There are a few points to bear in mind when it comes to breakfast, aside from what should you eat for breakfast, and they are –

• There is certainly nothing special about breakfast
• Eating healthy, good quality food for the entire day is what matters most
• Breakfast does not ‘jump start’ your metabolism
• Skipping breakfast doesn’t make you overeat and gain weight

Ultimately, breakfast is optional, and it all boils down to personal preference. If you feel hungry in the morning and like to eat breakfast then a protein-rich breakfast is best.

Chia seeds, nuts and eggs are examples of great protein-rich breakfast foods.

What should you eat for breakfast?  Breakfast cereal.

There’s no doubt about it, breakfast cereal is very handy indeed – most of us are in a hurry in the morning, weekday mornings are usually anything but relaxed and cereal is easy to reach for and quick to prepare.

BUT there is a problem – commercial brands are usually loaded with refined carbs and added sugar and loads of salt.

Not the best way to start the day and a surefire way to start you off on the blood sugar rollercoaster which will leave you feeling starving and craving more carbs and caffeine a couple of hours later.

But all is not lost! There are a few things to look out for when you’re selecting your cereal.

What should you eat for breakfast?  Watch the sugar content

In an ideal world you want sugar-free cereal, there are a few brands that make sugar-free but double check the labels.

For example, healthier ranges such as Deliciously Ella or Rude Health for instance will have some options which are very low in sugar (great) with high quality ingredients, and other options which are stacked with sugar.

Even if you’re shopping in a health food shop – some types are great and totally sugar free, but others can be loaded with sugar.

So be careful, always check the labels – ideally you’re looking for less than 5g of sugar per 100g, preferably with no added sugar at all.

Once you start checking labels (if you don’t already) you’ll probably be shocked at how much sugar they can contain – a lot of the time they’re just mostly sugar!!

Especially brands which are targeted at kids unfortunately.

What about wheat?

Commercial brands such as Nestle will have low sugar options, but they’re normally made of wheat, and a lot of us don’t want to be eating too much of that.  It’s commonly not tolerated that well and it can be very aggravating, especially if you have gut problems.

Beware of things like bran flakes – these can be very high in sugar (alarmingly so!) and bran can be very irritating to the gut so far from a healthier option.

Yes it’s a minefield!

So unless you’re going to become very label-savvy I highly recommend you prepare your own breakfast food and get creative! It doesn’t have to be cereal.

Ensuring you’re eating a diverse diet can be a nightmare when you’re suffering with your gut, especially as so many of these ‘healthy’ foods are also big trigger foods. If this is the case for you I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help you eat safely, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Nut butter on toast.

Eggs – always a great, simple breakfast food – make egg muffins in advance and keep them in the fridge ready to grab as you’re heading out of the door.

Pre-make pancake mix at the weekend and use the leftovers during the week. This can be tailored to suit your dietary needs.

Don’t forget the protein!

All these ideas are packed with protein to keep you going and full of energy up until lunchtime.

‘Having candida’ tends to be a much bandied about and over-used phrase. The fact is, the candida albicans yeast is a normal part of our gut flora and should always be present in our gut in small quantities.

The problems start when candida begins to overgrow. If it gets out of control candida can grow into your gut lining, start to break it down and cause ‘leaky gut syndrome’ which can give rise to many immune related issues.

Candida Symptoms

Normally, our ‘good’ bacteria will keep candida in check. However, when candida starts to overgrow you may experience any of the following symptoms –

• Exhaustion
• Sugar Cravings
• Cravings for yeasty food (like alcohol or bread)
• Brain fog
• Recurrent UTIs
• Sinusitis
• Allergies
• Gas and bloating
• Low immunity
• Thrush and other itchy, fungal patches on the skin such as athletes foot.

What causes candida?

If you’ve experienced any of the following scenarios, then you could well be looking at candida as the cause of your issues –

• A course of broad spectrum antibiotics
• Ongoing antibiotic treatment
• Taking the contraceptive pill
• Eating lots of sugar
• Prolonged stress
• Diabetes
• Corticosteroid medications
• Drinking a lot of alcohol

So, lets look at some of these symptoms in a bit more detail:

1. Feeling tired a lot of the time

If you feel fatigued or tired a lot of the time despite sleeping well, candida may well be to blame as it’s one of the causes of chronic fatigue, although certainly not the only one.

2. Being in a bad mood

Candida can also cause you to feel anxious, have erratic mood swings or depression, and it can also worsen PMT or menopause symptoms.  For more on managing erratic hormone levels have a look here.

3 & 4. Recurring UTIs or recurring sinusitis

It often surprises people that candida can often be the culprit behind these two niggly and persistent infections. Also, if you have anything like post-nasal drip, hay fever or congestion, candida may be to blame.

5. Digestive symptoms

Again, another common cause of ‘IBS’ type symptoms, candida can often give rise to bloating, cramps, diahorrea and constipation.

For more tips of getting rid of gut aches and pains have a look here.

6. Brain fog

Another huge symptom of candida is the dreaded brain fog – this is so common.  Do you ever have that feeling of having cotton wool between your ears? Or that you can’t concentrate, have a poor memory or lack focus? Again, if this is bothering you it may well be worth getting tested.

7. Poor blood sugar control

8. Toxins

Intolerance to fumes, cigarette smoke or perfume – due to the toxins from candida overloading the liver.

9. Fungal infections

Vaginal thrush, athletes foot, itchy patches on the skin – all of these are likely to have started from a yeast infection in the gut.

Ensuring you’re eating a diverse diet can be a nightmare when you’re suffering with your gut, especially as so many of these ‘healthy’ foods are also big trigger foods. If this is the case for you I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help you eat safely, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Dietary upgrades

Once you know what you’re dealing with, the usual course of action would be to modify your diet – taking out sugary and very high carb foods and replacing with lots of fresh vegetables, lean proteins and good fats.

It’s a good idea to work with a nutrition specialist when dealing with candida, as its not advisable to restrict your diet too much when doing battle with a yeast overgrowth. It’s also essential to make sure all your detoxification and elimination pathways are functioning optimally so you don’t get too much of the dreaded ‘die-off’ reaction.

What is insulin restistance? How do you know you have it? What symptoms does it cause?

After we eat any kind of food our pancreas secretes insulin.  Its job is to ensure that the energy we consume – glucose – gets to where it needs to go. Our muscle, fat and liver cells need to absorb plenty of glucose, and insulin facilitates this process. In addition, our muscles and liver store any excess glucose, and insulin also helps with this. So what is insulin resistance?  It’s what happens when this process stops working properly.  Read on to learn about the symptoms and signs you may be affected, and some quick tips to help you nip the situation in the bud.

What is insulin resistance – what happens?

If you’re insulin resistant your body loses the capability of responding to the insulin it produces appropriately. This means your muscle, liver and fat cells don’t absorb glucose from the blood as easily as they should. Consequently the pancreas has to produce ever increasing levels of insulin to help glucose get to where it needs to go. A consequence of this is that your pancreatic cells struggle to keep up with the demand for insulin, and end up shutting down altogether. When this happens glucose builds up in the bloodstream and the result is pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Insulin resistance happens when your cells become less sensitive or receptive to insulin. They can’t keep up with all the carbs and sugar coming along.  The insulin receptors on your cells shut down, and that leads to more insulin production to try to deal with the extra unwanted sugar.

What is insulin resistance – what causes it?

Obesity, high blood pressure and increasing levels of fats in the blood are all linked to insulin resistance. Most current research points to excess weight as being being the primary driver of insulin resistance. This is especially true for weight which accumulates around the waist, giving the classic apple body shape. The great news is that losing this excess weight drastically improves how the body responds to insulin. In fact, dietary changes can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.

Ensuring you’re eating a diverse diet can be a nightmare when you’re suffering with your gut, especially as so many of these ‘healthy’ foods are also big trigger foods. If this is the case for you I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help you eat safely, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Avoid sweet drinks

For example, fruit juice seems healthy as it contains an array of vitamins but juice doesn’t contain much, if any, fibre so the sugar will be absorbed extremely quickly into your blood stream. Again this means stress for your pancreas which has to produce enough insulin to keep up with demand. Also avoid sugary fizzy drinks and any drinks with added sugars. Stick to water as your main drink and herbal teas, tea and coffee (if of course you tolerate caffeine OK).

Finally, avoid overeating.

If you follow the guidelines I’ve already mentioned you’ll be much less likely to overeat as a combination of all those food groups will keep you feeling nice and full. Eat mindfully without distraction, listening to your body’s signals which tell you it’s full.