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What to eat?

Keep it simple – healthy eating has become a minefield with the addition of fad diets, Instagram posts, superfood fixations and then to confuse matters further nutritionists and dieticians are advocating various food myths. I’m not surprised you are confused!

Stick with facts, solid research confirms; “eat lots of fruit and vegetables, eliminate refined sugar, eat meat or fish couple of times a week and consume an abundance of omega-3 foods. Such as Flaxseed, chai and SMASH fish (Salmon, mackerel, Anchovies, sardines and Herring)”

When to eat?

Eat when you are hungry – seems obvious but so few of us do. Hunger promotes better digestion. ‘Build the fire’ this traditional Chinese medicine principle needs to be given some thought, think about your food, wait for the rumble…… then your stomach is ready for food. The action of thinking about food increases your HCL (stomach acid) which prepares your stomach for food and better digestion. The rumbling of your stomach is not only a sign of hunger, but also it shows that your migrating motor complex is sending peristaltic waves through your small intestine to help sweep bacteria down toward your large intestine where they belong. If you never allow your stomach to empty by snacking or grazing too frequently, you won’t reap these benefits, putting you at risk of GUT issues.

How to eat?

Mindfully – You will often hear people say “you are what you eat” but a more accurate phrase would be “you are what you assimilate” – look after your gut it’s the barrier between our internal and external worlds and its job is fundamental to good health. avoid pharmaceutical drugs, excess alcohol, antibiotics -Our guts don’t have teeth therefore proper chewing is critical to support our digestion. One can buy the best organic produce but if your GUT is damaged, digestion or assimilation is disrupted and therefore you are not benefitting from the nutritional value.

Slowly – Try to stop, sit down, remove gadgets, enjoy your food and stop when you feel 80% full. By doing this you are stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system or “rest and digest” your gut is supplied with blood which aids digestion whereas if your sympathetic nervous system known as your ‘fight or flight’ is activated during stress or activity the blood stream is diverted away from the gut and digestion is reduced.

Prepare to eat?

Think ahead – The Fast pace of modern living often forces us to make the wrong choices, reaching for convenience foods as opposed to more nutritional fresh, real food options as a result it’s no surprise that chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, mental health and autoimmunity are on the rise and more often than not they are a result of an accumulation of poor dietary and lifestyle choices. Try to prepare fresh food whenever possible or batch cook to accommodate busy schedules.

We are blessed with a huge array of foods on offer so make the right choices and benefit from

them.