So if you’ve ever been curious and wondered what a nutritional therapist actually eats and drinks – then now is your chance to find out what makes it into my shopping trolley …

Food: cruciferous vegetables (of course!)

One of my favourite examples: Bok Choi – I love this totally tasty, easy to use vegetable – I chop and fry my bok choi in coconut oil to accentuate the Asian flavours alongside fresh, grated ginger, a squeeze of lime and a splash of tamari and served with some wild salmon and rice noodles. Why do you eat bok choi,  you might ask? Because a serving of cruciferous vegetables (also known as brassicas) such as bok choi – or cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, rocket, kale, kohl rabi, turnip, swede, watercress, radish and mouli, according to the American National Cancer Institute, case control studies from 1999 and 2000 have been shown to potentially reduce the risk of prostate cancer, amongst other cancers shown in other studies, and cruciferous vegetables may also reduce cardiovascular health risks.

Bok choi itself is also high in Vitamin K and calcium which are good for bone health, and Vitamin K has also been shown  to help regulate our body’s inflammatory response, especially with regard to the heart. Bok choi is also a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, (so don’t boil it to bits or it won’t have any of these delicate immune system supporting vitamins left!) the minerals manganese and zinc and a range of other less well known antioxidants which neatly combine together to prevent oxygen damage to our cells. By looking after our cell health this way, we are helping to look after our whole body.

Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall’s chicken in plum sauce recipe uses pak choi to complement the sweet plum sauce (though I usually use three quarters of the plums suggested here personally). Can’t recommend this recipe highly enough: it’s a great meal to serve to friends and family.

What do I cook at home? Some of my favourite, nutritious recipes

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Refs: http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cruciferous-vegetables-fact-sheet
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29751617 Cardiovascular Health Benefits of Specific Vegetable Types: A Narrative Review.
Blekkenhorst, LC ; Sim, M ; Bondonno, CP ; Bondonno, NP ; Ward, NC ; Prince, RL ; Devine, A ; Lewis, JR ; Hodgson, JM
Nutrients. 2018;10(5)

Updated July 2019.