You are what you eat

Finding out that you are one bad decision away from a lifestyle disease is extremely sobering. Especially if you’re a person who knows that what one eats, drinks, and does can affect one negatively or positively.

My doctor recently put me on a strict diet as she was concerned about the possibility of my developing full-blown diabetes. I have a family history of diabetes, yet, call it wishful thinking or wilful ignorance, I was convinced that cup would skip me.

There were many signs, too, and my poor body tried to give me a heads-up so many times. Chief among those signs was stubborn hyperpigmentation/discolouration on my forehead, cheeks, neck, inner thighs, and armpits. I tried every recommended product to even skin tone that you could think of, but while they worked a bit on the rest of my face, my neck, inner thighs, and armpits remained stubborn.

However, I’ve been on the doctor-ordered diet for a month now and can honestly see and feel the difference. My skin over the past month has started to rejoice — it has become juicy and soft and, dare I say, the discoloration appears to be evening out.

The food I now eat regularly has done wonders for my skin —a lot of fatty fish such as sardines, avocados, walnuts, sweet potatoes, and yellow, red, and green peppers. These are all necessary for me and have the wonderful side effect of being good for the skin as well.

Drinking hot or cold green or hibiscus tea also does wonders for the skin — and it’s healthy too. “You are what you eat… if I’m eating junk food, refined food [all the time], I will have more digestive disorders. One of the main things that happen with a more refined diet, meaning more white flour, refined sugars, and all of that, is constipation, which impacts our [body and skin],” says Dr Ashiyana Singh, who is an expert in Ayurvedic practices.

Ayurveda is a natural system of medicine that originated in India and is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. When you’re constipated, this usually means the body cannot get rid of toxins correctly.

Those toxins can then cause breakouts, skin irritations, and other problems, Dr Singh explains. She says it is important that we eat as naturally as possible and in the most natural form as well.

She also recommends taking a 15-minute walk after meals. “In Ayurveda we believe in that, obviously with your vata constitute, you should not be eating cold salads only, you should also be eating a cooked salad, vegetables should be cooked because if you are not digesting properly and your food is still whole, you’re not getting any of the nutrients.

Your diet is the foundation for everything,” she says. In short, cook the food that needs to be cooked (carrots, root vegetables, etc) and don’t cook what doesn’t need cooking, so that you can get the full benefit. Knowing what you’re eating and why you’re eating it is important.

I used to eat a sugary breakfast that I considered healthy — oats with fruits and honey — but it didn’t work for me. I would often feel hungry and crave something sweet after a while. I have since learned that having protein and dietary fibre for breakfast works well for me.

I’m full for longer and don’t get sugar cravings. Surprisingly, Dr Singh says that some vegetables that we enjoy raw are being eaten incorrectly. “I love eating raw tomatoes but … lycopene [is] fat soluble. So, it’s only when I can break it down in fat that I can fully absorb it. It’s the same way with turmeric — the active [ingredient] is called curcumin, which can only be dissolved in fat and absorbed in fat,” she says.

For this reason it’s best to take turmeric with whole or almond milk, having it in a meal or taking it as supplement in tablet form with a meal that has fat in it. Everything hinges on what we eat — if you want beautiful glowing skin, there is a vegetable, fruit, herb, or tea for that. And if you want to stay healthy or reverse adverse health conditions, there is produce for that too.

Summer blueberry zinger smoothie by Megan Pentz-Kluyts

Ingredients

1 cup of low-fat milk or milk of choice 1 cup cooled-down rooibos tea2 tablespoons canola-seed oil1 tablespoon chia seeds2 small bananas, peeled2 oranges (or 4 naartjies), peeled1 cup frozen blueberries1 cup frozen strawberries

Method

1. Add everything to the blender in the order listed.

2. Blend until smooth and transfer into four tall glasses.

3. If your blender doesn’t blend frozen fruit well, you might consider lightly thawing your berries beforehand.

Berry spinach smoothie by Faaizah Laher

Ingredients

½ cup frozen berries1 cup fresh spinach¼ cup oats½ cup low-fat yogurt½ cup low-fat or plant-based milk1 teaspoon flax seeds1 teaspoon sunflower seeds3 teaspoons/ 12 whole almonds. Optional: 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a blender.

2. Blend until smooth and lump free. If your smoothie is too thick, add a few ice cubes or cold water until you receive your desired consistency. You won’t even notice the spinach in the smoothie as it does not turn green.

3. Serve immediately.