They’re easily overlooked, but they’re so important. Minerals are the vital players in a multitude of processes in your body, including building immunity, digesting food, and creating neurotransmitters for a happy, calm mood. Our modern diets are often deficient in minerals; partly from our food choices, and partly from demineralised soil.

The smooth running of your body’s biochemical processes relies heavily on the right materials being present in at the right time in the right quantities. Without all the vital ingredients, processes like the creation of enzymes can occur too slowly, in smaller quantities than needed, or not happen at all. This can have negative effects: poor digestion, reduced immunity, a tendency to gain weight, and mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

How did our modern diet become deficient in minerals? There are several contributing factors:

1. Eating low value foods made from white flour and white sugar. It may fill you up, but won’t give you much value in return.
2. Some food is grown in poor soil, creating poor value plants
3. Some farmed animals are fed on this poor value food, creating low value meat.

There are lots of minerals that your body needs; some obscure, some well-known. Here are the major mineral deficiencies I see in the clinic:

Iodine: The mineral from the sea that will help create hormones, regulate the speed of your metabolism, and shunt energy storage to muscle production rather than fat. For infants, iodine is essential for brain development.

Magnesium: The muscle relaxer. Your muscles use calcium to contract, and magnesium to relax. People low in magnesium often have chronically tight muscles.

Zinc: It takes part in a multitude of body processes; but most importantly in immunity, digestion and mood.

It seems easy to take a supplement if you think you’re low in minerals, but there’s a catch. Some minerals compete for absorption, so dosing up on one can create a deficiency in another. For example, calcium competes with magnesium for absorption; Iron and Zinc compete, as do Fluoride and iodine.  Professional advice can help here. In the meantime, you can give your body a mineral boost, naturally and easily, by choosing mineral-rich foods:

-          A useful rule of thumb for food shopping: The darker the colour, the more rich in minerals that food is.

-          Organically grown food may be more mineral-rich, as the soil it is grown in is richer (although the scientific community is yet to agree on this.)

-          Game meat (like kangaroo) and wild seafood are naturally higher in minerals than farmed meat and farmed seafood.

-          Using celtic (also known as ‘grey’ or ‘macrobiotic’) salt will provide a wide spectrum of trace minerals. Kelp (a sea vegetable) is valuable too.

-          Nuts and seeds are naturally rich in minerals, as they contain the materials needed to create a new plant.

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As the holiday season draws to a close, you may be feeling more relaxed; but your liver may be struggling from indulgences. This amazing but often abused organ spends all its time processing food chemicals, helping ensure your bloodstream’s sugar and fat balance is correct, and breaking down worn out blood cells.

There are many physical signs of a struggling liver. Take a look at your tongue: A yellowy creamy coat, or a ‘scalloping’ pattern around the edges can be signs of a struggling liver. Feeling ‘seedy’, dark circles under your eyes and dull skin can also be signs your liver needs some TLC.

There are two phases in your liver processing: The small, aggressive molecules of caffeine and alcohol push their way to the front of the queue, demanding immediate attention. If your liver has the right amount of processing enzymes on hand, these can be sorted out quickly. If not (if you’ve been over-indulging), the molecules are despatched for another trip around your body, in the hope that by the time they return, your liver has caught up and is ready for them. It’s this processing backlog that gives you a ‘liverish’ feeling.

In phase II all the processing is completed. Toxins are dissolved in bile for disposal with your next meal. There can be another backlog here, if there is a shortage of enzymes. Your liver can produce as many enzymes as it needs, providing the raw materials (vitamins & minerals) are on hand. But if your diet is low in fresh foods, you’re probably low on vitamins and minerals.

If your relationship with your liver has become less than ideal, you can help mend it.  Here’s how:

-          The bile, with all those toxins included, is soaked up by soluble fibre for removal in faeces. If there isn’t enough fibre in your diet, the bile and toxins are simply re-absorbed and returned to your liver for another round of processing. This increases the load on your liver, and you can begin to feel like you’re, well, ‘toxic’.

-          High nutrient foods like fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, legumes, nuts and high quality protein contain the vitamins and minerals your liver needs to process food. Another reason to make a large raw salad part of your day.

-          Fresh vegetable juice can provide a vitamin & mineral ‘boost’, ideal for those who have been over-indulging.

-          A ‘detox’ can easily be achieved through a week without coffee, alcohol, or any food additives, and plenty of fibre. That means a diet of fresh food, high quality protein, and lots of water. Minimise your intake of grains, dairy and sugar.

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We all make new years resolutions about our health. Any  resolutions you make will be even more effective if they’re specific (a vague goal like ‘get healthy’ is likely to produce only vague results.) To get you on the right track, here are 12 healthy changes you can make to your diet and lifestyle this year. 

1. Eat a protein-based breakfast that contains fibre too. It takes longer to digest, giving you sustainable energy. Eggs are ideal. A vegetable omelette, poached eggs on baked beans, or savoury mince on toast.
2. Make legumes part of your life. They’re high in fibre, contain complex carbohydrates and some protein too. As phytoestrogens, they will help balance your hormones. You don’t have to eat heroic quantities: Half a cup of cooked legumes every day is enough. Try some chick peas with your lunchtime salad.
3. Drink two litres of pure water every day. Just water. You’ll see the change in your skin.
4. Make fitness training part of your daily routine. Start slow; get help if you need to; but start. Today.
5. Stop and smell the roses for 30 minutes each day. Activities like meditation ‘switch off’ your stress response, helping you become more resilient to the pressures of modern life.
6. Enjoy seafood almost every day, especially oily fish like tuna and salmon.  Omega-3 oils are potent anti-inflammatory agents.
7. Use celtic salt (also known as ‘grey’ or ‘macrobiotic’ salt. ). Its evaporated sea water, full of trace minerals that are routinely removed from table salt.
8. Stop skipping meals, your metabolism may slow down in response. Especially important for weight loss.
9. Save cheese for special occasions. This is a high fat, high density food that was originally developed to save people from starvation over snow-bound winters.  We’re not subject to these conditions any longer, so too much cheese will just get deposited on your hips and in your arteries.
10. Go to bed a little earlier, so you get a full eight hours sleep. Yes, you might need to wrench yourself from the internet, but you’ll be more fun to be around the next day.
11. Play. Fun and laughter is really good for your wellbeing!
12. Switch to game meat: Kangaroo, now widely available, has almost no saturated fat, and is high in zinc and iron.

Take on one new health habit each month, and look forward to feeling and looking much healthier by December this year.

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Is fruit juice part of your daily diet? I’d like to explain why reaching for the real fruit rather than a fruit juice could be better for your health; particularly if you’re on a weight loss program, or working to overcome pre-diabetes.

It’s all about fibre, the buffer between you and the fruit. All fruit contains sugar to a greater or lesser extent (that’s why it tastes sweet). The fibre in the fruit gets in the way of sugar absorption, creating a slower rise in your blood sugar level.  Eat a whole orange and get 4g fibre; juice that orange, discarding the pulp, and get half a cup of orange juice containing only 0.2g of fibre. 

A sudden rise in your blood sugar level feels pretty good, at the time; but without fibre, fat or protein to buffer it, your blood sugar level is likely to dive again soon afterwards as the glucose is pushed into cells by insulin. That feels pretty awful, with brain ‘fog’, sometimes sweating too, and a dive in energy. The technical term is a hypoglycaemic attack, or ‘hypo’ for short.  The cravings for something sweet can be overwhelming; if you eat something sugary like fruit juice, the cycle can start again.

Some people notice that they experience severe mood swings as a result of this energy rollercoaster.

Because it’s faster to drink juice than eat a piece of fruit, you can easily ingest more calories than you intended, and it won’t be as filling. Not useful for weight loss programs. One filling medium sized orange will provide 68 calories. One cup of the juice (requires two oranges to create), without pulp, means double that calorie intake.

Why does your body respond so strongly to sugar? It’s the effect on your brain. This vital organ uses up most of the circulating glucose in your system to feed hard working brain cells. If this supply is threatened (with a low blood sugar level) your brain will create strong cravings for sugar, fast. Because if your brain isn’t functioning, your body doesn’t receive instructions.  Your brain will function best on a steady glucose supply from a diet low in free sugar and high in fibre.

If you drink juice because you find water ‘tasteless’, try adding a wedge of lemon or a small squeeze of lemon juice to your water bottle.

There are occasions where fruit & vegetable juices are actually more valuable: For people who are sick or have a low appetite, because they are so concentrated in nutrients and sugar.  For the rest of us, real fruit is the real thing.

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Tempted to forget about your nutrition these holidays? You might be, when you eat out, and what’s on offer are tables groaning with platters of beautifully cooked meats, rich fruit puddings and cakes, alcohol, breads, sweets. Your hosts want you to pile up your plate and really enjoy the food they’ve prepared. You may be to attend at least two family events on Christmas day. It would be easy to overeat, then wake on Boxing Day feeling bloated and nauseous, vowing never to do it again.

Since the holiday season is a time of feasting, you may rationalise that you can really ‘let go’ of restraint around food. Problem is, if you approach your holiday food like this, then by the time the new year arrives your clothes may be feeling tight, your liver struggling and your skin showing the effects of over-indulgence.

If you’d like to greet the new year feeling as healthy as you do now, and not burdened by guilt over your eating, here are some tips and tricks to get you through:

At a buffet or BBQ: Approach the salads and vegetables first. Ignoring the salads with the creamy sauces, fill half your plate with green leafy salads or steamed vegetables. Now, examine the starchy vegetables. One small potato is a good size portion: or ½ cup bean salad. About a quarter of your plate can be starchy foods. Finally, fill up the last quarter of your plate with protein: steak, chicken or fish. Avoid anything deep fried or swimming in a creamy sauce.

Tempted by dessert? Look for a fresh fruit salad; but if you have a pudding instead, just choose half your usual portion size. There’s no need to feel deprived, there will be many more opportunities over the holiday season to enjoy these luxury foods.

Don’t miss breakfast: Skipping breakfast in anticipation of a big Christmas lunch can be a trap. You are likely to be ravenous by the time food arrives, more vulnerable to over-eating.  Have a healthy breakfast that includes protein as well as fibre (like poached egg on baked beans). Now you’ll be in better shape to eat moderately the rest of the day.

If you’re hosting an event over the holiday week, make eating healthy easier for your guests. Make sure you have appetising green salads available and fresh fruit, as well as your usual Christmas fare.  Snack platters can contain fresh raw vegetable sticks instead of crackers, olives, and vegetable based dips like hummus. Sure, some cheese and nuts are nice; but remember that these are highly concentrated, high fat foods – so ensure there is plenty of healthy food too for your guests to fill up on.

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There’s a trap waiting for you at the supermarket. Manufacturers are competing for your food dollar and they want you to buy their brand instead of their competitor’s. They know you want to be healthier, feed your family better – so they make sure their label reminds you why you’re making the right choice.

Isn’t it better to deliberately choose foods that are “wholesome”, “low fat”, “whole grain” and “healthy”? You bet – but just because the label says this, it doesn’t mean that the product is actually a good choice for you.

“Low fat” foods can contain extra sugar and lots of fillers (artificial or natural) to give them the same satisfying mouth feel as full fat foods. Dairy foods and manufactured desserts are frequent offenders here. Take a look at the nutrition label, specifically the “per 100g” section. A food is classified by Food Standards Australia New Zealand as “high in sugar” when it contains more than 10g sugar per 100g.

“Whole grain” foods can contain lots of sugar too (breakfast cereals and breads promoted for children are the main offenders here). Take a look at the sugar content, but also the fat content. A food is classified as “high in fat” when it contains more than 20g fat per 100g. You may be (unpleasantly) surprised when you pick up that apparently ‘healthy’ muesli or breakfast cereal and examine the sugar and fat content.

“Sugar free” spreads have a special trap: cane sugar versus fructose. Traditionally prepared jams are about 50% cane sugar. Fruit is naturally sweet, with its own type of sugar: fructose. That “fruit spread” or “sugar free spread” may actually contain just as much sugar as traditional jam, but using fructose instead of cane sugar. Your body will still digest it as sugar.

High fat foods and high sugar foods have their place – as treats for a special feast; and as condiments to enhance a meal.

So how do you make sure that you buy only healthy food? By deliberately restricting your intake of any foods where the sugar content is more than 10g per 100g, and the fat content is more than 20g per 100g. Get into the habit of flipping over the packet to examine the nutrition label. If you decide that this isn’t really the kind of food you want your and your family to eat, choose an alternative brand. There’s plenty to choose from.

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Nutrition can be an emotionally loaded subject for parents: What their child is eating, whether they’re eating enough, whether they’re eating the ‘right’ foods. Worry about food seems to start as soon as baby transitions to solid food, and sometimes even before. Mealtimes can become a minefield of tension, rules and conflict, as parents resort to bribery and deception to assuage their fears about whether their children are nourished. Vegetable consumption seems to be a really ‘hot’ topic in many households.

One tomato sauce producer surveyed parents to find that over half used tomato sauce as a tool to induce their children to eat specific foods.  I think the kids have a point: munching through half a plate of plain greens and plain vegetables, without any ‘trimmings’ feels worthy if you’re focused on improving your nutrition, but it can be pretty boring too. Vegetables shouldn’t be boring, and they don’t have to be (for children or adults!)

Here are some ideas to help children become more interested in vegetables:

• First, enliven the plate. This is why tomato sauce has become so popular – because it adds a piquant flavour to what can otherwise taste quite bland. But you don’t have to use sugar and salt-laden tomato sauce. Make up a tomato-based vegetable stew of finely diced onion, tomato, tomato paste, zucchini and capsicum. Freeze in portion sizes and use as a sauce for plain steamed vegetables.
• Adults enjoy vegetables in interesting sauces, or cooked with interesting spice mixes: Your child may too.
• Be a role model: Children really do watch and absorb what they see you doing. If you don’t enjoy vegetables, they probably won’t either.
• Make it fun: Arrange the vegetables on the plate to make pictures: Mashed potato topped with a carrot nose, green bean eyebrows, zucchini circle eyes and  capsicum slice for a mouth. Or, try ‘ants on a log’: celery sticks filled with nut butter and topped with sultana ‘ants’.
• Keep the good food front & centre: A bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen bench. Fresh vegetable sticks and dips at eye level, easily accessed as soon as they open the fridge door. This is particularly important for after school, when children need a small healthy snack to see them through until dinner.
• Take your children on ‘selective shopping’: A visit to the fruit & veg store, or the market, where you allow them to select some items from the colourful displays, and discuss ways in which you could prepare them. Shop in the supermarket without them, so the kids aren’t enticed by the equally colourful, but not so healthy packaged goods.

Enjoy some creative fun with vegetables and watch your children start to enjoy them too.

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When you get home after a long day, it’s nice to feel that you can create a healthy flavour-full meal fast, with minimal effort. Asian-style cooking can help you here; specifically, the cuisine of the island cultures like Indonesia.  This cuisine is dominated by fresh vegetables and seafood, cooked only lightly, with minimal grains, dairy and sugar. If you’ve ever witnessed a stir-fry being put together, you’ll know how quickly simple ingredients can be mixed with an interesting sauce to create a memorable meal in minutes.

Let’s take a look at some specific elements of this Asian diet, and see how you can use them to make your diet healthier (and even more delicious!)

Being surrounded by sea, and with only minimal agricultural land, the Asian island protein sources are dominated by seafood, but with some animal meat and eggs.

Vegetables abound in this cuisine, as they do in many traditionally healthy cultures. What sets the Indonesian food apart is the dominance of greens, including fresh bean sprouts, and green herbs like coriander. Vegetables are often served raw, or only lightly cooked, which preserves much of the water soluble vitamins (that’s Vitamin C, flavonoids, and the B Group vitamins).

There’s not much saturated fat – coconut is the major source.

Spices are used generously, and add interest to a diet that could otherwise be bland.

It all adds up to a diet that’s high in antioxidants to slow ageing, and has an anti-inflammatory effect, to help prevent the development of chronic disease.

What doesn’t appear much in the Asian diet is highly processed food. Sure, there are sweet treats; but wheat, dairy products and sugar don’t dominate as they do in a modern western diet.

Learning some Asian cooking techniques, like stir-frying, could help you create faster, healthier meals that you’ll really enjoy. All you have to have on hand in the fridge is some seafood, meat or eggs; a selection of vegetables, and some Asian-style sauces in the pantry. Heat up the wok and off you go…..

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Have you noticed that over the past few years there’s been a growing interest in food? TV cooking shows and competitions are appearing everywhere, demonstrating just how easy it is to prepare fresh, nutritious food. It’s great to see.

And we have an abundance of fresh, sensational produce easily available to us in the area I live in. We can visit farmers markets, buy produce at the farm gate, seafood that’s almost straight off the boat, and meat products that have been grown locally. We’re spoilt for choice – away from this area, that the same variety and quality just isn't available like it is here.

We’re so lucky, because creative cooking, and eating food, are some of the great pleasures of life: A meal can be a time to re-connect with family and friends, or a chance to relax in solitude.

So if food is so pleasurable, why are so many of us disconnected from it? Eating ‘on the run’; eating while multitasking with the internet; or eating unconsciously while watching TV. After your meal, are you really aware of what you ate, its texture and flavour?

Think about other pleasurable activities, like watching a great movie. You’ve heard about it, anticipated how enjoyable it will be, and made time to view it. Do you then watch the movie on fast forward to get though it sooner? Probably not. You consciously enjoy the whole event.

Why not apply this process to your meals too? A more mindful way of eating is actually going to be better for your health. You’ll digest your food more efficiently when you’re relaxed. And for weight loss, you’ll find your appetite control easier. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to register “I’m full!” – so really savouring your food will give your body time to let you know that. By the way, if your mind is occupied elsewhere while you’re eating, you might miss the ‘full’ message completely.  That’s how entire packets of biscuits can somehow evaporate during a TV show.

If you suspect you’re eating unconsciously, you could try making every meal an event this week (even breakfast!). Appreciate the food, enjoy the experience.  Sounds easy – but sometimes the most commonsense approaches are the most challenging! See if you feel more relaxed, better fed, by the end of the week. Good luck!

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Brace yourself. I may be about to challenge one of your most dearly held beliefs about food. There is a commonly held perception that you must eat dairy frequently to prevent your bones crumbling.  But when you examine the evidence, this just isn’t so.

For some people, consumption of dairy foods is actually harmful, bringing on skin rashes, digestive upsets, sneezing, and sometimes even a low mood. And yet when I suggest that they give the dairy a miss for a few weeks to see if they benefit, the reaction is often shock and horror: “But I’ll develop osteoporosis!”

An epidemiological study is a great resource for health evidence, because they normally include thousands of people over many years. (Clinical research generally includes only about 100 people over weeks to months; not an adequate amount of time to investigate a slow-progressing body change like bone formation). 

So I was delighted to come across a peer-reviewed epidemiological study published in the American Journal of Public Health. It included 77,000 women aged 34-59 over 12 years. The study concluded that high intake of calcium from dairy or other food didn’t provide protection against bone fracture. In fact, women who consumed large amounts of dairy actually developed a higher risk of hip fracture. (Here's a link to the article http://bit.ly/p1hkwb ) 

From a non-scientific (but common sense) perspective, consider that there are many cultures in the world where dairy just isn’t part of the daily diet; and osteoporosis isn’t any more of a problem.

Its true, healthy bones do need calcium; it’s such an important mineral for us that it appears in almost all food sources (but almonds, seafood and green leafy vegetables are particularly good non-dairy sources). Bone cells are more likely to grow from regular pressure stimulation (another reason to get out there walking, running or dancing to stimulate your bone strength). A healthy estrogen level is important too, as this important hormone for females promotes bone formation.  

But dairy isn’t essential in large quantities. So if you suspect that dairy food might not agree with you, why not give it a miss for a few weeks and see how you feel. The evidence indicates that your bones won’t crumble from it.

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