Eating healthy is the foundation of good health. But what exactly is healthy eating? For most experts, smartly choosing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that provides the nutrition you need is a healthy diet. In this article, we will be discussing 10 wonderful tips for healthy eating. Following these tips can reduce your risk of several chronic diseases and keep your body healthy.
However, making any significant change to your diet can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. So, instead of making big changes, we suggest starting with a few smaller ones. Begin with one change, and once you nail that, move on to the next. You can easily manage one change at a time, rather than attempting and changing everything all at once. This way, your body will also be able to adjust easily.
10 Wonderful Tips for Healthy Eating
Tip 1: Choose Good Carbs, Not No Carbs
Carbs are the body's primary source of energy. So, a no-carbs diet is a big no-no. You just need to know the difference between good carbs and bad carbs. Good carbs, simple or complex, are part of any healthy diet. They are found in healthy whole grains, veggies, and fruits. Bad carbs, on the other hand, come from low-nutrient desserts and other foods with higher sugar levels.
Tip 2: Pay attention to Your protein package
Sure, some people need more protein than others. Body size, activity levels, age, and pregnancy (for women) impact the protein requirements. However, everyone must get an optimal amount of protein by consuming protein-rich food. So, you need to keep an eye on your overall protein package. Fish, nuts, poultry, and beans are excellent protein choices.
Tip 3: Go for foods with healthy fats
Like carbs, you have to go for foods that provide healthy fats. These include plant oils, nuts, and fish. When choosing foods with healthy fats, limits your consumption of saturated fats and avoid trans fats at all costs. White chocolate, toffees, cakes, biscuits, pastries & pies, fatty meat, processed meat, butter, lard, and ghee all contain saturated fats. Likewise, foods like commercial baked goods, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, and fried foods contain trans fats.
Tip 4: Choose a Fiber-rich diet
Fiber is also incredibly important. A fiber-rich diet will keep your stomach full for a long time. Such a food promotes the feelings of satiety and keeps you from munching on snacks every once in a while. High-fiber food also improves your digestive health. Some high-fiber foods are beans, broccoli, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits like avocados, apples, pears, dry fruits, and berries.
Tip 5: Eat a variety of Fruits & Vegetables
Well, that's a no-brainer. You need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in variety. So, take out our favorite Sonder Large End Grain Walnut Wood Cutting Board, and mix things up. However, when choosing fruits and vegetables, go for color and variety. Red, yellow, dark green, and orange fruits/vegetables should be on top of your grocery list. At the same time, try to mix things up a lot. Don’t just keep on consuming only one kind of fruit and vegetable just because you like the taste.
Tip 6: Calcium is very important
Calcium makes up most of your bones and teeth. It also plays a vital role in muscle function, nerve signals, and heart health. So, you need to consider a variety of foods for calcium. Contrary to popular belief, milk (or dairy products) isn't the only best source of calcium. There are many nondairy sources of calcium. In fact, green vegetables like kale, kidney beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and nuts like walnuts, brazil nuts, and hazel nuts contain more calcium than milk.
Tip 7: Consume water to quench your thirst
Whenever you get thirsty, consume water to quench your thirst. From improving your physical performance to relieving conditions like constipation, headaches, etc., and improving your body's energy levels, water is essential for your overall physical, emotional and psychological health. Skip the sugary drinks at all costs. These drinks don’t quench your thirst. On the contrary, they aggravate your thirst and trigger your desire to down more drinks. You should also go a bit easy on milk and juice. Juices often contain more sugar than whole fruits.
Tip 8: Eat less salt
Your body needs some salt every day for the amount of sodium it contains. However, consuming too much solidum can boost bp and stress blood vessels. So, consuming LESS salt is good for everyone's health – irrespective of whether you have high blood pressure or a similar condition. Go for fresh foods and avoid any processed foods. Some of the highest sodium foods we often include in our diet are white bread, pepperoni pizza, hot dogs, ketchup, cooked rice & floor, ketchup, spaghetti with some sauce, etc.
Tip 9: Drink moderately
Moderate drinking can be healthy. Experts link moderate alcohol consumption with a reduced risk of developing heart diseases, reducing risks of ischemic stroke, and reducing diabetes risk. For most adults, moderate alcohol use means up to two drinks a day for men and up to one drink for women. But, drinking alcohol is not for everyone – especially if you have a strong family history of alcoholism, have liver or pancreatic disease, are pregnant, or if you have a weak heart. Therefore, you should weigh the pros and cons before deciding about drinking.
Tip 10: Have Multivitamin Daily
Eat as many varieties of fruits and veggies as you want, there's always a chance you will miss a particular essential nutrient. Multivitamins take care of that. Therefore, a daily multivitamin routine is an excellent nutrition insurance policy. Many of them produce hormones & enzymes, boost your body's immunity, and keep your body organs functioning properly. Your body needs these nutrients for growth, maintenance, reproduction, and regulation of body processes.
Conclusion
As we mentioned in the introduction, completely overhauling your diet at once can be a bit problematic. Therefore, try incorporating these small changes in your diet to make it healthier. We hope these 10 wonderful tips are informative enough for you to add valuable nutrients to your diet and keep your portion size reasonable. Combining all of these tips will have a much bigger impact on making your diet much healthier and more sustainable. Good luck!
