7 Ways to Make Your Desk Job Healthier
In an ideal world, none of us would have jobs in offices or at desks, and we’d all have the day free to roam the land, walking miles to hunt for tonight’s dinner or digging in the vegetable garden. Sadly, real life isn't that simple – and many of us rely on the jobs we have to provide ourselves with good quality, healthy foods to put on the table of an evening.
We know the health impacts long periods of sitting at a desk can bring about, so here are seven things you can do to make this kind of work healthier.
1. Take a movement break every hour
If your job forces you to sit still for most of the day, it’s important you take the time to move as often as you can. Try and schedule a five minute ‘movement break’ every hour, where you go for a walk and stretch. This will help to counteract the negative impact on your posture and muscle alignment of long periods of sitting down.
2. Walk to work
If you’re lucky enough to live within a reasonable distance to your workplace, why not walk (or even better, run) there once or twice a week?
3. Take the stairs
Simple things like taking the stairs instead of the lift can make a real difference, especially if your office is located on a high floor. If you can, why not incorporate some stair sprints into your breaks?
4. Take lunch outside
Whenever the weather allows, take yourself outside for some fresh air in your lunch break. It will give you a much needed break from technology and artificial light, as well as give you a real boost of vitamin D.
5. Get a light filter
If you’re concerned about the levels of blue light you’re taking in by staring at a computer, why not try a blue light filter for your screen?
6. Stand up / treadmill desks
Your boss may take some convincing on this one, but why not recommend standing / treadmill desks for the workplace?
7. Grounding mats
Grounding, or earthing, mats are brilliant if you want to get more connected with the earth. They slip under your desk easily – read more about them here
There we have it – seven simple ways to make your desk job much healthier. Have I missed anything? If you work in an office, what steps do you take to make it a healthier environment?
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18 Ways to Get More Veggies in your Diet
With most things in life, the key is ‘everything in moderation.’ Not that this means you can eat pizza in moderation, but you get my point. One thing that certainly shouldn't be moderated however is your intake of delicious, fresh veggies. We could all benefit from upping our vegetable intake, and certainly shouldn't be aiming for the paltry ‘5 portions a day’ recommended by so called ‘experts.’ If you’re running out of ways to boost your veggie intake, why not give some of these ideas a try?
Use them in:
- Soups
- Vegetable based juices
- Vegetable based smoothies – spinach, raw beets and pre roasted sweet potatoes go great in smoothies. Aim for a 50:50 fruit to veg ratio!
- Home-made guacamole
Hide them in:
- Sauces – like this romesco sauce or as a base to a Paleo pizza
- Baked goods, like these sweet potato and chocolate chip muffins
- Omelettes – try a spinach and red pepper omelette for a delicious breakfast
- Dips – why not try replacing the basil with spinach or kale in pesto?
- Curries – Why not throw some sweet potato, squash, courgette or mushrooms into your curry?
- Stews / Casseroles – You can ever add some extra veggies like onions, parsnips and carrots and blend them up to make a delicious fresh sauce
Make Paleo Alternatives:
- Make Paleo Tortillas with Lettuce Wraps
- Make Paleo Noodles with Courgettes – you may need a spiralizer!
- Make Paleo Spaghetti with a Spaghetti Squash
- Make Paleo Rice with Cauliflower
Eat lots of salad!
- Making your own salad is a great way to consume loads of fresh, colourful veggies in one sitting. You can throw together all sorts of leafy greens, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, avocado – just about anything really!
Snack on them raw
- Carrots, Cucumber, Celery and Peppers make excellent nibbles at snack time. Spread them with a little almond butter for a little indulgence if you like!
Make a vegetable based broth
- This is an excellent way to use up all your leftover vegetables – simply throw them all into a pot and cook very gently for a delicious broth!
Go to your farmers market
- A trip to your local farmers market can make you see vegetables in a whole new light. The colours, shapes and sizes of the produce on offer will be outstanding, and might just reignite your passion for vegetables. An otherwise boring tomato or bunch of kale will probably look much more fun here – so stock up at your local farmers market, and aim to walk away with at least one new vegetable.
How do you get extra veggies in your diet? Are there any ideas I have missed?
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What’s so special about grass fed beef?
Grass fed beef gets plenty of recognition on the Paleo diet, and rightly so. We know our ancestors would have undoubtedly eaten copious amounts of wild fed ruminants; not the sort that were shuttled in their droves into giant feed-lots, devoid of natural light and space to roam, and fed with industrialised slop made from genetically modified corn, barley and soya. But, ideology aside, what is it that actually makes grass fed beef superior to ‘modern’ grain fed beef? Is it worth paying extra for – sometimes double the price? In a short answer, yes. And here’s why…
As the demand for beef (and meat in general) rose significantly throughout the 20th century, ‘farmers’ began to reassess their production methods with one goal in mind. Profit. These beef barons were prepared to stop at nothing to decrease the production costs of each cow, with no concern for the animals’ welfare or for the welfare of the people eating the meat; and thus, factory farming was born. There were, of course, many who still wanted to do things the right way, and a divide became apparent. As factory farming has developed throughout the years, and cheaper, nutrient void food has become more available, this divide has become significantly greater.
One reason we eschew grains on the Paleo diet (apart from lectins, gluten and phytic acid), is the distinct lack of nutrient density that they offer in comparison with whole foods. If you genetically modify these grains, the nutrient density becomes even lower; practically non-existent. When cattle are fed a diet that is so devoid of nutrients, the meat they offer is therefore much less nutritious than that of an animal fed on a natural diet. This shows in the nutritional profiles of grass fed vs grain fed meat; grass fed is significantly higher in vitamins (in particular B vitamins, vitamin E, vitamin K and vitamin B12), minerals (including magnesium, selenium, zinc and calcium), CLA and Omega 3. We’ll come on to that last one again shortly. The lifespan of the cows also plays a part in the nutrients they offer; as factory farmed cattle have a much shorter lifespan (as they are overfed and under-exercised so that they reach the slaughter house in double quick time), they do not have time to build up the nutritional profile that they should do naturally. Quite simply, unhealthy diet + overeating + lack of exercise = nutritionally depleted beef. The same formula would also mean a nutritionally depleted human as well, which isn't really much of a shock.
We've spoke about omega 3 and omega 6 before, and how it is important to maintain as close to an even ratio as possible to reduce inflammation in the body. Thanks to their diet, grass fed beef is significantly higher in omega 3 than its grain fed counterpart. On average, grass fed beef has a ratio of around 2.5/1 (omega 6:omega 3). Depending on the grasses they graze on, it can be as low as 1:1. The ratio of grain fed beef, on the other hand, can exceed 20:1.
To decrease the production time, factory farmed cows are fed artificial hormones to fatten them up more quickly. The presence of these hormones have been linked to hormone irregularities in the humans who eat a lot of grain fed beef – which is another reason to source your meat carefully.
To summarise, grass fed beef is better for you, better for the environment, better for the economy, and better for the animals themselves. It’s the way that beef should be eaten, but sadly, it is expensive. If you are limited in how much grass fed beef you can buy for financial reasons, opt for leaner cuts of meat when you buy grain fed. There will be less of an omega 3:6 imbalance as the all-round fat content is lower. Toxins are also stored in the fatty deposits of the animals, so by choosing leaner cuts you’ll minimise the toxins that you consume. If you’re completely against buying grain fed, look for cheaper cuts of meat like shin and chuck roast, and cook them slowly. Offal is a great bet too.
Do you eat grass fed (or pastured) meat? Is it important to you?
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Why you must wash your pre-washed salad
If you buy a pre-washed ready to eat bag of salad leaves, do you tip straight out onto a plate – or do you thoroughly wash it first? The whole idea of bagged salad mixes is convenience, so it’s no surprise most people don’t wash.
But how do they wash the salad before they bag it? Well it turns out diluted chlorine is commonly used. The chlorine is used to kill any harmful bacteria to ensure the lettuce is safe for our consumption. Seemingly even organic produce is allowed to use a weak chlorine solution for this purpose. Whilst there is supposed to be no trace of the chlorine 24 hours after treatment, do you trust your salad to be chemical free?
With outbreaks of e-coli and salmonella, it’s not surprising the salad growers are keen to sanitise their product. With salad available all year round the pressure is on to produce a cheap product – often meaning growers don’t provide sanitary conditions for their workers – hence the contamination risk. Unfortunately sanitising salad doesn’t remove the risk of contamination, it just makes it less likely.
So what’s the answer? If pre-washed salad could still be contaminated and could contain traces of chlorine is it worth paying the price premium?
Wash your own
A far better option is to spend a fraction of the cost buying fresh, unpackaged greens. Get rid of any wilted, torn or bruised leaves and let them sit in a sink full of ice cold water for 20 minutes. Use a salad spinner to get rid of the water and roll in paper towels to get the rest of the water out. If you store in plastic bags with paper towels to absorb any remaining water, they should remain fresh for over a week in the fridge.
How to you wash yours?
