Fat Around the Middle and How to Boost your Fertility in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Cavan– see below for booking details.

Tickets are €15, with discounts for multiple bookings.  See stores for details.

Overcoming Stress

7 practical ways to reduce the stress in your life

Come and find out how stress can give you problems such as mood swings, bloating and flatulence, tiredness, recurrent infections and much more and discover the 7 simple tips that will help you control it.

Fat Around the Middle – and how to lose it

Why are you fat around the middle? And why is it not about just what you’re eating.  Find out why, for many women of all ages, fat tends to settle around the middle. And why every time you eat your body has two choices – either to burn food as energy or store it as fat. You’ll discover the health risks involved in being ‘apple shaped’. And that the remedy for a fat belly is not just a matter of reducing calories and harder exercise. The seminar will answer these vital questions:

• Why is food on its own not the solution?
• Why didn’t any of your previous diets shift this fat?
• Why is it dangerous to your health?
• What vitamins and minerals are best to take to change your body shape faster?
• How should you exercise to help get rid of the fat around your middle?

Also available on the day for a small extra charge – Body fat & BMI test, and Bone Scan to assess osteoporosis risk

How to boost your fertility

If you would like to improve your chances of getting and staying pregnant come to this talk where Dr. Marilyn Glenville PhD will be revealing the answers to these essential questions:

•    What you should – and shouldn’t – eat to help you conceive?

•    What vitamins and minerals are vital for fertility for both men and women?

•    What lifestyle factors can affect your ability to conceive?

•    How environmental and occupational hazards can affect fertility for both

the man and woman?

•    How can nutrition help if you have been diagnosed with an immunological problem?

At this talk you will also learn:

• Top tips on how to either increase your chances of conceiving naturally or improving your chances of a successful IVF.

Sadly, only a third of Irish adults aged between 18-64 years achieve their minimum recommended 5-a-day portions of fruit & vegetables, and 37% of this age group are overweight, and 24% are clinically obese.

But here’s some good news….

According to a study from Arizona State University, individuals consuming sufficient amounts of vitamin C burn 30% more fat during moderate exercise than those who consume insufficient amounts.

In addition, too little vitamin C in the bloodstream has been shown to correlate with increased body fat and waist measurements.

So to make your new year’s exercise regime even more effective and boost your health, eat more fruit and veg each day.

•    Add blueberries, strawberries or kiwi fruits to your breakfast cereal.
•    Snack on a piece of fruit plus a handful of nuts
•    Tomatoes, red peppers, broccoli all add extra Vitamin C helpings in stir fries, sauces or salads.
•    Mango, papaya as well as citrus fruits in fruit salads or smoothies – serve with natural yoghurt
•    Leafy greens like rocket, cos lettuce, parsley and watercress as a side salad or in a sandwich.

1. National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2009

2.Johnston PhD, FACN, Carol S.. J Am Coll Nutr June 2005 vol. 24 no. 3 158-165 ‘Strategies for Healthy Weight Loss: From Vitamin C to the Glycaemic Response’.

Excess weight does not cause miscarriage itself, but it carries a higher risk of insulin resistance, PCOS and hormone imbalance, in particular elevated testosterone and LH.

A few years ago, a BMJ study showed that very obese women (and also very lean women) have lower conception rates.  It was found this was linked to the amounts of oestrogen being produced, and this resulting hormonal imbalance has implications for fertility.  With the women carrying extra weight, the study also showed that the fat distribution was also important – women with a high waist to hip ratio, that is, ‘apple-shaped’ women, had even greater trouble conceiving than their ‘pear-shaped’ counterparts.

Fat around the middle and excess oestrogen

Not all fat in the body behaves the same. Fat around the middle of the body is far more metabolically active than fat elsewhere because it causes insulin resistance, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and diabetes.  Not surprisingly, fat distributed around the middle it is often termed “toxic fat”.

Additionally, these fat cells manufacture a form of oestrogen called oestradiol.   When excess oestrogen is being produced, it acts in a similar way to birth control medication.  In other words, it’s as if you are on the pill. Ovulation may be inadequate or not occur at all, which prevents conception.

Anovulation often results in irregular menstrual cycles. Indeed, studies have shown that 30 – 47% of obese women will have irregular periods. The likelihood of irregular periods increases in direct proportion to weight gain. The good news is that research shows that weight reduction often leads to resumption of normal cycles and increased pregnancy rates.

Insulin resistance and PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder associated with irregular menstrual cycles, anovulation, insulin resistance, obesity and elevated levels of male hormones.  Polycystic ovary women are likely to be apple-shaped.

When ovulation doesn’t occur, the follicle travels to the outside of the ovary where it turns into a cyst.  Because progesterone is normally produced by the empty egg follicle after ovulation, progesterone levels in PCOS do not rise.  Without this surge in progesterone, the hormone feedback mechanism continues to stimulate the ovaries by increasing levels of hormones FSH and LH.  This hormone imbalance is what creates the polycystic ovary syndrome, as more egg follicles continue to travel to the outside of the ovary instead of completing ovulation.

Reducing the fat around the middle helps to rebalance the hormones and increase the chances of successful conception whether naturally, or through assisted routes like IVF.

Weight loss and boosting fertility

Another study looked at the effects of weight loss on blood flow to the womb, and found even a 5% reduction in weight can improve blood flow by 19%.

Improved circulation can help trigger the egg release from the ovaries and may help an embryo implant in the womb. Earlier work by the same team had shown small amounts of weight loss were related to a 30-40% chance of ovulation returning in these patients.

It’s not just women who can benefit from losing some weight. For men, being overweight reduces the quality and quantity of the sperm.

Healthy weight loss can be achieved by following a diet to balance the blood sugar, which in turn will help to balance the hormones.  Choose natural whole foods and eliminate processed and sugary foods.  Eat balanced regular meals and aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week.

Whilst research has demonstrated that even a modest weight reduction can improve chances of conception and having a successful pregnancy, clearly there are many other benefits to long term health and wellbeing.

References:

Jan Willem van der Steeg et al. “Obesity affects spontaneous pregnancy chances in subfertile, ovulatory women.” Human Reproduction 2008 Feb;23(2):324-8.

Robert L. Barbieri. “Metformin for the Treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.” Obstetrics & Gynecology 2003;101:785-793.

Sallmen M. et al. “Reduced fertility among overweight and obese men.”

Epidemiology 2006, 17, 5, 520-3,

Linsten AM. et al. “Effects of subfertility cause, smoking and body weight on the success rate of IVF.” Human Reproduction 2005, 20, 7, 1867-75

Tulppala M. et al.  “Polycystic ovaries and levels of gonadotrophins and androgens in recurrent miscarriage: prospective study in 50 women” Br J Obstet Gynaecol April1993 100: 4, 348-52.

Balen AH. et al. “Miscarriage rates following in-vitro fertilization are increased in women with polycystic ovaries and reduced by pituitary desensitization with buserelin.” Hum Reprod 8: 6, 959-64, Jun, 1993.

Singh KB et al. Effect of obesity on the clinical and hormonal characteristics of the polycystic ovary syndrome., J Reprod Med 39: 10, 805-8, Oct, 1994.

Discover for yourself the secret of how to lose weight and especially that ever-increasing fat around the middle.

Learn what you can do to lose that apple shape and lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This programme will help you to know:

• What foods to eat – and what to avoid – for a trim tummy

• How to eliminate cravings, binges, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, mood swings, tension

• Why stress can make you gain weight, especially around the middle

• The best type of exercise to lose weight

• The myths about dieting

• Step-by-step weight loss programme based on the principles of healthy weight loss

Call us on 01 402 0777 to reserve your place now

This 12 week programme includes personalised weigh-ins and advice to help you meet your goals.  A qualified trainer will teach you the best fat-burning exercises for home use.  At each meeting our qualified nutritionists will give a talk with tips and practical advice and provide meal plans with easy, tasty recipe ideas for healthy meals you can make in just 15 minutes.

So if you want to lose weight and get rid of that problem tummy once and for all – these classes are right for you!  Choose morning or evening session – limited places available.

Starting Monday 23rd January – 11.00am or 7.00pm – just €200 for 8 sessions over 12 weeks.

Venue: Westpark Fitness, Tallaght, D24

To reserve your place now, contact us on info@positivenutrition.ie or call 01 402 0777

For most women, PMS is a fact of life. Roughly 80% of women of reproductive age routinely suffer premenstrual symptoms. So is it something we simply have to put up with?

It doesn’t help that PMS affects every woman in slightly different ways, and that for some months, or over time, symptoms can change in intensity and nature.

Over 150 different symptoms have been classified, encompassing both the emotional and physical.  Feeling bloated and achy, sore and tender breasts, cravings for sweet foods, unaccountable mood changes, and feelings of irritability are among the most common symptoms experienced.

The exact cause or causes of PMS are still unclear, but it is understood there are a number of contributory factors including age, number of pregnancies, family history as well as poor diet and high levels of stress. We can’t escape our own genes. So let’s focus on the areas where we can make a positive difference.

What can you do about it

According to Dr Guy Abraham, “nutrition is the single most important factor in whether or not a woman will have PMS.”   The natural approach requires patience, as it can take three months or longer to take effect. Yet many women feel a significant improvement within a single monthly cycle.

Some basic steps:

• Eat regularly with small healthy snacks between meals.  Avoid sugar, alcohol and refined carbohydrates and choose natural whole foods, always with a little protein helps keep your energy levels stable.  This crucially also helps your body produce serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ hormone, which also helps reduce cravings for sweet foods.
• Eat a diet rich in fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and pulses
• Avoid caffeine, which can exacerbate PMS symptoms.  Coffee contains theobromines which are thought to contribute to breast tenderness

• Increase phytoestrogens: soya, wholegrains, alfalfa, fennel, linseeds, sunflower seeds, miso.  These help lower oestrogen levels by binding to oestrogen receptors.
• Increase cruciferous vegetables, these contain chemicals such as indole-3-carbinol and dindolymethame (DIM) which help increase beneficial oestrogens and excrete dangerous oestrogens.
• Drink plenty of fluids – water or herbal teas.  Aim for 1 – 1.5L daily

• These dietary steps will also support liver function, which is very important in helping your body to excrete excess hormones.

• Take steps to manage stress.  Elevated levels of stress hormones in the long term affect female hormone production and can inhibit the body’s ability to use progesterone, leading to hormone imbalance
• Acupuncture can also be extremely effective in managing PMS symptoms, but make sure you go to a registered practitioner with experience in treating women’s health.

Supplements

• If you are suffering from bloating, wind or constipation (less than one bowel movement daily) try introducing a probiotic supplement
• A study this year demonstrated the effectiveness of essential fatty acid supplements in treating PMS.  Omega 3 oils help to regulate hormone production and also act as natural anti-inflammatories, helping to reduce pain.  Avoid Cod Liver Oil and instead opt for an Omega 3 supplement with at least 750mg EPA and 500mg DHA.
• Vitamin E (400iu daily) can be very helpful in treating mood swings and irritability and breast tenderness.  Take in the form of mixed natural tocopherols if possible.
• Calcium – one study in which women took 1200mg of calcium daily showed a 50% reduction in PMS symptoms after three months.

• Vitamin B6 (50mg) taken together with Magnesium  (200mg daily) can be very helpful in reducing many of the symptoms related to PMS.  Vitamin B6 plays a vital role in synthesising certain brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that control mood and behaviour.  And taking vitamin B6 together with magnesium relaxes blood vessels improving blood supply to cells.  It’s best to take vitamin B6 in the active form of pyridoxal-5-phosphate and not the cheaper form, pyridoxine.

Herbs can be hugely effective in helping to reduce symptoms and we often use these in clinic to treat PMS in combination with diet and nutritional supplements.  Recent EU herbal directives have made it much more complicated for the general public to access herbs.  However they are still available through health food stores and practitioners who stocked up in advance of the legislation.

• Agnes Castus is particularly helpful and a study in the British Medical Journal found it to be an ‘effective and well tolerated’ treatment for PMS.
• Black Cohosh is helpful in women with predominantly mood-related symptoms – anxiety, depression, irritability.
• Milk thistle and dandelion help to support liver function.

In clinic we tend to use a mix of different whole herbs in either a tincture form or in a capsule,  Using a combination of herbs such as NHP Agnes Castus Plus or PM Support seems to work much more effectively in managing multiple symptoms.

References

Calcium and Vitamin D Intake and Risk of Incident Premenstrual Syndrome

Bertone-Johnson, E.R. et al Arch Intern Med. 165:1246-1252. (2005)

Efficacy of Vitamin B6 in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome

Wyatt, K.M et al. BMJ 318 : 1375 (1999)

Efficacy of alpha tocopherolin the treatment of premenstrual syndrome

London,R.S. et al. J Reprod Med vol.June 32(6):400-4(1987)

Serum and red cell magnesium levels in patients with premenstrual tension

Abraham, G.E. and Lubran, M.M. AmJ.Clin Nutrvol 34(1981)

Dietary B vitamin intake and incident premenstrual syndrome.

Chocano-Bedoya PO et al, Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May;93(5):1080-6.

Dr Guy Abraham Healing with Vitamins By the editors of Prevention Health Books, Rodale Press, Inc., Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 1996, “Premenstrual Syndrome,” p.460]

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD The Nutritional Health Handbook for Women Piatkus

Essential fatty acids for premenstrual syndrome and their effect on prolactin and total cholesterol levels: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study.

Rocha Filho EA et al, Reprod Health. 2011 Jan 17;8(1):2.

It’s important that you choose a probiotic supplement that has a high concentration of bacteria to ensure that significant numbers make it to the small intestines where they perform so many useful roles.

click here for the full article .

It also makes us fat ? the body responds to high sugar by producing lots of insulin which alters the metabolism, making us more prone to weight gain and increases the risk of developing diabetes.

The message is not just about cutting out the chocolate, biscuits and other sweet stuff, but keeping processed foods, with their high hidden sugar content to a minimum in the diet.  Increasing the proportion of meals prepared from natural foods can literally save your life.

See this link for more details:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/0201/1224288677108.html

Premium grade dark chocolate contains only cocoa butter, a fat that naturally occurs in cocoa beans, which is made up of stearic, oleic and palmitic acid and other fatty acids, which combined have a neutral effect on an individual’s lipid or heart disease risk profile. When keeping an eye on your weight, you wouldn?t want to be over-consuming any food with such a high fat content. However, the high levels of antioxidant catechins (also found in green tea) and polyphenols (also found in red wine) help lower blood pressure, reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and help stop the fatty plaques oxidizing in the arteries.

People who are sensitive to caffeine and the theobromines in chocolate should avoid or strictly minimize their consumption of chocolate.

Otherwise we say as an occasional treat, a little of what you fancy does you good. For more good news about chocolate, see this link.

http://rozannestevens.com/2011/02/11/love-is-on-a-plate/

Positive Nutrition teams up with chef Rozanne Stevens Positive Nutrition are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with chef Rozanne Stevens to launch a series of healthy cookery classes.

Originally from South Africa, Rozanne is familiar to many of us from her weekly appearances on the Pat Kenny Show and from her column in the health and living supplement of the Irish Independent.  She has a wealth of culinary experience including several years as head tutor at the Cooks Academy in Dun Laoire and has a passion for creating delicious wholefood, healthy recipes without compromising on taste or enjoyment.

Our classes promise to show you how to make simple, healthy and tasty dishes suitable for every occasion and are full of tips and advice on sourcing and preparing healthy food.  They take place in the elegant Miele Gallery at 2024 Bianconi Avenue, City West, Dublin 24 For more information or to book your place click to the cookery page.

A Japanese study on over 3000 men and women concluded that eating until full and eating quickly are associated with being overweight and that these eating behaviours combined may have a substantial impact on being overweight.

Eating faster and frequent overeating are associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a disorder associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers.

So for optimum health and to help lose weight, slow down, chew your food properly and stop eating before you feel full.

References:

Andrade AM, Greene GW, Melanson KJ., ?Eating slowly led to decreases in energy intake within meals in healthy women?, J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1186-91.

Maruyama K, Sato S, Ohira T, Maeda K, Noda H, Kubota Y, Nishimura S, Kitamura A, Kiyama M, Okada T, Imano H, Nakamura M, Ishikawa Y, Kurokawa M, Sasaki S, Iso H., ?The joint impact on being overweight of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full:

cross sectional survey?, British Medical Journal. 2008 Oct 21;337:a2002. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2002.

Shin A., Lim S.Y., Sung J., Shin H.R., Kim J., ?Dietary intake, eating habits, and metabolic syndrome in Korean men?, J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Apr;109(4):633-40.

May 2010 – DR MARILYN GLENVILLE IN DUBLIN Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD came to Ireland in May 2010 to share her expertise from years of clinical experience on how you can transform your life and health just by making small changes to the way you live.

After each talk, there was an opportunity to have a body fat test, BMI test or bone scan to assess your bone density and risk of osteoporosis.

Her seminars took place at the Alexander Hotel, Dublin 2 (just behind Merrion Square on the corner of Fenian Street and South Cumberland Street) on 22nd May.

Dr Glenville also gave seminars in Limerick on Monday 17th May and in Galway on 18-19th May