GUT BUILDERS Food that supports and encourages a healthy and diverse gut population

Prebiotics encourage fermentation to happen inside your gut and can have a greater impact on the gut microbiome than probiotics. Super important!!

o   Vegetables: cruciferous veg, Jerusalem artichokes, radish, onions, shallots, beets, leek and garlic, leaky greens like dandelion greens, burdock and chicory root, kale, collards, asparagus, fennel.


o   Starches, beans, chickpeas, lentils and other legumes cooked and cooled white potato, green bananas and sweet potato.


o   Nuts and seeds – chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans almonds, cashews and pistachio. Sunflower, pumpkin, LSA mix, Flaxseed meal, black tahini

o   Fruits – black elderberries, black currants, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, black berries, plums, raspberries, apples (red), black grapes.

o   Partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG). This can be purchased from health food shop and is a great prebiotic to add to smoothies or cooking.

Fibre is our friend: Beneficial metabolites in the form of short chain fatty acids (SCFA’s) are produced when fibre is broken down by the gut bacteria. We know that these SCFA’s nourish the gut barrier, increase immune function and reduce inflammation.

One of the most important SCFA’s is Butyrate. It is shown to reduces mucosal inflammation and oxidative stress, reinforces the gut defence barrier, and modulates intestinal sensitivity and intestinal motility. All important!  A growing number of studies have stressed the role of butyrate in the prevention and inhibition of colorectal cancer. Outside the intestine, butyrate exerts potentially useful effects on many conditions, including genetic metabolic diseases, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, ischemic stroke and hemoglobinopathies.

How to increase butyrate producing bacteria

Include: Psyllium husks and ground flaxseeds, PHGG, Inulin-FOS as supplement, and different types of resistant starch.

Resistant starch can be found in:

o   Whole grains, seeds and legumes –  buckwheat, sorghum.

o   Potato starch (must be eaten unheated) raw potato, green bananas, legumes.

o   Root veg cooked then cooled -e.g. cooked potato or sweet potato eaten in salad, legumes.

Probiotics supply active bacteria cultures as a result of fermentation that happens outside the gut. When food is fermented, its digestibility is enhanced and its nutrient levels are increased.

o Cultured dairy – fermenting dairy digests the milk sugars that may otherwise cause digestive issues. Yoghurt, butter milk, crème fraiche and some cheese. Non-dairy milks can also be fermented.

o Fermented soy – the best type of soy as the fermenting introduces beneficial bacteria and improves the digestibility. Tempeh, miso, soy, sauce and fermented bean curd.

o Fermented foods and beverages – kefir, kombucha, kvass, fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi. Any fermented veggies really.

Healing foods that are healing to the gut


o Bone broths


o Gelatine and collagen

o Good quality fats – olive oil, coconut oil, meat


o Herbs & spices – basil, cilantro, caraway, cinnamon, garlic, thyme, turmeric.

LCH SHEPHERD’S PIE

6-8 servings 

1.5hours

Ingredients:

• 500 grams Extra Lean Minced Chicken, Lamb or Beef
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Yellow Onion (chopped)
• 3 Carrot (diced)
• 3 Garlic (cloves, minced)
• 1 cup Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 tsp Dried Thyme
• 2 tbsps Almond Flour
• 1/2 cup Organic Vegetable Broth
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt (divided)
• 1/2 tspvBlack Pepper (divided)
• 1 cup Frozen Peas
• 4 Sweet Potato (peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks)
• 1 head Cauliflower (cut into florets)
• 2/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 tbsps Coconut Oil

1. Cook your minced meat in a fry pan over medium heat. Stir every minute until cooked through. Drain liquid and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
2. Place the skillet back over medium heat and add olive oil. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until carrot starts to soften. Add the garlic, mushrooms and thyme and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Transfer your cooked meat back into the skillet. Add the flour and stir until well mixed. Add the vegetable broth and stir in half the salt and half the black pepper. Bring to a simmer stirring frequently. Once simmering, add the peas and stir well to evenly mix. Now transfer the mixture into a casserole dish and spread evenly across the bottom. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
5. Steam your sweet potato chunks and cauliflower florets together in a large steaming basket. Once they are tender (about 10 to 15 minutes), transfer to your food processor. Add the almond milk, coconut oil and remaining sea salt and black pepper. Process until smooth and creamy.
6. Transfer the potato mix to the casserole dish and spread it evenly so it covers the meat and vegetable mix. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes (or longer if you like the edges crispy).
7. Remove from oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Cut into slices and lift onto plates with a spatula. Enjoy!

PMS is so common and many women just accept that it’s a normal part of their monthly cycle.

Up to 80% of women experience some level of PMS.

The symptoms can vary from women to women. From irritability, anxiety, depression and rage to mood swings, bloating, fluid retention, breast tenderness, back pain and food cravings. It is though that there are up to 150 symptoms that fall under the classification of PMS and the symptoms may start up to 2 weeks before bleeding.

It is my pleasure to let you know that in a healthy female with optimal hormonal health there will be little to no PMS symptoms at all.

There is a natural approach that can help you eliminate PMS symptoms and claim back your quality of life in that part of every month.

What is playing an underlying part of PMS?

–       Hormonal imbalance – estrogen dominance either alone or relative to progesterone.

This imbalance in hormones is most commonly reduced or even resolved by addressing these contributing factors.

–       High stress that goes unmanaged has an effect on hormonal health and this certainly includes PMS.

–       Diets rich in sugar, refined foods, non-organic dairy and meat will promote hormonal imbalance.

–       Diets low in veggies, good quality fat, protein and fibre will disrupt hormones.

–       Constipation and sluggish digestion will inhibit your elimination of estrogen from the body and tip the balance of hormones.

–       Environmental pollutants and hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment will drive estrogen up further and disrupt the balance of hormones.

–       Excess alcohol will place a burden on the liver which is responsible for processing estrogen. This can lead to further estrogen dominance.

A great first step is to addressed these contributing factors for 2-3 cycles (months) and you should start to see improvement or resolve in your PMS symptoms.  Hooray!!

There are certainly times where the hormonal imbalance requires herbal medicine or nutritional supplements to help bring the hormones further back into balance and support estrogen metabolism.

Supplements I commonly consider, depending on the client’s presentation and history:

–       Magnesium – its involved in hundreds of processes in the body including the metabolism of estrogen. This mineral can do all sorts of wonders for hormones.

–       Vitex – The herb I most commonly call on for hormonal balance.

–       Herbs for HPA axis regulation – supports healthy endocrine system, happy stress hormones = happy sex hormones.

–       Fibre – helps to efficiently metabolise and excrete excess hormones. Get’s you pooing daily!!

–       Essential fatty acids –Good quality omega oils can help form the building blocks for hormones. They also help lower inflammation that may be contributing to PMS symptoms.

–       Calcium d-glucarate – supports the liver and helps remove the harmful type of estrogens.

–       Cruciferous veggies, DIM or Broccoli seed extract – supports estrogen metabolism

–       Anti – inflammatory diet – keeps hormones in check.

When you address the underlying contributing factors mentioned above together with utilising specific remedies you can balance and support healthy hormones and you will be PMS free in no time.

For further guidance with getting on top of your PMS book a Naturopathy session here.

Cacao, Cashew and Date Truffles – makes 12 

These Cacao, Cashew and Date Truffle are my kind of easter egg and the perfect little easter gift for your neighbour.

Ingredients
·       150g cashew nuts
·       150g dates
·       1 tbsp. coconut oil
·       2 tbsp. rice malt syrup or honey
·       ½ tsp sea salt
·       1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
·       70g cacao powder (extra for dusting)
 
Recipe
1.     Soak the cashews and dates in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain the water off and place them in a food processor. Blitz them together until both are finely chopped.

2.     Add the coconut oil, honey, salt and vanilla and blitz until you form a smooth paste. It should be quite loose and smooth. Then add the cacao powder and blitz again until completely smooth and blended through.

3.     Tip the mixture into a bowl and leave to completely chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

4.     Dust a surface with cacao powder. Take the mixture from the fridge and using a teaspoon, scoop a small amount onto your hands, roll into a ball and then roll through the cacao powder so that it is completely covered. Use all the mixture to make around 12 truffles.

5.     Enjoy straight away or leave in the fridge to chill and harden a little more.
 
 
 

A warming gluten free breakfast porridge loaded with chia, flax, hemp and coconut.

This brekky is a great way to boost your fibre intake, support hormone health and it’s loaded with nutrition.

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 cup of almond milk or coconut milk
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp. flax seeds of choice
• 1 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1 tbsp. hemp seeds
• 3 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
• A pinch of sea salt
• 3 drops of stevia (optional) or a small teaspoon of rice malt syrup.
• Toppings of choice (see below for idea’s)
• A drizzle of rice malt syrup to serve 

1. Pour the milk into a small to medium-sized saucepan.
2. Slice vanilla bean in half, lengthwise, and scrape seeds into milk.
3. Warm the milk over medium-heat until it comes to a gentle boil.
4. Add the flax, chia, and hemp seeds along with the coconut, and stir to combine.
5. Reduce the heat to simmer and stir over low heat until porridge thickens.
6. Season with small pinch of salt.
7.  Serve immediately with your favourite toppings.

Topping ideas:

o   figs, pistachio and cocoa nibs.

o   Raspberry and macadamia

o   Pear and sunflower seed

o   Blueberry, pumpkin seeds and buckwheat buckini’s

o   Add half a tsp of ginger spice and all spice plus a clove to the seed mix (while cooking) to create a warming blend of seed porridge.

Have you heard of the term preconception care? This is naturopathic medicine at its best.

Taking time out to assess and improve your health before conceiving can have some amazing benefits, not only on your fertility but also on the quality of the pregnancy experience and the health of your future baby.

Growing evidence indicates that there is a correlation between the health of the parents at conception and the future health of the child, even as it grows into adulthood.

A healthy you means healthy cells, and healthy cells impact the health of your eggs, the all-important building blocks of your baby.

So what does preconception care involve?

Exploring our health before trying to conceive means looking at dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors that may be impacting our wellbeing.

 Three months is the ideal timeframe to allow the maturing egg (future baby) to develop in the newly improved and optimised environment (your body).

 The idea of waiting for three months before trying to conceive can be a challenge, though. If your already trying or ready to start now, even a month of preparation is going to be beneficial.

Preconception care is relevant for all mums to be, irrespective of your age, relationship status, whether you are going through IVF or have a history of miscarriage.

The treatment approach is unique and tailored for each client but always involves assessing diet, using food as medicine, nutritional advice, and environmental and lifestyle changes including self-care, exercise and stress management.

Supplementation is used to avoid and rectify any nutritional deficiencies, balance hormones, manage any possible fertility issues, prevent miscarriage and to optimise outcomes.

If you’re looking to optimise your fertility outcome and positively impact the future health of your child, make a naturopathy booking so we can assess your health, lifestyle and environment and develop a perfectly tailored preconception plan for you and your baby.