Eating Right | Fitness & Food

I used to eat way too much. I used to eat terrible things. I really didn't know enough about food, so I relied on things that were processed and often frozen. I never had any energy, I didn't feel good, I didn't look good either. So I started to read books about proper diet, learned more about nutrition, asked pointed questions of my doctors, eventually I got myself back on track. When we're young, we usually have the metabolism to support some pretty bad habits, I've definitely noticed that as I've gotten older I need to pay closer attention to what I eat. Dessert every night? Not anymore. 

   Eating healthfully consistently takes preparation and forethought and can be really difficult, unless you live in the center of a farm market, foodie town or happen to have a extensive vegetable garden to hand. As one of the few things in life that's within our control, deciding what to eat can quickly become an obsession. Whilst I absolutely think that mindful consumption is the way to go, you're only setting yourself up for failure if you try and be healthy all the time. I aim for 75% super healthy, 20% decent and 5% naughty and figure that those sorts of odds still put me ahead.

   I try to resit fad diets. I don't believe in them. If it's important, for health reasons, that you lose weight, chose an approach that's actually a lifestyle - one the feels fully and happily maintainable. You need to find the patience to slowly whittle your waistline down. Don't rush to shed the weight in record time.

   In the last few years I have taken an interest in types of foods I put into my body and the effect they have in my body. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what foods are essential and whether things such as gluten are going to kill you in your sleep - it's often so excessive that you can read an article or see a documentary and think 'is there anything safe to eat?'. While I definitely focus on a narrower range of foods, I try not to drive myself insane with food paranoia. 

   There is no universally perfect diet - we all react to different foods, different ways, so the best way to find out what works is to try new things. Try eating a salad with dinner more often or cut out processed sugar, or make an effort to drink water instead of fizzy drinks. Changes like this can have a big impact on you overall health. Now that I've trained my body to crave good foods, I don't want the bad as much anymore. I honestly crave vegetables. I don't drink coffee with milk and sugar anymore.

Beauty Power Foods and Vitamins 

Those rumors that B vitamins strengthen and lengthen your hair, that vitamin E improves the health of your nails, and vitamin A makes my skin look healthier and younger? In my experience, this is all true. There are a host of power foods that provide all sorts of antiaging, skin-energizing results. These foods are the most expedient and natural way to introduce vitamins into your system - you can take supplements, certain vitamins are toxic if you take too many, so it's best to let your body draw what it needs out of foods you eat. See below a table of where to find such vitamins. 

NUTRIENT	WHAT IT’S GOOD FOR	WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
VITAMIN A	Gives you dewy, even-toned skin and a healthy scalp. It also helps you maintain your eyesight.	Cantaloupe, grapefruit, apricots, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, kales, spinach, pumpkin, eggs.
VITAMIN B	Prevents your skin from becoming too oily and decreases breakouts. B Vitamins also boost your metabolism and can help improve the quality of skin, hair and muscle tone.	Bananas, poultry, tuna, shellfish, avocado, beans, nuts, eggs, milk, whole grains.
VITAMIN C	Diminishes the appearance of scars, cuts and bruises; boosts collagen production, which is good for your skin and fuels your immune system.	Citrus fruits, berries, apples, melon, pineapples, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, red and green peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower.
VITAMIN D	Helps combat dry skin and is important for development of healthy teeth and bones.	You can get the ‘sunshine’ vitamin by spending 10-15 minutes, three times a week in sunshine – without suncream! It can also be found in fortified milk, and other dairy products, tuna and salmon.
VITAMIN E	Gives you healthy skin and minimize scars, burns, inflammations and irritations. Vitamin E is also an antioxidant, so it helps with dry, flaky skin and protects the skin from damage.	Fruit juices, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, nuts, nut oils.
VITAMIN K	Helps combat dark under-eye circles.	Kale, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, swiss chard, mustard greens, parsley, romaine, green leaf lettuce, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage.
ANTIOXIDANTS	Repairs/prevents skin damage.	All foods containing vitamins A, C, E.
FLAVONOIDS	Improve the quality of your skin and give it a glowing appearance. These are antioxidants.	Apples, all citrus fruits, berries, tea (white and green), dark chocolate, celery, onions, kale, parsley, soy beans, tomatoes, aubergine.
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS	Contributes to shiny, conditioned hair.	Soybeans, flaxseeds, walnuts, brussel sprouts, kale, spinach, salad greens, salmon, tuna.