Informare’s nutritional expert Sophie Higgins offers her advice on how to function best each day.

This years 30th edition of MIPIM offers an insight into the latest industry trends from over 360 leading industry expert speakers and is a great opportunity to identify potential partners from 3,350 exhibiting companies, including BDG Architecture + Design, Bruceshaw, BW: Workplace Experts, FUTURE Designs, USM, Coplan Estates and Hurley Palmer Flatt.

 

  1. Hydration – make sure you are drinking enough water every day. You are going to be busy and using a lot of energy so the last thing you want is for your body to be dehydrated and craving water. Staying hydrated will ensure energy, concentration and focus is on point!
  2. Colours and variety – when eating out try to opt for meals that contain as many different colours and varieties of fresh vegetables and other wholefoods as possible. It’s tempting to go for the rich and fried foods but eating a variety of fresh colourful foods will ensure your body is getting all the important nutrients it needs to keep you functioning at your best each day.
  3. Lunch choices – if you know you are having a big night out with lots of alcohol, try to include some healthy fat in your meal at lunch and in your snack choices leading up to the event. Having some food sources of healthy fat in your stomach will slow down the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, having a more gradual impact on your liver, kidneys, and digestive system. Good choices are salmon, eggs, avocado, nuts and seeds.
  4. Water with alcohol – always try to make your water intake a priority when you are at an event where the alcohol is flowing freely. As tempting as it is to just keep accepting those refills, aim to drink a glass of water in between every drink, or every couple of drinks. This will slow down the rate at which the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, will ensure you are not becoming dehydrated and will help with any potential morning after side-effects.
  5. Vitmain B rich foods – B vitamins are nutrient powerhouses and are essential for energy production. Alcohol not only interferes with absorption of B vitamins, but it also depletes our body’s B vitamin stores that are already there. Loading up on foods rich in B vitamins the morning after when we are perhaps feeling a little sluggish, is a great way to get those energy stores back up. Foods such as leafy greens, whole grains, poultry, salmon, legumes, sweet potatoes, eggs, nuts and seeds, are all great sources.
  6. Before bed – as much as we might want to just crash out in bed as soon as we walk through the door after a heavy night, make sure you take the time to drink a nice big glass of water first, to ensure hydration levels are kept up and to keep that hangover at bay.
  7. Breakfast – eating the right kind of breakfast is essential after a night of drinking to ensure you replenish vital nutrients, restore energy, and balance blood sugar and electrolyte levels. Mountains of carbs and fry-ups may be what you are craving, but they are not going to give our body what it needs to function efficiently throughout the rest of the day. Eggs, salmon, avocado, greens, fresh fruit, oats, nuts, seeds and good quality sourdough or wholemeal bread, will ensure important vitamins and minerals are replaced and topped-up.
  8. Herbal teas – reaching for the coffee first thing in the morning to get us going may seem like the obvious and most convenient choice, however, if you are already a little dehydrated from the night before, the diuretic effect of caffeine will only serve to deplete our hydration levels even further. Having some herbal tea instead, such as green, lemon and ginger, or peppermint, or even a mug of hot water with lemon, will ensure you start the day hydrated, kick-start the digestive system, help flush out any toxins and boost metabolism.
  9. Sleep – this is a particularly busy and fast-paced week, full of events, lunches, dinners and late nights, however getting enough sleep is super important to ensure you are functioning at your best the whole week through. If you know there are certain nights when you will be out until the wee hours, ensure that on the other nights you are mindful to get to bed at a reasonable hour, in order to load up on that crucial ‘rest and restore’ time that both mind and body will be in need of.
  10. Exercise – exercise may not be at the forefront of your mind whilst at MIPIM, however snatching some time here and there where you can, to go for a brisk walk, small jog, cycle, or brief gym session, will ensure that your metabolism is ticking along nicely, detox pathways are functioning optimally and mood enhancing endorphins are flowing freely.