by Siobhan | Jul 27, 2016 | Advice, Health
Over the years as I’ve become more educated on ingredients and what proper food is, I’ve started to see that it’s so easy to be fooled into thinking you’re buying something good by the buzzwords on the packet.
When I first developed my troubled acidic stomach, one of the suggestions I was given was to cut out potential allergens to see if they were the trigger. So I began with gluten free, then dairy free, then both together, but at that point I wasn’t well educated on proper food and my cooking skills were woeful so I turned to using packaged free from products. What I noticed was that there was no difference in my symptoms when I cut it all out, so why did I still have symptoms and hadn’t gotten any healthier while eating these so called “healthy” gluten and dairy free packaged foods?
As I learnt more about food over the following years I noticed this was due to that although something may have the words “gluten free” or “vegan” across it, doesn’t necessarily mean it is healthy. When I began cooking from scratch and making a lot more of my own food from natural wholesome ingredients, this was when the changed happened. Now, in full honesty, my symptoms did not totally, 100% clear up but they did make a significant and welcomed improvement, even though some of the foods naturally contained dairy or gluten such as plain yogurt or rye sourdough.
(more…)
by Siobhan | Jun 27, 2016 | Advice, Health, Uncategorized
Note: This is my own personal view & not for those who have medical/belief related eating styles
I love my food, I like to eat good, proper, natural food but I wouldn’t say that I’m restricted to a specific eating style/diet/plan. I take enjoyment from all food (I eat bread, pasta, dairy, butter, eggs, meat, gluten and chocolate, but I also love green smoothies, veggie burgers and porridge, I genuinely do!) and so I would refer to myself as a flexible foodie. What I love about this is that I can dip into different styles of eating at any time which makes me more creative/inspired and able to use ingredients in new ways or a food that I wouldn’t otherwise eat. Plus I now know that wholegrain, vegan, gluten free food etc doesn’t mean it tastes like cardboard.
Furthermore, it allows me to enjoy food with people who need a specific diet & means I know how to accommodate friends with dietary needs when they come over.
(more…)
by Siobhan | May 16, 2016 | Advice, Health
During my journey to eating better I have slowly moved from commonly processed ingredients/food to purer versions which I can honestly say I love just as much if not more (especially as I know they’re better for me). I’ve outlined a few of them below and why/how I use them.
Cacao- Upgrade to this from regular cocoa powder, you can also use cacao nibs in place of choc chips, plus they add some crunch to dishes too which is great on dishes such as granola. I love using cacao as it is much less refined than regular cocoa and doesn’t have any added nasties, there’s no dairy, sugar etc, and most brands haven’t been heated too much meaning that you’re getting much more of the beneficial compounds than the processed stuff. I’ve posted in more detail on the benefits of cacao before, it can be found here
(more…)
by Siobhan | Apr 22, 2016 | Advice, Health, Uncategorized
As research is always developing and me being a person who loves science and food, I am always learning new information about food/nutrition and applying this as best I can to my life.
Now this isn’t always easy and sometimes when I find out something unpleasant about a food that I adore, it makes me want to bang my head off a wall. . . . but I resist and do my best to minimise whatever it is so that I can still enjoy my food without being extremely restricted (as I feel this creates a bad relationship with food) but also to maximise my health.
 |
| source: harrypotterpuppetpals.wikia.com |
(more…)
by Siobhan | Mar 26, 2016 | Advice, Health, Uncategorized
As I’ve developed a greater interest in health and increased my diet variety to include foods that give amazing flavour as well as nutrition, I have branched out into using a lot of new products. Many of which you will also be able to get from your standard supermarket today but over the years I have learnt a few tips on how to get the safest/best quality produce, which I’ve summarised below.
I’m still constantly learning about new brands/issues etc (as is the case in science and research) therefore this is a post which will probably be updated regularly as knowledge develops.
Cacao– buy organic, ask the brand if they test for heavy metals e.g cadmium, lead etc. If it is an EU brand then they must adhere to EU standards therefore they should already test for these.
Cinnamon- Most cinnamon sold in shops isn’t actually the real thing; instead it is cassia cinnamon with the true kind being called “Ceylon”. Cassia contains far more coumarin which can be dangerous when taken in large doses, although most people won’t eat enough cinnamon in one day to reach this level however to get the maximum bang for your buck and to ensure a better quality of cinnamon aim to purchase the real kind which can be bought from on line health stores.
(more…)
by Siobhan | Jan 29, 2016 | Advice, Health
 |
| source: daily-affair.com |
Lately I’ve come across many different people who claim that we should all eat a certain way and/or eliminate a particular food group from our diets (dairy, carbs, meat etc).
However, for every claim that there is something bad about a particular food & why we should avoid it, there is another that claims it is good for us!
So what’s going on? Here’s my view
Update July 2018: I’ve just finished reading “The diet myth” by Tim Spector which has further emphasised many of my points below but also gave me more insights into why we all respond differently to food. This has been one of the most interesting and helpful books I’ve ever read and I can’t recommend it enough.
If you are someone who often feels confused about the information on diets/foods then you should definitely give this book a read, you’ll be glad you did!
(more…)
