[imagesource: here]

The urge to grab a doughnut (or five) when you’re feeling low is pretty standard.

We’ve all been there, and heightened stress levels during a pandemic aren’t helping things.

Consuming ‘feelgood’ fatty and sugary foods, however, isn’t a long-term solution. That brief bout of happiness you feel while shovelling the grub into your face dissipates pretty quickly.

There’s some solid science behind this: healthy foods keep the brain fit and functioning, while junk foods leave the brain sluggish.

The foods we eat have a direct correlation to the part of the brain that is involved in learning, memory, and mental health – the hippocampus.

Healthy diet choices create more volume in the hippocampus than unhealthy diets, and when the hippocampus is doing its best work, you feel better.

Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist and author of the new book This Is Your Brain on Food, told Huffington Post that “during COVID-19 and whatever lies beyond this time, we anticipate a significant surge of [mental health] disorders, specifically anxiety, depression and stress”.

Naidoo says that the brain and the gut are connected biochemically by the “gut-brain axis”, or the “complex communications network that links the emotional and cognitive centres of the brain with intestinal functions”.

The connection is so strong that the gut is often referred to as the “second brain”.

She also provides some guidance on what you should be incorporating into your diet to assist in staying healthy.

We found that most of the foods described below can be found in one place, with zero preparation required, and home delivery – Sir Fruit.

They’ve been keeping the 2OV team’s nutrients and vitamins sorted for years, and sharing is caring, so here goes:

Prebiotics and probiotics

“Prebiotic and probiotic food sources are a very good basis to start regulating your gut health and therefore your mental health”, says Naidoo.

You’ll find active cultures, a top source of probiotics, in yoghurt, and prebiotics in foods such as oats, berries, and bananas.

You’ll find all of the above in a Sir Fruit Smoothie.

The Pineapple, Coconut, Banana, Yoghurt and Oats smoothie is a personal favourite.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables contain valuable prebiotics, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, including vitamin C, found in oranges and kale, which can help reduce anxiety.

They’re also natural sources of fibre, and “really good food for your gut bacteria”.

“When your good gut bacteria is fed by these nutrients, they thrive. And by thriving, they help your mood, help you feel better so that your chances of inflammation are lower.”

An easy way to get your daily dose of fruit and veg without slaving over the stove or forcing yourself to suffer through a bowl of bland broccoli, is with a cold-pressed juice.

Cold-pressed juice can help ease the strain of detoxification on your body by boosting immunity and health.

Try the Sir Fruit Apple, Cucumber, Kale and Mint to get the nutrients flowing.

Spices

If you aren’t adding spices to your meals, I’m going to assume that you aren’t a fan of taste.

Naidoo suggests turmeric for optimum health.

“Putting turmeric in a shake, a smoothie or soup is an easy way to go,” she said.

“You really only need a quarter teaspoon a day with a pinch of black pepper, and it targets anxiety, depression and many other conditions.”

You can absolutely make soup or a shake, or, you could just introduce a Spicy Turmeric health shot into your daily routine.

New to the range of Sir Fruit health shots is the highly recommended Calming CBD shot, which speaks for itself.

We could all use a little ‘calm’ these days.

Right now, Sir Fruit is running a competition to celebrate reaching the 10 000 followers mark on Instagram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

😊😊10K GIVEAWAY😊😊 We have reached 10 000 followers and we’re super grateful for all our fans, new and old for this milestone. Thank you, thank you, thank you! To celebrate this we’d like to give back to our fans by gifting 3 lucky winners a month’s supply of Sir Fruit! 🍎🍊🍋🍐🍓🍇🥭🥳 Here’s how it goes: 1. Make sure you are following us (@sirfruit_) 2. Tag two friends that you would like to share this with and include #SirFruitRocks. 3. Reposts and Tags gets you extra points. 4. Competitions closes Friday 18th September at 10:00am 5. Prizes will only be delivered to Joburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. Winners outside of these areas will need to collect their prizes at our factory shop. And GO!✌️ 📸: @thehonestgrazer

A post shared by Sir Fruit (@sirfruit_) on Sep 1, 2020 at 3:49am PDT

Three lucky winners will receive a month’s supply of Sir Fruit, which is an ideal way to get started on a healthier diet.

All you have to do is hit that ‘Follow’ button on Instagram, visit the post above, and tag two friends with whom you’d like to share the competition.

Reposts and tags earn you extra points, so don’t be shy.

The competition closes on September 18 at 10AM, so hustle.

Prizes will only be delivered to Joburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Cape Town. Winners outside of these areas will need to collect their prizes at the Sir Fruit factory shop.

[source:huffpost]