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REVIEW
OF TALK BY JACKIE SHARRATT
CLINICAL NUTRITIONIST
ON THURSDAY 30TH MARCH 2000.
In
response to member interest MDF Aberdeen invited Jackie
Sharratt, a Clinical Nutritionist, along to talk at
our group meeting. We had a good turnout with some 30
people, including a group of medical students currently
on placement at Cornhill.
Jackie
studied at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition in London,
and became a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist and
a registered member of the British Association of Nutritional
Therapists. She has specialised in Mental Health, perhaps
as she has suffered from depression herself in the past.
Her
talk concentrated mainly on the most common nutritional
deficiencies that people suffer from and how these affect
us in mind and body. The most important nutrient we
can give our bodies is water, with symptoms of deficiency
including headaches, constipation, aching joints and
arthritic pain, digestive problems, high blood pressure,
dull, dry skin, premature ageing, heat cramps, low energy,
fatigue, sweating, poor concentration, bad breath and
peptic ulcers. As if this weren't enough, if the body
is deprived of water for more than two to three days
it dies! We should be drinking a minimum 5 litres of
water per day, and that doesn't include tea, coffee,
or other caffeinated drinks which all act as diuretics.
Other
super-important nutrients include essential fatty acids,
available in nuts (omega 6) and oily fish (omega 3).
Sinister symptoms of deficiency include mood swings
and concentration and learning impairment. Zinc and
Vitamin B6 are also fairly crucial to our well being,
lack of either can cause problems in fertility, adolescence
and digestion.
However,
before we all rush out to buy supplements, Jackie made
the important point that we should always be careful
about taking extra of any one nutrient. Many of the
vitamins and minerals are antagonistic; that is, they
work against each other. So, if we take too much of
one vitamin this will work against another, and we will
end up with another deficiency. It all sounds a bit
complicated and Jackie recommends that the best thing
we can do for ourselves is eat a balanced diet; that
is one which is fresh, varied, non-toxic (organic) and
whole (unprocessed). In particular we should try to
avoid refined flour products and always choose wholegrain
foods as these provide much more complete nutrition.
Jackie
also mentioned allergies, such as gluten intolerance.
Whilst tests can be carried out to determine these,
they are expensive and time-wasting, and by excluding
certain foods from our diets for limited periods we
can find out if we are suffering from food intolerance.
However, this should always be done under the supervision
of a nutritionist to ensure that you do not become deficient.
It should also be noted that gluten intolerance in particular
has become much more prominent recently because people
are eating to many wheat products. Once again, a varied
and wholesome diet should avoid this problem.
How
does all this connect to mental health then? Jackie
said that nutrition could contribute up to 30%
towards mental health, so we shouldn't get to excited
about miracle cures. Becoming obsessive about what we
eat will contribute nothing to our mental well-being,
and will just cause disappointment when we are not instantly
cured of all symptoms of illness, be it mental or physical.
Having said this we all have a responsibility to our
own bodies, and good physical health will always benefit
our mental state.
If
you would like more information about nutrition, Jackie
has supplied the office with various information sheets.
You can pop by to pick these up or phone/e-mail for
a copy to be posted to you.
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