energy

Why you may consider taking a food intolerance test!

Recently, I have been frequently asked about Food Intolerances. As a result, I have come to the realisation that many people do not have a very clear understanding of what Food Intolerances actually are, or of what role they play in our bodies and brains. Let us, therefore, discuss this topic and clarify the differences between allergies and intolerances.

First of all, Food Intolerances differ from Food Allergies. A food Allergy causes a specific immune reaction and is mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE). A Food Allergy is a response to food proteins, resulting from the body’s release of histamine that triggers a cascade of serious symptoms, such as flushing, itchy skin, wheezing, vomiting, throat swelling, and even anaphylaxis. These reactions can occur immediately following exposure to certain allergens. Obviously, such reactions can be life threatening, and it is very important to identify your personal allergens and minimise your exposure to them. It is also vital to learn how to recognise a severe allergic reaction and to know how to deal with it.

At the same time, a Food Intolerance is mediated by non-specific immune responses and is associated with immunoglobulin G (IgG), the body’s reflex to attack anything that is identified as foreign. The mechanism of Food Intolerances involves a release of inflammatory chemicals which then cause damage and inflammation in different tissues and organs. This can take place in any part of the body such as the gut; causing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms, in the joints; producing symptoms of arthritis, in the head; producing migraines, and so on. The symptoms of Food Intolerance generally take longer to materialise and they become noticeable several hours after ingesting the offending food. In some cases, symptoms may take up to 48 hours to appear and can remain for several days. This makes it very difficult to identify the real cause of the symptoms.

The effect of food-induced activation of the immune system can, initially, not be very obvious, but may become very serious over time. The continuous intake of food causing local micro-inflammation in the intestinal tissue, can spread the inflammation to other tissues and organs. Any system, for instance the nervous, hormonal and metabolic systems, can be affected and symptoms may vary considerably. This makes the whole situation complicated and the initial cause of the symptoms may be masked and difficult to identify.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT UNIDENTIFIED, HIDDEN FOOD INTOLERANCES CAUSE ONGOING INFLAMMATION IN THE BODY AND BRAIN.

In children, this inflammation disrupts information processing, interrupts reading and direction comprehension, and shortens the attention span. It also messes with neurotransmitters, which are responsible for emotional and behavioural responses, and is what leads to children’s inability to sit still and creates emotional outbursts.

Nowadays more and more people develop Food Intolerances, especially children with special educational needs and compromised immune systems. Therefore, it is very important to identify the hidden cause of inflammation that may be making your, and your children’s, life so much more difficult.

Furthermore, I have excellent news for you! THE FOOD INTOLERANCE TEST IS INCREDIBLY EASY TO DO! There is no need to go to any hospital or laboratory, you do not need to wait for your appointment in a waiting room and there is no need ti think of ways to entertain or occupy your child. You do not need to take time off from work and your child doesn’t need to miss school. You can simply do it at home at your own personal convenience! You can prepare your child slowly for this process, so that they are not afraid, so that they are aware of exactly what is happening and why. Then, once both you and your child are ready, you can perform the sample collection. All this means is pricking your child’s finger using a specially provided device and collecting four drops of blood on a special card. Once you are done, you simply send this card back to a laboratory, directly from your home. It is, therefore, an absolutely stress-free process! In two weeks’ time, you will receive results that will help resolve many of your child’s health issues and could very well be life changing.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should buy any tests online and do everything without any guidance! Be careful! Some tests are not very reliable and not very accurate. You could end up wasting your money and time, simply to get misleading results, which you will then try to implement in life. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ORDER THIS TEST FROM A GOOD CERTIFIED LABORATORY THROUGH A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL. Then, ideally, the results should be explained and interpreted by your practitioner. You should receive a clear, specific action plan based on your profile and personal circumstances.

This is why I would like to offer you my help and assistance with this process. I am working with the best laboratories and have extensive experience in dealing with the results of such tests. An IgG Food Intolerance test typically checks from 55-184 different foods and gives you a report as to how much chronic inflammation and adverse reaction particular foods cause upon consumption. The test delivers results as values of high, moderate, and low. After correctly avoiding the foods that cause high and moderate levels of reaction, and after following the gut-healing protocol, it is possible that up to 80% of Food Intolerances will disappear and that the avoided foods can be carefully introduced back into the diet. However, the price for this test varies from 200 to 300 Euros and, unfortunately, cannot be reimbursed by medical insurance.

So, if you or your child have any of the most common symptoms of food intolerance listed below, please consider doing the incredibly EASY Food Intolerance test. Please remember that this small investment could save you lots of time, money and, most importantly, HEALTH in the future!

List of symptoms associated with Food Intolerance:

Diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, IBS, reflux, stomach ache
Eczema, psoriasis, rashes, urticaria
Migraines, headaches, memory problems, mood swings, depression, ADHD, ASD
Cough, sinusitis, runny nose
Chronic fatigue, feeling under the weather, general lack of energy
Obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, inability to lose weight, weight loss
Stiff or sore joints, arthritis, tendonitis
Reduced immune status against viral infections, allergies, autoimmune disease

To conclude, in order to avoid any serious long-term conditions caused by hidden food intolerances, which may then complicate an already tricky health situation enormously and may have a hugely negative impact on academic performance, I would recommend performing this test and to follow sensible temporary diet recommendations based on the results.

Please contact me for more information and to book the test. You can also do it directly via my website: https://www.liverightautismcoach.com/services

5 TIPS FOR PARENTS FOR AN AUTISM-FRIENDLY SUMMER

The summer holidays are here and, of course, many of us are getting ready to have some fun, relax and meet lots of interesting people. However, for families with children with autism, summer can be a particularly challenging time. Keeping children on the spectrum busy and entertained during the holidays can be exhausting, expensive and stressful. As one mother said to me: “I wish my son’s school would work all year around without any holidays”. So, how can you make your holiday less stressful and more enjoyable? And what is an easy way for you to make the most of your time together and keep your child on the spectrum learning and further developing their skills? Here are my five tips for an AUTISM-FRIENDLY SUMMER.

Nature is the best therapist

Nature is a great healer for all of us but especially for children with autism who have many sensory issues. Spending more time in nature and getting away from the noises, smells and perhaps even electro-magnetic pollution of every day life, could be very calming and relaxing for your child. Leave all your electronic gadgets behind and just enjoy the real world! Stimulate your child’s curiosity and draw their attention to different plants, insects and birds. You may discover your child likes to draw or play with sticks or maybe create something with the flowers. All these activities improve sleep and normalise the day-night rhythm of hormones and, therefore, enhance overall health and behaviour.

Increase your child’s amount of “Vitamin G”

Allow your child to walk bare foot in the garden and along the beach as much as possible. Grounding is the best anti-oxidant to neutralise any free radicals in the body. If your child is not ready to walk with bare feet, they can begin by wearing socks. Grounding reduces stress, provides great support for the immune system and restores energy levels.

Experience new activities

The holidays are a great opportunity to explore what other possible activities your child may really enjoy doing. For example, you could try introducing them to different sports. Maybe you never had the chance to see if your little one likes horse-riding or even “horse-sitting”, which is more acceptable for some children with autism, at least to start with. Or, perhaps you never had the opportunity to try taking them to an art, music or drama class. Now is the perfect time to try just that and to see if your child enjoys themselves. It is very important to find an activity your child likes, as hobbies are definitely very therapeutic on many different levels.

Water therapy

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy water in whatever form and amount your child accepts. Even if it’s a quick dip in an inflatable pool or a simple paddle in the sea. Please keep in mind that I am not talking about a swimming pool with chlorinated water, but real, fresh water from a natural source. You could even let your child play under the warm rain or give them buckets to collect water that they can later splash about in. Water can be a sensational sensory integration experience and releases stress and tension.

Teach your child how to cook

Of course, summer is a great moment to have some fun and quality time in the kitchen and teach your child some basic, but essential, cooking skills. This is particularly beneficial because cooking addresses many important issues. When you teach your child with autism to cook, you also address their sensory issues, motor skill, ability to follow instructions, eating habits and social skills.

Just think about it, your child may well experience certain sensory challenges when faced with the different textures, smells and colours found in the kitchen. This is important to realise and prepare for. Avoid unpleasant sensations! Simply do not use products that posess any qualities your child doesn’t like. For example, if your child dislikes slimy textures, avoid giving them fish or a peeled boiled egg. Alternatively, you could suggest using gloves, which may actually resolve this particular issue.

Motor skills are very important and often under-addressed in children with autism. By engaging your child in the different steps of food preparation, you focus on their fine motor skills on different levels. You can help your child control the pressure of a knife when they are slicing a tomato or pealing an apple. They may produce big chunks to start with, but with time the presentation will improve.

Processing information and following instructions could be difficult for your child. That is why, it is a great idea to first discuss with them what you will be making together, draw a picture for each small step and, of course, include a nice illustration of the final product. You can even find special picture recipes for people with autism. What a great idea!

You can start by cooking something your child really likes to eat. The home-made version will always be better than the ready-made processed alternative you get in the supermarket. Then, when your child is engaged in the process, you could suggest a little experiment with other ingredients and explain why they might be better and tastier. This process is hugely educational about food and will lead to gradual changes in eating habits. You can progress as slowly as you like, but very often, at a certain stage, kids actually start to be more advanced than their parents. For example, one of my clients, a 16 years old boy with autism has developed a much more advanced taste for herbs and spices then his parents. His favourite dish is different types of home-made sausage, which he loves to make and cook with his mother. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Finally, cooking and sharing a meal with other people, decorating and serving it to the family is a fantastic way to develop the social skills of your child. They communicate with you while you cook together, then explain to the others what the meal is. Of course, listening to compliments and receiving lots of positive feedback will boost your child’s self-esteem and confidence enormously.

Therefore, LEARNING HOW TO COOK IS A LIFE SKILL; a technique for developing many other important abilities. This is the way to build your child’s independence and to help them discover a practical hobby that could possibly even, one day, become a profession. However, please remember that whatever the result of this exercise, it is perfect! Even if it doesn’t look like the meal on the picture you have. During this process, you must provide your child with support, but certainly not criticism. Always keep things positive!

So, my message for you today is: YOUR SUMMER HOLIDAY CAN BE LESS STRESSFUL THAN YOU THINK! IT CAN EVEN BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILD!

Have a great holiday!

I look forward to receiving your ever-valuable questions, comments and feedback.

Please contact me at www.liveright.eu or email me at irina@liveright.eu.

Photo: http://www.epicurious.com/archive/everydaycooking/family/cooking-with-kids

HOW TO SAVE MONEY and HELP YOUR CHILD WITH AUTISM EFFECTIVELY – Mind-Opening Strategy For Parents of Children With Autism

Do you know how much money parents spend when they have a child with autism? Of course, it is very difficult to give an exact amount, as each situation is very different, but it is clear that such families with a child with autism have much more financial pressure to provide their little loved one with adequate support. Back in 2014, a study was published in the American magazine “JAMA Paediatrics” that suggested THE TOTAL LIFETIME COST OF SUPPORTING AN INDIVIDUAL WITH AN ASD IN THE US IS $1.4 MILLION. And this number increases significantly if the person is also intellectually disabled; to a sum of up to $2.4 million. These are serious expenses! At the same time, due to any number of reasons, families with autistic children generally earn approximately 28% less than families with non-autistic children. Can you relate to this situation? However, these astronomical sums can be greatly reduced! Would you like to know how? Let’s explore.

7 Energy Restoring Tips For Exhausted Mothers of Children With Autism

How often do you hear mothers of children with autism saying things like: “I am so exhausted because my son is having such a hard time with his behaviour”, “I had a very rough night with my husband losing his temper and my children crying”, “I am emotionally tired and physically drained”? Probably very often! Such expressions are very common among parents of children with autism. And, of course, there is no surprise here! Parents face never-ending challenges, worries, chronic stress and lack of sleep. They take their kids to endless therapy sessions, doctors, schools, teachers, assessments and evaluations! They simply do not have the time to recharge their own “batteries”, to think about their own health and their personal needs! Therefore, it is no surprise that these mothers are simply exhausted and chronically tired. Are you one of them? Do you feel this energy drain? Can you relate to this situation?

Where Does Autism Recovery Begin? – A Message to All the Anxious Mothers of Children With Autism

Recently I read this mother’s very touching words:

“My child is very loved, but as a mother I get drained from the fight. I fight for him daily to be the best he can be. Autism isn’t all sunshine, rainbows and unicorns. It’s rough and I have no doubt we will make it. I am his N1 supporter.”

Every time I come across a message similar to this, my heart beats a little bit faster! I really feel for these mothers who are trying their best, day and night, to support their children. This is never an easy process, but when your child has autism, it is much, much more challenging. And it is even more demanding if the parent in question has more than one child! It is a tough position to be in and not all parents are able to handle such circumstances. In many cases, mothers go through everything completely alone, accumulating exhaustion, tremendous stress and chronic fatigue while trying to be, and do, their best for their dearest child.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE ANSWER TO WHY YOUR CHILD ISN’T SLEEPING? 3 Tips For Mothers of Children With Autism to Help Their Little Ones Get a Better Night’s Sleep

How quiet and peaceful is your sleep? Do you manage to get quality rest during the night time? If you are a mother of a child with autism, then it is very likely that your answer to these questions will be negative! 80% of children with ASD have sleep problems and this, of course, affects the whole family and especially the mothers. These sleepless, restless nights when your child can not sleep for a long time or when even during sleep he is constantly moving and kicking, can easily drive you crazy. Have you been through this type of frustration? You are tired, you hide your head under the pillow, you try to use headphones, but nothing helps! And proper rest when your child has finally stopped wandering around or persistently tossing and turning and has fallen asleep is but a dream. THIS EXHAUSTION DUE TO LACK OF SLEEP IS NOT HEALTHY FOR ANYONE. Night rest is a very special period of time when our body is not just resting, but also detoxifying, restoring and healing itself. If you start to abuse this pattern of rest, so vital to our health, very quickly you will generate misbalance in your body, which may then result in any number of chronic health conditions. But how can you help your child to overcome these sleep disturbances? If you are searching for such a solution then this article is for you!

FLU SEASON OR FESTIVE SEASON – WHICH ONE DO YOU PREFER?

Guess what, the exciting holiday season is approaching! But, at the same time, the season of being ill and unwell is also knocking on our doors! However, nobody wants to be sick during the festive period! We all dream of the great company of healthy loved ones, of having lots of fun and experiencing lots of joy! So, I want to share my personal experience to help you to stay festive and healthy during Christmas time and likewise any other time.

To my surprise, last week I got the flu. It was very unexpected as I had almost forgotten what it means to be ill! Really! Last year, all I had was a mild cold for a couples of days, but this year I experienced the proper flu! While I was in bed (always the best place to think) I remembered how I used to be ill regularly, 3-4 times a year for 3 or more weeks each time. I used to have asthma which would always be initiated by any bacterial or viral infection and normally took a long time to clear out from my body. I suddenly remembered the horrible feeling of being completely incapable of doing anything and of wasting many ineffective hours in bed. Do you not think life is too short to be ill and that we cannot afford to spend this precious time fighting the flu as opposed to doing something great and useful? Nowadays, too many people, especially children, are unwell over long periods of time and, as a result, develop lots of chronic conditions.

Interestingly, when people never get ill, that too is not very good for the body. You may be surprised, but, this is the truth. Let me explain. The prime aim of our immune system is to protect us from pathogenic bacteria, viruses and other invaders. Our immune system is always working by checking, identifying, removing and destroying “trespassers” in our body. Once “unwelcome guests” are identified, a whole series of chemical mediators are released and a whole cascade of reactions are activated. The inflammation reaction occurs in certain local areas of our body, causing symptoms like a sore throat or a runny nose. From the immune system’s point of view, this is a call for action that mobilises the body’s internal recourses to fight the infection. However, from our point of view, this is a complete inconvenience and we try to remove these symptoms with medications and thus interfere in the normal process of the body healing. To do its job properly, our immune system needs to know its “enemies” and, therefore, needs to be exposed to these bacteria and viruses periodically. But of course, if your immune system is healthy, then your illness will be very short and painless like mine was this time. Over 3 to 5 days, with as much of extra rest and sleep as possible, your body will be able to clear the symptoms without any further chronic consequences, such as e a cough or ear infection. This way the cold or flu allow the body to cleanse itself and boost its immune system. Therefore, never getting sick is a sign of a weak immune system rather than the other way around. Ideally, one or two colds per year is a good amount of exercise for our immune system to be in a good shape.

But of course, we need to be aware of a hypersensitive immune system when we experience different allergies and an overly reactive immune system which increases the chances of developing an auto-immune disease. Any unbalance of the immune system is not good for our health! Our body is very cleverly designed and our task is to listen to its signals and respond to them correctly. So, how does your body show that your immune system is out of balance?

Let’s see just a few symptoms that you really need to be aware of:

Regular colds and flu
Lasting chronic conditions after having colds and flu like cough or ear infection
Chronic tiredness and lack of energy
Allergies to food or environmental factors like ‘hay fever’
Skin problems like eczema, acne ect.
Inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease ect.
Digestive disorder like IBS, celiac disease ect.

These are the main issues but naturally this list can be continued. And, of course, you noticed digestive conditions on the list. This is because our digestive tract and immune system are closely connected and up to 80% of the immune system is located in our gut. 70% of our immunity is established during early childhood and closely depends on our microbiome development and diversity.

Therefore, the best thing to survive the flu season is NOT to do a flu jab and NOT to stack your cupboard with concentrated vitamin C or nasal sprays and other medications, but rather to invest your effort in the prevention of getting ill and supporting of your immune system through the year! And you can start anytime! Please, remember that flu vaccinations are not helpful to you or your children and can cause many different problems and side effects. First of all, they add to your toxic load as they contain Mercury and this can be extremely problematic for some children causing some neurotoxic effects and leading to neurological disorders. Furthermore, lots of different scientific reports describe a connection between flu vaccinations and conditions like narcolepsy in children, foetal deaths and of course, more flu. You can read more about it here: https://vactruth.com/2013/02/01/8-damn-good-reasons/

I am so glad that I have spent some time improving my immune system naturally! It caused huge changes in my life and everyone in my family’s life. I am not afraid of traveling and getting sick any more and I look forward to the holiday period with the confidence of knowing that I will have lots of fun rather than spend it ill like I used to.

So, how exactly can this be done? How did I do it and what worked for me? I keep repeating that we are all very different and any recommendations should be followed with great care and you should always check your individual reaction to the changes that you are introducing. We need to learn to understand our own body’s language! In my situation, several life style changes were very effective. After moving to Switzerland, I started to spend much more time outside. We have a dog, Bella, and she needs to walked every day, 3 times a day in any weather. So, we just do it! To be in nature and in fresh air regularly helps to release stress and activate many vital body functions, including thinking, digestion, cardiovascular health and so on. Then, I started taking Juice Plus (whole food based supplement) that suddenly boosted my metabolism and I also lost about 10 kg of weight. By normalising my portion size, switching to organic products, reducing amount of gluten and grains in general, by diversifying my diet through eating more vegetables, introducing home-made fermented foods and many other different superfoods, I have manged to completely take control of my immune system and energy level I have forgotten when last time I bought any medications was. I prefer natural remedies and I am a big fun of essential oils!

Therefore, my advice to you is to not waste your precious time, invest in your health by making life style changes and restoring your connection to real food! Start this holiday season, do it step by step and celebrate every small achievement! I find Christmas is the best time of the year to cook together with your children, experiment with new foods, practice mindful eating and, of course, ask Santa Clause for a new exciting kitchen gadgets with which you enjoy many hours in your lovely kitchen! I have already made my Santa list! What about you?

As usual, I look forward to receiving your ever valuable questions, comments and feedback: irina@liveright.eu

ARE PROBIOTICS REALLY GOOD FOR OUR HEALTH?

In spite of the many articles about gut health and how hugely it impacts our body and brain function, lots of people are still confused about probiotics. I keep receiving questions about probiotics, prebiotics, fermented food and so on.

Let’s try to address this confusion right now to better understand what probiotics actually mean for us and what the best way to obtain them is.

Are probiotics new, trendy supplements that can help with any health condition? Are they a new panacea for all diseases? Are they the result of new technology and scientific breakthrough? Let’s explore.

Probiotic means “for life”. Probiotics are live bacteria that can be found in our digestive tract and which support our health. Remember that our body has 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells. WE ARE ACTUALLY MORE MICROBE THAN HUMAN!

Research clearly shows the link between our gut health, the state of our microbiome, the combination, number and type of bacteria inside of us, and the function of our body and brain. 80% of our entire immune system is based in our digestive tract! Our gut is home to the “second brain” since a big part of our neurological system called enteric nervous system is located there. Therefore, it is obvious that A HEALTHY GUT MEANS A HEALTHY BODY!

However, the way we live and eat today doesn’t provide good support for our gut flora. Antibiotics, medications, chemicals in body care products and cleaning products, a diet high in carbohydrates, processed foods, lots of sugar, stress; all of these factors are constantly damaging our gut flora. We are facing so many different toxic factors causing a huge imbalance in the microbiome where pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses can overgrow and trigger many health conditions. In the healthy gut we can see about 85% of good microorganisms and 15% of bad microorganisms. If this ratio is compromised, we start to experience its negative effect.

Nowadays, the majority of people have digestive problems and, as result, develop chronic inflammation in the body which cause many chronic conditions like chronic fatigue, thyroid imbalance, joint pains, migraines, depression and so on. That is why when people start to address their gut health issues, they can actually improve a variety of their clinical symptoms and help normalise the function of various systems in the body. And probiotics are doing exactly this, they can help to restore the balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria.

New research keeps proving the numerous benefits of probiotics. We now have strong evidence that probiotics help to:

Improve the function of the immune system
Boost the digestive system
Enhance brain function and positively affect different neurological conditions
Help reduce the level of chronic inflammation and therefore heal conditions like IBS (inflammatory bowel disease)
Improve many skin conditions including eczema
Overcome allergies and food intolerances

Hence, PROBIOTICS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR OUR HEALTH!

But where can we find these “little life savers”? Probiotics come to us either as supplements or in the fermented foods. Probiotic supplements need to be carefully chosen if you want to take an effective product. It is wise to see what type of bacterial strains a probiotic contains and if they are alive, active cultures. Also, it is useful to know if a product is stable, well characterised, clinically effective and highly potent. Different strains of probiotics support different systems in the human body. Therefore, diversity is crucial. It is recommended to choose supplements that have more than 10 different strains and rotate the intake of products in order to obtain a better variety. This means you need to take different types of probiotics over a few months rather than only one type over a long period of time. Based on the extensive research published in this area, in his book “Brain Maker” Dr David Perlmutter suggests to focus on supplements that contain at least the following stains:

Lactobacillus plantarum, which is crucial for a gut health and integrity
Lactobacillus acidophilus, which plays an important role in the microbial balance and controls cholesterol levels
Lactobacillus brevis, which improves immune function and increases levels of the brain-growth hormone BDNF
Bifidobacterium lactis, which boosts immunity and prevents digestive illnesses
Bifidobacterium longum, which has antioxidant properties and helps prevent colorectal cancer by effectively lowering the intestinal pH

I think that supplements are very useful and of course can be very effective when you travel or take some antibiotics or want to help your baby establish a better digestion process. However, as any other supplements, probiotics in capsules are a temporary solution. The best way to obtain the balanced set of “little life savers” is from real food!

It is important to understand that PROBIOTICS ARE NOT A NEW INNITIATIVE AT ALL! Throughout our human history, probiotics have been traditionally used in many different cultures as a way to save and preserve food. Fermentation is simply a metabolic process of converting carbohydrates, like sugars, into lactic acid through bacteria. During this process the bacteria multiply and lactic acid protects the fermented food. By fermenting milk, meat, fish, vegetables and grains, our ancestors were consuming probiotics for centuries. And of course, probiotic foods have a much broader variety of bacterial strains in natural concentrations and combinations which suit our gut much better than supplements. Furthermore, fermentation also makes the nutrients in the food more bio-available. For example, fermented cabbage contains 20 times more vitamin C than fresh cabbage.

Which fermented foods do you know? From my childhood, I know milk kefir, kvass, kambuch and sauerkraut. These are typical foods in Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time, in India people drink lassi – a local yogurt-based drink. In Africa people produce amasi – another fermented milk product. What about kimchi or miso? These are very popular fermented foods in Asia. Therefore, we are not reinventing the wheel at all. We are just reintroducing these great foods back into our diet! Nowadays we call them SUPERFOODS. However, if you buy these foods as ready-made, you will not be able benefit from the probiotics very much! Commercially available foods are processed, pasteurised and practically don’t contain any bacteria. The best way to benefit from fermented food is to prepare it by yourself!!! HOME MADE PROBIOTIC FOODS ARE THE BEST DOCTORS! Let’s get back to the kitchen and prepare some probiotic-rich foods. You can buy, or get from somebody, different cultures/starters to produce milk kefir, cottage cheese, water kefir, yogurt, kombucha, kvass. But even without any special cultures and starters, using just good quality salt and other spices, we can easily make sauerkraut, kimchi and fermented vegetables. It is so simple to make, yet you get so much from it! Please, do your research and remind yourself how to ferment foods at home! Talk to your parents and grandparents about it and you will be surprised by how much knowledge they have in this area. And of course, you can always ask me!

What about prebiotics? What are they? Prebiotics are actually foods that feed “good” bacteria in our gut and by consuming them together with probiotics we achieve much better results. Usually prebiotics are products that contain non-digestive fiber. When we eat such foods, fiber passes through our digestive tract intact and it is only in colon that it can be fermented by the gut microflora. Therefore, prebiotics play a very important role in the health of our microbiome and hence, of our whole body. Unfortunately, the modern western diet is very low in prebiotics and we need to make sure we consume enough foods like raw garlic, raw or cooked onions, raw leeks, raw asparagus, raw dandelion greens, raw chicory root and under-ripe bananas. Now that you know how important prebiotic foods are, I hope you will find a way to bring them to your diet!

To conclude, I want to say that A LITTLE BIT OF FERMENTED FOODS EVERY DAY CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND THE LIFE OF YOUR LOVED ONES! Is it not fantastic to have such “magic” in your hands!?

As usual, I look forward to receiving your ever valuable questions, comments and feedback: irina@liveright.eu

Best Ways to Improve Your Child’s Concentration And Learning!

Naturally, as parents, we all want our children to be smart, do well in school and achieve their best in life. It is also obvious that to accomplish any task children need to be able to focus their attention for a certain period of time, process the information given in the most efficient way, listen and be able to follow instructions. We have all been through this process and know that sometimes it is not as straight forward as it sounds. Nowadays especially, more and more kids find this learning process challenging, a fact which depends on many different factors! If children are over-tired, over-stimulated, over-loaded with information; if they are not sufficiently motivated or interested, they are not going to focus well on the task of learning. As adults we also experience this very often! However, some children due to their physiology, psychology and life style habits have more pronounced difficulties with concentration and the ability to follow a certain task. And this is the reality of our modern life. On average, there are 3 children who have an attention deficit disorder in every classroom of 30 students (10-11%). And this number is getting bigger every year. There are even many children who do not have an official diagnosis, but nevertheless find it difficult to cope with the learning process. Luckily, there are many things that can be done at home to improve your children’s concentration and to support their learning process, so that they can enjoy it rather than suffer through it. In fact, adults also benefit hugely from these adjustments.

Obviously, sleep is a huge factor. If we do not sleep enough, do not restore our energy during the night and our body doesn’t have enough time to rest, detox and regenerate itself, we will not be able to focus and perform well the next day! This is even more true for children! They need at least 9 hours of quality sleep to restore themselves. Certainly, exercise is super important. It helps to normalise children’s emotional state, allows them to relax, oxygenates their body and brain and improve the metabolism and the absorption of good nutrients from food. Of course, you need to understand which activities help your child to focus and process information better. It can be a visual or a listening activity, hands-on activity or a combination of all of them.

However, I want to focus on nutritional support for your child, which is the FUNDAMENTAL CAUSE OF BEHAVIOR including the whole learning process. From birth and until three years old, a child’s brain undergoes phenomenal changes, producing 700 new neuronal connections every second! By the age of six the brain is 95% of its adult weight and is at the peak of its energy consumption. During the teenage period, the brain is shaping itself, neuronal connections are being established, the fatty tissue surrounding neurons is increasing and determines a certain speed for electrical impulses and communications in the brain. All of these development processes, which are so vital for brain, require huge energy and nutritional recourses! If any of these fundamental biochemical activities in the developing brain are compromised due to lack of “building material” which comes from food, the child’s concentration, memory and mental capacity in general will be negatively affected. Therefore, NOURISHING FOOD FOR THE BRAIN IS EESENTIAL. Our brain is the hungriest organ, using 20% of the body’s total energy, and the fattiest organ, consisting of 60% fat, in our body! That is why smart fats are absolutely essential for healthy brain development and function. I can still remember from my childhood the brown bottle with a yellow cartoon character on it, containing a fish oil which we had to take every day. I simply hated it, but now I really appreciate this habit we had, and thank you to my parents who insisted on my taking it every day. Fish oil is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which play a key role in cognitive functions such as memory, concentration and behavior in both children and adults. Low levels of DHA have been linked to brain developmental disorders in children. Therefore, unless your children eat a good portion of organic, wild, fatty fish 2-3 times a week, it would be wise to supplement them with fish oil. Other fats are also crucial for keeping the brain working. A diverse healthy diet should contain good quality olive oil, coconut oil, organic butter or ghee, seeds and nuts and avocado.

The brain and the body of your children require a sufficient amount of proteins to build and repair cells and chemical messengers in the brain. Protein-rich food such as meat, poultry, fish, legume and dairy products supply amino acids, the building blocks for enzymes, neurotransmitters, other chemical messengers and many other molecules and tissues. The brain development can be severely effected in malnourished children with a protein deficiency.

Fruits and vegetables are an absolute MUST food for brain health and overall well-being. They fill the body of our children with vital vitamins, micronutrients and antioxidants for healthy brain function. Make sure that your children consume a variety of different vegetables, fruits and berries every day. Each colour represents the presence of a unique set of phytonutrients in the food that are required by the brain to develop and work properly. So, the more colours, then more different essential phytonutrients your children will receive and benefit from. My favorites for brain function are avocado, beetroot, broccoli, kale, blueberries, apples and plums.

Seeds and nuts need to be a part of your children’s daily eating plan. Many parents are actually afraid of giving nuts to their kids as they belong to a group of food which often causes allergies. However, before excluding anything from a diet, I really would advise you to be certain of any specific allergies and then eliminating allergens from your children’s diet.

YOU SHOULD ONLY ELIMINATE PRODUCTS THAT CAUSE ALLERGIC REACTIONS IN YOUR CHILD! Do not leave out other nuts, a very important source of protein, essential fatty acids vitamins and microelements that boost healthy development and function of the nervous system.

Whole grains regulate your children’s glucose level and keep it steady so that kids can focus and concentrate better. So, brown and wild rice, oats, barley, millet, buckwheat, quinoa will provide a good meal that will keep your child in good learning shape.

Vitamin B12 plays an especially important role in healthy brain and nerve development in infants. Research shows that a deficiency of this nutrient can lead to behavior and development problems in children and depression in adults. Vitamin B12 is present in animal food sources and that is why a vegetarian diet is not recommended for young children.

I also want to separately mention iron. An iron deficiency is very common nowadays, yet, iron is an absolutely vital nutrient that helps your children to focus and perform well. Iron is found in food like red meat, liver, beans, spinach, egg yolk, prunes and artichokes.

And of course, eating breakfast and drinking enough water are MUST steps for your children.

But what we simply do not realise, is that even when we follow a good, healthy diet, our body may not benefit from it in full. Our children may simply not digest and absorb the vital nutrients from the healthy food we provide them well enough. So, it is crucial to make sure that your children’s digestive system works well! Notice if your kids have any discomfort or even pain after a meal or certain food, if they refuse to eat specific products or develop a habit of picky eating! Closely monitor the state and consistency of your children’s stool. Observe if there is any bloating or particularly smelly gases; any particular dry skin conditions or eczema. All those symptoms may suggest dysbiosis, a lack of gut microflora diversity which is necessary for the health and integrity of the digestive system, the support of the immune system and normal brain function. In this case, you need to consider introducing a probiotic to your children and master the art of making delicious fermented foods like, homemade yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables or fish.

All of these tips will work for sure, especially if at the same time you eliminate inflammation provoking, glucose level unbalancing and immune system downregulating food like sugary, processed foods containing additives and colourants. All of the products that can be found in the front rows of our supermarkets, that cry for our attention, that come in bright colourful packaging and shout about how healthy they are, are,in fact, triggering brain blockage in your children, causing a lack of concentration and are simply leading to many health issues and learning difficulties in your children! The more colourful the processed food is, the more sugar, artificial colourants and additives it normally contains.

So, the golden rules to follow are:

NEVER BUY AND GIVE TO YOUR CHILDREN COLOURFUL PROCESSED FOOD! It always contains dangerous additives, preservatives and other unhealthy ingredients. Here is the list of dangerous additives to KEEP AWAY FROM:

COLOURANTS with E Codes: 102, 104, 110, 122, 124, 129

PRESERVATIVES with E Codes: 200-203, 210-213, 220-228, 249-252, 280-283

ANTIOXIDANTS with E Codes: 310-312, 319-321

FLAVOUR ENHANCERS WITH E Codes: 620-625, 627, 631, 635 and also

Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein (HVT) and Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)

AVOID TO BUY AND EAT WHITE FOOD! Forget about buying products like white bread, white pasta, white rice, white sugar, white salt and products containing these ingredients! This is EMPTY food! White means highly processed! These products do not contain any nutrients rather empty calories and lots of hidden harmful ingredients. That being said, products such as natural yogurts, coconut, cashews are exceptions. By implementing this simple rule, you will already be helping your children to stay healthier and focused!

And of course, it is not easy to change eating habits and to find time to spend more time in the kitchen especially if you work and face many other challenges in your life. However, luckily, as parents, we have such great motivation – to give our children great health, help them to learn well and achieve their full potential in life! The best vehicle for achieving this fantastic goal is DIVERSE, FRESH FOOD! It is time to go into the kitchen and to make something wonderful!

As usual, I look forward to receiving your ever valuable questions, comments and feedback: irina@liveright.eu

Better Sleep For a Better You!

Today, I am so excited to talk to you about SLEEP! It has been an interest of mine ever since I did my PhD research concerning human circadian rhythms and clock genes. I have always known how important it is for all of us to have good quality sleep and how everything in our smart body depends on our internal clock and cyclic pattern. But only recently, with all the new research findings available and my personal as my clients’ experiences from life style changes, I have realised HOW VITAL SMART sleep is for all of us! So, I cannot wait to share my thoughts with you!

Somehow, in our busy, crazy life style with a 24-hour activity pattern and travel across different time zones, we have started to think of sleep as a luxury. We need to study, work, take care of other people and then later on life, we may have an opportunity to catch up on our sleep. We have lost the ritual to get ready for our night rest, to take some time to relax, meditate, have a bath, read a book, talk to a spouse or simply have a nice calming herbal tea before we go to bed. Very often we keep working or checking our emails or social media pages in bed and only when we are completely exhausted, do we collapse into a short, non-deep, non-restoring and low-quality sleep. We sometimes even feel guilty that we sleep too much. And even though we understand that this is not the right way to do it, we still keep doing it! Does this sound familiar?

Meanwhile, statistics show that sleep deficiency directly relates to cancer, AD, depression, heart disease and the ability to loose weight. According to WHO, men with poor sleep record are twice as likely to have a heart attack and up to 4 times more likely to have a stroke. We know that shift work can have a devastating effect on health. People who are regularly working during night have a higher incidence of cancer, depression and overall chronical illnesses, in general. We should not forget that the human body has not been designed to sleep during the day and work during the night! The human body is driven by a solar cycle, even though we all have our own internal clock that can differ between people to some degree.

Often we do not realise how quickly sleep deprivation starts to affect our ability to think and perform. Research shows that even 24 hrs of sleep deficiency causes a 6% reduction of glucose that reaches our brain. So, the less we sleep, the dafter we become! And this is why, when we work very late because an important deadline or a project that needs to be finished, and when we try hard to focus, we start to crave sugary food. We need this extra sugar in our blood and brain to compensate for the reduced amount of it due to the lack of sleep. Our body is trying to survive and asking for glucose! We are becoming an easy victim of this survival mechanism and keep compensating for the shutting down of our brain by boosting our body with lots of sugar from junk food and drinks. I like Shawn Stevenson’s (the author of the book that I recommend to read in this newsletter) opinion who describes this particular situation as: “Your brain is hijacked by a dumber version of yourself”.

Research shows that poor sleepers are more likely to have worse marks during their studies, achieve less in their professional life and of course, much more often develop chronic illnesses. So, what happens during our sleep that makes our success in life so strongly dependent on it? I hope you are intrigued and ready to revaluate your relationships with sleep.

During sleep our body is actively restoring itself and detoxifying. Nowadays we know that our brain undergoes lots of “cleaning” during night. Scientists have discovered that the glymphatic system in the brain, like the lymphatic system in our body, is able to remove and recycle dead cells, toxins and debris from the brain during our sleep. Our brain even gets smaller in size during sleep in order for this process to be more effective. Scientists from the University of Rochester have shown that this mechanism of the brain’s clearance system is linked to the development of different neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntingdon’s diseases. Using powerful imaging technique, scientists have been able to visualise that during natural sleep, the human brain increases the size of the cavities through which cerebrospinal fluid (CFS) can easily drain toxins from the brain tissues. This is simply amazing! SO, THE RESTORATIVE POWER OF SLEEP CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED!

Furthermore, our internal circadian timing system, which is built into the body and controls the cyclic pattern of releasing and activating of all our hormones, neurotransmitters, body temperature and level of metabolism, is designed to support our day-night activities. This means, if we work during the night, when by nature our body needs to rest and is not ready to work, we stress our body a lot and accumulate many future health issues. For example, during the morning and day we need to have sufficient exposure to sunlight. Light gives our body a “wake up call” and hormones and other important substances begin to be produced, including the well-known hormone and neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is our “happy” hormone and natural antidepressant. You may have noticed that if we have enough sleep, we are in a better mood. Interestingly, about 90% of serotonin is produced in the human gut and is heavily influenced by our gut flora, the food we eat, by how active we are and the amount of sunlight we receive. Moreover, if we have enough serotonin, we will have a sufficient amount of melatonin which is produced by our body from serotonin. Melatonin sends “sleep” signals to our cells. It is an important sleep regulator. Melatonin is naturally secreted when it gets darker outside and that can very often be ignored by us. When was the last time you went to bed when it was getting dark outside? So, this is a very clear example of how the serotonin-melatonin hormones cycles depend on the amount of sunlight and the natural day-night pattern. It is the same case with other hormones in our body like cortisol, oxytocin, norepinephrine, vasopressin, prolactin. If we do not respect their natural pattern of expression, we can end up with serious health disturbances.

Scientists have established the connection between our sleep and our microbiome. Yes, again microbiome! We know that sleep has a direct effect on the diversity of human bacteria and therefore, as by now we all know, our health. And it also works the other way around, the microbiome has a big influence on the human ability to relax and sleep. Our microbiome also has its’ own daily rhythm that depends on the time we eat and the type and quality of the food we consume. It has been shown that irregular sleep, disruptions of circadian rhythms caused by shift work or jet lag, disrupts microbial rhythms, bacterial diversity and balance. In one study, scientists found that people with prolonged jet-lag demonstrate a significant increase of a certain type of bacteria known to be more prevalent in people with obesity and diabetes.

Therefore, a good quality sleep, that doesn’t actually have to be that long, has an amazingly beneficial effect on many areas of our lives, including weight loss, improving memory and focus, reducing levels of stress and anxiety, boosting productivity and raising our energy level. It is like with anything – quality is more valuable that quantity. Dr Breus, the famous sleep doctor, actually recommends finding out how much sleep each of us personally needs. In fact, everybody has an individual sleep requirement. According to Dr Breus, we need to count sleep cycles that are 90 min each and our night sleep should ideally include 4-5 sleep cycles. The best way to go about this, is to monitor the time when you wake up in the morning and count backwards to find out when you have to go to bed. For example, if you normally get up at 6.30 am, you may need to go to bed at 11 pm (5 cycles of 90 min or in total 7.5 hrs). Some people only need 4 cycles to have a good sleep. I think it is a good starting point to see how much each of us needs to sleep and how we can figure out the best bed time for yourselves.

Once we have found out how long we should sleep and when we should go to bed, next we need to pay attention to the following points in order to have a better quality sleep and invest in our health:

Get the maximum exposure to sunlight you can during the day.
Avoid any electronic screens for 2 hrs before your bedtime. Blue light from any electronic devise stimulates the production of cortisol (daytime hormone) and messes up your natural sleep pattern.
If you absolutely must use a computer before your bedtime, use a blue light blocker. I am going to install a free application called f.lux (https://justgetflux.com) that automatically eliminates the blue light from the device at a certain time each day.
Do not keep any electronic devices in your bedroom. Even it is very hard to part with your smart phone, it is a very good idea to do so and you will get used to it very soon.
Make sure that temperature in your bedroom is cool, about 18- 20⁰ This temperature correlates best with our body temperature during the rest stage. If you feel more comfortable, you can wear warm pajama and socks, but keep the room temperature down.
Make sure that your bedroom is dark enough as any amount of light can disturb the quality of sleep.
Have a certain ritual for going to bed that will help you to unwind and start to relax. For example, read a book, have a bath, meditate, listen to nice music or simply reflect on your achievements ofthe day.
Do not exercise in the evening as our body needs a few hours to calm down after training.
Do not drink coffee after 4 pm as caffeine has a half-life of 5-8 hrs. Caffeine affects our nervous and hormonal systems and prevents us from having a good sleep.
And of course do not eat very late. Dinner should be light and easily digestible. Try to avoid eating combinations of meat and carbohydrates during dinner as they take longer for the body to process. A protein with non-starchy vegetables based dinner is a much smarter choice.

So, now you are ready for your smart sleep! I really hope that you find this article useful and start to implement some changes into your life that will bring you more health and happiness.

Have a good sleep and have a great healthy life!

As usual, I look forward to receiving your ever valuable questions, comments and feedback: irina@liveright.eu

« Previous Page