Eat Healthily for the year ahead

The saying that we are what we eat goes beyond the body - it affects the mind too...

In recent years more emphasis has been placed on the significance of gut health, and with good reason. The gut is one of the largest organs in the body.

Definition: The gut is another term for the stomach and intestines that takes in food and liquids and breaks them down into substances the body uses for energy, growth, and tissue repair.

Gut health is determined by the balance of types of bacteria in the gut, which helps to reduce inflammation that can lead to heart disease and may even lower the chance of obesity. In addition, and there is increasing research that the gut is directly linked to the brain through the vagus nerve, which works like a text-messaging system between the two.

In short, a healthy gut supports both physical and mental wellbeing.

Unlock your journey to gut health with these 6 smart food trends:

• Get that gut going: Don't forget to deliberately include foods that promote gut health in your diet every day. These include fermented foods (like yogurt), foods rich in dietary fibre (whole grains and plant foods) and colourful fruits and vegetables. Avoid processed foods, as these contain high levels of unhealthy fats, sugars and refined carbohydrates, as well as additives that are increasingly being shown to harm your gut microbiota.
• Plant-based or plant-centric diets that are high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts can boost microbiome diversity and potentially encourage probiotics. This type of diet has a two-fold benefit when you're a Discovery Vitality member - you can earn up to 75% back for making HealthyFood purchases at Pick n Pay or Woolworths.
• Being sober-curious is a social-wellness movement that encourages people to explore their relationships with alcohol, and how it makes them feel physically and mentally. This mindful consideration and the benefits that come from moderating intake may lead to shifting your focus away from alcohol entirely. Alcohol suppresses the immune system and impacts the healthy bacteria in your gut microbiome. "In large amounts, alcohol, and its metabolites can overwhelm the gastrointestinal tract (GI) and liver and lead to damage both within the GI and in other organs," according to researchers from the National Library of Medicine.
• Enjoying family meals around the table not only fosters connectedness with loved ones but also slows down eating time considerably, allowing the body to break down food in smaller chunks to aid digestion. Kick-start your meal plans by signing up you and your family for a course with HealthyFood Studio, to learn a range of seasonal, healthy cooking classes, from spring curries and Asian cuisines to healthy kids' cooking sessions.
• All too often we use the excuse of lack of time and energy as a barrier to healthy food prep. Meal delivery services, whether packaged as high-quality and sustainably sourced grocery items and recipes, fresh fruit, and vegetables or ready-made meals, have taken the slog out of preparing nutritious meals for the family.
  
  Subscribing to a service that does all the thinking for you has fast become the preferred choice and often a way of resisting the temptation of ordering fast food or eating out at restaurants where food is invariably loaded with unhealthy fat and lacks nutritional value. You can still enjoy the healthy benefits of dining and get rewarded for it. With HealthyDining members can dine in our out healthily at our HealthyDining partners and get up to 25% back on meals. Kids get 50% back on meals.
• Including more pulses such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas in your meals can improve your gut health, stabilise your blood sugar and lower your blood pressure. Blend them or cook them until soft in your stews, and soups if you're not crazy about the texture.