Simple steps to a healthier life

If better health is one of your goals in 2017, the best way to start is by making improvements within three key areas — sleep, nutrition and staying active. Tanya Bradshaw, certified holistic nutritionist consultant at Landmark Collaborative Health, suggests these tips:

Better sleep

1. Avoid drinking coffee after lunch. Coffee can decrease your sleep hormone, melatonin, for up to 10 hours and generally cuts its production in half.

2. Avoid sugar, other stimulants and alcohol three hours before bedtime. Stimulants will raise your cortisol (a hormone produced by the body) and blood sugar levels, and ultimately keep you awake. Alcohol might help you fall asleep quicker, but it can lead to a disturbed sleep, research has found.

3. Eat regular meals and snacks, with lots of fibre-rich foods to keep blood sugar stable. The more stable your blood sugar is during the day, the more stable it will be at night, and the better sleep you will get.

4. Manage your stress by finding coping mechanisms that work for you. Normally your cortisol levels will start to dip at night so that you can get some sleep, but if you are stressed, levels will remain higher and keep you awake.

5. Try a magnesium supplement before bed to help relax your muscles and ease you into sleep.

Better nutrition

1. Reduce your sugar intake! Sugar is the biggest contributor to inflammation in the body, which suppresses your immune system. It hides in processed foods such as crackers, granola bars, breads, wraps, sodas, juices and condiments.

2. Reduce your refined carbohydrate intake and choose whole grains instead for an abundance of nutrients and fibre. This means less bread, bagels, wraps and cakes and more steel cut oats, quinoa and whole grain brown rice.

3. Eat more healthy fats, especially omega-3 rich foods such as flaxseed and chia seed.

4. Increase your vegetable intake while eating less meat in general. Acid/alkaline balance is very important in the body. Grains, dairy and meat are acidic in the body, while vegetables and fruit are alkaline. The more acidic the body is, the more the body will invite disease. So choose more plant-based protein sources such as beans, legumes, nuts and seeds.

5. Drink more water! We all know that we need to drink more water — so do it!

Better exercise

1. Drink more water! The more hydrated we are before our exercise, the better we will perform. The more hydrated we are afterwards, the better our recovery.

2. Choose coconut water over sports drinks. Coconut water is full of the essential electrolytes needed to replenish the body after intense activity, without artificial sweeteners and colours.

3. Eat two to four hours before exercising to give your body the energy it needs to fuel the activity. Choose complex carbohydrates for longer-lasting energy.

4. Eat again within two hours of exercising to restore the fuel that was just used up.

5. Protein is essential after exercise to help the body repair and build more muscle.