Kirsten Jackson is a visual artist. The 56-year-old shares her day on a plate.
6.30am Black coffee and a banana before a 10km run. During the day, I drink a lot of water supplemented with creatine, magnesium and vitamins D and K.
8.30am A smoothie of banana, spinach, berries, protein powder and almond milk. Two pieces of sourdough toast with peanut butter.
10.30am Black coffee topped up with some hot oat milk.
2pm Half an avocado with goat’s cheese on sourdough toast and a punnet of blueberries.
4pm An apple and a ginger tea.
6.30pm Grilled chicken with rice and beans and Brussels sprouts.
7pm A cup of tea with a Tim Tam.
Dr Joanna McMillan says:
Top marks for… That banana before your run. After an overnight fast, blood glucose can be low, so it’s a neat little energy boost without weighing you down. Your smoothie plus peanut butter toast afterwards is spot-on for refuelling and recovery. There is growing interest in creatine’s benefits for brain function.
If you keep eating like this you’ll… Be giving your colon plenty to smile about. The Brussels sprouts at dinner deliver not just fibre but distinctive plant compounds called glucosinolates, shown to protect colon health. Add the beans, berries, spinach, avocado and apple and your gut microbes are getting a pretty impressive menu.
Why don’t you try… Keeping an eye on your calcium. You clearly eat some dairy, but with almond milk and oat milk doing much of the heavy lifting, check they’re calcium-fortified. At 56, your target is 1300mg of calcium a day, and that matters enormously for protecting bones as we age. Calcium-fortified plant milk, yoghurt, cheese, tinned salmon or sardines with bones, or firm tofu will all help.
Kirsten Jackson will exhibit at Affordable Art Fair Melbourne, 27-30 August.
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Nicole Economos is a Social Media Producer/Journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
