NEWS, VIEWS & REVIEWS
welove summer: those lovely early mornings, long sunny afternoons and late evenings (perfect for a banting braai!). But we’ve learnt to accept that in some ways, summer doesn’t love us back: it’s also when we suffer from hayfever and a host of other respiratory ailments – which are all somehow related to inflammation.
And inflammation is a scary thing: it is at the bottom of most diseases, says nutritional therapist Sally-Ann Creed. But take heart! Eating LCHF is the first step in the right direction in terms of controlling inflammation in our bodies, and on page 30, Sally-Ann gives us 20 very doable ways to achieve this.
When funny girl Shimmy Isaacs started eating low-carb, she noticed an improvement in her skin as well as increased mental clarity (page 6). Her quality of life and her energy levels have improved so much, she says, she would never dream of eating any other way. ‘Don’t limit yourself by calling it a diet,’ she advises. ‘Call it a new life – you don’t plan on going back to the old one!’
Shimmy’s commitment to her new life is very inspiring, but success can be a tricky thing – counterintuitively, it can also be what makes us slide. It’s often when we feel most confident about our ability to control our diet that we also feel we deserve a reward for doing so well, and that we can afford to indulge ourselves ‘just a bit’ without going completely off the rails. On page 10, LOSE IT! meal plan forum facilitator and Banting Buddy Nicky Perks shares her best secrets on how to keep motivated – in spite of success!
But if, like many of us, success is not your concern – rather that you’re doing all the right things but still not losing weight, then ‘Is Your Thyroid Making You Fat?’ on page 26 is a mustread. Diagnosing (and treating) thyroid problems is not easy, but you’ll get an excellent idea where to start, and what to look out for in the health practitioner you choose to consult.
Right – those are the health issues the LOSE IT! team is looking at this month. Now for the fun part! As usual, there are over 40 brand new and delicious recipes in this issue that are absolutely perfect for summer. We’re particularly loving the sushi and the quick midweek suppers, but we’re also mad about the grown-up lunch boxes. When you bring your healthy lunch box to work with you and you’re the envy of your colleagues, then you know you must be doing something right #LCHFwinning!