The newsletter which curates & delivers the best nutritional advice, fitness hacks & holistic health strategies to your inbox every week.

💪🏼 HEALTH HACK

The Everyday Poison Causing Weight Gain, Disease & Health Problems + 9 Simple Steps To Easily Reduce Your Intake!

Everybody knows that sugar is incredibly bad for you & your health, but what is common sense (avoiding this poison) is unfortunately not really common practice...

In fact, we are actually seeing the exact opposite trend...

Back in the 1700, the average daily sugar intake was around 4.9 grams they estimate...

This then rose to around 22.4 grams each day (18 pounds each year) up until 1840...

Then sugar consumption exploded & as of 2009, 50% of Americans consumed approximately 227 grams (1/2 pound) of sugar each day – equating to 180 pounds each year!

It has only increased since… 😢 

Today, the average person consumes 70 grams of fructose each day – 300% above the recommended amount!

'Fructose' in its purest form, as part of naturally occurring fruit (like when you pick & eat a delicious apple from a tree) is healthy in moderation, but when added to processed food – as we've covered in a previous newsletter – is stripped of all of its fibre, nutrients & will lead to serious health problems...

These health problems have been as thoroughly researched, studied & well-documented as just about anything else in science, giving us a very good idea of exactly what happens to the human body when high quantities of sugar are consumed on a regular basis...

Firstly, the surge in sugar consumption aligns with a sharp increase in diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease & even certain cancers...

Beyond physical health problems, sugar's addictive nature is comparable to that of cocaine, as some studies suggest: it triggers a similar response in the brain & can lead to addictive behaviors or mental disorders in adults as well as in children...

Also weight gain...

So, that's some more info about what you already know which is that sugar is bad for you...

More importantly, here are some suggestions for what you can actually do about this:

1. Read Food Labels

Be vigilant about checking labels. Sugar can hide under various names like sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose & more.

Opt for products with lower added sugar content or choose alternatives without added sugars.

2. Avoid Fast-Food Restaurants

There are 2 choices to make here...

1. which restaurants you dine at (the most important choice)

2. which of the items on their menu you choose to order (made much easier/harder by that first choice)…

By avoiding fast-food restaurants (which are incentivized to make highly-process their food as well as add as much sugar as possible to make the food addictive) & instead, choosing healthier restaurants to dine at to begin with…

…that 2nd choice will be made easier for you & you'll be well on your way to reducing the quantity of sugar you consume, drastically improving your health!

3. Cook at Home

Better yet, you can prepare your meals at home to have better control over which ingredients that you use & food you end up making. This is why for health-minded people, homemade meals will often contain less (even no) sugar compared to other dining options.

4. Choose Whole Foods

Prioritize whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains & lean proteins. These have natural sugars & offer essential nutrients without added sugars found in processed foods!

5. Limit Sugary Soda's & Drinks:

Seek to replace those Cola's, RedBull's, Caramel Macchiato's & other high-sugar beverages with healthier options like water, regular coffee, herbal teas, etc...

6. Opt for Unsweetened Options

Choose unsweetened versions of yogurt, cereals & other packaged foods. You can add natural sweetness with fruits or a touch of honey (better quality ‘sugar’) if needed.

7. Control Portions

Be mindful of portion sizes, especially with desserts & sweets. Enjoy them occasionally in smaller portions to satisfy cravings without overindulging.

8. Snack Wisely

Instead of reaching for sugary snacks, opt for healthier alternatives like nuts, seeds, veggies with hummus, or fruits to curb hunger between meals.

And finally, a broad strategy...

9. Gradual Reduction / Small Steps

What you ideally want to do is track & gradually reduce sugar day by day, week by week, month by month. Odds are you're not going to change everything overnight, but with small, simple, gradual, steps, amazing things become possible!

🌿 HEALTHY RECIPE

A Fantastic, Healthy Recipe To Help You Increase Your Vegetable Intake & Drastically Improve Health!

With only 1 in 10 adults getting the recommended intake of vegetables per day (which is a shocking-low 3 servings — you should actually be getting a lot more than that if health is your priority)...

…this simple, clean, healthy & alkaline recipe can help you hit more than that in one go!

This is an easy meal that you can have for lunch or dinner while lowering your meat intake (a very healthy thing to do for your digestive system)…

Some have it as a side, which is a great idea, but this is one of my go-to healthy lunches.

Mix up the spices & enjoy tons of different flavours...

Also to consider, here is a general list of how long different types of vegetables will take to roast at 425°F/220℃.

The size of vegetables will determine how long it takes, but these timeframes are a good gauge:

• Sweet potato – 40 minutes

• Brussels sprouts – 35 minutes

• White potato – 35 minutes

• Tomatoes – 30 minutes

• Onion quarters – 30 minutes

• Butternut squash – 25 minutes

• Parsnip – 25 minutes

• Aubergine/Eggplant – 25 minutes

• Cabbage – 25 minutes

• Carrots – 20 minutes

• Broccoli – 20 minutes

• Cauliflower – 20 minutes

• Green beans – 20 minutes

• Bell pepper strips – 15 minutes

• Okra – 12 minutes

• Snap peas – 10 minutes

• Zucchini – 10 minutes

• Squash – 10 minutes

• Sugar peas – 8 minutes

We say 'generally' as season/what's local at what time (& other factors) matter too, as we'll cover in future editions...

But, in short, we should ideally be eating what's local & in season (vs something that's been picked still unripe, packed & shipped halfway across the world to be available on our supermarket shelves all-year-round.)

Without further ado, this week's recipe:

• Serves: 4 people

• Time: 50 minutes

• Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:

• 400g sweet potatoes

• 8 large tomatoes

• 2 large white onions

• 4 portobello mushrooms

• 6 garlic cloves

• Avocado oil

• Himalayan pink salt or sea salt to taste

• Black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Wash & scrub organic potatoes, leaving skin on for optimal nutrition

2. Halve tomatoes & set aside

3. Peel & quarter onions

4. Crush, peel & dice 3 garlic cloves, peel the other 3 & keep whole

5. Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces

6. Place potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic & mushrooms on a baking tray in a single layer

7. Drizzle vegetables with avocado oil, rubbing it in or brushing it on

8. Sprinkle diced garlic on tomatoes

9. Season vegetables well with dried oregano, sea salt & black pepper

10. Place in preheated oven at 425°F/220℃, checking every 15 minutes, taking off vegetables to rest that are cooking ahead of time

11. Turn potatoes when begin to brown (around 20 minutes)

12. Add back any vegetables that were resting for final 5-15 minutes

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💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Continuing the topic of food, here’s a quote worth pondering…

As we covered in an edition of our 'Potencia Mind Newsletter'… you want to make the practices & habits you want to be build as easy & frictionless as possible…

• If you want to stop drinking/drink less alcohol, don't keep it in the house (& definitely don't build yourself a wine cellar.)
  

• If you want to eat less sweets/junk food, don't keep it in the house & definitely not out on the table where it's constantly visible... (tell yourself you can get it when you want it & only eat what you can, don't buy any extra to bring back home.)

The reverse also applies:

• If you want to eat more fruits, but yourself a nice bowl & keep them (like apples, banana's, pears or seasonal fruits) out on the kitchen counter…
  

• If you want to drink more water, get a bottle & keep it out in the open.

You might think these changes are too small to make a difference, but you'd be wrong. It works more subconsciously than consciously & lots of amazing research proves how little changes like this affect our behavior, either positively or negatively <- that part is up to you.