Ask someone how to be healthy, and you will get the advice to eat a healthy diet in addition to excercises. The problem is that everyone has their own definition of healthy diet. If you ask many followers of the trendy ketogenic diet, it means shunning sweet potatoes and quinoa in favor of cheese and coconut oil. For another person, it might mean avoiding sugary foods like ice cream and candy at all costs. And someone else may tell you to avoid all dairy and gluten.
All of this causes lot of confusion for some one who just wants to be healthy. Well there is no need to get worked up by all the jargons and restrictive unsustainable diets.
How to eat healthy?
Well I would just make it simple by introducing three things which you needs to keep in mind to become more healthy.
1) Whole food diet which in simpler term means eat food in its natural form.
When food is processed or refined, it’s stripped of most of its fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and often preservatives are added in their place. Drinking fruit juice is a good example of something which is far less beneficial than whole fruit since it drains that fruit of all fibre and also most of the nutrients. What is mostly left is sugar part of the fruit.
2) Plant based diet which in simple terms means eating more vegetables than meat. “Studies show that people who consume a more plant-based diet have a lower risk of all the chronic diseases. Case in point: A study published in August 2019 in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that people who stick with plant-based eating patterns have a 16 percent lower risk of developing heart disease, possibly because these diets include more heart-healthy fiber and nutrients like potassium, while limiting intake of saturated fat and cholesterol. The definition of plant-based eating can vary based on the personal choice, but can include vegan (no animal products), vegetarian (no meat), or even flexitarian (eating vegetarian most of the time).
3) Supplementary Food – Food which can be used for snacking and in between meals. Rather than focus on what you shouldn’t be eating, think about what you can add to your plate that will improve your health, like nuts for heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids or raspberries for their fiber and antioxidants.
Why eat healthy?
Ayurveda believes that good health starts with food. Here the top reasons why you should eat healthy.
Prevent Diseases and promote weight loss
One of the leading causes of deaths in the world are chronic diseases, which comes from having an unhealthy lifestyle. These includes heart diseases, cancer, diabetes, BP etc.
Obesity or being overweight also leads to many diseases and hence eating properly helps in maintaining weight.
Mental Health
Research shows that food choices and leading a healthy lifestyle also affect mental health. In a review published in July 2016 in Clinical Nutrition Research, study authors report that a diet rich in vitamins and minerals is associated with a lower risk for mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).You will have more energy, feel better, and may even be in a better mood on a daily basis.
How to Improve and devop healthy Eating Habits
If your goal is to eat healthier and stay healthy then it can be overwhelming to think that you have to change up your eating habits forever and not just for few days. Here are 4 step plan to get you started.
1. Make a Plan for Your New Healthy Diet
When starting on a new diet then the most important step is to create a plan. Trust me most of the people fail because they don’t plan. When we don’t plan then we often end up eating what we have been eating as its not easy to come up with healthier option at the last moment. Trust me this will not be forever as once you become accustomed to eating healthy then you will not have to plan as much as you have to do at the beginning. Best tip is to plan night before or in some cases you can even make plan for next 7 Or 10 days.
2. Pack your own Lunch
Bringing your lunch to work. It’s a good way to save money and also ensure that you are eating healthy as it will likely be more nutritious. This is where the planning helps.
3. Keep Unhealthy Foods Out of Sight
Stop storing unhealthy food. That way, you’ll have more of a chance of eating healthy and much less of a chance of eating junk. Make a shopping list so that you can pick up all the vegetables, fruit, and healthy breakfast and snack options. Check out our collection of healthy food items for you and your family.
4. Take Baby Steps
Set small, doable goals instead of doing major changes. If you do major changes to your diet then chances are that you will get tired and exhausted very soon and revert back to your comfort food.
What Are Some Healthy Foods to Eat Every Day?
There are so many healthy foods that you can choose according to your likes and dislikes. The important point is to always have a balanced diet so that you are getting maximum nutrition. There is no bad fruit, vegetable, nut, seed, legume, or whole grain. They’re all good and there’s no single one that’s magical. You can eat whatever you like without worrying about the latest superfood.
Here are a few healthy foods for reference.
- Fruits – Berries, bananas, pomogrenate, orange, mango, apples, melons
- Vegetables – Leafy greens like spinach, amaranth, gourds, peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, mushroom,
- Legumes – Beans, lentils, dried peas Whole grains – whole-grain bread, quinoa, amaranth, millets,
- Seeds – Almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin seeds