Three pillars of optimal health 

At Super Synbiotics, we believe the basis of a healthy life can be summed up in three main areas – diet, mental balance, and exercise. Within these three areas there are several different actions we can commit to for a healthier life. Remember that you don’t need to do them all at once, introduce them one or two at a time and work your way up at your own pace. Read more here for more tips on how to create good habits.

1. Diet

Add: 

• Eat nuts, seeds and avocados for healthier fats 
• Eat wild-caught, oily fish or meat from grass-fed animals (up to 300g/week) 
• Take care of your stomach with probiotics and prebiotics – either with a supplement such as a synbiotic or by eating more fermented vegetables and plant fibres 

• Let water be your main drink during and between meals 
• Be sure to get plenty of vitamin D, especially in the winter months 
• Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other plant-based foods 
• Use plenty of herbs and spices, fresh or dried 
• Incorporate some form of periodic fasting – for example, you can delay breakfast by a few hours to allow the body to recover properly 

• Ensure the majority of your food consists of home-cooked food which remains as close to its natural ingredients as possible. 

Avoid: 

• Reduce sugar and sweeteners – these offer no nourishment and have negative effects on your health 
• Avoid manufactured products, as well as other processed foods and junk food 

• Don’t heat food up unnecessarily – above all, avoid over-frying and burning food 
• Reduce refined carbohydrates such as pasta and white bread – their fibre and nutrition content is generally very low and has a similar effect to sugar on the body. This type of food has also been linked to overeating and metabolic illnesses. 
• Avoid trans-fats as these increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, among other things, and have been linked to inflammation. Trans-fats are less common in food production today but can still be found in certain mass-produced cakes and sweets, as well as some fried foods. Keep an eye out for hardened or partially-hardened fats on the ingredient list. 
• Avoid weight-loss diets – these are rarely effective in the long term and the fact is that repeat diets are one of the strongest predictors of future weight gain. Focus instead on feeding your body with nutrition and good energy. 

  2. Exercise

• Take part in some time of fitness training every week – jog, ride a bike, swim, dance – whatever gets your pulse racing and gets you out of breath. Fitness training, or aerobic training as it’s also known, has positive effects on both your mental and physical health. 
• Do some kind of weight training every week – if you’re not a member of a gym, create a training session using your own bodyweight for resistance (some examples of exercises are: press-ups, squats, and lunges) which you can do either at home or outdoors. Besides strengthening muscles, weight training also leads to improved sensitivity to insulin and a stronger bone structure. 
• Try to get some physical activity every day – for example, you can try walking instead of taking the bus, take the stairs instead of the lift/escalator, and take all your phone calls standing up. People are made for movement! 

3. Mental balance

• Get plenty of sleep. Too little sleep can lead to insulin resistance, worsened physical and mental performance and can even affect the hormones that control our appetite. If you’re having problems sleeping, there are several things you can try – avoid bright lights in the evenings (especially blue light from screens), make sure you’ve had some physical activity earlier in the day, and keep your bedroom cool and dark. 
• Take care of your relationships – social relationships are not just important for your mental well-being but actually for your physical health as well. People with close relationships to friends and/or family are usually more healthy and tend to live longer. 
• Avoid unnecessary stress as it can raise your levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which tends to cause inflammation in the body if it’s secreted in excessive amounts for long periods. This in turn can lead to an increased amount of fat around the abdomen and increased risk of various illnesses. Reduce stress by moving around, spending time in nature or try activities such as deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness. 
• Take a break from technology every so often. Ideally in the evenings before bedtime when the blue light from screens tricks the body into thinking it’s daytime, which can make it harder to fall asleep. 

• Challenge your brain regularly – read books, learn something new, find some work that offers you a challenge and a chance to develop, or try out a new activity in your spare time.