Delicious UK - (01)January 2020

92 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

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PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, THINKSTOCK PHOTOS

THEDIETITIAN’S VIEW

COMPILED BY SUE QUINN

E

achnewyearwe’reinundatedwiththelatestfoodandwellnesstrends,

promisingtocreatethefittest,healthiest,happiestversionofyou.It

maybethebeginningofa newyear,butdoesthatmeanwe’reatthe

peakofourmotivation?Ordoesthemulti-million-poundwellnessindustry

sellusthe‘newyou’ideainJanuarybecausewe’remostvulnerabletoit then?

Inmyopinion,Januaryis theworsttimetostartanythingdrastic.The

holidayfestivitiesmayhaveleftusfeelinga littleoff-kilteraftereating

anddrinkingtoomuchandbeingoutofourworkroutine.Yetthisperiod

ofreducedproductivitydoesgiveusanopportunitytostop,takestock

andcreatehappymemoriesandassociationswithfamilyandfriends.

Embracingsuchfestivitiesis animportantaspectofa balancedlife– but

it’snotthebestwarm-upfora strictnewdietandfitnessregime.

Oneofthekeyproblemswithtakingradicalactionearlyinthenewyear

is thatit’softenoutcome-focused,suchas‘lose10lbin 10 weeks’.Inreality,

it makesmoresensetobeprocess-focusedandmakesimplelifestyle

changes.Forexample,doing‘dryJanuary’oftensetsyouuptofail,but

a morerealisticgoal,suchas“Iwillonlyhavetwodrinksa night,four

nightsa week”is moreachievable,andmakesit easiertotakethenextstep.

So,thisyear,ratherthantryingtofindthequickfix(whichis unlikely

toendwell)I recommendyoufocusonembracingrealisticbehaviour

changesthatcanleadtopositivelong-termaffectsonyourhealth.

BY RENEE McGR EGOR

NewresearchfromtheUniversity

ofEasternFinlandsuggeststhat

ryebreadisn’tjustgoodforgut

health– it canalsohelpkeepblood

sugarlevelsundercontrol.These

healthbenefitsappeartostem

fromtheinterplaybetween

microbesinthegutandthosethat

develop as the dough ferments.

SHOPPING

TROLLEY

Healthhack

NUTS

Theselittlepowerhouses

(particularlyalmonds,

pistachiosandwalnuts)

arejam-packedwithgood

stuff– includingvitamins

andminerals,healthyfats

andprotein.Plus, eating

morethantwo

servingsa week

canhelpreducethe

riskofheartattack

andstroke.Stir

choppednutsinto

porridgeorrisotto;

sprinkleover

salads;orchop

finelyandadd

to bread dough.

RENEEMCGREGORBSCPGDIPSPECIALISESINSPORTSNUTRITIONANDEATINGDISORDERS.
HER BOOKS INCLUDE TRAINING FOOD, THE FAST FUEL SERIES AND ORTHOREXIA (NOURISH BOOKS)

January is

the worsttime

tostart anything

drastic