Boost your vitality:nutrition and natural antioxidants

You've probably already put a halved avocado in your fridge. Some time later it turned black. It just oxidized! The human body is exposed to the same principle of oxidation. Can we slow down this phenomenon? Nutritionist Nathalie Hutter-Lardeau enlightens you on the subject. It gives you the keys to boost your vitality!

Natural health:bringing energy to your body

How can you stay in great shape naturally?

Nathalie Hutter-Lardeau:To properly manage your vitality, you have to take three points into account:

- The food ,

- Physical activity ,

- stress management .

How do these three points translate into everyday life?

• Food covers our immediate needs but also in the longer term. A good balanced diet can be managed over a day or even a week. Our immediate needs are used to provide the energy necessary for our cells, so we need a good distribution of nutritional intake of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. To ensure good health and vitality over the long term, a supply of vitamins, minerals and trace elements is essential. To do this, put some color on your plate by choosing varied and colorful vegetables and don't forget fruit (one a day is already good)

• Physical Activity is important for the body. It's different from sport, it's about walking regularly, about an hour a day.

• For stress management , this corresponds for example to the rhythm of sleep that must be respected, as recommended by Chinese medicine. Active break or recovery techniques can be interesting to put in place, with the flash nap, the practice of self-massage or even stretching.

Natural antioxidants:fight against oxidation

What do you need to promote the vitality of your body?

The antioxidants fight against oxidation. Our body is like a machine, we use it, we wear it and we have to maintain it.

This oxidation creates aggressive residues in our body called free radicals. Our body has its own defense system to eliminate them but very often it is not enough. The antioxidants help it and allow it to better evacuate this waste.

By fighting the harmful effects of these free radicals, antioxidants can prevent certain neurodegenerative diseases and the appearance of certain cancers. It is also important to use them with care, never continuously, at the risk of blocking our body's own antioxidant defenses. A health professional will always be of good advice to inform you on this subject.

Are we all equal in the face of this oxidation phenomenon?

What matters is:age, diet , physical activity, if you smoke, if you drink, pollution… At each age, we have specific needs in antioxidants . They are more important at the beginning and at the end of life.

What are the main antioxidants?

You have:

- The vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A),

- Minerals , such as selenium and zinc,

- Polyphenols (large family of molecules found in fruits and vegetables) such as flavonoids and carotenoids,

- And other compounds like coenzyme Q10 that our body makes but sometimes not in sufficient quantity.

Natural antioxidants to put on your plate

What are the natural ingredients in which we can find antioxidants?

You can find antioxidants in all fruits and vegetables. Among the richest ingredients are:

- pomegranate (with ellagitannin),

- turmeric (curcumin),

- green tea (epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG),

- spirulina (phycocyanin),

- garlic and onion (organo-sulphur compounds such as allicin, or selenium in red onion).

You can read the recipe book of Professor David Khayat (head of the cancer department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, teacher at the Pierre-et-Marie-Curie University ):“The anti-cancer kitchen” (Editions Odile Jacob). I participated in this book in which you will find recipe ideas containing these antioxidants.

What should you put on your plate?

Diet is important for natural health . Half of the plate should consist of fruits and vegetables. Choose seasonal fruits and vegetables because the vitamins and minerals are in greater quantity. Everyone must adapt their diet according to their needs.

A few tips to boost your vitality?

You have to put color on the plate, that is to say, think about fruits and vegetables:

- not a day without a fruit,

- not a week without legumes (lentils, broad beans, beans),

- not a week without crucifers (all forms of cabbage, including broccoli),

- engage in regular physical activity,

If it's difficult to do all that, food supplements help you manage your deficiencies and your particular needs. In case of doubt or personal health problems, talk to your doctor or pharmacist to secure their use.