Micronutrients – Page 2 – Tom Hollis Health

Brain, Carbohydrates, Clinical dietetics, Diets, Fats, Ketogenic, Micronutrients, Nutrition in the media, Weight loss

Ketogenic diet

January 13, 2015 No Comments

A few weeks back, I advised a healthy dose of scepticism when faced with the fad diets of the new year. In fact, many of my blogs from last year carried a barely-hidden negativity towards ‘dieting’, so you could be forgiven for wondering whether dietitians have anything to do with ‘diets’ at all. So, just to clarify a few points… The ‘anti-dieting’ thing is really just my response to the standard media message that ‘diets’ are a short-term, quick-fix towards health goals, as implied by the phrase ‘going on a diet’. Of course the true meaning of the word ‘diet’, […]

Brain, Diabetes, Micronutrients, Public Health

The shortest day of the year (and vitamin D)

December 16, 2014 No Comments

Just before we get to Christmas, in sneaks the shortest day of the year. This Sunday, there are a mere eight hours of daylight! Most of us know that the main source of vitamin D is sun exposure. In truth, it could be sunny 24 hours a day at this time of year in the UK and we still wouldn’t be able to synthesise much – if any – vitamin D, endogenously (within our bodies), because the UV light is of the wrong wavelength in winter. Vitamin D deficiency is increasingly common, particularly in these winter months when our summer […]

Events, Micronutrients

Brussels sprouts: five facts

December 9, 2014 No Comments

We’re just entering that phase of the year of the fateful office Christmas party – that hazy afternoon spent awkwardly conversing with Stu from HR and Paula from finance. But while you may wake up on Saturday morning (or afternoon) regretting discussing your personal life with your boss in quite so much detail, you can at least reflect on the fact that you probably enjoyed your first of several Christmas dinners this year. But did you have your Brussels sprouts? Here are five facts about these much-maligned brassicas: 1. Why the weird name? The ‘Brussels’ thing comes from the fact […]

Carbohydrates, Hydration, Micronutrients, Nutrition in the media, Public Health, Sugar

Should we ban fruit juice from our five a day?

November 25, 2014 No Comments

My older brother sent me this article recently – it’s a revisiting of the old fruit juice / sugar debate. As I say, this is hardly a new area of disagreement, but is interesting nonetheless, and fits in nicely with some of my recent posts on sugar and the five a day message. I couldn’t help but notice one of the comments underneath the article, stating: ‘This disjointed approach to healthy eating is counterproductive. We are hit by isolated messages that say eat this, don’t eat that – and then every organisation wants to get their opportunity to gain some media attention […]

Brain, Carbohydrates, Micronutrients, Sugar

Stress, cortisol and nutrition

November 4, 2014 No Comments

Stress. Such a little word, but such a big issue. We all have our own underlying causes of stress, and our own ways of attempting to deal with it. But what seems to be pretty much universally agreed is that it is on the rise. Take a look at this NHS piece, for example, on the topic of increased stress-related hospital admissions (in this case, thought to be partly attributable to the recession). Many of us have heard of cortisol, and may be familiar with its common moniker, ‘the stress hormone’ – a nickname owing to its increased secretion in times of […]

Events, Fats, Fibre, Micronutrients

It’s Halloween! Five fun facts about pumpkins

October 28, 2014 No Comments

Yep, it’s Halloween on Friday. Much as I dislike the aggressive commercialisation of all these festivals (I could not believe my eyes when I saw Oxford Street already lined with christmas lights on a warm day at the start of October), there is much to enjoy about Halloween’s traditions. When I think Halloween, I think pumpkins. Here are five fun facts for these familiar festive friends. Try saying that with your mouth open. 1. The main reason the shops are stacked with pumpkins at this time of year (aside from it being the end of their normal growing season), is of […]

Breakfast, Micronutrients, Weight loss

Clocks go back…time for breakfast!

October 21, 2014 No Comments

For many of us, this will be the last week of the year that we can even think about leaving work in daylight, what with the clocks going back this weekend. So, while that is in itself a depressing prospect, it does bring with it two potential upsides: An extra hour of Sunday morning / Saturday night (delete as appropriate). Two of the best times of the week, i’m sure you’ll agree. The prospect of not waking up and going to work in total darkness… for a little while longer. This second point means, in my case at least, that […]

Fibre, Hydration, Micronutrients, Public Health

The limitations of ‘five a day’

September 2, 2014 No Comments

‘Five a day’ has to be among the most widely recognised public health messages of the last decade or so, particularly within the field of nutrition. So, one could assume that the campaign, first launched in the UK in 2002 (in response to World Health Organization recommendations to consume ‘‘a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers)’’) has been a huge success. For the most part, I agree, purely on the basis that most people are aware – just in case they weren’t before – that they should be eating more fruit […]