My Health Basics - Short and Sweet

Hello lovelies,

in the last weeks I have been asked many questions about how to achieve better health. I have been wanting to write a big post about it for a long time but when you're working etc. it's not that easy sometimes. There is lots of info flying around and that can be very confusing. So here is an overview of the things I do to stay healthy (and happy) and some input for you on how do start with little steps in each of the categories. I did a lot of research and all these things have shown me through experience that they're working. I started to radically change my lifestyle in 2017. So, here you go and Iet me know if you want to know more about certain things mentioned here. I'm not going into detail in this post.

*** Of course I'm not a doctor, I'm just talking from my own experience and from the research I did***

1. Sleep

I know, you've heard it too many times. But sleep is #1. I can drink a million green smoothies in a day and do hours of yoga but if I haven't slept well, I'm not gonna feel and look great.

I need my 8 hours. You know for yourself how many hours you need, but be honest to yourself about it. And I'm really strict about my 8 hours nowadays. During the week, I usually get up at 5.30 because I wanna have an hour for my morning routine (it's awesome - blogpost coming soon). That means I'll do everything I can to fall asleep at 9.30 pm. And so far I've done it. And it's so good. I'm not tired after work and if I am, I go for a walk. No more naps needed. And I've been the nap queen but they've also messed up my sleep rhythm. To sleep well: turn most technology off around two hours before you go to sleep, don't eat too many carbs or sugar in the evening. Sleep regenerates your cells which is important to keep everything vibrant and working, protect you from cancer etc. and early aging. So ya! Sleep, girl or boy! It's super important.

2. Drink Water

I used to not drink plain water at all and I used to not drink much in general. Nowadays, I drink at least 2 litres per day. I always have my refillable water bottle with me and I have in mind that I need to finish my bottle 8 times before I go to sleep. Drinking a lot also makes me have to use the washroom VERY often but that's okay :) I drink even more before I fly. Hydration is important for everything, your cells, helping your liver to detoxify, making the blood flow through your vessels. Drinking a lot makes your skin look better and makes you look younger, I swear, my skin feels younger now than 5 years ago. Drinking a lot of water everyday is definitely one reason for it. And I used to have dark circles under my eyes, which seriously disappear when your support your liver.

Also: Try it for a month and you'll see that your body gets used to it and actually craves it when you forget to drink. Still water is better than sparkling water as sparkling water creates acidity in your body. And we want less acidity because there's already too much in your body, probably.

3. Eat Well & at the Right Time

You know that I'm very passionate about this one and I could write a whole book about it, so I'm trying to break it down to you in order of importance:

1. Have lots of veggies on your plate

Ideally 3/4 of your plate should be veggies. No, your body cannot only function from meat and rice or potatoes. Surprise! It needs so many nutrients for so many different things. If this is really hard for you: start by adding a green salad to every meal you eat or at least for dinner, so your taste buds get used to it and I know it's crazy but you'll crave for your salad once you're used to it.

2. Eat whole real foods.

Things that your grandparents have already eaten (except avocados :P). Look at the labels. If there are a lot of things on the list that you have never heard o or can hardly pronounce, don't buy it. You really don't want to put chemicals in your body. Would you eat a piece of plastic? So don't eat anything that's made of artificial stuff. Your liver will thank you and thereby the rest of your body.

And attention: If you wanna buy a real food, for example nut butter, check the labels: added sugar, salt, bad oils, preservatives, additives etc. are extremely unnecessary. Whole real foods are perfect the way they are.

Open your mind and create a simple but yummy plate with real foods.

3. Eat healthy fats.

No, healthy fats don't make you fat. They are necessary for a strong immune system, happy hormones, strong muscles, glowing skin and - yes - for weight loss.

Healthy fats are in nuts, avocado, in olive oil (not heated), fish ... . Healthy fats also make you feel full and thereby reduce cravings.

My favourite snack is sliced apple with almond butter (and cinnamon) or peanut butter, mid-morning and/or afternoon. It's low carb and full of healthy fats and nutrients.

4. Don't hurt yourself with your cooking oils.

I think it's crazy that no one has told us until a couple years ago but olive oil and sunflower oil and so on are not safe when heated. They transform into dangerous trans-fats and toxins that really make it hard for your body to thrive, not good for your vessels, your liver, your gut... you see where this is going.

Olive oil is wonderful when it's not heated, so healthy. On salads etc.

Sunflower oil, palm oil etc. doesn't have a place in my kitchen anymore. Even when unheated, it not healthy or anything close to that, the opposite is the case. It's full of omega 6, which is inflammatory (inflammation is responsible for pretty much all the bad things that can happen in your body, from pimples to cancer) and we need less omega 6 or at least more omega 3 fatty acids in our body which are anti-inflammatory.

I cook with coconut oil (No, coconut oil is not the bad boy, could also write a book about that but it's also not something you should take as an extra supplement, perfect for cooking and baking though), ghee (dairy-free butter) and I think it's also fine to cook with (preferrably organic) butter. Big no for margarine! Just look at those ingredients!

5. Eat low carb in the morning and in the evening & more slow carbs.

I don't care about losing weight, but it is very important for your blood sugar that you think about when you eat carbs. I don't limit my carb intake for lunch but I eat low carb and high protein in the morning and the evening. Examples are: eggs with salad in the morning, veggies with some shrimps in the evening, avocado chocolate mousse with protein powder in the morning and cauliflower rice with veggies/ lentil soup at night etc. (more daily cooking inspiration on my instagram.)

A stable blood sugar is good for healthy gut bacteria, good sleep, getting to a healthy weight, a functioning immune system and happy hormones. And for your willpower :)

Slow carbs like sweet potato, quinoa, buckwheat, chestnuts... don't make your blood sugar spike as much as rice and potato (and wheat etc. of course). If you put apple cider vinegar on your carbs it also makes the blood sugar spike a little less. Really helpful for eating like this is a plant-based-protein powder or grass-fed collagen protein powder. It fills you up so quickly, even when you just drink a smoothie and put it in there.

6. Eat less sugar.

I still have sugar, but in form of honey, banana, maple syrup and coconut sugar which is easier on the body. I love honey-sweetened marzipan with dark chocolate for example. Industrial sugar is simply dangerous for your health and it makes you look older.

Some fruits can be your new candy but I don't recommend extensive amounts of fruit smoothies etc. as that makes your blood sugar spike. I like using low sugar fruits like berries for smoothies and put spinach in there. Start with dark chocolate as your new favourite candy :)

7. Eat organic as much as possible.

I know people really don't want to hear this but all the toxins and the pesticides in our fruits and veggies (and even worse: in our animal products) really build up to a huge amount of garbage in our body. Our liver will be overworked, our immune system weakened and pimples blossoming. All those toxins cause inflammation and destroy your healthy gut bacteria which is SO IMPORTANT for your well-being, health and that pretty glow. Also, our veggies only have a small amount of the nutrients of the veggies your grandparents ate back in the days. Combine that with pesticides and an unhealthy gut (which is unfortunately the case for most guts in our world) that can't absorb the important nutrients or loses them because it's leaking (also extremely common and you don't even notice). Also, lots of pesticides and toxins in non-organic produce act like estrogen in the body which raises the risk for cancer, as well as infertility in women and men. We already have so much estrogen or estrogenic substances in our environment and our water. We really don't need more. Did you know that men only have an eighth of the sperm quality and count compared to 30 years ago? And more and more young women develop autoimmune diseases which cause infertility and lots of other problems. And even if you don't want to have kids, that means that something is not working well in your body and you can't feel at your best.

Non-organic dairy is terrible as most of you may know: antibiotics, hormones, toxins... same with non-organic meat.

And genetically modified wheat full of toxins.

I don't or very rarely eat dairy and gluten as that human body is not made for it and it is highly inflammatory, is bad for your skin, your immune system and your hormones. I can only encourage you to reduce eating it or if you eat it, choose organic. Or if you really can't let go of it at all, try to support your gut as much as possible (see below) and eat lots of veggies with it. ***Lots of unnaturally gluten-free things are full of bad things - Read your labels and stick to granny's real food*** Of course I sometimes eat gluten-free toast and such but it shouldn't be daily.

When you need to decide what to buy organic, you can refer to EWG's list of the clean 15 and the dirty dozen. The clean 15 contain the least pesticides when you buy conventional.

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/index.php

8. Care for your gut.

The gut is where your health starts. Gut bacteria also strongly influences the bacteria in your brain and your female organs. Eat more fermented foods (Sauerkraut, gherkin, kombucha ...). Drink lemon water or apple cider vinegar on an empty stomach daily. Eat less grains.

Eat less sugar, gluten and dairy. Drink lots of water. Drink less coffee and less alcohol.

9. Coffee and alcohol?

Coffee is not good, especially for women and their hormonal health. I don't recommend. But even for men, it's not great. Ask my boyfriend, he feels much better when he's off the caffeine. Better kick your day off with a lemon shot. That'll wake you up. Or how about just sleeping 8 hours?

Alcohol is so bad. And you can feel it, right? It's hard on your immune system and makes it more difficult for it to protect your cells. It messes up your hormones. And I mean just look in the mirror when you have a hangover, feel your mood, nothing to add. When ovulating, a certain amount is okay, same with caffeine, but that's it.

9. Inflammatory or health promoting?

You can always choose: What you eat is either promoting health or it's doing the opposite. This is not about perfection. Go one step at a time, if you want to.

I personally leave out gluten (wheat, brown, spelt ... flour), soy and dairy, only eat organic meat, eggs and fish. I eat organic veggies as much as possible. I only eat rice and potato etc. for lunch but whenever I can I eat slow carbs. In the morning and the evening I go light with lots of greens and protein. I drink a lot of water, no coffee, no sugary drinks. I eat lots of berries and I love all other fruits but I'm not overdoing it.

4. Move.

It is more important than you think. Let that blood flow through your body - all the juices! And help your body to produce the healthy hormones. Don't go hard on yourself after ovulation, it can mess up your hormones, slow strength training, like yoga and long walks are enough. After your period and until (including) ovulation you can do literally anything. Go at least 10000 steps a day otherwise you'll get your body's bill later.

5. Remove toxins.

Toxins are the chemicals in your environment and in your food. Reduce plastic in your life cause the stuff it's made up of disrupts your hormones and weakens your immune system. Use non-toxic cleaning products. Switch to organic cosmetics as much as possible. Try out different brands if it doesn’t work in the beginning. And your body also needs to get used to organic deodorant for example. Use glass bottles or bpa free ones. This will also contribute to better skin.

6. Destress

Have daily routines to destress. Go for a walk. Do yoga. Meditate 5 minutes in the morning and evening. It makes such a difference, not just for your health. (Blogpost about my daily routine coming soon.) Have technology downtime. Stress hormones are also disrupting your hormonal health and stress, especially chronic stress is probably the biggest threat for your overall health.

7. Take tech breaks

Important for your overall well-being and reducing stress hormones (which are damn dangerous in the long run!). Use apps in which you can schedule downtime. And stick to it. Take time to go within and stop living non-stop in the outside.

8. Listen to your needs.

Listen to yourself. Take holistic care of yourself. Cancel commitments/ appointments if it's too much. Rest when you need to. Do things you love. Meet with people that lift you up. Stop pushing too much. Make your well-being a priority. Create and maintain healthy boundaries in all areas of your life. Invest in yourself.

Everything you do creates good or bad energy in your body and life. Choose the good vibes. Your health is interconnected with everything in your life. Stand up for yourself and create a life that is yours and that brings you joy. See health problems, cravings, stress, dis-ease as signposts to show you what works for you and what doesn't. Becoming your healthiest happiest you can require scary and big decisions. Know that you deserve feeling good and act accordingly.

Love,

Anne

https://linktr.ee/spiritspice