Have a diet makeover with these essential supplements

Aisha Hashi, 28, is a student who often felt exhausted instead of energised during her day at university. Thought she tried to eat healthily to keep her weight down, she found that her willpower disappeared between meals, especially when she was bored. She also found she was very thirsty, didn’t sleep well and had cracked dry skin. Aisha’s symptoms also indicated she might have an under-functioning thyroid (see box below)

What Aisha Ate Before:

Breakfast:   White bread with margarine and tea

Snack:        White bread and juice

Lunch:        Rice and sukuma

Snack:        Two chocolate bars

Dinner        Stewed meat, vegetables, and two chapattis with vegetable fat

Snack:        Packet of biscuits and a glass of milk.

Drinks:        Two Fantas or ginger ales

On her new diet, Aisha wakes up fully refreshed after a good eight hours sleep. She has much more energy during the day and no longer feels like she’s going to faint when it gets really hot. Her scalp doesn’t get itchy or flake anymore and her skin no longer cracks. Other than the occasional fart (don’t laugh, it’s totally natural!), she doesn’t suffer from any digestive difficulties now either.

So what did Aisha change?

Aisha’s initial diet was high-glycaemic. What this means is that the food she was eating was converting into sugar in her body very quickly indeed. This extra sugar would send her energy levels temporarily soaring before plummeting. This is why she felt tired all the time. By switching to lower glycaemic foods, say from white to brown rice, she began to learn how to control this blood sugar rollercoaster. Furthermore, by teaming the carbohydrate portion of her meal (say bread) with some protein (say lean chicken), she was lowering the glycaemic index further. Including fruit and vegetables would have a similar effect due to the great “soluble” fibre they contain – they also helped keep Aisha regular. Including a serving of protein in the form of lean meat, fish, free-range eggs or yoghurt also increased Aisha’s get-up-and-go – protein resulting in the release of the alertness-heightening brain chemical noradrenalin.

The supplements I recommended for Aisha were:

• Fish Oils and Vitamin E: Some people find that it is a deficiency in these fats that stop them from losing weight. The vitamin E was needed as an antioxidant for the fish oils, and would also help with the dry skin. 

• Zinc: As expected, as Aisha’s zinc levels improved, she started to find that certain foods are now too salty.

• B-vitamins and Vitamin C: For lethargy.
• Chromium: To help reduce her cravings.

www.nutritionbysona.com