How to eat well for your whole body

Collaborative Post | For many reasons not just related to vanity, people tend to focus their diets on losing or gaining weight. But actually looking after your body and nourishing yourself is far more important than aesthetics. What you eat doesn’t just affect your gut and your waistline, you see, but your entire being.

Indeed, what your mother told you about eating carrots so you could see well in the dark? Turns out there is more than a grain of truth to that old wife’s tale. Roshni Patel, BSC (Hons) MCOptom, an expert optometrist from vision specialists Lenstore: “The best diet for your eyes is a normal, well-rounded diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables. Vitamin A, particularly from green, leafy vegetables like kale or broccoli will help maintain healthy eyes. Sweet potatoes, carrots, and pumpkins are all also great.”

Also beneficial are omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in nutrient-dense fish like salmon. They help to treat dry eyes and keep them healthy. You don't need to get them from fish if you're vegetarian or vegan either as chia seeds, flax, edamame, and flaxseeds are all great sources. But individual foods are rarely helpful as we are beings that enjoy varied and flexible diets. So, which diet plans are best-equipped to nourish your body without expanding your waistline?

Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

The low-carb diet

While people often cut out carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread and rice if they want to lose weight fast, a minimal carb intake can actually optimize your health and prevent disease. You’ll just need to ensure you replace those carbs with lots of eggs, fruits, veg, nuts, fish and red meat and cut down on any and all processed foods, where possible.

The Mediterranean diet

Named for the region in which it originated, this diet is wonderful for preventing heart disease and involves lots of the kind of foods you’d expect to find at a fine Italian or Spanish restaurant. This meant lots of olive oil (extra virgin, of course), fruit, veg and fish, but also whole grains and dairy products. Chicken is also heavily featured in this diet.

The Paleo diet​

This one has been growing in popularity in recent years amongst celebrities and influencers and is named for the fact it revolves around the foods our paleolithic ancestors would have eaten. For this reason, it’s also commonly known as the “caveman diet.” Essentially, this means cutting out all processed food. If you think a caveman might have had access to it, then it’s fair game.

The vegan and gluten-free diets

Finally, we have the diets that cut out all animal products and wheat. This could be a tough pill to swallow for many but the health benefits are massive. Those on vegan and gluten-free diets will see improved heart health and a better blood sugar balance. Some, however, might struggle with the lack of natural protein, in which case they should complement the diet with protein powders or shakes.


​Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post