The menu is set up according to a few guidelines. During your Recharge you eat mostly plant-based, as unprocessed as possible with lots of vegetables. In addition, you will refrain from alcohol and coffee and drink a lot of water.

This is probably quite different from your normal diet. Are there any parts that you know will not work for you? Then feel free to skip them. And if you follow a specific diet then consult your doctor first. During the Recharge you will experience the effect of healthy food on your body, but it is nice to know why. Below the explanation of the guidelines.

Plant-based foods offer sustainable contributions in several important areas:

Environment
Up to 35% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the production of food. Meat and dairy make up the largest share of this. Production leads to loss of nature and to environmental pollution. Plant-based food counteracts the climate problem and the depletion of the earth.

Animal welfare
There is an enormous amount of animal suffering in the livestock industry. Ask yourself if you want to contribute to this. This does not have to mean that after your challenge you can never again eat a piece of meat or have a bowl of yoghurt. By choosing organic or biodynamic products, you contribute to more animal welfare and healthier animal products.

Health
Eating plant-based foods can do a lot for your health. Research shows that it can contribute to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes because it contributes to a healthier blood pressure, a more stable blood sugar level and a better cholesterol balance. In addition, it can regulate your hormonal and digestive system, reduce inflammation and contribute to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
Not all plant-based (vegan) products in the supermarket are healthy, by the way. You also have plant-based croquettes, cookies and candy 😉 Therefore, in addition to plant-based, the following pillars also apply in this challenge.

Many people benefit from a gluten-free or low gluten diet even though they do not have celiac disease (gluten intolerance). For example, people with bloating and irritable bowel syndrome report great benefit from avoiding gluten. It usually gives more energy and less digestive discomfort.

So how is this possible?
​This is where the researchers are not yet clear. There are indications that it is not necessarily to do with the gluten but with the fructans. This is why some people can’t tolerate wheat bread, but can tolerate spelt bread. The latter contains fewer fructans. Even though science hasn’t made up its mind yet, you can experience and test what it does or doesn’t do for you.

You can find sugar in many foods. Also in vegetables and fruits. These sugars are available in their natural form: surrounded by vitamins, minerals, fiber and other healthy substances. Therefore, not all sugars are bad.

What are refined sugars?
Refined sugars are sugars that are extracted from food by means of industrial processing. This happens, for example, from sugar cane or sugar beet. During this purification process, all the useful nutrients are lost and only the sugar remains.

Why is this bad?
Refined sugars have many negative effects on your health. Among other things, it leads to rapid blood sugar spikes. This triggers a hormonal process that leads to a fat storage state and then a blood sugar drop. The latter in turn leads to fatigue and a feeling of hunger that makes you crave food again.

More than 100,000 tons of caffeine are consumed worldwide. It makes you alert, energetic, happy and focused. Several beneficial qualities are being attributed to this substance. Unfortunately, frequent use can also lead to high blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety and feeling restless. With the Recharge, you go back to your body’s own balance. For this reason, you avoid caffeine because it acts as an external stimulant. Do you really need coffee to feel good and stay awake? Then read on…

How does coffee keep you awake?

Caffeine acts as a stimulant on your central nervous system. It affects the action of several important substances including:

Why do you need more and more coffee for the same effect?
​The more caffeine you consume, the more adenosine attachment points (receptors) your body will create to make room for adenosine to attach (given that the existing receptors are occupied by caffeine). As a result, you need more and more coffee to experience the same alertness.

If you stop or cut back on coffee, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, a bad mood and gloomy feelings. This is because there will be unoccupied adenosine receptors (attachment points). Don’t worry, when you stop drinking coffee for a longer period of time, the excess adenosine receptors disappear and your body restores itself to its natural balance. That way, you no longer “need” this boost to feel good, but can just enjoy a cup of coffee once in a while.

We drink for fun and as a treat but also, for example, to de-stress, to suppress our emotions or out of habit. There is a lot to say about alcohol but research shows at least the following.

During #Recharge you avoid alcohol so that you:

You probably know that drinking water is important, but do you know why? Your body is made up of more than half of water. If you want to function without problems, you need to make sure you are sufficiently hydrated. Water is crucial for:

Eating as pure and unprocessed as possible ensures that you get more healthy substances, eat more consciously and have less need to snack or overeat. All in all, it helps you to get and stay in better balance.

Sometimes processing is necessary
​Processing food is sometimes unavoidable. Freezing, pasteurizing, cooking, slicing are examples of processing forms that make food storable and (safely) edible. Unfortunately, with each processing form, nutrients are lost. For example, by cutting and cooking your vegetables you already lose vitamins and minerals. The process of storing fresh fruit and vegetables also reduces the amount of healthy substances.

The more processed, the less healthy
​You can imagine that more highly processed products contain even less healthy substances. Highly processed products include ice cream, cookies, candy and chips, but also sweetened cereals, sandwiches, pre-packaged bread, crackers, breaded meat and fish products and fruit and yogurt drinks can fall into this category.

In general, the more processed a product is, the more unhealthy it is.

Highly processed (ultra processed foods) products contain:

Unprocessed natural food automatically contains all the healthy substances.
​By choosing as much as possible for food where we are naturally ‘built on’ you yourself are the boss of your hunger and satiety, you are better in your energy, you can think sharper and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight a lot easier. Cravings for stumps of broccoli are not easy to come by, after all…. In the basics, choose:

Can I never eat anything sweet (unhealthy) again?
​Of course there is room for treats. As long as your basics are healthy. The 80-20 rule goes well here. When you make sure you’ve always eaten your good building blocks and fuels first, you’ll automatically have fewer insatiable cravings. Then you can just eat 1 cookie, instead of the whole pack (or maybe you won’t even crave it at all anymore). How nice it is when you are no longer a puppet of your craving for sweets.

How do I know if something is really healthy?
​Not sure if your product is as healthy as it seems? After all, there is a lot of clever marketing out there… Always read your label, so you always know what you are ingesting. In general, the fewer ingredients, the better.

Your body needs vitamins, minerals, fibers and other plant substances every day. They are needed in every process in your body and we cannot produce these substances ourselves. If you build up shortages, more and more complaints will arise as the years go by. Vegetables, herbs and spices are our healthiest source of these substances.

What do vegetables do exactly?

Vegetables protect your body, reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases and help you maintain your weight. The substances in vegetables stimulate your detoxification organs, help healthy digestion, support your hormone balance and contribute to a good mood. The antioxidants are anti-aging and counteract accelerated aging. Herbs and spices are antioxidant bombs.

How many vegetables a day?
​The Nutrition Centre recommends 250 grams of vegetables. Only 2% of Dutch adults and 1% of children manage this. The latest research shows that 250 grams of vegetables is unfortunately not enough and you are more likely to get close if you eat 500 (or even 800 grams) of vegetables a day.

How do I eat enough vegetables per day?
​Incorporating vegetables into every meal moment makes it easy to eat enough vegetables. Here’s what it might look like:

Is it possible to eat too many vegetables?
​In general, there is no need to be afraid of eating too many vegetables. Vegetables are low in calories and high in healthy substances. The fiber, however, can cause some people to become bloated if consumed in excess. Therefore, chew them well and eat not only raw vegetables but also stir-fried, steamed or mashed vegetables. This makes digestion easier.

Which vegetable is the healthiest?

None. You need them all. Each vegetable has its own composition of essential substances. Therefore: Variety. Useful rule of thumb: Try to eat 5 different colors of vegetables every day. Then you’re soon good.

Don’t like vegetables?

An interesting study found that the lack of taste can cause vegetables to not be on your favorite list. Vegetables are not extremely sweet, fatty, sour or salty, so not everyone can appreciate them. Flavoring vegetables with herbs and spices makes them tastier and even healthier.

Good luck!