Little Changes That Can Make a Big Difference to Your Health
- Amanda Nyeke, Nutritionist, Fons Vitae Nutrition
- Apr 17, 2017
- 4 min read
Want to have more energy and maintain a healthy weight? Looking for the best ways to boost your immune system? If so, a good starting point is your diet! What you eat has a significant impact on how you look and feel. Whole, natural foods improve immune function, energy levels, support weight loss, and keep your metabolism up. Inadequate nutrition from foods high in calories but low in nutrients have a draining effect on energy levels and can affect hormones, mood and contribute to weight gain, elevated cholesterol levels, fatigue and poor digestion.
So, are you ready to tweak your diet and improve your health?
If you need tailored help and guidance to lead a healthier lifestyle or a specific nutrition related need, such as increasing energy levels, or more, contact us at www.fonsvitaenutrition.co.uk
These little changes can make a big difference to your health
Ditch the Junk Food
No dietary supplement or exercise routine can offset the harmful effects of poor nutrition. To stay healthy, you have to clean up your diet and make smart food choices on a daily basis. Try to minimise consumption of foods high in refined sugars/free sugars, saturated and hydrogenated/trans fats.
Try to minimise consumption of baking mixes, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavours and white versions of carbohydrates; instead, opting for wholemeal/whole grain versions as much as possible (unless you have a medical reason to avoid these).
This process does not have to be difficult and you should not feel deprived. If you choose healthier foods the majority of the time, you should see the benefits. If you choose to eat them, foods high in fats and/or sugars should only be eaten in small amounts and not often.
Choose Your Breakfast Wisely
Breakfast as the name suggests is the meal that allows us to 'break the fast', the longest period for most that we go through without eating (from sleeping to waking). It is an important meal to kick start the day and provide us with energy and essential nutrients to keep us focused and ready to tackle the days activities.
Choosing your breakfast wisely is important. If you love cereals for breakfast, take care and choose high fibre, wholegrain cereals as much as possible, examples include Weetabix, Shredded wheat and porridge. You can contribute towards your 5 a day too by incorporating some fruit into your cereals.
Cereals we need to avoid are those containing high levels of free sugars with much of the fibre absent. Some cereals contain up to 8 teaspoons of sugar per 100g. So, check the food labels, particularly for sugar content.
For more on sugar in cereals see: Action on Sugar - Cereals still stuffed with sugar
If you don't have cereals for breakfast, try to include protein in your meal as much research has shown that not only fibre but protein helps to keep us fuller for longer. This helps us avoid overeating at the next meal due to being overly hungry because we have eaten a satiating and nutritious breakfast.
For some breakfast ideas and tips click here and here
Double Check Diet Foods
Sugar-free chocolate, low-fat ice cream, fat free yogurts, and other diet foods are not necessarily always healthier than the regular version. There are definitely some good options available, however, there are also some that pack even more sugar or fat despite one unhealthy ingredient being reduced (i.e. some fat free products may be very high in sugar, and vice versa). Some diet foods are heavily processed in order to look and taste more appealing by adding non nutritive ingredients. It's therefore extremely important to check food labels of foods that contain nutrition or health claims to double check sugar, fat, saturated fat and salt content, to ensure you are actually choosing a healthy option.
Use Smaller Plates
Portion control can make or break your diet. Just because you're eating fresh and whole foods it doesn't mean you can overindulge. Excessive consumption of healthy, low calories foods is still not good as calories soon add up. Portion control is important for all foods. A large meal can make you feel sluggish and cause digestive distress. Use smaller plates to control your portions and cut calories.
Fill your plate up with mostly vegetables, choose lean proteins and wholemeal/wholegrain starchy carbohydrates. Its also important to include some dairy where possible. Other nutritious options that can act as snacks if you find yourself feeling peckish in between meals, include nuts, seeds, fruits and other whole foods that support health and well-being.
Value Macros
Be weary of dietary advice that encourages you to omit complete food groups or macronutrients from your diet. The primary macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Your body requires these nutrients to produce hormones, provide energy, build, repair and maintain muscle, and function at its peak. It is important to get the balance right but each macronutrient serves a purpose and is important.
When we begin to eliminate essential nutrients from our diet we will eventually feel the symptoms, depending on what is inadequate, we may have poor concentration, low mood, low energy levels, headaches among other symptoms and risk associated micronutrient deficiencies.
If your goal is to sustainably lose weight, a healthy balanced diet, portion control, physical activity and behaviour changes are key factors.
When it comes to fats, try to opt for healthy fats also known as unsaturated fats (Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated Fatty Acids), which can be found nuts (e.g. almonds, walnuts and more), seeds, olive oil, sunflower oil, avocado, tuna, salmon and more.
Stay Hydrated
It is important that you drink enough fluid throughout the day to ensure adequate hydration and energy levels. Dehydration can make us feel tired, affect concentration among other negative effects. For more detailed information on the importance of nutrition and hydration, watch our video - The Importance of Nutrition & Hydration.
Finally, take things a day at a time, it takes time to adopt new behaviours so, change can be gradual and it's okay. Start your healthy journey today!
