DEPRESSION: BRAIN SURGERY OFFERS NEW TREATMENT

The Following article is from the Daily Mail, anything that alleviates this disabling condition is to be welcomed and certainly more research needs to be done. In away this procedure harks back to the old "Electric Shock" treatment that used to be used for certain types of Depression. That procedure tended to have a hit or miss effect however there were severe side effects of memory loss. As the brain is more understood it will only be a matter of time to understanding (what is essentially a physical ailment) Depression and and all mental and emotional conditions and rid these conditions of the terrible stigma associated with these illnesses.

Brain surgery saved my husband from the torment of depression

When the celebrated theatre critic Sheridan Morley plunged into  suicidal depression, his wife Ruth Leon was told his only hope was pioneering brain surgery.

In this moving account, she describes how her husband became the first patient in Britain to undergo the treatment...

Devoted: Ruth Leon and husband Sheridan Morley. He had suffered from depression for 20 years before having a stroke in November 2002

Sheridan was almost comatose with fear and kept losing consciousness, even through the bumpy ride to the operating theatre.
I felt equally frightened now the moment had arrived, but tried desperately to look and sound positive.
When the operation had first been mooted, I was stunned.
‘Brain surgery?’ I gasped. ‘What would that do?’
Professor Guy Goodwin explained to us, for the first time but certainly not the last, the procedure called deep brain stimulation (DBS).
This involved the implantation of a device that attempts to regulate the activity of certain parts of the brain, just as a pacemaker regulates the heartbeat.
He explained that though this was being used widely for the alleviation of the more distressing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, it was only being tried out as a possible treatment for the alleviation of otherwise intractable depression — the kind that Sheridan, like half a million other Britons, had.
The kind that doesn’t respond to medication.
Sheridan had suffered from depression for 20 years before having a stroke in November 2002. After this, his depressive illness became acute.
He was home from the hospital for only a day when it became clear he had descended into the worst depression of his life. His eyes were clouded, he wouldn’t get out of bed, he cried non-stop. He was almost entirely silent.

After his stroke, Sheridan's depressive illness became acute

While completely dependent on me, he was furious that he was so needy and consequently fought me every inch of the way. There was nothing coming back from him except waves of misery and anger.
I couldn’t bear seeing him so unhappy, but for three years I’d been on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and I had no choice but to watch him deteriorate into a person I didn’t know.
This man I had loved and laughed with, this wonderful man I had worked and played with, this amazing man who had changed and enriched my life, was a stranger.
I’d been told that Professor Goodwin at Oxford’s Radcliffe Infirmary was ‘the best man in the world for treatment-resistant depression’.
And finally I’d managed to get us in to see him. Professor Goodwin’s hope was that with DBS the doctors could adjust Sheridan’s moods after the operation with the use of an electronic remote control.
Though a pioneering Canadian neuroscientist, Dr Helen Mayberg, had performed seven of these operations, the technique had never before been used in this country or, indeed, anywhere in Europe for depression. No one knew whether it worked.
Her results had been mixed — one patient had had no reaction at all, four were somewhat better, two were much better — and, of course, no one knew whether Sheridan was a good candidate for the operation or even whether there was a chance it might work for him.
He was still sitting with his head down, taking no part in the conversation. We tried to discuss it with him. All he could say was that if it would make him better he was in favour of it.
The problem with that endorsement was that by this point Sheridan was so depressed that if you had told him we had a solution, but that it involved chopping off his head, he would have headed for the nearest axe.
Professor Goodwin said it was up to us, which, in effect, meant it was up to me, as Sheridan was way past the stage where he could make a rational decision about lunch, never mind whether he would allow someone to operate on his brain.
‘What are the risks?’ I asked. ‘Could he be reduced to a vegetable? What’s the worst that can happen?’
The worst, said Professor Goodwin, was nothing. It was possible he’d have the operation and it wouldn’t work.
It might work partially. That is,  he might feel somewhat better, but not much.
Or it might be a spectacular success, drive back the negative feelings and regenerate some of the nerve endings or pathways that had been destroyed by the stroke.
He might then be restored to something like his pre-stroke self. No one knew and no one could tell. But, he concluded, he won’t feel worse than he does now.
Sheridan lifted his head for the first time.
‘Not possible,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t feel worse than I do now.’

The procedure called deep brain stimulation (DBS) had never been used anywhere in Europe for depression

Once I had been solidly reassured on all sides that he had nothing to lose if we opted for the surgery, that at the very least the Hippocratic Oath would be obeyed (‘Above all, do no harm’), I was anxious to get on with it.
I was afraid that Sheridan was feeling so ill that he would find the energy from somewhere to take his own life.
On the day of the operation — Wednesday, October 19, 2005 — the operating theatre was full of people, 17 at the only time I tried to count them, and they were all busy.
The atmosphere was full of wonder. Every person in the operating theatre, except possibly Sheridan, was alive to the extraordinary event they were witnessing.
Before the operation started, Sheridan was asked a long list of questions
‘Tell us, on a scale of one to five, one being not at all and five being extremely, how angry, scared, relaxed do you feel . . . ’ and so it went.
Then Professor Goodwin asked how he felt.
‘Suicidal,’ came the predictable response. ‘There’s no future. I know Ruth is going to leave me, all my editors will fire me, I’ve got no pension and no money, my children hate me, I’ve made such a mess of everything.’ No change there, then.
Sheridan had been given enough sedation to keep him calm, but still leave him awake so he could answer Professor Goodwin’s questions about his state of mind.
He also needed anaesthetic in his scalp so he wouldn’t feel the surgeon drilling holes as large as 5p pieces on both sides of his forehead. These were for the electric probes that would be inserted into his brain.

Working quietly, Professor Tipu Aziz, who was performing the operation, and his surgical assistants made their incisions, peeled back the flaps of skin and adjusted a scary-looking hand drill with a crank handle.
‘This won’t hurt,’ Carol the nurse said to Sheridan, who was beyond caring.
‘But it is noisy. So, don’t worry.’ Actually, it wasn’t even as loud as a dentist’s drill.
Because my job was to be the face that Sheridan recognised when he opened his eyes, I was allowed to be in the theatre without a mask. In truth, he rarely opened his eyes, but did respond when I spoke to him. He knew, at least intermittently, that I was there.
Suddenly, Tipu inserted a long electric probe like a meat skewer into one of the two holes he’d drilled into Sheridan’s head. He asked Sheridan to tell him what he was feeling.
Cautiously, not wanting to overstate, Sheridan said, quietly and haltingly, but in his normal voice rather than the awful whine that had replaced it for nearly three years: ‘Well, I don’t feel suicidal any more.’
Then he corrected himself: ‘The suicidal despair has lessened. It’s still there, but it’s less.’
Tipu indicated to his electronics team to raise the current level. ‘And now?’
‘Now I can see some rays of hope. I think maybe the future isn’t so bad. Maybe there’s a future after all.’
It was the best moment of my life. Professor Goodwin looked at me over his mask and I could feel the warmth of his grin from across the room, even though I could only see his eyes. It was working.
‘Let’s do the other side,’ said Tipu, and he inserted a probe into the hole drilled in the other side of Sheridan’s head.
The right side wasn’t quite as dramatic. Sheridan reported that his mood was lighter, but not very. I was jubilant.
Tipu explained later this was because Sheridan’s stroke had occurred on the right side and less could therefore be expected immediately. But this was where they were hoping the brain stimulation would encourage the regeneration of brain cells destroyed by the stroke.

COULD BRAIN OP ALSO BEAT OBESITY AND DEMENTIA?

Sheridan Morley's brain ‘pacemaker’ implant was a pioneering operation which today, six years on, is still ahead of its time.
British experts are working hard to turn the electronic technology into a fully work-able treatment.
The DBS technique involves implanting millimetre-thick electrodes deep into a patient’s brain. These are connected to a pacemaker that sends electronic pulses into specific areas to inhibit or stimulate that part of the brain.
The treatment is increasingly being used for Parkinson’s disease, where it can prevent tremors. It’s also being tested for chronic pain, Alzheimer’s and even obesity.
Professor Guy Goodwin, of Oxford’s Radcliffe Infirmary, who treated Morley, had read trial results from experiments in Toronto on depression patients.
‘I decided the promising data justified a one-off attempt in Sheridan,’ he says.
But he doesn’t consider it  to have been a total clinical success.
‘It did not work very well,’ he says. ‘In part, I suspect this is because the effects of the stroke continued to disrupt his brain.’
Nevertheless, British experts are continuing to develop deep brain stimulation in the hope it might treat the estimated 500,000 Britons whose severe depression does not respond to conventional drugs.
Medics at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol will be publishing the results of a clinical trial on the technique later in the year.
‘There are mixed results, with some patients showing promising results and some a degree of improvement. But others have not improved at all,’ says team leader Dr Andrea Malizia.
DBS is being tried on other psychiatric problems, including obsessive compulsive disorder. U.S. researchers have reported that some of their worst-affected patients had managed to keep their symptoms under control for more than eight years with the treatment.
U.S. neurosurgeons are also using it on obesity, targeting the area that controls our desire to eat and making patients feel full.
Early indications are ‘promising’, with some eating less and  losing weight.
JOHN NAISH

Professor Goodwin had warned me there might be a placebo effect, where Sheridan would be so caught up in the drama of the moment that  he would feel improvement where  none existed.
But we agreed that whatever made him feel better was worth having, placebo or not. In the event, when they tried fooling him by turning the current down or off, Sheridan was clearly not having any.
‘It’s gone again,’ he said. ‘I feel just as bad as I did before.’
No placebo effect, then. The improvement he had experienced was due to the treatment, and it worked.
As soon as the probing was over, they were ready to put him under so they could implant a permanent stimulator device into his chest to power the electrical pulses. There was a brief conference in a side room with Professor Goodwin and his staff about whether or not to turn on the stimulator.
I argued for it, hoping that when Sheridan woke up the astounding improvement we had just seen in the operating theatre would have returned. The medical staff said that the trauma of the operation would be such that it would block any effect from the device.
This was the first time I heard that, in the case of Parkinson’s and pain management stimulators, they often don’t turn on the machines for six weeks to allow the swelling to go down.
After an operation, there is swelling around the incisions and until the body returns to normal — and in the head it takes longer than in the body — the current can’t be regulated properly.
I was expecting an immediate improvement, however slight, and then a slow adjustment over the following weeks and months. I wish they’d warned me. But there was nothing to do but wait.
Sooner or later the swelling would go down and the stimulator would kick in. Only then would we know the extent to which it might work to improve Sheridan’s mood.
Meanwhile, Sheridan was awful to everyone, not just me, whining and complaining.
‘It didn’t work... You made me have this operation and now I’ve got cross-stitches all over my face... Make them take it out... I’ve got a black eye... I’m hungry... I’m not hungry, take it away... I hate this house... I want to die... I want to move back to the country... I hate walking... I’m sicker now than I was before the operation... It’s never going to get better and you put me through all this for nothing.’ And on and on.
It was August 28, 2006, a Sunday morning. I’d come home from playing tennis with friends and as I walked up the stairs something seemed different. Not wrong or bad, just different.
Sitting at the dining table in the conservatory was Sheridan. He had a mug of coffee and was reading the Sunday papers. He looked up, smiled at me and inquired casually: ‘Had a good game, darling?’
It was as though the whole of the preceding four years had never happened. He was entirely himself, entirely present in the moment. His eyes were clear, he looked straight at me, his voice — that wonderful, beloved voice that I had missed so much — was there again.
He seemed unaware of the change in him, as though he were Rip Van Winkle waking up from his 100-year sleep, oblivious to the fact that yesterday he had been a sleeping zombie and today he was the Sheridan Morley who had been away for years. He was back.
What had caused this? The most likely explanation is that the neural pathways had been reconnected and were finally working again.
But the truth is, even now, that I don’t know exactly why he came back. It was sufficient on that particular Sunday that he had.
Still standing on the stairs, tennis racquet in hand, mouth agape, I tried to take in the new situation. I didn’t want to frighten him by screaming ‘You’re back!’ which is what I wanted to do.
I pretended I always came back to this scene of domesticity which, until his stroke, I always had.
‘Oh, you’re up,’ I said, grinning inanely. ‘That’s good. Would you like me to make you some breakfast?’
‘No, thanks, darling, I got myself coffee and a croissant.’
‘Good,’ I responded, stupidly.
We went to Oxford to see Professor Goodwin the following Thursday. He warned us not to expect miracles, that this upturn could be the long-hoped-for result of the DBS operation or it could be a temporary remission. As usual, he was right.
As the days passed it became clear that Sheridan was not well, but he was much better. He was depressed, but he was functional. It was no longer an all-day job to get him out of bed. While he was fairly low in the mornings, he perked up by theatre time and could once again write reviews.
It was all as good as it was going to get. As the euphoria wore off, I began to see the tell-tale signs of depression taking hold again.
Sheridan was better, no doubt about it, but he was deteriorating again, this time slowly.
But there were enough moments of Sheridan being Sheridan to make it possible for me to return to being, from time to time, me. It couldn’t last, and it didn’t, but it was so much better than what we’d been living with for years that I walked on air.


But What Comes After . . . The Tragic Story Of A Wife, A Husband And The Illness That Nearly Destroyed Them by Ruth Leon (Constable, £16.99). To order a copy at £11.99 (P&P free), tel:  0843 382 0000.


Sheridan Morley died in his sleep from a suspected heart attack in February 2007

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2011235/Brain-surgery-saved-husband-torment-depression.html#ixzz1RF4Pw810

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EVERYDAY TRIGGERS THAT CAN CAUSE DEPRESSION

ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY MAIL

Why doughnuts can make you depressed...and the other surprising, everyday triggers that can cause depression

Depression is a blight that leaves few families untouched.

Last year alone, 5.5 million Britons took antidepressants, according to research just published by scientists at the universities of Warwick and Stirling.

Bereavement, money and relationship worries are among the well-known triggers, says chartered psychologist Dr Rick Norris, founder of Mind Health Development and a practising NHS clinician.

As much as they might cheer us up at the time, comfort foods such as doughnuts can be bad for the waistline and for mental well-being

However, there are many other causes, for which medication might not be the only answer.
For, as the experts reveal, our everyday activities - from what we eat to our exposure to the sun - can also lead to low mood...

HOT WEATHER

Most people will be cheered by this week’s weather, but for many thousands of others, it means one thing: depression.
That’s because they suffer from the summer form of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — here, depression is triggered not by lack of sun, but by too much of it. Up to 600,000 Britons are thought to suffer from ‘summer SAD’.
It’s thought to be linked to sensitivity to heat and hormonal imbalances — one theory is that when it’s hot the body produces less of the thyroid hormone, leading to a lack of energy.
Another theory is that hot weather reduces the ability to cope with mental stress.

Up to 600,000 Britons are thought to suffer from 'summer SAD'. It's thought to be linked to sensitivity to heat and hormonal imbalances

‘In people with summer depression, you see a decreased appetite and insomnia; with winter depression, you get an increased appetite and increased sleep,’ explains Dr Alfred Lewy, director of the sleep and mood disorders laboratory at Oregon Health and Science University.
There is also an increase in the suicide rate during hot weather — analysis of more than 50,000 suicides in England and Wales between 1993 and 2003 showed the suicide rate rose once the average daily temperature reached 18C. This could be linked to a drop in the brain’s levels of serotonin, the ‘happy hormone’, which  can dip in the summer months.

‘There are likely to be several factors involved,’ says lead researcher Dr Lisa Page, of Kings College London’s Institute of Psychiatry.
‘People tend to drink more alcohol in summer — not only does it have a depressive effect, it also disinhibits us, so we are more likely to act impulsively. Hot weather also disturbs sleep and this could possibly tip someone over the edge.’

THE PILL

Women taking birth control pills are almost twice as likely to be depressed as those who don’t, according to a 2005 study from Monash University, Australia.
‘It’s entirely possible that the Pill can change mood in some women who are sensitive to it,’ says Dr Ailsa Gebbie, vice-president of the faculty of sexual and reproductive health at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
‘We don’t know why, but it’s thought to be linked to the serotonin pathways in the brain. On the other hand, hormonal contraceptives can also be very helpful for treating PMT.’

The sugar crash that follows eating a doughnut can make you feel worse

DOUGHNUTS

As much as they might cheer us up at the time, comfort foods such as doughnuts can be bad for the waistline and for mental well-being.
‘We tend to crave sugary and fatty foods for a quick mood fix, but the sugar crash that follows could make you feel worse,’ explains Helen Bond, of the British Dietetic Association.
‘Our mood is determined by a steady supply of energy from blood glucose to the brains.’
Information is carried between the cells by chemicals such as dopamine. Rising levels of dopamine can boost mood; falling levels are linked to sadness. 
While it’s best to eat foods that release their energy slowly, such as wholegrain bread, ‘if you fancy something sweet, chocolate might do the job,’ adds Helen Bond.
‘A neurotransmitter called phenylethylamine is thought to be released from eating it, leading to feelings of alertness. Choose chocolate with more than 85 per cent cocoa to avoid the sugar crash.’

STREET LIGHTS

Too much light in the bedroom —from street lights, a night light or even the glow of a TV screen — can have a negative effect on the brain, scientists at Ohio State University have found.
In animal studies, they discovered that exposure to dim light at night over time can cause changes in the hippocampus, an area of the brain linked with depression — hamsters who’d been affected showed depressive symptoms, such as failing to eat treats.

TEA AND COFFEE

‘I’m always amazed by the number of people I see who feel depressed because of sleep problems, yet who drink endless cups of tea and coffee, even late into the evening,’ says Dr William Shanahan, executive medical director at Capio Nightingale.
‘They feel utterly miserable because they can’t sleep at night and feel dreadful the next day.
‘It’s remarkably common. The golden rule is no caffeine after 4pm — an espresso after dinner can be fatal for your sleep.’

BLOOD PRESSURE PILLS

Some beta-blockers for high blood pressure (such as propranolol), and retinoids, which treat skin conditions such as acne and psoriasis, have been linked with depression.
‘We are now fairly confident that beta-blockers can cause depression in some people,’ says Professor David Taylor, director of pharmacology and pathology at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
‘The same goes for Roaccutane, which is prescribed for acne, and possibly interferon, used in multiple sclerosis and hepatitis patients. What isn’t clear is why these drugs may be having this effect.’

Smoking may increase the risk of severe depression by 93 per cent

CIGARETTES

Smoking may increase the risk of severe depression by 93 per cent, scientists at the University of Melbourne found.
The study of 1,043 women, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, found that of those who were smokers, 15 per cent went on to develop major depressive disorder, compared to 6.5 per cent of non-smokers.
‘Nicotine creates a sense of relaxation, so people smoke in the belief that it reduces stress and anxiety, but this is only temporary,’ says Dr Eva Cyhlarova, head of research at the Mental Health Foundation.
Nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine, the feel-good brain chemical.
While this temporarily increases the supply, it also encourages the brain to switch off its own mechanism for making dopamine, so in the long-term the supply decreases.

OVERACTIVE THYROID

A common cause of low mood or depression is an overactive thyroid (increased activity of the thyroid gland), which affects elderly people in particular, says Dr Mark Vanderpump, consultant endocrinologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

‘A simple blood test from your GP can rule this out. The most common cause of an overactive thyroid is Grave’s disease — by producing too many hormones, you can feel irritable.’ 

THE INTERNET

In a study in China last year of 1,000 teenagers, those who used the internet excessively were found to be two and a half times more likely to develop depression.
‘Our lives are being invaded by technology and this can be exhausting for the brain,’ says Dr Richard Graham, an expert in technology addiction at Capio Nightingale Hospital, London.
‘If you are constantly on the internet or phone, it can bring about symptoms of depression.
‘You can become less confident in real social situations as you become more confident in virtual worlds. If you’re spending more than two hours a day using the internet, and it’s not for work reasons, you have cause for alarm.’ 

VEGETARIAN DIET

There’s evidence to suggest that a lack of unsaturated fatty acids — compounds found in oily fish — may contribute to depression, says Dr Eva Cyhlarova, of the Mental Health Foundation.
Earlier this year, U.S. scientists found that women who took fish oil during pregnancy had a lower risk of post-natal depression.
‘My worry is that vegetarians may struggle with getting an adequate supply of these important nutrients. While some nuts and seeds provide fatty acids, the body has to convert them. The problem is that nutrients are lost in this process.’

PROCRASTINATING

While depression can cause us to procrastinate, poor time management can also be a trigger, says clinical psychologist Dr Funke Baffour.
‘Leaving everything until the end of the day means you feel as though everything is spiralling out of control. Working in the evening will also knock out things that can help stave off depression, such as eating a healthy dinner and spending time with family.’

ATKINS DIET

Carbohydrates raise the level of the ‘feel-good’ brain chemical serotonin, helping you feel happy, content and combating low mood, says Helen Bond.
Conversely, low-carb dieters are susceptible to mood swings, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
Scientists there have found that a lack of carbohydrates causes the brain to stop regulating serotonin, causing feelings of anger and depression — dubbed ‘Atkins attitude’, after the famous low-carb Atkins diet.

Women who undergo plastic surgery are up to three times more likely to kill themselves

COSMETIC SURGERY

People who’ve had cosmetic surgery can sometimes suffer from depression a year or two later, says Dr Mark Vanderpump.
Women who undergo plastic surgery are up to three times more likely to kill themselves, according to research published in the journal Current Psychiatry Reports. 
Cosmetic surgery patients also had a three-times higher rate of death due to self-destructive acts, such as binge-drinking.
‘It might be that these people don’t like the results or that they struggle to accept their new look,’ says  Dr Vanderpump.

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CRYSTAL HEALING

Crystals and gemstones are surrounded by mythology

Crystal therapy works on many different levels - physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. It is claimed that this gently remove energy imbalances, therefore may ease clients maladies, an in so doing clients may feel balanced, healed, soothed and energized. We are all familiar with the idea of fortune-tellers gazing into crystal balls and foretelling the appearance of tall, dark strangers. However, few of us realise that crystals are actually used by the vast majority of people, every day. Quartz watches, computers, televisions and many conventional medical techniques would not exist without crystals. We base our entire measurement of time upon piezoelectric vibrations from quartz crystal. The scientific theory Piezoelectric currents are tiny electrical charges which are produced when pressure is applied to a specific kind of crystal. Lighters harvest the surge of piezoelectricity into a spark that ignites a flame. Crystals vary their structure when they are subjected to changes in temperature, water levels (hydration) and they even change colour if you alter their electromagnetic field - we use this characteristic in order to see the black figures on the face of a quartz LCD watch. Water levels are also another factor in the way that crystals behave. Crystalline structures are every where - even in the human body. These are found on the surface of cells and in the cell "battery", the mitochondria. If we experience changes in water, electromagnetic field or temperature, then biochemical traffic across the cell membrane can be altered, as well as the energy production capacity of the mitochondria. Crystals can, almost like a lens, "focus" the electromagnetic fields that surround cell membranes and mitochondria. This means that during crystal healing, placing the crystals on nerve clusters usually found around the chakra areas, could lead to significant alterations in the traffic of neurochemical messengers within the nervous system and thus affect bodywide chemistry. Given that emotions are often controlled or varied by our body chemistry - it is easy to see how crystals could even affect our moods.

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HELPING ACHIEVE THAT FLAT TUMMY

I found the article below today in the Daily Mail, bear in mind that it is possible to have a combined type. Also not mentioned in the article, is fluid retention, obviously fluid retention can have various causes, some serious necessitating  medical advice as to the cause but a very common type is down to the premenstrual type. In this case contrary to what you might think, this is often relieved by drinking more water rather than trying not to. For when the body becomes dehydrated it conserves fluid often retaining around the tummy and the ankles. 

Another cause of abdominal bloating is Premenstrual fluid retention is caused by the rise in Progesterone in the latter half of the menstrual cycle, this hormone causes smooth muscle in the body to relax, so being to help the uterus, which is smooth muscle to relax to help sustain a potential pregnancy, however it affects all smooth (involuntary muscle) elsewhere in the body to relax too. This affects the blood vessels from the arteries to the tiny arterioles and capillaries in the tissues and the digestive system. The large bowel, who's job is to remove fluid from waste matter, finds itself removing that bit more fluid than in another time in the cycle, as this muscle is not so active. This fluid is retained in the gut wall and causes abdominal bloating. Further the relaxed blood vessels, the capillaries leak  fluid into the body tissues exacerbating the problem further. Women often find with the onset of menstruation, they may have a loose bowel movement as the levels of Progesterone drops and the normal function of the large intestine is restored

How to tame your tum: Is yours a spare tyre or a stress bulge? Finding out your tummy type is the key to getting a perfect midriff

For many women, getting bikini ready means tackling one dreaded area in particular — our tummies.

Most of us still think the best way to achieve a washboard stomach is by doing hundreds of sit-ups. Not so, says A-list trainer and body guru James Duigan.

James, who sculpts supermodels Elle Macpherson and Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley among others, insists there is no ‘one size fits all’ method for getting a flat belly. Instead, he’s identified five key ‘tummy types’, all of which require a different approach to achieve successful toning.

Get a flat stomach: First you need to identify your tunny type

Once you’ve identified your type, you can transform it following James’ tailor-made plan and get that flat tummy fast.

THE SPARE TYRE TUMMY

The spare tyre: This is one of the easiest tummy troubles to eliminate because it's caused by eating the wrong foods and not exercising enough

HOW TO IDENTIFY THIS TYPE

These people are likely to lead sedentary lives, perhaps with jobs that keep them desk-bound. They may also have an emotional attachment to sugary foods.

Luckily, this ‘spare tyre’ is one of the easiest tummy troubles to eliminate as, according to James, it’s caused by eating the wrong foods and not exercising enough.

TYPICAL BAD HABITS

‘If you exercise very little, eat lots of sugar and refined carbohydrates in products like biscuits, cakes and white bread, or rely on starchy carbs like pasta and rice, you probably have an overweight tummy with accompanying fat on your legs and hips,’ says James.

MIDRIFF MAKEOVER PLAN

• Cut down on alcohol. ‘Alcohol is a fat bomb for the tummy — pure sugar which goes straight to your waist and stops you burning all other fat until the booze has been processed,’ says James. ‘Just a few glasses three to four times a week will lead to a “wine waist” — a thick midriff and podgy tummy. ‘If you want to drink occasionally that’s fine, but the bottom line is that you have to cut back on booze to get a flat belly.’
• Once you cut out alcohol for two weeks, it’s time to overhaul your diet. ‘In a nutshell, eat well and move more,’ says James. Avoid low-fat and so-called ‘diet’ snacks. ‘These pre-packaged products are often packed full of chemicals, refined sugar, salt and preservatives to give them flavour.
• ‘Ditch calorie counting in favour of a healthy diet full of unprocessed fresh foods such as fish, eggs, organic meat and vegetables. ‘Start the day with eggs and smoked salmon, or even grilled chicken and vegetables, and snack on sliced lean meats. ‘And don’t be afraid of eating good fats, such as avocados, nuts and oily fish. These encourage your body to burn midriff fat, giving you a flat tummy.’
• ‘Exercise is the key to helping this tummy type,’ says James. Simply going for a long walk, doing lunges, squats or dips at home or a yoga class will be beneficial. You don’t need a gym.

TOP TIP FOR THIS TUMMY

If you regularly reward yourself for a hard day with a piece of cake or deal with bad news with a biscuit, it’s important to remember that being beautiful is as much about how you feel as how you look. The starting point for any tummy transformation is feeling happy.

THE STRESS TUMMY

Stress tummy: These types are typically over-achievers with perfectionist personalities

HOW TO IDENTIFY  THIS TYPE

Stressed-tummy types are typically over-achievers with perfectionist personalities. They are usually also susceptible to digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which can cause bloating and make their tummies look far worse.
‘Stress tummies are easy to spot, as the weight is specific to the front of the midriff and the umbilical area,’ explains James. ‘When stressed, we produce cortisol, a hormone which encourages the body to cling on to fat around the stomach.’
Stressed tummies will also be fairly hard to the touch, rather than wobbly.

TYPICAL BAD HABITS

It’s likely you skip meals, abuse your adrenal system with too much caffeine and grab junk food for convenience.

MIDRIFF MAKEOVER PLAN

• Get an early night. ‘Stressed women nearly always sleep badly, which disrupts the production of leptin, the hormone which helps regulate appetite and metabolism,’ James explains. ‘This is why we eat more when we are tired and crave fat-depositing sugary snacks for an instant energy boost.’ 
• Combat exhaustion with a relaxation strategy of deep-breathing, meditation and long baths before bed to encourage a good night’s sleep and limit coffee consumption to no more than two cups a day.
• Don’t go for the burn when exercising. ‘Excessive cardio which increases cortisol levels isn’t the answer,’ says James. ‘Instead, yoga, long walks and resistance work with weights is perfect for sculpting and building up strength while calming the system.’
• Magnesium is a calming mineral to help soothe a stressed belly. James advises eating lots of magnesium-rich foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, Brazil nuts and seeds.

TOP TIP FOR THIS TUMMY

Stress-busting stretches and yoga poses at night time can help to lower cortisol levels, while chamomile teas or James’ own Bodyism Body Serenity supplement (£30 for 20 servings, bodyism.com) can also help the body unwind.

THE LITTLE POOCH

The little pooch: These women are likely to be busy mums or have demanding careers - hey may even be a gym junkie

HOW TO IDENTIFY  THIS TYPE

These women are likely to be busy mums or have demanding careers. ‘They may even be a gym junkie, but stuck in a workout-and-diet rut, perhaps always eating the same foods and doing the same routine at the gym, which keeps you slim but leaves you with a lower belly that spoils your silhouette,’ says James.

TYPICAL BAD HABITS

‘Doing excessive crunches and using gimmicky gym items such as ab-rollers can place a strain on the hip flexors and the lower back, causing the tummy muscles to protrude so your belly sticks out,’ says James.

MIDRIFF MAKEOVER PLAN

• Good nutrition and plenty of fibre are essential to improve digestive conditions such as inflammation, bloating and constipation, which can make a pooch tummy worse. Green leafy vegetables, oatbran and wholemeal grains are good, natural sources of fibre.
• Sit-ups done incorrectly increase your lower back curve and accentuate the ‘pouch’ effect. Swap sit-ups for planks. Do these by lying face down on a mat, resting on your forearms. Push off from the floor, rising onto your toes and elbows, so your body is parallel to the floor from your head to your heels. Start off doing ten seconds and build up to a whole minute.
• It’s a common misconception that using weights bulks women up. In fact, the opposite is true. Using weights will burn serious amounts of fat in a short space of time, so try introducing circuits — repetitions of exercises like squats or lunges which work individual muscle sets.

TOP TIP FOR THIS TUMMY

Be kind to your tummy, reduce inflammation by drinking lots of water and eating easy-to-digest foods such as green vegetables and lighter proteins such as fish and chicken.

THE MUMMY TUMMY

The Mummy tummy: Women with these bellies have usually given birth in the past few years, and, being a typical mum, have little time for themselves

HOW TO IDENTIFY  THIS TYPE

Women with these tummies have usually given birth in the past few years, and, being a typical mum, have little time for themselves. ‘After giving birth, the uterus drops and is much heavier than it was pre-pregnancy,’ says James. ‘It takes at least six weeks to return to its usual size, so don’t even think about trying to get a flat stomach until after then.
‘You need to re-train your pelvic floor and lower abs to increase blood flow and strengthen loose muscles.’

TYPICAL BAD HABITS

Rushing back to exercise too quickly. ‘I would suggest waiting around two to three months,’ says James. ‘Being stressed about getting rid of your baby weight will only make you cling onto it more. Give yourself a break!’

MIDRIFF MAKEOVER PLAN

• ‘Fish oil supplements turn on  fat-burning hormones and turn off  fat-storing hormones,’ says James. ‘Begin by taking three 1,000mg capsules a day with meals and build up to five. I’ve trained Elle Macpherson through two pregnancies and she takes these every day.’
• Try to eat good fats — found in sources such as nuts, oils and olives — every day. ‘Not only do they help you burn fat and absorb vitamins from food effectively, they also help combat tiredness — a big help for tired mums,’ says James.
• Gentle pelvic floor exercises (known as Kegels) act as a natural corset for the body to flatten your tummy from the inside out. Squeeze and clench your pelvic floor muscles 15-20 times, in five sessions a day.
• Steer clear of sit-ups. ‘After giving birth, the linea alba muscles — which run down the mid-line of the abdomen — separate and you need to allow them to recover,’ says James. ‘Crunches are the worst thing you can do, as they will force these muscles farther apart. Instead, breathe deep into your tummy while on all fours, then slowly exhale while doing a pelvic floor exercise.’

TOP TIP FOR THIS TUMMY

Daytime naps (try putting up blackout blinds) and stretching before bed are important ways to restore sleep hormones and boost fat-burning. 

THE BLOATED TUMMY

Bloated tummies: These are often flat in the morning, but swell throughout the day with gas or indigestion

HOW TO IDENTIFY  THIS TYPE

Bloated tummies are often flat in the morning, but swell throughout the day with gas or indigestion. Bloating affects both slim and overweight women. It is almost always caused by food intolerances and allergies, or sluggish bowels as a result of a poor diet.

TYPICAL BAD HABITS

You eat the same foods and may have done so for a lifetime without realising you’re intolerant to them.

MIDRIFF MAKEOVER PLAN

• ‘The most common intolerances I see are wheat and gluten (bread, pasta, pastries, pizza, cakes and cereals), alcohol, yeast (in muffins, beer and pastries) and processed dairy (cheese, milk, butter),’ says James. ‘Gluten in particular can inflame the bowel and make the stomach look bigger.
• ‘Experiment to work out what bothers your belly as you know your body better than anyone else. Try eliminating key culprits such as gluten for a fortnight to see if your bloating reduces, or worsens when you reintroduce foods. Focus on a diet with lots of fresh veg, meat, chicken and fish.’
• Sluggish bowels are often a result of eating the wrong foods in the wrong way. Make breakfast your biggest meal, as this is when  digestion is at its peak, and avoid eating late at night which leads to bloating. Chew food properly and drink plenty of water to keep the digestive system moving.
• Bloating can be a sign of imbalanced gut flora. So to get your tummy really flat you need to repopulate it with friendly bacteria. Prebiotic and probiotic supplements are the simplest way. Natural sources include miso soup, sour cream and some fruit and veg including kale, garlic and onions. A healthy gut means a flat stomach.

TOP TIP FOR THIS TUMMY
Believe it or not, breathing can be the best thing you can do for this kind of tummy. Try this each morning: lay on your back, completely relaxed, and breathe deep into your tummy ten times. After eating, a walk will help the digestive process, too.

Adapted from Clean & Lean Flat Tummy Fast! by James  Duigan (£12.99 Kyle Cathie).  For more information, go to bodyism.com.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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ASTRIDESTELLA'S PHILOSOPHY~THE "RIGHT TIME"

Have you ever stopped to think how wonderful nature is and how it has thought of everything? If you think of the human body and how our bodies work all the chemical changes that take place within our livers and digestive system, not to mention how all our individual cells come together and form us and how these cells reproduce copies of each other and if not we have a fall back system, our immune system to deal with any malformed ones. And how wonderful, how we can reproduce and form new people and how these babies, no matter how tiny are perfectly formed.

Ok the next bit of what I'm going to say might seem a bit silly, but when you think of it, it does make sense. As we get older, we don't look as good as we used to, we may put on a bit of weight and become a bit flabby, our skins wrinkle and is not as firm as it used to be. But nature has thought of this too, we loose the ability of being able to focus our eyes close up, so we cannot see the fine detail as we used to so when you look in the mirror (unless its a magnifying one) we see ourselves and others in fuzzy vision, so within our generation, we don't notice the ageing as much.  Nature's way of helping us cope with age don't you think?

But on a more serious note, the Universe like Nature thinks of everything and all part of a plan, there is a right time for everything in life and if it doesn't happen when you want it to, it was because it wasn't the right time. For a plan to come together all the components must be there at the right time, as is the case with the human body, for the body to live it needs oxygen, water and food and our bodies need all the correct enzymes to digest that food. And so it is with our desires, each part has to come together and if that part isn't ready it cant happen. If something is meant to happen it will and because Nature and the Universe is so incredible, it will do so at the "RIGHT" time.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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NATURAL REMEDIES FROG AND TOAD SKIN EXTRACTS

I am a great believer in natural remedies as my blog here states. The article here below is from the Daily Mail. And yes I would agree Nature and the Universe gave us a vast array of resources to deal with sickness.

Natural remedies: Frog and toad skin extracts could help treat more than 70 diseases

Researchers from Queen's University in Belfast have accidentally stumbled upon a potential treatment for up to 70 diseases including cancer, diabetes and strokes.
They were doing research on the little-known Waxy Monkey Frog from South America when they discovered some unusual properties in its skin's secretions.
The Giant Fire-bellied Toad, native to China and Vietnam, was also found to have the potential to treat an array of diseases.

Vein shrinker: Researchers doing a study on Waxy Monkey Frogs accidentally stumbled upon a potential treatment for up to 70 diseases including cancer

Professor Shaw, who led the research said: 'The aim of our work at Queen's is to unlock the potential of the natural world - in this case the secretions found on frog and toad skins - to alleviate human suffering.
'We are absolutely convinced that the natural world holds the solutions to many of our problems.
'We just need to pose the right questions to find them.'

The team of researchers were testing a range of proteins taken from secretions from frogs and toads.
They soon realised proteins in the secretions - which the frogs and toads use as protection from predators - also control the growth of blood vessels - a process known as angiogenesis.
Professor Shaw said: 'The proteins that we have discovered have the ability to either stimulate or inhibit the growth of blood vessels.

Opposite effect: Secretion from the Giant Firebellied Toad stimulates blood vessel growth - making it useful for wound healing, organ transplants, diabetic ulcers and damage caused by strokes

'By switching off angiogenesis and inhibiting blood vessel growth, a protein from the waxy monkey frog has the potential to kill cancer tumours.
'Most cancer tumours can only grow to a certain size before they need blood vessels to grow into the tumour to supply it with vital oxygen and nutrients.
'Stopping the blood vessels from growing will make the tumour less likely to spread and may eventually kill it.
Professor Shaw said the discovery could allow surgeons to remove tumours, and that the protein from the frog could be used to stop remaining cancer cells from growing further.
He said: 'It wouldn't cure the cancer but it would stop it from developing any further and allow the person to live a normal life.'
Secretions from the Giant Firebellied Toad have the opposite effect. They stimulate blood vessel growth.
The Professor said: 'This has the potential to treat conditions that require blood vessels to repair quickly, such as wound healing, organ transplants, diabetic ulcers and damage caused by strokes or heart conditions.'

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WHO SAID CARBOHYDRATES WERE BAD? NOT AT ALL!

This article I've taken from the Daily Mail, advocates what I have been telling people for years. Carbohydrates are not all bad, its THE REFINED CARBOHYDRATES THAT ARE BAD. If you look at the list down below of carbs that contain resistant starch you will notice they are all UNREFINED CARBOHYDRATES. These foods fill you up, stop you feeling hungry and they use up energy being broken down, they also maintain blood sugar levels for longer, stopping the sugar peaks and lows, that can causing shaking and dizziness when trying to loose weight and prevent the brain fatigue that goes with this.

Eat carbs, lose weight: How carbohydrates can help you eat less AND burn more calories

For years they’ve been a no-no — but now a diet taking America by storm says bread, pasta and potatoes can help you drop half a stone in a week...

Weightloss wonder: You can still eat carbs and shed the pounds according to a new diet

Low-carbohydrate diets have been all the rage for some time. And with an estimated 15 per cent of the UK population following a reduced-carb diet at any one time, they’re certainly popular.
But, as anyone who has tried one can testify, there is something about carbohydrate denial that seems extraordinarily punishing.
Carbs are, after all, so tempting —whether it’s the smell of freshly baked bread or the delicious sight of buttery new potatoes.
But the low-carbohydrate message has become so entrenched in modern diet wisdom that pasta, bread, rice and potatoes have been widely accepted as being intrinsically ‘bad’.
But does it have to be this way? A new diet plan claims not, positively encouraging its followers to eat spaghetti and jacket potatoes with meals yet claiming it’s possible to still lose up to 6lb in a week.
It goes against everything we’ve been told by the likes of the Dukan and Atkins diets, but studies have shown that not all carbs are bad. Some contain a substance called resistant starch which, when consumed in quantity, actively encourages weight loss.
Found in ordinary foods — such as bananas, oats, beans and potatoes — resistant starch is so-called because it appears to resist digestion.
This starch travels through the digestive system nearly intact, producing fatty acids that stimulate fat-melting enzymes (particularly in the abdominal area), encouraging your liver to switch to a fat-burning state, preserving muscle mass (so stoking up your metabolism) as well as boosting satiety hormones, meaning you feel fuller for longer.

 

Now, the power of resistant starch has been harnessed in a book, The Carb Lover’s Diet, which has taken the U.S. by storm and is now available in the UK. Written by respected health editor Ellen Kunes and dietitian

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A U.S. study found women who ate a low-carb diet had a poorer memory and attention span than those on a low-calorie diet

Frances Largeman-Roth, The Carb Lover’s Diet is a diet plan which, the authors claim, guarantees rapid but long-term weight loss.
Both authors are vehemently against the low-carb message, believing Atkins-style diets are difficult, unnatural and ineffective long-term. They claim our bodies and brains have evolved to eat starchy foods and willpower alone can only hold back on centuries of evolution for so long before we crack and all those good intentions are lost to a carb-rich feeding frenzy.

Resistance is futile: Avoiding carbs is against evolution, according to authors of The Carb Lover's Diet

OUR GUIDE TO 'RESISTANT STARCH' SUPER FOODS

Green bananas are the hero food of the resistant starch diet. If you eat one slightly green banana a day, you get a guaranteed 12.5g of resistant starch to help you lose weight without feeling hungry. Increase your daily intake of the
following foods, which are rich in resistant starch:

• Green banana 12.5g
• Ripe banana 4.7g
• Oats, uncooked (50g/2oz) 4.6g
• Cannellini beans (125g/4oz) 3.8g
• Lentils, cooked (100g/3.5oz) 3.4g
• Potato, cooked and cooled 3.2g
• Chickpeas, cooked (125g/4oz) 2.1g
• Wholewheat pasta (150g/5oz) 2g
• Pearl barley, cooked (75g/3oz)
• White pasta, cooked and cooled
• 150g/5oz) 1.9g
• Kidney beans (125g/4oz) 1.8g
• Potato, boiled with skin 1.8g
• Brown rice, cooked (100g/3.5oz) 1.7g
• Pinto beans, cooked (125g/4oz) 1.6g
• Peas, frozen (75g/3oz) 1.6g
• White pasta, cooked (150g/5oz)
• Black beans, cooked
• (125g/4oz) 1.5g
• Millet, cooked (75g/3oz) 1.5g
• Baked potato with skin 1.4g
• Pumpernickel bread (one
• slice) 1.3g
• Polenta, cooked (8tbsp) 1g
• Potato crisps (25g/1oz) 1g
• Cornflakes (25g/1oz) 0.9g
• Rye bread (one slice) 0.9g
• Puffed wheat (15g/0.5oz) 0.9g
• Tortillas (one) 0.8g
• Rye crackers (two) 0.6g
• Wholemeal bread (one slice) 0.3g

Kunes and Largeman-Roth have devised and tested a diet that promises weight loss without carb-denial, which hinges on resistant starch. They quote more than 200 studies at respected universities around the world, which show resistant starch to be an effective appetite suppressant and metabolism booster.
Research at the University of Surrey found that consuming resistant starch in one meal caused participants to consume 10 per cent fewer calories (roughly 150 to 200 calories for the average woman) during the next day because they felt less hungry.
Another study showed that resistant starch increases the activity of fat-burning enzymes and decreases the activity of fat-storage enzymes, meaning stomach-fat cells were less likely to pick up and store calories as fat.
Results seem to indicate that adding a little resistant starch to your morning meal is enough to shift your body into fat-melting mode, enabling you to burn nearly 25 per cent more calories a day.
Meanwhile, you’ll eat about 10 per cent fewer calories because you don’t feel as hungry. Most of us naturally consume around 4.8g of resistant starch a day, but the authors believe increasing your intake to ten to 15g a day is enough to trigger a swift and simple route to weight loss.
They have devised a quick-start, seven-day diet plan which, they say, guarantees rapid 3lb to 6lb of weight loss, and a separate long-term strategy for incorporating healthy carbohydrates — particularly those containing resistant starch — into your life to ensure weight continues to come off, and stays off.
STAR CARBS

• BANANAS are your richest source of resistant starch. They are also rich in appetite-suppressing fibre (3g each) and contain the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted into the calming brain chemical serotonin to help you relax and improve your mood.
• Nearly half the starch in BEANS is resistant starch, making them a powerful weight-loss ally. They are also an incredibly rich source of fibre. A Canadian study found that people who ate beans regularly tended to weigh less and have a smaller waist than those who didn’t (they were also 23 per cent less likely to become overweight over time).
• In addition to the fibre and resistant starch they contain, POTATOES are a natural source of a proteinase inhibitor — a natural chemical that boosts satiety hormones and  curbs appetite.
• POLENTA — this cooked cornmeal is naturally high in resistant starch, but is also rich in fibre and contains a decent amount of protein. It can be cooked into a creamy consistency or baked into crunchy sticks (chop small to make nutritious crutons).
• BROWN RICE digests more slowly than white. One study found that blood sugar levels were 24 per cent lower in people who ate brown rice than those who ate white.
• BARLEY is rich in resistant starch and both soluble and insoluble fibre which reduces appetite and  aids digestion.

DIET RULES
Stick to the daily plan (below) or mix and match meals, but to lose weight quickly, follow these rules:

• Eat at least 1g of resistant starch with each meal and aim for a minimum daily 10g total.
• At lunch and dinner, ensure resistant starch fills a quarter of your plate and the remaining three quarters is lean meat and low-fat dairy products, fruit and vegetables.
• Write down everything you eat in a food diary, highlighting all foods high in resistant starch (research shows that dieters who jot down what they ate lost weight more quickly than dieters who didn’t, and keeping a food diary helps dieters follow their plans without cheating).
• Ban artificial sweeteners. Studies show they may increase your cravings for sugary foods. Fake sweeteners are up to 600 times sweeter than sugar and numb your taste buds to the natural sweetness of good-for-you carbs such as berries and other fresh fruit.
• Eat one snack a day to prevent between-meal bingeing (the longer you wait to eat your snack, the easier it will be to stick to the diet).
• Don’t skip meals. Sticking to a regular pattern maintains blood sugar levels and keeps hunger at bay.
• Keep trigger foods out of the house. This means you are less likely to lose your self-control and scoff them down.
• Drink eight glasses (240ml) of water each day, so you don’t mistake thirst for hunger. Don’t drink liquid calories. On the seven-day kickstart plan, you can drink water, coffee and tea (black, green or herbal, without sweeteners, but with up to two teaspoons of semi-skimmed milk), but skip fruit juice, alcohol and fizzy drinks (even diet drinks or sparkling water), which make you look and feel bloated.
• Sit down to every meal. Grabbing something and eating it over the sink sets you up for overeating. It doesn’t give you a chance to be mindful about your food, and you’re less likely to pay attention to the serving size. Eat slowly and avoid TV, music and even dinner companions — all of which can cause you to overeat.
• Use smaller plates (try your salad plate instead of your dinner plate) and keep portion sizes small.
• For a quick boost, try this fat-flushing cocktail, which includes metabolism-boosting ingredients that will help speed you to your goal: Take two litres of green tea, juice from one orange, juice from one lemon and juice from one lime. Mix together in one large jug. Serve hot or iced. Keep in the fridge for up to three days.

THE RECIPES

Prawn Stir-Fry with Ginger (serves two)
Heat 2tsp sesame oil in a pan and add 2tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp honey, 1 tbsp grated ginger, two chopped garlic cloves.
Cook for one minute.
Add 400g/14oz stir-fry vegetables, 75g/3oz prawns and 300g/10oz cooked brown rice and cook for eight minutes.
Serve topped with 2tbsp flaked almonds and one chopped spring onion.

Chicken pasta primavera (serves two)
Cook 50g/2oz wholemeal pasta then cook 125g/4oz cooked chicken strips with one sliced onion, three finely chopped garlic cloves, a 400g/14oz can of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and 1tsp dried oregano for eight to ten minutes before combining with cooked pasta, one courgette sliced lengthways into ribbons and 2tbsp parmesan cheese.

Grilled burger and  three-bean salad (serves two)
Divide 175g/6oz lean minced steak into two and shape into a thick patty, cooking for six minutes on each side.
Combine 75g/30z green beans, 125g/4oz rinsed canned cannellini beans, 125g/4oz rinsed canned kidney beans, 100g/3.5oz finely chopped carrot and half a chopped green pepper with 2tbsp low-fat vinaigrette in a bowl.
Serve burgers in wholemeal  buns topped with lettuce and sliced tomato.

Fish Tacos with coleslaw (serves four)
Sprinkle 700g/1lb 8oz fish fillets with salt, pepper and cooking spray and cook in a non-stick pan for ten to 12 minutes. Mix 3tbsp low-fat yogurt with 2tbsp lime juice, 1tbsp dark sesame oil, 2tsp grated fresh ginger, 1tsp honey and coat 350g/12oz coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage, carrot, lettuce).
Divide the fish between warmed tortillas and top each with the coleslaw.

YOUR SEVEN-DAY KICK-START CARB DIET PLAN

This plan has been devised to provide a healthy, balanced diet that maximises resistant starch intake, but restricts calories to 1,200 a day, promising dramatic weight loss of 3lb to 6lb in just a week.
MONDAY

Breakfast: Banana shake (blend one banana, 250ml/12fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey with ice) or a wholegrain chewy cereal bar plus one banana.
Lunch: Chicken pitta (stuff a wholemeal pitta with 40g/1½oz baby spinach, 125g/4oz cooked skinless chicken strips, tossed with 2tbsp lowfat vinaigrette).
Dinner: Griddled salmon and parmesan potatoes (baked potato with salt, pepper and 2tbsp grated parmesan cheese) with salad.
Snack: One 180ml/6fl oz pot low-fat Greek yoghurt with 2tsp honey and
2tbsp rolled oats.
TUESDAY

Breakfast: Banana nut porridge (cook 50g/2oz oats with water and top
with sliced banana, 1tbsp chopped walnuts and 1tsp cinnamon) or a banana with 1tsp peanut butter.
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg, 25g/1oz cheddar cheese and one sliced apple
on three rye crackers.
Dinner: Prawn stir-fry with ginger (see recipe above).
Snack: Cannellini and herb hummus with crudites (mash 65g/2½oz canned white beans with 2tsp olive oil, 1tbsp chopped chives and 1tbsp lemon juice and serve with 75g/3oz sliced raw vegetables).
WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: Banana shake Plus (blend one banana with 350ml/12fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey, ice and 2tsp ground flaxseed).
Lunch: Big chopped salad of 125g/4oz salad leaves, 125g/4oz canned
chickpeas, 100g/3½oz grated carrots, 50g/2oz shredded red cabbage,
1tbsp grated parmesan, 2tbsp chopped walnuts, 2tbsp dried
cranberries, all tossed in 2tbsp low-fat balsamic vinaigrette.
Dinner: Black bean tacos (rinse and drain 400g/14oz of black beans and heat through, warm two tortillas, then divide beans between the two, stuffing with 75g/3oz shredded lettuce, 175g/6oz grated carrot and
60ml/2fl oz salsa).
Snack: 2tbsp salsa mixed with 2tbsp black beans (rinsed and drained) with eight tortilla chips.
THURSDAY

Breakfast: Banana berry shake (blend one banana, 350ml/12fl oz
semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey, ice and 40g/1½oz berries) or wholegrain
chewy cereal bar and a banana.
Lunch: Chicken pitta sandwich (40g/1½oz baby spinach, half a sliced
red pepper and 125g/4oz cooked chicken tossed in 2tbsp low-fat vinaigrette and stuffed into a wholemeal pitta).
Dinner: Chicken pasta primavera (see recipe above).
Snack: Two crackers with 2tsp almond butter.
FRIDAY

Breakfast: One slice of toasted rye bread topped with 1tbsp almond butter and one banana.
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg with 25g/1oz cheddar and an apple on three rye crackers.
Dinner: Grilled burger and three-bean salad (see recipe above).
Snack: Trail mix (15g/½oz cornflakes, 2tbsp flaked almonds and 2tbsp
dried cherries).
SATURDAY

Breakfast: Banana-cocoa shake (blend one banana with 350ml/12fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey, ice and 1tbsp cocoa powder) or wholemeal chewy cereal bar plus a banana.
Lunch: Big chopped salad (see Wednesday).
Dinner: Fish tacos (see recipe above).
Snack: 2tbsp oats and 2tsp honey in a small tub of low-fat yogurt.
SUNDAY
Breakfast: Banana and almond butter toast (top one toasted slice of
rye bread with 1tbsp almond butter and a sliced banana).
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg, 25g/1oz cheddar and sliced apple on three rye crackers.
Dinner: Grilled salmon served with parmesan potatoes.
Snack: 25g/1oz baked potato crisps.

Extracted from The Carb Lover’s Diet: Eat What You Love, Get Slim For Life by Ellen Kunes and Frances Largeman-Roth (Hamlyn).

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1394616/Diet-carbohydrates-help-lose-weight.html#ixzz1OVVWrbzC

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