Iodine- rich foods

Doctor with female patient

Many are not aware of the importance of iodine in the diet. See ‘The importance of iodine’ discussion.

In order to increase iodine levels, CAM practitioners may advise the following lifestyle advice:

• Have foods from each of the five food groups
• Increasing the consumption of seaweed vegetables (best form of iodine)
• Consume bread that uses iodised salt
• Consume dairy products
• Sushi (containing seaweed)
• Oysters
• Fish e.g. snapper, salmon, cod

Key factors to remember:

• Adults require around 150 micrograms of iodine per day
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women need up to 200 micrograms of iodine daily
• Children and infants have somewhat lower requirements
• Two to three servings of seafood a week provides sufficient iodine to meet the requirements of most people

For individuals who have high iodine requirements e.g. pregnant or lactating women or those that do not eat seafood or may be vegans should consider taking iodine supplements, but only under the guidance of CAM practitioners and family physicians as there may be underlying thyroid conditions or bromine – iodine balance is compromised.

Sweet Dreams

Millions of people have difficulties in having a good night’s sleep. Insomnia is the inability to sleep either regularly at night.

Reasons for insomnia vary such as:

• Daily stressors e.g. jobs, relationship issues,
• Illness
• Medication
• Anxiety
• Depression
• And much more

For generations mothers have given their children a glass of warm milk to help them sleep, but is there any complementary medicine research that supports this age-old practice.

Milk has been shown to contain several beneficial bioactive peptides that support healthy and natural sleep cycles. These short chain amino acids known as bioactive peptides has a sedative effect and brings about sustained sleep patterns.

These bioactive peptides act on the brain’s GABA-A receptors. The main role of GABA is to calm the nervous system. The body’s main excitatory neurotransmitter (Glutamate) is most active during your waking hours. However, when you fall asleep brain Glutamate levels decrease and GABA levels increase. So any agent that induces GABA levels will facilitate a great restful night’s sleep.

The advantage of these milk peptides, of course, is that they induce relaxation and sleep without the side effects associated with long-term use of sleep medication.

Milk has been advocated for sleep for thousands of years in traditional medicine system of Ayurveda. Ayurveda suggests that chronic stress depletes ojas. Ojas is a precious substance that is produced in the body from the subtle level of digestion which is related to vitality and immunity. Ojas can be found in several types of food, however the main form of ojas is present in milk.

A recipe designed to boost ojas level and support healthy sleeping pattern is one that is listed below. For individuals whom do not consume milk, alternatives of coconut and almonds can be used instead.

Recipe

First, bring one cup of milk to boil. During the simmering procedure add the following ingredients;

• chopped dates (1 tbsp)
• chopped almonds (2 tsp)
• coconut meat or flakes (1 tbsp)
• saffron (1/2 tsp)
• ghee (1-2 tsp) and
• cardamom (1/8 tsp).

Each of these ingredients in this ancient recipe adds further health enhancing properties which have also been proven in complementary medicine research; see smartphone health app Apple A Day RX.