The Nutritional Institute

Not a day goes by that you don’t see someone with a coffee cup in their hands, sipping away. More than 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide on a daily basis, and South Africa is one of the coffee hotspots in the world with its growing trend of specialty coffee consumption.

Your big build-up of training towards the 94.7 cycle race on the 18th of November is almost over. Have you devoted your life to racing 100km at top speed over hilly terrain with the hope of a sub-3hr time, or is your target to simply complete this challenge, no matter how long it takes and how sun burnt you get?

Spring is a great time of the year to give yourself a healthy mind and body check. Sometimes we all need a little reminder about what is good for us, so we’ve made a few, simple, suggestions to kick-start you this October.

As I sit here pondering what I would like to write for you this week, I feel the warmth of the spring breeze drifting through my open window. Looking out at the garden, it is a beautiful Johannesburg day in late September – still dry from the winter droughts, but we’ve started to experience the first of the summer thunderstorms.

I believe we could all benefit from relying less on meat and upping our intake of plant-based foods. They provide a variety of micronutrients, antioxidants and phytonutrients, as well as dietary fibre that feeds our healthy gut bacteria and keeps our hunger at bay.