When Patrick Holford dropped into Organico earlier this year and asked if we’d like to host an event with him in October we were over the moon! Patrick is one of the world’s leading authorities on nutrition and healthy eating. We’ve been inspired by his books over the last 25 years. The response to the event has been amazing and we are going to hold it in the Maritime Hotel in Bantry to give more people an opportunity to attend his seminar.
When: Sunday October 6 at 6pm; Cost: €25 (tickets on Eventbrite or directly through the Shop).
Patrick Holford, if you’ve not heard of him, has written 37 books and has been touring the world lecturing and training students in nutrition for the last 25 years.
Read on for a special article Patrick wrote for The West Cork People, to give you a few tips if you can’t make it to his seminar – and if you can, Patrick will expand on these topics as well as teaching some techniques for stress reduction, and he will discuss his latest thoughts on a healthy diet in depth.
“Nature goes through seasons, and so does your body. It has two basic modes of operation – growth and repair. When you fast or starve, thus burning your body fat, you switch on a cellular repair programme called autophagy which means literally ‘self eating’ all damaged and worn out cellular bits get gobbled up, recycled and renewed. But a major new discovery is that you can switch on this cellular renewal by eating high fat, very low carbs and less calories. Even more exciting is the discovery that if you do this for five consecutive days it is as good as a complete water fast but much easier. But it’s then important to switch back to slow-releasing carbs, which then encourage growth of new healthy cells.
“I have been experimenting with the perfect diet and supplements to do this and have written about it in my latest book, The Hybrid Diet, arguing that we have a dual fuel system, for running on healthy fats or slow carbs, like a hybrid car, and there is a real benefit of switching between the two.
“I have also been holding retreats called the Hybrid Fast Detox Retreat in Wales where people get to try out the approach in my latest book under my supervision. Our first group of 14 people lost over five stone collectively, and had massive boost in energy, mental clarity and emotional balance, better sleep and less aches and pains.
“Two particularly interesting benefits of the hybrid approach are your immunity and clarity of mind. In animal studies this five day process has actually reversed auto-immune diseases. In the winter two nutrients are key – vitamin C and vitamin D. The former comes from summer foods and the later from summer sun. Without enough of these in the winter arteries thicken and mood worsens. Inevitably, as the immune system loses resilience, we become susceptible to colds and flu. But all this is avoidable, and if you can come along to my seminar in Bantry, I will explain his strategy for building up your immune power, ready for winter.
“Brain cell function also declines. But brain cells (neurons) can either run on glucose from carbs, or from ketones, made from fat. Only big brained animals can use ketones in this way. In fact, brain cells, if given the choice, prefer ketones. The best fat to make ketones in your body is a sub-fraction of coconut oil called C8 oil, or Ketofast. A recent study gave people with cognitive decline C8 and their half-firing brain cells switched from running on glucose to running on ketones, and came back to life. This is one of my hot tips for sharpening your mind in the winter, but I have others for boosting mood. As well as ensuring enough vitamin D and a slow carb diet, some people need more nutrients that help make serotonin, the critical mood boosting chemical in the brain. From serotonin we make melatonin, which controls the sleep, wake cycle, and also hibernation.
Part of the reason so many people suffer from insomnia, anxiety and stress is that our digital world is designed to keep us permanently ‘locked in’. The average person now swipes their smart phone almost 3,000 times a day! This keeps you adrenalised (as does too much sugar, coffee or nicotine) and unable to switch off and go to sleep. This adrenal mode also switches off immunity, thus leading to frequent infections and colds. Two simple techniques, called HeartMath and Silence of Peace, really help.”
Patrick will be demonstrating these techniques and elaborating on all these topics during his three-hour evening seminar (with a break!). You’ll also have a chance to try his Hybrid concoctions, browse his books and ask him your own health-related queries.
As well as the evening with Patrick Holford in October, we have loads of fabulous events during the Taste of West Cork Festival in September – the details are all on Facebook and the tickets are available on Eventbrite (or through our shop). Have a wonderful September folks.
