How to eat for wellness in 2020

Tags

a fruit and veg smoothie, avocado smash, bananas, blueberries, body, caffeine and fizzy drinks, calm, cancers, cereals, chocolates, Christmas, cocktails, crash and burn, curries, dried, dried fruit, drink more water, Eat breakfast, energy drink, faddy diet, feel better, five portions of fruit and vegetables, five servings, fresh, Frozen, fun, goal, healthy, heart disease, homemade date bars, hydrate, indulge, Iron Man, juiced, low impact exercise, marathon, mash, meat and dairy free, mind, nuts, pasta, plant-based, porridge with banana, rice cakes, rich food, run, sausage rolls, skin, slice of cake, soups, spice, strokes, sweet potatoes, swim, take away, tinned, varied diet, vegan diet, veggie, Vitamin C, wake up, well-balanced, White bread, wholegrain alternatives, Wholemeal toast with peanut butter

Too many sausage rolls eaten?

Too many cocktails drunk?

Too many chocolates picked from the box?

Christmas is a time for fun and we all like to indulge, but all that rich food and sugary drinks can play havoc with our waistlines as well as our skin, teeth and mood.
Eating a healthy, well balanced, varied diet is key for good health and well-being and it can also help keep things like heart disease, strokes and certain cancers away.
We aren’t going to tell you to try a faddy diet or starve yourself because that won’t do anything for anyone, but we do have some ideas of how you can change what you eat and drink, and feel better for it.

Eat breakfast
We know this isn’t for everyone, but eating breakfast is the best way to start your day. Don’t load up on cereals packed with sugar or knock back an energy drink when you wake up, because you will crash and burn. Wholemeal toast with peanut butter, a fruit and veg smoothie, porridge with banana and blueberries or avocado smash are all perfect morning starters and they will see you through the morning.

A starter for five
Old news maybe, but eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day is the goal. It doesn’t matter if it’s fresh, frozen, tinned, juiced or dried, but get in the habit of having five servings and if you can go further, you are winning.

Drink more water
It’s clear… drink more water if you want to feel good. The advice is to drink between 6 and 8 glasses of water a day and this will impact you mind, body and skin. You might also want to cut the caffeine and fizzy drinks and switch to herbal teas which will help hydrate and calm you.

Keep snacks in your bag
Dried fruit, nuts, rice cakes, bananas and home-made date bars can be kept in your bag, car or desk drawer and not only will they fill you up, they are so much better for you than a bar of chocolate or slice of cake. Yes, have treats, but now and again and not every day.

Make switches
White bread and pasta aren’t going to really do much for you, so why not switch to wholegrain alternatives? Sweet potatoes are a brilliant source of vitamin C, so leave the mash for another day, and a bowl of berries will beat a bag of sweets any day.

Go plant based
This isn’t for everyone but cutting animal products out of your diet isn’t a bad idea. If a full vegan diet isn’t right, maybe think about being veggie or if this is still too much, go meat and dairy free a couple of days and week and let natural plant goodness fill your plate and your tummy.

Exercise more
We aren’t saying that you need to train for a marathon or become an Iron Man candidate but moving your body goes hand in hand with improving your diet. The weather might still be cold, but a run around the park will warm you up, a swim is a low impact exercise many of us can do and if you want to spice up your life, how about a salsa class with a friend? Don’t sign up for an expensive gym membership in January that you won’t use, but do look for something you will enjoy, because then you will want to do it, and you’ll be glad you did. Do remember, that going for a job doesn’t mean you can then eat a massive take-away, but you can make curries and soups from scratch that will nourish your body for longer.

Got a tip for us, let us know as we are all for a happier, healthier 2020.

Team Pure Beauty

Are the foods you think are healthy really doing the job?

Tags

agave, antioxidant, avocado, best, boiled, canning, cereal bar, cereal bars, coconut oil, dark chocolate, drink, eat, eating, eggs, energy, essential vitamins and minerals, experts, extra sugars, fibre, fight disease, food, freezing, fresh, fresh food, fruit, fruit juice, good health, Granola, healthy choice, healthy fat, heart health, honey, hungover, hydrate, immune systems, information overload, juiced, kitchen, label, lethargic, lower blood pressure, maple syrup, milk chocolate, mineral, myths, nutritious breakfast, olive, poached, preserves, rapeseed and sunflower oils, Red wine, rye toast, saturated fat, scrambled, smoothies, syrup, teeth, unsaturated, vitamin, waistline, weight loss, yogurt

It seems that every week the experts are telling us what to eat and drink to ensure we are in good health and living our best lives. The problem is, we can get information overload which means we don’t know what to do for the best, and often end up simply eating whatever we fancy.

We’ve had a look at some of the myths out there and hope it will help you work out what is good for you and what isn’t quite up there in the healthy stakes.

Granola makes a nutritious breakfast
Many of us think that granola and cereal bars are a healthy breakfast choice but this isn’t always the case. Yes, you can add granola to fruit and yoghurt, but these cereals often have extra added sugars, so it’s a good idea to check the label before you buy a new box. Grabbing a cereal bar on the go is easy, but do you really know what you are eating and how good for you it really is? One of the best things you can have for breakfast are eggs – be that boiled, poached or scrambled and having rye toast and avocado, will make things even better.

To juice or not to juice?
Fruit juice is considered to be a healthy way to increase your vitamin levels and clock up that all important five a day quota the world over. The reality is that the antioxidant, fibre, mineral and vitamin content of whole fruits are drastically cut when they are juiced. It’s so much better for you to eat fruits rather than to drink them, instead hydrate with water and have juice and smoothies now and again as a treat.

What’s the deal with honey?
Honey might be natural but sugar is sugar and nutrition-wise, agave, honey and maple syrup are no better than the bog-standard white stuff. You can eat it and enjoy it, but don’t over do it because your teeth and waistline won’t thank you.

Is coconut oil a healthy fat?
Unless you have been hibernating, you will probably be aware that coconut oil has been hailed as a ‘healthy choice’ in the kitchen. Yes, it has good points, but coconut oil is still high in saturated fat and it’s the unsaturated varieties that will do more for you in terms of health. Olive, rapeseed and sunflower oils all help to support heart health and they provide us with energy, while strengthening our immune systems too.

Red wine boosts health
Many of us do think that red wine is good for us because of the antioxidants that help fight disease. Yes, there is an element of truth here, but it still contains sugar and can make you feel lethargic and hungover, so don’t knock it back to excess because that will undo any good you have done!

Dark chocolate vs milk chocolate
How many times have you read that eating dark chocolate is good for you??? Well, it might help lower blood pressure but it won’t help with any weight loss as it is still pretty calorific. A little bit of what you fancy is true, but munching a family bar thinking your heart will benefit, might not be quite right so stick to a couple of squares.

Only fresh foods are good for you
We aren’t sure where this comes from, but you can eat frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables and still get the same nutritious benefits you will find in the fresh alternatives, sometimes even more. This is the case because the process of canning and freezing preserves most nutrients and antioxidants, so when you eat them they are still packed with essential vitamins and minerals. One thing to watch out for is tinned fruit that comes in sugary syrup, go for natural juice every time and if you rinse before you eat, even better.

Team Pure Beauty

How to Beat Blue Monday

Tags

21st January, amino acids, anxiety, anxious, bag, beans, below par, bleak mid-winter months, Blue Monday, breakfast, caffeine, cheese, coffee, cola, cold, coloured fruits and vegetables, concerntration, constipated, cucumber, daily fix, decaf, depressed, desk, doom and gloom, drink, eggs, emotions, fatty acids, fibre, fish, five a day, fizzy drinks, food, fresh, Frozen, gut, headaches, healthy digestion, herbal tea, hydrated, ice, January, juiced, lean meat, lemon, lentils, mental health, mentally, miserable, mood, nuts and seeds, omega 3 and 6, outside, partially hydrogenated oils’, payday, physically, portion sizes, protein, pulses, regular meals, resolutions, sip, sleep, small, soothing hot drink, soya products, squash, stimulant, tea, trans fats, tummy, water, wholegrains, winning lottery ticket, worried

With the 21st January, aka Blue Monday fast approaching, some of you might be feeling a little below per right now. It is cold outside, it’s still ages until payday and those resolutions that seemed like such a good idea on 31 December have been long forgotten, all of which can make you feel a bit miserable.

Fear not, it’s all doom and gloom. While can’t turn up the temperature or give you a winning lottery ticket, we do know that what you eat and drink can help ease the blues and beat the anxiety that makes life a little harder in the bleak mid-winter months.

Drink water
Yes, this one again. If you don’t keep hydrated you won’t feel at your best, your concentration will lapse, you may get headaches and you might also feel constipated and none of these things will help your mood. Cut down on fizzy drinks and high sugar squashes, and instead drink water with ice and add slices of lemon and cucumber to liven things up a little and keep a bottle on your desk and in your bag so you can sip during the day.

Keep an eye on caffeine
We know many people love a coffee first thing and a tea break mid-afternoon, but both of these drinks contain caffeine which might not help you if you are feeling blue. Caffeine is a stimulant and one which will give you a burst of energy at first, but then when you come down the other side it could make you feel anxious, depressed and disturb your sleep, especially when drunk before you go to bed. We don’t suggest you stop having your daily fix suddenly, as this could lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms, but it might be a good idea to start cutting back on tea, coffee, chocolate, cola and energy drinks and think about switching to decaf versions or opting for herbal teas which are caffeine free but mean you don’t miss out on a soothing hot drink.

Look after your tummy
You might not know this, but your tummy reflects your emotions so if you are feeling anxious and worried, your gut may suffer too. To help with healthy digestion, it is important to eat plenty of fibre which means loading up on wholegrains, beans, pulses, live yoghurt and you might want to consider taking a probiotic too.

Get your fruit and veg in
Eating a variety of coloured fruits and vegetables every day means you’ll get a good range of nutrients including the minerals, vitamins and fibre needed to keep you physically and mentally healthy. You might be interested to know that fresh, frozen, canned and juiced fruits and vegetables all count towards your five a day and if you are worried about portion sizes, one portion is about a handful.

Remember to eat protein
Protein is packed full of the amino acids that make up the chemicals your brain uses to regulate your thoughts and feelings, and it also keeps you feeling fuller for longer so you are less likely to reach for the mood interrupting sugary snacks later on. Lean meat, fish, eggs, cheese, beans, lentils, soya products, nuts and seeds are all good protein sources and it is pretty easy to fit them into every meal – so make sure you do.

Eat the right fats
We know we are told fats are bad and to be avoided at all costs, but this isn’t true. Try to avoid ‘trans fats’ or ‘partially hydrogenated oils’ and instead eat fatty acids, such as omega 3 and 6 as these are good for your brain function and mental health. Healthy fats can be found in oily fish, nuts (almonds and walnuts are a good choice), olive and sunflower oils, seeds (such as sunflower and pumpkin), avocados, and eggs all of which are tasty and easy to eat!

Eat on a regular basis
Now is not the time to skip meals as this will lead to a drop in your blood sugar levels and that can make you feel tired and irritable. Try to go for small, regular meals throughout the day, adding in healthy snacks, and always eat breakfast as this will set you up for the day. Wholegrain bread and pasta, brown rice, cereals as well as nuts and seeds are all a good idea but keep away from sweets, biscuits, sugary drinks, and alcohol as these won’t do your mood any favours.

Whatever you eat and drink make the sensible choice and we wish you a very happy, healthy 2019.

Team Pure Beauty