There are several core lifestyle factors that have a huge impact on our health and wellbeing. Of these, diet is perhaps the most influential with certain foods even known to raise or lower your risk of some conditions.
Therefore, it is worth taking the time to eat healthy, balanced meals when you can.
In our increasingly busy lives though, this can seem an almost impossible task.
But one expert shared what he would consider a perfect lunch – and it can be thrown together in just minutes.
In a post on Instagram, nutrition guru Professor Tim Spector said that people ask him all the time what to have for lunch.
He said: “One of the questions I’m asked most often is what do I actually eat? When it comes to lunchtime, it’s often a race against time.
“I want to minimise my time in the kitchen and maximise my time enjoying my food.”
Prof Spector, who is a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and founder of the Zoe health app, revealed he packs his meals with plenty of polyphenols – plant compounds with antioxidant properties.
These are thought to help lower blood pressure and prevent cancers and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
“Here’s a little hack to make a fibre-packed bowl with plenty of plant points in less than five minutes,” Prof Spector said.
“A simple mix of precooked lentils (from a packet but you could also prep a big bowl at the start of the week), polyphenol packed red cabbage and red onions, a carrot and cabbage sauerkraut, pistachios, flaked almonds, spinach and extra virgin olive oil for flavour but also to increase absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
“Delicious! I hope you’ll try it.”
One scientific study, published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity journal, highlighted the health benefits of polyphenols.
“Polyphenols or polyphenol rich diets provide significant protection against the development and progression of many chronic pathological conditions including cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular problems and ageing,” it said.
Prof Spector also recommended adding in some kind of fermented food, which is good for the stomach and can have a big impact on inflammation.
He added: “I’ve got some fermented foods in there. It’s just whatever I had in the fridge.
“Easy to get in between podcasts, and I’m going to show you how to make it simple.
“Mix of spinach, cabbage and red onions, the red or purple varieties for additional polyphenols.”
Examples of fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir and yoghurt.
A study, by researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine in 2021, concluded that a diet rich in fermented foods “enhances the diversity of gut microbes and decreases molecular signs of inflammation”.
Prof Spector previously shared his go-to breakfast which he eats every day – a simple mix of yoghurt, kefir, berries and as many nuts and seeds as he’s got around.