Your nutrition is key to staying healthy and reducing the risks of diseases. For instance, eating excessive carbs may lead to being overweight, which is a risk factor for diseases such as sleep apnea, stroke, type 2 diabetes, etc. Every bite you take counts, so you have to ensure that every bite is worth it. Here are ideas on how you can improve your nutrition:
Take fewer calories
Excessive calories in food are not good for the body. If you want your diet to trigger healthy living, you have to limit your calorie intake each day. Start by finding out the recommended calorie intake for you based on your age, gender, activities, personal goals, etc. You can consult healthcare personnel, dietitians, wellness and fitness coach, etc. if you want to shed some fat as well. Also, enjoy every bite you eat but limit your food portions. You can use portion plates to control how much you eat. Practice mindful eating – the habit of paying attention to what you are eating. Mindless eating, which is the opposite, can push you into eating excess calories.
Eat more healthy food
Your nutrition should largely be based on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, etc. try to stay away from non-nutritive foods as much as you can. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains have no cholesterol as well as little fat. They also contain fiber that helps to prevent constipation and enhance digestive activities. Research further shows that these foods help to reduce blood sugar and the risks of heart disease. Before you take grains off the shelf home, read the food label to confirm if the grains are whole grains. Some of the places you might want to get drinks and food to improve your diet include getting wines from companies like Heartwood and Oak while getting products that provide the body with protein from companies Gainful. However, you should first read reviews about the company like reading Gainful reviews to know about the company before patronizing them.
Go for leaner protein sources and reduce the intake of salt
You should include more plant-based protein such as beans, soy products, nuts, etc, and leaner animal protein such as eggs, poultry, lean meat, lean fish, etc. in your meal. You have to reduce your salt intake as well. Do not oversalt your foods. Cut down on unhealthy foods like canned foods, foods high in trans fat such as sweetened drinks, ice cream, etc. You can use them as occasional treats but they should not be your everyday meal. For your drink, take more water and unsweetened drinks such as fruit juice.
Cook your meals
It is understandable if you are too busy to cook and therefore live on takeaways. However, you should not completely rely on eating out. Cooking is one of the key strategies to improve your nutrition. There are different nutritive recipes that you can cook. Sometimes, the foods you eat out are not healthy all the time. Some food outlets are not hygienic with their way of handling food. There have been reports of food poisoning cases in some restaurants that were careless with their food preparation. Cooking allows you to innovate and you can be sure of what is going into your stomach. Besides, cooking can be an activity that everyone in your family can participate in and bond over.
Take note of special nutrition conditions
You have to go to your doctor to confirm if you have any health condition that requires you not to eat certain foods. For instance, if you are a diabetic patient, you cannot eat sugary foods. If you have an ulcer, then you have to cut off fried foods from your diet. Knowing if you need a special diet will help you in choosing your foods carefully and combine them for optimal nutrition. If you have any allergies as well, you have to consider that.
Stop bad health habits
If you want to improve your nutrition, you need to cut off unhealthy habits. For instance, taking too much alcohol is not good for your health. No matter how many healthy foods you wat, your alcohol preferences will always ruin them. The same goes for smoking. Smoking damages the lungs and other parts of your cardiovascular system. It exposes the immune system to more diseases and shortens lives. If you cannot stop both habits, then you should reduce their proportion. Other bad healthy habits you need to stop if you are fond of doing is eating spoilt food, being dirty, exposing your food to microbes, not washing your food items properly, not cooking your food properly, etc. You need to cultivate habits that will enhance the major decisions you have taken as regards your food choices. Also, you need to be patient with your decisions so that you can see the results.
Include supplements in your food
You may not get all the nutrients your body needs in your food. As such, you need dietary supplements that will provide the nutrients you are not getting. However, check with your doctor before you use any supplements. Besides, buy your supplements from only licensed pharmaceuticals.