Healthy Food Swaps
If you can’t change your job, at least change your diet! We know that sitting is bad for us (if you didn’t know it before reading this newsletter you’ll definitely know it now!) Have you heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking”? It may sound like quite a dramatic statement but it’s sadly true. When we sit for longer than 60 minutes our metabolism slows, mainly due to the effect it has on an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. This enzyme lines your capillaries and is responsible for breaking down fat molecules as they pass through the blood. After about an hour of sitting, your body reduces its production of this fat-burning enzyme by up to 90%. If you don’t reduce your caloric intake you’ll start going into fat-storing mode … quite worrying as many of us must be in fat-storing mode for most of the week.
To make matters worse, sitting also causes your body’s cells to become less responsive to insulin. This can lead to diabetes, obesity and even heart disease. Unfortunately, changing jobs or careers isn’t always an option as the bills still need to be paid.
The good news is that all hope is not lost. There are lots of positive changes you can make to your diet straight away that will help to offset the effects of sitting for long periods (obviously getting up and moving every hour is also vital). These changes are easy and you’ll start feeling better straight away. Take control of your health!
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Here are our top seven healthy food swaps:
White flour for coconut flour. Coconut flour has a much gentler impact on our blood sugar. We want to keep blood sugar levels as stable as possible when sitting at our desks. Coconut flour has good fats that will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer, which means you’ll be less likely to reach out for that sugary snack.
White sugar for coconut sugar. Although we always recommend to keep added sugar intake to a minimum, coconut sugar has been shown to have more nutrients in it, so swapping it at times when you feel like a sweet treat is a good idea.
Vegetable oils for coconut oil. We now know that cooking with vegetable oils is VERY bad for our health as these oils cause a lot of damage in the body when heated. Coconut oil is the best oil to cook with as its very resistant to heat and doesn’t harm the body when heated.
Breadcrumbs for rolled oats. Who says you can’t have fish and chips when you’re being healthy? Just swap heavily processed breadcrumbs for some high fibre oats. Blitz them in a blender for a finer consistency and coat your fish or chicken with them.
White rice for quinoa. White rice spikes our blood sugar; it’s much better to opt for high protein grains like quinoa that have a far more stabilising effect. Quinoa has a lovely crunchy texture too.
Mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower. Mashed potatoes can cause spikes in our blood sugar so it’s better to go for mashed cauliflower. Add a splash of almond milk, and a pinch of nutmeg, and there you go - tasty!
Cow’s milk for almond milk. More and more people are making the swap to non-dairy milks as they are generally easier to digest. They also don’t contain all the traces of hormones and antibiotics that cow’s milk has been found to have. Even if you don’t make the full swap, try and mix it up occasionally as you will be reducing your exposure to these toxic compounds. Look for unsweetened versions!
Of course, you don’t need to make all these changes in one go. Pick a few healthy food swaps that appeal to you the most to get started. Once you’ve had them in place a few weeks come back to the list and see what else you can tackle. Never underestimate the impact of small changes! And let us know how you get on…
Find out more
Would you want to find our more about healthy food swaps? Are you based in West London? Please feel free to book an appointment with our West London based Bridge To Health Nutritional Therapist Emily Fawell at 07967 639 347 or via email at emily@bridgetohealth.co.uk. She will be happy to see you at our Ealing clinic.
