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Low Carb Down Under – Sydney

November 28, 2012/6 Comments/in Australian, Blog Posts, Events, Ex, Paleo, TD /by Suz

Saturday was the Sydney leg of the Low Carb Down Under seminar series, that has been touring Australia.

What a fantastic day it was! There were twelve speakers from diverse backgrounds covering a range of topics. I was honoured to be one of the speakers and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Almost 300 people attended the event and everyone seemed really keen to learn and soak up the atmosphere. There seemed to be a significant number of medical and healthcare providers in the audience, which is a great sign that the message is being spread to the right people.

So, here is my brief summary of the day.

Dr Ron Ehrlich—“Lessons from the Past”

Dr Ron Ehrlich is a holistic Sydney dentist who started the day with a great overview of where we are – and where we’ve come from. I found it interesting to hear Ron talking about how he looks for underlying causes – rather than treating symptoms, which seems to be the typical modern method.

Dr Simon Thornley—“Has Dietary Research Helped Us With Our Food Choices

New Zealand Public Health Physician Dr Simon Thornley has written a paper on sugar with Dr Rod Taylor and Dr Ken Sikaris (“Sugar restriction: the evidence for a drug-free intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk”). Simon is an academic who has conducted extensive research on sugar, scientifically coming to many of the same conclusions as those of us in the paleo community.

Jimmy Moore—Update on low carb around the world

An update on the remarkable progress Jimmy is making with his N=1 experiment on Nutritional Ketotis. Interestingly a number of people I spoke to in the audience are conducting similar experiments of their own. It’s going to be extremely interesting to examine how this has gone in a few months time.

David Gillespie—“Sweet Poison and Big Fat Lies”

Author and Lawyer David Gillespie took us through his extensive sugar research – and findings. Many people in Australia were first introduced to the concept of giving up sugar through David’s books, so it was great to hear from him.

Sarah Wilson—“I Quit Sugar”

Sarah is the journalist who wrote the popular I Quit Sugar program. I was very interesting to hear her speak about her poor health, and how quitting sugar changed things for her.

Costa Georgiadis—“Product Not Produce”

Costa has the most incredible energy! He bought along soil and compost and demonstrated to us the importance of understanding exactly where your food comes from.

Christine Cronau—”The Fat Revolution!”

Christine is author of the Fat Revolution. Her talk clearly spelt out exactly why we need to have fat in our diets and must not be scared of it.

Dr Rod Tayler—“Doctors, Health, Weight and Carbohydrates”

Anesthesiologist and giveupsugar.com founder Rod Taylor explained how damaging sugar is – and just how much of a problem it is.

Aaron McKenzie from Origin of Energy—”Combining Fitness and Nutrition”

Aaron spoke about fitness, from an evolutionary perspective

Suzanne Crawt – Paleo in Australia

My talk started with my story explaining how I found Paleo and the huge difference it made to me. I then spoke about the growing, thriving Paleo community in Australia and how people can get involved.

Rob Blomfield—”A farmer’s journey to primal health”

Rob is an Australian farmer who, on finding this lifestyle, made remarkable health improvements. It was great to hear from someone with an insider knowledge on farming.

Vicki Poulter – “Why grass fed animal foods are good for the planet”

Vicki, from Nourishing Australia, gave a wonderful talk in linking the land, animals, soil and our food. This really made clear the importance of eating good quality grass-fed meat.

We finished with a panel question and answer section. With so many diverse speakers, a great wealth of questions were answered.

The whole event was filmed, so hopefully those of you who missed out will be able to watch the talks soon.

It was wonderful to meet so many people interested in, and concerned about their health. It’s clear that the message is spreading and increasing numbers of people are finding out about this lifestyle. I wonder how many people will attend the next seminar series?

The seminar was in Adelaide last night and has one more date left. The final conference is in Brisbane this Saturday. There is still time (just) to buy your ticket at the Low Carb Down Under site. I’m heading to Brisbane this weekend, so if you’re there please come and say hi!

Have you been to one of the seminars this year? What was your highlight – and who would you like to hear speak next time?

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Selenium & Deficiency On A Paleo Diet?

November 25, 2012/3 Comments/in Blog Posts, Ex, Food, Health, Paleo /by Suz

Despite following a healthy Paleo Diet, if not enough attention is paid to getting a wide variety of different foods, deficiencies are still possible. I've been looking into a number of the more common deficiencies to understand how to tweak your Paleo diet to ensure deficiencies don’t occur. This week, I've been looking into Selenium.

What is Selenium?

It is a trace mineral that is only needed in small amounts but it is essential for good health. Some of the functions selenium performs include helping regulate the thyroid gland, assisting the immune system and protecting our cells from the damage caused by free radicals. In dietary terms the selenium content of plant foods are proportionate to the soil concentration of selenium where the food was grown.

These days severe selenium deficiency in adults is very rare, particularly when following a healthy Paleo diet, but minor deficiencies do occur and that can have some rather unpleasant effects on our health.

Some of the selenium deficiency symptoms include polyneuropathy and muscle damage that can look a lot like the side effects of statins. Selenium supports the synthesis of the thyroid hormone and is needed for the conversion of the T4 thyroid hormone into the active T3 hormone. As a result deficiency can look like hypothyroidism.

So, how do you become Selenium deficient?

It can be as simple as just not eating enough Selenium rich foods, or if you suffer from an intestinal disorder such as Celiac, Chron’s disease or an ulcerative colitis these can all reduce the body’s absorption of selenium from foods. While deficiency does not cause those illnesses it can make the body more susceptible to illnesses caused by biochemical or infectious stress due to the role selenium plays in the immune system.

It can also be due to a lack of selenium in the soil where your food has been grown. Just like other minerals, it must be in the soil or it won’t be present in the food grown in the soil.

Where can you get it from, in keeping with the Paleo diet?

You can find good sources of selenium in lamb, turkey, prawns, salmon, cod, crimini and shiitake mushrooms, kidney’s, egg yolks and halibut.

Keeping your thyroid healthy is important with many people dealing with thyroid conditions such as hypothyroidism. There have been many research studies that have shown the benefits of selenium supplements when treating some thyroid conditions. One such study has found that selenium supplements have reduced the inflammation damage to the thyroid tissues. While studies have shown that selenium supplements can help prevent thyroid tissue damage there is more research needed to determine the long-term effects.

Making sure that your selenium intake is at its peak may give both your thyroid and immune system that little boost it needs to help function better. Whether you use supplements or include more selenium-rich foods in your diet it is important for those who are managing a thyroid condition to make sure their selenium intake is adequate.

As important as it is not to be deficient, it’s also important not to go over board. Over increasing your intake of selenium over long periods of time can lead to complications including garlic breath odour, hair loss, mild nerve damage, gastrointestinal upsets, white blotchy nails, irritability and fatigue.

The best option is to include selenium rich foods in your diet. While high in omega-6 fats it takes just a couple of Brazil nuts a day to boost your immune function and improve the amount of selenium in your diet.

Have you given much consideration to your Selenium intake? Which minerals and vitamins are you most concerned about, in your Paleo diet?

Following A Paleo Diet Is So Much Harder In Some Places!

November 23, 2012/25 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Ex, Food, Paleo /by Suz

I live in Sydney and have always found it very easy to follow my Paleo Diet. In fact, I don’t really have to think about it, eating Paleo just naturally happens. Even when I have to find lunch in the city. Great quality food and ingredients are everywhere. Similarly I find Melbourne fantastic for good Paleo friendly food options.

I'm often not organised enough to bring my lunch in from home, but in Sydney, it isn't a problem. I'm spoilt for choice with a huge range of lunch options. The other thing I love about lunch in Sydney is that, even in a food court, it’s generally freshly prepared as you order it. Every food court seems to have some great create-your-own salad options and a roast dinner option when you can choose your meat and have it with your choice of fresh vegetables.

This is a very easy lunch to find in Sydney; Roast meat and vegetables. Simple.

Eating dinner out in Sydney is even easier, with almost every restaurant offering meals that are fairly Paleo, but the flexibility to tweak the menu slightly, making sure you get exactly what you want.

So spoilt have I been by the food options I'm used to, that now I am working in another city for a few days a week, I'm surprised by how much harder it is to stick to my Paleo diet.

A lot of this is due to not having the local knowledge about the best places to go, but having explored the CBD, I'm fairly convinced that Brisbane just does not have the range of healthy options I find in Sydney. I have found a couple of food courts which offer a roast dinner – but sadly the “vegetable” sides are all beige. Processed potato croquettes, potato wedges or hot chips. Not quite what I had in mind. I have found some restaurants which offer meals that are more suitable, but these are far too substantial for lunchtime.

Breakfast at my hotel looks great on paper, but the colour and taste of the bacon and eggs makes it clear that these are very poor quality. Definitely not organic and probably not even free-range eggs. For the $29 they charge for breakfast, I could cook something amazing with incredible ingredients – which makes the hotel breakfast even harder to swallow.

I'm sure there are lots of great restaurants I should be making use of in the evenings, so I will have to make sure I research this better.

Fortunately I've managed to find somewhere new to stay for the coming weeks, that will hopefully help solve some of these difficulties. I've found a serviced apartment that is the same price as the hotel, but offers a kitchen! This means I’ll be able to buy my own, good quality, ingredients and cook my own Paleo meals. I’ll also be able to take my lunch in (or perhaps even pop back to eat, as it is so close).

My other observation is that overall, people in the CBD look a lot less healthy than they do in Sydney. Is this because it is harder to eat good food; or is there no good food because people don’t want it? I generally find the hotter it is the easier it is to eat well – it’s hotter here, so I'm surprised how many junk food outlets there are?

Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love Brisbane (I’ll be up for the Brisbane leg of the Low Carb Down Under Seminar Series), I just wish there were more Paleo friendly food options!

Have you noticed following a Paleo diet is harder in certain places? Do you have any tips and tricks for staying Paleo whilst working away? And if anyone has any Brisbane specific Paleo tips, I would LOVE to hear them!

Low Carb Down Under – It’s Started!

November 18, 2012/10 Comments/in Australian, Blog Posts, Events, Ex, Paleo, TD /by Suz

I’ve just got back from an amazing weekend in Melbourne, where the Low Carb Down Under series started on Saturday.

What an amazing day! I’ve listened to Jimmy Moore’s podcasts for a long time, but to meet him and watch him present is such a different experience. He was a great, inspirational speaker – and despite such a fantastic turnout, he made sure everyone who wanted to speak to him got the chance.

I’ve been following Jimmy Moore’s N=1 Nutritional Ketosis experiment on his blog with great interest, so to hear him talk about this – and take his readings in front of us on stage – was super interesting. It’s quite remarkable how much slimmer Jimmy looked yesterday, even just since the last photo he posted on his blog.

David Gillespie is another great speaker – and the man responsible for leading a lot of people away from sugar; a journey which often leads to a Paleo diet and lifestyle.

I often find conferences like this can be one extreme or the other – either no science at all – or far too sciencey. The talks at Melbourne yesterday really did tick all the boxes.

We heard from Doctors and Scientists; Dr Rod Tayer, Dr Ken Sikaris (this man really needs a blog!), Steven Hamley, explaining why Paleo works (and conventional wisdom doesn’t). We heard from local Melbournites Crystal Fieldhouse, Ivy Thompson & Jo Fitton sharing how they “do” Paleo locally. Crossfit coach Dr George Iacono spoke about crossfit and fitness. Christine Cronau explained how our diets went wrong and spoke about how we should eat. Natalie Kringoudis, is a fertility expert who gave an amazing talk – we even heard from a chef, Mick Reade demonstrating how versatile a Paleo diet can be.

I’m not going to talk too much about the talks until the seminar series is over – because I want YOU to go to one of the remaining dates and soak up the knowledge for yourself!

Even if you don’t live near the remaining venues, consider coming anyway – you will get so much value from the day.

Byron Bay – Wednesday 21st November

Sydney – Saturday 24th November

Brisbane – Saturday 1st December

Adelaide – Tuesday 27th November

I’ve had a lot of comments asking about Darwin and Perth not being part of the tour . If we can get enough people interested, we will make sure they’re included in the next round of Paleo events – just make sure you’ve joined your local Paleo Meetup group so we know you’re interested (there is now a meetup for every state)

I’m excited to be speaking at the Sydney date next week – and will be attending the remaining dates – I hope to see at one of the events.

If you haven’t booked your ticket, do it now before it’s too late!

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Review: Paleo Indulgences

October 13, 2012/6 Comments/in Blog Posts, Books, Cooking, Ex /by Suz

I was excited to receive my copy of the new Paleo recipe book “Paleo Indulgences” by Tammy Credicott”.

Unlike many of the Paleo cookbooks in existence, this is most definitely not an every day book. This book is for those occasions when you might otherwise be tempted to go non-Paleo. Birthdays, celebrations and all of those special occasions marked by food.

There’s a great introduction about Paleo, what should and shouldn't be eaten and where to find the ingredients used for the recipes in the book.

The book has a great thumbnail contents pages – making it easy to find exactly which recipe you want to cook.

Paleo Indulgences has lots of baked recipes, such as cookies, scones, bread and cakes; sweet treats; ice cream and restaurant recreations.

The sweet treats contain Paleo friendly ingredients such as almond and coconut flour. Whilst you wouldn't want to eat these everyday, they are clearly far better alternatives to their SAD equivalents.

I tried out the meatball recipe and the tomato sauce to go with them, both from the “Restaurant Recreations” chapter.

The recipe was easy to follow and tasted great. I made up a large batch to take care of several meals in advance.

There were quite a few ingredients I didn’t have, such as Coconut Nectar, Coconut Crystals and Arrow Root Powder which I have now ordered – I’m looking forward to trying out more of the recipes when the rest of the ingredients arrive!

This book would be great for families trying to feed their children Paleo nutrition – but without feeling like they were missing out on SAD treats.

Which is your favourite recipe book? Have you got Paleo Indulgences yet?

Win! I Quit Sugar Cookbook

October 7, 2012/28 Comments/in Ex, Giveaway /by Suz

Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar Cookbook is a beautiful ebook, to follow-up to I Quit Sugar Program. Fancy winning your own copy?

The I Quit Sugar Program is an eight week plan to give up sugar – with guidance and advice throughout the process. This is a great first step into Paleo, as initially giving up sugar can seem very daunting.

The follow up recipe book has over 100 recipes, most of which are Paleo. There are breakfast recipes, dinners, snacks, sauces, smoothies and lots of recipes to help a sweet tooth – but of course, without sugar!

Sarah Wilson has generously given two of her ebooks to be won in this giveaway! So if you would like a new cookbook and some new recipe inspiration, enter now!

How To Enter:

If you haven't already, sign up to my newsletter below
Like the Paleo Network Facebook page
Leave a comment below – make sure you include your email address in the comment form (won't be displayed publicly), so I can contact you if you win!

I'll pick two winners at random. Entry closes midnight AEST 14th October and winners will be contacted and announced shortly afterwards. Entry open to all regardless of country. One entry per person.

Good Luck!

Low Carb Down Under Seminar Series

October 5, 2012/5 Comments/in Blog Posts, Events, Ex, Paleo, TD /by Suz

The Low Carb Down Under seminar series is selling out fast – have you booked your ticket yet?

Jimmy Moore is going to be coming to Australia from the US to talk in Melbourne, Byron Bay, Sydney, Adelaide & Brisbane in just a few weeks time.

Jimmy will be joined by lots of other speakers from the Paleo and Low Carb communities, including David Gillespie (author of “Sweet Poison”), Dr Rod Tayler, Jamie Hayes, Vicki Poulter, Dr Ron Ehrlich, Christine Cronau (author of “The Fat Revolution”), Sarah Wilson, Costa Georgiadis, Dr Anastasia Boulais, Jamie Scott and many more! The speakers and line ups vary at each location, and full details can be found on the Low Carb Down Under site.

The dates of the Low Carb Down Under seminar series are:

Melbourne – Saturday 17th November

Byron Bay – Wednesday 21st November

Sydney – Saturday 24th November

Adelaide – Tuesday 27th November

Brisbane – Saturday 1st December

If you're interested in health, you won't want to miss this unique seminar series! If you've got friends who've expressed an interest in your diet, these seminars would be a great way of introducing them to a healthier lifestyle, so why not bring a friend? I hope to see you at one of the events! Have you booked your ticket yet?

Translating Paleo Cooking Terms

September 28, 2012/3 Comments/in Blog Posts, Cooking, Ex, Food /by Suz

The first time I went to America, I was confused. The restaurant menus all had pages of entrée’s, but no main courses. Fortunately before too long, I realised entrée is American for main course, not a starter course, as I am used to the word. I was also excited to try a new herb I had read about in lots of cooking blogs, cilantro – before I found out it is just another was of describing coriander.

As a Brit, living in Australia, reading lots of American Paleo Diet blogs and books, I've noticed a lot of cooking and food terms with completely different names. Australian terms seem to be mainly British, but often American – and sometimes different again. The list below shows the most common terms on which our terms differ, not all Paleo related, but hopefully useful all the same:

American	British English	Australian
Appetizer	Starter	Starter
Entrée	Main Course	Main Course
Dessert	Pudding/ Sweet/ Afters	Dessert
Broiler	Grill	Grill
Grilling	Barbecuing	Barbecuing
Canned	Tinned	Tinned
Eggplant	Aubergine	Eggplant
Zucchini	Courgette	Zucchini
Argula	Rocket	Rocket
Rutbaga	Swede/ Turnip	Swede
Bell Pepper	Pepper	Capsicum
Cilantro	Coriander	Coriander
Ground Mince	Minced Meat	Minced Meat
Pork Rinds	Pork Scratchings	Crackling
Jello	Jelly	Jam
Fries	Chips	Hot Chips
Chips	Crisps	Chips
Parchment Paper	Greaseproof Paper	Greaseproof Paper
Stove	Hob	Hob
Crock Pot	Slow Cooker	Slow Cooker
Plastic Wrap	Clingfilm	Gladwrap
Candy	Sweets	Lollies
Licquor Store	Off Licence	Bottle Shop (AKA Bottlo!)
Popsicle	Ice Lolly	Ice Lolly

Of course, in addition to the different terms, American recipes use imperial measurements (pounds, ounces, tablespoons and Fahrenheit), Australian recipes are metric (grams, millilitres and centigrade) and British recipes never quite seem to be able to decide if they should embrace the metric system, or stick to the traditional imperial measurements.

I'm sure there are many more, so please share the terms that have confused you, or that you have recently discovered, in the comments below. And if you’re in New Zealand – which versions of the terms do you use, mainly Australian, or a completely different term?

What’s For Lunch?

September 26, 2012/4 Comments/in Blog Posts, Ex, Food, Paleo /by Suz

If you work outside the home and struggle with eating foods that support your dietary needs and goals, the question “what’s for lunch” borders on obsession: What is easy to make? Healthy? Fast? Isn't boring? Saves money? Stormy Sweitzer, owner of Maoomba.com, the Real Food for Active Lives blog, and author of Paleo Power Lunch: Easy, Filling & Delicious Workday Meal Strategies, has some suggestions for you.

Back when I first discovered my numerous food sensitivities – it’s been about 6 years now – I went through what everyone seems to go through when they suddenly can’t or choose not to have food they’re accustomed to eating. Things like disorientation in my kitchen and at the store, frustration with having to learn how to cook all over again, spending hours cooking, and having cravings followed by discomfort and guilt if I ate something I knew I shouldn't.

My biggest struggle, though, was how to eat well away from home during the work day.

I often worked 50-60 hours a week. I always had some running or cycling event I was training for. And, of course, I wanted to spend time with my husband, family and friends enjoying the things we love to do. So food – especially the lunches and snacks I packed – had to be simple, not take a lot of time to prepare, and keep me going throughout the day.

Lunch: No Longer the Forgotten Meal

Planning is essential: At the start of the week, think about what you would like to eat each day. This will not only help you prepare for your meals, it will also help you shop more easily and cook things in a way that allows you to more efficient in the kitchen.

Favourite go-to meal: A Paleo Power Lunch salad. I prepare all of the major ingredients – meat and crudités over the weekend. That means washing the greens, dicing celery, carrots, peppers, and even cooking starchier vegetables like pumpkin and beets. Roasting or grilling meat ahead of time is essential to pulling lunch together quickly – whether you cook it all on one day or have a planned leftovers approach during the week. And, getting creative with salad dressing can make all the difference in how salads taste. Easy to make, flavourful, and less expensive than buying grocery store brands (which of course can have ingredients like sugars, gums, and soy), home-made dressings can add variety to workday meals.

Go-to snacks: Beet or zucchini hummus with raw veggies, whole fruit, a banana with almond butter, hard-boiled eggs, fruit and nut bars, even a can of sardines or tuna are all great options. Keep a stash of non-perishable snacks on hand for emergencies,

Batch it up – crock pot and casserole cooking: Boredom is the enemy of consistency. Eating salad all week, while good for you, can take its toll on your taste buds. To keep things interesting, make batches of foods like soups, stews, and casseroles that you can eat throughout the week. A great strategy is to make enough to freeze lunch-size portions for later. After a few bulk cooking sessions you’ll have a few weeks’ supply of lunches your co-workers will envy.

Not ready to take on batch cooking? Planned leftovers are great options. Just add a little extra food to the pan and then pack it for the next day’s lunch.

Tomorrow Stormy Sweitzer shares a lunch recipe with use from Paleo Power Lunch for a Moroccan lunch and dressing

What’s your favourite workday meal or kitchen strategy for making sure you take lunch each day?

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Paleo Meetup Groups – Have You Joined Yet?

August 26, 2012/7 Comments/in Australian, Blog Posts, Events, Ex, Paleo /by Suz

Exciting news! There are now Paleo meet-up groups in every state in Australia! Wherever you live, you can now meet up with local people who eat the same way as you do.

The meet-up groups arrange local dinners, barbecues, picnics, talks – you can even suggest a meetup of your own to the group.

Meetups are a great way of meeting people and finding out about Paleo restaurants and suppliers in your area, so if you haven’t already – join your local Paleo Meetup!

There don’t seem to be any New Zealand Paleo meetup groups yet – why don’t you start one? If you're in the US, Canada or the UK there are lots of Paleo meetup groups, so find your nearest and join up – it's free!

With the exception of Sydney, Perth and Melbourne most of these groups are very new – so spread the word and help to increase the membership! If you live in Darwin, Canberra or Hobart there is also the opportunity to become a co-organiser.

Here are the Australian Paleo Meetup groups

NSW/ Sydney
Victoria/ Melbourne
WA/ Perth
SA/ Adelaide
Queensland/ Brisbane
NT/ Darwin
ACT/ Canberra
Tasmania/ Hobart

So sign up (it's free) get involved!

Have you been to a local Paleo meetup event yet?