The secret to a healthier body is surprisingly simple

Karlie Kloss Burrito

It could also be the trick for a longer life expectancy

Beauty Crew Beauty Writer / August 07 2017

From the rise of new fitness trends (F45 anyone?) to the increase in popularity of green juices and protein powders, there has certainly been an increased focus on improving our health and wellbeing.

Additionally, countless studies, articles and food products are stressing the importance of maintaining and bettering our gut health. This is because a healthy and functioning gut helps you build a stronger immune system and can have positive effects on everything from your mood to your memory.

Now the necessity of having a healthy gut has been further reinforced at the A5M Conference in Melbourne, which was themed Gut Health: The Cornerstone of Wellbeing. Throughout the conference, numerous medical professionals delivered presentations that shared their insights around the importance of gut health, with the first conducted by obstetrician and medical doctor Dr. John Tickell, who revealed a simple food consumption ratio that might be the secret to a healthier body.

In Tickell’s presentation titled ‘Everything in Moderation Except Laughter, Sex, Vegetables and Fish’, he highlighted an example of how the Western world is failing in their nutrition. Tickell believes this is the case as Western lifestyles differ significantly to some of the longest living people in the world who live on Okinawa Island in the East China Sea, where they spend most of their time outdoors and consume a locally sourced diet consisting of fresh vegetables and fish.

Tickell’s message is simple: To ensure you have a healthy gut, you need 85 per cent vegetables and grains in your diet and only 5 per cent meat.

Additionally, Tickell stressed the importance of physical activity every day, along with laughter and sex being the best solutions for stress.

So the secrets to ensuring a healthy body and mind are vegetables, fish, laughter and sex…who knew?!

If you’re looking to improve your gut health even further, find out why bone broth needs to be one of your snacks of choice.

What do you think of Dr. Tickell’s presentation? Let us know in the comments if you agree with his findings.

Image credit: @karliekloss

Kate started working for BEAUTYcrew in early 2016, first as a contributor, and was then named Beauty Writer in 2017. She loves picking the brains of the industry's top experts to get to the bottom of beauty's toughest questions. Bronze eyeshadow palettes are her weakness and she's forever on the hunt for the perfect nude nail polish to suit her fair skin. Her words can also be found in Men's Health magazine, and she now works in PR.