With new year resolutions wearing thin and by February maybe it’s getting challenging to keep up a diet? So why not just reduce packaged food and animal proteins – meat and dairy – replace them with plant-based fresh options. Keep this going year-round and reap the benefits. Without becoming a strict veggie or vegan.

Recent studies have found eating more plant-based protein and fibre can increase fullness and long-term weight loss and maintenance.

The modern western diet is packed with inflammatory foods, sugar, additives, processed foods, pesticides and hormones, often lacking key nutrient, meaning there is a short fall in most people’s diet. Plants contain nearly all the vital vitamins, mineral, antioxidants, phytonutrients and fibre our body needs to thrive,

to regulate our metabolism. For example, just a handful or brazil nuts is your daily recommended amount of selenium. Dark green leaves, beans and pulses are the best source of folate, vitamin B9 vital for a healthy nervous system and brain.

Fighting Inflammation

If you are carrying excess weight around your middle it is likely you are suffering from chronic low-grade inflammation – a key driver in many age-related degenerative diseases – heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, dementia etc. Driven by the food we eat, food allergies and intolerances, stress and sedentary lifestyle. Many foods help with lowering inflammation like turmeric, ginger, omega 3 fatty acids in chia, flax and hemp seeds, also papaya and pineapple rich in digestive enzymes, avocados and olive oil.

Antioxidants

The power of antioxidants are known for their ability to lower inflammation, protect the body from cell damage and accelerated aging, many key anti-aging nutrients are plant chemicals, nutrients most researched include:

• Curcumin (turmeric)
• Catechins (green tea)
• Sulforaphane (cruciferous vegetables like broccoli)
• Resveratrol (skins of grapes and berries)
• B vitamin folate abundant in leafy greens.

A diet packed with these potent plant antioxidants can be associated with lowering the risk of chronic disease, heart disease and certain cancers.

Balancing blood sugar with protein and fibre-rich plants.

Diabetes, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are all essentially one problem-poor blood sugar control. Diabetes type 2 is one of the biggest chronic diseases crippling the western world. Diabetes also increases risk of heart disease and dementia, but is totally reversible. A diet based on wholefoods, rich in fibre will improve blood sugar balance, slowing absorption of sugar from the gut into the bloodstream, feeling fuller and lowering cholesterol. Fibre is also essential for maintaining a healthy digestive system, particularly a healthy gut flora, boosting mood, supporting immune system, detoxifying hormones and assisting elimination of waste.

Always include plant based proteins as essential amino acids are vital for body function, curb hunger, balance blood sugar and keep you feeling fuller longer – pulses, nuts, tofu, quinoa, hemp, seaweeds, Sun-Warrior or a vegan protein powder.

Focus on wholefoods, a rainbow of colourful foods and enjoy long-term nourishment!

Checkout www.vitalnutrition.eu for Suzanne’s up-coming events – 2 retreats in March in Soller – also her Nutritional Therapy consultancies and testing.