Posted by Linda Lazarides on July 27, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs | 
When it first became popular to drink green tea as a health drink, I bought some and tried it out after lunch one day. I never had trouble sleeping, but that night I could not sleep, and tossed and turned until after 4 a.m.
Soon afterwards I checked out the caffeine content and was shocked to discover that green tea often contains more caffeine than black tea. It seems that the younger the leaf, the more caffeine it contains. Young tea leaves can contain up to 5% caffeine, and green tea is frequently made from the youngest leaves. On the other hand, black tea is made from larger, more mature leaves, which tend to have a lower caffeine content.
Green tea is drunk for its flavonoids and for its stimulating effect on energy expenditure (which in fact is largely due to the caffeine content).
The Waterfall Diet is already a flavonoid-rich diet. The long-term effect of stimulants on glands and hormones is not really known, which is one reason why the Waterfall Diet aims to give your body a rest from stimulants. Green tea is not permitted during Phases I and II but you can, if you wish, drink it once you reach Phase III.
Posted by Linda Lazarides on June 27, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs |
Agave syrup is sold as an alternative to sugar and some people buy it believing that it is a healthier product. It is often recommended for diabetics as, chemically-speaking it is mostly fructose, whereas sugar also contains glucose, which diabetics must avoid.
Agave is no more “natural” than sugar or other syrups. It undergoes considerable processing.
Compared with sugar (sucrose) the regular consumption of fructose is more damaging to health in terms of increasing body fat synthesis, especially the more harmful visceral body fat which is linked with heart disease[1].
The Waterfall Diet aims to give your body a rest from sugar in its various commercial forms, and this includes agave.
[1] Bantle, J.P., Raatz, S.K., Thomas, W., & Georgopoulos, A. (2000). Effects of dietary fructose on plasma lipids in healthy subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72, 1128-1134
Posted by Linda Lazarides on April 28, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs |
Some readers will note that there is a discrepancy between the first two editions of the Waterfall Diet, and the 3rd edition, which will be published in January 2010.
The discrepancy concerns the length of time allowed for Phase I of the diet. This was previously two months and has been reduced to four weeks.
The book also says that if you have serious problems with keeping to the diet for this amount of time, you can reduce Phase I to two weeks before proceeding to Phase II (testing). However it does also say that this is not ideal, because Phase I is not just for allergy testing, it also aims to give your body a rest from all the usual dietary stressors with a view to improving your metabolism.
In order to help as many people as possible I was torn between recommending the ideal (two months) and what most people would see as a more manageable target.
Posted by Linda Lazarides on April 27, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs |
One of the most frequently asked questions about the Waterfall Diet is “Where can I get potassium salt?”
It used to be readily available from health food stores in the UK under the name “Ruthmol”. But just after the publication of the Waterfall Diet, the company that used to make this product was taken over by another company, which discontinued it.
Fortunately now that the UK government is recommending a reduction in sodium consumption (sodium is the main component of salt) the food industry has started making potassium salt products again. These are known as “salt substitutes”, and the following brands are available in health food stores and supermarkets:
United Kingdom
“No Salt” (from Prewett) or “Salt Rite”.
United States
“Also Salt” or “Morton Salt”.
Please do use them sparingly. Like sodium-based salt, potassium salt also has a high chloride content.
Posted by Linda Lazarides on March 13, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs |
Water retention is common in pregnancy and can have many causes, including anaemia (anemia) which is not always an iron-deficiency anaemia. The Waterfall Diet is safe to follow in pregnancy, with the exception of any recommended herbs. Many herbal medicines are contra-indicated in pregnancy. To be on the safe side, even parsley should be used only in the normal way as a food flavouring, and not consumed as a tea or taken as a medicine.
Raspberry Leaf Tea
One herb which has definitely stood the test of time and is universally recommended by natural health practitioners for use during the last three months of pregnancy is raspberry leaf tea. You can drink raspberry leaf tea up to three times daily. It helps to tone the muscles of the uterus and aid a painless, easy delivery. It also promotes milk production.
Gentle Diuretics
Many fruit and vegetable juices such as those made from cucumber, watermelon, watercress, horseradish, carrot and celery have gentle diuretic properties. Cornsilk tea is also gentle and, according to Bartram, is suitable to help prevent swollen ankles in the later stages of pregnancy. Cornsilk is the silky strands found under the green outer sheath of a head of sweetcorn (maize).
Don’t forget to help blood flow by
Lying on your left side
Walking around from time to time instead of sitting still
Putting your feet up
Don’t cross your legs
If you can’t find raspberry leaf tea or corn silk tea locally, you can order them online:
Resources (UK)
Resources (USA)
*Includes pregnancy herbal safety information
Information extracted from the 3rd Edition of The Waterfall Diet (Piatkus Books) to be published in 2010. Get the current (2003) edition.
If you are pregnant, always report water retention or swollen legs to a doctor
Posted by Linda Lazarides on March 12, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs |
From time to time I get enquiries from people on soy-free diets, asking about alternatives to soy.
Although the Waterfall Diet list of Yes foods does include soy, it is by no means a compulsory item. Soy milk, tofu and soy yoghurt are great for vegetarians seeking a good protein alternative to meat and dairy products. They are also beneficial in many ways for adult women, but they do not have to be consumed.
However the Waterfall Diet does exclude cows’ milk, so I will suggest some alternatives for those who are not able to use soy milk as a substitute.
1. Sheep and goat’s milk and yoghurt. These are becoming easier to find in supermarkets and health food stores.
2. Nut and rice milk. These are found in health food stores and in larger supermarkets. They can be quite expensive, and their palatability varies a lot. The Rice Dream brand is very good, and includes a variety flavoured with almonds and hazelnuts.
3. Oat milk. Worth experimenting with. I have personally not tried it, so would be interested to get feedback on whether it is good with gluten-free cereals, for instance.
4. Fruit juice. Some cereals can be pleasant with fruit juice instead of milk.
NB: You should not rely on any plant-derived milk as a good source of protein. Meat, fish and poultry are good protein sources. You can also get high quality protein by mixing ground-up or grated nuts (e.g. Brazils, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts) into bean or lentil soup, or combining them with mashed beans to make patties.
