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By Judy Davie
**”My husband wants to lose about 10kg over the next six months. He says he’s going to exercise every day and cut out carbohydrates completely. Is this safe?”
— Sophie**
If your husband was able to stick to a carb-free diet and exercise every day for six months, he would lose weight but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to stick to it or be able to exercise strenuously while on it. And if he did stick to it and lose the weight, there’s every chance he’ll regain the weight soon after.
Carbs feed the brain
Our brains rely on carbohydrate for food, which is probably why we like it so much. Of all our organs the brain is the most energy-demanding and unlike muscle, it can’t survive on fat for fuel. It relies on glucose, converted from carbohydrates. Once there is no more carbohydrate to draw upon, the brain will head off to the liver for glucose reserves, but once that’s run out it has to find fuel elsewhere. When the brain is completely denied carbohydrate on a high protein/fat diet, it has no choice other than to use ketones, chemicals produced when fat is broken down by the body. It may seem like good news converting fat to brain fuel, but high levels of ketones are a serious risk for pregnant women and the brain function of their unborn child. They are also considered dangerous to the health of children and over the long term can impair mental function in adults. Anyone deprived of carbohydrates over a period of time is likely to feel headachey, light-headed and possibly a little depressed.
Why depressed?
Carbohydrates help produce the “feel good” brain chemical serotonin, which is also a precursor to sleep. Quality complex carbohydrates in the form of wholegrain cereals are also a good source of B vitamins and magnesium, nutrients that play a vital role in the function of the nervous system. A deficiency in either or both may lead to anxiety, stress and depression.
Physical performance
Muscles are also fuelled by glucose and while they are able to feast on fat, lean body tissue and water, glucose is by far their preferred source. If you want to increase your level of physical activity and maintain a regular fitness regime over the long term, you must include some “good quality carbohydrates” in your diet. Otherwise you’re likely to feel fatigued and lacking in physical strength.
Bowel health
Fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, pulses and legumes are all carbohydrate-rich foods. They are also the best sources of fibre available in the diet. Without fibre, the transit time of food passing through the stomach to the small and then large intestine is slowed. Complications include a build-up of toxins, leading to, at best, constipation; at worst, bowel cancer.
Keeping it off
Low-carbohydrate diets are notoriously hard to maintain. Why? Because we like carbohydrates and our bodies need them. But even if your friend was to stick to the diet and shed the weight, what then? At some point he would have to reintroduce carbohydrates to the diet and, as we’ve seen with many Hollywood celebrities, it’s like opening the floodgates. Once they get a taste of it again, they’re off. Permanent weight loss can only ever be achieved when you change the diet to a style of eating that can be maintained all the time — and that will not happen when a whole food group is eliminated.
What type of carbohydrates are best?
Fruit, vegetables, legumes, pulses and wholegrains are all first-class carbohydrates, for all the reasons mentioned and many more, including being nutrient-rich, low in energy, high in fibre and packed with antioxidants. Include foods such as wholegrain bread, brown pasta, quinoa, cracked wheat, sweet potato, sweet corn, barley, rolled oats, lentils, beans, loads of multi-coloured vegies and a couple of pieces of fruit each day and eliminate all the highly processed carbohydrates and sugar-rich foods, including white bread, white pasta, large baking potatoes, cakes, crackers and biscuits, soft drinks, alcohol and beer.
When should carbs be eaten?
As they are the body’s preferred source of energy for brain health and physical performance, eat more carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch and less at night. Some people believe carbohydrates should be eliminated after 5pm, but as they can aid a good night’s sleep, there is definitely some merit in eating a small amount with the evening meal.
How much carbohydrate?
If you include no less than 40 percent carbohydrates in your diet, you should easily and healthily be able to lose weight, exercise, think clearly and feel good all at the same time.
Do you read the labels on foods? Take this survey
This is Johnny Cash. Isn’t she gorgeous?!
— Jacoby
This is Cruze when he was a kitten, watching the washing machine.
— Jess
Our pampered puss Forest. “Will someone PLEASE turn the light out?”
— Toni
My cat and her fetish…
My young cat absolutely loves her bag of carrots. Not to eat them, she’ll run up to the bag and cuddle it, rubbing her head all over it. I should know what this means, being a vet nurse, but it’s got me stumped.
— Anni
These are my beautiful cats Wilson and Bella. They love snuggling up under the windows and chasing each other.
— Jessica
This is Tweak, doing what he does best.
— Katy
This is my beautiful Tasha. She is a seal point Siamese. She is so tiny, I love her to bits!
— Janette
Tarnee arrived to us as the tiniest, cutest little kitten. My daughter and her spent many hours chasing and playing with each other. Tarnee’s favourite spot to play was in my daughters dolls house. She used to hide in there and as we walked past she would jump out of the door and scare us. It was so cute. To this day, one year later, she still sleeps in the dolls house, which we now call her palace.
— Dana
Our favourite baby photo of Harry, the Fawn Somali waiting in his basket to go shopping for his yummies.
— Barb and John.
Oscar, my Siamese cat, yawning as I take his photo.
— Natalie
Wo-long or Oo-long tea (found in most Asian stores). I started drinking the tea after finding info about it on the net when I was looking for something that may help to reduce the weight gaining effects of Cortisone.
After two cups a day for two weeks I saw a remarkable difference. Even though I lost no weight on the scales, I lost size. The puffy look in my face was reduced and I went down one bra and pants size. I am very impressed by this tea which tastes very much like green tea.
— Natalie
By Judy Davie
**”I do split shifts and find it hard to eat and exercise properly. I work from 3.30am to 9am, then from 3pm to 7.30pm. Is there any food I can eat to stop fatigue and keep my energy levels up?”
— Kerrie**
Goodness, you really have been presented with a challenge. I can’t help but feel your lack of energy stems from insufficient sleep and no time to prepare food.
We eat for fuel to give us energy but when we’re tired due to sleep deprivation, we often eat more than we need without the desired result. Energy is found from eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and exercising.
In the guide below, I’ve made a couple of assumptions:
You are able to go to bed at 8.30pm for six hours sleep until 2.30am
You can make use of kitchen facilities to prepare some easy meals while at work.
Hard as it may be to believe, it’s been 30 years since John Travolta donned a white disco suit and danced his way to superstardom in the smash-hit film about the disco era, Saturday Night Fever.
Since then, he’s appeared in a host of hits and misses, and raised two kids — Jett, 15, and Ella, 7 — with his wife Kelly Preston, 44.
A qualified jet pilot, his love of flying landed him in hot water last month. The star experienced engine problems while piloting his Boeing 707 on a trip from Germany to Boston, and was forced to make an emergency landing in Ireland — his second aeroplane scare in eight years.
Sporting a Grease-style black leather jacket, the 53-year-old actor was in an upbeat mood as he spoke to Woman’s Day from his hotel in Munich about being a bad cook, his friendships with the two Toms — Hanks and Cruise — and why he wants to become a dad for the third time.
Is there anything you want to do before you reach 60?
I have seven more years before it happens. I have always said my career is in the imagination of writers. Because if you said to me 20 years ago you’ll be playing a president of the United States, you will be playing a heroin addict, a hit man, an angel, an admiral, I’d have said, “Really, I’m going to do all that?” A writer took his pen and imagined something, so every day life offers me possibilities. Maybe something will come up tomorrow, but I don’t know. I tend to play life day to day to see what opportunities come up.
Have you ever regretted turning down the lead roles in As Good As It Gets and Chicago?
You always wonder “what if?” But you have to understand that at the time certain things were not what they are now. As Good As It Gets may not have had the same elements when it was offered to me that it had when it was being produced. Chicago was offered to me three times, but it didn’t have the exact script which ended up being done, and it didn’t have the vision the director came up with based on that script. I was not the only one to turn it down. Richard Gere turned it down after me twice. So did Kevin Kline and someone equally as prominent. I was the first one to turn it down and they turned it down.
Would you like more kids?
This summer, we’re going to do our best to create another one. I would like another son, because we’ve got our princess, one beautiful princess, and I think it would be fun to have another boy.
How would you describe yourself?
Relaxed would not be a bad description.
What do your children think of your attitude?
I am pretty silly with my children. I don’t know if they have any idea of my being cool. They understand the Grease image and other images. With them I am quite silly and natural and playful.
Do you get to spend much time flying?
I have my relationship with Qantas. I do about two months of travel and promotion for them a year. They help me take care of my 707. I would say between the Gulfstream II and the Boeing 707, it’s about 300 hours a year.
Are you thinking about work when you’re flying?
No. It’s a wonderful escape not from just work but from anything. It’s beautiful, and it is a magical mix of things to challenge you and escape all at once. It can be a humbling experience, for sure. You [try to] avoid those humbling experiences, but it can be. But 99 per cent of the time it is just a glorious experience.
Did you ever envision it to be as glorious?
It’s better than I thought it would be. It’s been a bigger experience than I thought it would be.
So your wife is never worried about you?
She prefers to fly with me than anybody.
Speaking of Kelly, are you planning to act with her?
We have no immediate plans for anything, but we are always looking. It’s a little tricky. It’s not as welcome for couples working together as it was years ago. I don’t know why. In the old days it was not a big deal. Now it seems to be criticised for some reason. We are not champing at the bit, but we are not avoiding the possibility either. We just want it to be so right that it’s a little bit protected before we do it. If we are both right for the parts, and if the director really wants us to do it. And it has integrity. And you have your bet it’s not being attacked. But any time I reflect on couples working together, it seems to be attacked.
Does your friendship with Tom Cruise come from your common interest in Scientology?
I don’t know — I don’t know what to compare my friendship with him to. Tom is a very busy guy. I have seen him only at events, openings or parties, and we spend a little time together. I probably spend more time with Tom Hanks. We’ll go to dinner three times a year and spend five, six hours a night. Or sometimes lunches. Cruise and I have 15-20 minute conversations three times a year, whereas I’ll actually go out and do something with Hanks. I know him more than Tom.
How much does Scientology as a belief mean to you?
It’s not a belief at all. It’s the opposite. The founder wants you to read — if you agree with it, good, if you don’t, then don’t. And you think for yourself. He’d be offended by the idea of anyone thinking they have to believe him. It’s the opposite. It’s to be your own person and ways of doing that, finding out who you are, and not being under the influence of others.
How did it feel donning drag for your upcoming film Hairspray?
I am very happy now, but during filming I was exhausted. When they screened it for 300 people in the US, it scored the highest score for New Line Cinema — who also did Lord Of The Rings and Wedding Crashers. And they asked every person, “Did you ever think a man was playing that character?” Not one person realised it was me!
For more of this interview see this week’s issue of Woman’s Day (on-sale May 14).
Friends of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have hit out at claims the Hollywood couple are on the verge of divorce and that Tom is an overbearing husband.
“They are a happy family,” says close friend, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, 35, who has labelled the stories “ridiculous”.
“They’re very strong. I think everyone has this image of poor little Katie – that she doesn’t have the strength to take care of herself. I see her in that house with Tom, and he doesn’t have that on her,” says Jada.
“It amazes me how people want to focus on, ‘She’s tied up in the basement and he throws steaks to her at night and she only gets to see Suri on Sundays.’ It’s ridiculous!
“Tom don’t run nothin’ in that house! It’s Katie’s house, it’s her world.”
It’s a sentiment matched by actress friends and fellow Scientologists Leah Remini and Jenna Elfman.
“I don’t get it,” says Leah of the constant speculation. “They’re married, they love each other and they have a beautiful baby.”
“Honestly, they’re happy,” adds Jenna. “They have a great life and they love each other.”
Contrary to reports, the friends say Katie, 28, has blossomed since marrying 44-year-old Tom last November.
“When you look at Katie now, compared to when she first met Tom, she’s more confident and more knowing [of] who she is than ever before,” says Jada. “She’s more beautiful and more assured. She takes it all in her stride.”
Adds another close friend, “I don’t know how any girl could have put up with some of the cruel and embarrassing things that have been said about her and Tom. But through it all she’s kept her calm and kept smiling.”
The couple are proving their relationship is still going strong in other ways.
Onlookers in Louisiana, where Katie is filming the comedy Mad Money, say Tom and Katie have shared several romantic dinners. Plus, they have just spent $43million on a new Beverly Hills home.
The seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home is located just a few minutes drive away from the home of Katie’s best friend, Victoria Beckham.
“Tom wanted somewhere where his family can live together, but have their own homes within the estate,” says an insider. “Somewhere where they’ll be very protected.”
First there’s a twinkle in her eye. It spreads to a beaming smile and ends up as a burst of triumphant giggles. Davina Knight’s laugh is infectious and a joy to hear.
But until recently, Davina lived with the horrible fear that laughing could kill her. In fact, if it weren’t for a world-first operation Davina could have literally died laughing.
Sitting in her Sydney apartment, the 26-year-old nurse explains how a brittle bone disease with rare complications threatened her life.
“Since I was diagnosed with brittle bones at 10 days old, I had become used to living with fractures,” says Davina. “By 2003 I had fractured or broken my bones more than 300 times.”
Despite her disability, Davina did well at school and went on to university to study nursing. But she suffered further setbacks.
“I started to get headaches. During one of my check-ups, while I was still at school, I was told the headaches were a dangerous side-effect of my condition.
“The doctor said if the headaches got worse it would mean my spine was pushing up into my skull and I would need a major operation. He warned me that something as simple as a sneeze or a laugh could set off a headache.
“I remember his words so clearly: ‘No giggling for you young lady’. From then on I tried not to laugh. I stopped going out with friends and refused to watch films or TV programs that might be funny. Imagine never letting yourself feel happiness because it could kill you.
“I didn’t laugh for more than 10 years,” Davina continues. “Then one day I was walking our little dog, Chloe, when I burst out laughing watching her chase her tail. “Suddenly pain ripped through my head and I blacked out.”
Davina staggered home and told her mum Jennifer, 54, that she had passed out from laughing — just as her doctor had predicted.
“How can I ever be happy if I can’t laugh?” Davina wept. “Mum, there must be something the doctors can do to help me laugh again.”
A top neurosurgeon at Westmead Private Hospital, in Sydney’s west, gave Davina some devastating news. He told her that her brain stem was sinking into her spinal cord and she needed an operation or she could die…
For the full story, see this week’s issue of Woman’s Day (on-sale May 14).
Every week Dr Chris Brown answers your pet questions — submit your own or browse our archives.
