I suggested going wheat and dairy free and that PT swapped the oatibix and yoghurt at breakfast for eggs, homemade muesli and soymilk, fish, nuts and berries. These types of breakfasts have a good serving of protein and healthy fats that will help stabilise blood sugar but also provide essential nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I suggested having a mid morning and mid afternoon snack of nuts, fruits, seeds or hummus with crudités to further control blood sugar and control insulin. My final nutrition advice for the initial session was to switch to “free from” bread for her sandwiches at lunch and to include more fish such as mackerel and sardines in her sandwiches.
To work on digestion I suggested PT do the HCL test, this is a functional medicine test that is explained in my book “The little book of nutrition tips” that will be released soon. Mechanical digestion begins in the mouth, but the real work starts in the stomach where the parietal cells of the stomach release HCL. HCL is essential for protein breakdown, mineral absorption, the release of digestive enzymes and bile and for killing parasites and bacteria. Both the immune system and the liver require the breakdown products of protein – amino acids to function properly, and establishing HCL levels was fundamental to my strategy of boosting the immune system and improving the metabolism of oestrogen through the liver. I suggested that PT continue with her Sanatogen Mum to be multi vitamin, as she needed the folic acid and B12 that the drug metformin depletes, but I would want to change this for a better brand in the following sessions.
I spoke with PT over the phone 2 weeks later and she had successfully cut out wheat and dairy and had “radically changed her eating habits” with good results, she also reported sleeping better. However she raised a concern about her homocysteine levels because of the metformin depleting B12 and folic acid. I assured her that eating meat and fish and by including more green leafy vegetables as well as taking her multi vitamin she would be getting adequate B12 and folic acid.