relaxation - Nutrition in York

Building Resilience

by Sally | Apr 6, 2021 | Blog

Resilience is our ability to bounce back and keep going even during the most challenging times. Building resilience doesn’t mean never stopping to rest or take time out; quite the opposite. It means being aware of your capacity to cope, and taking steps to support this.

We can build our resilience by establishing and nuturing some simple nutrition and lifestyle habits.

Positive habits include:

– Making good food choices; limiting refined sugary foods, including good quality protein and healthy fats, getting those 5 colourful veggies + 2 fruits per day, reducing caffeine and drinking plenty of water…you know the drill!

Use this plate diagram to create balanced meals.

Not every meal will fit the template, but as a general rule aim to cover half your plate with colourful veggies and leafy greens, and divide the other half equally between wholegrains/root veg, and good quality sources of protein.

– Being protective about rest & relaxation time and scheduling in downtime every day. It’s so easy to end up staring at the TV or scrolling Facebook at the end of a busy day. But this isn’t relaxation time; your brain is busy processing all the information coming at it through the TV or internet. To give your mind a break try:
– relaxing in a warm Epsom salt bath
– listening to your favourite tunes
– following a guided meditation
– or immersing yourself in a good book instead.

– Getting outdoors in the fresh air and natural daylight every day. This may be for a gentle walk / jog / run / outdoor Yoga / Qi Gong – whatever type of movement you enjoy. When possible, get outdoors for at least 30mins before midday. Enjoying natural daylight in the morning helps the brain to register the change in light at dusk and start winding down for sleep.

– Giving yourself the opportunity for 7-9hrs of sleep each night. If you’re struggling to get enough shut-eye, try these nutrition tips for supporting restorative sleep.

Nutrition-wise, two key nutrients that support our resilience are vitamin B5 and vitamin C. These two vitamins are used in energy production and manufacture of stress hormones in the adrenal glands. When we’re under a lot of ongoing stress we need to ensure plentiful supplies of these nutrients to support the adrenals.

If you’re feeling the strain of ongoing stress think about which of these tips you can start to implement in your daily routine. Pick one that resonates with you the most, then after a few days of practising it add in another. And do let me know how you get on.

What to eat to help you sleep

by Sally | Aug 1, 2019 | Blog

Sleep - can foods help?

Can you remember the last time you had a refreshing, restorative night’s sleep?

Do you struggle to get to sleep, or wake up in the wee small hours wide awake and unable to drop off again?

Just as certain foodstuffs can keep us awake (here’s looking at you caffeine…) other edibles can support our nocturnal rhythms, playing a key role in the sleep/wake cycle.

In this short video I’m talking about food sources of melatonin and tryptophan, and their companion nutrients that help them do their job of making us sleepy.

Zzzzzz…

If you’d like to know more feel free to comment below or hop over to the Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/groups/nutritioninyork and join in the conversations there!

Does Food Affect Your Mood? Find out with this FREE Food, Mood & Movement Tracker – #1 Small Step

by Sally | Apr 3, 2018 | Blog

Are you curious about the connections between what you eat and how you feel?

Do some foods cause energy slumps, bloating, crazy bowel habits or skin breakouts, but you can’t pinpoint the culprits?

Keeping track of how your body responds to foods and drinks for a week or even a month can reveal these connections, and help you discover hidden patterns between eating habits, moods, and uncomfortable symptoms.

It’s easy to blame low energy and erratic digestion on work stresses, or the kids driving you crazy (and these may be perfectly good reasons!) but how much is linked to poor hydration, grazing on snacks, or only eating two servings of vegetables each day?

Writing down what you eat, when you move, how you relax, and how you feel provides a powerful insight into the way you are choosing to nourish yourself.

To help you discover these connections I’ve created a Food, Mood & Movement Tracker. Simply download the document, read through the example provided, and print out as many copies of the tracker chart as you need. Complete it each day, then look back and see if any patterns are emerging between foods and symptoms.

Once you’ve highlighted the areas that need working on (more movement, more relaxation, more green vegetables…) you can decide how to do this, and what support you need – whether that’s nutrition guidance, food intolerance investigations, an exercise plan, or help with relaxation and mindfulness.