After a period of over-indulging, many of us are back to work and feeling like somewhat of a detox is in order! The start of the year is a great opportunity to set yourself goals and resolutions to help make your 2020 the best possible, and if your health and wellbeing is a priority, we want to help!

Breakout spaces, beer fridges and ping pong tables in the workplace might spring to mind when you’re thinking about workplace wellbeing. Wellbeing has certainly become a big focus for many companies, and features of the office environment are helping businesses to look after the health and happiness of their staff.

In addition to the office environment and as part of our #WellbeingJanuary, we've been chatting to the experts at SuperWellness, and they've helped us to understand and prove just how strong the relationship between nutrition and wellbeing actually is!

Let's delve deeper to show you just how important nutrition is for your overall wellbeing, and how it can be improved to start your year the right way!

How Does Nutrition Affect Wellbeing?

Food-mood connection

The relationship between nutrition and wellbeing is often referred to as the 'food-mood' connection. Studies have linked poor diet with mental health struggles such as depression and anxiety, and suggest that improvements in nutrition can help with both.

Your body needs good nutrition in order to function properly! Provide your body with the nutrition it needs, and you can experience improved sleep, increased energy and reduced illness!

Healthy Habits to Improve Nutrition - told by SuperWellness

Do you feel that you need three coffees to get going in the morning? An overflowing diary, a never ending to-do list that always seems to get longer, not to mention mental stress. There seems to be no end to the demand on our energy resources, doesn’t there?

In fact fatigue and, closely related, its impact on stress and mood, is one of the top concerns expressed by the employees we work with through our corporate programmes – and their biggest ‘Want to fix – NOW!’ so we focus on energy a lot with our programmes, and I’d like to share with you some of the approaches which we’ve found to work the most effectively.

1. A blood sugar balancing diet

The most common reason why people feel fatigued is blood sugars that are up and down all day. Typically they might drop mid-morning and then again after lunch: the ‘mid-afternoon crash’. Often this pattern also involves feeling very tired first thing in the morning as well. Each of these energy lows drive you towards instant ‘pick me ups’ like coffee and sweet or starchy foods, which inevitably perpetuates the cycle.

Sound familiar? Here are some top tips for overcoming this daily rollercoaster:

- Reduce sugar as much as you can – you can do this gradually, starting with any added sugar in hot drinks, then sweet foods, fruit juice and fruit based smoothies.

- Replace refined carbohydrates with the ‘whole’ version (e.g. wholemeal bread instead of white) and limit the overall proportion of carbs to no more than a quarter of your meal.

- Eat protein foods, such as fish, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils, with every meal, as protein makes you feel satisfied and prevents cravings for carbohydrate foods. They are very helpful for weaning yourself off sugar.

2. Including whole foods with energy-critical nutrients

When it comes to energy production, ‘fuel’ alone is not enough. Every single forkful is a chance to top up your nutrient bank account. So what are the key nutrients to target for energy and where can you find them?

- Iron: the most common deficiency in the world, iron deficiency anaemia means that the body doesn’t have enough iron to produce haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is a protein that binds to oxygen, enabling red blood cells to supply oxygenated blood throughout the body. Iron is most bio-available from red meat and poultry but it is also available from vegetarian whole foods such as lentils, beans and leafy vegetables.

- B vitamins: some of the B vitamins help the process of making energy from the food you eat and others, such as B12 are more important for forming red blood cells. Good sources are proteins such as fish, meat and cheese, but also leafy green vegetables and beans. If you are vegan, it’s worth getting your B12 levels checked regularly and taking a supplement if necessary.

- Magnesium: this mineral helps with energy production as well as relaxing muscles and nerves, providing ‘calm energy’. Some of the richest sources of magnesium include: almonds, cashews, peanuts, spinach, black beans, avocado and brown rice.

It’s worth buying organic if possible as multiple studies show greater levels of vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus than non-organic varieties of the same foods.

With this fantastic advice from SuperWellness in tow, you can make alterations to your diet that will boost your wellbeing in a whole range of ways! Keep your eyes peeled throughout January for more tips and tricks on how to boost your health and wellbeing.

SuperWellness are workplace nutrition specialists offering help and support to employers and employees looking to improve their nutrition and wellbeing at work.