WHAT ON EARTH SHOULD I EAT?

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? Eat gluten or avoid it like the plague

? Eat saturated fat or cut it out as much as possible

? Salt is good for you or salt is very bad for you

? Dairy is healthy or dairy is harmful

? Sweeteners help you to lose weight, or sweeteners are carcinogenic

? High protein, low carbohydrate diet is best

? Fruit is good for you or fruit is too high in sugar

I’m sure you’ve heard variations of all of the above, and probably a whole load more of conflicting information and advice on what we should and shouldn’t eat.

?? It’s so confusing, sometimes I get confused with the conflicting ‘science’ and it’s what I do for a living!

The above list shows just some of the things I commonly get asked, and in truth, apart from the sweeteners, there are elements of truth to both arguments for each (sweeteners do not help you to lose weight, quite the opposite in fact, and some of them are indeed carcinogens, but that’s a separate post).

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Well firstly, and I’m sorry to break this to you, but there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to eating the right way for YOU. We are all wonderfully unique, with our very own unique biochemistry, and genetic make-up, which means that what works for one person may not work so well for another.

But that said, there are some general principles that, if we all followed, would mean that we would all be healthier, so I’ll share those…

1. ?? ?????? ?????????? ??????????! I’m sure you’ve heard this many times, but it is really as simple as this. When we focus on whole foods, and cooking from scratch, we really can’t go too far wrong. That means avoiding processed foods as these are very likely to be high in all the things we want to avoid (sugar, trans fats, high amounts of salt, additives, colourings and so on).

2. ?? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ???????????????????? – I can’t emphasise this enough. If you increase your vegetable intake, you are likely to see major improvements in many areas of your health including gut health, vitality, skin and hair, hormones and more. Think colours of the rainbow and get as many of those as you can in every day.

3. ?? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????? – What does that mean? It simply means splitting your plate into quarters in your mind and ensuring one quarter is protein, one quarter is slow release carbohydrate, and half is vegetables.

4. ?? ?????? ?????? ?????????????? ?????????????????????????? ?????? ?????????? – Ok I say cut out, but if you follow the 80:20 rule, that would be a huge improvement for many. Cutting out sugar and refined carbs in favour of slow release wholegrain options, has a huge impact on blood sugar balance, hormones, gut health, energy levels, sleep… the list goes on…

5. ?? ?????????? ????????????????????, ?????????????????????? ?????? ???????????????? – This means, where possible eating organic and with meat, grass-fed too.

6. ?? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???????? – No fat IS NOT bad for you because not all fats are the same, and we NEED fat in our diets for many different reasons. But there are indeed healthy fats and unhealthy fats so we can’t tar them all with the same brush! We need some saturated fat in our diet when it comes from whole foods. We DO NOT need hydrogenated fats (like margarine) or the majority of vegetable oils.

7. ?? ?????? ???????????? ?????????????? – (but not too much) and from a variety of sources INCLUDING plant-based sources such as beans/legumes. And not too much meat!

8. ?? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? - Especially cow’s milk. And only consume organic dairy.

9. ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????????????? ???????????? – If you think you have a problem with it. To be honest, the majority of people do, they just don’t realise it. If you have an auto-immune disease, it also needs to be eliminated.

10. ?? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ?????????????? ?????????????????? ?????????? ?????????? – They are essential because we can’t produce them ourselves and we need them in order to stay healthy. The best most absorbable source is from oily fish, but vegetarians/vegans can get it from plant sources too. One note: be careful about fish, ensuring you get it from sustainable sources and avoid farmed fish like the plague!

That’s a great start if you were to make the above 10 changes alone, you would no doubt feel a difference in your overall health and sense of wellbeing.

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