You are what you eat, as the old saying goes, and it’s no secret that our diets play a major role in our overall health and wellbeing. According to 2020 analysis regarding the burden of disease in England, Public Health England revealed just how important a healthy diet was in lowering the risk of preventable diseases such as heart disease and some forms of cancer.
Their report found that in England, although there were some encouraging signs in the nation’s diets, eating excessive sugar, salt and saturated fats were still all a cause for concern. The NHS concur, stating that ‘’Most people in the UK eat and drink too many calories, too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fish or fibre.’’
We all know that it can be hard to follow a healthy, balanced diet at the best of times. And these past 16 months or so have certainly not been the best of times. Indeed, since March 2020, it has often felt like a running battle to make sure that we are making healthy choices when it comes to what we are eating and drinking.
During each successive lockdown (especially the winter ones), many of us turned to comfort foods and easy treats to help feel a little better. We have ordered far more takeaway meals than we usually would have (and on the plus side, at least we were helping to support local businesses, right?) and we have gone pretty hard on the sugary foods, the salty stuff, and, sometimes, the alcohol, too.
When you’re trying to pivot towards a healthier diet, it’s tempting to try and make huge, sweeping changes right away. We tell ourselves that today is the day that everything will be different, and that we’re going to eat nothing but boiled chicken and steamed vegetables from here on in. But as anyone who has tried to execute a complete diet shake-up right off the bat will tell you, it’s gradual, incremental changes that tend to work much better than an all encompassing overhaul of the way you eat.
With that in mind, here are 6 small, sustainable diet changes to help you eat healthier.
RETHINK YOUR SNACK TIME
Ah, snacking. We all know exactly where we’re going wrong with our snacks, but we just can’t resist them. It’s no secret that things like chocolate, crisps, biscuits and pastries are loaded with things that are bad for us. And sure, the occasional treat is absolutely fine; we all deserve an indulgence or two, after all.
But if you find you’re turning to the hard stuff more and more frequently, to help cope with stress or to distract you from the tedious monotony of life, then perhaps it’s time for a rethink?
One of the main reasons we get into these unhealthy snacking habits is convenience. You’re never going to find it difficult to find a chocolate bar or a pack of crisps, and they require absolutely no preparation or clean-up. They’re easy, and that’s why their habitual consumption can be so tricky to shake. If you want to introduce healthier snacks to your routine to replace the bad ones, then you need a plan of action.
Prepare some sliced carrots, celery or cucumber first thing in the morning (or the night before if you’re not a morning person!) so it’s ready to go when you get snacky.
Make sure that you have plenty of fruit around so there’s no excuse for skipping your five a day. IF that’s not convenient, think about picking up some packets of dried fruits and nuts for satisfying that “just need a nibble on something” moment – dried banana chips and salted cashews (just a handful) is about as satisfying a snack as you can get, by the way.
BREAKFAST IS STILL IMPORTANT
We all know the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And when we were commuting into work every morning back in the halcyon days of 2019, a pre tube bowl of cereal was just a natural part of our routine.
But one of the trickier aspects of working from home has been the loss of structural discipline when it comes to mealtimes. When you’re rolling out of bed in a bleary haze and immediately firing up your laptop to check in with the office, the most important meal of the day can quickly become sidetracked or forgotten.
If you want to make sure that you are cutting down on snacking through the morning, then eating breakfast is essential. It’s not enough to have a cup of coffee and start work. A sugary bowl of cereal or a pastry might give you a quick jolt of energy, but a crash will follow. Instead, make a nutritious choice in the morning with something like a bowl of muesli or porridge, topped with a little low fat yoghurt and some fresh seasonal fruit. This should see you through until lunchtime.
IDENTIFY ANY POTENTIAL ALLERGIES OR INTOLERANCES
With each passing year, it seems like we are learning a little more about allergies and intolerances, and how our bodies may develop them. A lot of us live our lives thinking that any issues that we have with food will have been identified when we were kids, but it can take a serious reaction or years of noticing an intangible discomfort for us to realise that we may have developed a new problem, or that our assumptions about what our bodies can and can’t process may in fact be wrong.
The huge increase in awareness about gluten intolerance may be the best example, as so many people have discovered that switching to a gluten-free diet has helped them to live much more comfortably. But this is just one instance of many.
If you notice that you are suffering from pain or discomfort after eating or drinking, you may put it down to food poisoning or simply overdoing it. But if this is a recurring issue then it is definitely worth investigating further.
A food sensitivity hair test is a simple, convenient way for you to find out if you have any allergies or food intolerances.
CUT DOWN ON YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE
We’ve all seen the news reports about the drastic rise in alcohol use and abuse during the course of the pandemic. With so many of us having a hard time with our mental health over the last year or so, and many of us cut off from our normal support systems, it was hardly surprising to learn that some had developed alcohol dependency issues.
However, even if this doesn’t apply to you and you consider yourself to be a casual drinker, it is worth taking a serious look at how much you are putting in your body over the course of a normal week.
Aside from the more obvious health implications of overdoing the booze, alcoholic beverages are loaded with empty calories and cutting down will help you lose some of that lockdown weight.
But it’s also worth remembering that alcohol is a depressant. If you find that your mood suffers after a glass of wine, or you’re feeling sluggish and low the morning after a drink, then you should think about either drinking less or cutting it out completely. Your body and mind may thank you for it.
DRINK CAFFEINE IN MODERATION
Finally, a quick note about that beloved coffee. We all need a little extra boost in the morning sometimes, and everyone’s caffeine tolerance varies. But it is important to remember that after the caffeine high comes the crash. You could be buzzing right now, but in an hour or two your energy levels will drop, and your mood will suffer. Try replacing at least one of your caffeinated beverages with a caffeine-free alternative and start from there. If nothing else, you might just find that your sleep patterns will improve.
LEARN THE FACTS ON FATS
To sustain a healthy diet, it’s important to know something about the nutritional values of food. That said, there’s so much confusion over nutrition, and time and time again the lines are redrawn about what may or not be healthy.
Intelligence regarding fat, particularly, has shapeshifted, with science now recommending doing away with a daily ceiling being put on fat consumption, and instead focusing on replacing ‘bad’ fats with ‘good’ ones – or saturated with unsaturated.
Simple swaps can be made regarding fat which can help you manage your weight. These include:
- Swap whole milk for skimmed
- Prioritise low fat instead of full fat cheese
- Swap butter for low fat spreads or extra virgin olive oil
- Switch the sour cream for low fat creme fraiche
- Use rapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil for frying, and use a spritzer to control the amount you use
Generally speaking, doctors and nutritionists regard monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as being considerably more healthy than the saturated kinds. You’ll find monounsaturated fats in oily fish, walnuts, and some seeds, while polyunsaturated fats are found in nuts and avocados, especially.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Though drastic dietary changes may feel like the easiest route to better weight management and health, a quick fix solution rarely works. Instead, making small, incremental changes is the most sustainable way to take better control of your health. Good luck!