2 handfuls baby rocket leaves
1 handful thinly sliced pear, skin on
1/4 cup roasted walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon blue cheese
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Rocket Read More
We hope you have enjoyed your Christmas and New Year as much as we have, but perhaps you may have overindulged just a little too much. If you feel as if your pants are a little tighter than usual, or you feel slightly bloated, or perhaps you are just a little more tired than normal, this could be a good time to look into an annual or bi-annual ‘spring clean‘.
These hot days are great for salads. If you’re a little bored of your basic garden salad why not try this beautiful Shake It Mayan Avocado Salad recipe. It’s a great seafood salad!
Ingredients
1/2 handful avocado, sliced3 handfuls of mixed salad greens
1 palm size portion of king prawns (approximately 6 prawns),
cooked and peeled
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Method
Cover plate of greens with prawns. Garnish with thin slices of avocado. Dress with lime juice.
Serves 1 Read More
Tony Daniel at Capalaba Natural Health is your local gut health naturopath if you live in the Redlands, with twenty years’ experience in helping people suffering from ongoing symptoms such as indigestion, reflux, wind, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea, wondering if they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Digestive issues are among the most common health complaints that bring people to our naturopath clinic.
In fact, if these symptoms are left untreated, they may lead to more serious problems and affect the health of the whole body.
There are four key elements that promote healthy digestive function:
Maintaining the integrity of the gut lining
Having a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut
Adequate digestive enzyme function to break down foods
Eating a healthy and nutritious diet.
It may seem simple enough, but if one of these areas is out of balance, it will impact on digestion and overall health.
1. The Digestive Tract
The first element of a healthy gut is the lining of the digestive tract. The lining is made up of several layers of cells and mucous; this barrier protects your insides from being exposed to foreign particles and acid. Stress, drinking coffee and alcohol, and poor dietary choices can all damage the lining of your gastrointestinal tract.
The following nutrients help maintain a healthy gut lining:
Glutamine is an amino acid beneficial for protecting and healing the gut. Glutamine energises the cells in your gut and helps to repair your lining after trauma from infections, food intolerances and anti-inflammatory medications.
GutGard® liquorice is a potent anti-inflammatory, soothing the lining of the gut and speeding healing time. It has been proven to improve symptoms including heartburn, abdominal pain, bloating, and nausea.
2. Bacteria Are Not Always the Enemy
Our gut is home to a huge population of microbes. There is a perfect balance of good and bad bacteria that will be specific to you as an individual. It is when this harmony between your microbes goes out of balance that you may start to experience symptoms. Probiotics are a way of restoring the right amount of good bacteria, and making that balance just right.
Lactobacillus acidophilus (NCFM) is a probiotic that helps to colonise the gut with good bacteria, and helps to reduce the bad bacteria for healthy digestive balance.
Bifidobacterium lactis (Bi-07), another probiotic strain, may be beneficial during and after antibiotics, and to relieve symptoms such as flatulence, diarrhoea and constipation.
3. Enzymes for Digestion
Your body creates enzymes to do a multitude of functions, including the breakdown and digestion of food. The following enzymes support digestive health:
Hydrochloric acid is a gastric enzyme in stomach acid, helping to break down food, and eliminate bad bacteria and microbes introduced to the digestive tract.
Pancreatic enzymes are produced by the pancreas, and are dispensed through pancreatic juice. These enzymes are involved in the digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the stomach.
Brush border enzymes are found in your intestines and further digest food particles.
Bile helps to break down fats and is needed for cholesterol synthesis.
4. You Are What You Eat
Do you base your food choices on the benefits they will provide? Here are some key guidelines to achieving optimal gut health:
Cut out refined, processed and fast foods. Restrict sugary foods, cakes, lollies, soft drinks, bottled juices, ice creams and pastries. (This will also assist in weight loss!)
Limit starchy carbohydrates to two serves daily and include protein-rich foods at every meal and snack.
Eat fresh and organic as much as possible, choosing two serves of fresh fruits and at least three cups of fresh vegetables daily.
Include healthy oils, nuts and seeds in your diet too.
Drink plenty of water, a minimum of eight glasses per day and avoid excessive alcohol, caffeine and salt.
Gut Health: Naturopath Support
If you are experiencing digestive issues, speak to your naturopath about testing for potential food intolerances, or whether a tailored diet will be beneficial for your gut health. Certain digestive disorders may require a more specific, individualised diet for the best results. This may include a gluten free diet, elimination diet or a low FODMAPS Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols) diet.
If you are suffering from indigestion, reflux, wind, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea, your gut health is not what it should be, and is preventing your full enjoyment of life.
At Capalaba Natural Health, our naturopath has a special interest in gut health and more than two decades’ experience in helping people to find relief from annoying digestive issues. Book an appointment today!
As the weather is getting warmer, this is a great time to dust off the BBQ and think about whipping up some delicious salads i.e. avocado salad, Mediterranean salad, prawn salad and throw some lean, good quality protein on the BBQ grill. Not only is it possible to make some great, delicious, healthy meals but it also enables us to lose weight, look great and feel great.
If you are looking to lose weight, or are interested in ways that you can improve your health and the health of your family by making some changes to the way you are currently eating. Please give us a call at Capalaba Natural Health, we would love to have a chat and help answer any questions you may have regarding healthy eating. (07) 3823 3103 Read More
When you have a coffee, the caffeine combines with the hydrochloric acid in your stomach and forms a potent toxin, caffeine hydrochloride. As this toxin is absorbed into your portal circulation and reaches your liver, bile is released in an attempt to flush it from your system. This is what accounts for the increase in bowel ‘regularity’ of which many coffee drinkers boast. If you are one of these people, you might ask yourself, “Is such a toxin-induced flush really very health promoting?” Coffee is also a diuretic and increases your need for water.
Drinking decaffeinated coffee is no better than drinking regular coffee because of the large concentration of the decaffeination chemical Trichloroethylene (chloroform). It is a close relative of the plastic chemical vinyl chloride, which has been linked to certain types of liver cancer. Trichloroethylene is used mainly as a degreasing agent in the metal industry and as a solvent and a dry cleaning agent in the clothing industry.
For 20 years, Columbian coffee planters have used, regularly and heavily, deadly pesticides on their plants. Some of the pesticides are Aldrin, Dieldrin, Chlordane and Heptachlor. Read More
What if your gut is as useful as a bucket with holes in it? You may have what is known as “leaky gut”, which is a common underlying cause of IBS.
“Leaky gut” is the term used to describe intestinal permeability which occurs when there is a weakening of the protein fibers that line the gut wall, resulting in the formation of microscopic “holes” or “gaps” in the mucosa.
If your gut is “leaky”, then you are essentially unable to absorb the vitamins, minerals and nutrients which are required to facilitate the chemical reactions that keep our body performing like a well-oiled machine. It also means that you are not equipped to avoid exposure to the countless toxins and bacteria that we consume and create on a daily basis.
Leaky gut is highly inflammatory and is often the primary factor underpinning all Irritable Bowel Symptoms. Where there is inflammation, there is generally also irritation and pain. Read More
Our modern lifestyles may be contributing to many health complaints commonly seen today. Many of us experience some form of stress; 9 out of 10 Australians report being stressed and 41% of people feel they experience unhealthy levels of stress. Stress and the body’s response to it can affect people in different ways. Small amounts of stress that are easily resolved can help to keep us motivated and achieve our goals. The difference with long term or chronic stress is that it
can affect the whole body in a negative way.
Looking for the ‘Off ’ Butt on Stress can affect each of us differently. Perhaps you are suffering from anxiety, feeling worried, depressed or irritable; even feeling exhausted and overwhelmed can indicate you are under stress. As well as affecting your ability to cope, stress may also be causing a disruption to your health. When under stress for a length of time, you may be more susceptible to tension headaches, high blood pressure, frequent colds and flus, digestive disorders or a worsening of an existing condition. So you can see, there are many reasons why it is so important to manage your stress now, before it starts impacting your health and well being. Read More
Cholesterol is a type of fat that is carried around in the blood. It performs useful functions in the body and is a major building block for cells and many of your hormones, including oestrogen, testosterone and cortisol. Cholesterol is also important for the synthesis of vitamin D, as well as bile acids which aid in the digestion of fats. Our bodies manufacture cholesterol but it can also be found in foods containing saturated fats. It is important to check your cholesterol levels regularly. Even though our bodies need some cholesterol, having high cholesterol can be bad for your health and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
We hope you have enjoyed your Christmas and New Year as much as we have, but perhaps you may have overindulged just a little too much. If you feel as if your pants are a 
3 handfuls of mixed salad greens
