Do you know how to improve your diet? Are you wanting to lose some weight? The food pyramid is often cited as one of the best ways to ensure a balanced diet and one that can be used for obesity prevention. Just think about your loved ones who are far away from you, send them virtual group cards, and talk about their health. In this article, we explore 20 tips for healthy eating that are based on actual scientific evidence.
The following tips are put together by our team of health and nutrition experts. We hope you find them helpful in making decisions about what to eat!
Eat Breakfast Every Day
Eating breakfast is linked with lower rates of obesity and higher cognitive performance among children. Breakfast skippers often become more hungry and less satiated during the day, which may lead to overeating later on.
Include Plenty of Colorful Fruit and Vegetables in Your Diet
Having at least five servings of fruit and vegetables daily is linked with lower overall mortality risk. Along with fruits, include green leafy vegetables, legumes (beans and lentils), whole grains, nuts, seeds, and cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower.
Eat Protein-Rich Foods
Incorporating protein-rich foods into your diet is one way to maintain healthy blood pressure levels in women. Protein-rich foods include eggs, fish, poultry, tofu, and legumes.
Cut Down on Sugar and Salt
Limiting your intake of sugar and salt may also help lower blood pressure. Try to keep your daily added sugar intake below 6 teaspoons (25 grams). For people with high blood pressure, the American Heart Association recommends keeping salt intake below 2,300 mg per day.
Limit Consumption of Red Meat
Red meat is high in saturated fat and cholesterol, both of which have been linked with higher rates of cardiovascular disease. If you eat red meat, choose lean products and minimize steak or burger portions to less than four ounces (113 g).
Eat Whole Grains and Replace Refined Grains
Most people eat much more refined grains than whole grains each day. Take the opportunity to dust off a whole grain and start including them in your diet. Whole grains are healthier because they are minimally processed and are richer in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than refined grains.
Eat Fruits with Added Sugar
Strawberries, kiwi, peaches, pears, mangoes, and oranges contain varying degrees of added sugar that alter the way our bodies process nutrients. Sugars found naturally in these fruits can be beneficial but excessive amounts can sweeten food without delivering key nutrients that promote a healthy body weight. Read more about added sugars here.
Eat Plant-Based Protein at Least Once Every Three Days
There is an abundance of plant-based protein sources in the diet (see tip one). Your body craves protein and eating enough whole, plant-based foods each day is a great way to ensure you get enough essential amino acids. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you’ll want to include some beans and legumes in your diet. Other good sources of plant-based protein include nuts, seeds, tofu, and tempeh.
Eat Fish at Least Once Every Three Days
Seafood is one of the best sources of nutrients for heart health. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may help lower blood pressure. Fish should be cooked at a temperature of 145F (63C) or higher to limit the risk of mercury poisoning.
Eat Smaller Portions of Fruits and Vegetables
Food portions can often be larger than they need to be, leaving you with more food on your plate than you need. If serving sizes are too large, you may end up consuming extra calories and losing weight at a slower pace than desired. Smaller portions can help increase satiety by making us feel fuller sooner (2). In addition, smaller quantities of fruits and vegetables make it easier for us to consume them at every meal as part of a balanced diet.
Use Smaller Plates
Studies have shown that portion sizes tend to look larger when served on a large plate. A smaller plate forces you to eat less and can be helpful in controlling your portions (3). Use small plates at home, when eating out, and even when serving food at home.
Avoid Skipping Breakfast
Eating breakfast helps us make better decisions during the day. In addition, people who skip breakfast are more likely to overeat later in the day (4). It is important to include breakfast in your daily routine because it provides you with an opportunity to start your day healthy by providing satiety and nutrients.
Add a Little Spice Please!
Spices like chilli pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne have been shown to have the ability to help you burn more calories. Some spices may also help lower blood sugar and improve blood lipid profiles (5).
Drink Green Tea
Green tea has a lot of health benefits including lowering risk factors for heart disease and cancer. Green tea also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that has been shown to increase focus and attention. Drinking caffeinated green tea before your workout can enhance athletic performance by improving both mental and physical performance. Read more about the health benefits of green tea here.
Drink Mostly Water
Most of us don’t get nearly enough water each day. The solution to drinking enough water is simple: Swap sugary or caffeinated drinks for plain water. Avoid sodas and juice, as these can actually increase appetite in the short term.
Choose Fresh Fruit over Fruit Juice
Drinking fruit juice does not provide you with any additional nutrients when compared to eating the same amount of fresh fruit. In fact, drinking fruit juice can actually be detrimental due to its high sugar content.
Choose Oatmeal over Cereal
Oatmeal is one of the healthiest breakfast options you can choose. A one-cup serving of oatmeal, with milk, contains about 8 grams of fiber and only about 90 calories. Cereals can contain added sugars which can increase your risk for excess weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Have Breakfast Cereal Only Once a Week:
Don’t let cereal lead the way at breakfast. Turn to the healthier alternative instead: oatmeal.
Avoid All Butter, Margarine, Mayonnaise, and Salad Dressings
These fats are rich in calories and contain little to no nutrients. In fact, many times they are full of unhealthy trans fats that can lead to health problems like heart disease and weight gain.
Avoid Fried Food
Fried food has a high-calorie density and you often eat more than you realize. The act of frying food adds extra calories at the cost of nutrients like B vitamins, vitamins A, and C. If you must have fried food, try baking or grilling instead.
Health and Nutrition went together, and both are equally beneficial for a better life. There are a lot of ways through which you can make yourself healthy and we are sum up some of them. Just like we whoever recommends and advises you these then send them perfect thank you cards. This can make someone’s day more special.