A question that my patients frequently ask is, ‘Are these ingredients… ok?’ What they mean by this is are the ingredients in this food going to nurture my mind and body and will they be a friend or a foe when it comes to losing weight? The good news about the LML Programme is that you don’t need to follow involved instructions about reading food labels or shop using an App or calculator. Food and eating should be far more natural and enjoyable than that.
Every cell of your body has a natural in-built clock that operates on a 24-hour cycle. These internal body clocks tell each cell of your body, with astonishing precision, exactly what to do and when. The clocks tell hormone-producing cells that it’s the right time of day or night to produce a particular hormone. The clocks tell your liver when it’s the right time of day to produce cholesterol.
The clocks tell your brain when to be firing on all cylinders and when to go into retreat into the cave mode. The clocks set blood pressure and blood sugar according to the time of day. The clocks govern whether your gut is relaxed or active. These are just a few examples of the brilliance of your body’s in-built clock system.
These clocks are giving instructions according to a timetable that has served us well for millions of years. The morning is the time these clocks have evolved for maximal mental and physical work. Whereas in the mid-to-late evening the body’s clocks tell each part of the body that it’s time to get into rest, re-charge and repair mode.
If, however, you are wide awake at night when the clocks think re-charge repair and the release of certain hormones should be happening the clocks become chaotic and your health suffers. It doesn’t matter how many years this pattern of going to bed late has happened, the body’s internal clocks which have evolved over millions of years do not re-set.
Additives that are commonly found in soft drinks and processed foods include Tartrazine E102, Sunset Yellow E110, Carmoisine E122, Ponceau 4R E124, and Sodium Benzoate E211. An LML gold medal goes to you if you can pronounce all of these and can explain what they are. What’s more worrying is that these additives are commonly found in foods and drinks that are specifically aimed at children.
Anyone who has attended a young child’s birthday party will recognise that these are usually divided into two parts. The first part is some sort of activity or party games, and the second part, is the birthday tea.