Healthy Hedonism

Can hedonism and healthy coexist in the same sentence? Is it possible to enjoy ultimate pleasure in the everyday while being healthy? We believe more is more is possible, provided you focus on healthy abundance — what we refer to as balanced living. It’s about enjoying guilt-free pleasure while eating and living well. After all, who says healthy has to be boring? As we ease into January, the most punishing month of the year it’s time to ditch the negative way we look at pleasure and delve into how we can live our health to the fullest.

Drink Better
Yes, you can enjoy a guilt-free tipple or two but try and make intelligent choices when you reach out for the bottle. Red wine is high in the antioxidant resveratrol but opt for a bottle which is low in sulphites. Fan of cocktails, try the MEDAtini which has 50% less sugar and calories than a standard espresso martini. Or if you want something stiffer, try a good quality vodka or gin, preferably organic and consider natural mixers such as the MEDA No-Lo options. Finally, remember to hydrate as you drink (one glass of water for each glass of the naughty stuff). And instead of a bottoms up, savour the flavour and go for a slow sip instead.  

Banish the Fad Diet
We’ve all tried them — the yo-yo diets, the ‘wonder’ plans that promise to help you lose weight fast. Fad diets are often unhealthy due to the dramatic and punitive reduction in calorie and nutrition intake. And we know how easy it is to fall off the diet wagon and re-gain the weight we fought so hard to shed.

Try the 80/20 diet instead. Eat clean foods (ones which are good for you) 80% of the time, leaving you free to indulge in the naughty treats for 20% of the time. The best bit? It’s easy to make this diet part of a long-term lifestyle change. 

Treat Yourself
You may go by the motto eat to live or live to eat. We say love what you eat. Nourishment isn’t just crucial for our physical wellbeing it is also an important mental tonic. Fancy a sweet or savoury treat without all the guilt? It’s all about balance. Reach for treats which include dark chocolate, maple syrup, dates or coconut sugar. Try a banana smothered in cashew butter (heaven!), or make your own spicy roasted nuts instead of munching your way through that crisp packet. It’s easier than you think to titillate the palette while keeping your gut (and your girth) in check.

Get High — Naturally
Dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, oxycontin. These all-natural chemical wonders of the brain allow us to experience pleasure with just the right dose of pow-wow. Try exercising regularly for a daily punch of vitality. Spicy foods, such as a hot curry once a week, are known to release feel-good beta-endorphins. Have that macchiato, that avocado, or even that knob of butter, foods which are rich in tyrosine, an essential ingredient in the production of dopamine.  

Have Some Sex
Sex releases all sorts of good stuff including oxycontin, dopamine and adrenaline. And the best bit is, you can never have too much of it! 

Get a Massage
Massage therapy can significantly reduce the impact of stress levels, thanks to the release of feel-good hormones such as serotonin. Kneading into the New Year is the perfectly delicious way to start 2021.