and among the wealthy in developing countries – such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer of the breast, bowel and prostate…
Researchers find junk food is as addictive as nicotine and cocaine…
… so now you know why you can’t eat just one!! Many of my clients tell me they’re chocoholics (especially around that time of the month, for the ladies ;-)). But it’s no laughing matter! Addictions researchers have found that junk food triggers exactly the same responses in the brains of overweight people, as nicotine…
Junk food makes kids dumber
If you’re old enough to remember the Skyhooks song ‘Horror Movie’ (and not too embarrassed to admit knowing it), you might recall the lyrics: “It’s a horror movie right there on my TV Horror movie right there on my TV Horror movie and there’s known abuse Horror movie, it’s the six-thirty news.” Well, my version…
Can you change your genes?
What if you could change your genes, almost as quickly as you change your jeans? What if you could ‘switch off’ genes that cause disease processes, and ‘turn on’ genes that initiate healing processes? Mention the word ‘genes’ to most people, and what they think of is fixed, immutable carriers of information. The term ‘blueprint’…