Strategic Eating for a Healthier Body

While it’s true that you can’t spot target when it comes to losing weight and that just doing abs exercises isn’t necessarily going to get rid of that pooch you have been trying to eliminate, what you can do is eat certain foods to help improve the health of certain parts of your body.

When these body parts and systems are at their healthiest, not only will you be able to lose weight more effectively, but they will work more efficiently, making you feel better, have more energy and be more confident in your own body. 

Here’s what to eat for different areas of your body:

1. Healthy fats for clear skin  - Whether you choose avocado, coconut, ground flax or chia seeds, consuming adequate healthy fats every day is important for good skin health.  Your skin secretes natural oils, which help cleanse your pores and maintain good complexion.  Eating too many unhealthy foods, being stressed or using poor skin products can upset the balance of fluids within your pores leading to excessively oily skin or clogged pores and breakouts.  When you eat healthy fats, your body is able to use these to maintain good oil production, in turn ensuring you maintain healthy complexion and avoid any unwanted pimples or blemishes.
2. Brain – Have you ever noticed that walnuts are almost shaped like half a brain?  They are also really good for your brain! Packed with healthy fats, including monounsaturated fats and Omegas, as well as acting as a source of protein, the brain requires an adequate intake of fat to [perform its regular functions and maintain health.  The other nut that boosts brain health is Brazil nuts.  Partly because of their similar healthy fat and protein content as walnuts, but also because Brazil nuts are an excellent source of Selenium, a mineral which is important for healthy cognitive functioning.
3. Digestive system – There’s a reason you see ginger added to lots of things like juices and smoothies and why it’s a great way to ease indigestion and stomach cramps.  It is a very powerful root for the digestive system, and one that can be used to treat nausea and upset stomach, reduce gassiness and bloating and help improver overall digestive health.  The next time things aren’t feeling quite right in your gut, chop up some ginger and add it to some hot water to enjoy some ginger tea, or put a knob in your smoothie and blitz it in!
4. Adrenal glands – Not only is sweet potato good for everything from toast to porridge to pudding to baking, but it is also packed full of nutrients and an excellent source of magnesium.  Along with leafy greens, and the baobab superfood – other excellent sources of magnesium – these foods are great for boosting your adrenal health.  Your adrenals are responsible for helping control your release of adrenaline and your stress response cycle and are necessary to help return your body to baseline after a stressful situation.  Maintaining them in a healthy state is required to make sure this happens and that you are able to maintain a properly functioning adrenal system.