The 7 Steps You Must Take To Become A Healthy Eater
If you want to become a healthy eater you have to educate yourself about the health benefits of certain foods and also what foods you should avoid
. To help get you started this article provides a list of steps you can follow to get started on a road to natural health.
Read Food Nutrition Labels
To become a healthy eater you must start with your shopping. Make sure you check the food nutrition labels on packaged food and that you are familiar with the labeling and what to look for. The two main items to watch for are levels of saturated fat and levels of sodium (salt). Avoid items with high levels of these as they are contributors to cardiovascular and heart problems.
Food Preparation and Cooking
The next important step is how you prepare your food and how you cook it. If you are cooking meat, be sure to trim off any fat or skin so that it is as lean as possible. The best ways to cook for healthy eating are grilling, microwaving, baking, boiling and stir frying using a healthy oil such as Canola oil or Olive oil. These oils are high in monounsaturated fat and so are beneficial for heart health.
Avoid Sugar
Sugar in all it's forms is a type of empty energy. This means it provides energy without any vitamins or minerals. As sugar is a refined source of energy it is quickly absorbed into the blood stream. This can lead to dangerous levels of sugar in the blood so the body has to deal with this sudden loading of energy. It does this by storing excess unused energy as fat. This then normalizes the sugar levels in the blood. Soft drinks are a big source of sugar so try to pick drinks that are sugar free.
Eat Less More Frequently
For many the traditional eating pattern is for three meals a day, often with snacking in between. This is OK if the snacking is of a healthy variety, such as fruit, nuts or grain based snack bar. But a better approach is to eat a bit less more often, say for example 6 small meals a day with smaller portions. This has the effect of keeping your blood sugar levels steady and so prevents feelings of hunger which might tempt you to grab an unhealthy snack.
Eat Lots of Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit and Vegetables are natures own pharmacy. They provide so many great benefits the main reason we need pharmacies is because we don't eat enough fruit and veg! To get the best benefits from fruit and vegetables, try to eat a wide variety. Fruit and vegetables are a great health food as they contain lots of antioxidants that are proven to help reduce the risk of certain forms of cancer. Make sure you eat lots of dark colored vegetables as these usually provide the best health benefits. Tomatoes for example contain lycopene which can help to protect your eyes from sight problems. Tomatoes have also been shown to help reduce the damage to skin from exposure to the sun.
Eat Fiber Rich Foods
Fiber is important for your body as it helps to keep your digestive system in top form. Quick elimination of waste products from digestion is essential to avoid some of todays unpleasant conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and hemorrhoids. Fiber can also help reduce the risk of colon cancer. You can get good amounts of fiber from grains, nuts and seeds, beans, fruit and vegetables.
Drink Plenty of Water
Finally, water is an essential part of a healthy eating regime. Water must be taken pure i.e. not as part of a drink such as tea or coffee. Water helps to keep your body hydrated and this in turn allows many of the your body's processes for good health to work well. Water is particularly necessary to work with fiber in getting rid of your body's waste products. Drink plenty of water and you will be helping to cleanse your body.
Why continue to eat in an uninformed way, consuming foods that have little nutritional benefit and are hard for your body to deal with. Over time, this leaves your body in a weakened state and provides the conditions for unwanted health issues to get a hold.
Your body is a fantastic machine that will respond to whatever you eat, so it makes much more sense to become a healthy eater and eat food that your body can handle easily. Your body will function much better and as a result you will be rewarded with stable and good health.
by: Jenny Grahams
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