A healthy diet

[mywonderfulife]

Hi everyone , I hope you are all well 💗

I wasn't quite sure where to post this, so I apologise if this is the incorrect forum.

I'm looking for a bit of advice , I suffer with the most horrendous anxiety. I would say my bad diet and bad gut health contributes to my anxiety, not all of it but a good chunk. I want to make a change, I'm so fed up of feeling rubbish.

I read that you need to cut out processed foods? This has confused me. When I looked online at what exactly processed food is, it seemed to be everything?

If you were to cut out processed foods and focus on a positive gut health what kind of foods would you be eating for breakfast lunch & dinner? What would your diet look like?

I'm struggling

And if you have any tips of foods to cut out to improve anxiety, let me know xxxx

Make small changes gradually as it's not too overwhelming. Cut out sugar first,it'll really help with your anxiety.

I eat yoghurt and frozen berries

Soup or a salad with some sort of protein

Dinner is stir-fry, cottage pie, pasta, roast, fish, all sorts but always with lots of veg or salad.

read the Chris Van Tulleken book - Ultra Processed People - it will tell you all you need to know. Am just listening to the audiobook and it's life changing.

What generally do you eat now?

We try not to eat ultra processed foods and I have been concentrating on adding foods that are good for gut health after some tummy trouble. I’ve added - natural live yogurt, kimchi and small amounts of blue cheese to my diet for this. I’ve been buying proper sourdough bread.

sample diet would look like, porridge with fruit for breakfast. Salads, soup or leftovers or a sandwich for lunch. Normal family dinners made from scratch - pastas , bolognaise, fajitas, cottage pie, stews, meat/fish and two veg.

Breakfast - any of these -
Scrambled eggs, baked beans
egg, beans or cheese on wholemeal toast
Greek yoghurt with any fruits
Overnight oats

Lunch
Home-made soup
Salad, with cottage cheese/hard-boiled egg/tin of tuna/mackerel

Dinner
Home-made cottage pie/curry/chilli con carne, fish pie or a roast dinner

There is a difference between processed food and ultra processed food and the latter is easier to avoid than the former! I try to avoid UPF in the main (though we don’t completely ban them). I cook ‘from scratch’ the majority of the time but even that will involve things like tomato purée, stock cubes etc which are processed. I honestly don’t think most people have the time to cook completely from scratch (making your own cheese/butter/bread/pasta etc) so I just do my best and avoid too much beige food/stuff in packets.

To improve gut health and reduce anxiety, focus on natural, whole foods. For breakfast, try oatmeal with berries. For lunch, have a salad with leafy greens, vegetables, and grilled chicken. For dinner, enjoy baked salmon with quinoa and steamed vegetables. Avoid processed foods like chips, sodas, and sugary snacks.

Breakfast: Porridge made with water or skimmed milk, with chopped apple or banana or pineapple stirred through it. Or good quality wholemeal toast & butter, and fruit. Or scrambled eggs with mushrooms.

Lunch, Home made veggie soup. Or jacket potato with sweetcorn and tuna. Or mozzarella & tomato salad on the best quality wholemeal you can find. Or a home-made grated carrot & apple salad, with nuts & raisins, lightly dressed with olive oil.

Supper Any grilled fish or meat with jacket potato or rice, and assorted veg. Or casseroles or stews of meat/fish/fresh veg. Fruit & cream for dessert.

Aim for 30 different plant based foods in a week and you won't go far wrong.

Start with food that look or are similar to what they started life as. A piece of fish is just fish - nothing done to it or added to it, whereas battered fish or a shop-bought fishcake may have lots of added ingredients - not all of them healthy. Same with veg, eggs, pulses or cuts of meat. Cook them from their natural state, rather than, for example, buying smoked bacon that has probably just had artificial smoke flavour added, or pre-chopped veg that has been dipped in dilute bleach to stop it discolouring.

If you base most of your food around these, it's fine to have some 'processed' foods that are fairly simple like wholemeal bread or natural yoghurt, brined olives or good cheese.

So a healthy mainly unprocessed day's food might be:

Home made porridge with blueberries and chopped bananas
Or natural yoghurt with berries and nuts and a drizzle of honey with cinnamon
Or a home made smoothie with fruit, natural yoghurt or milk and some nuts or seeds.

Lunch might be poached eggs on wilted spinach with grilled tomatoes
Or avocado on wholemeal toast with salad
Or stir fry veg and rice
Or home made veggie and lentil soup

Dinner might be steak with home made garlic sweet potato wedges and steamed broccoli
Or roast hake or salmon on a tray of chopped veg (eg onions, fennel, asparagus tossed lightly in oil with lemon and herbs
Or tray bake chicken with baby potatoes and mediterranean veg
Or a lentil or bean based casserole with a tomatoey sauce and some brown rice.

It can be expensive, but if you only eat this good home made food, and don't buy takeouts, snacks, baked goods as treats, too much booze etc, it isn't too bad. On a budget eggs, pulses, chicken and beans are good.

Hi, please don't read Dr Chris VT book op, he's a doctor, not a nutrition professional nor nutrition academic and while he's right that as a nation we need to cook more from scratch etc , his words are fear mongering and deliberately shocking.

I would advise gradual changes and trying to include more of the good stuff for your gut such as increasing diversity of plants in your diet - veg, salad, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices - try different vegetables (not always the same ones as many of us tend to do). Whole grains are great and a variety are beneficial such as quinoa, bulgar wheat, pearl barley, rye etc - not just wheat and rice.

Try whole grain versions not just white (or a mix of the two). Do this gradually while ensuring a good fluid intake.

Focus on these things rather than on just processed v non processed.

Obviously eating lots of fast food and sugar rich snacks such shop bought biscuits, cakes etc not good for any of us but it's really not black and white and these can be enjoyed sometimes without stressing. I like the 80/20 thinking!

Look up Dr Megan Rossi - she is great!

Food that's closer to its original form. Cooking from scratch is almost always better than whacking something in the microwave or a ready meal. Chicken rather than chicken nuggets, for example.
You want to eat loads of vegetables of different colours, some (not much) fruit, grains, legumes, seeds. Some meat/fish in it's original form (not processed like salami/bacon/nuggets). Some good fats (olive, avocados etc). Low GI carbs- sweet potato over white.
Try to limit things like white rice, potatoes , breads, cheeses and butters. Desserts that are high sugar high fat. Definitely limit alcohol.
Of course you can eat anything, but try to make 80% of what you eat unprocessed and nutrient dense.

Local raw honey in moderation is a good prebiotic for gut health. Source as locally as possible.