Is the white stuff the right stuff?

It's funny how what may seem to be a major problem or crisis can actually turn out to be the best thing that could have happened. We certainly grow as individuals and gain much. When I discovered that I had a sensitivity to dairy, I was gutted; all my favourite creamy cakes, desserts and cheese were suddenly off the menu. Major changes to the way I view and ate food were on the way, and looking back now, I am so thankful as it has not only helped me to feel so much better health wise, but it's also revolutionised my way of thinking and opened up a whole new adventure - The Sensitive Foodie Kitchen.

All my life I was told, and am still told, that dairy is good for me, and a vital part of a healthy diet. People are still aghast that I have eradicated it from my diet - how do I manage? Dairy is an integral part of our societal psyche - it's hard to break free from the norms. So really, that is why I am grateful for my sensitivity; it's enabled me to make a massive change for the better and been my excuse for being different. And when it's hard to resist a slice of gorgeous looking creamy chocolate cake, I no longer feel deprived knowing that it will make me feel so ill it's not worth it. Plus I know how to make a great alternative myself!
There has been lots of research about the dangers of dairy in our diets, how it contributes towards obesity, diabetes, allergies, osteoporosis, cancer - the list goes on. But even when the research is on a huge scale, some how the health and food industry manage to dispute or deny it, and so milk is still promoted as healthy product that should be consumed in large amounts.
The latest piece of research published last month in the British Medical Journal* seems to be finally bringing the message home - a study in Northern Europe that involved over 115,000 people concluded that those who consumed large amounts of milk (about a pint a day) had an increased risk of bone fractures and death. Women in particular, who are encouraged to consume more milk for healthy bones, have a 60% increased risk of hip fractures. For every glass of milk consumed, the risk of dying from heart disease increased by 15% and cancer by 7% and those who had 3 glasses a day or more, compared with just one glass, had a whopping 93% increased risk of dying. That's huge! So who says milk is good for you now?
The truth is we just don't need dairy in our diet - cow's milk is for calves, goats milk for kids (not human ones!) and human breast milk for babies. It's packed full of all the nutrients, protein and growth factors that a baby animal needs to do the fastest growth and development it's ever going to have to do

in it's life. If we were supposed to consume milk as adults, we would have evolved differently - maybe more like David Walliams character Harvey who wants 'bitty'…….?
No-one in my house drinks dairy now - not that I've forced them to either! My son's life long eczema and asthma have practically gone since eradicating dairy from his diet (plus teenage acne is much better!); my daughter's joint pains have massively improved (dairy is inflammatory) and finally my husband continues to lose weight dairy free and plant based.
Change is hard, but good things are worth making the effort for. And the more people who go dairy free, to more it becomes mainstream. So why not give it a go, and give your body a break - it will thank you for it in the long run!  And if you're not sure where to start, The Sensitive Foodie Kitchen is here to help. Come along to a dairy free cooking demo, or look out for my on-line support course coming soon.

*Michaëlsson  K, Wolk  A, Langenskiöld  S, et al. Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies. BMJ. 2014;349:g6015.

New Year eating

The more I learn about food and it's affect on the body, the more I realise just how much we take ourselves and our health for granted. Our bodies are finely tuned machines, wonderful at adapting to different situations and assaults, developing incredible coping strategies and processes so complex it's too mind boggling to comprehend. The appropriate fuel is needed to ensure this continues - the right vitamins, minerals, micro nutrients as well as a good dollop of carbohydrates, and moderate amount of protein and fat. It shouldn't be too complicated.
To many, a car is an essential item. It needs to be looked after though, so it gets checks at the garage, cleaned, the oil and water gets topped up the right levels and of course we put in the right fuel - diesel in a petrol engine spells disaster and the engine just conks out. Looking at it this way, we care for our cars better than our own bodies. Why is that? Maybe we don't make a direct financial investment in our bodies or we just take our bodies for granted, then when it goes wrong find ways to patch it up until eventually it conks out. Or maybe we just don't really know what we should eat, or have been fed the wrong information. Or maybe, we just care for our cars more than we care for ourselves.
Traditionally at this time of year, thoughts turn to the new year and our aspirations for the future. New year, new you. Losing weight or being more healthy usually heads up the top 10 new year resolutions along with quitting smoking and doing more exercise. But as nearly 80% of new years resolutions fail to be achieved, are they really worth making? Personally, I think they are, but maybe not to start on 1st January. That has to be the worse day to start anything positive, as most people are feeling pretty rubbish from the night before, be it from lack of sleep or too much alcohol - or both!!
To make a positive change, there needs to be a specific aim or reason, a real desire to achieve something. For me, my aim is to get rid of my food sensitivities and to feel well again - a short term and (so it seems) very long term project! People ask me how can I live without cheese, or wine. I'm no health food saint, but I honestly feel so much better without dairy or yeast, it's not really a hardship any more. Making changes depends on your perspective - I gain, not lose (although I would really love to eat bread and drink wine again!!). Making a positive change in your life can be hard but also so good.
Eating a plant-based wholefood diet is one the best treats you can give your body and your health - a real new year spring clean. If you want to give it a go, try the PCRM's vegan kickstart programme http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/kickstart/kickstart-programs. They have food plans for Western and Indian tastes, and it's pretty easy to follow. If you are a big meat and dairy lover, I would suggest you break yourself in gently - spend January reducing your meat and processed food intake and trying some of the menu ideas. Then try the kickstart in February when you're ready for it and see what happens! Be prepared for lots of energy and feeling pretty good!
So don't make a New Years resolution to go on a diet. Make a promise to be kind to yourself and make a positive change, to be in charge of what fuel you put in yourself not be a slave to an addiction to sugar, or fat. Have a tangible goal and above all respect yourself and your environment. And have a wonderful foodie New Year!

Creamy cashews

So many delicious recipes include cream, whether it's to top of a delicious roasted tomato soup, a creamy mushroom sauce for fish or just a simple pouring cream for apple pie or crumble. Thank goodness for the humble cashew nut which when ground down makes a tasty cream alternative, although I've had to put up with many sniggers from my teenage son and husband when I say it's nut cream!! Of course, if you have a cashew nut allergy, I'm sorry this is not for you.
Back in the UK, soya cream is readily available but always has a slight soya flavour and tends to be sweetened. I've not found it in the shops of Bangalore, so really wanted to find another alternative - this is so easy too. All you need, apart from cashews, is a food processor that has a small nut or coffee bean attachment. Luckily this are easy to find here, as traditional Indian recipes involve a lot of grinding and mincing. My food processor has been one of my best purchases here (my gorgeous coffee table being the best!) and probably used more than anything else in the kitchen. Apparently this also works with blanched almonds, but I've not tested that one out.
Cashew nut cream recipe
100g cashews
150-300 mls warm water
honey to taste, lemon rind - both optional

Place the cashew nuts in the grinder and whizz them until they form a fine paste. You now have two options - either transfer the paste to a separate bowl and beat in the water to form the desired consistency or, as I tend to do, add water gradually into the grinder and whizz on pulse until you get the thickness you want. I find this gets rid of any lumps really well, you just need to stop and check, scraping the paste off the side of the grinder.

If you want a sweeter cream, add some honey but I tend not to as cashews have a natural sweetness of their own and the honey can dominate the flavour. Same for the lemon rind if you want a tarter cream.
If you are using the cream for a cooked sauce, add at the end just before serving, warming it through but not boiling as the cream tends to separate a bit - this can happen with coconut cream or milk if you're not careful too.

Random cashew facts

Cashew nuts are biologically seeds, although we use them as nuts in cooking. Pub quiz fact - cashews are native to Northern Brazil but were introduced to India in Goa by the Portugeuse and they have since spread throughout South East Asia. We saw cashew nut trees on a trip to Goa. I had never really thought about how they grow so was fascinated (sadly so!) by their duality. First there is the flower which grows into a cashew apple; the cashew nut then grows at the end of the cashew apple in a harder case. Apparently the flesh of the cashew apple is really delicate so doesn't travel well - it's used in Goa to make Feni, a seriously strong, completely gross alcohol that must be guaranteed to give you gut rot! I tried it once, never again! The brown outer shell of the cashew nut contains chemical irritants so have to be handled carefully. Best get your cashews ready pealed in a bag off the shelf!!

So what is a food intolerance?

Food is our friend - or so we're told. We need to consume enough fuel to keep all our cellular activities going, all the amazing processes that we take for granted. But do we really give much thought to the quality of the fuel we give ourselves and what trouble might be brewing? It's like putting poor quality fuel into a high performance sports car - eventually the engine will just give out.
According to Allergy UK, 45% of the population suffer from some type of food intolerance * - that's an enormous percentage! So there's something or things in our standard diet that really shouldn't be there. And because we are all individual, it could be any number of things that affect each person differently. Some people may never find out what it is that makes them feel so tired and exhausted, or just take medication to 'relieve' their stomach pains or headaches. And is there anything wrong with that?  I believe there is, as masking the symptoms doesn't deal with the real cause, and continuing to bury the problem with chemicals that often just compound the issues is not a healthy or constructive way forward.
Allergy or Intolerance?
A food allergy is a potentially life threatening immune system response to a particular food stuff. For some reason the body's immune system has developed antibodies called IgE (immunoglobulin type E) which react to a specific food (peanuts is the most well known one). IgE molecules attach themselves to mast cells. When the antibody finds and combines with the allergen  it triggers the mast cell to release histamine and other chemicals to combat the perceived threat to the body, resulting in classic symptoms of allergy such as skin rashes, asthma, rhinitis or stomach upsets. A severe allergic reaction can result in immediate swelling of the face, throat and respiratory tract - these are known as type 1 allergic reactions and can be fatal. Often sufferers will carry epipens containing adrenaline to combat this type of severe reaction, or take anti-histamines.
A food intolerance, however, is more stealthy and chronic, and so harder to detect and diagnose. Symptoms of food intolerance can be so diverse that the symptoms could be caused by a huge number of different issues so it can take some time to find the root cause. This journey can be difficult and frustrating, especially if you find your GP to be rather conservative and unwilling to really deal with what they consider to be a minor issue that can be "cured" with pain killers or other medication.
According to Patrick Holford's great book "New Optimum Nutrition Bible" food intolerances are thought to involve IgG rather than IgE, a different marker that takes some time to react - anywhere between 2 hours and 3 days.  Often there are no symptoms. However, over time, IgG builds up and has a delayed, cumulative effect - so the more you eat of a particular substance that your body doesn't like, the more likely you are to develop a sensitivity.
Why me?
There are many explanations why food intolerances develop (another post) but why it happens to one person and not another is not so easy to explain. I'm sure it's the same reason why some people can smoke 20 a day all their lives and not develop lung disease, or how others can have massive amounts of salt in their diet and never develop high blood pressure or kidney disease - that's just the way it is.
Ironically, there is some research that suggests that the food you love is the one you develop the sensitivity to. Apparently, the proteins in the food are broken down into peptides before the single amino acids which are used at cellular level. Endorphins, the body's natural painkiller and feel good chemical, are also peptides and can be made from peptides taken from ingested food stuffs such as milk and wheat, giving you a short term feeling of well being when you eat that particular food stuff. So eating cream buns does make you feel good! Over indulgence over time can create problems. For me, I have always love cakes and creamy puddings much more than anything else on offer - the very same things that I can't eat now! It really is quite unfair!

** Allergy UK Report (2007)," Stolen Lives 3, The Food Allergy and Food Intolerance Report"