Food Synergies For Better Health by Glen Matten We all know that certain foods are very good for us, whether its veggies like broccoli or tomatoes, spices like turmeric, or beverages like green tea. The reason these – and many other plant foods – are good for us, is primarily down to the bio-active plant compounds they contain. For the nutritionally savvy, we might be …
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There’s a bit more to food than that By Glen Matten MSc How often do we hear optimistic messages about food and health? It’s got to be a minority of the time, hasn’t it? For decades we’ve been freaked out by fat. The mere thought of buying milk with a blue top is enough to conjure horror images of clogging arteries. But now we have sugar …
Continue readingAs much as we enjoy a cup of the black stuff (myself included), it’s deemed one of life’s guilty pleasures, stemming from the perception that caffeine is ‘bad for us’, so ipso facto, coffee is too. Yet, in reality, the tainted reputation of coffee couldn’t be more ill-conceived, with the scientific research into the effects of coffee on our health painting a very different picture. …
Continue readingChocolate: A golden ticket to health? By Glen Matten MSc So much of what you read and hear about nutrition is bad news. All too often it’s framed around what you should be avoiding or cutting out of your diet. Gluten…dairy…soya…grains…sugar…salt…pesticides…plastic packaging… If you listened to it all, you’d probably be reduced to a diet of fresh air (if you can find any, that is). But …
Continue readingIn previous articles, we’ve dealt with the issue of iron in vegetarian diets (in Ironing out the facts). Such is the attention that iron gets, you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s the only mineral vegetarians need to think about. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, vegetarians need to get savvy with a number of dietary minerals that can be more difficult to …
Continue readingIron: Ironing out the facts by Glen Matten Whilst there is a pervading perception that vegetarians inevitably fall short on iron there is really little difference in the risk of anaemia when comparing vegetarians with omnivores. Of course, eating an unbalanced and nutritionally poor vegetarian diet does run the risk of causing iron deficiency, but get the balance of the diet right and it’s perfectly …
Continue readingDelving into the New Year I have been looking for something slightly different and new to explore food wise to inspire me. So I was very happy to receive a copy of The Sirtfood Diet, (which happens to be co written by our expert food nutritionist Glen Matten!). The book it very interesting as it explores how your body can better burn fat by eating foods that …
Continue readingThis week I wanted to look at the ways to ensure a balanced range of healthy fats and oils within a vegetarian lifestyle. Please read below the very interesting information as written by our expert nutritionist, Glen Matten MSc. The Skinny on Fats by Glen Matten MSc When it comes to healthy fats, most of us will have heard about omega-3 and its health benefits. This, …
Continue readingThe nutritional landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. For decades, fat was the sworn enemy of the health conscious. Not anymore. Sugar is public health enemy number one, and viewed as more pure, white and deadly than ever before, being strong implicated in the deadly trio of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The sticking point here of course is that we do rather like …
Continue readingPerplexed by Protein? By Glen Matten MSc One of the criticisms directed at vegetarian diets is that it’s difficult to get enough protein to meet the body’s needs without eating meat. After all, meat, poultry and fish provide rich sources of ‘complete’ protein, that is, they provide all the amino acids essential to the body. So how do vegetarians fare, and how can they be …
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