What Causes the Mid-Afternoon Slump, and How to Deal With It

Many of us enjoy a piece of chocolate (or 10) as a sweet treat after dinner or throughout the day. Of course, too much of anything is not a good thing, but could some chocolate be good for your gut?

Balanced diet
I’m not suggesting that you go out and eat nothing but chocolate, but there is a healthy way to enjoy chocolate which will help to fuel the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Stay with me, this isn’t a trick and is all about better choices when you crave a sweet treat!

Learning how to take care of your ‘gut bugs’ is an important part of taking care of your health. Our gut bugs play several important roles in our body and are essential for optimal health and wellbeing, so it is essential that they are fueled correctly.

Plant foods contain beneficial compounds called ‘polyphenols’ which are linked to many health benefits, including supporting heart health and preventing cancer and diabetes. In fact, more than 8,000 polyphenols have been found in everyday foods such as berries, vegetables, whole grains, cereal, legumes, tea, coffee and wine. Perhaps the most interesting thing to know about polyphenols is that they are found in cocoa – the main ingredient found in dark chocolate!

There have been several research studies looking at how cocoa may influence gut bacteria showing links between cocoa consumption and an increase in helpful bacteria and a decrease of potentially harmful bacteria in the gut. Other great things about cocoa-based foods is that they can assist in reducing blood pressure and have a positive impact on your blood sugar levels.

The right chocolate
Not all chocolate is created equal with natural cocoa containing the highest levels of polyphenols and antioxidant activities followed by dark chocolates and finally, milk chocolate. White chocolate was found to have no antioxidant activity. Manufacturing processes can destroy considerable amounts of polyphenols making it important to look for higher quality minimally processed cocoa-based products. For example, many recipes call for Dutch-processed cocoa when in fact this processing significantly reduces the polyphenols compared to natural cocoa powders.

Of note, Interestingly, it appears adding milk fat to cocoa can also reduce your body’s ability to use these beneficial polyphenols. So, move over milk chocolate, it’s time for good quality dark chocolate to feature! Here are some of the best ways to enjoy your chocolate and keep those gut bugs nice and happy:

• Choose 80 per cent cocoa chocolate. As a basic rule of thumb, the more cocoa solids a chocolate contains the more beneficial polyphenols and less added extras it contains.

• Avoid added ‘extra’ ingredients. Chocolate can be high in refined sugar and saturated fat content derived from the cocoa bean itself but try to choose lower fat and sugar options with minimally added milk fats, vegetables oils or sugars. This way, you can still enjoy chocolate (moderately) without worrying about your health or waistline!

• Get your cocoa from the health food section, not the baking aisle. When baking cakes and biscuits try replacing dutch-processed cocoa with natural cocoa powder.

• Dark chocolate covered nuts such as pecans, hazelnuts and peanuts could boost the benefits. These nuts contain the same polyphenols as cocoa, so may help to boost the intake of these health-promoting compounds. This also gives your chocolate the extra kick of flavour by adding your favourite nut variety!

• Another idea is to add cocoa powder to a wholesome smoothie packed with healthy ingredients such as rolled oats, banana, peanut butter and your preferred non-dairy milk. You’ll get a healthy dose of fibre, wholegrains, healthy fats and protein plus a nice chocolatey hit – perfect for that 3pm lull!

While some chocolate can be beneficial for health, consuming cocoa-based products still adds calories into your diet. The key with these swaps is to enjoy in moderation as part of a healthy balanced diet

So, you enjoyed a few celebratory drinks, dove head-first into the Christmas trifle, and had an extra helping (or six) of assorted cheeses and chutneys from various party platters – you enjoyed your holidays and that’s OK. But let’s be real, your gut health is suffering and now you’re thinking it’s high time to press reset. You may be wondering, what’s the best way to get my health in check?

Forming new habits can be challenging. In fact, it can take between 18 to 254 days to change a habit! This explains why many of us are great at making new years resolutions, but have a hard time sticking to them. The fact of the matter is, the benefits far out way the challenges – and that’s where we need to focus. So here’s a few new habit-making tips that your gut bugs will love.

Try new plant foods

As creatures of habit it is really easy for us to gravitate to the same sorts of foods. This is because they are familiar, we know what they taste like, we know how to cook and prepare them or even that the family will eat them.

Research shows that the more diverse our diet in plant-based foods, the more diverse our gut microbiome is, making it more resilient to disruptions.

This makes sense, because if we eat the same sorts of foods, we nourish the same sorts of microbes. So, why not try something new that you would usually cruise past in the supermarket? Some gut-friendly foods you may not commonly consume are millet (grain), fennel (vegetable), white beans (legume), carombola or star fruit (fruit), linseeds and brazil nuts.

New habit tip: Park your trolley or stand in a section of the supermarket, green grocer or farmers market that you wouldn’t usually frequent. Take a look around, learn what foods are there and make a deal with yourself to give something new a go.

Move your body

Movement is good for us in so many ways. Not only does it help to improve our mood and keep us physically strong, but it also helps our gut health by increasing the diversity in our gut microbiome.

The Australian physical activity guidelines suggest any activity is better than none, but aiming to be active on most, if not all days of the week is preferable, with 150 – 300 minutes of moderate intensity activity, 75 – 150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity or a combination of both.

New habit tip: Arrange to meet a friend or two to go for a walk and make this a regular gig. For many of us, meeting people is a great motivation to get us out and about and moving our bodies.

Plan your meals

Meal planning is a task that most of us would like to do but somehow find ways not to.

Research shows that planning meals in advance is linked with higher intake of fruit and vegetables^. As many fruit and vegetables contain nourishing prebiotics this is great news for your gut microbiome.

Another benefit of planning your meals is that you can structure the week ahead to reflect your eating style. If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate plants in your diet throughout the week, you could plan some meat-free meals or space out which meals include red meat, poultry or fish – making sure the majority of these are full of plants. This ensures that your gut is receiving the nourishment it needs all week long.

New habit tip: Before you decide that this is too hard or drive yourself crazy trying to plan every meal, start small. Plan one to two meals a week and build on this down the track. You’ll be surprised at how much a couple of planned meals can make a difference. Plus, not only will your gut bugs thank you, but you will save money by reducing your food wastage and ordering less take-out.

Summary

Don’t feel bad about indulging in the celebrations. Be patient and kind to yourself, because this is a lifestyle, not a quick fix. You have to remember that creating new and healthier habits can take some time to form.

If you’d love to learn more about what your gut is doing and how it can influence your health, I use a lab called Microba who can comprehensively assess every bacteria residing in your gut.

Like fruits and vegetables, many spices and herbs have been shown to have biologically active compounds that benefit human health. One major benefit is attributed to their ability to reduce inflammation. The inflammatory process is complex, but many health experts agree that chronic inflammation is a common denominator among many chronic diseases.

Cooking with Anti-Inflammatory Spices and Herbs

Since many spices and herbs have anti-inflammatory properties, the bioactive compounds found in plants are often included in dietary supplements and standardized to ensure an amount that has been researched to show benefit. Cooking with these same spices and herbs that are used as supplements, tinctures, teas, and oils can contribute to your overall intake of these healthful plants. There are probably some of these anti-inflammatory seasonings in your spice cabinet right now, but before you get cooking, we have outlined some information on this topic to help you learn more:

What are Spices?

A spice is a plant substance used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food. Turmeric is a spice that is commonly used in the condiment mustard and can play all of the roles just mentioned. Parts of the plant that are used as spices:

• Seed
• Fruit
• Root
• Bark

What is a Herb Versus a Spice?

Herbs are also plants, and like spices, they are also used for flavoring or as a garnish. Certain herbs such as rosemary are also used for preserving food because of their antioxidant properties. The terms ‘spices’ and ‘herbs’ are sometimes used interchangeably but are distinct botanically and in culinary use. Parts of the plant that are used as herbs:

• Leaves
• Flowers
• Stem

What are Anti-Inflammatory Spices?

Anti-inflammatory spices contain active compounds that have been shown to reduce one or more markers of inflammation. Some markers and mediators of inflammation used in research and diagnosis include:

• Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)
• Nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)
• Interleukins
• Eicosanoids
• Cyclooxygenases (COX) and Lipoxygenases (LOX)
• High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP)

TNF-α, NF-κB and interleukins are cytokines (signaling proteins involved in triggering the inflammatory response). For example: fat tissue, especially the type of abdominal visceral fat seen in obesity, can secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines leading to systemic inflammation in people with obesity.

9 Spices with Anti-Inflammatory Properties:

1. Sesame has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties in preclinical and clinical studies.
2. Turmeric (and its main bioactive constituent, curcumin) is a very popular anti-inflammatory spice with many studies demonstrating efficacy. Clinical and preclinical studies indicate that turmeric and curcuminoids like curcumin may help manage atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and more.
3. Ginger was shown to reduce CRP and inflammatory cytokines in participants with diabetes and osteoarthritis.
4. Saffron has demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in preclinical studies. In participants with allergic asthma, saffron reduced CRP levels.
5. Garlic has anti-inflammatory activity in preclinical and clinical studies. In a study of overweight and obese women with osteoarthritis, garlic improved pain and reduced the pro-inflammatory adipocytokine (a cytokine produced by fat cells) called resistin.
6. Caraway has some data that it may be beneficial in inflammatory bowel conditions like colitis.
7. Cardamom has several clinical and preclinical studies demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects. In obese participants with fatty liver disease, cardamom reduced levels of CRP and inflammatory cytokines. In overweight and obese pre-diabetic women, cardamom reduced CRP. Cardamom may exert its anti-inflammatory effects through inhibiting the NF-κB pathway.
8. Nutmeg has some preclinical data indicating it may have potential as a pain reliever due to its inhibition of COX enzymes, a mechanism similar to some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
9. Paprika prevented an inflammatory response from UV damage to skin in people. Paprika also suppressed TNF-α and resistin in adipocytes (fat cells).

Cooking with spices and herbs is a great way to add flavor to your food and expand your palate beyond table salt. Different cultures often have a set of spices associated with the particular cuisine. In addition to isolated spices, you can find spice blends designed for seasoning specific types of cuisine or proteins in your grocery store, at your local farmers market, or even at dedicated spice stores.