The Role of Healthy Eating in Events: Interview with Andrea Carroll Langan, Nutritional Therapist

Andrea Carroll Langan, MSc, BSc is a functional nutritional therapist and NLP Practitioner. Through Andrea’s practice ‘Health Embrace,’ tailored nutritional and lifestyle programmes are offered to coach and encourage people towards achieving optimal health, condition and performance.

“Achieving competitive edge has always been big business. Ensuring valued employees, their biggest asset, are striving for optimal health is a large component in any forward thinking company’s success strategy. Nutrition drives energy and ultimately performance so unsurprisingly corporate wellness is a fast growing market in health.”

How do you feel corporate events can work to provide inspiring menus for events that are fun and healthy?

Events bring together lots of people, hungry ones, in an environment combining very different outlooks on life and even tastes. To consider many different healthy food options is not only excellent social responsibility, but it’ll help showcase your attention to detail and creative skills.

Having experienced first-hand the exciting projects that emerge when working with truly creative companies like Comshows, my recommendation would be to include nutritional guidance in the overall plan of events. As always experts in their field can save time, budget and quickly provide the finishing touches.

Although focusing on all aspects of health and nutrition at events is a great thing to do, it’s still new and exciting, so embrace the differentiator to keep you at the forefront of your field! People are always looking for the next big thing and nutrition is a huge topic that people just love to discuss.

What is your top tip for incorporating nutrition into events?

Make a big deal of ‘healthy swaps’ – attendees will appreciate options being provided and also the chance to try something new! More and more people are following a personalised dietary approach to support healthy weight maintenance or long term health (Paleo, 5:2, low GL, blood sugar regulation etc.). There’s catering for medical conditions such as coeliac that need to be covered out of necessity, but thinking of those who may have intolerances or a desire to eat a certain way makes you stand out.

Here are 3 simple swap choices which can be provided as easy alternatives or alongside your normal provisions:

• Cauliflower rice instead of white rice
• Courgetti instead of spaghetti
• Carrot, squash and kale fries instead of chips and potatoes

Nutrition drives energy and ultimately performance

What would you recommend as a fun and interactive health-food activity?

A Mindful Nourishment ‘Eating for Energy’ workshop either a full version for up to 90 minutes with tasters, fun questionnaires and quizzes or a modified version to fit a suitable time slot. It is designed to appeal to a large and varied audience and provides people with simple and effective tools for avoiding the effects of the blood sugar rollercoaster. Small changes can make a big difference so people love the talk as there’s always a win for everyone.

If you could pick one element for event organisers to help make a fun and healthy event – in particular to combat that after lunch feeling – what would it be?

Always include protein with any carbohydrate-based meal or snack offered as protein helps to slow the absorption of sugar into the blood stream. This provides a more gradual energy release and a feeling of being fuller for longer. Avoid the mid-afternoon slump!

For more Health Embrace nutrition tips, please visit:

www.healthembrace.co.uk

www.facebook.com/healthembrace