Waist not want not
The late nights, rich grub and booze all catch up with us. And the straining waistbands of late December are often the catalyst we need to redress the ravages of the preceding fortnight’s festivities.
The ‘zeal to heal’ is typified by a raft of New Year’s resolutions, some sustainable, many not — the king-pin being the January ‘detox diet’. But with so much half-truth and fallacy, how do we navigate the minefield of misinformation about detoxing?
First, we need to understand how ‘toxins’ originate in the body. Knowing the dietary changes that can limit their destructive impact can make things a lot easier.
The word ‘toxin’ is often used synonymously with the term ‘free radical’. These are highly reactive, nasty compounds that float around the body, damaging tissue. A high free-radical burden is associated with accelerated ageing, and serious disorders such as heart disease, stroke and cancer. Surprisingly, the main source of free radicals is normal energy metabolism — the process by which the body derives its energy from food. Not much that we can do about that; it’s critical to survival.
Luckily, there’s plenty we can do about the other ‘discretionary’ sources of free radicals in the body. Most of these originate from activated immune cells and are the same chemicals our immune system uses to eradicate invading bugs, like bacteria and viruses.
The problem is when our immune cells produce too many free radicals over too long a period, because then our tissues get damaged, and that’s very bad news. As my immunologist colleague, Dr Greg Byrne, often says: “the immune system is a double-edged sword”.
The next logical question is “what are the things that can over-stimulate the immune system in this way?” Here, again, there are many surprises, not least of which is the role obesity plays. The fat around our abdominal organs contributes to a low-grade but constant inflammation, and is one of the principle mechanisms linking central obesity to increased cancer risk. So, lose weight if you’re carrying “extra baggage” after the holiday high jinx.
Increase your intake of high-fibre wholegrains, fruit and vegetables, and decrease your consumption of high-fat and high-sugar foods and drinks, and go for a 30 to 60-minute walk most days.
Two other factors that can stimulate free-radical production by our immune cells are intake of trans fats and over-consumption of alcohol, which also has a toxic effect on the liver and gut. So, avoid foods high in trans fats (fried foods, fast food, cakes, pastries, biscuits and rich sauces) and limit alcohol to sensible quantities ( a maximum of one to two drinks per day).
Consider the foods and nutrients that control or limit inflammation in the body. These include omega-3 oils and vitamin D, so the advice is simple — have oily fish, like herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines or trout, at least three to four times per week, and take a vitamin D supplement.
Even where our misadventure has ramped up the free-radical production over the past few weeks, there’s scope to limit their damaging effect.
The best way is to increase our intake of antioxidants by maximising our consumption of fresh (or frozen) fruit and vegetables. Variety is a key issue here — the more colours of fruits and vegetables, the broader the antioxidant spectrum and the greater the health benefit.
Try the above simple, inexpensive tips and enjoy a detoxed and energised start to 2013.
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