This year the focus for Mental Health Awareness Week is body image, and these days with perfect ideals continually streamed through our social media feeds, it’s almost impossible not to feel the pressure.

It’s not uncommon to go to extreme lengths to try and change our external appearance with the hope of improving how we feel on the inside, despite the fact we know it doesn’t work.

Diet culture is everywhere and while it’s hard to let go of body hang ups and external pressures, it’s important to remember just how incredible the human body is. It’s far more interesting and a much more positive mindset to think about all the incredible things our bodies can do, rather than how they look.

Running marathons, giving birth, emotional intelligence and our capacity for rational thinking are just a few examples of our capabilities. As a human being I naturally have my own hang ups, but as Nutritionist, I like to remind myself of this and shift focus to nourishing my body with the food it needs and steering well clear of restrictive diets - which in turn helps to ease the mind.

Top 5 tips tips to nourish your body and ease your mind:

1. Eat yourself happy – choose foods that boost ‘happy hormones’. Protein contains amino acids that form the building blocks of neurotransmitters, including serotonin which encourages feelings of calm, well-being, optimism and happiness. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts and seeds, beans and pulses are all good sources.

• Choose healthy fats – our brain is around 60% fat and to make sure it’s in good working order choose those that are rich in omega 3 which is also important for the production of dopamine and linked to mental wellbeing. Oily fish is the best complete source, so try to eat salmon, mackerel, tuna or herring 3-4 times per week. Too fishy? Add flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts to your meals, or try flax and walnut oils for salad dressings.

• Stay hydrated – if you don’t drink enough, you might find it difficult to concentrate. Aim for approximately 2 litres per day, water is your best option. Tea and coffee also count but if you’re particularly sensitive to caffeine limit to 1-2 cups per day as too much may cause feelings of anxiety and disrupt sleep.

• Balance blood sugar – our brains’ preferred source of fuel is glucose, most readily obtained from carbohydrates. Cravings for stodgy comfort foods or sugary snacks are completely natural in response to stress, it’s our body’s way of getting a quick boost. There’s nothing better than a cup of tea or coffee with a slice of cake but while the sugar/caffeine combo helps lift us out of an energy rut, it can be short lived and leave us tired and irritable, with cravings for more of the same. If this ‘blood sugar rollercoaster’ sounds familiar aim for regular meals and snacks (every 3-4 hours) to help keep you on an even keel.

• Combine carbohydrates with protein and healthy fats - which work to slow digestion and the release of sugar into our blood. Whole grains are broken down gradually, providing a steady stream of glucose for the brain and B vitamins for energy. At breakfast, top porridge and fruit (carbs) with Greek yoghurt (protein), nuts and seeds (fats). Snack on oatcakes (carbs) with houmous (protein) or nut butter (protein/fats) or an apple with a handful of nuts, then include fish, meat or pulses (protein/fats) at lunch and dinner.  

How much is enough? There are no two ways about it, government advice to make sure we’re getting our ‘Recommended Daily Allowance’ (RDA) of certain nutrients is confusing. For a start, a few years ago RDA was actually renamed NRV (Nutrient Reference Value), but these terms remain interchangeable. RDA refers to the base level of vitamins and minerals that we should consume on a daily basis. However, these figures are averages established for the general, healthy, population and are better viewed as a guide to protect against disease rather than promote optimum health and vitality. Every person is different and nutrients required can vary dramatically depending on age, size, state of health and environment for example. With this in mind, you would be forgiven for being confused about what it all means in terms of the food you should put on your plate! So if your focus for 2018 is improving your health – where do you start? Firstly, aim for a varied diet rich in colourful fruit and veg to provide you with a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C is one of our immune systems best defences, and in the winter with the inevitable coughs and colds doing the rounds, there’s even more reason to make sure you’re getting enough. Our immune cells have built in transportation devices to carry vitamin C around the whole body, making it vital to protect against infection. In the UK, the official RDA for adults is 40mg per day, but this varies widely depending on where you look and in the US the figure is approximately double that. Some research even suggests that 3000mg per day (in small supplemental doses) can be protective. Vitamin C is water soluble and quickly excreted so you need it in your diet every day. You should be able to get enough from whole foods like red peppers, broccoli, kale, kiwi, strawberries and oranges - the general rule of thumb is the more richly pigmented, the higher levels of vitamin C. But life is busy and it’s not always achievable so grabbing a quick drink can help keep you topped up. A bottle of Get More Vitamin C has 200% of your RDA, so makes a great option to go. Vitamin D is another vital nutrient at this time of year, but unlike Vitamin C which you must consume in your diet, it is actually a hormone produced by our bodies in response to sunlight on our skin. However, in the UK by February, unless you’ve had some cheeky winter sun - stores from the summer months have usually run out. Providing you get enough exposure, the human body can make between 10,000 and 25,000 IUs of vitamin D per day in the summer, but with levels depleted during winter, official recommendations for supplementation are around 10µg (or 400 IU per day). Some foods like eggs, oily fish, red meat and mushrooms contain low levels of vitamin D, but certainly not enough to reach the optimum. You would need to eat around 23 eggs every day(!) or a whole mackerel to meet the required levels - not everyone’s kettle of fish, whereas one bottle of Get More ticks this box easily. *References available on request*  

With party season officially upon us, if there’s ever a time you need to Get More Vitamins it’s now! Obviously we would always encourage sensible drinking, and you if can manage it, try to alternate each alcoholic beverage with water to help keep you hydrated throughout the night, but realistically we know that even with the best intentions you can’t always avoid a hangover. So with that in mind here are our top tips to help you combat the morning after.

1. Eat eggs - Steer clear of a greasy fry up as tempting as it may be, fatty foods can be tricky for the body to digest while it’s dealing with all the alcohol and will probably leave you feeling worse. Instead try poached or scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast. Eggs are a source of choline which is a water-soluble vitamin and important for normal liver function. Eggs also contain the amino acid cysteine, which is a small protein that helps to support liver repair and encourage the production of an antioxidant called glutathione – crucial for helping your to break down acetaldehyde (a by-product of alcohol more toxic than alcohol itself). You can also find cysteine is in oats, dairy, garlic, onions and Brussels sprouts – hello Xmas leftovers.
2. Bitter greens – If you can face it, try adding bitter fibrous greens to your breakfast like kale or a handful of rocket which can help to stimulate bile flow from the liver and encourage detoxification, helping to your symptoms. Even better? Add artichoke, even if that means an extra topping on your pizza!
3. Magnesium – Many of us are low in this all essential mineral, involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, it is quickly depleted by alcohol. Magnesium has anti-inflammatory powers and as ‘nature’s relaxant’ may help to soothe headaches and calm anxiety. It can be helpful to top up with magnesium both pre and post party to ease your suffering. Have a bath in magnesium salts or a few squares of dark chocolate to help melt your troubles away.
4. Vitamin C – is an important antioxidant that is also rapidly used up in protecting your liver from ‘oxidative stress’ caused by alcohol. During the winter months it’s also vital to keep topped up with vitamin C for a healthy immune response and protection against colds and flu. Load up on fruit and veg, or on the go our orange flavoured Get More Vitamin C.
5. Antioxidants – generally speaking, the more brightly coloured your fruit and veg the higher the concentration of natural antioxidants for combatting excess toxins like alcohol. Try sipping on a smoothie of mixed berries with spinach and add fresh ginger, for its anti-nausea effects.
6. B vitamins – are crucial for clearing alcohol from the body, yet again are swiftly used up by alcohol so make sure you’re getting enough B vits either from foods such as meat, fish and wholegrains or you might like to add extra B Vits with a supplement or try our apple and raspberry Get More B Vitamins. Vitamin B1 is thought to enhance the effects of cysteine assisting the body with the break down of alcohol and B6 may also help to reduce hangover symptoms.
7. Order a curry! That’s good news right? Packed with curcumin – the compound responsible for the bright yellow colour of turmeric is a well-known anti-inflammatory with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
8. And last but not least… just in time for Christmas and New Year… We’ve launched our brand new Get More Recovery Range. Powered with a blend of magnesium, and electrolytes sodium and potassium that are typically disrupted by alcohol (causing dehydration) and boosted with B vits. Originally formulated to replace fluids lost during exercise… they also come in handy after a few festive tipples – trust us we’ve tried it. Available in Orange, Citrus and Cranberry at Tesco and Amazon.