This is landing in your inbox on Jan 31st so it feels like a good time to share three practices I’ve focussed on throughout the month to help me age well in 2025. So far in January, we’ve written about the longevity boosting benefits of the so-called ‘flavo-diet’, and the importance of activating brown fat – both great ways to start the year.
In addition, I’ve been optimising my mornings to gently nurture my health. I’ve introduced, or re-introduced, three simple practices:
- Each morning this month has started with 10 minutes of sun salutations. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s a sequence of movement that synchronises breathing with 10 yoga postures. The movements flow from one to the next, alternating between flexion and extension, so the whole body is opened up. It’s a lovely way to greet the day and has alleviated the lower back ache I experienced at new year. I use a very simple, free app called, appropriately enough, Yoga Sun Salutation. The origins of the practice are lost in time, but in Hindu mythology the sun god, Surya, is a symbol of health and immortal life. I’m not chasing immortality, but research published in 2011 linked a regular sun salutation practice to improved muscle strength, endurance and body composition.
- I’ve consciously upped my protein intake in the mornings. We know that protein helps maintain muscle and reduces the risk of frailty as we age. And while almost no one in the developed world has a protein deficiency these days, very few of my health coaching clients are reaching a basic daily intake of 1g gramme of protein per kilo of body weight. I’ve been aiming for around 20g of protein each morning, a smidge over one-third of my daily intake. This looks like oats, chia seeds and Greek yoghurt or two eggs, smoked salmon and some cottage cheese. In the photo I’m scrambling eggs in a tiny Parisian kitchen as we’re away for the weekend!
- This may sound a little ‘out there’, but each morning – before I get out of bed – I set an intention that the day ahead will be a good one for my health, and I will put my brain first. In my coaching practice I talk a lot about ‘brain-first’ living to emphasise the importance of taking care of our cognitive health. It’s so easy to let it slip down the to-do list and put the needs of others – partners, children, parents, bosses – before our own. So I set an intention for a ‘good brain health day’ to help me stay on track. There are some great studies that show how setting an intention makes us more likely to perform an action, and the more specific the intention, the more likely we are to implement it. I’m not sure I can quantify whether it’s working, but I certainly feel calmer and more focussed as I go about my day.
And one more thing…. the ’non-industrialised’ diet
A report crossed our desks this week that was too good not share straightaway. A team from University College, Cork, have found that a diet inspired by the eating habits of non-industrialised societies can significantly reduce the risk of several of the chronic diseases of ageing.
Just three weeks on the diet promotes weight loss, decreases bad cholesterol and reduces both blood glucose and inflammatory proteins. The research team believe the main driver of these changes is improved gut microbiome. Industrialised, ultra-processed foods dramatically reduce the variety and quantity of the bacteria in our gut. They studied people from rural Papua New Guinea and found much more diverse microbiomes, thriving on a rich variety of dietary fibre, than in industrialised nations.
The key tenets of the diet are:
- Plant-based focus, but not vegetarian: mainly consisting of vegetables, legumes, and other whole-plant foods. One small serving of animal protein per day (salmon, chicken, or pork).
- No dairy, beef, or wheat: excluded because they’re not part of the traditional foods consumed by rural Papuans.
- Very low in processed foods that are high in sugar and saturated fat.
- Fibre-rich: fibre content was 22 grams per 1,000 calories — more than current dietary recommendations.
This way of eating isn’t new – we’ve been talking about it for years – but it’s interesting to see it framed as ‘non-industrial’. What do you think – are you following a non-industrial diet?
Susan
Hello Susan. Thank you for a very good article. You’ve inspired me to start morning salutations. A you conformity free yoga app. I couldn’t find Yoga Sun Salutations in our App Store.
It was meant to say can you confirm free app name please
Hi Paloma, I’m so sorry but I can’t find the exact app I use in the App Store – it’s been on my phone for years. There’s one that looks very similar called Yoga Surya Namaskar
As always, thanks Susan.
Fun fact: the sun salutation was most probably ‘invented’ by a body builder, possibly early 20th century, as a warm up. Likely Krishnamacharya then incorporated it into his yoga teachings.
I eat loads of fruit and veg, I am trying to do the thirty different fruit and veg a week, which interestingly includes coffee. But I also eat butter, cream and beef. I feel well and am slim and fit. But I do stick to two meals a day, a later breakfast and an early (before 6pm usually) dinner and then nothing else until the next day’s breakfast. It works for us!
Yoga Sun Salutation does not appear on the Apple ap store – has it changed names?
Hi Fiona, I’m so sorry but I can’t find the exact app I use in the App Store – it’s been on my phone for years. There’s one that looks very similar called Yoga Surya Namaskar