health
Gut Instinct Nourishing your good bacteria through food can be life changing, says nutritionist Lisa Tarquini
As we say hello to January, some of us may be finding that we’ve taken the old adage of eating, drinking and being merry over the holiday period a bit too literally. To get ourselves on the right track, Clearwater Bay-based nutritionist Lisa Tarquini believes we should pay more attention to our gut health and go back to basics by eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, a variety of wholegrains and fish twice a week. “I don’t use weight as the only indicator of health. If someone comes to me wanting instant weight loss, I tell them I’m not the person for them,” she explains. “By building gut health with food, you can reduce your waistline and feel trimmer without starving yourself.” The gut microbiome, which consists of no less than 100 trillion bacteria, affects everything from skin health and sex drive to energy levels and hormone balance. While its main purpose is to regulate digestion, it is responsible for nurturing 70% of your immunity and also has a strong connection to the brain. It also produces 95% of the feel-good hormone serotonin so when your gut microbiome is happy so are you. “When women in particular go on restrictive diets, they disrupt their gut microbiome,” says Tarquini, who specialises in women’s health and gut health. “The major thing they give up is carbohydrates, and carbohydrates such as whole grains contain incredible fibres that build your good gut bacteria, which has a positive impact on mood. When foods are reintroduced
after being on a restrictive diet, people tend to look and feel better even though they are eating more.” She should know. While anyone in Hong Kong can do a few basic courses and call themselves a nutritionist, Lisa Tarquini has been living and breathing this field for more than two decades so has more experience than most. After attaining a Masters degree in Nutrition and Exercise Science and qualifying as a UK registered nutritionist, she worked with elite athletes. She was also at one point in her career the section chief of health education and research for the United Arab Emirates’ armed forces; and worked at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin for six years, where she was instrumental in getting Hong Kong’s finest ready for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also a two times cancer survivor but went through early menopause as a consequence of her treatment. She has since used food and nutrition to recover from the cancer and manage the side effects, and is now the picture of health. Tarquini doesn’t advocate a particular eating regimen, more a mixture of foods. She cites a recent study called the American Gut Project that showed how people with a varied diet of plant-based foods - at least 30 different ones a week such as chickpeas, lentils, seeds, nuts and lots of different veggies - had a more diverse gut microbiome than someone eating 10 or less.
“Variety is key and I work with each client to tailor make a programme that suits their needs and tastes. You can still have Indian food if that’s what you enjoy but choose a lentil daal rather than a heavy lamb dish; or make a Thai curry with chickpeas so you increase your plant-based food but still feel you’re eating what you like,” she says. “Eating two portions a week of oily fish containing Omega 3 is also important particularly for women over 40 who are at a higher risk of dementia due to a drop in estrogen.” Using evidence-based nutrition science to enable clients to manage their weight, keep their hormones balanced and have a healthy relationship with food, Tarquini doesn’t count calories. Instead, she helps clients with their portion sizes, which can be calculated using your hands. For example, a recommended portion of dried pasta (75g) per meal is about the same amount as a fist; the ideal size of a chicken breast is equivalent to your palm. “This always comes as a shock to most people because the portions they eat are far larger than recommended. It’s the way society is these days. Restaurants serve huge meals; there are cafés and convenience stores everywhere; and we are literally minutes away from any type of food we could possibly want via the click of a button. Our bodies just don’t need it all, especially if we have sedentary jobs,” says Tarquini. “Once you help people to understand portion sizes and control, that’s half the battle.
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