I’ve always been into health and fitness. In high school, I worked in fitness centres and was really into eating healthy.

Now, I’m a registered dietician, so my love for soups and smoothies naturally evolved from my knowledge and personal health habits.

I’d go to smoothie shops if I was out, and for dinner I’d just have leftover veggies on hand at home so I’d make soups with them.

I love them so much I worked with Women’s Health to write a whole book about them: The Women’s Health Big Book Of Smoothies & Soups. I consider them my healthy secret weapon.

Read more: Here’s why your workout might be making you bloated

Soups and smoothies are a quick and easy way to get your fruit and veggie fix – and most people are not getting enough of either. In one smoothie, you can get two servings of fruit and three of veggies without feeling like you’re eating spinach.

The protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals help boost the your energy and your moods without feeling weighed down or sleepy like you do after eating a big bowl of pasta.

They’re ideal if you’re busy or stressed and don’t feel like cooking a meal and sitting down to eat it.

I probably have a smoothie five to six times a week now, usually as a lunchtime meal replacement or breakfast on busy days. It’s cold and refreshing and helps get my blood sugar up when I’m not super hungry.

I love a peanut-butter banana protein smoothie with almond milk or, if I’m not in the mood for that, one with berries and yogurt. I’ll bring it in the car and sip on it as I’m running errands.

Read more: 8 foods to eat tonight to de-bloat by tomorrow

Veggies are sometimes a challenge because they can go bad in the fridge before you get around to cooking them. That’s where soups come in especially handy: I usually make one big batch once a month and freeze it.

I like blending in cannellini beans, which gives soups a creamy flavour without adding heavy cream, along with lots of veggies like potatoes, carrots and spinach.

I’ll pull it out two nights a week, more often during the winter, to eat before dinner instead of salad. They’re great because they fill you up and satisfy you so don’t overdo it on the rest of your meal.

To keep your smoothies healthy, I recommend adding one cup of frozen or fresh fruit max and balancing with veggies and a source of protein (like a powder, peanut butter or yogurt) to make it a complete meal. With soups, skip those that are heavy on the cheese and cream, because they can get really high in kilojoules.

To keep the sodium in check, go for low-sodium veggie and chicken broth, or if you’re buying the canned stuff look for 400 to 500mg sodium max.

Read more How to ‘shrink’ your tummy in 24 hours

These days when I put on a few pounds over the holidays, I fall back on soups and smoothies to reset and get my diet back on track. If I overdo it on the weekend, I feel bloated and I’m not all that hungry on Monday.

Having a smoothie is always a great way to reset my diet and manage my weight by keeping my weekly calories balanced. I also find my skin doesn’t break out as much when I’m eating lots of homemade soups and smoothies because they both have lots of liquid, keeping me nourished and hydrated.

 Making them helped transform my health – I can’t imagine life without them!

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

By Liza Defazio, as told to Colleen De Bellefonds

A cancer charity said myths online leave patients “scared and at risk of bogus cures”.

A minister says the idea of patients being discharged to people’s spare rooms must be scrutinised.

“It has to do with the way cyclists tend to fall,” says Dr Brian Cunningham, MD, a Minnesota-based orthopedic trauma specialist.

“When you fall directly onto your shoulder, your clavicle [or collarbone] – which has an s-shape – compresses and is prone to breaking.”

You’ll know you’ve broken your collarbone almost immediately, says Dr Subir Jossan, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon with the DC-area Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics.

It’s not a subtle injury – moving your arm will be agonising and you may hear an audible crack as you hit the ground.

The big issue with this break is that when it heals right, it won’t impair your long-term function – but that doesn’t always happen, and the repercussions extend beyond your collarbone.

The collarbone acts as a strut connecting your arm to your chest; any kink in that system could mean you’ll have prolonged problems.

“If it heals in a position where there’s shortness [meaning it doesn’t quite reach the shoulder joint], there may be some weakness,” says Dr Cunningham.

Here’s what you need to know about managing a collarbone break, and how to come back stronger.

What to do just after a break

If you suspect you’ve broken your clavicle, Dr Jossan says you do need to head immediately to your local ER or urgent care center.

It’s not that the bone needs to be reset right at that moment, Dr Jossan says, but that “there are some big, important blood vessels around the clavicle that could have been damaged.”

Read more: 6 signs you might have a blood clot

Treatment options

Once X-rays are done, the severity of the fracture will determine the course of treatment.

A sling: A tiny, hairline fracture is a pretty simple fix. Usually the doctor will put your corresponding arm in a sling and tell you to come back in six weeks.

The surgical option: If there’s any sort of displacement – meaning part of the bone has shifted – things get more complicated.

“The pendulum has swung from staying away from non-operative treatment to opting for surgery in certain situations,” says Dr Cunningham, adding that several recent studies have shown that those who opt for surgery have better function and much quicker recovery times.

In fact, patients can use their arms the day after surgery in many cases.

Read more: How pros crash… and get back up again

Collarbone surgery entails placing a small plate over the fracture. In about 10% of cases, the plate may have to be taken out later; this is especially common in women who report irritation with purse or bra straps rubbing over the area above the plate.

In cases where the cyclist has also sustained some sort of leg damage, the surgery can be super helpful, since your shoulders can tolerate crutches the next day.

Still, there are risks to any surgery. “If you don’t have surgery, there’s a zero percent chance you’ll get an infection and a zero percent chance of needing to have hardware taken out,” Dr  Cunningham says.

If you skip surgery but the break isn’t healing properly, you may endure six to eight weeks of mild discomfort only to find out that you have to have surgery anyway.

Read more: This is your body during a crash

Prognosis for recovery

In the course of post-break recovery, many cyclists notice a collarbone “bump” – a bit of callus where the bone heals, says Dr Jossan.

Whether you end up with one is somewhat determined by random chance, but if you don’t have much in the way of body fat, whatever bump you get will be much more noticeable. As long as everything heals properly, a collarbone fracture shouldn’t increase your chances of getting another down the road.

“If it heals right, it’s like it never broke,” says Dr Jossan. “If it doesn’t heal right, though, some fall may break it again,” he warns.

That’s is why you need to take this particular bicycling injury seriously. If you fall shoulder-first onto the pavement and think you could have done damage, seek medical attention.

Don’t consider a broken collarbone a death sentence to your riding. Dr Cunningham says that you’ll likely be able to get back to riding quickly.

With surgery you could even be back in the saddle in just a few days. Without, you may be stuck on a trainer for at least six weeks.

Either way, you’ll have a great story to tell at your next group ride – and you may even have a trophy bump to show.

^{This article was originally published on www.bicycling.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

AC Shilton

“I always look forward to Impi. It’s just so much fun: 22km of running and obstacles. Even as a professional athlete, tackling this race takes me out of my comfort zone. I am used to pushing my body beyond the red… sometimes into the purple. It’s like driving a car with the revs on the rev limiter for as long as you can – until the engine blows up.

Read more: The 10 things most likely to kill South African men and how to beat them

“This year after the race I felt a bit woozy, but I wasn’t worried. You often feel tired after a race. In the afternoon I was jumping on the trampoline with Emily, my daughter. Suddenly I went cross-eyed. My wife, Paulette, said my eyes split apart: each looking in a different direction. I went to rest. Everything was fuzzy.

“A doctor friend advised us to go to hospital, and a mate took me to the ER. By now I couldn’t walk properly or stay upright. I couldn’t see or co-ordinate myself. I felt as if I was buzzing in and out of a dream.”

Fact: Signs that you are having a stroke include trouble seeing and walking, says physiotherapist Dr Saul Cobbing. Think of the acronym FAST: face numbness or drooping, arm numbness or weakness, speech difficulty, time – act fast to get help.

Read more: 5 health mistakes you are making every day

“The next morning I was still cross-eyed and feeling strange. My wife told me I’d had a stroke. The doctors differ in their opinion of what happened, but one of the most logical explanations is I tore an artery in my neck, probably by carrying a 50kg bag of sand during the race. My blood clotted around the tear and then a small clot moved up and lodged in my thalamus, the part at the base of the brain responsible for co-ordinating and processing sensory input.

“I was the fittest I’ve ever been, and am probably one of the least likely candidates for a stroke in the world, but it still happened.”

Fact: It is unlikely for a fit person to have a stroke. Other systems will cause you to stop exercising long before any risk of a stroke. However, in people with increased risk factors for stroke (obesity, smoking, high blood pressure) very high intensity exercise may increase the risk of a stroke, potentially due to increased blood pressure.

Read more: The 6 symptoms that mean you could have a blood clot

“Most of my training is pure running. I don’t want bulk up with too much weight lifting. I did a silly thing, lifting such a heavy bag, without training. I was in a bad way. I couldn’t co-ordinate myself, I couldn’t feed myself. I didn’t know if I would be able to play with my daughter again. My short-term memory has been affected. And, according to my wife I’ve become a much nicer guy! She says I’m more docile. I care less about little things.

“Being fit helped me recover. With the help of my coach, Christoff Smit, I exercised: my body, and my brain. I forced new neural pathways to develop. I started slowly, walking with my mom and the dogs; and I juggled to improve my balance and co-ordination. Then one day I phoned Christoff and said ‘I’m sorry but I’m going for a run. I feel like a trapped animal.’”

Fact: This will depend on the severity or damage of the stroke, but generally premorbid fitness will aid recovery.

Read more: This healthy habit could triple your chances of a heart attack

“When I first ran again, my brain couldn’t cope with the sensory input. I kept falling. So I found the most technical terrain in Cape Town and spent hours running on it. I forced my brain to adapt and understand and learn. You can think yourself strong or you can think yourself weak. I saw my stroke as a hurdle that I could get over.”

Fact: The brain reorganises itself after a stroke through a complex process known as neuroplasticity. This can be greatly helped by regularly doing the rehabilitation exercises taught by a qualified professional.

“Six weeks after the stroke, I got on a plane and went to StrongmanRun Germany. I went under strict instructions not to race. My sponsors understood and supported me. I promised my wife and the neurologist I would take it easy, that I was just going to participate. But I must participate better than 15 000 others, because I cruised over the finish line first. The organisers said, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ They made me run in again for photos.”

Read more: 6 secrets for strengthening your knees

“At the start of Strongman I thought to myself, ‘What are you doing here? You’ve just had a stroke.’ I honestly didn’t intend to win, but once I was in the lead, I thought, this feels familiar. This feels like home. This beats lying in hospital. This is where I belong. The stroke warned me that I am not invincible, but when your profession is to run across mountains, you have to convince yourself every day that you are. You have to think yourself strong. As human beings it is our only choice.”

Fact: About 10% of people will recover completely from a “full stroke”, with around a third of people recovering with minor impairments. If it is a transient ischaemic attack (TIA or “mini-stroke”) the symptoms last fewer than 24 hours and there is generally full recovery.

To reduce your risk of a stroke, says Dr Cobbing, stop smoking and get exercising. “Aim for a BMI below 25, manage blood pressure and reduce your stress levels.”

^{This article was originally published on www.mh.co.za}

^{Image credit: Supplied, Mark Sampson Thribe Media}

Jess Nicholson

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease where skin cells are produced about eight times faster than normal – but the rate at which old cells slough off remains unchanged.

This causes cells to build up on the skin’s surface, forming thick, red patches, covered with flaky, silvery-white dead skin cells called scales.

The incidence of the disease is more common among Caucasians and the highest prevalence is in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe.

First-line treatment of psoriasis is by topical products.

If that fails, there are several other options, including phototherapy which involves application of ultraviolet light; systemic medications that can be taken orally or by means of an injection; as well as biologic drugs.

No need to hide

People suffering from psoriasis are encouraged to come out of hiding, and one of the best ways to manage psoriasis is to join a community that understands. The South African Psoriasis Association aims to help psoriasis sufferers in South Africa.

^{Additional source: www.psoriasis.org
Image credits: iStock}

Compiled by Eugene Lotter

The age-old question “What should I eat before a long run or race?” plagues every runner.

An ideal pre-workout meal is high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein and low in fat – the latter two are harder to digest, and can cause GI issues.

Try different meals during training to see what works for you, and give yourself two to four hours to let things settle.

Read more: 7 tips for fuelling your first marathon

Here are six to choose from:

1. Basic

– 4 low-fat frozen pancakes topped with 1 sliced banana and 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Serve with 1 cup low-fat milk.

The carbs top off your muscles’ glycogen stores, which are essential for endurance athletes, says sports dietitian Angie Asche, MS, RD.

“Quick-acting carbs may also increase your performance and your time to exhaustion.”

2. Gluten-free

– 2 cups rice cereal with 1 cup low-fat milk. Serve with 1 cup grapes, 1/2 cup diced pineapple and dash of cinnamon.

Runners with Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity can find carbs from gluten-free grains and fruit.

Read more: How to fuel for a half marathon

3. Weight loss

– 3-egg-white omelette cooked with olive oil spray and seasoned with black pepper and sea salt. Serve with 1 toasted English muffin with 2 tablespoons strawberry jam, 1/2 cup sliced pears, and 1 cup low-fat chocolate milk.

If you’re trying to trim your waistline, the worst thing you can do is skimp on your pre-run fuel.

“Cutting carbs would be very detrimental to your performance,” says Asche.

Post-run, refuel with lean protein and complex carbs, but lay off indulgences like sweets and alcohol. Opt for a smaller dinner such as a sweet potato, a small chicken breast and a cup of Brussels sprouts.

A registered dietitian can create a nutrition plan for your specific training and weight-loss goals.

4. Vegetarian or vegan

– 1 1/2 cups cooked instant oatmeal made with water and 1 tablespoon peanut butter, topped with 1/4 cup raisins, 1/2 cup defrosted frozen peach slices, 1 tablespoon maple syrup and pinch of nutmeg.

Vegetarian and vegan runners should focus on their intake of protein, iron and B12 (non-meat sources are fortified breads, juices and cereals).

For best absorption, pair iron-rich foods (like oatmeal and raisins) with sources of vitamin C – found in many fruits and veggies, including peaches.

5. Sensitive stomach

– Smoothie made with 1/2 cup frozen mango, 1 large frozen banana, 1 cup low-fat milk, 1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek yoghurt, 3 tablespoons instant oatmeal and 1 tablespoon honey.

The stomach empties liquids significantly faster than solids. But a smoothie won’t necessarily cure your GI woes.

Keep a food journal while you train, noting foods and spices that cause GI distress before your long runs.

“The night before a long run, keep things bland,” says Collingwood.

6. Dairy-free

– 180ml plain soy yoghurt with 1 diced apple and 1/2 cup low-fat granola, topped with 1 tablespoon honey. Pair with 3 scrambled egg whites cooked with olive oil spray and seasoned with black pepper and sea salt.

Dairy sources, like yoghurt and milk, offer protein and carbs – both crucial for performance and recovery.

Unlike many dairy alternatives, which provide carbs but lack sufficient protein, soy-based yoghurt has both. Paired with egg whites, it’ll give you an extra boost.

^{This article was originally published on www.runnersworld.co.za}

^{Image credits: Mitch Mandel and iStock}

Amy Gorin