Healthy Eating Suggestions for You
Healthy eating is all about balance and moderation with some variety thrown in for good measure.
What this means is that you need to get all of the essential nutrients but not too much of one to the exclusion of others. You also need to make sure that you eat a wide variety of different foods so eating does not become mundane or boring.
It is also important that you do not take in too many calories. Healthy eating is about keeping diseases at bay and it is also about managing your body weight.
In order to eat as healthy as possible it is important that you consume a selection of foods that are rich in nutrients.
While there are an array of healthy foods that you can choose from to eat, no one food can provide you with all of the nutrients you require.
In fact, each person requires more than 40 nutrients in order to remain in good health. That is a tall order for any food to fill.
To Start Healthy Eating You Need To Know The Right Foods
When choosing foods to eat on a daily basis these are the foods that should be included for optimum health fruits and vegetables; meat, fish, poultry and other foods for protein; low fat dairy products; whole grain bread and other whole grain products such as pasta and cereals.
Some good references to help you determine the amount you should be eating include the Nutrition Facts panel included on many food labels as well as the Food Guide Pyramid.
Speaking of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, are you eating an abundance of these foods every day?
Surveys have shown that most Americans are deficit in terms of eating the proper amounts of these very important food items. To be eating as healthy as possible you should be consuming three to five servings of vegetables a day and two to four servings of fruit a day.
Picky Eaters Listen Up!
If you are very picky about what you eat then the good news is that there are lots of different fruits and vegetables to choose from. Experiment with different foods and different recipes in order to supply you with the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants you require.
You might even want to try a new fruit or vegetable every week or every other week. You never know what tasty concoction you may come up with!
Healthy Eating Means A Healthy Body Weight
A healthy body weight is tied into healthy eating. If you maintain healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle then maintaining a body weight that is good for you should not be a problem. It is important to bear in mind however that everyone’s ideal weight is not the same.
What is right for you is not necessarily right for your mother, sister, brother or best friend. The right weight for anyone is dependent upon the person’s gender, age, height and genetic makeup.
Having too much fat on your body can put you at risk for a variety of diseases including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. It can also place an excessive amount of pressure on your back and the rest of your skeletal system which can lead to back aches, headaches and pain in the arms and legs.
On the other hand, being underweight can also lead to health problems such as osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities, etc. If you find that you are prone to yo-yo dieting and do not have sensible eating habits then seek out the assistance of a registered dietitian to get you on the right track.
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“Experiment with different foods and different recipes in order to supply you with the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants you require.”
I agree, eating healthy doesn’t have to be the same old recipe and taste, its good to experiment with different good foods and trying out different recipes. And if do cooking as a hobby, you can still eat your favorite food by just using alternative healthy ingredients 🙂
Kate Gasset
Hi Kate
Yes you are right with a little bit of experimenting you should be able to come up with some fantastic healthy eating recipes that everyone will love. The best thing about this is that once you get really good at preparing healthy food no one will really know the difference.
But nowadays, more and more food are badly contaminate, even ones that are organic, a good example is the tainted milk in china that killed thousands of innocent new born babies. So, we must be really sure what we are actually eating.
Hi Scott
I am with you on this, just the other day I had a tomato which I purchased from the shop and it was still a little green. I left it out for a few days to ripen up but what it actually did was just rot without ever ripening or even having any favor at all. I think this is a sign of the times and all the demands on foods as well as the chemicals that many don’t realize are going into those foods.
To maintain healthy eating you are going to need to start growing your own food in your garden if you are lucky enough to have one.
This is a great post. So many people jump on the bandwagon with all the fad diets but learn quickly that they are usually highly ineffective, especially in the long run. Moderation, healthy food choices, and moderate exercise is really the key to a healthy body weight. Thanks for the reminder!
Yes Karen you are right…
Some of these fad diets have been found to have serious health issues and really do nothing more than starve your body to make it lose weight, you will notice I said “weight” and not fat simply because what happens by doing this is that you not only lose fat but can actually drop muscle as well.
Totally agree with the “balance and moderation” concept. Too many trying to lose weight fast make the mistake of reducing intake to almost starvation which of course has the opposite effect to the one intended. Fortunately here in New Zealand we are blessed with easy access to ample supplies of fresh produce and one would think this would make us healthier and have less of an obesity problem than our counterparts in the USA. Judging by the number of overweight people I see every day uptown that is obviously not the case. Processed food and junk food is equally readily available here so I guess many indulge.