Eating healthy during the holidays improves health and productivity and extends life

During the holiday season, we are offered countless tempting foods, most of which are unhealthy and can deplete our energy. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that good nutrition, along with enough sleep and good exercise, provide the fuel that promotes your health, mood and conscious productivity at work. We have known for years that there is a direct connection between nutrition and our physical health. For example, scientists have found that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Research also shows that there is a direct link between our eating patterns and mental health. The study authors state, The results of this trial suggest that improving nutrition in accordance with current recommendations targeting depression may be a useful and affordable strategy for addressing depression in both the general population and clinical settings.

The link between food and mood is becoming not only better known, but also better researched, says Teralyn Sell, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and brain health expert. It’s no secret that inflammatory foods, such as sugar, have played a key role in physical health, and now we also established a connection with mental health. Neurotransmitter pathways (brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin) rely on different nutrients to create transmission. You are what you eat is a catchy saying, but it’s true. Your mood depends on your food.”

Healthy brain food improves mood, health and work performance. Pay attention to the food on your plate and ask if it promotes overall brain health. Proteins such as meat, poultry, dairy, cheese and eggs give your brain the amino acids it needs to make neurotransmitter pathways. In addition, it stabilizes blood sugar. Omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines help your brain and mood. Vitamin B is essential for brain health and can be found in eggs, whole grains, fish, avocados and citrus fruits. And vitamin D found in dairy products, beef liver, orange juice or egg yolk is an important mood stabilizer.

But naming the healthiest diet is controversial, says Chris Mirabile, founder and CEO of NOVOS. Proponents of every diet, be it vegan, keto, paleo, pescatarian, Ornish, or otherwise, claim to know the secret to peak health, with weight loss as an added bonus, and each has a handful of studies to point to to back up their claim. claims.

Mirabil states that the average person will try as many as 126 diets in their lifetime, many right after the holiday binge. But he acknowledges that one diet stands out from the rest when it comes to evidence for short- and long-term health biomarkers and outcomes: the Mediterranean diet. Not only is this diet the basis of some of the longest-lived centenarians (100-109 years) and supercentenarians (110+) in areas known as the Blue Zones, including Ikaria in Greece and Sardinia in Italy, he explains. It can also reduce the risk of heart disease, the risk of stroke in women, help with weight loss and maintenance, improve blood sugar control, prevent type two diabetes, improve arthritis symptoms, protect against certain types of cancer, prevent depression, and may even prevent cognitive decline. decline, including Alzheimer’s disease.

But Mirabile told me via email that the new diet upgraded the popular Mediterranean diet. Known as the NOVOS Longevity Diet, it claims to extend human lifespans and help you stay younger and healthier for longer. While the Mediterranean diet places too much emphasis on grains and allows for the possibility of nutrient deficiencies, the NOVOS Longevity Diet uses six rules to modify the Mediterranean diet:

1. Vegetables: Vegetables are the foundation of a longevity diet, legumes, mushrooms, quinoa and oatmeal are healthy additions.
2. Carbohydrates: Replace bread, potatoes, pasta and rice with the above.
3. Meat: Eat little or no red meat and replace it with fatty fish, lean poultry, tofu, whole eggs or mushroom-based meat substitutes.
4. Beverages: Drink 0.5 to 1.0 oz per day, mostly water, several cups of tea (green, white, chamomile, etc.) and one glass of freshly squeezed fiber-rich vegetable or low-sugar fruit juice. Coffee is healthy in moderation. Alcohol: maximum one drink per day, including alcohol-free days.
5. Dairy products: Replace dairy products with plant-based alternatives. Cheese and yogurt are allowed in moderation.
6. Supplements: Get Smart Health Supplements and Smart Longevity Supplements focused on lifespan. Supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals, the NOVOS longevity diet of the 21st century is an upgrade of the traditional Mediterranean diet.

Many of us put work tasks ahead of our mental and physical health. It affects our health, productivity and longevity. The human body is not designed to be tied to a desk or to be on standby 24/7. Nor does it work on poor nutrition, mindless eating when we grab, swallow and go. Having the right amount of good energy and fuel in the body makes us feel good mentally and physically and contributes to our productivity and career trajectory. And finding the right healthy diet can even add years to our lives.

Whatever you do, avoid suddenly reversing your eating habits. Introduce healthier foods slowly to increase your chances of success. Take it one meal at a time, replacing unhealthy foods with more nutritious choices such as serving baked chicken instead of fried chicken. Set limits on what you eat, just three specific meals a day, and stick to them. And finally, measure your appetite by the hour, not by your emotions after a long hard day at the office.