These are general guidelines based on Chinese Medicine and nutritional science. The key is to observe how these factors affect you and learn from it. Make changes and adjustments as appropriate for you. There maybe specific recommendations based on individual needs which are not included here.

• Make time to buy, prepare and eat fresh, local, seasonal and unprocessed foods.

• Buy and eat as many organic foods as possible.

• Sugar in fruits is metabolised differently than added concentrated sugars. In other words eat Fructose with Fibre. It is best to have some nuts with fruits to provide a counterbalance to glucose in your blood with fats and proteins.

• Try eating fewer carbohydrates: as a guideline aim to have on your plate 10% carbohydrates (Low GL), 60% fats and 20% protein. You should notice a difference in your body weight within a week.

• Eat simply and lightly and do not overeat. Wait 20 min before second helpings.

• Separate sweet food, if you have to eat them at all, and fruit from the main meal.

• Drink between rather than with meals.

• Eat your evening meal no later than 7pm. Have light drinks after that if you wish. Try to make dinner the smallest meal of the day. If you work/stay out late you can use a slow cooker: put it on before you go out and arrive to a warm, easy and healthy meal.

• Chew well. Relax and sit comfortably with your back straight and chest open when eating. Not crunched up and bent on the sofa while watching TV.

• The body’s digestive capacity is strongest between 7 and 9am, eat warm and substantial breakfast. Eat warm lunch and drink warming drinks. Eat more proteins and “smart” fats and less carbs, such as potatoes, and products containing white flour.

• Read labels: watch out for processed sunflower and vegetable oils and sugar in different forms, 4 grams of sugar = 1 flat teaspoon of sugar, see list below

Introduce and/or include:

• herb teas rather than black tea
• naturally fermented foods e.g.: home made sauerkraut and home made kefir
• use warming and neutral cooking methods: long simmering, baking, wok cooking, steaming, boiling, slow-cooking
• eat some raw and some cooked fruit and vegetables

Smart fats:

• eat “smart” natural fats to provide satiety, the satisfying sense of fullness:

use enough say coconut oil when sautéing food to keep it from sticking to the pan

use about a teaspoon of olive or hempseed oil to dress a small salad, in total daily 2 tablespoons of oil for dressing salads and cooking

1 tablespoon of butter (organic unsalted butter (goats or caws) not margarine/spreads)

25-30 grams (1 ounce) of cream, 55 grams (2 ounces) of cheese, a table spoon of ghee, 1-2 eggs , 10 olives,half an avocado daily

55 grams (2 ounces) of nuts or seeds

Avoid and/or decrease:

• artificial sweeteners many can be 500 times sweeter than table sugar

• processed or denatured foods

• experiment with not having gluten and grains, for some this can be a game changer for their health
• quorn products and excessive soya bean products
• high Glycemic Index and high Glycemic Load foods, such as polished rice and white potatoes, rice and corn crackers, puffed rice, breads, pastas and pizzas, see list provided
• food or drinks straight from the fridge
• frozen food
• excessive amounts of raw foods in the winter
• microwaved food
• be sure never to eat charcoal burnt foods – these are known to be highly carcinogenic
• alcohol, coffee, chocolate (have coco nibs instead)
• heated poor quality oils (these are processed hydrogenated vegetable oils such as sunflower oil sold everywhere, research shows that even in small amounts these triglycerides are dangerous)
• foods that burden the liver: drugs, food colourings, preservatives, heavily-spiced foods and sugar
• damp-forming foods (Chinese Medicine concept): diary products in excess, roasted peanuts, concentrated juices (especially orange and tomato), wheat, bread, yeast, beer, bananas, sugar and sweeteners, excessive amounts of saturated fats, concentrated foods
• avoid boiling vegetables in plentiful water as it reduces the value of food (you only need a bit of water at the bottom of the pan to cook say broccoli or other greens, drink the water leftover in the pan or add it to soups etc, don’t wast it)

How many names are there for sugar in our foods in the UK? Many…

barley malt syrup barley malt buttered syrup caramel carob syrup date sugar agave nectar	brown rice syrup brown sugar demerara sugar free-flowing brown sugars muscavado ponacha	cane sugar cane crystals cane juice crystals palm sugar raw sugar rice syrup	coconut sugar coconut palm sugar corn sweetener corn syrup corn syrup solids high-fructose corn syrup
beet sugar icing sugar castor sugar granulated sugar confectioner’s sugar yellow sugar treacle	dehydrated cane juice honey invert sugar lactose fruit juice sorghum sucrose	maltodextrin maltose maple syrup molasses manose sacharose turbinado xylose	dextrin dextrose evaporated cane juice Fructose, concentrate glucose Barbados sugar …