The world of what to eat can be so overwhelming and confusing, leaving a lot of women frustrated at best and doing things that can be downright harmful at worst.
This blog is designed to help you understand some of the key aspects of eating well to fuel both your body and your brain for life. Not for a few weeks or months.
My views are based on my past nutrition studies and as a qualifying health coach. Not on what some social media influencer/celebrity is doing. If you have questions, please ask me rather than googling the latest fad!
1. I eat for brain health meaning that I want my brain to function as well as it can for as long as it can. We know that a healthy brain can focus and perform well in the moment but also reduce anxiety and depression, and prevent dementia. So optimising brain health is a smart move. I eat omega 3 through the intake of oily fish, take a vitamin D supplement from Oct through March as the sun exposure doesn’t generate enough in the UK during those months, make sure I get all my B vitamins and reduce my sugar and alcohol intake. It’s better to get vitamins and minerals through whole foods, however during stressful times we might be burning through eg our B12 faster than we can replenish it so it’s perfectly fine to supplement during these times. Just choose a good quality supplement.
2. My issue with the vegan diet is that you have to really know your foods in order to get the right amount of nutrients (including B12, iron, omega 3 etc) and a lot of popular vegan food is highly processed! If you eat a balanced vegan diet and choose whole foods rather than the processed kind, it may work really well for you. But do keep in mind that a lot of healthy vegans (eg some athletes) have professional nutritionists helping them put together optimal meals.
3. For me personally, instead of going vegan, I focus on eating high-quality lean meat such as chicken and turkey (and red meat max every two weeks or so), fish including salmon and tuna, seafood, beans and lentils, as well as plenty of veg in the colours of the rainbow. The most important aspect of any diet is to eat high quality food that is nutrient-dense.
4. I prefer home-cooked food where all the ingredients can actually be found in a kitchen! Highly-processed food contains fewer nutrients and more junk which is not great for the body nor the brain. But as a working parent, life also has to be practical. Therefore I suggest following an 80/20 rule; eat well 80% of the time and the remaining 20% relax and enjoy the odd treat.
5. Most women I meet don’t eat enough protein. Protein is the building block of muscles and tissues. As women, we start to lose muscle mass from our 30s onwards so it’s important to include protein in every meal in order to build and hopefully grow more muscle. Think at least one palm-size three times a day or more if you’re doing eg a lot of strength training. It’s especially important to eat protein after a hard training sessions to help rebuild the muscles.
6. Blood sugar balancing ie eating foods that keep your blood sugar levels even throughout the day is amazing and the best ‘lifestyle diet’ in my opinion. This involves eating protein, vegetables, healthy fat and wholegrain foods in such a way that there is no spike in the blood sugars. Many people think nothing of drinking a glass of orange juice for breakfast along with a bowel of cornflakes and milk. But this kind of breakfast is really high in glucose which will give you energy in the moment but an hour or two later you’ll get the dreaded blood sugar crash. Which often leaves you reaching for quick sugar fixes to get your energy and mood back up. And so the cycle continues. By balancing your blood sugars, your energy and mood (as well as focus and motivation) will be stead throughout the day which in itself will mean you make better food choices. And sleep better. In the breakfast example, replace the orange juice with an actual orange or better still, a few berries, and eat a bowel of nut-based muesli that is low in sugar combined with natural, organic yoghurt.
I’ll be running some free online webinars on this in the spring so stay tuned.
7. Many mums wonder what their plate should look like. This is the gold standard:
50% veg in all colours, especially green
25% protein
25% starchy carbs
Plus a small amount of healthy fat eg olive oil
8. We are what we eat and anything else that we consume. This means that the air you breathe, the products you put on your body and the cleaning products you use all have an impact on the amount of toxins your body is exposed to. This area can feel overwhelming so I recommend starting with one room in the house or one or two products. Eg switch out your deo for a natural one, replace one cleaning product with a home-made version and buy some extra house plants to purify the air.
9. Should you be intermittent fasting? IF your body is in balance (ie you’re eating well, exercising moderately, your hormones are in balance, you’re getting enough sleep and you’re not too stressed), THEN intermittent fasting might be helpful for you. If the answer to the above questions is no, then it can potentially cause the body additional stress that it doesn’t need. Always strive for balance first. If you’re ready to try it, I wouldn’t go straight for the 16/8 (where you eat during 8 hours and fast during 16 hours) but start with 12/12 or 14/10 and listen to your body.
10. As a woman, it’s helpful to tweak what you eat throughout your menstrual cycle. But all the above advice still stands. The tweaks might include eating more iron-rich food while you are menstruating, eating anti-inflammatory foods such as salmon, nuts, avocado and ginger if you’ve got cramps, and enjoying some dark chocolate when PMS sets in.
Feel free to book a free 30-min discovery call if you want to explore how coaching can help you eat better!
Caroline