Nutritionist Megan Crockart gives her top tips for ways in which you can start the new year towards a cleaner, fresher, healthier you over this informative 3 part series! Here is part 3, the final tips in this series…
Tip 3.1 – Increase Antioxidants
We are exposed to many toxins in our every day from the water we drink and wash in, the air we breathe to the food we ingest. Antioxidants are crucial for our bodies in that they go in and clean up any damage that these unavoidable toxins create. Fresh fruit and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants and eating a variety of colours is going to ensure you get many of the different antioxidants on a daily basis. 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegies a day is a good general guide to follow. Try to see if you can eat 25 different plant foods a day! It is easier than you may think. Juicing is a great way to get many antioxidants. For extra support to add to your diet I highly recommend spirulina, which can be bought in tablet or powder. For even greater amounts of antioxidants Martin and Pleasance Vital Greens is a fantastic addition to your morning juice/smoothie.
Tip 3.2 – Go Nuts
Nuts are a great every day snack. There are so many nuts to choose from including almonds, pecans, walnuts, brazil, macadamia, pistachios, hazelnuts, cashews. If your nuts are too hard to eat either soak them overnight in water (this also makes them easier to digest) or eat them ground up eg with yoghurt and fruit. Just make sure you buy organic if possible, but more importantly, raw and unsalted nuts!
Tip 3.3 – Have Fun
Reducing stress levels is essential for good health. Making sure our stress hormones, particularly cortisol, doesn’t get out of control is necessary to avoid such things as increased inflammation, storage of fat, increased appetite, skin problems and digestive problems. If you can’t avoid stressful situations, then make sure you handle that stress with whatever relaxation techniques suit you, it could be anything from going for a walk, a massage, meditating, taking a bath, reading a book, catching up with friends/family, watching a funny movie – whatever gives you a laugh and helps you relax. Make sure you take time out for yourself every day!
Tip 3.4 – Low fat isn’t always better
Low fat is often encouraged, but check your labels before you buy a low fat version. Labelling can be misleading if it has “light” or “lite” on it which can actually mean lighter in flavour not fat. Also extra sugar can be added to replace the fat that is taken out, so you may not be getting as much fat, but are you now getting more sugar in your diet. If you are not burning this extra energy sugar provides it will eventually turn to fat in your body. If you think about full cream milk, it only has a total of 4% fat, so in effect 96% fat free. Is this a better option than one that has undergone further processing (often more chemicals and destruction) and added sugar?
Missed Part 1 and/or 2 of this 3 part series? Click here for Part 1. Click here for Part 2.