Dietist Evgenia Rozum: Summer food has a positive psychological effect

Can seasonal fruits and vegetables at least restore our taste buds if not for life? How can Pacci and Dolce beds help fight stress? How much berries should be taken? What can help with a little military ration? In Ukraine, KP spoke on the issue Dietitian Evgenia Rozum

According to the expert, in the current stressful situation in which we all live, food is a part of happiness, at least part of the opportunity to return to a comfortable reality. At the beginning of the war, people were usually divided into two groups: those who ‘ate’ and those who did not, and those who did not. And summer with berries, fruits, and vegetables can straighten these extremes or at least bring more benefits to both.

Growing greens as a powerful anti-anxiety

– Evgenia Sergeevna, how can summer help us?

– For those who suffer from anxiety, berries and fruits are definitely more beneficial than muffins or sweets. at first, They bring more joy – taste and beauty, Secondly, They have enough light. Yes, it is fructose, and people who are overweight should not abuse it, but it is definitely better than roll or pasta.

For those who can’t “flood” anything with their own, swallowing soft berries or fruits is much easier and more enjoyable. Or smoothies made from them – liquid food is best in such situations.

– Can only summer gifts be considered useful sweets?

Yes, but only slightly. In the current context, the benefits are that beautiful and delicious foods have a positive psychological effect. It allows us to go back to the pre-war summer, where peace, comfort and happiness were, and this is very important.

In regions where food is currently scarce, at least meat, or even fish, can be substituted. If you have your own kitchen, it is a natural product.

If you can buy it in a store, it can be canned fish, it is better in its own juice, but in oil – it is better to be completely without protein. Eggs should be included in the diet, and they are more nutritious than meat.

In such a difficult situation, any food can save, now the job is to survive, so we eat what we have, and then we fix all the “distorted” levels as much as possible.

Many of those who have no experience in gardening are no longer potatoes and tomatoes but are trying to plant at least some green beds …

– It’s great! at first, It is physical activity Secondly, Contact with the earth and plants, third – Care, the most important anti-anxiety. Taking care of the planted plants, taking care of our future, we hope that something will grow, and that will help – all of this is a significant psychological condition. So beds on the street, on the windowsill, in flower pots and in pots – any option would be fine.

Enjoying food helps lower cortisol

– Antioxidant foods are important in times of stress. Where can you find them in the summer?

– They are abundant in berries and fruits. All colors – black, purple, burgundy, orange, green – are antioxidants, these are called carotenoids. Therefore, in large quantities in green, fresh vegetables. Strong antioxidant is a fat-soluble vitamin E rich in nuts and seeds. And this is an indestructible and long-lasting thing, and this is a good help for people who are now hiding in the ground and in bomb shelters.

– Can “anti-stress” greens be eaten indefinitely?

People who have been malnourished for some time, and who have not had the opportunity to eat normally, should be careful. It is best to add greens to the cooking vegetables first, and gradually move to regular fresh vegetables and herbs.

– Are there any perfect champions among the greens in terms of usefulness?

– All this is important to us, diversity is important, because different plants contain different essential oils, slightly different identical carotene molecules. Very useful spinach, celery stem and leaves, fragrant herbs – cilantro, basil, arugula, although not everyone likes them, the usual daisies and fungi.

You can use young shoots and nets, and swans and dandelions. There is a large amount of bites in our gardens and orchards, which are “officially” weeds, but the young leaves are very useful, and grow under our feet. All this will be a good support for the diet, especially if it is very small – from cereals or milina.

– Vitamin C is thought to reduce the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Lean on sweet pepper, with plenty of it?

When it comes to vitamin C, it is important for us to get plenty of food – fruits, berries, and vegetables. It works best when mixed with plant dyes and absorbs well when we get it from food. It is abundant in any berry, cabbage, sweet peppers, herbs, onions and garlic. Almost all plant products contain it, in a new form – too much, partially destroyed in cooking. This vitamin is found even in our favorite potatoes, and is most often expected during baking, or when boiling water is poured before cooking.

Night strawberries “give it” a severe appetite and insomnia.

– In the middle of the strawberry season, can this berry, which is popular with many people, be harmful to anyone other than allergy sufferers?

– Anyone with high blood sugar or overweight, should take strawberries in moderation. In principle, no one should exceed 200-300 grams of daily allowance, divided into two doses. If you want more, you can buy it once, but in general, it is better to control it.

If everything is in order, introduce the berry to the diet, but not on an empty stomach and in moderation. If there is discomfort, pain, strawberries should be completely removed, or empty or added to cheesecakes.

Since children are often allergic to this berry, you need to start with half, then give it whole, and then increase the number of berries.

– Why do you want to eat strawberries?

– Not only after strawberries but also after other sweet and savory fruits. The acids in it stimulate gastric juice, the berries dissolve quickly – and again a feeling of hunger. That is, they stimulate the appetite.

When is the best time to eat them?

– Both strawberries and other berries should be eaten 15-20 minutes before the main meal for healthy people. Because if you do this in the difference between breakfast or lunch, you will want to eat berries one hour later. And we should observe breaks between meals – 3-4 hours, and maybe 5-6 depending on how much food. In any case, you need to listen to yourself: it is best for you to start with sweets, or it is better to eat sweet berries.

Excess weight or a violation of carbohydrate metabolism – increase sugar, increase insulin, and then berries are the best time at the end of the meal as a dessert.

– Is strawberry the right choice?

– Not the best option. For dinner, I recommend vegetables, a light vegetable soup, a piece of fish. For the evening, strawberries are best left in small quantities and in combination with some foods. Like a neutral dinner, this berry leads to crazy cravings at night or in the morning, such food does not allow many to sleep peacefully.

by the way

You can only pass with the usual berries

– Does the standard up to 300 grams only work for strawberries or all berries?

– In principle, everyone, but remember that this is the total daily dose for the average person with a little exercise. And that does not mean that you can eat 300 grams of cherries, 300 grams of strawberries and so on every day from fruits or berries.

You can buy more sour or sweet and sour fruits – currants, cherries, blueberries, unsweetened blackberries, strawberries, blueberries. By the way, any blue, black, purple berry is very important for the brain, intestines, liver and immune system. But the size. The importance is not on what you eat, but on how much and on what scale everything changes. If there were a lot of berries, but no protein, complex carbohydrates in the form of porridge, enough vegetables – the diet is not balanced. And these berries will be much smaller than what we ate on the basis of a balanced diet.