You are What you Eat!

Iam sure many of us have heard this being said many times to us but where does the phrase come from?

It is said that it originally appeared in 1862 when Jean Anthelme BrillatSavarin, a French lawyer, politician and famous gastronome wrote “Dis -moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es,” which translates to ‘Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are’.

Ingredients

As for me personally, this is literally true as the nutrients from the food we eat provides the foundation of the structure, function and integrity of every little cell of our body, from the skin to hair, muscles, bones and our digestive systems and immune systems. Our body is constantly repairing, healing and rebuilding. Believe it or not, every cell in our body has a ‘shelf life’, for example the cell life of our stomach is a day or two, the skin cell lives for about a month and a red blood cell lives for about four months. Thus everyday our body is making new cells replacing those that have ‘expired’, therefore good nutrition determines how healthy those new cells will be.

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bitesize chunks

1 small onion chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lime or lemon juice

1 tbsp ginger, peeled and chopped 1 red chilli, chopped

2 tbsp coriander, chopped 400ml coconut milk

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock Optional - 4 lime leaves, 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2cm pieces

Method

Heat the oil in a pan, stir fry the onion for 2-3 mins

Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass and lime leaves (if using). Stir fry for 1-2 mins

Pour in the coconut milk, stir and bring to a simmer

Add the sweet potato, simmer for 7-8 minutes, then add stock and bring back to a simmer

When the sweet potato is tender (check after 10 minutes) remove lime leaves and lemongrass (if using) and blend the soup. Stir in the lemon / lime juice and serve with coriander leaves on top.

Deborah now sees a range of clients via Taylored Nutrition and she offers 3 packages to help people struggling with health issues. Each plan or package provides the time to thoroughly explore each individual's underlying imbalances, make timed gradual changes and focus on unique nutritional and lifestyle needs in addition to helping people stay motivated to achieve their aim. Each package includes an initial consultation of 60 minutes, the follow up sessions depends on the package an individual signs up for, e mail support tailored nutrition and lifestyle recommendations. Should you require more detailed information about the package, kindly visit her website; www.taylorednutrition.org

Taylored Nutrition specialises in gut health issues including bloating, abdominal pain, gas, diarrhoea, constipation and IBS type symptoms and her main area of interest is to support women with Perimenopause and Menopause symptoms such as poor sleep, mood swings,bloating, cognitive and memory problems, low libido, painful sex, stress, anxiety, irregular periods , bladder function problems, weight gain, fatigue and hot flushes

Now that we are aware that good nutrition is very crucial, how do we even start? Recently I was in conversation with a Nutritional Therapist that gave me an insight of the importance of good nutrition to support our health and wellbeing.

Deborah Taylor of Taylored Nutrition

A period of illness in 2013 prompted Deborah to make some changes to her diet and lifestyle, she even swapped her beauty products for more natural alternatives. It was during the months of treatment following her illness that she started to read more about dietary and lifestyle interventions that helped her support her recovery. Incorporating these changes into her everyday life gave her a sense of control over her diagnosis and treatment, these changes helped her both physically and mentally and gave her renewed vitality, energy and a massive improvement in her health. Deborah wanted to learn more about the power of good food, so she completed a 3 year diploma at the College of Naturopathic Medicine and is also a member of BANT -British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine. She is a registered Nutritional Therapist and she is passionate about helping her clients transform their health with nutrition and lifestyle changes .

Deborah also mentioned during our meeting that she has special interest in helping women who are unable to or don’t wish to address these symptoms with Hormone Replacement Therapy.

The power of good food

Whilst speaking to her I asked her about the power of good food, to which Deborah replied, "Food is so powerful and people don't know that enough, I thought I was eating healthily until I studied nutrition then I realised there was lots more to learn. ”She also said “Making small, simple changes to our food choices can lead to better health, wellbeing and increased vitality.”

When asked “ How soon can someone see changes after eating healthily ?” She said “If someone follows the plan diligently, changes can be seen within a week or two.”

Besides running her private clinic, Deborah also conducts talks and workshops and has recently joined up with a local yoga teacher for a Beeston based workshop. She is passionate about sharing recipes and tips. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram as Taylored Nutrition to enjoy her recipes and articles to support your health and wellbeing. Her next workshop, Nutrition and Yoga for the Menopause will take place on Saturday 4th March.

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