Q: My job is a sedentary one. I also have a tendency to snack on a lot of sweet foods and am steadily putting on weight. What foods can help me feel full naturally?

A: First of all don’t stop snacking as eating meals or snacks every three or so hours is a great way to keep your blood sugar levels and your weight stable. If you go for long periods without food your blood sugar level will drop and you are more likely to crave unhealthy snacks and stimulants to give you an energy boost. The secret is to snack on the right foods so have a healthy breakfast, a mid morning snack, lunch a mid afternoon snack and supper.

 

The most important thing you can do is to start the day with a healthy breakfast, such as eggs or baked beans (sugar free ones) on whole grain toast or oat porridge with seeds and fruit. Foods like this provide a slow release of energy during the day and will prevent that mid morning drop in blood sugar that causes you to crave sweet foods and snacks. Eating breakfast is in fact one of the best ways to prevent weight gain. Also try to incorporate some organic nut butters e.g. peanut, almond, cashew etc in your diet as far from being fattening they can make you feel fuller for longer. Nuts and seeds (with a small amount of dried fruit) are rich in essential nutrients and very filling and provide a slow release of energy. They are great to keep on your desk or in your bag or car. Do avoid ones covered in chocolate, flavourings and salt though.

Food in season: Peas

The pea is a type of legume which has been grown by man since the Bronze Age. Historically, legumes have been associated with cultures within which people regularly attained great ages (such as the Japanese, with a soya and tofu-rich diet), and a recent study conducted under the auspices of the World Health Organisation found that eating legumes such as peas was the most important dietary predictor of survival in old age, with a 7-8% reduction in mortality hazard ratio for every 20g increase in daily legume intake.

Peas have earned their spurs as a staple food through their excellent mix of vitamins, minerals and protein. Just 100g provides 5.42g of protein (that’s up to 15% of a woman’s recommended daily intake for protein, and 12% of a man’s); weight-for-weight, full-fat milk provides 3.22g and a hard-boiled egg just over twice that, so it’s a pretty generous serving.

 

They are a terrific source of vitamin C, providing 100% of your recommended daily intake in 100g (40 mg). A high dietary intake of vitamin C can reduce the risk of cancer, with this antioxidant vitamin protecting DNA from damage induced by free radicals and preventing the oxidation of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol which would eventually lead to blocked arteries and cardiovascular disease. It also enhances your immune system and ensures healthy teeth, bones and skin.

 

Peas are also extremely rich in B vitamins – including thiamine (B1) (27/33% of a man/woman’s recommended daily intake per 100g), niacin (B3) (12/16%), B6 (12/14%) and riboflavin (B2) (10/12%) – all of which are essential for metabolising food and therefore boosting our energy levels. They meet a good proportion of your daily requirements for iron, too, with 1.47 mg/100g being 17% of a man’s and 10% of a woman’s recommended daily amount. Iron is essential for red blood cell formation, and a deficiency leaves you fatigued and anaemic.

 

In addition, 100g of peas provides 32.5% of the recommended daily amount for folate, which not only prevents neural tube defects such as spina bifida in the developing foetus but also interacts with riboflavin to reduce levels of homocysteine, an amino acid which is linked to higher risks of coronary heart disease and strokes. And there’s more hearty news: research suggests that diets high in fibre can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, and peas provide 5.1g of protein for every 100g eaten.

 

Eating peas could be a great way to protect your bones, too. Researchers in the Netherlands and the US have recently found that a high dietary intake of folic acid reduces the risk of osteoporosis-related bone fractures, again by lowering those homocysteine levels, while peas also offer lots of bone-protective vitamin K (24.8mcg), phosphorus (108mg/100g; 20% of RDA), copper (0.176mg/100g; 15% of RDA), potassium (244mg/100g; 7% of RDA) and manganese (0.41mg/100g; up to 41% of daily needs.).

 

These little green powerhouses are a good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids which are essential for eye health, protecting against cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (the most common cause of sight loss in older age). And they might even improve your sex life – they are bursting with zinc, a mineral essential for healthy reproductive cycle in woman and testosterone production in men. If you’re short on zinc, the consequences could be poor libido, erectile dysfunction and even infertility. Just 100g of peas will satisfy up to 31% of a woman’s and 23% of a man’s daily zinc needs.

 

 

Most of us know about the importance of eating a healthy breakfast for weight management but now scientists have proved that not only is breakfast important for those who want to lose weight, the bigger the breakfast the better.

Researchers from the Hospital de Clinicas in Caracus, Venezuela, looked at how breakfasting habits affected the weight of almost 100 young, obese women. They found that those who ate around half of their daily calories first thing lose more weight in the long term than those who start the day with a small breakfast. And they are less likely to pile the pounds back on again. It is thought that eating a meal packed with healthy protein and whole grains helps cut cravings for sweet and starchy foods later in the day as well as boosting metabolism, or fat burning.

 

This study isn’t the first to make a link between a healthy, hearty breakfast and weight loss. Earlier this year a study of thousands of British women and men found that those who ate the biggest breakfast put on the least amount of weight over a five year period. Researchers concluded that skipping breakfast starves the body of nutrients and prompts it to store more of lunch and dinner as fat, whereas consuming more food at breakfast gives the body time to digest food more efficiently.