First, what is the role of nutrition? It’s the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth, meaning it’s a process by which an organism uses food to support its life.
Plant based has been recognize as the healthiest diet, it is centred on foods derived from plants, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. A whole food diet is one where you avoid processed foods as much as possible. It’s the closest you can get to their unrefined natural form.
If you are looking to make a change to a plant-based diet, here are few advice for you: don’t eat anything that comes pre-packaged, or anything that contains more than five ingredients, or anything that you grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food. Focus on foods that are dense in nutrients.
Nutrition is the foundation of optimal wellbeing, it’s vital to our health. We all heard the expression ‘you are what you eat’ but it’s not the only factors to healthiness. Here are 4 factors to take into consideration for a healthy lifestyle:
Stress Management
When stress is out of control and chronic, as we are seeing nowadays, it causes inflammation which contributes to several health issues. It negatively affects our mental health and physical well-being. Stress affects everyone, the important thing is to identify and acknowledge the stressor and learn to manage it.
Symptoms of stress:
Insomnia
Constant fatigue
Weight changes (weight loss or weight gain)
Digestion issues
Inability to concentrate
Anxiety
Heart disease and high blood pressure
When it comes to stress management, find something that works for you, it could be as simple as going for a walk, talk to a friend or family member, practise mindfulness, deep breathing (headspace app is pretty good for this), read a book, or write a journal.
It’s important to set up healthy boundaries in different areas of your life, like work, health, finances, family, and relationships. Remember that resting is a basic human need that improves our well-being.
Sleep
One of the symptoms of chronic stress is insomnia. It’s described as a difficulty in getting or maintaining sleep. It’s about waking up in the morning and not feeling refreshed despite the time available.
The impact of lack of sleep is an increase of blood sugar level, blood pressure and weight gain. It also weakened our immune system and decreased our ability to recover from illness.
To help you sleep better, develop a relaxing routine in the evening. For example, take a hot bath, listen to calm music, read a book, avoid stimulants like TV and mobile phone screen and plan eating dinner at least 2 hours before lying in bed.
Aim for 7 to 9 hours of restorative sleep every night. It helps with cell repair, reduces stress, and improves mood.
Exercise
Many of us spend the day sitting down working at home/ in the office. Regular movement is crucial to improve our health. It means that we need to incorporate physical activity throughout the day and around working hours.
The Uk guidelines recommend the adults to aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week as a minimum or 30 minutes at least five days a week. Studies have shown that exercising for 15 minutes a day significantly reduces the risk of disease.
Increasing your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is key. Different ways to do it is doing Pilate, dancing and, strength workout for example. Aim to get between 8-10k steps daily.
Exercise has several benefits for the body and the mind. It helps reducing stress, maintaining the immune system and weight balance, boost the mood and better sleep.
Being physically active reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Again, experiment what works for you!
Relationships
Connecting with others is important for emotional and physical wellbeing. It’s proven that healthy relationships lower rates of anxiety and depression, higher self-esteem, greater empathy, and more trusting and cooperative interactions. Strong relationships can also help to strengthen your immune system, help you recover from disease, and may even lengthen your life.
Regular contact with colleagues, friends and family enriches your life. Social events and community are great ways to meet new people. Find group activities that you enjoy!
“Healthy is an outfit that looks different on everybody.”
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