Laura Lee Nutrition & Lifestyle

01/04/2022

That's how us rock'n'rollers celebrate 😃. Mummas birthday and I've passed my Masters finally

17/03/2022

What a beautiful evening for a walk. Spring is in the air. 🌼🌱🐶

04/01/2021

Green Goddess Smoothie
For all of you that are trying to start off 2021 with a health kick, this is a bit of you!!

Serves 2

1 whole romaine lettuce
1/2 cucumber
1/2 lime juice
1 Green apple
1 pear
Handful of spinach
Handful of Kale
Coconut water (to get preferred consistency)
Few mint leaves
1 tablespoon nut butter (or handful of nuts)

Whizz up and drink slowly, over at least 20 minutes to aid digestion and reduce the impact of the natural sugars in the fruit. The other portion will keep in the fridge until the next day.

15/11/2020

Soup Sunday. This week's soup is Mr Lee's favourite, carrot and coriander. Its simple, quick and delicious!

1 onion roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled send chopped (or grated it fine)
1 medium white potato chopped (grated also fine)
2L veg stock
2 tsp coriander powder
1tsp turmeric
1tsp cumin
Big Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped.

Start off with frying the onion, when soft add the garlic and herbs for couple of minutes. Add everything else but the fresh coriander. Let it boil gently until the carrot and potato are cooked. Stir in the fresh coriander then whizz up until smooth.

09/11/2020

**New Press Release** 09/11/2020

Government heeds advice on Vitamin D and offers 4 months’ supply to the most vulnerable.

Following the sustained pressure from the scientific community, including BANT’s call for extraordinary supplementation of Vitamins C & D as a preventative measure for COVID-19 (https://bant.org.uk/2020/10/20/bant-recommends-extraordinary-measure-of-vitamin-c-and-vitamin-d-supplementation/) the government has finally acted on Vitamin D. The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has decided to “act fast”, albeit well into this second national lockdown, and offer a four-month supply of Vitamin D supplements to millions of vulnerable people shielding at home and in care homes. This will include organ-transplant recipients, chemotherapy patients and those with severe respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. British MP and former cabinet minister David Davis called for action back in September stating “A cheap way of tackling COVID-19 is being ignored”. The first packages are due to be sent early next month (December), four months later.

Read the full release here: https://bant.org.uk/2020/11/09/government-heeds-advice-on-vitamin-d-and-offers-4-months-supply-to-the-most-vulnerable/

08/11/2020

Soup Sunday!!! I absolutely love soup for lunch in the autumn and winter. I cook it on a Sunday and it lasts me most of the week. It has to be quick and tasty though!

*Good nutritious food doesn't always have to be completely from scratch and I use cheat ingredients such as tinned tomatoes and jarred roasted red peppers, it saves so much time and its all about balance*

Here is my spiced tomato and red pepper soup:

1 tin tomatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 onion finely diced
2-3 roasted red peppers
1-2 Sun dried tomatoes
2 tsp oregano
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1L veg stock.

*method*
Gently fry off the onions until translucent, add the garlic for 1-2 mins. Add everything else and let it bubble for 15-20 mins. Whizz up with a stick blender and enjoy!!!

08/11/2020

🌹

28/10/2020

A twist on avo and poached egg on toast!! I didn't have any avocados this morning and don't eat cows dairy as a rule as I'm intolerant. I decided to use hummus instead and it was delicious 😋

*Slice of sourdough bread
*1 poached egg (ACV in the water)
*Handful of mixed leaves
*Fried mushrooms and cherry tomatoes (in walnut oil)
*Tablespoon of hummus

*** This recipe works out at only 250 KCal.
**** it is nutrionally dense
***** Its blummin lush!!!!

21/10/2020

**A lovely testimonial**

I have found working with Laura really helpful, she has supported me with lots of practical advice and support. My son has a cow’s milk protein intolerance and Laura has supported me in cutting dairy out of my diet whilst making sure I am getting enough calcium. This has been such a positive experience because I have been able to exclusively breast feed my son as I was not keen to introduce formula. Rachel, Northampton.

19/10/2020

Did you know that you don't have to suffer in silence? You don't have to just get on with it. There are so many things you can do with your diet and lifestyle to make this an easier transition! Book a discovery call with me to find out how I CAN HELP YOU!
Https://www.lauraleenutritionandlifestyle.com/services

17/10/2020

If you're not sure if nutritional therapy is for you or think it can not help you, may be surprised!

I can help with:
* Hormonal issues
* Skin problems
* Sleep problems
* Weight loss
* Pregnancy nutrition
* Digestive issues
* Immune system support
* and many more

Why don't you book a free discovery call with me today and we can have a chat about how I may be able to help you.

Https://www.lauraleenutritionandlifestyle.com/services

15/10/2020

Your Immune System, Vitamin D and Covid-19

There has been so much interest in whether Vitamin D sufficiency can reduce our chances of catching Covid-19 or reduce the severity of symptoms. Here I have looked at the science so you don't have to.

Vitamin D is formed by cholesterol and 7-Dehydrocholesterol in the skin when it is exposed to UV rays from sunlight and can also be found in animal products and mushrooms. It helps to keep calcium and phosphate levels steady in our bodies. Deficiency can lead to adverse outcomes for bone and tooth health AND importantly is important for immune health [1].

Approximately 50% of people have insufficient levels of Vitamin D, this can lead to increased risk of all cause mortality and we may need more Vitamin D than what is currently advised to reduce risks of chronic disease [2].

Vitamin D has many roles in the body including its role bone health and reducing osteoporosis. Insufficiency has been linked with autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis and even some cancers. Vitamin D is a key factor linking innate and adaptive immunity, and both of these functions may be compromised under conditions of vitamin D insufficiency [3].

A good working immune system is important for overall health and can protect us from microbes and bacteria that can make us ill. It works because there are specialised cells that will jump into action when it senses "alien cells" (microbes and bacteria) . Your bloodstream and key areas of your body contain white blood cells that can fight and destroy the viruses and bacteria they find.

If the immune system is not working well you can imagine that you will fall ill more regularly and it will take you longer to recover from these illness and and as we have seen with Covid-19, it can sometimes be fatal. Therefore Vitamin D is important for a healthy immune system, a healthy immune system can support you to fight off infection including Covid-19 quicker and easier.

Several observational studies and clinical trials reported that vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of influenza. Evidence supporting the role of vitamin D in reducing risk of Covid-19 includes that the outbreak occurred in winter, a time when vitamin D levels are lowest [4, 5].

A nutritional therapist can support you in improving your immune health through dietary and lifestyle recommendations that are tailored to you and could include, dietary investigation, Vitamin D testing and supplementation*. Book a free discovery call with me to find out how I can help you. https://www.lauraleenutritionandlifestyle.com

References
1. Aranow, C., 2011. Vitamin D and the immune system. Journal of Investigative Medicine. 59(6), pp. 881-886.
2. Nair, R., Maseeh, A., 2012. Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy. 3(2), pp. 118-126.
3. Hewison, M., 2012. An update on vitamin D and human immunity. Clinical Endocrinology, 76(3), pp. 315-325.
4. Zemb, P., Bergman, P., and Camargo, C.A., et al., 2020. Vitamin D deficiency and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance. 22, pp. 133-134.
5. Grant, W.B., Lahore, H., McDonnell, S.L., 2020. Evidence that Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths. Nutrients. 12(4), P. 988.

Laura Lee Nutrition and Lifestyle. Nutritional Therapist and registered Midwife. Health and wellbing www.lauraleenutritionandlifestyle.com