Amanda Allan Nutrition

02/04/2023

🤍Cauliflower rice 🍚
Compared to white rice (a bit unfair as I always advocate brown rice 🤫)
100g of cooked cauliflower rice has only 40 calories compared to 130 in white rice and has far more health benefits. With 2g of fibre compared to a negligible 0.2 in white rice it feeds our immune protective gut bacteria and helps with constipation and digestive health.

Other benefits of cauliflower rice include:

•Cauliflower is a source of choline, an essential nutrient we need for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine for memory, learning and neuroplasticity.

•With the electrolyte potassium and high water content this helps the body stay hydrated improving muscle strength and endurance.

•With anti-cancer properties as cauliflower contains compounds indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane. They support the liver in detoxing harmful substances including excess oestrogen and regulating testosterone so help balance hormones too.

•Containing anti-inflammatory compounds protective against heart disease and for the brain against strokes and dementia.

•It has antioxidants vitamin C and K and sulforaphane protects our eyes, mainly the retina, from cataracts and macular degeneration.

If you don’t have the time (or the inclination 😊)to grate a cauliflower, cauliflower rice is available in the fridge and frozen sections of supermarkets. I steam it in a colander for a few minutes and you can roast it or have it raw in a salad. Apart from being versatile with so many health benefits, it tastes great too 💚

03/03/2023

💚Asparagus and broccoli 🥦 are beneficial for anxiety, brain function, cancer protection, immune support, liver detoxification (including helping with hangovers), kidney and bladder waste clearance, digestive function and also for our skin and hair …there are SO many health benefits gained from eating asparagus and broccoli.

Asparagus contains asparagine, which is important for the function of our brains and it is used as a natural anti-depressant and to help with anxiety.

Asparagus contains N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC, another of my favourites with Magnesium 🤍)which helps with chest infections and improves lung function, partly because it reduces inflammation.

NAC affects the neurotransmitter glutamate in our brains that supports cognitive function including learning and memory. It is very beneficial for helping the liver detox and helps prevent or improve acne for healthy skin too.

Glutathione, known as the most powerful antioxidant, is actually in asparagus so helps strengthen our immune systems and has an anti-aging function. It has been shown to fight cancer, especially breast, colon, lung and bone cancers.

As I have mentioned before, broccoli contains indole-3-carbinol, shown to inhibit the enzyme elastase, which is found at high levels in breast and prostate cancers, so is protective.

Asparagus is a natural diuretic with antibacterial effects shown to help with UTI’s and kidney health. The fibre is a prebiotic and feeds our gut microbiome, so is important for our immune systems, digestive health and mood. Beneficial for pregnancy with good amounts of folate too.

With so many health benefits it is really worthwhile regularly including asparagus and broccoli in our meals. Steaming veggies is very quick and means the nutrients are not lost which can happen when they are boiled, and I think they may taste better too 💚

20/01/2023

Black garlic

Something I only discovered recently, black garlic has a sweet and mellow taste, similar to balsamic vinegar but is intense with nutritional benefits and the nutrients have more bioavailability than those in raw garlic.

Black garlic has been fermented using heat and humidity for several weeks and has health benefits that include:

It has concentrated antioxidants as one of the active ingredient allicin, the compound that gives garlic its pungent odor when crushed, is converted into antioxidants.

It offers protective immune system support against viruses, bacterial and fungal infections as well as fighting cancer cells, especially colon cancer.

Remember, garlic was used during World War 1 to treat soldiers wounds before antibiotics were available which shows how effective it is.

Shown to give cardiovascular protection against strokes and heart disease , black garlic may also help prevent inflammation that can impair memory that worsens brain function over time.

It gives liver protection against damage from toxins and alcohol, black garlic has been shown to decrease fatty liver deposits and lower markers of liver injury AST, ALT and ALP.

Black garlic has been used for its nutritional benefits for hundreds of years in Japan, South Korea and Thailand and has now become popular in Western diets.

Another benefit is it won’t make our breath smell the way fresh garlic can 😘

There are lots of recipes of how to cook with black garlic on the original black garlic website black garlic.co.uk 😋

06/12/2022

I love Sasha’s 💗question-what are the top 5 supplements for women? It does depend and change on what we all need at different times but there are some that are always especially beneficial .

Number one - Magnesium 🤍It truly is an incredible nutrient. Known as nature’s tranquilliser, it calms us, helping with anxiety and stress but actually physically the muscles in the body alleviating cramps within 30 minutes. Essential for 300 functions I the body it also helps with sleep, constipation and high blood pressure.

B vitamins- essential for energy production, a B complex with 25-50mg (depending on which B vitamin) supports the brain and nervous system as well as blood glucose regulation. Whenever I am tired, I take a B complex and it really helps.

Omega oils are precious and omega 3 is obtained from oily fish and seeds, not always abundant in our diets. They are essential for our brains for concentration and memory.
With anti-inflammatory properties they have been shown to help with joint pain and autoimmune conditions.

N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) used with glycine and glutamine makes glutathione, the most important antioxidant in the human body. NAC helps the liver detoxify the harmful and ageing chemicals we are exposed to every day. It supports our immune systems and helps protect us from cancer.

Milk thistle is one of the most important nutrients to support the liver’s detoxification function. It helps remove harmful substances that may cause cancer, it improves hormone balance and is involved with blood sugar regulation for energy.

So that is my top 5 but I would include many more depending on what is needed at the time. Vitamin D, every day from Autumn 🍂 until early summer 🌷for our immune systems. Vitamin C - so good for the skin and collagen but also to stop or improve a cold or flu with zinc. Probiotics essential for gut health but our mood and immunity too…..and ….😊💛

04/12/2022

🥚Eggs, organic or truly free range, provide nutrients so beneficial for healthy skin, hair, nails and joints but these nutrients are especially protective for our eyes, brain function, liver detoxification and gall bladder health.

Sulphur, choline, lutein and astaxanthin are some of these nutrients.

Sulphur helps build collagen, a major component of our skin which strengthens and improves elasticity and hydration.

Sulphur also helps boost keratin that support hair growth and also gives hair strength and elasticity.

This vital nutrient is also needed by the sulfation pathway in the liver to detox excess hormones and so helps with hormone balance.

Choline is essential for our memory and concentration, needed for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Choline also helps liver heath by helping clear fat build-up that can accumulate and cause harm. It has been shown to help prevent gallstones too.

Pregnant women need even more choline than anyone else because choline is especially needed during the foetus’s brain formation.

Lutein and astaxanthin are powerful antioxidants shown to be protective for our eyes against diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts.

We depend on the food we eat to give us essential nutrients to repair, strengthen and keep our bodies healthy and eggs are a great choice💛

22/11/2022

Pomegranate seeds deserve to look like precious jewels with the very protective health benefits they provide.

As more research is done the anti-ageing and cancer fighting effects of Urolithin A (UA) found in the seeds and concentrated in the peel, show it to be a very beneficial nutrient.

"It's the only known molecule that can relaunch the mitochondrial clean-up process, otherwise known as mitophagy,"
Our mitochondria are part of the cells in our bodies that produce energy . When our mitochondria don’t function well cancer and other age-related diseases occur.

Benefits include:

- [ ] Improves arthritis and joint pain by reducing inflammation
- [ ] Improves muscle strength, and urolithin A may counteract age-associated muscle decline
- [ ] Reduces C reactive protein, a marker for autoimmune conditions
- [ ] Lowers blood pressure
- [ ] Fights bacterial infections
- [ ] Helps prevent heart disease by blocking the build up of plaque in the arteries
- [ ] Helps improve memory and cognitive function with research showing they help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
- [ ] Pomegranate juice has been shown to shown to inhibit the spread of breast and prostate cancer cells.
- [ ] A natural aphrodisiac shown to increase testosterone in saliva ( you have competition oysters)

As well as eating the seeds from pomegranates, we can drink pomegranate juice . Cherry Active have a concentrated liquid and there are supplements with pomegranate extracts. ❤️

19/11/2022

The prostate and protective tomatoes 🍅

Tomatoes deserve a special mention in prostate cancer awareness month. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, shown to destroy prostate cancer cells and protect against BPH, they should be in the top ten foods for men.

When tomatoes are cooked lycopene becomes more bio-available so is even more protective because the body can use it more easily. So even tomato sauce is beneficial 😊.

Because lycopene is fat soluble, combining tomatoes with a little olive oil makes it easier for your body to absorb it. So tomato purée in a pasta sauce is ideal. Including cooked tomatoes with breakfast, tomato soup for lunch , or sun-dried tomatoes in a starter or even sliced tomatoes in sandwiches are easy ways to include lycopene .

Other food sources of lycopene include:
* Guava (very high amounts)
* Watermelon
* Papaya
* Pink grapefruit:
* Cooked sweet red peppers

Lycopene is a carotenoid that gives many fruits and vegetables their red colour. It is very protective for our eyes especially against macular degeneration and also protects against heart disease ❤️

20/08/2022

Good morning ☀️It’s all about colour…

🌈The plant pigments that give natural foods their vibrant colours contain very protective phytonutrients.

Eating a rainbow of attractive colourful foods means we get a variety of these nutrients, all with different health benefits.

Carotenoids β-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin are found in green leafy, red and orange vegetables and fruits .

Hens that have a diet high in these healthy foods usually have nutritious orange yolks because they containing these antioxidants.

Carotenoids are found throughout the body but the lutein and zeaxanthin accumulate in the eye and brain. They protect against cataracts, macular degeneration and cognitive decline.

Lycopene concentrated in tomatoes, especially when cooked has been shown to be protective against prostate and breast cancer.

And then we have mushrooms, especially white button mushrooms, not brightly coloured but still contain antioxidants and one of the best foods to support our immune systems 😊

16/08/2022

💚Plants produce antioxidants to protect themselves against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light from the sun, temperature stress and herbicides. We can always learn from Nature 🌱.

We benefit from including vegetables, fruits, legumes nuts and grains in our diet because the hundreds of different antioxidants protect us from chronic disease and also have anti-ageing effects on our skin.

Berries contain very high amounts of antioxidants. Strawberries🍓are especially protective of the oesophagus so especially helpful for reflux conditions. Blueberries have earned superfood status because they have so many health benefits.

Oats and oat bran contain gentle soluble fibre that feed beneficial bacteria ( our microbiome) that produce butyrate for a healthy colon protecting against IBD, and colon cancer. They also help eliminate excess oestrogen from the body so beneficial for hormone related conditions.

Seeds and nuts provide vitamin E and omega oils for healthy skin and protection against inflammation in the body.

🌈Starting our day with a healthy breakfast that includes fibre, protein and antioxidants will help our mood and give us more energy too. 💛

10/08/2022

Delicious and nutritious pasta with a difference💚

High in protein, bean or pea pasta has great amounts of fibre essential for a healthy digestive system (compared to wheat pasta that may be problematic and cause bloating).
It tastes great too 😋!

Especially beneficial for our gut microbiome that rely on fibre so they can support our immune systems and also produce serotonin, one of our happy neurotransmitters that helps with depression and anxiety.

Sulphur from broccoli🥦 and asparagus is important for healthy skin and joints but also supports the liver’s sulphation detox pathway that helps eliminate excess hormones and chemical hormones (found in some of our foods and those we are exposed to in the environment ) so is very beneficial for hormone balance. Other nutrients in broccoli like indole- 3-carbinol are known to be protective against breast and prostate cancer.

Nutritional yeast, sprinkled on top, instead of Parmesan, tastes delicious and is high in B12 ( often low in vegan diets ) it is also a good source of protein so great for balanced blood glucose for good energy levels as well as for hair, skin and nails.

Vegetables are full of protective antioxidants that fight visible ageing but also reduce the risk of many health conditions. This is an easy and tasty way of including more in just one meal 🥘

08/03/2021

Tomatoes 🍅 are one of the most protective foods for men’s health. When cooked for pasta sauce (and even ketchup) the protective antioxidant lycopene is more bioavailable for protecting the cardiovascular system from strokes. heart attacks and high blood pressure and for protecting the prostate gland from inflammation and cancer.

The most beneficial foods include:

Oats, oat bran, flaxseeds, apples and pears contain the soluble fibre pectin that help control blood sugar levels improving energy, concentration, memory, irritability and anxiety.

Also beneficial for digestive health, soluble fibre is protective against IBS, IBD and colon cancer and it removes excess cholesterol from the body so protects the cardiovascular system.

Roquette, beetroot and spinach increase nitric oxide levels in the blood increasing delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain and muscles so beneficial for better mental and physical performance.

Nitric oxide also lowers blood pressure and is very beneficial for the brain improving concentration and memory.

Seeds ( flax, chia, sunflower and pumpkin) provide protein and anti- inflammatory omega 3 oils that lubricate joints, retain moisture in the skin, thin the blood and improve mood , memory and sleep.

Pomegranates contain antioxidants known to inhibit prostate cancer, reduce joint pain and decrease inflammation from arthritis.

Cherries and berries help with muscle damage and pain especially after intensive exercise. Cherries are especially protective against gout. Tart cherries contain melatonin for better sleep.

Broccoli, cabbage, collards, and kale ( cruciferous vegetables) contain
sulforaphane needed to help the liver detoxify.

Going back to tomatoes, the antioxidant lutein protects our eyes especially the retina helping prevent cataracts and macular degeneration. Lutein is important for skin too and with the high vitamin C content needed for healthy skin this makes tomatoes even more beneficial. ❤️🍅

the vitamin C in tomatoes is concentrated in the gel surrounding the seeds.

04/03/2021

🌙Sleep ...we all feel better after a good night’s sleep and it is really important for our health. Recent research shows that the space between brain cells may increase during sleep, allowing the brain to remove toxins that build up.

Unfortunately, many of us find it difficult to fall asleep (even when we are very tired) or we wake up during the night. Fortunately, there are several things we can do to help us sleep :

* Magnesium, known as “nature’s tranquiliser” helps us relax and improves sleep quality. Including nuts, seeds and leafy green vegetables in our diet provides magnesium and taking a supplement before bed helps us relax.

*Tart cherry juice contains melatonin (the sleep hormone) so drinking 250mg before bed may help.

* Melatonin increases when it gets dark. If your bedroom is not completely dark use an eye mask (silk preferably) to block out any light.

* If you have to use a mobile phone or iPad before going to sleep ( or during the night) change the setting to night shift in the display and brightness settings. The blue light, the standard setting, can lower melatonin.

* *EMF - electro magnetic fields have been shown to adversely affect our health and sleep. Charging a phone near the bed can affect sleep quality so do this before going to bed.

* A drop in blood glucose levels during the night can cause adrenalin to be released that will wake us up. Keeping blood glucose levels balanced during the day with a low GL or Keto diet may help to prevent this.

*Epsom salts (about 3 cups) that contain magnesium, added to bath water (with some lavender oil) are absorbed through the skin so help us relax before bed.

* To increase melatonin, a supplement with 5HTP and co-factors can be taken before bed, this converts to serotonin then melatonin.

* Breathing deeply into the diaphragm through the nose for 6 seconds then exhaling slowly through the mouth several times helps us relax.

*Listening to Paul McKenna’s Sleep or other calming sleep meditations can be really helpful too 🤍

19/02/2021

Almond flour pancakes, beneficial for anxiety with calming 🤍magnesium then fibre and manganese to help keep our blood glucose levels stable with omega oils our brains rely on.

Apart from tasting delicious with a lovely nutty flavour compared to bland, empty-nutrient white flour that can cause digestive symptoms like bloating and constipation the benefits include:

Vitamin E, a protective anti-inflammatory antioxidant that improves the cognitive function of our brains and protects us against cardiovascular disease and cancer especially colon cancer.

Vitamin E also helps with hormonal imbalances with symptoms like painful PMS breast discomfort and cravings. During and after menopause it helps with hot flushes, dry skin, thinning hair and libido.

Healthy skin and hair depend on vitamin E at all ages for it’s anti-ageing properties (used topically it helps prevent stretch marks).

Critical during pregnancy, vitamin E is needed during all but especially the early stages for the baby’s neurologic and brain development .

Almond flour pancakes can be made with almond milk and either an organic egg, a truly free range one or else the vegan flaxseed equivalent. I used coconut 🥥 oil to cook the pancakes for caprylic acid (antimicrobial) and CLA ( fat- burning properties).

Topped with 🥑 for additional omega 9 oils and roquette to oxygenate the body and a little 🍋 juice they make a delicious meal but you can choose toppings you enjoy 😊.

06/02/2021

🧡Garlic and Onions

Maybe our first thought is... my breath after eating them ...😷 so perfect timing 😌

Incredibly beneficial for our cardiovascular systems to prevent strokes, our immune systems that fight viruses, protecting us from cancer, helping detoxify harmful substances and essential for healthy skin and hair - garlic and onions are two of the most protective foods we can include in our diet.

Garlic and onions are very strong inhibitors of blood clotting especially when eaten raw.

Onions contain sulphur compounds that protect our cells and have been shown to prevent the growth of tumors and cancer progression.

Protective for respiratory infections, onions reduce inflammation and mucus build up in the nasal passages and lungs.

A great source of sulphur that supports strong, healthy hair that also helps prevent hair loss and promotes hair growth.

Sulphur helps promote collagen production essential for our skin repair and renewal.

Our livers have a detoxification pathway that depend on sulphur to get rid of excess hormones, especially oestrogen, protecting us against hormonal imbalance related health conditions- PCOS, PMS, fibroids, infertility and some breast cancers and prostate cancer.

“From Roman antiquity through World War I, garlic poultices were used to prevent wound infections. The famous microbiologist Louis Pasteur showed that garlic could kill bacteria. In 1916, the British government issued a general plea for the public to supply it with garlic in order to meet wartime needs. Garlic was called Russian penicillin during World War II because, after running out of antibiotics, the Russian government turned to this ancient treatment for its soldiers.”

29/01/2021

Our incredible immune systems are our first line of defence against viruses and bacteria and they depend on specific nutrients.

White blood cells that fight viruses actually have receptor sites for vitamin D and cannot be fully functional without sufficient amounts. Vitamin D is produced mainly in the body when sunlight converts cholesterol in the skin to D3 so we need to supplement it in winter months.

Vitamin C supports the production and activity of antibodies and natural killer cells and has been shown to kill viruses and bacteria.

Zinc is needed for immune cell development and communication and plays an important role in the inflammatory response.

There are other nutrients our immune systems rely on including:

Vitamin A
Caprylic and Lauric acid from coconut oil
Acetyl-L-Cysteine
Turmeric
B vitamins
Magnesium
Omega 3 oils
Selenium
Quercetin

And then as 70% of the immune system is in the gut our gut bacteria or microbiome play an important role, so probiotics may be beneficial and are essential after taking antibiotics.

Certain foods contain high amounts of these nutrients but in times of stress or when the immune system is fighting pathogens it may need higher amounts that supplements provide.

For example, the RDA for vitamin C of 60mg is only intended to prevent scurvy and is not enough for optimum health. An average bell pepper has 190mg of vitamin C depending on the soil quality but we should have at least 1000mg normally and more when fighting infections so having 5 bell peppers a day is just not feasible for most of us.

Some of the best foods include :

Garlic, onions, mushrooms, chillis, berries, green leafy and orange vegetables, seeds, organic or truly free range eggs, green leafy and orange vegetables, citrus fruit, oily fish, peppers, Brazil nuts, legumes and whole grains.

Absolutely essential is the often forgotten nutrient - water! Lymph fluid transports our army of white blood cells and needs to be fluid to move more efficiently through the body.

If we give our immune systems the nutrients they depend on they will protect us 🤍 # cobham

29/01/2021

Something truly fascinating is how nature helps us survive by strengthening our immune systems without us even being aware of it.

Scientific studies have shown, we are physically attracted to the natural scent of a partner or mate (the official term 🤓) who has immune genes different to our own.

When women have been asked to smell T shirts men have worn with their natural body odour and rate them from attractive to repulsive the majority of women find the shirts belonging to men who have immune genes that are the most different from their own as being the most attractive and vice versa (blood tests are used to make a comparison of their genes).

In terms of survival this means a baby born from parents with different immune genes will have a stronger immune system than if the parents had similar immune genes.

From then on it’s up to us to make conscious choices with the foods we eat, how much exercise we do and how much sleep we get to either strengthen or weaken our immune systems. Maybe the things we are not aware of are the most interesting and influential... but eating nutritious foods is obviously very important 😘

30/12/2020

This is a brilliant and interesting explanation of how vitamin D is so critical for our immune systems that protect us from cardiovascular conditions and cancer as well as being essential for brain function. The best thing is we can all benefit from it 💙

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha2mLz-Xdpg

Professor Roger Seheult, MD explains the important role Vitamin D may have in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Seheult illustrates how Vitamin ...

17/12/2020

Vitamin D ☀️

Vitamin D is absolutely essential for our immune systems and our T cells that fight all viruses are dependent on it. Vitamin D is mainly produced by our bodies when UV rays from the sun are absorbed into our skin and react with cholesterol. This is why in winter months we can become deficient but people who can’t go outside will be affected in summer too.

We are more likely to experience depression when levels of vitamin D are low because it acts like a hormone in the body so it is shown to help improve mood, PMS and anxiety too.

Essential to keep bones strong and also help with repair after injury, mainly because vitamin D with K2, Magnesium and Boron are needed for Calcium absorption.

Vitamin D protects against cardiovascular disease since it’s involved in regulating blood pressure, cholesterol levels and inflammation.

Vitamin D is found in certain foods too especially oily fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines and free range (Burford Browns) or organic eggs as the hen’s diet affects the nutritional quality of the eggs).

It is generally beneficial to take a supplement of 1000 IU vitamin D daily in winter or when levels are low in test results a higher amount may be needed.
Vitamin D deficiency correlates with severe COVID 19 symptoms and vitamin C is important too so it is really beneficial and easy to make sure we have enough to have strong immune systems 💛