What Is Healthy Eating?

When you decide on eating healthy, your food choices have to be focused on those products that will provide your body with such important nutrients as protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals. There are a variety of foods containing these life-saving elements and the best thing is that when you start making healthy food choices, you improve your health, start to feel better and have enough energy to live full and bright life. 

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Healthy eating, especially combined with some daily physical activity, allows you to control your weight and help your body stay strong and healthy. Although nutrition is important for everyone, it is worth to mention that healthy eating has even greater importance for those who have an underlying risk for the development of some diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease or cancer, and for those who currently undergoing treatment. Healthy foods will help you to reinforce immune system, improve mood and increase energy level.

Not Another Diet

Although there is nothing wrong with the word diet, most of us associate it with a specific weight-loss plan. In reality, any diet can be defined by types and amounts of food we eat. Because of a wrong interpretation of this word, psychologically, the word diet is often associated with some limitations. And when we put some limitations, we feel like we are losing something desirable. That is why it is so hard for most of us to follow diets.

You have to understand that when you switch to healthy eating, you do not lose anything. Instead, you let something new, something beautiful and something really good to come into your life. When it comes to healthy eating, we do not focus on limitations, we are focusing on the quality of food and its healing effects and there is always a healthy food swap for your favorite unhealthy meal.   

How to Eat Healthy?

Healthy eating does not require you to follow any strict guides. Nevertheless, there are some things you have to remember:

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1. When you think about healthy foods, what comes into your mind? Although most of can say what is healthy and what is not, too often the list of healthy foods that we keep in our minds is too limited. Eating healthy means eating a variety of foods to feed the body with everything needed for its healthy functioning. So when you are making some healthy food choices, always remember that there is a variety of options for your consideration. You do not have to eat just salads, as well as you do not have to eat just smoothies or grains. Include every healthy food you know on your monthly shopping list and allow your mouth to taste the variety and your body to get all nutrients it needs.
2. One of the best things about healthy eating is that you do not have to count calories or somehow limit your portions. The only exception is when you switch to healthy eating to lose weight, but even then such restrictions are optional. The thing is that healthy eating creates the connection between your mind and your body, so after about 2 weeks eating healthy your body will tell you when it needs to be fed, as well as how much food it needs. If there is a rule to follow, it is eating until you are 80% full. Even if 80% seems not enough right after you finish your meal, wait for just 15 minutes and you will find out that you do not feel hunger at all.
3. Healthy eating includes 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The best thing you can do is to follow your own but constant schedule. In other words, you have to find out the most suitable time for each meal and adhere to your schedule. Also, it will be great if you try to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
4. Create a habit of reading food labels when shopping. It will allow you to choose healthier options. Furthermore, reading food labels increases your awareness, so after some period of time, it will be easier for you to orientate between healthy and unhealthy options.
5. Remember that fresh food is always healthier than processed one, especially when you have no time to read food labels. The thing is that fresh foods provide your body with nutrients, while processed foods are usually no more than fats and sugars. It is worth to mention that some processed foods can destroy nutrients, so in such case, even combining fresh with processed will not make your meal healthier.

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6.Create a habit of cooking at home. It will allow you to take control of your food, to make sure it is healthy, to improve your cooking skills and, in the most cases, save money.

7. Healthy eating involves sugars, but those naturally occurring ones, such as fructose that can be found in fruits. So if you like your tea or coffee with sugar, it will be better if you replace it with some healthier options such as natural honey. Fruit-flavored drinks, soft drinks, sports and energy drinks contain a lot of sugar as well, so swap them for water and natural juices. Also, healthy eating means swapping cakes and cookies for fruits, and milk chocolates for dark ones. If swapping cakes and cookies for anything is too much for you, do not worry: healthy eating has a lot of recipes for such treats, but in the most cases, you will have to cook them yourself.

8. Although healthy eating does not exclude alcohol, it is better to reduce it to a minimum. Remember, while a glass of red dry wine is good for you, a bottle will be harmful to your health. Also, try to avoid alcohol drinks with added sugars. It will be better if you drink a glass of brut champagne than a glass of margarita.

9. You do not have to be a vegetarian to replace animal fats. The thing is that animal produce is high in saturated fats that can cause heart disease. So the healthy swap here is choosing unsaturated fats that can be found in oily fish and nuts. Other meat alternatives include legumes, lentils, and tofu. If you are not ready for such swaps, you can choose low-fat meat and cook it without skin.

10. When it comes to seasonings, try to avoid salt and replace it with herbs such as basil, rosemary, garlic, oregano, paprika, etc. The thing is that salt contains sodium. This element increases water retention, causing high blood pressure. Although its harmful effect can be reduced by potassium found in such foods as bananas, tuna, and butternut squash, it is always better to limit its intake.

11. Make sure that your body gets all vitamins needed, including vitamin D. Without vitamin D, your it is difficult for your body to absorb such important to your bones and health element as calcium. Although there are nearly no dietary sources to provide you with the amount of vitamin D needed, there is another easy way to get it. It can be synthesized by your body with the help of sunlight, so daily prana meals have to become a part of your healthy diet.

12. Although fried meals are often associated with the tastiest ones, it will be better if you swap them for baked, broiled, braised, grilled, steamed, sautéed, or boiled. Nevertheless, if you fry, use vegetable oils such as olive or coconut oil instead of animal ones.