Top 10 Healthy Food Swaps
It does not matter if you want to lose some weight, feed your body with vitamins or get more energy for your daily activities – healthy eating is the answer. When you get acquainted with healthy eating, you can find out that there are some foods in your diet you have always considered to be healthy, and now it turns out that some of them are actually fairly harmless. Just do not panic. There is no need to make any drastic changes because you can always find a healthy swap. Healthy swaps allow you to enjoy your favorite foods and, as a bonus, provide your body with some essential elements. Below you will find 10 healthy food swaps that can help you to boost your health.
1. Swap White Potato For Sweet Potato
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It will be hard to find a person who does not love potato chips. Although packed potato chips are harmful to your health, you can always make them at home from sweet potatoes instead of white ones. It will allow you to enjoy incredibly tasty potato chips and to provide your body with such important nutrients as vitamin A and beta-carotene.
2. Swap Peanuts For Cashews
Although eating peanuts is absolutely ok, swapping them for cashews will allow you to treat your body with some essential elements such as zinc iron and magnesium. What is more, cashews are known for a variety of other benefits, including their ability to boost the immune system, as well the ability to prevent the development of anemia and age-related memory loss.
3. Swap Meat For Fish
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When you swap meat for fish, you become a pescetarian, which means that you rely on fish and plant sources of protein. There are two main reasons why it is better to swap meat proteins to seafood.
The first reason is that seafood, in comparison to meat, is low in saturated fats. The thing is that saturated fats can become a reason for cardiovascular disease and certain forms of cancer, so it will be better if you replace them with healthy unsaturated fats stored in seafood and plants.
The second reason is that fish, especially oily fish, is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. It means that eating fish helps your body to boost your immune system, ease inflammation associated with gaining weight, improve cognitive function and fight depressions.
4. Swap Salmon For Mackerel
There is nothing wrong with eating salmon Nevertheless, there is the rule that says: the bigger the fish – the more toxins are stored in its fat. That is why choosing whole smaller fish such as mackerel is always better for your health.
5. Swap Milk Chocolate For Dark Chocolate
Healthy eating is not just about proper nutrition, it is about enjoying your food as well. So from time to time, it is good for your psychological health to treat yourself with some desserts such as chocolate. What is more, if you do it right, you can improve not only your psychological but also physical health.
The tip with chocolate is to choose bars that are as close to its original state as possible. The best option is always a homemade raw vegan chocolate. Nevertheless, if you have no time to mess with it, you can simply swap milk chocolates for dark ones. Just note that you have to avoid cocoa fats, so always read labels before you buy your healthy treat.
6. Swap Margarita For Red Wine
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There is a lot of sugar in the most alcoholic drinks and when it comes to the margarita, a single drink is comparable to putting a sugar bomb into your body. And yes, it is absolutely unhealthy. So it will be wise to swap your margarita for a glass of red wine. The thing is that red wine, in comparison to many other alcoholic drinks, has a number of benefits to your health. It is known to boost heart health, it improves cholesterol, it fights free radical damage, it helps manage diabetes, it helps to fight obesity and can even help to prevent Alzheimers’s disease.
7. Swap Sunflower Oil for Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The explanation of this swap is quite simple: olive oil is considered to be one of the healthiest oils in the world as it contains a lot of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. That is why olive oil provides numerous health benefits. It helps to lose weight, to control cholesterol levels and lower risks of heart disease.
8. Swap Animal Milk For Plant Milk
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Drinking milk is not as healthy as it seems. Did you know that milk can actually cause a number of health issues, starting from acne to some types of cancer? In contrast, plant-based milk such as almond milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk, are known to provide our bodies with a number of benefits, including a high amount of monounsaturated fatty acids, the ability to reduce levels of bad cholesterol and the ability to help to lose weight.
9. Swap Juices for Whole Fruits
Juices are often seen as a healthy option but there is nothing good about drinking juice if it contains added sugars (and most of the packed juices contain a lot of sugar). Even homemade juices are not as good as it may seem. The thing is that after juicing, you will not be able to get healthy fiber stored in fruits. So always choose whole fruits instead of liquid ones.
10. Swap margarine for butter
Did you know that exactly margarine is associated with the epidemy of obesity in the US? The thing is that margarine contains a lot of refined carbohydrates and vegetable oils that increase the risk of obesity and heart disease. It is a complete paradox because margarine appeared as an alternative to butter that was victimized for making people fat and increasing the risks of heart disease. Thankfully, today we know that good-quality butter is much better for your health. It feeds our bodies with a number of vitamins, including vitamins A, D, & K. What is more, butter can actually help people lose fat as it contains conjugated linoleic acid. Nice, huh?