Nutritional Advice

Barley lentil salad with amaranth

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It’s June here in Kefalonia and salad time under a sunny blue sky.  The seasonal wild greens – ‘horta’ – which you now find in some green grocers are a leafy vegetable called Vlita.  It’s in season from early summer until autumn, June to September.


When I looked up the English translation and found ‘amaranth’ I was none the wiser;  not a leafy veg I’ve cooked before, although amaranth seed has been in my line of sight since I first studied nutrition.  A remarkable gluten free, high protein seed that’s definitely worth adding to your library of recipes.  I’ve added some info about it below at the end of my recipe.

The whole amaranth plant can apparently be eaten, not just the leaves and seeds but the flowers and root as well.  What a star plant, right!?

The leaves are similar to spinach, in fact cousins, since they’re part of the same ‘amaranthaceae’ family, but with a milder flavour when cooked, none of the slightly bitter aftertaste spinach can have.  So subtle, however, that it definitely needs the recommended fried onion and lemon juice to zhoosh it up.

I was told the young amaranth leaves only need frying for about 10 minutes, but wild greens are often boiled here in Greece, and for good reason.  Even briefly boiling them will help reduce the amount of oxalates they contain.  You can find a word – or twenty! – below** explaining a little about these so-called anti-nutrients.  Why it’s best for some to control how many high-oxalate foods they consume.

This recipe came about because Nick-up-the-track gave us a big bag of vlita from his garden.  Not a clue what to do with it but between him and a few Greek recipe books plus online scrolling I decided I’d use them with whatever dinner I could rustle up.

We had left-over cooked barley from a delicious salad inspired by St Peter’s restaurant. and a bowl of cooked lentils – always lentils in our fridge!   Together with the freshly prepared amaranth, the resulting meal was delicious.  Topped with toasted almonds and a dollop of yoghurt, it turned into a perfect Greek dish for us.

Instead of amaranth, you could use spinach or kale.  And you can replace the gluten-heavy barley with brown or mixed rice – or quinoa, which is yet another cousin in this spinach-amaranth ‘Amaranthaceae’ family. How very Greek, all these cousins!!

Ingredients for 2:

150g cooked barley (or brown rice, quinoa…).  Follow your packet instructions re timings.  Mine were all in Greek but 30 mins worked.
150g cooked beluga lentils. Brown lentils might make the end dish look too sludgy
c 150g amaranth or spinach leaves, roughly chopped and lightly boiled (to reduce those oxalates)
a generous swish of olive oil to lightly fry
1 red onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
freshly ground pepper
Juice of one lemon

Topping:
toasted slivered almonds
dollops of any yoghurt you love.  Or not!

Method:

Heat a generous slosh of olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
Add the sliced onion and gently cook until transparent.  Then add the crushed garlic and stir for a minute.
Next, mix in the lightly boiled chopped greens followed by the cooked barley and lentils.
Gently combine, add lemon juice & pepper – and a little more olive oil for some shine.

That’s about it, so easy, but do a taste test and adjust to your liking.
Serve on a plate or pasta bowl, top with the almonds and a dollop of yoghurt.

Let me know how it goes!

*Amaranth seed is a complete protein, like chia and hemp seed.  This means it has all 9 essential amino acids that you can only get through foods like meat/seafood/soybeans.  You can’t make these essential amino acids in your body, it has to come from food.

Given that amino acids are the “building blocks of protein”, and you need protein for …everything! it’s good to know that amaranth seed is such an excellent source.  Especially if you’re vegan or vegetarian.

The flour is gluten free, ‘ray!  Apparently on the heavy side and best combined with other gf flours to give a lighter bake.  The seed’s flavour is said to be a bit earthy or grassy.

These amaranth leaves from Nick have inspired me to try out all sorts of amaranth seed recipes next month. Porridge-type b’fasts and desserts, or polenta-ish sides, or as a thickener in soups.  And I found this amaranth biscuit recipe which sounds delicious.

** Oxalates:
Like spinach and many other healthy foods, amaranth is high in these so-called anti-nutrients.  What they do is bind to minerals in the food you’ve eaten, and form a compound that passes right through you.  That means you can’t utilise any of the benefits these minerals should be giving you (think calcium, magnesium, potassium etc for bone health alone!)
Oxalates are important to be aware of if you’re prone to kidney stones, or have a kidney condition, or osteoporosis or some malabsorption digestive disorders eg. IBD, coeliac disease.
Saying all that, amaranth leaves, like spinach, are still a health-giving, delicious foods.  A great fibre food to nourish your gut microciome, with amaranth having super high amounts of Vit C and K, whilst spinach boasts great Bs, folate, magnesium a.o.  There are many delicious, healthy oxalate foods out there, so take a look at this link . The message in the end is to go easy and don’t eat them in excess.

Reflexology on the beach

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We’re having a much-needed break from decluttering and boxing and sorting out our house back in Dorset.  Some slow time in the sun to restore and reset.  No lists of must-do chores (although the weedy garden and olive grove are hard to ignore).  No schedules or planned days, bliss!  The only routine that’s emerged is a daily morning walk and swim.

These walks have been a bit different this time.  Rather than the usual dirt-track loop around olive groves and broome-‘n-thistle-fields, we’ve been walking the beach.  Barefoot instead of trainers.
I’m noticing a difference.  My feet are looser, more flexible, as are my hips and back.  My hunched up computer-shoulders are back where they belong (until I spend another few hours online with a client or webinar!)

I’ve always had a thing about foot health, am a fan of the Foot Collective, and have various bits of their kit.  One of my very favourite pilates classes with Theresa Cooper nearly a decade ago was an hour devoted just to feet.  Floating on air is the best way to describe the rest of my day after that class.

Most of us don’t spend enough time looking after our feet, and I’m not just talking emolients or unguents or polished toenails although there’s a place for them naturally 🙂

Walking barefoot

When we walk barefoot all the small tendons, muscles and ligaments in our feet have to work harder.  They’re adjusting to the ground’s changing surface and texture.  Feet and toes grip, move and wriggle very differently to when they’re locked in shoes.  Grounding us in the truest sense.

And when our feet work better, everything upstream does too.  Knees, hips and core are stronger and balance becomes better.  The neuro receptors in our soles are activated and this improves reflexes and our awareness of our place in space, our proprioception.  We’re more in control of directional change, movement and flow.  We’re also tapping into mindfulness.  Walking slowly and with intention is important when walking barefoot. Being in the moment becomes a necessity.

There’s something else too.  Many beaches, especially here on the island, are a mix of sand and pebbles.  Luckily no glass or broken bottles or needles here, at least not by the shore where we’re walking.

Pebble walking is a thing!

We often find a metre-wide track of tiny pebbles hugging the waterline, polished smooth by the constant wash and backwash of waves.  Walking barefoot on them is like having a fabulous foot massage.

To my surprise, there is in fact a name for this.  Reflexology walking or Stone stepping.  It’s an ancient practice in many eastern countries.  Not on beaches, but using pebbled pathways, often in places like public gardens.  You can have a read about it near the end of this article in Prime

What is reflexology anyway?

If you’re not familiar with reflexology, it’s a gentle therapy where pressure is applied to various points on our sole and foot, on ‘reflex zones’ that correspond to specific organs and systems in our body.  By ‘thumb-walking’ or ‘inch worming’ around our toes, soles, upper feet and ankles a reflexologist stimulates certain nerve endings.  Our feet have c.7000 major nerve branches but around 200,000 individual sensory receptors!  The stimulation of specific nerve endings helps calm the nervous system, reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, increase the production of endorphins (our natural painkillers) and much more.

Walking barefoot on these tiny pebbles is in effect a self-administered reflexology treatment.  Admittedly less targeted pressure points, and only on the foot soles and not the whole foot and ankle.  However, as this article states, simply walking on bumpy things can improve your well being and mental health.

This type of  stone stepping won’t be for everyone.  Some feet are more sensitive to the ‘push’ of a pebble even when it’s polished smooth.  Or more sensitive skin might feel it’s walking on shards of glass.  So if walking on pebbles is not your barefoot thing, stick to the soft sand, but do give reflexology a go in a holistic clinic setting.  It might be interesting for you to see how you feel after a treatment, if you notice any changes.  It’s a gentle and safe therapy, definitely worth a try. I’ve been loving reflexology treatments for decades which no doubt explains why I’m also loving these bumpy beach walks.

If you’re good with pebbles, or see it as a fun challenge – and are well aware you can side-step onto soft sand any time you want 🙂 I hope all the above strengthening, balancing, healing, calming benefits of both barefoot and reflexology walking will give you reason to do much more.
Enjoy the walk and let me know how it goes!

A note of caution:

Not all pebbles are created equal.  Not all beaches are either.
As mentioned above, there are sadly too many beaches with broken glass, needles or sharp plastic bits.  Walk carefully or wear shoes, and book a reflexology treatment in the controlled environs of a clinic setting so you don’t miss out!

Roasted root vegetables on butterbean puree

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I came across this starter recipe recently on Sarah Cobacho’s plantbaes website:  maple roasted carrots on a butter bean dip.  Delicious, but I wanted to continue this year’s heart health theme so I added an unusual player to the ingredient list, namely cooked potato.

This isn’t a veg you’d normally associate with heart health, in fact potatoes can spike blood sugar significantly and cause weight gain if eaten in excess as they’re high in starch and have a high glycaemic index. For these reasons all starchy vegetables should be part of your diet, but treated with respect, eaten in moderation.
However, something fascinating happens when you cook and refrigerate potatoes overnight.  A process called retrogradation.  To find out what this process is and how it can make the humble spud a healthier vegetable see the short paragraph with asterisk at the end of the page.

I’ve made this dish a number of times, loved it also with curry powder, so that’s an option if you like a more defined taste.
In this recipe I’ve added butternut to the mix.  For more diversity, for more of that rainbow on your plate – and because I had a butternut squash given to me last week 🙂

This butter bean puree is a great way to add protein to a vegetable meal.  Protein is a vital micronutrient needed daily for the growth and repair of body cells and the functioning of your immune system, for glucose balancing and metabolic health, and for overall ‘thriving’.

Ingredients for 4:

Roasted Vegetables:

4 medium carrots, halved with some of their green tops intact
8 small cooked potatoes from the fridge* (or par boil them now)
Slice of butternut squash, c 125g, cut into chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup
2 crushed garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
sea salt to taste

Butter bean puree

1 can butter beans, 400g (c240-ish drained)
2 tbsp tahini
1 peeled garlic
1 tsp maple syrup
juice from 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
cold water if needed for a smooth texture

Optional: 1 tsp curry powder or powdered garam masala

To finish:

I chose fennel fronds as their new growth is delicious, however chopped dill or parsely will work.
c 12 walnuts, crushed

Method:

Preheat the oven to 210 C (410F) and line your oven roasting pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
Use the potatoes you boiled or steamed yesterday, which you refrigerated overnight, to add half-way through the roasting.  Or parboil 8 small raw potatoes now.
Then lightly ‘smash’ them with a potato masher, to break the skin so they crisp well.

Mix together the olive oil, maple syrup, smoked paprika, garlic, sea salt.
Put all the veg into a large bowl and gently coat with the olive oil mixture.  Remove yesterday’s refrigerated tatties from the bowl after coating, as they’re already cooked!   You’ll add them to the roasting pan half-way through so they colour but don’t overcook.
If you’re using freshly parboiled potatoes they go into the oven with the carrots and butternut.

Line your vegetables onto the parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes, turning them over half-way through to ensure they don’t burn, and adding your previously cooked potatoes at this point.
After 20-25 mins use a fork to test everything is to your liking.

Butter bean puree:
Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender or nutribullet to get that creamy finish.  If it’s too stodgy add a tablespoon of cold water until you get the perfect texture, something similar to a dip.  The taste is mellow and understated because of the marinade of the vegetables, however if you want to give it more oomph curry powder, or garam masala work well

Putting it all together:
Spoon 1/4 of the puree onto each plate and place the roasted vegetables on top.  Sprinkle with crushed walnuts and your chopped greenery.
Drizzle with more olive oil, or a chili oil if you want a kick to it.
Serve with any bread or crispbread you like – and enjoy!

Some potato facts:

* Did you know that eating cooked and refrigerated potatoes the following day – either reheated, mashed, roasted or cold, in a potato salad – greatly increases their resistant starch content?  Why is this a good thing?
Resistant starch is a form of prebiotic fibre that survives our small intestine’s digestion, thus escaping enzymatic breakdown in the upper gut.  This prebiotic fibre can therefore reach the large intestine where it provides fuel for microbes in the colon.  This process lowers potatoes’ glycaemic impact – decreasing our blood sugar spikes – and makes us feel more satiated.  Ultimately it helps with weight management.
So how does this support heart health you may be wondering?  Managing weight will always help metabolic and heart health, but also gut bacteria produce short chain fatty acids and these are anti-inflammatory… and help lower cholesterol.  Voila, we’re back to heart health, lol!   This is why I’ve added already cooked potatoes to this recipe, and the reason you can find a bowl of new potatoes in our fridge every week this month 🙂

Walnut gremolata

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Gremolata is a vegetarian Italian herb sauce which usually contains parsley, garlic and lemon zest.  It can be added to pasta, steamed veg or meat dishes as a delicious topping.  This recipe is quick and versatile, but before I launch into it I want to sing the praises of walnuts, and why I’ve added them to this gremolata dish.  Their health benefits are wide reaching so I’ll be sharing a few more walnut recipes in the coming months.

These nuts may not have the same press as say, blueberries, but they’re definitely on the ‘Superfood’ list.  Not only do they act as a prebiotic to support a healthy microbiome, but their antioxidants and polyphenols, such as ellagitannin, support brain health – our cognition and memory- and may also lower the risk of certain cancers.  When it comes to heart health they’re shining stars!
Here are some reasons why.

Firstly, they’re a great source of fibre.  We all know how important fibre is for our gut, for our gut’s microbiome, because, a.o. it promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria, which helps keep gut pathogens at bay, supports our immune health and so on.   When it comes to heart health, fibre helps lower blood pressure and LDL, the cholesterol we need to have, but also need to keep an eye on as it tends to go up as we get older.

Walnuts are also high in an omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid. This is an anti-inflammatory fat which has a big impact on our overall health.  Regarding our heart, it helps lower triglycerides and the above-mentioned LDL cholesterol a.o.
Another benefit is that they contain an essential amino acid called arginine. We convert this amino acid into nitric oxide which helps our blood vessels relax and prevents platelet aggregation (and thus thrombosis and cardiac events).

Finally, their polyphenols!  They have quite a range including ellagitannin, mentioned above.  These lower blood pressure and also improve the function of our blood vessels a.o. and interestingly, most of these phenolic compounds are found in walnuts’ fine papery skin (90% apparently, according to Pubmed ).  So roasting, or dry-frying them to remove the skin might taste good, but it will also remove 90% of walnuts’ amazing anti oxidants.

I hope you’re now a fan!

Ingredients

for 6-8 people depending on the dish and appetite (no fear, it stores well in fridge or freezer)

40g walnuts, finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
sprig of tender rosemary, finely chopped (exclude if you only have tough leaves as they’ll ruin the gremolata!)
parsley, about 3 or 4 sprigs finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
40-60 ml virgin olive oil depending on how thin you want your topping
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Mix the herbs, chopped walnuts, crushed garlic and lemon zest in a bowl, then stir in the oil.
Taste, then adjust your salt and pepper seasoning.

And that’s it.  Quick and easy and you can store it in the fridge for about 5 days, or freeze up to a month.

Buon appetito!

 

A tour around some Omega-3s

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When clients come for an initial consultation they often tell me they’re already taking an omega-3 supplement. Sometimes it’s on the advice of a physio for a painful knee, or a dermatologist for a skin complaint, an optometrist suggesting it may help protect against macular degeneration. Others have read an article, a book, or listened to a podcast explaining how certain omega-3 fatty acids might help heart or brain health, or their rheumatoid arthritis, or even increase life span.

This is all to some degree true.  Either there is evidence showing clear benefits, or at least promising possibilities.  Certainly good reason for these fatty acids to be on everyone’s radar.  If we understand what they are, and how they might support our health, we can make more informed choices about what we eat and whether or not supplementation is right for us.

So here’s a tour – shorter at least than a full-day seminar these fatty acids could easily warrant – focusing on two omega-3s which have held centre stage in the health world for several decades.

What’s in a name? Are omega-3s, fish oils, and EPA/DHA all the same?

Omega-3s are a family of fatty acids (= components of dietary fat).  The name “omega-3” comes from their chemical structure, and not, as someone once suggested, because there are three fatty acids in this family.
These three key family members all have tongue-twister names, thankfully shortened to acronyms:

  • ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): a plant-based omega-3 with excellent health benefits of its own (a topic for another time or else this blog will turn into a book).
  • EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): two marine-based omega-3s that will be the focus of this tour, owing to their wide-ranging health benefits and the extensive body of research surrounding them.

Where do EPA and DHA come from?

Unlike cholesterol, our bodies can’t make EPA and DHA, which is why they’re called ‘essential’ fatty acids because we have to get them from our diet – from fish.

All fish contain some EPA and DHA because they either eat microalgae – the original source of these fatty acids – or they eat smaller fish, which have eaten microalgae.
Good news for plant-based eaters since microalgae supplements are widely available, and more food products are now being fortified with algae-based EPA and DHA.

Back to fish!  While most species contain some omega-3s, fatty fish are definitely the stars of the show. Cold-water fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, anchovy, sardine, and herring (SMASH, an easy acronym) store more fat, and therefore have more EPA and DHA than lean white fish. They need these fats for energy in cold waters and to keep their cell membranes supple.  EPA and DHA have similar effects in the human body, helping our arteries stay flexible and making blood ‘thinner’ or less sticky. Both actions are part of their bigger heart-protective role.

Given this marine link, it’s easy to see why the names EPA and DHA are often used interchangeably with “fish oils,” but I’m going to nitpick here:   fish oils contain EPA and DHA, but they also contain other nutrients such as vitamin D, vitamin A, and various minerals.
This is important when you’re supplementing.  If it’s specifically these two anti-inflammatory fatty acids, EPA and DHA, that you’re after, do check the supplement label.  A bottle may state “1000 mg fish oil”, but the ingredient list may show it only contains 200mg EPA and 120mg DHA.  Or, as someone recently discovered, as little as 18mg and 25mg.

How much do we need?

General recommendation is around 1000 mg per day, although some sources suggest lower, around 450mg, and some clinical trials use much higher doses.
Acording to Dr Bill Harris in this Zoe interview  an average serving of oily fish contains approx 1200 mg EPA & DHA, so, ideally, we should be eating some sort of oily fish around 4-5x weekly.

In the above podcast interview Dr Harris adds that DHA and EPA in supplement form can be in any ratio; a split like 600mg EPA to 300mg DHA is fine.
The reason for these varying ratios is due to research suggesting the two fatty acids have different qualities.  DHA may be more supportive for brain health, whilst EPA may be beneficial for mental health and depression.  EPA is also thought to have stronger anti-inflammatory effects and also might be better for heart health.
However, as a believer in the ‘whole being greater than the sum of its parts’, and given that fish and microalgae contain both these fatty acids, I usually like to recommend supplements with similar (ish) ratios.

The elephant in the room: contaminants

One concern with fish oil is heavy metal contamination. Mercury often gets the spotlight, but other heavy metals can accumulate too, depending on where fish live.

Large, long-living predatory fish at the top of the food chain tend to build up the highest levels (for example, tuna, swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and marlin), so, avoiding these will help reduce your toxic load.

Here are some useful links on safer fish choices (USA based):

US FDA: Advice about eating fish (PDF) Advice for pregnant women, but with a mercury section

And the NRDC fish guide

High-quality fish oil and microalgae supplements are normally screened for contaminants and companies will often detail their purification processes online.  If not, you should be able to email them and ask if these processes are in place.
You may find IFOS (International Fish Oil Standards) certification on some labels, which means there has been third-party testing for contaminants.

A quick aside here:  not all supplements are created equal.  Price will often reflect quality, although, saying that, you don’t need to buy the most expensive omega-3 supplement on the market.  There are good options that are more affordable.   More important is to be wary of random “special offers” online unless you know the product and its quality control.

As for microplastics and BPA, they are a huge problem we’ve created in our plastic-riddled world.
I read that some supplement companies are using ultrafiltration techniques regarding the removal of micro plastics, but I believe this is more to do with the water where sustainably farmed fish live.  I haven’t found reliable or consistent information about the guaranteed removal of BPA and micro plastics in fish oil supplements sourced from ocean fish.
If you have, please let me know!

Meanwhile, the best we can do is:

  • Minimise new plastic purchases.
  • Reuse and recycle where possible.
  • Stick to the safer oily fish choices mentioned above.
  • Choose supplement brands which are transparent about contaminant testing.
  • And finally, support your body with a high-antioxidant diet, that rainbow-on-your-plate, which is at least 30 different plants, herbs, and spices a week.

Inflammation:

The first time I learned about EPA and DHA at college, it was concerning their anti inflammatory support.
Inflammation is a natural process: we get an infection or we cut ourselves and subsequently have an acute inflammatory response that’s geared to clearing the pathogen, or making us want to remain immobile so we rest and heal.  A temporary inflammatory response.
Chronic inflammation, however, is a prolonged even ongoing response, and it plays a role in many of today’s illnesses, whether it’s something as harmless as hay fever or as serious as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.    

There has been considerable research into the effectivement of omega-3s and auto-immune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, IBD, psoriasis and asthma.   Studies are promising but “still more research needed”.  However, there are convincing results regarding rheumatoid arthritis, with omega-3 supplementation improving joint health and lessening morning stiffness, tenderness and pain.   

Brain and eye health

About 60% of the brain is made of fat, with DHA forming a vital structural part.  It’s therefore no surprise that omega-3s play a significant role in brain health during all phases of life, from pregnancy, where they may lower the risk of preterm birth, to foetal brain development, right through to old age and their potential to lower the risk of dementia.

Here is a link disussing maternal DHA status during pregnancy & its impact on infant neurodevelopment, Nutrients, NLM, 2020

And brain health researcher and neuroscientist, Louisa Nicola, discusses Alzheimer’s and omega-3 near the end of this fascinating podcast with Dr Chatterjee

Dr Bryce Appelbaum, a neuro-ophthalmologist in the US, notes that “good levels of omega-3s are associated with larger hippocampal volume”, which translates to “improved memory, learning, reasoning, and enhanced neural communication, with a lower risk of vascular dementia”.

Interestingly, studies also suggest omega-3s, especially EPA, may support mood disorders such as depression.  The evidence is still mixed, hence ongoing research is needed, but consider how easy it would be to try increasing your oily fish intake to the recommended amount, and see if it helps your depression!

Regarding eye health, many opthalmologists recommend omega-3 supplementation for numerous eye conditions.  These range, a.o. from dry eyes and blurry vision to its possible benefits regarding glaucoma.  Given that the retina, at the back of our eyes, has the highest amount of omega-3s in our body, it makes sense that EPA and DHA play a supportive role in the health of our eyes.

Longevity

“Biological age reversal” has become such a buzzword, with a lot of focus on intermittent fasting, resistance training, nasal breathing, cold water immersion to name but a few.

EPA and DHA appear almost every time there’s a longevity discussion, whether in research, books, or podcasts.  This may be due to their anti-inflammatory role or heart and brain protection, or potential cancer-protective effects.  In addition, some studies have shown that omega-3s may play a role in the biology of our telomeres (the caps on our DNA), slowing cellular ageing, although results regarding this are inconsistent (which could be due, in part, to differing dosages and the types of supplements used, not to mention the exisiting variations in the participants’ diets).

If you’d like to learn more I’d recommend podcasts or interviews with some doctors considered experts in this field, such as Drs Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman, Steven Gundry, and Mohammed Enayat.

Heart health

Omega-3 supports the heart in many ways:  making blood less sticky and reducing clot risk, keeping vessels supple and improving blood flow, stabilizing heart rhythm, lowering triglycerides.

In recent years some studies have raised questions.  Results have been inconsistent or confusing, so more research is needed.  A meta-analysis of a number of clinical trials suggest slight risk of atrial fibrillation among high-risk heart patients taking a very high dose supplementation (3–4g daily).

This Zoe podcast interview with Dr Bill Harris (founder of OmegaQuant omega-3 tests)  gives a good summary of well-researched omega-3 benefits, some of which I’ve incorporated into this blog, as well as some interesting points he expresses relating to the above atrial fibrillation results.
Another link related to this AFib result is also here in this Omegamatters video.

In spite of inconsistencies to do with supplementation, dosages and effectiveness in some trials, when it comes to a heart-healthy diet it’s widely agreed upon that omega-3s from food, such as oily fish or microalgae fortified foods, are safe and very beneficial.

Gut support

Our microbiome influences so many aspects of our health, from our immune system to metabolic health and beyond, so it’s fascinating to read that omega-3s can exert positive changes in our gut.

This abstract discusses how a diet providing 600 mg omega-3 daily boosted production of butyrate, a beneficial short-chain fatty acid with well documented anti-inflammatory effects. (PubMed abstract)

The afore-mentioned benefits of omega-3s to mental health may not simply be about levels of DHA and EPA in our brain and nervous system, but also the beneficial changes these fatty acids bring about in our microbiome.  Another example of the gut-brain axis at work!

Other health benefits

Research is on-going in so many other areas of health, from reducing the risk of cancers to potentially supporting bone health or helping reduce the severity of headaches to name but a few.

  •  Here an article regarding breast cancer  based on the DO-HEALTH trial of over 2000 older people, showing omega-3s’ potential in lowering the risk of breast cancer.  “Vitamin D, omega-3s and exercise may reduce cancer risk in older people”  Breastcancer.org, 2022
  •  And “The influence of PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) on the deveopment of skin cancers,  Diagnostics, NLM, 2021
  •  And this publication from the Medical Journal of Oncology, looking at the “Benefits of a high omega 3 and low omega 6 diet over a year in reducing a biomarker for prostate cancer progression and metastasis…”; ASCO publications, Medical journal of Oncology 2024
  • Despite observational studies suggesting benefits of omega-3s regarding osteoporosis, clinical trials show mixed results.  Nonetheless, this paper makes for an interesting read indicating how a higher omega-3 intake was inversely associated with osteoporosis risk, Frontiers in Nutrition, NLM 2025.
  •  And here, a video clip on headaches  by Dr Huberman, discussing how omega-3s may help “multiple types of headaches” and reduce their frequency and intensity.  Dr Huberman has many links to omega-3 benefits if you want to do one of his omega-3 tours!

Testing your levels

NHS doesn’t offer omega-3 testing, and medical professionals will probably give you a blank look if you ask to be tested.
There is a home kit test available in UK, The OmegaQuant Index test, founded by Dr Bill Harris (and no, I have no affiliations!)  It’s an easy finger-prick test available to order online, which measures red blood cell levels of EPA and DHA.
The recommended test result is  8% or higher, however average levels are often very poor, closer to 3–5%.  As processed food intake has increased, the consumption of fish appears to have declined.

We are all unique, and will absorb and utilise nutrients differently.  If a group of us took the same daily dose of omega-3s, our blood levels would likely vary.  For this reason it’s useful to have a base line so you know YOUR levels so you can then decide whether you need to increase SMASH fish, or add a supplement or simply continue with your current diet.

Rounding off the tour

This was never meant to be an omega-3 world tour, so I’ll stop now.

There is no magic bullet to better health, no single pill or one food.  However,  with all the comprehensive research and promising outcomes in so many different areas of health, I hope this tour has highlighted how these two omega-3s are worth having in your life.

 

References

  • NIH: Omega-3 Fatty Acids Information Sheet
  • Frontiers in Nutrition (2025): Insight into the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on gut microbiota
  • ScienceDirect (2016–2024): Omega-3s in neuroprotection and inflammation
  • BMJ Medicine (2024): Regular use of fish oil supplements and cardiovascular outcomes
  • NED Nutrition Evidence Database (2020): Effect of Omega-3 on cardiovascular outcomes
  • UK Biobank (2025): Fish oil supplementation and atrial fibrillation risk
  • Nature (2025): Omega-3s and biological ageing
  • MyVisionFirst.com: Which supplements to take for vision
  • American Heart Association Journals (2023): Are you getting enough omega-3s?
  • Huberman Lab resources
  • Healthspan (2024): Omega-3 benefits for heart, brain, and eye health
  • British Heart Foundation (2024): Omega-3 foods and your heart
  • Zoe Podcast (2025): Omega-3s and brain health
  • The Longevity Paradox, Dr Steven Gundry

 

Calcium for bone health

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I’ve never been a fan of numbers, not in maths at school nor in my work as a nutritionist. Counting calories, for instance, has not been a tool I’ve wanted or needed when helping people gain or lose weight. Not only can calorie counting rob food of its delight and purpose, but it can morph into an unhealthy preoccupation, become disordered, turning into a cause of mental distress.  There are far easier and more enjoyable ways to lose or gain weight.

Back to numbers.  Despite all the above proclamations I have been counting over the past month, not calories or days till our hols, but milligrams of calcium.

This is mainly due to two women I saw in clinic, both of whom have osteopenia (reduced bone density) and are concerned about the progression to osteoporosis, a disease of serious bone loss and fragility. This alerted me, among other alerts, to their calcium intake.

Both their food diaries showed a distinct lack of calcium foods.  One woman, in her early fifties, is lactose intolerant and therefore not eating dairy (dairy being the biggest calcium source, although admittedly not always well absorbed due to other health factors).
The second client, in her early sixties, is following a vegan diet which, again, lacks these dairy sources, but is also low in the stand-out calcium-rich vegetables, and too high in spinach intake – a calcium blocker – and low in fortified plant yoghurts or mylks.

Osteoporosis is known as the silent killer.  We don’t know we have it, that we’re losing bone, until we fall or simply trip, and end up with a fracture.  Or a tooth falls out, or gum disease is advanced.  Our blood and body tissues require stable calcium levels, so if we’re not ingesting/absorbing enough calcium from food our bodies will rob calcium from our stores, namely from our bones.  Back pain, a stooped posture, loss of height, these are all possible early signs of bone loss before that fracture happens, so, if this speaks to you, or if osteoporosis is in the family, I’d recommend asking for a bone density scan to assess your risk.

Women, especially menopausal women over 50, are more susceptible to osteoporosis (bottom line is that our bone-protective oestrogen does a dive in menopause).  Other reasons for this susceptibility include lifespan – women tend to live longer than men – and also women generally have smaller, more delicate bones which means less mass to lose without consequences.
However, diet, gut health, hormones, inflammation, genetics, exercise, all play a role in bone health, so if any of these are stacked against you then, male or female, you may be susceptible.  An excellent book about osteo by someone who had it is by Keith McCormick  , a male, case in point.

Back to counting.
Ideally, if you’re a woman over 50, you want to aim for 1200 mg daily calcium intake.  For women between 19 and 50 years it’s 1000 mg;  for men 19-70 it’s also 1000 mg.  And after 70 years, 1300 mg is the recommended daily intake for both men and women.

There are many books on osteoporosis with meal plans and recipes which will be looking at the total picture and which I’d highly recommend for anyone concerned about their bones.  However, if it’s calcium alone that you’re now thinking about because perhaps you don’t eat dairy, or you’re wondering whether you should supplement, there are online calcium calculators, a free way of working out your daily calcium intake.  These calculator sites are not an exact science, I’ll say that now.  There are some discrepancies between them which I’m assuming are due to variations in growing methods, countries, environmental conditions at source, and processing.

However, the general message is pretty clear.  There are some stand out plant-based calcium sources.  As far as vegetables are concerned, kale, turnip greens, broccoli, bok choy, chinese cabbage are all leafy greens with high to high-medium calcium levels.
Chickpeas, navy beans, soybeans and white beans have good amounts.  Almonds are high in calcium (also high oxalates so go easy), and sesame seeds are high (think tahini paste in dressings, sauces…)
Two dried figs will give a 65mg hit and an orange 55 mg.
In addition, choosing a calcium fortified plant mylk or plant yoghurt will make a big daily difference.

And if you eat animal protein, a small can of sardines in your lunch salad will pack a big punch, more than canned salmon with bones, which is nonetheless a good source.  Eggs surprise me as they give us so much, but here they offer very little calcium (unless you munch on the shell, which I’d not recommend),

These above-mentioned foods – as well as dairy, of course –  kept coming up on various sites.  There was good consensus about their calcium worth.  I used the International Osteoporosis Foundation calcium calculator list as well as the Bone health and osteoporosis foundation, and an NHS site.
When I couldn’t find some foods I like to eat (samphire or seaweeds), I typed in amount of calcium for that food.  I cross checked a few because of some oddities (who the heck is eating uncooked chickpeas or raw butterbeans?); also due to some striking variances in Ca milligram amounts.  As stated above, I can only put this down to different sources, growing conditions in different countries/oceans and different processing.

Googling lists, and checking milligram in calcium may feel a bit ho-hum tedious, but you only need to do the maths once, then you have your very own calcium score.

Apart from the above, I’ve listed below a few random high-to-moderate calcium foods to help you get started.  Also some info about oxalate foods, which can block calcium.  I’ve included a few of the disparate ranges from different sites in the hope that someone out there will find some definitives – let me know please 🙂

A final word, no maths, no counting.
When it comes to health, very little works in isolation. Strong bones are not simply about calcium, but this post isn’t about the other players like magnesium and phosporus, boron, D3 and K2.  Nor is it about the importance of gut health and nutrient absorption, immunomodulation, and the gut-brain-bone axis.  I’m also not touching on the very essential role resistance or weight-bearing exercise plays, how it stimulates bones, egging them on to remodel and strengthen; the same mindset as use it or lose it, or do or die.

I’ve focused on calcium because it’s so often NOT on our radar, and also because food is a safe way to improve our calcium levels.
Saying that, if your calcium intake remains low even with some food changes, you can now work out how low it is, and supplement accordingly, instead of taking a one-size-fits-all high dose which may cause bloating or digestive issues and potentially lead to hypercalcaemia, kidney stones or possible heart problems.  There are a number of calcium supplements which range from low to higher levels. Contact me if you can’t find them.
And if you’d like to read more about bones, the full gamut on how to avoid osteoporosis, the above McCormick book, The Whole body approach to Osteoporosis, is very good. However, there are many other good books out there.

Wishing you all a happy weekend, and if you’re in a sunny place, grab lots of Vit D3.  Among many other talents, Vitamin D3 is also a big player in bone health 🙂

 

Food list:

kale, cooked, 1 cup/c130g = 170-200mg calcium
broccoli, cooked 90g   =  50 – 100mg (yes, different lists!)
bok choy, cooked 70g = 160 – 180mg
turnip greens, cooked 52g = 100 – 190 mg
2 dried figs = 65 mg
1 orange = 55 mg
tahini, one tbsp, 15g = 50 – 60mg
tofu, firm, 100g = 120 – 300 mg
plant-based mylk, soy, almond, oat 100 ml = 120mg (a chai latte therefore could be c 240mg Ca)
chickpeas, 100g = 60 – 100mg
soybeans, 150g = 170-470mg (!)
white beans (eg. butterbeans, cannellini beans) 1 cup = 160mg
canned sardines or pilchards, small tin = 350 mg (however I also found a list stating 500mg – due perhaps to different ocean source & processing?)
canned salmon with bones, small tin:  70mg – 200mg (one source, Cheena, a Canadian wild sockeye states a whopping 2000mg for their large 180g can)
almonds, 10 nuts, c 12g = 32mg
sesame seeds, 15g = 100 mg
kelp (like kombu) and wakame, 100g =  150 – 168mg
samphire, 100g = 150mg

Dairy:
cheddar, 30g = 240 mg
fetta, 60g= 270 mg
full fat yoghurt, 170g = 310 – 380mg
semi skmmed milk, 200ml = 240mg

Note: spinach has high calcium content but is also a very high oxalate vegetable, much higher than, say, kale.  It is often mentioned as NOT being a recommended calcium source food since oxalates are compounds that bind with minerals, preventing their absorption;  minerals such as calcium and magnesium.  So it would be wise to eat far less-to-no spinach if you have osteopenia.  If you do a search for high oxalate foods you may find you’re eating too many of them daily, so, reducing them would be recommended if you are concerned about bone loss.  

Green cannellini beans with rice

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There’s good reason why cultures like Mexico, Africa or South America often eat rice with their beans.  By combining the two you get a complete protein meal with all 9 essential amino acids.  Beans are low in methionine (= amino acid), but rice is quite high.  Rice is low in lysine (another amino acid), but beans have good levels.  A perfect union!

This recipe has the added benefit of hemp seed and nutritional yeast, both complete proteins, albeit in small amounts, hence my suggestion to have rice alongside.  I usually choose a brown, red and basmati mix which I rinse twice before cooking.  Often I’ll add small florets of broccoli or grated carrot into the pot 3/4 way through the cooking time; another opportunity to increase vegetables in meals.

When it comes to protein you might like to listen to this interview on The Doctor’s Kitchen, with Rupi Aujla.  If it sounds like I’m banging on about protein it’s because I’m seeing really low intake in my clinic. With the message out there that people should be eating more plant-based foods, many are reducing their animal protein but not finding plant based alternatives.

Inspired by a recipe from Plantbaes I’ve changed some ingredients and amounts, replacing the spinach with kale or greens because raw spinach is high in oxalates which can interfere with our absorption of minerals necessary for strong bones and energy, hormones, immune health… you name it.  Easy to google ‘high oxalate’ foods if you want to go down this rabbit hole!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp virgin olive oil for cooking; another tbsp to drizzle before serving
4 medium garlic cloves, pressed
1 red onion, chopped
1 medium or 2 small courgette, sliced
1 bunch of basil, c 25 – 30g
50 g chopped kale and/or spring greens
2 tbsp cracked hemp seed
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp lemon juice
1  400g tin rinsed-twice cannellini beans
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, for serving
sea salt and black pepper
plant-based yoghurt to dollop on top before serving

Optional: sprinkling of chilli flakes added to blender

Method

Whilst your rice is cooking, pour oil into a pan and add the chopped onion. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes until transparent.  Next add the squeezed or finely chopped garlic, then the sliced courgette and kale/spring greens.  Cover and cook until the kale has softened.  Turn off the heat and add the basil leaves to the pan with cover and leave a couple of minutes.

Put the cooked greens and wilted basil into a bowl and add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, some sea salt and pepper (& a pinch of chilli if you want).  Blend with a hand-held blender, or add the lot to whatever blending machine you’re using.

Now’s the time to do a quick taste test!
If your green blend is thick because you used lots of kale, add a little water, however you still want it to have body and not be a runny sauce.  At this point add extra pepper, salt or chilli if your taste buds want.
Put the sauce back into the pan and add the rinsed cannellini beans, heating through and stirring now and again so it doesn’t catch.

When your rice is cooked spoon into two shallow bowls, add your green bean blend and then dollop a tbsp of plant-based yoghurt on top.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds, some basil leaves and a drizzle of oil.  Serve hot or at room temperature.
Enjoy and let me know how it goes 🙂

 

 

Cold and flu remedies

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Frosty cold days last week here in Dorset has prompted me to share a few of my favourite flu and cold remedies, a round-up of some easy herbals and nutrients.
Whether it’s a cold, flu or Covid there are loads of studies and articles showing how the nutrients below may work, either by shortening the duration of the infection, or by cutting down on the severity – or both.

Garlic (allium sativum)

Most of us will have a garlic bulb or two in the kitchen, ready to use if we suddenly feel a scratchy throat or the sniffles coming on.  Garlic has so much science behind it, inhibiting viral reproduction, boosting our natural killer cells that help fight infection.  Such an effective antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.

It’s the allicin component in garlic that is responsible for its health benefits – and for its intense smell!  Interestingly, this allicin is only released when you cut into the clove (which makes me often ponder about roasted whole bulbs; delicious, but not much antimicrobial action left).

Maximum benefit is when you eat garlic raw, but that won’t always work in daily life.
When cooked, some of that allicin might remain, especially if you keep to a light, quick steam, however, garlic’s Vit C, B6 and mineral content will be reduced, literally cooked away.

Add a clove or two of garlic to stews or soups at the last minute, just before serving, to keep as many of these benefits alive.
If you’re thick with cold or flu try a garlic broth, pouring hot water over a squeezed or chopped clove, adding grated ginger and miso paste, so easy to digest.

If colds are doing the rounds, a preventative drink to make is chopping 4 garlic cloves in a large preserve jar and topping with boiling water.  Steep the garlic for about ½ hour then add lemon juice and honey, and drink warm as a ‘tea’ up to 3 or 4 times throughout the day.

Precautions:
Very high amounts, eg. a whole RAW bulb (unlikely, but good to be aware!),  can cause digestive upset, heartburn, possibly diarrhoea.

Garlic can also increase bleeding so if you’re on an anti coagulant medication or have a bleeding disorder stick to minimal amounts in cooking, and, if planning to have surgery, avoid for at least 5 days beforehand.
Garlic may interfere with some chemo or HIV drugs as it can influence liver enzymes which help the metabolism of the drug you’re taking.

If pregnant, eating garlic in meals is fine, but high doses as a capsule or tablet are not generally recommended.

Ginger (zinziber officialis)

This is my go-to for everything.  Ginger soothes aches and pains, helps alleviate nausea and digestive problems and is a great anti inflammatory.  With a sore throat, drinking hot water with chopped ginger, lemon and honey will be soothing and supportive as it’s an effective antimicrobial.  Ginger is also warming if you have chills, and it’ll help break a sweat with a fever.

The active ingredients are the gingerols, the main phenols, and shogaols, which inhibit respiratory pathogens and suppress the production of cytokines – chemicals we produce which lead to inflammation.

I like to start my day with chopped ginger in hot water, a herbal ‘tea’ I steep for 10 minutes, topping it up throughout the day and drinking either hot or cold.  This summer I made ginger ice cubes, squeezing grated ginger into the ice tray, then adding the cubes to some cold water and pomegranate juice, delicious.

Like garlic, ginger adds flavour to stews, stir fries and soups and will retain more of its health benefits if added at the last minute.
Ready-bought ginger teabags have very little gingerol in them, however dried ginger is apparently high in these beneficial phenols.  Important to find a reputable source; I recommend Steenbergs herbs and spices online store here in UK.

When full of cold or flu you may not feel like eating, however replacing the water lost from sweating is important.  The above miso broth is great as a light, nutritious and hydrating meal or snack.

Precautions:
Ginger is a safe tuber/spice although high amounts may cause reflux…or, bizarrely, nausea (which, in normal amounts, it helps prevent).
Again, like garlic, it has a mild anti coagulant effect, hence if you’re on aspirin or have a bleeding disorder avoid large amounts.
Because ginger can increase bile production large amounts could potentially aggravate gall stones especially in supplement form.

Ginger in food is safe during pregnancy and can help with morning sickness.

Thyme (thymus vulgaris)

Thyme is another herb you might have growing in the garden, or in a pot in the kitchen.  It’s easily found in most supermarkets.  Thyme has a long history in the Mediterranean as a traditional medicinal plant that’s very effective for coughs and colds.

Not only does thyme contain vitamins and minerals (like garlic and ginger) but its essential oil, thymol, found in the leaves, has powerful antimicrobial properties, especially for upper respiratory infections, working well as an extectorant (clearing mucus).

Add fresh or dried thyme to stews, soups, stir fries, or use it in an infusion.  Add one tablespoon of the herb to hot water, let steep for 15 minutes, then sieve out the leaves and either drink like that or add a little honey and/or lemon.  With an active infection, sip throughout the day to soothe coughs and calm down inflammation in the airways.

Precautions:

If you have any mint family allergies, don’t use it.
Large doses – far greater than the amounts I’ve mentioned – can also cause nausea.

Thyme essential oil should never be ingested.

Thyme in food, fresh or dried, during pregnancy is safe, but, as it may cause uterine stimulation it’s best not to infuse/drink the above thyme tea.

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea is an excellent broad spectrum antiviral as well as an antibacterial and antifungal.  Often used to support upper respiratory infections, it works a.o. by stimulating the immune system through its bioactive phytochemicals.

Available in tincture or tablet form as well as echinacea herbal tea. The latter, however, isn’t nearly as well absorbed or immune effective.

It can be taken as a preventative, but I don’t recommend long term supplementation.  When I travel I’ll often pack a small bottle of tincture so I can stop a cold in its tracks, dosing 30 drops 3 or 4x daily (this depends on the strength of the tincture, so check the label)

As a preventative, short term, 20-30 drops once a day or 1000 mg tablet is generally the recommended dose.

Precautions:

Due to echinacea stimulating the immune system, anyone with an auto immune disease should be cautious as it could potentially cause a flare.  I’ll generally not recommend echinacea to auto immune clients unless they tell me they’ve tried it in the past and not had problems. There are enough other natural food-based antivirals to use.

If you have an allergy to ragweed or daisies, be aware that the flowering part of the Echinacea plant – not the root – can cause problems.

Ascorbic acid, aka Vitamin C

Vitamin C is probably the most researched nutrient as far as immune support goes, albeit a controversial one when it comes to dosage.

Again, like garlic and ginger, Vitamin C is shown to reduce the duration and severity of colds and flu.  It improves the function of phagocytes – a type of white blood cell that engulfs viruses and bacteria in the blood stream -, and lymphocytes, another white blood cell which fights pathogens.
It also reduces inflammation by lowering the afore-mentioned pro-inflammatory cytokines and is a fab anti oxidant (which is a substance that protects cells from free radicals generated by infection, air pollution, stress, poor diet, smoke, pesticides…)

Foods containing good amounts of Vitamin C are often red or orange-coloured, like strawberries, papaya, mango, persimmons, oranges (all citrus in fact), acerola cherries (Malpighia emarginata), cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, guava, blackcurrants, bell peppers, chili peppers, tomatoes, but also green veg like broccoli, kale, parsley, Brussel sprouts…
Adding these vegetables to your diet when you have a cold will be beneficial overall, but they won’t have the therapeutic effects of lowering cold severity and duration that a supplement will offer.

Recommended dose for prevention, tablets or powder, for adults is c 500 – 1000 mg daily.

With an active cold or flu it’s safe to double this amount, and many will add that it’s safe to take 1000 mg every 3 hours, up to 10,000mg daily.  This is very individual and research studies, pro and contra, are not always reliable or accurate, hence the controversy continues.  Many swear by higher dose C.. and just as many don’t!

Saying all that, a useful indication that you may be over-supplementing is if you reach a point where stools become loose and possibly your gut will feel ‘off’.
Not dangerous, as the body will eliminate what it doesn’t need of this water-soluble vitamin, however, it’s a useful and sure indicator that whatever dosage you reached was too high for you; simply reduce the dose next time, or try buffered Vit C which is easier on the gut.
Also, don’t panic if your urine is yellow as that is the colour of Vit C leaving your body.

Precautions:

Kidney stones (esp oxalate stones) can be worsened by high Vitamin C supplementation.   High doses may also interact with some chemo drugs and with glucose readings.

During pregnancy high doses are not recommended.

Zinc:

This trace mineral is another effective antioxidant which also works a.o. as an antiviral, inhibiting replication and blocking the virus entering the cells, especially rhino viruses.

Zinc lozenges are particularly useful for a scratchy throat.  Best to start at the first onset of symptoms, sucking 3-4 over the course of the day, however not on an empty stomach as it can make you feel nauseous.  Supplement doses vary from 15mg – 60mg, depending on the brand.

Foods containing zinc include oysters (high!), crustaceans, red meat, chicken, seeds and nuts – especially pine nuts – dairy products and some fortified cereals.  Greens and mushrooms a.o. contain some zinc as well, however none of these foods will have the same therapeutic effects as supplementation.

As a preventative in the cold season, one tablet once daily, however if you’re taking a multi be aware of the amount of zinc in it so you’re not exceeding c 60mg.

Precautions:

Zinc can interfere with some medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs if you take high doses. Zinc has been shown to be toxic at levels around 150mg.
Many zinc nasal sprays have been removed from the market as they were shown to lead to permanent loss of smell.
Chronic overuse can cause something called zinc-induced copper deficiency anaemia which results in neurological symptoms, so treat zinc with respect!

And there we go, my round-up of cold and flu remedies which I hope you’ll find useful.

There are of course more out there such as eucalyptus oil, so good for inhaling, or black elderberry syrup.  If you have any other tried and tested favourites please share here below or on my social media pages.

Wishing you all a cold-free festive season wherever you are in the world x

(at the moment I would happily be sitting in this chair below!)

What’s chai all about?

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We may think of today’s chai and chai latte as being a novel drink but it actually began life over 5000 years ago in India, when a king supposedly ordered his Ayurvedic doctor to make a healing spiced beverage.

Back then in India, chai was a concoction of warming spices and milk with no tea at all.  It was definitely a far cry from the processed powdered or syrupy mixes we find today in many cafes and supermarkets.  Most of these sweetened chai ‘teas’ have nothing to do with the original beverage with its warming spices and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Some teae facts:

The word chai is Hindi for tea.  Hence chai tea actually translates to tea tea, which must generate a few chortles by anyone who speaks Hindi.  The Indian Masala chai (= spiced tea) is a closer fit to our current western chai drink.

Just to confuse things more, the Indian word chai comes from the Chinese for tea, cha, which makes sense as that’s where the story of tea began, back in 2737 BC, apparently.  Whether this date is accurate or not, containers of tea were found in tombs dating back to the Han dynasty around 206BC.  By 618 AD it had become the national drink of China.  Extraordinary that it wasn’t until the 16th century that tea made its way to Europe, when Dutch merchants sent a consignment back to Holland.  The cost, however, was prohibitive so it remained a drink only for the wealthy classes.

It was in the mid 1800s that the British decided to curb the stronghold China had on tea production by planting regions of India with these camellia sinensis bushes (sinensis = Latin ‘from China’).  These thrived in the climate – and continue to thrive.  China, however, is still the biggest tea producer in the world with India following second place.

Back to chai:

It seems that at this point, in the mid 1800s, black tea made its way into the Indian masala chai milky spiced drink.  It didn’t catch on locally as black tea was still too expensive.  According to an online article in  The Spruce Eats it wasn’t until the 1960s that masala chai with black tea became more popular in India, mainly due to tea production becoming mechanised and more affordable.

The two black teas most often found in traditional chai are Assam and Darjeeling, both native to India.  However, these days we use everything from green tea to yerba mate and red rooibos – or no tea at all, just the spices with milk.

What spices are in your chai?

It’s easy to make your own spiced chai or chai latte.  Here are various spices you could use, some more common to chai than others.  if you’re only using spices they should steep in boiling water for about 15 minutes.  If adding tea, then 5 minutes is the time recommended.  When I made my chai latte I steeped the spices first and then added the tea after 15 minutes, for another 5 minutes.  And then the frothed oat milk.  It was delicious and well worth the process!
The health benefits of chai will depend on the spices used, although you’ll see that most of them support digestion.

Most traditional chai includes cardamom, a spice which helps with a wide range of gastro intestinal complaints, from nausea to bloating,.  Chewing on the seed can certainly improve bad breath.  It’s a calming anti inflammatory spice with similar anti bacterial properties to clove.

Ginger is another common chai component with its gingerol oil giving that distinctive spicy flavour.  It’s such a powerful antioxidant and anti inflammatory its health benefits range from digestive and nausea support to anti bacterial effects, blood balancing support and much more.

Cinnamon is another common spice, with a plethora of health benefits due to its antioxidants which in turn have anti inflammatory effects. I’ve read claims that it can reduce CRP, a marker for inflammation, but haven’t found more than just the claim.  Its blood sugar benefits are well documented, not just by improving insulin sensitivity, but also slowing down the amount of sugar entering the blood after a meal.  Cinnamon’s oil, cinnamaldehyde, accounts for a lot of its antimicrobial and anti-parasitic properties.

Clove is another common spice in chai (you only need a teensy amount as it can completely take over).  This is another digestive supportive spice, and also an antioxidant and an anti inflammatory.  Its eugenol oil acts as an antiseptic, hence the reason for its traditional use in dentistry and in toothpaste and mouthwash.

Other spices you might like to add to your chai are black pepper or fennel (the latter are in my above photo).  Again, its volatile oils such as rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid, as well as quercetin and apigenin, add to its antioxidant benefits and antimicrobial, antiviral properties.

Star anise or aniseed is another possible addition to give chai that distinctive sweet, but more licorice, taste.  Aniseed is known for digestive support and is an anti-spasmodic a.o.  Digestive support supplements and teas often contain anise eg. Floradix has an anise-caraway-fennel herbal tea which can help with flatulence, constipation and bloating.   Aniseed has similar blood sugar balancing properties to cinnamon by regulating certain digestive enzymes involved in carb metabolism.  The main compound of star anise oil, anethole, is said to be effective as an antimicrobial, so one can assume it’s another effective herb for oral health, killing bacteria and improving bad breath.

Recently I discovered Celestial seasonings make a wonderful Bengal spice tea, which has become a daily treat of late.  Three quarters of a cup of boiling water steeped for 15 minutes then topped with frothed oat milk, delicious!  It satiates and satisfies any itch I may have for a sweet treat.
When I read the list of ingredients on the Celestial Seasonings box I can well imagine it is very similar to the original healing spice mix that king in India asked his ayurvedic doctors to put together some 5000 years ago.

Let me know how you get on with your chai recipes!

 

Credits:  Thank you to Healthline, Future Generation Co, Holy Cow Chai history, The Spruce Eats,  Amala Chai, The Tea Kitchen for some fascinating reads and chai tea facts.

 

 

Cypriot grain salad

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This is a delicious salad a friend brought to the table on my recent trip back to Sydney when a gaggle of us got together for a catch up feast.  It’s inspired by the ‘Hellenic Republic’ grain salad recipe by Melbourne chef George Dimitrios Calombaris.


Instead of freekah (cracked wheat) I used quinoa only because I didn’t have freekah in my pantry.  It’s a good gluten-free option although be aware that pseudo grains like quinoa can be a problem for grain-, or gluten-sensitive peeps.
I also used dairy-free coconut yoghurt as that’s what I had at hand – and with that the salad morphed into a vegan recipe!  And even though df yoghurt doesn’t sound very Hellenic it was absolutely delicious with the cumin and pomegranate swirled in it.  Also I snuck in some rocket because I love leafy greens and it’s such an easy way to get more into your daily diet.
All in all, this is a well-rounded dish with all the macronutrients you need, so enjoy it on its own, or alongside other dishes for a feast.  Last week we ate it as a side with falafel, very yummy.

 

Ingredients

(serves 4)

100g red and white quinoa (or freekah)
100g Puy lentils
1 bunch coriander, chopped
1 bunch parsely, chopped
handful rocket or any salad leaves you like
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp (c 30g) toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
2-3 tbsp small capers
70g currants
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
100g pomegranate seeds (or a whole pomegranate)
100g Greek yoghurt or dairy free alternative
1 heaped tsp ground cumin

Method

Boil the Puy lentils and quinoa separately in water until cooked to your liking.  Drain and cool.
In a bowl, add these to the chopped herbs, toasted nuts and seeds, capers, currants, lemon juice and olive oil.  Mix well and then stir in the rocket or salad leaves.
Add the ground cumin and pomegranate to the yoghurt and dollop on top of the salad.
Easy, quick and very scrummy!