Healthy Diet, Tips For Healthy Eating

Healthy Diet, Tips For Healthy Eating

Healthy Diet Tips

There is a lot of saying about " healthy ", "balanced" and "beneficial" food, but in a nutshell what are we talking about, who decides it and why?

Each nutrition professional is based in his own work on the knowledge he possesses, acquired during the training courses, which in turn are based on scientific evidence.

From these evidence, built on the basis of long observational studies on populations or on "trials”, which are nothing more than controlled tests/experiments, clinical or preventive guidelines are formulated, more or less cautious on the basis of certainty of the results, which constitute relative safety in the food sector and are recommended far and wide.

But checking every possible variable while studying in this area is very difficult, that's why, when it comes to food indications, it is so complicated to provide clear and unquestionable answers!

However, there are certain certainties that can also be applied in everyday life and that you should know if you intend to do everything possible to stay healthy.

What is a healthy and balanced diet for?

Let's start from the reasons that drive us to seek avidly more and more information on how to behave once seated at the table: after all, each of us wants to feel good, right?

But this somewhat generic goal has some basic steps that you shouldn't ignore.

First of all, eating in a healthy and balanced way means providing your body with the means to work: food is both raw material and source of energy for the complex factory that makes up the body.

Without electricity and spare parts, a machine factory will not be able to produce vehicles, in the same way without carbohydrates and without proteins, you would not be able to stand! The metabolism concerns everything that includes energy assimilation.

Obviously each element and nutrient has a specific purpose, which is why we should introduce it in our diet with the right quantities, those necessary for normal functioning.

In the same way, a healthy diet is used to avoid nutritional deficiencies: if some nutrient is missing, maybe we go ahead the same, but in a less efficient way or, if the deficiency becomes serious, with the danger of arising in ailments and diseases, which if I am not wrong, it is not for our purposes.

Finally, eating in a balanced way allows us in many cases to avoid getting sick : many non-communicable diseases are linked to what and how much we eat, but acting with awareness can help us avoid them or contain them even if there is a genetic predisposition.

In fact, it has recently been seen more and more how epigenetics or the influence of the environment on gene expression counts a lot in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases or tumors.

How and what should I eat to stay healthy?

The principles related to healthy eating, those that can be adopted by anyone who cares about their health is not complex and you can immediately try to put them into practice in your days, perhaps focusing on an aspect that you had not considered enough until to now.

In general, you should:

• abound with seasonal fruits and vegetables, because they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and phytonutrients, substances necessary for cellular functionality;
• prefer food as loose and fresh as possible, trying to avoid inserting too many packaged products full of preservatives or additives and paying attention to the quality and origin of what you buy;
• distribute the calories throughout the day according to the commitments, eating balanced meals (without skipping them) and if necessary making light snacks (not snacks);
• reduce the glycemic load by eliminating as much sugar, jams, honey, sweets, soft drinks, alcohol as possible and replacing white pasta, bread, and rice with wholemeal ones to keep insulin levels low;
• use aromatic herbs and spices with imagination to reduce excessively fatty seasonings and limit the salt added to the preparations.

Eating, however, is not only the gesture of bringing food to the mouth, there is a whole series of behaviors to be adopted to make your diet and in general your life healthier, like eating slowly while tasting the food, trying to keep underweight and abdominal circumference control, adopt a personalized exercise program and adopt strategies to reduce stress and rest well.

How to distribute food in your day

Each of us is different, inhabits as in work or in a state of health.

It goes without saying that the famous guidelines can be applied or adapted specifically to the individual subject, sometimes even "bypassed" in particular conditions, but they are precisely indications to be used as a "frame" for one's personal eating habits.

Having said that, it is possible, however, to have a general idea of ​​what are the most effective recommendations of official bodies such as the Italian Ministry of Health or the World Health Organization.

However, the recommendations often do not reach the general population, which therefore remains confused by various types of information coming from everyone.

Fortunately, however, in many cases these recommendations are translated, even graphically, to make them accessible to the general public and I want to bring to your attention two examples that could be very useful.

To know how to distribute the various foods that we have defined healthy, we can in fact rely on two tools: one is the single dish developed by the University of Harvard; the other is the food pyramid of the Mediterranean Diet.

In both documents we find indications on how to eat, the first on the single meal and the second on weekly consumption frequencies.

We will therefore have all the necessary elements every time we sit at the table to take the necessary nutrients, with abundant vegetables, a healthy protein source and a source of carbohydrates from preferably whole grains.

At the same time, you can decide which variety of food belonging to the same food group to enter day by day and weekly:

• from 3 to 5 daily portions of different varieties and colors of vegetables and fruits, raw or cooked, seasonal and local;
• lean meats (2 to 4 weekly portions) or fish (at least 2 weekly portions) or eggs (2 to 4 weekly portions) or legumes (at least 2 weekly portions) combined with cereals as a protein source;
• low-fat dairy products, to be evaluated if inserted as a snack (yogurt, 1 daily portion) or protein source of the single dish (low-fat cheeses, 2 weekly portions);
• 1 or 2 daily portions of pasta or bread or whole grains as a source of carbohydrates;
• 1 or 2 portions of preferably vegetable fats such as oil or seeds or nuts;
• Abundant water, physical activity and conviviality every day.

Is healthy eating expensive?

There is a belief about "healthy food" that is difficult to eradicate, and that is "expensive".

In some ways, I can almost prove you right: lately many alternative sales outlets were born to the classic supermarket, which was immediately associated with healthy eating for their meanings related to natural and organic, for example, but at the same time, they are extremely expensive.

There are also some varieties of products that are becoming more and more common, but which were not at all until some time ago and are still not available in small stores, such as the varieties of whole wheat pasta, which are more expensive than the classic product.

But do we have to spend more to eat properly?

It is not said, unless you are looking for niche products, perhaps with particular properties or made only in certain geographical areas.

There is also another factor, waste.

Let's try to reason together: how much food do you happen to waste during a normal week? How much of that food goes directly into the fridge without even realizing it?

There are some tricks that you can use to make sure you don't spend a fortune but feed yourself better, here are some keywords to keep in mind:

• Planning: deciding in advance how you will eat can make a huge difference, trivially making a shopping list organized by food categories to follow during the purchase will allow you not to be distracted by various advertisements inside and outside the store.
• Choice, both of the place of purchase and of the type of products: a market will not have the same products as a supermarket, nor the same quality. Try pushing yourself to new places and getting out of your comfort zone.

In addition, a washed vegetable, divided into portions and packaged - ready to use - can also cost four times as much as someone who perhaps still has a little soil on it ... you really don't have time to wash a salad? I happened to see oranges peeled and packaged. Madness. You pay for plastic and transportation for less fresh food.

In stores, on the other hand, it also assesses the type of packaging on the packed products and compares the prices per kg to get an overview. Check your receipts and score.

• Seasonality: the less a food travels or is stored and treated, the lower the accessory costs will be. Using this criterion for fruit and vegetables, but also for fish, will be good for your wallet.
• Organization: Storing and storing food properly once you are at home can help you waste less and therefore waste less money.

Do not forget the expiry dates and pay attention to the different words it is mandatory to use it within the specified time and date. But it is not dangerous for consumption even shortly after the term.

Finally, always cook with the right quantities in mind for a portion and try to creatively exploit any leftovers!

Not only "what", but also "how" to eat

Now you should have a slightly more precise idea of ​​what everyone means by "healthy diet".

We must not forget that choosing foods is only one of the steps: the way you store, cook and consume your meals can also have a great impact on the healthiness of your diet.

A particularly important the step is that of preparation and cooking, actions that can in fact have a great impact on the nutritional content of foods: for example, some vitamins are sensitive to heat, while mineral salts are easily dispersed in water, which is why we recommend alternating the consumption of raw and cooked fruit and vegetables.

In other cases, cooking a food makes nutrients more available and removes or transforms substances that could normally be harmful to us, such as some proteins or anti-nutrients found in cereals, legumes, and vegetables.

One of the pieces to add to your overview, therefore, concerns the careful choice of the cooking method of the various foods, so that you can have the greatest benefit with the least waste or damage.

The story of eating well and in a healthy way does not end here: there are many other factors related to food that can affect your overall health even more positively, such as timing, or the moment you decide to eat, or the use of any supplements, which can make your body's work even more efficient, or even how you decide to combine physical activity and nutrition training.

If you are curious and want to know more I can explain it to you through a complete course that I decided to call “Boost your health ": acquire the right tools to achieve your goals!