Ready to experience better health?
Subscribe
Course Login

Dr Libby Weaver

Confused about food?

by

We recently asked our Facebook community what frustrated them most when it came to their food.

Here’s what people shared:

“That there’s always someone, somewhere saying your choices are bad. One minute it’s promoted as “healthy” and the next it’s not”

“Knowing what quantities to eat for your age (and avoiding that middle age spread)”

“How to juggle the tastes and needs of family members”

“Willpower! I know what to eat, but yet I just don’t do it”

“Trying not to give in to that after dinner sweet tooth”

“The cost of nutritious food”

“Finding low calorie meals that are filling”

“Stopping myself when I know I’m full”

“Knowing what to eat for lunch”

“That my moods control my food choices”

What was overwhelmingly frustrating to people was the mixed messages they were receiving. Whether this was from health professionals, bloggers or well-meaning friends sharing “what worked for them”.

While there’s no one size fits all when it comes to food, it doesn’t need to be complicated. It is possible to eat in a way that nourishes your body, your tastebuds and your wallet and it comes down to knowing what foods to choose and when.

In knowing what to eat, the first step is to understand how your body works. Why do you need food and what happens to food inside your body?

Next, it’s about the food itself, what constitutes a nutritious food choice and how do you know if a type of food is right for you… no matter how “healthy” people claim it to be!

And then it’s about understanding your cravings, your willpower and the emotional triggers that drive you to eat certain foods.

And most importantly you want to make sure the information you’re receiving is coming from a credible source – what experience does the person have who you are receiving advice from?

Dr Libby has a PhD in Biochemistry and twenty years of experience in working with people one on one to achieve their health outcomes through food. She understands exactly what food does inside you and the impact it can have on how you look and feel each day. She’s seen what works and what doesn’t.

Join Dr Libby live at her upcoming Food Frustrations events throughout New Zealand and Australia where she will guide you through this process and help you uncover the answers you seek about what you’re supposed to eat.

Tickets are moving fast and these events do sell out, be sure to secure your ticket so you don’t miss out.

With warmth,

The Dr Libby Team x

Do you ever get ‘hangry’?

by

Do you have moments when you get so ravenous you can’t think straight? When hunger takes over your body and you need to eat immediately or you feel you’re at risk of fainting? Some people even use the word ‘hangry’, describing how they get overwhelmingly grumpy until they’ve refuelled.

When you’re in this state, your body tells you to eat something that will give it energy fast. Given the choice between a carrot and a muffin, to your body the answer is a no brainer — the muffin will win every time.

Why?

Because the muffin gives your body a fast hit of glucose, which it converts quickly and easily into energy.

But what does your body really need?

You experience this ravenous hunger because inside your body, your blood sugar (glucose) level has crashed. Glucose is the brain’s preferred fuel source, so when your blood level drops too low, the supply to your brain can be compromised and this affects the way you think – and it can make your feel pretty lousy.

To prevent your blood sugar levels from dropping dangerously low (hypoglycaemia), your body releases adrenalin, which triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response and signals to your body to release stored glucose. This is why you might find yourself feeling shaky.

Meanwhile, messages are created in your brain to increase your appetite, and this often translates into a desire for sugary foods that will give your blood glucose levels a rapid boost.

This spike in your blood glucose levels will send them to the other end of the scale, so your body will then release insulin, a hormone that reduces blood glucose levels, setting you up to experience another crash. And the cycle repeats, triggering the release of more and more insulin, which also signals to the body to store fat.

In other words, by eating more nourishing fats and decreasing the amount of sugars you eat, you are less susceptible to that ravenous hunger that leads to out of control snacking.

July 2017

by

It’s at this time of year, as the weather begins to get colder and the days are shorter, it can be harder to resist the habits we’re trying to change.

When we lose that motivation, it can be easy to perceive that what we’re trying to achieve is just all too hard. Life can so easily get in the way – if we let it.

Many people can find themselves on a see-saw of feeling motivated to improve their energy and health, then feeling overwhelmed and letting it all slip away. And winter, being a natural time of turning inwards and hibernation, doesn’t help!

In order to change the behaviour, you first need to change the belief and our self-talk.

If we make some positive changes only to have them slip and then tell ourselves we’ve “ruined everything now” and “what’s the point anyway?”, we deter ourselves from picking them up again because we feel like we failed – which can stimulate some of our deeper, more hidden beliefs that we’re not ‘good’ enough.

By reminding yourself that it’s what you do consistently that shapes your health, not what you do occasionally – and remembering that everything you do to support your health is beneficial and never a waste of time, even one little glass of water can make a difference – you can begin to shift your perception around your choices.

This is why it’s so important to bring curiosity instead of judgement to our choices. If we’re curious about why we’re engaging in certain behaviours rather than judgemental, we allow ourselves to explore what might be going on for us below the surface of our actions.

Instead of letting your nourishing practices fall away entirely with the seasonal changes, try adapting them to suit the climate and how you’re feeling. You might not feel motivated to go for a walk outside in the morning because of the weather, but a gentle yoga practice on your bedroom floor might feel just as nourishing. You may notice that your desire for salads and raw foods disappears, yet you can still nourish your body with nutritious soups and stews.

I hope that you don’t give up. I hope that you prioritise your health because you are so, so worth it.

Take the best care of yourself.

With warmth,

Dr Libby x

How deepening your compassion can make you feel healthier

by

Treat others how you’d like to be treated – I’m sure many of us would lose count of how many times we were reminded of this as children.

Yet many adults seem to throw this saying out the window, in the name of urgency and efficiency, in the frantic pace of modern life.

Thanks to Eastern philosophies – and common sense – we know that being kind and showing compassion is absolutely essential to humanity, but what effect does it actually have an our health?

Researchers from Stanford University have found that as little as two weeks of practising compassion with intention has a positive physiological effect on the body. It can lower blood pressure, boost your immune response and increase your calmness. Essentially, if it was a pill we’d take it.

Not only does it have physiological effects, people who are actively practising compassion are happier and live a better life. It also has a significant effect on others, motivating them to be kinder, thus creating the ripple effect I’m obsessed with.

Encouraging people to sit quietly for 20 minutes a day and contemplate kindness, or write in a gratitude journal may enhance production of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is typically released at times of nurturing and eases anxiety and stress-related symptoms. It is also thought to increase our generosity.

But how do you practise compassion for the person who cut you off on the road this morning, your colleague who thinks blunt and abrupt is the only way to communicate, or your partner who still hasn’t figured out that socks and underwear don’t actually magically fly to the washing machine?

5 WAYS TO DEEPEN YOUR COMPASSION

  1. Find common ground. Look for similarities, rather than differences when it comes to challenging relationships. This automatically calms your nervous system and assists with feelings of contentment.
  1. Listen. Often when we are listening to someone speak we are formulating a response, waiting for our opportunity to offer some advice. Instead just listen. Suspend your judgment and let them express themselves freely – respond to the sentiment not just the words, as many people have trouble communicating their thoughts clearly.
  1. Drop the judgment. Remember that everyone is on a journey in life, just as you are on your own. Instead of judging other people’s decisions or opinions learn from them.
  1. Look inward. Question areas of your life where you lack compassion, trust, forgiveness or acceptance. Explore why this is the case, be patient and kind with yourself, but actively work on these areas.
  1. Random acts of kindness. Pick some flowers for a colleague, pay for a friend’s lunch, send someone a thank-you card just for being them, or compliment a stranger. You never know how far this simple gesture will reach in that person’s day. It might just mean they don’t throw to anger, they think about how they can positively impact someone else’s day, or that they simply walk away from your interaction with a smile on their face and warmth in their soul.

I leave you with this wonderful quote from the Dalai Lama.

“If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion.”

11 ways to be kinder to yourself

by

In the heart of winter many people say that they feel out of sorts.

People are generally drawn to comfort foods and tend to move less. They experience more difficulty getting up and tend to be lacking in energy – to the point where even routine tasks seem like a chore. They also tend to experience a decreased ability to handle stress.

These feelings are certainly more common in people who don’t get enough rest and relaxation to enjoy life, who drive themselves hard, perceive they are under constant pressure, or who are overwhelmed by repeated difficulties.

While I’m certainly always keen to suggest nutritional and lifestyle changes, I also believe that many of us need to learn to be kinder to ourselves. We know that being kind to ourselves as an essential component of wellness.

If you’re experiencing a touch of mid-winter overwhelm, there are a number of ways you can assist yourself in getting back to your natural state. Your ability to cope and manage stress will certainly be improved if you practise great kindness towards yourself.

Here is a kindness checklist with ways to show yourself some love:

  1. Be in bed before 10pm. It is remarkable what a difference this makes to your mood, energy and clarity of thought.
  1. Sleep in whenever possible (let your family know that this is what you need at weekends) or take an afternoon nap on a Sunday.
  1. Practise a progressive relaxation technique or even better – let this lead on to meditation.
  1. Nourish yourself with high quality food – mostly plants – ensuring some protein, unrefined carbohydrates and good fats at each meal. Eat breakfast and regular meals throughout the day. Eating nourishing foods is one of the most basic ways you can demonstrate self-care.
  1. Look at life/environmental situations which may be draining you. It may be a particular person who leaves you feeling worse for coming into contact with him/her, the hours you work, a situation at home, even a noisy polluted street you walk along. Do an audit and take steps to make positive changes.
  1. Move regularly – it doesn’t have to be strenuous. Walking, stretching, gentle breathing, yoga or swimming are all great choices.
  1. Notice something each day that you are grateful for or plan something that will bring you pleasure each day. This may be as simple as reading your favourite book or watching your children sleep.
  1. Go out without your phone – it sounds silly but many of us are on “call” literally every waking second. It can be so liberating to detach for a little while, allowing yourself the space to not be easily contactable. It may also highlight just how often you use your phone out of habit.
  1. Minimise screen time – many people wake up by reading the news on their cellphone, continuing looking at it while they commute, only to spend all day looking at a computer screen. When they return from work they then switch on the TV or watch something on their laptop! Not only is too much screen time disruptive for sleep it’s not good for your sense of wellbeing either.
  1. Immerse yourself in mother nature, studies show that we feel more calm when we are surrounded by nature.
  1. Being kind to yourself often means accepting your own vulnerabilities and understanding that you are human and you will make mistakes, you will evolve and that every opportunity no matter how difficult it may feel at the time offers you the opportunity to grow.

May 2017

by

Isn’t autumn such a beautiful time of year?

When I observe the seasonal transitions that come this time of year, I can’t help but make parallels to the transitions in our lives. Change is inevitable, yet it’s not always comfortable. Some changes can elicit feelings of joy and delight, others make us want to hibernate. Sometimes we feel that our days are graced with sunshine and then the storms roll in and we duck for cover.

We all have varying tolerances for change. Some people relish it and others do whatever they can to avoid it. It, of course, also depends on the change itself. The heartbreak of losing a loved one is a transition that will likely leave a mark on our lives for a very long time, whereas changing jobs might be a little easier for us to deal with.

When it comes to making changes that support our health, I often observe a lot of resistance. It led me to ask one of the key questions that has guided a lot of my work since – why do we do what we do, when we know what we know?

Many of us know that we need to make changes to better support our health and yet, somehow they usually fall to the bottom of the pile. We might know that we need to eat more vegetables and less processed food, or that we really should cut back to one cup of coffee a day. Or we might be familiar with the consequences of not enough sleep but still try to get through on 5-6 hours a night. What is it about lifestyle change that we regularly resist so much?

For many, it takes a health crisis to wake them up to the fact that they need to make some changes. I don’t want that for you. Ask yourself, what small, incremental steps can you make towards better health and energy? It might be that you need some support – either nutritionally or in the form of further guidance. Don’t be afraid to reach out when you need help.

Wishing you a wonderful end to the month.

With warmth,

Dr Libby x

Health gems from traditional medicine

by

We have learnt so much from traditional forms of medicine, whether this is their use of natural therapies or their holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of disease. Here are a few gems that we use in conventional and holistic practice today.

Listen to your body

Most traditional medicine approaches encourage you to “listen with your whole body”. To become more present and in tune with the different signals your body gives you. For example, instead of just taking medication for a headache, it encourages you to address the origin of the headache. By considering your water consumption, lighting, what you’ve been eating, how you’ve been sleeping and your stress levels. If you’re prone to recurrent infections, it will look at foods and herbs that help modulate the immune system rather than focusing on the infection as in isolated incidence.

Treat the whole person

Eastern medicine treats people as a whole: it also focuses on family, diet and life stressors. Instead of looking at the body symptomatically it considers how an ache or pain in one part may be caused by a completely different area. Holistic medicine practitioners believe that the whole person is made up of interdependent parts and if one part is not working properly, all the other parts can be affected. In this way, if people have imbalances (physical, emotional, or spiritual) in their lives, it can negatively affect their overall health.

Preventing or managing stress is essential to every illness or disease

Preventative health refers to the implementation of certain lifestyle and health practices to promote living in health and avoiding disease. Traditional medicine considers the role of stress in every illness, disease or discomfort. It encourages everyone to look at meditation strategies, mindfulness and yoga practice as a way of combating daily stress and thus benefiting from their protective effect.

Energy is our life force and we must address why it’s lacking

Traditional medicine considers the numerous reasons why you may not be feeling energised. Natural life force energy is something that flows through all living things. It sustains and nourishes our bodies and it can be used to support and increase the body’s natural self-healing ability. Lack of energy can be caused from very simple things such as drinking too much coffee or not sleeping properly, through to adrenal or chronic fatigue. Traditional medicine believes that feeling energised is absolutely essential to optimal health and seeks to always improve energy if it is poor.

Your thoughts and perceptions are critical to your health

Your thoughts and feelings play an incredibly important yet often overlooked role in your health. When approaching an ailment, traditional medicine also probes for answers from your thoughts and perceptions. For example it has been scientifically proven that when you are experiencing positive emotions like joy, contentment and love you will see more possibilities in your life and therefore cope better when faced with illness or disease. As well as considering the biochemistry at the heart of the issue it will also give you strategies to cope with your perception of the issue and provide hope for your journey to wellness.

Strive for consistency, rather than perfection

Make consistent choices that contribute to your overall health and well-being. It is what you do every day that impacts on your health, rather than what you occasionally do. Guilty feelings about food and lifestyle choices are no good for your health. Focus on nourishing your body, moving regularly, getting adequate rest, addressing and finding strategies to cope with the stress in your life, learning new ideas or skills and looking after your emotional health are all part of a balanced, consistent or holistic approach to wellness.

Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?

by

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin (because it contains the trace element cobalt), is an incredibly important B vitamin.

It is necessary for the production of red blood cells and plays an important role in maintaining the health of nerve cells and in the formation of genetic material.

All of the B vitamins, including B12 are water-soluble, meaning that the body does not store them, so we must consume them daily. The best place to get B vitamins is from our food, as for most people, when vitamins are obtained through food they are easily absorbed and utilised because you are also consuming co-nutrients that assist with the uptake and absorption.

Vitamin B12 however, is somewhat different from the other B group vitamins as its absorption relies on a few digestive processes happening in various places in the digestive system. The B12 must bind to a substance called intrinsic factor, which is produced by cells in the stomach, and this then travels to the ileum, the part of your small intestine closest to the colon, where it can be absorbed.

All B vitamins help the body convert food, specifically carbohydrates, into fuel (in this case, glucose), which is used to produce energy. These B vitamins, often referred to as B complex vitamins, also help the body use fats and proteins. B complex vitamins are needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver detoxification. They also help the nervous system to function properly.

Vitamin B12 works closely with vitamin B9, also called folate, to help make red blood cells and to transport carbon around the body, essential for almost every internal process. There has been a lot of interest in B12 more recently due to its role in mood regulation. Folate and B12 work together to produce S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a compound involved in immune function and mood.

Vitamin B12 is a particularly important vitamin for maintaining healthy nerve cells, and it helps in the production of DNA and RNA, our genetic material.

Vitamins B12, B6, and B9 work together to control blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine have been associated with heart disease. However, researchers have not concluded whether homocysteine is a cause of heart disease or just a marker that indicates someone may have heart disease.

The only food sources of B12 are animal foods. Plants don’t contain B12 – in fact they don’t need it – and as a result, people who eat a vegan diet are at greater risk of deficiency. Supplementation for people eating a vegan diet is necessary.

There are numerous reasons why someone might be deficient in B12 which include an insufficient dietary intake, poor intrinsic factor production and undiagnosed coeliac disease.
It is rare for young people to be deficient in vitamin B12, but it is not uncommon for older people to be mildly deficient. This may be because their diets are not as nourishing due to changes in appetite or desire/capacity to cook, or because it becomes harder to absorb because of a lack of intrinsic factor. Low levels of B12 can cause a range of symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nervousness, numbness, or a tingling sensation in the fingers and toes.

An untreated deficiency can result in a type of anaemia and damage to the nervous system and a simple blood test can inform you of your B12 status. Intramuscular vitamin B12 injections form the basis of most treatment plans. If you think you have a B vitamin deficiency, it’s always best to talk to your GP or a health professional before supplementing.

The Truth About Whether Chocolate is Good for You.  

by

There have been books and movies written about it, its abundance rivals coffee… and it seems every second week there is a study released about the benefits of chocolate. 

There are a number of reasons why chocolate can be beneficial for your health, however not all chocolate is created equal. The darker the chocolate the more health benefits it contains.

Dark chocolate contains naturally occurring antioxidants called flavanols and epicatechins (two types of flavonoids.) These antioxidants have been shown in some studies to decrease your risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Chocolate is also a good source of tryptophan an amino acid that supports the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that stimulates the secretion of endorphins, and can produce feelings of elation. I’m sure many people would agree with experiencing an improved mood after eating chocolate.

CHOOSE GOOD QUALITY CHOCOLATE

The more chocolate is processed, the less likely it is to contain any of its health-improving qualities, and the more refined sugar and poor quality fat it’s likely to contain, which can take away from your health.

Recipes that use the raw ingredients of chocolate: such as cacao butter and cacao powder are a fantastic option to experiment with. Making your own chocolate is faster than driving to the shop to buy them! Plus you create a chocolate snack that is packed full of nourishment, no fillers, milk or poor quality fats and refined sugar – just pure chocolatey goodness!

CHOCOLATE ISN’T EVERYONE’S FRIEND

The cacao bean, hence chocolate, contains substances that can adversely affect some people. Dogs can’t tolerate chocolate at all as one of the substances in it, theobromine, is toxic to dogs at certain doses.

Theobromine and caffeine are two of the compounds that can also play havoc with the human nervous system. They can contribute to hypertension, insomnia and/or anxiety. If you have trouble sleeping and you have chocolate close to bedtime, omitting chocolate could be a great place to start. The same applies to children, as chocolate can be quite stimulating for some children.

There are many health benefits associated with regularly consuming small amounts of dark chocolate and it’s a wonderfully delicious addition to your diet – however, it doesn’t suit everyone and I would encourage you to explore whether or not chocolate loves you back!

Let Food be Your Cold Medicine

by

The wisdom “let food be thy medicine” dates back almost 3000 years, and the importance of this statement is no less important now than it was then. Food has the ability to help support us through these times when common winter illnesses such as colds and flus, sniffles, coughs, chapped skin and the winter blues abound for too many.

While there are many over-the-counter medications that try to band-aid these conditions, there are many more food-based options available to help strengthen the body. These can help treat the basis of the problem rather than just the symptoms. Preserving and improving your nutritional status is vital for a strong immune system. It is the best defence against winter illnesses. Eating food that is rich in nutrients is the best way to do this. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient when it comes to an immune system that is firing on all cylinders. Vitamin C is used by the body to signal the production of white blood cells to protect us when foreign bacteria or viruses enter the body. It is also present in the fluid lining in our lungs and mucous membranes, where the antioxidant activity helps prevent inflammation and damage by bacteria and viruses. It is also crucial for collagen production in the skin, something we also want to support over the winter months.

BOOST YOUR VITAMIN C

Vitamin C cannot be stored in the body so we need to consume it every day. Eat a piece of fruit or add lemon, orange or grapefruit to your morning juice. Incorporate leafy greens and broccoli into stir fries to help boost your daily intake of vitamin C. Heat and light and the length of time from a food being harvested decreases vitamin C, so grab what you can from your local farmers’ market. Supplementing vitamin C can also be highly beneficial. Vitamin D is an important nutrient for bone health, immunity, cancer prevention and mood regulation. Its role in bone health is to support the uptake of calcium and phosphate, which are bone-strengthening minerals. Over the winter months we often find ourselves wrapped up warm with less exposure to the sun, except for our hands and faces. As the sun’s action on the cholesterol in our skin is our major source of vitamin D it is important to spend a little time each day exposed to the sun and to increase our food sources of vitamin D. These include some oily fish, organic butter and eggs (the vitamin D is found in the yolks).

SUPERSTAR ZINC

Zinc is a superstar nutrient when it comes to immunity. This mineral is critical for a large number of processes in the body including wound healing, sex hormone balance, appetite, appropriate immune responses, and great digestion, just to name a few. Too many people today don’t consume adequate dietary zinc while others consume a diet that is too high in substances that interfere with the absorption of this vital mineral. Poor zinc status can lead to poor blood glucose management, sugar cravings, loss of appetite, poor resistance to infection and lowered fertility. Oysters, beef and lamb are good sources of zinc. In the plant family, seeds contain zinc however a much smaller amount is present. If you take a zinc supplement, it is best taken before bed to support great absorption. Your grandma was right about chicken soup. Bone broths contain calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, and amino acids, all nutrients that support adrenal health, the nervous system, bones, teeth and nails, as well as the immune system.

They are budget friendly and are a nourishing way to support people who feel depleted in nutrients or energy. Try making a broth from organic, grass-fed beef or lamb, or organic chicken bones with root vegetables and herbs and spices. Use the broth as a base for a vegetable soup or drink it on its own.

Facebook Pinterest Twitter Youtube Instagram

© 2024 Dr Libby Pty Ltd

Currency

Please select the currency you would like to shop in.

Australian Dollar
New Zealand Dollar
United States (US) Dollar

Currency

Please select the currency you would like to shop in.

Australian Dollar
New Zealand Dollar
United States (US) Dollar