Probably, many of us have already given up or are about to give up and will once again forget about our New Year’s resolutions – drink less, start going to the gym, finally go on a low-calorie diet and give up everything tasty…
But don’t be upset. British guru of scientifically based healthy nutrition, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, Tim Spector, believes that all fashionable diets are harmful, since they do not take into account the individual characteristics of metabolism.
Separately harmful are restrictive diets, which always end in disaster – you radically reduce caloric intake in an attempt to lose a few kilograms, but as if in retaliation, they will all inevitably come back to you if you give up, and they will even bring three or two “friends” with them.
Professor Spector “prescribes” a completely different recipe for improving your health and well-being, which does not require willpower, restrictions, abandonment of your usual lifestyle and everything that you love so much.
To do this, it is enough to gradually, but daily, make very small, simple and affordable changes to your diet.
Spector himself claims that these completely scientifically proven “little tricks” led to the fact that his health at the age of well over 60 is better than it was at the age of just over 30. Here is what Spector recommends :
1. Try to eat 30 different plants in a week to achieve diversity in your gut microbiome.
The recommendation to “eat two servings of fruits and five servings of vegetables every day” is well known, but very few people follow this advice. Spector believes his proposed strategy of 30 different types of plant-based foods per week is easier to follow.
Why is it important?
The fact is that for beneficial intestinal microbes, on which the health of both the intestines and the body as a whole depends, to flourish, they need different types of fiber, which they feed on.
This is why diversifying your fiber sources is so key. And we are not talking only about vegetables and fruits. This thirty may include fresh herbs, spices, seeds, nuts, mushrooms, olives, freshly ground coffee, cereal porridge or side dishes, in short, any products of plant origin.
2. Regularly season your dishes with various spices
Spices are dried parts of plants; they not only improve the taste of food, but also add natural biologically active substances – polyphenols – to it. Like fiber, our gut microbes use polyphenols as fuel to produce a myriad of chemical metabolites (metabolic products). These metabolites, also called post-biotics, play a key role in maintaining a healthy immune system.
Research shows that just one teaspoon of a spice mixture, such as turmeric and saffron, added to food daily has a positive effect on both the composition of the gut microbiome and metabolism.
3. Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking and adding to dishes.
There is an opinion that this type of oil is dangerous to use for cooking due to the harmful oxidized compounds formed under the influence of high temperatures. However, as it turns out, fears about these compounds are not relevant to home cooking, since they are formed only if the oil is heated many times, bringing it to very high temperatures.
In addition, extra virgin olive oil has another secret weapon – its very high polyphenol content (600 times more than any other vegetable oil).
4. Sunbathe mushrooms before eating them
Surprisingly, this is a very simple but effective way to increase the amount of vitamin D in your diet. The fact is that mushrooms contain many natural precursors (precursor substances) of vitamin D, and under the influence of solar radiation they turn into the “sun” vitamin itself, which, when entering the body with food, is absorbed better than in capsules or drops.
5. Eat vegetables and fruits with the peel, do not cut or throw away the outer parts of plants, use them for food
We are used to cutting leaves from a head of broccoli or cauliflower, peeling apples and pears. But the fact is that these very parts of plants contain in maximum concentration those same polyphenols – chemical substances that give plants their bright colors and help them survive in unfavorable environmental conditions.
6. Instead of plain green iceberg lettuce, try to use brightly colored varieties rich in polyphenols.
An ordinary leaf lettuce contains a lot of water, various microelements, but few polyphenols, which are so necessary for our intestinal microbes. Therefore, if you have a choice, it is better to give preference to brightly colored lettuce varieties such as lollo rosso, radicchio, chard, and so on.
7. Switch from pasta to legumes and use the same sauces
Legumes are an excellent source of plant protein, fiber, polyphenols and complex carbohydrates. Ideally, lentils, beans, beans, chickpeas, peas and their other relatives should be present in the diet every day. If your intestines do not accept these foods well, start with very small amounts and gradually increase them.
And to make bean dishes tastier, add sauces to them that you are used to pouring over pasta.
8. For breakfast, eat porridge made from minimally processed oats rather than instant oatmeal.
Instant oat flakes have undergone special processing, which means that the carbohydrates they contain are absorbed into the blood almost instantly. This causes a dangerous spike in your blood sugar, especially if you’ve also sprinkled something sweet on your oatmeal.
Therefore, it is better to switch to minimally processed, coarse oatmeal or grains that need to be cooked for a long time. This porridge contains a lot of fiber, B vitamins and other beneficial substances. And if you add seeds, nuts or fresh fruit to the bowl, your oatmeal will become even healthier and tastier.
9. Instead of boiling, lightly steam vegetables
Most plant nutrients dissolve in water and are destroyed by heat. Therefore, it is better not to boil them in a large amount of water, but to quickly steam them for a few minutes to retain their benefits and crispy texture.
10. Frozen vegetables are no worse, and even better than fresh ones
As soon as vegetables are picked, the oxidation process begins and they begin to lose their micronutrients. Frozen vegetables are good not only because they are cheaper than fresh ones, but also because they are frozen within a few hours after picking, thereby stopping oxidative processes and preserving all the useful contents.
Another plus is that frozen vegetables can be stored in the freezer for a long time.
11. Add at least some fermented foods to your diet every day
Fermentation is a process of fermentation or ripening, when microorganisms, in conditions of oxygen deficiency, break down carbohydrates and saturate food with the products of their vital activity.
Kefir and other fermented milk products, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso (fermented soybean paste), kombucha (kombucha) – all these are fermented products that contain many B vitamins, other useful biologically active substances, as well as probiotics – living milk -acidic bacteria that improve the composition of the intestinal microbiome.
12. Avoid low-fat yogurt with fillers and sweeteners in favor of full-fat plain yogurt.
Low-fat, protein, sweet, unsweetened yogurts, with additives and fillers can be classified as ultra-processed products with nothing useful left in them. It is better to go back to the roots and eat the simplest yogurt, made from normal fat milk by adding a starter.
13. Instead of milk chocolate, choose dark chocolate, which contains at least 70% cocoa beans
Chocolate has long been considered a bad food, but in reality this only applies to milk chocolate, which has a lot of added sugar. Bitter dark chocolate contains many polyphenols, it is very beneficial for both the intestines and the circulatory system. A few squares of dark chocolate a day will lift your spirits and provide health benefits.
14. Instead of beer, white wine or strong alcohol, drink a glass of red wine.
Quality red wine contains a lot of resveratrol, a polyphenol that is beneficial for the gut microbiome and cardiovascular system, as well as other beneficial compounds. Therefore, if you drink a glass of good red wine at dinner or lunch, you will bring nothing but benefit to your body.
