Is fruit the frenemy?

Continuing on with my theme of 'New Year, New You', I thought I'd approach the topic of our 5-a-day. We all know that we should be eating at least 5 different types of fruit and vegetables a day, and in general I manage that, but the problem is that intake for me comes mainly in the form of fruit. I had never considered this to be a problem until I began to read articles suggesting that our 5-a-day should come mainly in the form of vegetables, as fruit can be very acidic and sugar-filled. Of course, I am talking about natural sugar, but it is claimed that too much fruit can be harmful to our teeth and, if you believe in the theory of the alkaline diet, potentially harmful to the natural pH of our bodies.

Do not, for one second, think that this blogpost is demonising fruit or saying it is bad for you - it isn't! Fruit is packed full of vitamins and crucial in our diets - I am simply examining claims that fruit can cause acid erosion to our teeth, and that a larger variety of vegetables in our diet is more important that a variety of fruit. Whilst I think that we should eat an equal amount of colourful fruit and vegetables (colour denotes lots of vitamins and nutrients), I do agree with the dental adverts that are cautioning us to drink fruit juice in moderation. Although some juices are completely natural, be sure to always check to nutritional information on the back of the carton as some can be full of sugar! The emphasis here is on getting your 5-a-day from fresh, natural sources and not in a packet/packaging.

This may be a very quick blogpost while I take a break from work, but my point here is to consider including more vegetables in your diet, rather than just eating 3 apples and thinking that you've had your 5-a-day. As I mentioned above, most of my 5-a-day come from fruit, and I'm slowly trying to change that, but I thought I would show you how I manage to fit in roughly 5 fruit and veg a day. These aren't my full meals, just when I eat the fruit or veg:

Breakfast - 1 Kiwi

1 apple

Mid-morning snack - Banana

Lunch - 1 salad (with my sandwich or as my main meal)

Tea-time - More banana on my Ryvita

Dinner - 2 different types of vegetable, e.g broccoli and spinach

Now, you may be thinking 'Oh look at her all high and mighty on her throne of fruit and vegetables!', but of course there are days when I don't manage this. The main goal is to have a generally healthy diet, and if this blog has taught you just one thing through my posts, I hope it's that you can allow yourself to have treats without it being the end of the world! So keep trying to include fruit and veg whenever you can in your daily diet, and I promise you will start to feel the health benefits - clearer skin, fewer colds...and just generally a happier body!

Until next time,

Nati xXx

So Long, Sugar!

We all know we should cut down (and ideally cut out) sugar from our diets, especially the white, refined stuff, so here's a few quick sugar replacements that I've tried and what I think of them - consider giving one a go!

1) Stevia

Literally just tried this in my coffee. Made from the stevia plant which is native to South America, it is said to be 200 times sweeter than sugar and carbohydrate-free. It comes in tiny little pellets, with one meant to be equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar. I had to have two because I didn't taste any sweetness with just one, but in general I'm rather impressed - it did taste a little unusual when I got to the end of my mug, but nothing too bad!

2) Agave nectar

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know that I absolutely LOVE this! Completely natural, and made from the agave plant, you can either get the light & mild syrup (my preferred type) or the darker one (seen in the picture below). It comes as a syrup and is very sweet, so you really only need a small squeeze to sweeten tea or coffee. I also use it in baking and it works just like regular sugar, so it really is a wonderful, multi-purpose sugar replacement!

3) Sweet Freedom Natural Sweetener

This is made from fruit, and although very sweet it is my least favourite of the three, as I found it made my coffee taste a bit funny, and it didn't really work well in cakes and other baking. Everyone has different tastes though, and this is low G.I, so perhaps try it out and see if you like it!

Nati xXx

New Year, New You?

Every January, when a new year rolls around, most of us make the same resolutions - eat healthily, lose weight, go on a diet - and with that comes the endless array of programmes dedicating to fat-fighting, and diets that claim to do the same. This year, I thought I'd take a look a look at some of these diets, and cheekily give my own personal opinion on them! Here we go...

The Alkaline Diet

This is based on the theory that in our Western diets we eat too many acidic or acid-producing foods, which cause a whole array of health problems, such as low energy and poor digestion. The idea is that a slightly alkaline diet keeps us healthy, and so we should include more green veg and fruits such as bananas in our diets, instead of acid-producing dairy and wheat products. Full-blown participants of this diet use test strips daily to test the pH of their bodies in order to stay on track.

The Paleolithic Diet

Also known as the caveman diet, this is based on the theory that our bodies cannot handle or digest processed foods that we eat nowadays very well, and that we should eat like our ancient ancestors. The basis of the diet is game meat, fish, veg, fruits, nuts and eggs.

The Dukan Diet

A very famous diet already, based also on the principal of eating like cavemen, and reducing our diet to protein and veg. This diet involves 4 phases :

1- An attack phase, where you only eat protein

2 - A cruise phase, where you eat protein and veg

3 - A consolidation phase, where other foods are slowly re-introduced

4 - A stabilization phase

My opinion: Despite all having a different spin on being a 'diet', and the Dukan being quite specific, in their entirety (and behind the weird names and spiel) what each of them advocates is eating lean protein, fruit and veg - which is basically common sense when it comes to a healthy diet!

Whilst I'm in no way saying that diets aren't helpful and useful tools for weight loss when continued healthy eating and exercise haven't worked, I do want make the point that if you simply what to fulfill your New Year's resolution of being healthier and perhaps losing a few pounds, then consider making a few simple changes to your daily diet instead of following the latest 'diet' craze. Balance is key, so take a look at what you normally eat and see if you could make it a little healthier - perhaps by switching to brown bread, fitting your 5-a-day in, or eating less dairy. Some people think that eating healthily is all about restricting what you eat, but don't think of it like that! Think of it as eating good foods, in good quantities, and feeling good about yourself!

Let this be the year that you make the most important resolution: to look after yourself!

Nati xXx