Thousands of yours ago Hippocrates said “ Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” How right he was.
Many of the commonest illnesses can be alleviated and managed simply by changing what we eat and how we live. Some ancient cultures have focussed on including certain foods in their diets for very good reason - because they have a positive impact on health.
We now know that food has an effect on the healthy population of bacteria in our gut (the microbiome), interacts with our genes and provides the many vitamins and minerals needed for our bodies to work optimally.
Eating healthily doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Often if you eat fresh, unprocessed foods you find you are not as hungry so eat less. Some of the supermarkets sell boxes of "wonky" veg which cost less and taste just the same.
There is no one perfect diet that works for everyone but the basic principles of eating healthily are the same:
1. Reduce sugar intake or cut it out - once you start reading food labels it is amazing and shocking how much sugar we consume in processed food. We do not need sugar to live and it has many negative health effects, not just in increasing diabetic risk but in driving inflammation, increasing cancer risk, increasing obesity, raising cholesterol and blood pressure and increasing the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome.
You can try going cold turkey on sugar or cutting down gradually but over time your taste buds will adapt.
If you crave sugar try drinking a couple of glasses of water, eating some fruit or some nuts.
2. Eat 5 different vegetables every day - this doesn’t mean to say that you can’t eat fruit but do remember that fruit is basically sugar especially if in juice form. The whole fruit is better because it also contains fibre. Try to eat vegetables of all different colours as each colour has different health benefits. Also fibre in the vegetables fuels your health gut bacteria keeping them happy.
So imagine eating a rainbow of vegetables every day. All those colours on your plate look more appetising too.
3. Introduce daily micro-fasts - get into the habit of eating your food in a 12 hour time window. This allows your body time to “tidy up, put out the rubbish and do any required repairs”.
There is evidence that this practice lowers inflammation, improves blood sugar control, improves immune function, enhances detoxification, increases beneficial gut bacteria and improves appetite signalling.
You will probably find a 12 hour fast easier to do overnight so if you have your breakfast at 7.30am try not to eat the night before after 7.30pm.
4. Drink 8 glasses of water per day - try having 2 glasses of water when you wake in the morning or filling a 500ml bottle for work and trying to aim to drink 2 full bottles through the day. If you don’t like the flavour of water try adding a slice of lemon or some mint and cucumber. If you feel hungry try drinking some water before having a snack and you may find you don’t need to snack.
Benefits from drinking more water include fewer headaches, increased energy levels, better bowel function, clearer skin, improved concentration and reduced sugar cravings.
5. Eat real food- try to avoid products that contain more than 5 ingredients and avoid processed food. Of course you can make foods yourself using more than 5 ingredients as long as they are not processed. A highly processed diet disrupts the health bacteria in your gut leading to problems with your immune system and inflammation.
I am a huge fan of eating real food, I find it tastes so much better and I have definitely seen the benefits in having better health and more energy.
Let me know how you get on and how you feel!
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