5 habits that are bad for our health
changed by the liver before being eliminated from the body.
If we are consuming a significant amount of what I call ‘‘liver loaders’’ (alcohol, processed foods, trans fats, synthetic substances to name a few), it can heavily impact on our biochemical pathways and begin to take its toll on our energy, health, fat utilisation, sleep and disease prevention. As a general rule of thumb, have at least two alcoholfree days a week as well.
Before-dinner snacks
Rushing through the door and engulfing everything and anything in your path, is something I’m sure many people relate to. Despite making good food choices all day, when you arrive home nothing is safe – next minute you’ve lost count of how many crackers with cheese or dip you’ve eaten, and you find yourself finishing a bottle of wine.
If you know that before-dinner snacks are your downfall, be prepared. Either have a snack before you leave the office, have nourishing options on hand at home, or eat afternoon tea.
Eating takeaways at work
With lots of late nights it’s easy to fall into the trap of eating dinner at work. I’m sure we can all agree that having takeaways most nights doesn’t do your health and wellness many favours. Despite the increasing availability of options, takeaways still tend to be higher in poor quality salt, oils and sugars than home cooking (particularly those made from scratch).
Try to plan ahead. If you know you’ve got a huge deadline and you’ll need to work late, make a larger batch of food the night before and take leftovers or employ another strategy that works for you.
Not making moving a priority
You’ve been planning on getting to the gym all day. However, just before you slip your trainers on – you get handed another job and have to stay to complete it. Depending on your commitment to movement it’s easy in that moment to think – ‘‘ah well it wasn’t meant to be today.’’
Prioritising movement is essential. Perhaps, you need to consider getting up earlier to ensure you get movement done in the morning – on top of giving your body the movement it needs, you will arrive at work energised and uplifted.
Dr Libby is a nutritional biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. The advice contained in this column is not intended to be a substitute for direct, personalised advice from a health professional. Visit drlibby.com.