With the corona virus expected to affect around 80% of our population, instead of panicking and achieving nothing but a cupboard full of anti bac and loo roll; try and give your body a fighting chance by aiming for optimum nutrition.

By nourishing your body with the essential vitamins and minerals it needs, you are giving your natural immune system a hand in doing what it does best....protecting you against disease.

Below are some essential vitamins and minerals which help our immune system 👇🏼

🍉 VITAMIN A
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Men - 700ugs
Women - 600 ugs

Sources include oily fish, dairy, orange, red and yellow fruits and vegetables such as carrots, peppers , tomatoes, mango, peaches, apricots and leafy greens.

🍅 150g baked sweet potato - 1283ugs
100g spinach - 260ugs
2 eggs - 137ugs
90g broccoli - 90ugs
50g mango - 58ugs

🥭 VITAMIN C
RDA for men and women - 40mgs

Sources include fruit and vegetables. Two satsumas gives you your total RDA 👍🏼

🥦MAGNESIUM
RDA for men - 300mg
Women - 270mg

Sources include dark green leafy veg, nuts and chocolate!

🥬 100g raw spinach provides 80mg
50g dark chocolate - 101mg
3 Brazil nuts - 63mg

🍗 IRON
RDA for men - 8.7mg
Women - 14.8mg

Food sources include:
- Heme iron (more easily absorbed) - meat, liver and shellfish
- Non heme iron - vegetables and cereal products

💪🏼 150g lamb steak provides 3.3mg iron
2 medium eggs - 2.2mg iron
100g raw spinach - 1.9mg iron
50g dark chocolate - 4.6mg iron

🍳 ZINC
RDA for men - 9.5mg
Women - 7mg

Food sources include meat, dairy, eggs and cereals.

🍖 150g beef mince provides 6.6mg zinc
150g lamb steak provides 7.1mg zinc
Half a tin of chickpeas provides 1mg zinc
2 eggs - 1.5mg

Happy eating everyone 🎊

Hola! 🌺

Welcome to my wonderful world of nutrition!

As I continue my degree in Human Nutrition, in this space I will break down the chunky complex facts into fun size, digestable pieces and share my evidence based knowledge with you.

As we all know, knowledge is power and together we can start a non judgemental, healthier journey on the way to our best lives!

The media is a world wind of contrasting information right now and it's exhausting trying to decide what to believe. As a student on my way to becoming a fully qualified nutritionist, I promise to share nutritional truth with you in a way that is understandable and relatable.

So here we go!

Much love 🙏🏼

Making porridge delicious is pretty much my favourite thing to do in the kitchen 🖤 so I have listed a recipe below for you to give it a try.
Make sure you tag #thequalifiednutritionist when you do!

Pretty much any of the ingredients below can be switched up to suit your tastes but I always make sure I have 2 of my 5 a day in there plus a selection of nuts and seeds for that fat/carb/protein balance 😉

🔅Ingredients are roughly measured
3 heaped tbsp oats
3/4 cup of almond milk
2 or 3 Medjool dates cut into pieces
Sprinkle ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg
1 heaped tbsp Chia seeds or ground flaxseeds
6 pecans
1 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp dark choc chips
1 heaped tsp smooth peanut butter
Handful of frozen raspberries (defrosted in microwave)

🔅Method
× Pop your oats, almond milk, dates, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small non stick saucepan

× Gently heat until it starts to simmer and thicken (I like my porridge really thick but it's up to you how thick you make it)

× Once thick enough, pour into a bowl and top with chia/flaxseeds

× Arrange your raspberries, peanut butter, choc chip, nuts and seeds
- Drizzle with a little maple syrup if feeling naughty 😜

× Stir together and enjoy! ❤️

'Gamechangers' and 'What the Health' have explained to us all the (valid) positive reasons for eating a purely plant based diet, but they failed to mention some pretty important stuff!

Iron deficiency is the most common deficiency in the UK (and the most common cause of anaemia), especially for us girls, and by cutting out meat and fish completely you could be putting yourself at increased risk.

Let me share some info on iron... 🤓

First of all, there are two types:
🔸Heme iron (easily absorbed) found only in meat and fish
🔸Non heme iron (not very easily absorbed) found in meat, fish, plant based foods, dairy and eggs

For the "regular" person, absorption of non heme iron is approximately 5-12% of the total iron. This is because our bodies have to alter it in order to absorb it.

With heme iron, 20-30% of total iron is absorbed.

But do not despair!
First things first, let me clarify that this doesn't mean there are "good foods" and "foods to avoid", just try and be mindful of what you are eating 🖤

🥑 Remember, BALANCE IS KEY 🥑

× If you have been feeling abnormally tired or short of breath, please go to your doctor and ask for a blood test.
It's a quick and easy way to determine your iron levels.

Should you have low iron levels, there are certain tricks that can aid your iron absorption.
🔹Vitamin C and iron like to work together - when eaten together, the vitamin C aids iron absorption!
🔹Evidence has shown that the same is true of Beta Carotene (found in red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables).

The flip side of course is that there are also foods which inhibit the absorption of iron (useful if you are diagnosed with iron overload, not so useful if you are diagnosed as deficient!)
▪️When consumed with iron rich foods, high levels of calcium (over 300ml) and eggs can reduce your body's ability to absorb the iron.
▪️The same is true of polyphenols (found in tea and coffee) and oxylates (found naturally in plants such as spinach, beetroot and rhubarb).

If you are low on iron your GP may prescribe supplements to get you back to healthy levels.

I am in no way here to tell you how to eat when I have no idea of your individual circumstances, but I hope this raises a little awareness to stay in tune with how you're feeling and taking measures to keep yourselves healthy.

Much love x

Evidence shows that we are struggling to eat our 5 a day.

So, how can we up our intake without opting for drastic measures that are unsustainable?

Small and easy changes 👍🏼

No you don't have to become vegan, give up meat or stop eating sugar if you don't want to.
Just add more plants to your diet for a healthier balance 🍍

🔹Breakfast...
Try starting the day with two portions, You could try:
× adding 30g dried fruit to porridge and topping with fresh berries

× making a smoothie (you can fit at least 2 portions in this one!)

× adding half an avocado and a portion of tomatoes/spinach/mushrooms to your eggs on toast

× have a slice of toast but also have a banana and an apple

× overnight oats with berries, plus a banana

🔹Now let's talk snacks...
Try and make a couple of snacks a fruit and a veg.
Fruit makes a great snack, it's portable and you can easily fit a tub of strawberries/grapes/mango/a couple of satsumas in your bag.
If fresh fruit gets too expensive, use thawed frozen berries or mango with yoghurt 👍🏼
Veg sticks and dip is another obvious one
I also love roasted butternut squash marinated in Italian herbs and paprika eaten cold the next day 😃

🔹Lunch
Go for at least 1 portion for lunch.
Add roasted veggies to your salad box, think Asian inspired slaws, veggie pasta salads, roast veg and cous cous, even a tin of soup can contain one of your 5 a day! Adding a portion of beans or lentils to your lunch will count as a portion plus give you a protein and fibre boost!
Think outside the sandwich box and you'll be winning!

🔹Dinner
Aim for 2 veggies with your dinner, this should be easy peasy (get it?!) .
Sweet potato counts (white potatoes don't I'm afraid!) 80g of most veg counts as a portion, check the link at the end of my post for the NHS guidelines on portion sizes.

So, let's break this down:
🔸2 portions at breakfast
🔸2 as snacks
🔸1 for lunch
🔸2 for dinner...
You're on track to beat your 5 day!

This is a rough guide of how I plan my day and some days you'll find your hitting 7, 8 or 9+ portions without thinking too much about it!

Yes food preparation is key. If you're low on time do the best that you can! Buying pre-prepared veg, soups, hummus pots and carrot sticks is okay!

▪️All pulses (lentils, chickpeas, beans etc) only count as 1 portion, no matter how many you eat!

Replacing convenience snacks and starchy white carbs with fruit, veg and pulses takes a bit of mental adjustment but I promise you will end up feeling lighter and so much more energised for it 🖤