Laugh all you want at the Instagram #cleaneats crowd, but they'll probably feel a lot less rough than you did on New Year's Day.
So disconnect the Irn-Bru IV and throw away that fry-up – whether it's a New Year's resolution to eat healthier or you just want to detox after those Hogmanay excesses, here are five superfoods to try that will set you on the right path, and just might help your hangover more than a Big Mac. No hashtags necessary.
Peak Avocado was reached some time around September 2015, but for old time's sake, and your body's, wrestle some on to some wholemeal toast one last time.
Picture: Flickr
The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat in avocado makes you feel full, as well as being good for your heart and, crucially, settling your stomach, and the scaly superheroes are also packed with vitamin C and E and potassium.
Mash onto wholemeal toast and sprinkle with lemon juice and sea salt, to replace lost sodium.
Coffee – yes, really. Recent research has dispelled the myth that coffee is Satan's brew, and uncovered that it is in fact rich in anti-oxidants and has potential health benefits including reducing the risk of heart failure, depression, some cancers and diabetes. So mainlining Starbucks to get through your hangover can now be a guilt-free activity.
Picture: Artisan Roast
Greek yoghurt really is the healthier option, and the perfect gentle breakfast with which to ease yourself into the day (whichever part of it you emerge into).
It provides you with twice the amount of protein than regular yoghurt – important for feeling full without the need to overeat on a delicate stomach – plus is a good source of potassium (which reduces that post-drinking anxiety), calcium and phosphorous.
While traditionally Greek yoghurt is very high in fat, fat-free options are just as readily available – sprinkle with some blueberries, which are a classic of the superfoods genre, for good reason, being among the fruits with the highest levels of anti-oxidants and linked to reducing diabetes risk, lowering cholesterol, slowing ageing, improving motor skills and improving urinary tract and eye health, and a handful of walnuts, the nut richest in omega-3 oil.
• The best Scottish-sourced superfoods to help boost your health, energy levels and well-being
Ginger is a time-tested remedy for nausea (ask any expectant mother) and can be boiled up in a tea within ten minutes – just grate or finely slice a couple of teaspoons of fresh ginger root, add to boiling water, steep for ten minutes and add honey for a little natural sugar and lemon juice – to feel the benefits of its anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties and settle your stomach. Ginger can also be used to treat the symptoms of colds and flu, toothache, migraines, rheumatism – and if it can deal with those, it should make light work of your self-inflicted illness.
Picture: Flickr
While you might be sick of the sigh of the words “chia seeds”, believe it or not they weren't actually invented in 2015, but were in fact a mainstay of Aztec and Mayan diets.
Highly concentrated in anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation and thus cut the risk of heart disease and cancer, and rich in calcium (they contain more than milk per serving) and fibre, the real plus in this situation is that it takes absolutely no effort to incorporate them into something you were going to eat anyway – just sprinkle them over your yoghurt, porridge or cereal, or into a salad or a smoothie – so you get to feel very smug for very little exertion.
