What an amazing summer we have had in West Cork! I’m so enjoying these last warm days, in particular the sea feels just delicious right now. But I’m also pretty happy that we’re starting to get back to routine and I always think of this time of year as a good chance to take stock of our health. Summer can be overflowing with fresh food, sunshine, salads, berries and time outdoors. Autumn asks a little more of us. We’re suddenly juggling school, work, busy evenings and increasingly unpredictable weather.
So rather than waiting until everyone is exhausted and passing bugs around the house, September is a good time to put a few simple health habits back in place.
One of my favourite autumn health challenges is to see how many different plant foods I can fit into a week. We all know that vegetables and fruit are good for us, but variety matters too. Plant foods provide us with fibre, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and a huge range of other compounds, while different types of plants also provide food for different members of our gut microbiome.
The often-quoted target is 30 different plant foods a week. But don’t panic – we’re not talking about 30 different vegetables! Beans, lentils, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices all count.
Oats count. Chickpeas count. Walnuts count. Garlic, ginger and parsley count. Berries count. If you’re curious, try writing down every different plant food you eat over the course of a week. You might be surprised at how quickly they add up – or, equally, how easy it is to fall into the same handful of foods every week.
There is fascinating research around plant diversity and the gut microbiome, including work from the American Gut Project which found an association between eating a greater variety of plants and having a more diverse gut microbiome.
30 isn’t a magic number and it certainly isn’t a limit – my goal is to try and exceed it – and some weeks that’s really easy. But it gives me a focus on variety (particularly in terms of vegetables) and that feels like the right thing to be focussing on.
A few extra vegetables in your soup, some seeds and berries on your breakfast, beans in your dinner and fresh herbs scattered over your meals can make a surprisingly big difference – both to flavour and to your health!
If you want to add a little extra variety on a week that’s not flowing well, there are some interesting liquid preparations available in your local Health Food Shop
One new one that has caught my eye is Salus One Essence, from the makers of Floradix. It contains 67 different aqueous extracts of herbs, fruits and vegetables, alongside added vitamins and minerals.
The ingredient list is certainly unusual. Alongside familiar foods such as broccoli, spinach and artichoke, there are ingredients that most of us probably don’t eat very often – including walnut leaf, gentian root, black carrot, lavender flower, rosehip peel and green oat herb.
Obviously, I’m not suggesting that drinking One Essence means you can tick 67 plants off your weekly list and forget about eating vegetables! But I do like the idea of a broad range of plant extracts as an addition to an already varied diet – a nice healthy top-up.
And there are two other liquids I’ve been reaching for this autumn. Zell Oxygen Plus and Immunocomplex, from Dr Wolz, are liquid nutritional preparations containing combinations of nutrients and plant-based ingredients.
Zell Oxygen Plus is designed as nutritional support, containing vitamins, minerals and other nutrients involved in normal energy metabolism – this is a good one to think of if someone is recuperating and needs a ‘tonic’ to put some pep back into their step.
Immunocomplex contains a combination of nutrients and plant-based ingredients, including beta glucans, and is aimed at supporting normal immune function – I reach for this one when I’m feeling under the weather and really don’t want to get sick.
Of course, there’s no magic bullet. The basics still matter most – eating plenty of plants, moving your body, getting outside during daylight, prioritising sleep and making time for the people and things that make you feel well.
Which brings me neatly to another area of health that we’re becoming increasingly interested in: the relationship between what we eat and how we feel.
‘Food, Mood and the Amazing Gut-Brain Connection’ – Marilyn Glenville at Organico
We are very excited to be hosting a new talk this year with renowned author and nutritionist Marilyn Glenville. Marilyn has been coming to Bantry to give talks on Women’s Health for many years. This year she is coming to give a different talk, one on using your diet to help balance mood and help us all to keep our brains as healthy as possible.
We’ve always understood that food affects our physical health, but we’re learning more about the fascinating relationship between our diet, our mood, our energy, our concentration, our sleep – and the health of our brains.
At the heart of the talk is the fascinating gut-brain connection. Our gut contains trillions of microorganisms and researchers are discovering more all the time about the relationship between our gut microbiome, our nervous system and our mental wellbeing.
And this isn’t simply a subject for people experiencing mental health difficulties. It’s relevant to all of us. For teenagers, nutrition can be part of supporting energy, concentration and wellbeing during the pressures of school and exams. For busy adults, it can be about maintaining energy and resilience when life feels relentless. And as we get older, supporting memory and brain health becomes increasingly important.
Marilyn will also look at nutrition in relation to ADHD and autism, looking at how food and lifestyle can form part of an overall approach to supporting focus, energy and wellbeing.
She will explore the close connection between the gut and the brain, and how food can influence mood, energy and concentration. She will look at the effects of blood sugar highs and lows, hidden sugars in everyday foods and the key nutrients needed to support brain health. The discussion will also examine the relationship between food, stress, sleep and mood, what we are learning about gut bacteria and mental wellbeing, and the role of nutrition in ADHD and autism. Marilyn will consider why some diets may leave us feeling worse rather than better, while offering simple ways to support focus, energy and emotional wellbeing, as well as maintaining brain health and memory at every age.
There will also be plenty of opportunity to ask Marilyn questions during the evening, including one-to-one questions at the end.
Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD – Nutrition, Mental Health & Wellbeing: The Amazing Connection Between Your Mind, Body, Food and Mood: Monday, October 5, 6.30pm-9pm. Upstairs at Organico, Bantry. Tickets €20
Your ticket also includes €10 redeemable against purchases on the night, tea and coffee during the interval, and the opportunity to ask Marilyn your questions. There will also be 20 per cent off products purchased at the seminar.
Places are limited, so book your ticket through www.organico.ie and come along. We’d love to see you there.
