The tips and information in this article are intended to act either as a starting point if you are struggling with different conditions or as a way to maintain and protect long-term health. Individuals with SCI may need to pay extra attention to the foods they eat, as they require more nutrients to account for secondary health complications that arise and changes in digestive function.
The tips that follow are general guidelines and you should always consult with your health practitioner/medical professional for your specific health questions and concerns. But before getting into those recommendations, maintaining a healthy psychological state may be the most important factor when it comes to overall health.
Depression, stress, anxiety, and overall negative moods and attitudes can interfere with your ability to make decisions that promote overall health. Your emotional state greatly impacts your eating habits and behaviors, including skipping meals, grabbing processed food or other “not nutritious” foods, binge eating, and digestive functioning.
You may want to consider incorporating some of the following tips into your daily life to enhance your overall health. Finding a therapist/counselor. We all have trauma. For many of us, our spinal cord injuries were traumatic – meaning a sudden onset. If we don’t deal with that trauma, healthy choices may not happen, no matter how much we want them to.
Further, adding in meditation, breathwork, and/or journaling can help decrease negative moods and behaviors. Positive affirmations also positively affect mood when completed consistently as it helps to rewire your brain’s thinking patterns. We are designed to see the negative, but reinforcing the positive rewrites the neurons to seek more positive. In addition to these practices, exercising and moving your body releases stored emotions and traumas, increasing positive moods and overall feelings about oneself.
Now, on to portion suggestions for protein, carbohydrates, and fat and good-quality sources for these foods.
Protein—Eating 2-3 servings of protein a day is suggested, and one serving is about the size of the palm of your hand, without your fingers. Examples of healthy protein include red meat (limited to 1-2 times a week), fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, or herring), chicken, turkey, eggs, plain Greek yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, or a high-quality protein powder.
Carbohydrates – Two main types of healthy carbohydrates are grains and legumes/lentils. It’s recommended to eat 1 serving of a whole grain per day, with a serving size of ½ a cup of grain or 1 slice of bread. Sources for grains include quinoa, barley, steel-cut oats/oatmeal, brown/wild rice, or whole-grain bread/pasta. Recommended serving for legumes/lentils is 1-2 per day with a serving size of ½ cup, cooked. Examples of these carbs include kidney beans, black beans, hummus (chickpeas/garbanzo beans), green peas, and lentils (yellow, green, or red).
Fruits – Eating 1-2 servings of fruit a day fills your body with nutrients and fiber specific to the fruit you consume. Examples of fruits with their serving size include 1 apple, 15 cherries, 1 orange, 1 pear, 1 peach, 2 kiwis, 2 cups of watermelon, or 1 cup of berries (especially blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries).
Vegetables – As many as you want! Joking, kind of – it is recommended to eat at least 5 servings of vegetables a day, with a serving size equaliing ½ a cup. Examples of great vegetables include (but not limited to) asparagus, brussels sprouts, celery, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, arugula, leeks, artichokes, cauliflower, beets, kale, green beans, sweet potato, onions, and bell peppers.
Fats – The recommendation for healthy fats is 2 servings a day, with 1 tablespoon of oil or a golfball size portion of nuts/seeds. Examples of healthy fats include olives/olive oil, avocado/oil, flax seeds/oil, coconut butter/oil, raw and unsalted nuts like almonds, pecans, walnuts, raw and unsalted seeds like sunflower, sesame, or pumpkin, nut and seed butters (i.e almond or sunflower butter), and chia seeds.
Fluids – Staying hydrated with (mostly) water will help fill you up and control your appetite, support kidney/bladder function, lubricate joints, and maintain skin integrity. It can also assist with fat metabolism, transporting nutrients throughout your body, removing toxins, improving mood, preventing constipation, and improving mental and physical energy. It’s recommended to drink 6-8 cups of water/fluids per day, with 1 cup equaling 8 oz. Besides water, herbal teas, broths, and diluted juices (¼ juice to ¾ water) will help with hydration.
Wrapping up this list is justs a few things to avoid. We believe that everything is okay in moderation, but the following list are things to watch out for. While all these items are yummy, they don’t have nutritious value and should be a limited.
Avoid:
- refined carbs such has white flour and rice, white pasta, cakes, cookies, and store-bought juice.
- Trans fats which are found in processed or packaged foods, salad dressingss, crackers, frozen dinners, and commercial baked goods
- Sugar and artificial sweetnerss
- Limit alcohol as much as possssible
- Avoid or limit caffeine
- Soda
If you are a snacker like I am, you may be left to wonder what you CAN eat. Here are a few snack ideas to keep your energy stable throughout the day:
- 1 tablespoon nut butter with apple slices
- Hummus with raw veggies like carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, or cauliflower
- Trail mix filled with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
- ¾ cup plain greek yogurt with berries
- Plain popcorn with melted coconut oil/butter
- Hard boiled eggs
- Frozen fresh fruit popsicles
I have a free 2-week journaling guide you can download from my shop if you are interested in starting a journaling practice. Journaling can help you become aware of thoughts, patterns, and themes you are focusing on. This is the first step in knowing what you want to change. If you are ready to dig deep, I have a 30-day ‘Spring-Cleaning’ downloadable Journal in my shop for purchase to help you declutter your life and start moving toward the life of your
dreams. Each prompt will ask you to reflect on an area of your life and come up with actionable steps to work toward your dream life. Use the space I provide in my journal or whatever you already have/like.
If you would like more information on anything I spoke about here, leave me feedback either here – below this post, e-mail me (thewheellifeblog@gmail.com), or on any of my social media platforms! (IG/TW/TT @megs_hammond). If there is ANYTHING that you want to hear about – please let me know! I can’t do this without YOU, so I would love to connect!
Let’s keep those happy thoughts, productivity, and self-care going! Until next time, live honestly, passionately, and with kindness! Take care!
