Kamalaya, Koh Samui

I don’t usually write about my own holidays but I have just come back from a really impressive spa in Thailand. I must confess that Kamalaya was not my first choice for my trip as my instinct was to find an exotic resort as all I wanted some sun and sleep. It was Stella Photi, MD of Wellbeing Escapes who persuaded me that Kamalaya was the place for me and who am I to argue with an expert?

As Koh Samui has somewhat of a reputation as Thailand’s party island I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a group of clubbers in flip-flops and singlets boarding the Bangkok Air plane for the hour long flight from the capital to Koh Samui. Cool beach clubs and low lit bars can be found all over the island, but it is also the home, somewhat surprisingly, to a world class spa. Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa ( to give it its full title ) opened in 2004/5 and is the creation of John and Karina Stewart. Between them they have a rich history in the study and practice of healing and spiritual traditions, which is reflected in every aspect of this extraordinary place.

The property is sensitively carved into the side of a mountain and so the scenery is dramatic and lush and encircles a centuries-old cave, once used by Buddhist monks as a place for meditation and spiritual retreat. Running right the way down the mountain to the beach, you do have to walk uphill more than once a day but except for two slightly steeper sections, the rise is quite easy ( there are electric buggys available if needed ). The accommodation is varied – you can choose from the traditional hotel room, most with amazing views out to sea, or villas set in the gardens, some with private pools and some almost on the beach itself. I took a villa a few meters from the beach, peaceful and comfortable, which, whilst a little more expensive than a room, did offer a little more privacy.

Unlike many hotels that have a spa attached in a random manner, the wellness element of Kamalaya occupies some 40% of the property,the focus of which is the Wellness Sanctuary, just a few feet away from the monks cave. I admit to a fair degree of skepticism about some of the therapies on offer but I went with an open mind and whilst I am not a total convert, some of my inbuilt western cynicism was challenged by what I experienced in my ten day stay.

You can choose from one of several packages ranging from weight and fitness to a comprehensive detox which, unlike most, is a fully integrated program overseen by a team of professionals.The packages include all treatments and therapies, classes and all meals, airport transfers and service, which makes Kamalaya surprisingly affordable. I booked via Wellbeing Escapes and so the price I paid included my international and internal flights as well. I went with a bespoke program put together for me by Karina Stewart, which included elements of my usual gym work together with therapies to address stress and burnout. There are daily classes that one could join such as yoga, power walks or Pranayama ( a type of breathing ) but you don’t have to do anything at all if you don’t want to. A typical day for me included a training session in the gym followed by a traditional Thai massage before a couple of hours on the beach or by the pool before an Ayurvedic treatment. Of all the therapies and treatments it was perhaps the Marma point massage and the Shirodhara that affected me the most. Marma point focuses on 107 points in the body, which are pressed and prodded to stimulate healing and energy, and although I can’t claim to fully understand how it worked, I felt completely refreshed afterwards (it went far beyond the feeling one has after a traditional massage). I was initially cynical about the Shirodhara treatment as I couldn’t see how dripping oil on my forehead for 45 minutes was going to achieve anything more than a need for shampoo, but afterwards my thoughts were definitely clearer and I felt noticeably balanced and calm. Despite my initial thoughts about some of the treatments ( just because it has been used for a very long time doesn’t mean its any good ) my mind has been opened to the therapies that I have previously dismissed. Having said that I did struggle with one or two of the more exotic therapies, and whilst it wouldn’t be fair to name them, perhaps it is kinder to say that they didn’t work for me. My best advice is to try as much as possible as this is the ideal environment for personal discovery.

As you might expect, the food was very important to me, and I have been to a few spas over the years but have often been let down by what’s on offer ( I remember spending a very hungry week in one famous spa which resulted in me walking for half an hour along the beach to get a Pad Thai in the next village ). Things were quite different at Kamalaya as the food was a revelation – low in everything except taste, the chefs have managed to take Karina Stewarts ethos and translate it into delicious meals. And being Thai, the presentation is beautiful, the service is perfect and I ate very well.

I am always starving at breakfast so took advantage of the buffet ( my type of food, a choice of yogurts, nuts, fruit and grains ) and took a small bowl back to my room for my mid-morning snack. Lunch is served in a charming café adjoining the pool, which also serves fresh juices and smoothies throughout the day. The food is light yet filling but don’t miss the Banana Leaf Salad, truly delicious. Dinner is served in the main restaurant and many people who were traveling alone chose to dine at the communal table.

Ten days passed quite quickly and at the end of it I found that aside from having had a stress-free time and eaten very well, I achieved a sense of peace that I haven’t experienced in many years thanks to the therapies and treatments. I assumed that London life would take care of that quite quickly, but some two weeks after my return, I am still experiencing the benefits.

Kamalaya is far more than I thought it would be. It’s a gorgeous place ( most photographs manage not to capture the lush beauty ) and the entire staff are dedicated to your making your time with them something to remember. The concept of ‘wellness’ can easily be misunderstood, as it does imply that we all need to be fixed in some way, but at Kamalaya really get the balance between spa, service, food and health absolutely right here, and along with what’s left of my cynicism, I will be going back.

Take a look at www.wellbeingescapes.co.uk and at www.kamalaya.com

An easy – and very healthy – recipe for chicken.

I made this for dinner last night and it’s exceptionally easy to make and needless to say it’s delicious too.

Chicken breasts poached with vegetables

Ingredients

100g chicken breast – sliced with the grain of the meat to make four equal sized pieces

2 small leeks (approx. 150g when cleaned)

1 plump stem of lemon grass

100g carrots

2 sticks of celery

3 spring onions

4 good sprigs of fresh thyme

200 ml vegetable stock

2 tbs lemon juice

2tbs dry white wine (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions

Marinate the chicken in the lemon juice and black pepper while preparing the vegetables.

Finely slice the leeks and lemon grass.  Grate or julienne slice the carrots.  Finely slice the spring onions and celery lengthways (the celery sticks should be cut in half first).

Put all the vegetables and herbs in a shallow frying pan that has a lid.  Add the stock and white wine.   Simmer very gently for about 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Serve with brown rice or The Food Doctor Easy Grains ( such as the quinoa, warmed up .  No other vegetables are necessary but you might sprinkle a few mixed seeds on top to add some extra crunch ( I used our Boost, the stir fry one ).

Hunger and how to reduce it without going hungry.

 I watched a couple of hours of television last night and noticed several commercials for foods that contained a certain amount of calories that would stop one from getting hungry. Highlighting a problem and offering your product as a solution is a tried and tested way of selling something, but since when was hunger a problem? You may know that this really bothers me as hunger is an entirely normal condition, not one that has to be fought against. Hunger is not the enemy when it comes to eating and we should respond to it,  yet the signals that tell us we are hungry often get ignored and, for many people, are simply there to be beaten.

When we are hungry, we should eat, but as eating can be so fraught, the signal to eat can be confusing if not alarming for so many people. One of the most effective ways to market any product is to offer it up as a solution to a problem, and food marketing is no exception. It seems obvious that eating food will allay hunger, and so the methods that food manufacturers use to get us to choose their product are complex and varied, but rarely have anything to do with hunger.  

But why? What is wrong with being hungry, and why do so many people fear it? It may seem obvious, but I feel that for many people think that if hunger can be conquered, then eating can be controlled and weight can be lost – isn’t that the Holy Grail when it comes to food sales?  Food becomes a battleground, and the signal to attack is hunger, so no wonder it’s something to be conquered.  One could argue that this is all the wrong way around, as if there were any issues with eating, then responding to the very first sign of hunger would get rid of the feeling which would mean that one needn’t eat. But in practice, people who want to control what they eat, or are on a diet to lose weight, or worried about gaining or regaining weight will often try to muddle through until the next scheduled meal rather then respond to a hunger signal.

If we look at the language of being hungry, the word hunger is most often followed by ‘pangs’, which means ‘ a sharp feeling or spasm of pain or emotional distress’. If this were true, and it is for a large percentage of the population, then we might be able to see why the issue of hunger is a minefield. The signal to refuel is triggered by several things, perhaps the most notable is low blood glucose levels. In the next section I will detailing how to eat so that blood glucose levels can be maintained at an even level, which avoids extreme and true hunger, but we should explore what happens to the average weight-conscious person when they do get that biochemical signal that says ‘feed me’.

That signal to eat may come from a basic physiological need, and whilst our ancestors may have responded appropriately, had there been food available, these days our hunger is clouded by several issues, not least what we do or will weigh if we eat – our emotional life gets in the way and in no small way influences our decision.

One of the problems with hunger is choice; we have so much choice that we don’t know what or how to eat, and hunger is the gateway to all that potential confusion. If you aren’t hungry, then the struggle is minimised, that’s obvious. One of the reasons that strict diets are successful is that they remove choice, and so when you get hungry, you have to eat X or Y, a prescribed food, one that feels ‘safe’. There is no choice, no confusion and no argument. The internal dichotomy ( ‘should I, shouldn’t I?’) simply doesn’t happen and this whole area of conflict is removed. After the diet, or even if you have never been on one, then of course there are unlimited choices, and given how much commercial interests influence what foods we think of, we may eat in a way that doesn’t really serve us that well.

 Low calorie food may quash hunger for a short while, but as the glucose the contain lasts for a short while and so the hunger returns and the cycle begins again.  Following The Food Doctor way of eating means that hunger is gentle and easily managed, and so the food choices one makes lead to longer lasting energy alongside slow and sustainable weight loss.

To find out more see How Not To Get Fat ( Quadrille Publishing, £9.99 ) or order via http://www.thefooddoctor.com

Water, water everywhere…..

I saw on the news this morning that we are ‘enjoying temperatures of 30 degrees in London’. I am not sure quite how much I am enjoying it but that’s another story ( I might enjoy it more if I had air conditioning at home. And a pool too ). In this extreme temperature it is more important that ever to stay hydrated especially when you bear in mind that we lose over 2 litres of fluid a day through urine, sweat and evaporation. Therefore we need to match this with a good intake of fluids, some of which may be better than others.                                                                                                          Water is the most obvious fluid and we should aim for at least 1 litre a day. Here are some ideas to make water a little more interesting;

1. Add some slices of cucumber to a jug of water, leave in the fridge overnight. Discard the cucumber as it goes soggy and enjoy the deliciously flavoured water.
2. When filling an ice tray squeeze some lemon juice over the top before freezing to make tangy ice cubes to add to water.
3. Make a pot of green tea, fish out the teabag before after a few minutes to stop the tea from becoming bitter. Then cool in the fridge or make ice cubes from the tea – either way it’s lovely.                                                                                                                                       

All fluids count towards your daily total and although caffeinated drinks can have a mild diuretic effect it’s not especially pronounced.                                                                                                                                                                                            Don’t forget that the food we eat is a major source of fluid. Fresh produce is obviously bursting with water, but even a chicken breast will contain as much as 25% water. Fresh fruit is perfect at this time of year but do remember to eat some protein with fruit to slow down the way that the fructose ( fruit sugar ) converts to glucose. You might have a few unsalted nuts with an apple, or some seeds sprinkled on a fruit salad ( The Food Doctor Omega Mix is a good start as it contains sunflower and pumpkin seeds together with soya beans and pine nuts ).                                                                             If you have any tips on keeping cool or anything else related to the heat, then please let us all know by leaving a post.

Could you be amongst the 500,000 people in the UK who don’t know that they have a gluten intolerance?

Apparently it can take an astonishing 13 years to get a diagnosis of coeliac disease, as the symptoms are wide ranging and easily attributed to other conditions. Coeliac disease is a chronic and permanent auto-immune disease caused by gluten intolerance and is becoming more recognised in Britain than ever before.

Coeliac UK, the organisation for sufferers, confirm that whilst the condition is diagnosed in 1 in 1000 people, the figure is more likely to be 1 in 80 ( the remainder probably being undiagnosed ), rising to 1 in 10 prevalence in families with coeliac disease. When a person with coeliac disease eats gluten ( found in wheat, barley ,oats and rye ) even in minute quantities, it causes damage in a specific part of the gut, the duodenum and jejunum. This prevents normal digestion and absorption of food as it leads to inflammation, and then degeneration of the villi, the protrusions that are responsible for the absorption of nutrients. Sufferers can experience anything from nutrient deficiency to mild malnutrition if they continue to eat gluten. Symptoms can range from diarrhoea, fatigue, being underweight, depression, anaemia and abdominal pain and distension. In theory however, symptoms can be very wide ranging as the sufferer is not absorbing nutrients and deficiencies of vitamins are common, which can make the condition easy to miss. On avoiding gluten however, the villi are mostly restored along with a return to health.

When I was around six months old I developed what was termed a ‘wasting disease’ – all food would pass right through me and thus I lost weight. My parents were obviously deeply worried as I had what my Mother described as a ‘tiny body and a huge head’. Despite the fact that I had just been put in solids as part of the usual weaning process, Great Ormond Street told them they were worrying for no reason and that the condition would pass. My parents are both highly intelligent and practical people but were treated like half wits by the nurse. We now know that my symptoms were typical of a coeliac infant reacting to gluten, and is known as ‘failure to thrive’, and it is a great pity that the condition wasn’t recognised at the time as to a greater or lesser degree, the symptoms stayed with me throughout childhood.

Through my teens and twenties I suffered symptoms ranging from mild abdominal discomfort to depression. The digestive issues were sometimes hardly noticeable, other times very pronounced but I never made an association with what I was eating, and perhaps more annoyingly, neither did any of the doctors I consulted. When I was 18 I was again admitted to hospital for an exploratory operation, and given ‘nil by mouth’ for twelve hours before the surgery was due. Simply not eating reduced all my symptoms to a level at which an operation seemed unnecessary and I was discharged. The discomfort continued for years, as did the depression, but you learn to live with it and come to believe that this is how everyone feels. In my mid twenties I had another prolonged period of increased symptoms but this time it was associated with fatigue and bloating to such an pronounced level that I had to buy larger clothes as the bloating got worse as the day went on. I decided to eat as little as possible to minimise the bloating, so I ate only fat free wheat crackers with cottage cheese at every meal, unwittingly adding to the problem.

My frustration with my own GP continued and out of desperation I made an appointment to see yet another doctor who had been written up in a magazine for her nutritional knowledge. After describing my symptoms, I was told that I was ‘probably coeliac’ and should avoid gluten but arranged a biopsy to confirm her thoughts. I had never heard of coeliac disease, and I wasn’t really sure what gluten was and furthermore I had no idea that wheat and gluten were different things. At first it was hell as I didn’t know what to eat, but as soon as I cut out gluten the discomfort and associated digestive symptoms disappeared. My life changed on adopting a gluten free diet avoiding regular bread, rolls, pasta, crispbreads, biscuits, cakes, pastries, beer, pizza, sausages breakfast cereals, gravies, sauces, breadcrumbs and batter. I became an expert in reading food labels as some unlikely foods are made with wheat derived substances and thus are not suitable ( such as oven chips that can have a wheat based coating ). Eating out can be a huge problem as wait staff often have insufficient knowledge of ingredients, and even a pinch of flour can cause problems for those that are very sensitive. When I find a restaurant that I know I am safe with, I tend to go there and few other places. Airline food is perhaps the worst, as gluten free meals are notoriously vile. The next time you feel like complaining about your lunch in the air, just take a look over at my tray and count your blessings!

There are gluten free alternatives to foods that would usually contain it, made instead with a variety of gluten free flours ( rice, corn, lentil etc ). I tried every gluten free product I could find back then, and can’t say that I liked many of them. Although things are much better now, I made a personal decision to avoid pre-made food altogether, as reading labels told me that whilst it may be gluten free, that didn’t make it healthy. Lists of hydrogenated fats, additives and stabilisers never thrilled me much, and I couldn’t help but wonder that if a coeliac has potentially reduced absorption rates, then why would they choose foods that offered little in the way of nutrition compared to fresh food with proper ingredients? Coeliac UK publish a handy booklet that lists practically every brand and supermarkets products that are gluten free and which is a bible for many people. In addition I would encourage anyone who has to follow a gluten free diet to concentrate on fresh foods that are naturally free of gluten, such as fish, eggs, vegetables etc rather than the convenient alternatives that are high in sugars, fats and flavour enhancers but just happen to be free of gluten. Once my feelings of relief at getting a diagnosis wore off, they were replaced by anger as what I now understood to be typical symptoms of coeliac disease had been overlooked and misdiagnosed for almost thirty years. Had someone but recognised this earlier, might I have been spared years of discomfort and misery? I believe that there are countless people with coeliac disease in varying degrees who have not been diagnosed, nor perhaps will they ever be. Instead they are told that they have IBS, and take medication that may or may not alleviate symptoms when a change in diet could be all they need.

If you have any worries about coeliac disease then speak to your GP, or contact Coeliac UK via http://www.coeliac.org.uk or by calling their helpline on 0870 444 8804

BBC Breakfast, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, bad therapists and a free event this week at Wholefoods, London, W8. All in one blog.

I was on the sofa at BBC Breakfast this morning discussing the merits of a new register designed to help protect the public from ‘cowboy’ complementary alternative therapists. Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) has been set up to offer a degree of regulation on therapists ( not the therapies ) which is a huge step in maintaining and improving standards throughout the sector.

A register has been opened today, and the first people invited to place apply for inclusion are nutritional therapists and masseurs. Next month and onwards other doctrines will be invited to apply for registration ( ranging from Reiki to aromatherapy ). The co-chair of the CHNC, Maggie Dunn, was on the sofa at 06.40 ( see it here at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7828593.stm ) and then I was on with the lovely Dr Rosemary Leonard and 07.40 ( no link to that available ). I should start off by saying that I am delighted to see a register in place. It’s important to understand that the CNHC register is there to register the therapists and not to endorse or regulate the therapies. Therefore some of the therapies that people on the register undertake may not be quite as factual/evidence based as others. For example, I believe that it is widely accepted that what we eat affects our health. The Department of Health’s Chage 4Life campaign is centered around diet and exercise, as well as the 5 a day drive to get us all eating plenty of fresh produce.

The CNHC register will be opened to doctrines that are not as widely known, nor as generally accepted.  For example, Reiki ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiki for an explanation ) is a ‘spiritual practice’ that uses ‘healing energy’. Bear in mind that the register is there to ensure that the therapist is insured, appropriately trained and runs a professional practice, not to say whether Reiki ‘works’, yet the inclusion of some doctrines surely implies that they do have efficacy? It is not for me to say what works and what doesn’t, but I simply don’t understand how some complementary therapies can work. That’s not to say that we can’t enjoy them, or that the process isn’t beneficial, but how much of the experience is down to the actual treatment, or the overall experience? For example, aromatherapy is a very pleasant treatment, but is it the relaxation involved and the ‘me time’ that is the main source of the benefit or is it the smell of the oils?

The new register does allow therapists to demonstrate that they are appropriately qualified, insured and run a proper practice, which is a huge step forward.

Meanwhile, I am going to be at Wholefoods in Kensington High Street, London, W8 between 6 and 7 pm this Wednesday 21st January talking about ‘Healthy Weight Management’. Please come along, you can book by calling 020 7368 4541, ask for the Q Desk. The talk is part of a Free Pampering Day which starts at 4 and goes through until 7.30pm. We will have a team from The Food Doctor offering tastings on our foods, including the new Easy Grains. I will be around too, so please say hello and come to the talk at 6 ( upstairs on the first floor ).

Hot off the press: new research for eczema sufferers

I caught this on the news this morning…a Swedish study tracked 500 families and found that the early introduction of fish into the diet reduced the incidences of eczema by 25%.

Interestingly, they also found that “breast feeding, the age at which dairy products were introduced, and the presence of a furry pet in the home had no detectable influence on eczema”.

Dairy is all too often the first foodstuff that is cited in cases of eczema and so I found this especially interesting as many clients have found that when they exchange dairy for soya products, their child’s eczema is eased. Anecdotal evidence, obviously, but it seems that perhaps this is coincidental?

It’s safe to assume that it’s the essential fats found in fish, omega 3 fats, which are responsible for the success in dealing with eczema. Introducing fish at such a young age, 9 months in some cases, is not usually recommended so this does contradict the usual order for introducing fish into children’s diets.

I am always interested to hear about children’s diets, and so if anyone has experience with diet and eczema, please share your story with us and post a reply?

More soon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7632996.stm

Stay hydrated and healthy this summer

Did you know our bodies are made up of around two thirds water? If the amount of water goes under the level required for your body to function at an optimal level, you become dehydrated. Water is also essential to help regulate body temperature, improve digestive function and eliminate waste products and even mild dehydration can start to dramatically affect your basic bodily functions.

If you’re dehydrated, you could notice a number of changes within your body – you will feel thirsty, but you could also start to feel hungry, so if you are losing weight this can be very difficult as you are more likely to reach for a snack than a glass of water. Your energy levels could also decrease, leaving you feeling sluggish – dehydration is a major contributing factor to daytime tiredness and fatigue. It also affects your looks – your skin will look dryer and less plump, while fine lines and wrinkles may become more apparent. One well known and telltale sign is your urine will also look darker.

Water is the easiest and cheapest way to get the rest of the fluids your body requires, but almost any liquid counts as the kidneys can filter out the water content and use it. The only exceptions are alcohol and very strong coffee, as the caffeine can counteract the hydration benefits. Water, juices, and herbal and fruit teas with little or no caffeine offer the most health benefits overall, but even normal black tea counts towards your fluid intake and experts believe the antioxidant polyphenols offer additional health benefits.
 
Don’t drink all your fluids in one go – your body won’t be able to handle drinking a great amount of water at once, and it will just get flushed straight out. Drinking very large amounts can actually cause you harm, leading to a condition known as water intoxication where excessive water leads to a low concentration of sodium in the blood and can cause cell damage. But this is very rare, and easily avoided – make sure you drink water at regular intervals throughout the day to get the greatest benefit.

If you’d like to find out more click on the You Tube video below, created by The Food Doctor on Principle 2, Stay Hydrated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5trSHStfOXk

Progress with The Food Doctor, Personal Nutrition Plan

Welcome to May. It’s a lovely start to the month with ice falling from the sky. However no amount of rain could dampen my pleasure in having all but finished writing my new book. There are a few details to add and then I am done. So, for me, this is a milestone that I am rather pleased about.

Today has brought some other pleasing news, in the form of our Personal Nutrition Plan. Since we started this in January, thousands of you have taken advantage of the free profiling, with many going on to get the full plan. Nutrition and improved diets don’t work overnight, so for those people who signed up towards the end of the last series of Richard and Judy in mid March, and a lot of people did when they saw how well my lovely participants had done, we are coming up to the six week mark so its about now that they should be noticing some great benefits.

I am not one to blow my own trumpet but today, I had an email from a lady who signed up in March and she reports the following; “I feel absolutely terrific, and it’s not just down to losing some weight. It’s the nutritional value and the regularity of having small meals. This alone is the biggest change as many of the foods I already had in my storecupboard.” I hope she won’t mind me quoting her but I’m delighted that the Personal Nutrition Plan is doing as we intended and indeed designed it to do.

I don’t think that the only key to enjoying good health is diet alone, but seeing as we all eat and do so quite often, it follows that it is going to make a difference. Whether you follow my plan, or devise something of your own, please feel free to share your success or questions with other readers.

In the meantime, heres the link for the The Food Doctor Nutrition Profile site :http://www.fooddoctorinteractive.com/

The Food Doctor on Richard and Judy, Tuesday 4th of March at 5pm

Oh dear. Its almost over and I am missing it already. I was with Kath and Dave yesterday, and I cant believe that its only six weeks since I first met them. In that time, they have lost a whopping 3 stone between them, and Kath is fitting nicely into ‘that dress’.

Needless to say, I had organised a surprise for them, and whilst they thought that a night at a smart country house hotel and a romantic dinner for two was on the cards, of course, there was more……

Totting it all up, my lovely participants have lost over 7 and a half stone in all, in only six weeks of following The Food Doctor diet. I can’t think off the top of my head who weighs 7 ½ stone, perhaps there is some annoying celebrity who does and we can pretend we have lost them, that would be pleasing.

So now, with all this time on my hands, its on to the next thing, which is completing the new book. I have never missed a deadline in my life, so its me and my laptop and not much else for the next month or so. The new book is called ‘SuperEating’ and in it I will be exploring a new way of eating to maximise the goodness from everything you eat.

Don’t forget to watch Richard and Judy on Channel 4 at 5pm on Tuesday 4th of March.

More soon….