Spring into action with nutritional therapist Angelique Panagos!
The birds are chirping just a little bit louder and the air feels spritely and fresh. Ever think that as the seasons change and ‘turn a new leaf’, you should too? YCB snagged some special secrets from ITV’s Nutritional Therapist, Angelique Panagos, to help kick start our spring cleansing.
Here are her top tips!
1. No skipping meals!
It’s easy to forego breakfast when you’re racing out the door, but it’s so important to stay consistent with your meal schedule. Skipping meals affects your blood sugar and will make you crave foods your normally healthy diet wouldn’t want. Have well-timed snacks along with those regular meals to always feel energised and healthy during your workday.
2. Bye bye sugar!
I know, this one is a toughie. Sugar likes to wreak havoc on everything – including your hormones. It’s refined sugar that you need to cleanse from your diet. That means chocolate, soft drinks, cakes, biscuits and other sweet desserts. These beautiful treats exacerbate the formation of wrinkles and unwanted weight gain. No thank you! Guess those sugars have got to go.
3. Eat the rainbow.
This is a classic, but it’s often repeated because it’s vital to a healthy body and mind. Panagos suggests six portions of vegetables and one portion of fruit per day. The more colourful your palatte, the better you’ll feel.
Think you can’t come up with six exciting portions of veggies to nomz on every day? Panagos suggests, “Add watercress to scrambled eggs and steamed broccoli to your salad at lunch. Snack on pears, or vegetable sticks with hummus, or add berries to yoghurt for breakfast.”
4. Avoid refined carbs.
What are these? All of those white, fluffy foods including white pasta, rice and bread. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but these are not nutrient rich foods, meaning they further cravings rather than help prevent them. They won’t satisfy you hunger the way your body desires! Try out oat porridge or unsweetened muesli instead of processed cereals. Your belly will thank you.
5. Add phytoestrogens.
Say what? These improve your mood and help your body balance its hormones. For these nutrients, ad lentils, beans, chickpeas and fermented tofu into stews and salads.
6. Crave outside of chocolate.
If you’re magnesium-deprived, you’re likely craving chocolate all the time. That means you need to start monopolising on dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and organic fish. So many options to satisfy you! If you’re still craving something sweet, “opt for berries, which are low in sugar yet rich in skin-strengthening antioxidants and detoxifying fibre.”
