By Helena McDonald, APD & Founder, Nutrition by Helena.
If your goal is to level up your health in 2025, then this checklist is for you. As a dietitian specialised in hormone and gut health, I’ve narrowed down my top 15 pieces of advice to get your body performing at its best.
1. Eat a handful of dark leafy greens daily
This is one of my daily non negotiables. Dark leafy greens are the number one superfood in my opinion - they contain a range of different micronutrients like iron, vitamin K and calcium, but even more importantly give you a massive hit of antioxidants, which protect cells from damage and reduce risk of cancer and disease. Including greens is also one of the easiest ways to add an extra serve of vegetables to your day, which will bring you closer to the target of 5 serves per day. It’s so easy to throw a bag of spinach into anything like pasta sauce, curries, soups, omelettes, sandwiches, wraps, stir fries, salads and even smoothies.
2. Eat 5 serves vegetables
You probably already know that eating vegetables is good for you. They provide us with a range of essential micronutrients, as well as fibre, antioxidants and fuel for the gut microbiome. The thing is, even if you think you eat enough veggies, you probably don’t. Less than 10% of Australians get the recommended 5 serves per day - and no, a couple of slices of tomato on your sandwich doesn’t count as a full serve. 1 cup of salad vegetables or 1 whole piece e.g. a carrot, or ½ cup cooked vegetables is 1 serve. An easy way to make sure you’re getting enough is to make ½ your plate vegetables at each main meal, and to aim for 3 different colours. You’ll feel SO good for it.
3. Eat 2 serves of fruit
If you’re worried fruit is too high in sugar, don’t be. Eating fruit is amazing for health in general, and different fruits have different benefits. For example, kiwi fruits contain soluble fibre which can help regulate bowel motions, while blueberries are full of antioxidants to protect from disease, and bananas have potassium for better blood pressure and a higher carb content for quick energy. There’s no need to fixate on which fruit is “better” though – all are great for different reasons, so just aim for variety. For sustained energy and balanced blood sugar levels, pair fruit with low GI wholegrains, like BARLEYMAX Super Barley, a source of protein e.g. yoghurt or cottage cheese, and healthy fats like nuts or seeds.
4. Legumes 3 times per week
Legumes refers to beans, chickpeas, lentils and edamame, and if you’re not already eating them you need to start. They are our gut microbiome’s all time favourite food because of their prebiotic fibre. They also have a little bit of protein and carbohydrates, which make them filling and helpful additions to a meal to make it more robust.
5. Resistant starch most days
Resistant starch doesn’t get talked about that much, but it really should. Essentially, resistant starch doesn’t get absorbed in our small intestine and is instead fermented by gut bacteria in the large bowel. This is really cool because it produces byproducts like butyrate which positively impact many of our body’s systems, like immune function, mood and blood sugar regulation. Cooking and cooling starches like potato, rice and pasta develops resistant starch, and you can also find it in slightly underripe bananas, legumes, and grains like BARLEYMAX Super Barley.
6. Extra virgin olive oil daily
EVOO is one of the most well researched foods out there, and the evidence consistently demonstrates that it has a powerful effect on our health, primarily from the insane antioxidant and polyphenol content. I suggest making it your default cooking oil - and note if you’re worried about the smoke point, don’t stress! The idea that you can’t use EVOO at high temperatures has been thoroughly debunked, as the high antioxidant content actually protects from any negative compounds produced at high heat, so you can safely use it for all types of home cooking like sautéing, roasting and even baking.
7. Salmon 3-4 times per week
If I had to pick a favourite nutrient, it would be omega 3 fats. Specifically, EPA and DHA are 2 types of omega 3s with profound impacts on our health, with benefits ranging from heart health, reduced inflammation, improved cognition, potentially reduced risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s, and reduced risk of pre-term birth during pregnancy. Salmon and other oily fish like sardines and mackerel are the main dietary source, so if you don’t eat seafood, then your best option is a fish oil or algae oil supplement. Note, some plant based foods like walnuts and chia seeds also contain omega 3 fats, but they aren’t the powerful EPA and DHA fats like in salmon. Our body converts some of the plant based omega 3s to these forms, but it’s not very efficient, so you’re far better off supplementing if needed.
8. Iodised salt
Often overlooked, iodine is critical for thyroid function, which controls our metabolism (as well as a bunch of other functions). We mostly get iodine from seafood and fortified foods like bread, but a lot of people have an inadequate intake. If you love your flaky salt or himalayan sea salt, it’s time to break up with it and use iodised salt instead. You don’t have to go out of your way to add buckets of salt to your food, but it can make a difference to bump up your intake, and is particularly important if you’re trying for a baby or pregnant.
9. Maximum 500g red meat weekly
There is robust evidence that high intakes of red meat is associated with higher risk of diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and poorer gut health. The cancer council recommends a maximum of 450g red meat per week, which I suggest sticking to. This also makes more room for proteins that we know are associated with good health outcomes, like tofu, edamame, salmon and dairy foods. Win win.
10. Wholegrains daily
It’s trendy at the moment to cut carbs, but this is probably one of the worst things you can do for your overall health and longevity. Wholegrains are linked with longer, healthier lifespans and play an important role in metabolic and gut health. For example, BARLEYMAX Super Barley contains beta glucans which help reduce cholesterol, resistant starch to feed good gut bacteria, and micronutrients like folate, zinc and iron. Grains are also important for sustained energy and balanced blood sugar - most evidence demonstrates better blood sugar regulation when wholegrains are added to the diet. I suggest making an effort to get a variety of different grains, like oats, barley, quinoa and wild rice to give your gut exposure to lots of different plants, which will also give you sustained energy levels and optimal brain function.
11. Nuts or seeds daily, 2 brazil nuts a few times per week
Including healthy fats in your diet is incredibly important for hormonal health, as well as to increase satiety and enjoyment from meals. Nuts and seeds are particularly cool because they have been linked with heart health, gut health and a range of micronutrients that we often otherwise fall short of, like magnesium, which is involved in many functions like heart function, blood sugar regulation, fluid balance, sleep and muscle recovery. And I can’t not mention my favourite nutrition fact: just 2 brazil nuts per day will meet your requirements for selenium, which works alongside antioxidants to protect cells from damage. Incorporate into muesli, smoothies, chia puddings, sprinkle on salads, toss into stir fries and curries and blend into dips.
12. Have 3 different colours at each main meal
This is a simple tip to add variety and diversity to your diet and also helps ensure you meet your 5 serves of vegetables per day. So rather than doing just one vegetable side, have a few, or mix vegetables into what you’re cooking. For example, you could grate zucchini and carrot into a tomato based pasta sauce - this easily ticks off 3 colours. Pre-chopped vegetables and salad kits are also super handy for this - if you pick up a slaw mix then you automatically increase the variety in your meal with no extra effort.
13. 30 plants per week
Once again, this tip is all about diversity for a thriving gut microbiome, and to give your body a range of nutrients. Plants include: fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, spices, herbs and legumes. Keep a running tally and think about how you can keep building on the number of plants you eat each week. Be savvy in your shopping and go for options like frozen mixed berries instead of one type of berry, four bean mix instead of just one type of bean, and trail mix instead of one type of nut (and so on) to make this easy. Don’t keep eating the same foods on repeat either - look for interesting things to add in, like swapping oats for BARLEYMAX Super Barley, or quinoa instead of rice.
14. Minimum 1 new food per week
I have a little rule for myself that every time I shop, I look for at least one new thing to add to my diet that week. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something I’ve never eaten before, but more a nudge to include things I haven’t had in a while. This means that even if eating staple meals on repeat (because we are all creatures of habit), you still get variety. This could be as simple as swapping broccoli for asparagus, apples for pears, peaches for oranges, carrots for capsicum, oats for BARLEYMAX Super Barley, rice for quinoa, cucumber for beetroot etc.
15. Aim for 1-1.5g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day
Protein is not just important if you go to the gym or want to build muscle. It’s crucial for pretty much every system in your body like your immunity, fluid balance, digestion, and for the physical structure of cells. Not only this, eating enough protein during the day is a gamechanger for stable energy and reduced hunger and cravings. A practical way to ensure you’re eating enough protein is to make ¼ plate at each meal a good source of protein e.g. lean meat, chicken breast, salmon, white fish, eggs, dairy foods, tofu, tempeh and edamame. It’s also helpful to use foods like legumes and wholegrains like BARLEYMAX Super Barley for an extra protein boost in meals and snacks.
The one key message to remember - worry less about what you need to cut out of your diet, and instead focus on all the amazing foods that you can add in. Food is amazing, so use it to your advantage!
This blog was written by Helena McDonald, APD.
