Eat Oatmeal for Digestion, Bananas for Better Sleep, and 3 More Nutrition Tips This Week

Small, sustainable changes to your diet can provide significant support for your metabolic health. This week’s wellness tips cover simple ways to support your digestive system and manage your blood sugar, from starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal to cooling potatoes after cooking.

1. Cook and cool potatoes to reduce blood sugar spikes 🥔

Foods high in carbohydrates are generally more likely to affect your blood sugar. For example, white potatoes have a high glycemic index (GI) and are known to quickly raise blood sugar levels.

But you don’t necessarily have to give up potatoes if you prepare them a certain way. When you let them cool (ideally overnight in the refrigerator) once they are fully cooked, their resistant starch increases. Resistant starch behaves like fiber and is not digested in the small intestine, preventing a sharp rise in blood sugar after eating.

This doesn’t mean you have to eat cold potatoes for lunch. In fact, research has shown that reheating cooked, cooled potatoes still retains much of the resistant starch.

You can also pair your potatoes with protein and other nutritious components of a balanced meal, like plenty of non-starchy vegetables and healthy fats.

2. Drink 8 cups of water a day to manage blood pressure💧

There are no specific water needs to maintain healthy blood pressure because everyone’s physical health, activity level, and diet differ. However, one study indicates that drinking 6 to 8 cups of plain water per day is associated with a lower risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) compared to drinking one cup or less per day.

Most adults need more than 8 cups of water per day for optimal hydration. Drinking plenty of water every day helps your body replenish the fluids you lose through breathing and exercise.

When you’re dehydrated, the balance of important minerals in your body, including electrolytes like sodium, is disrupted, leading to increased blood pressure.

3. Create a protein- and fiber-rich meal with a pizza-inspired recipe 🍕

A viral TikTok recipe offers a healthy version of one of America’s favorite foods: pizza. The dish, called Pizza Beans, is simply pizza-flavored white beans. You can make it with half a cup of beans, a quarter cup of tomato sauce, and a quarter cup of mozzarella cheese, all of which provide 7 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein.

Think about other toppings you like on your pizza, then add them to your beans for added flavor and nutrition. This could include mushrooms, spinach, fresh peppers or basil, and other herbs, which would increase the fiber content of your meal.

4. Eat a banana before bed to sleep better 🍌

Eating a banana about 1 to 2 hours before bed can improve sleep. This fruit is a snack rich in tryptophan, which helps improve symptoms of insomnia. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is ultimately converted into melatonin, a hormone that induces and regulates sleep.

But tryptophan itself cannot immediately induce sleep, and eating a banana right before bed may be less effective.

However, a banana contains other micronutrients that can also improve sleep quality. For example, the fruit is rich in potassium, which can help with muscle relaxation at bedtime. Snacking can also benefit sleep by keeping you full at night, unlike heavy or fatty foods, which can cause stomach problems and disrupt nighttime sleep.

5. Start your day with a bowl of oatmeal to regulate bowel movements 💩

Having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast is great for gut health. The fiber in oats is considered prebiotic, so it can increase the amount of bacteria that can help protect against illnesses such as metabolic and heart disease.

Oatmeal also contains insoluble fiber, which passes through the digestive system largely intact. As a result, it can help reduce constipation and promote regular bowel movements.

When making your oatmeal, look for oatmeal that contains oat groats or steel-cut (Irish) oats. These take longer to digest and are less likely to cause a spike in blood sugar. You can also make overnight oats using old-fashioned or rolled oats, dairy or plant-based milk, chopped fruit, Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and nuts.