We all love our food, but do you know what you're eating? And how it will effect your body? We give a brief insight into some ways to stay healthy.
If you make it to the bottom of the article then your 50% there, information is knowledge, once you have the knowledge putting it into practice is the other 50%. With some effort and determination living healthy and fit shouldn't be such a chore.
1. Managing Your Diet
Eating the right kind food is very important, which includes having a healthy diet with reduced calorie intake. Begin the day with a hearty breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day. Make it healthy, and never miss it because you need a kick-start to begin your day. Your lunch should be somewhat lighter, keeping your dinner very light. Normally, people begin the day with a light breakfast and end the day with heavy dinner. Keep away from after dinner snacks, maintaining a gap of at least two hours between your dinner and bedtime.
2. Healthy and Tasty Food
Many people go on diets that are absolutely bland and tasteless. It is difficult to keep pace with such foods. More often that not, such diets are not pursued with because of the taste factor. However, you can add some spices or sauces to your diet to make it tasty. These are not calorie enhancing so can safely be taken. You can use any of the following to enhance the taste of your otherwise bland food:
Vinegar
Salsa
Teriyaki Sauce
Reduced-salt Soy Sauce
Mustard
Worcestershire Sauce
Hot Sauce
Tomato Sauce
3. Food Supplements
Food supplements are good for you. Supplements are not meant to be taken as substitutes for food, vegetables and fruit. Some supplements are harmful for your health. Overdose of vitamins are considered harmful for your health. Take care of the dosage and go by what has been prescribed. You may even consult your doctor or a dietician before taking a supplement. Things you can take as supplements are aloe vera, glucosamine, selenium, ginseng, calcium and more. Minerals and vitamins are what the body requires and can be taken in addition to our food as supplements.
4. Nutritional Foods
What people mean by healthy foods is that the food should contain nutritional value. The body needs nutrition, which healthy foods provide. Junk food has no nutritional value, and for that very reason you should wean your children away from them and inculcate in them the habit of eating nutritional foods. A generous serving of salads, fruits and vegetables would serve your health well. If you do not have a liking for fruits and vegetables, develop a taste for them or compensate by taking supplements. Remember to consult your physician or nutritionist before taking supplements. Vegetarians will need to take supplements of iron and vitamin B 12, which are found in meat.
5. Reading the Label
Many products that you may find on the shelves of your neighborhood store may claim in bold letters that they are Low Fat and Low Calorie products. But do not go by their face value. Read their labels. In fact, read the labels of each product to find out what it constitutes of. You will find a difference between what the label and claims say. Note the FDA guidelines in this regard.
Fat-Free: Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil
Saturated Fat Free: Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving
Low fat: 3 grams or less of fat per serving
Less fat: 25% or less fat than the comparison food
Low Cholesterol: 20 mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving
Cholesterol-Free: Less than 2 mg cholesterol per serving, and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving
Low Calorie: 40 calories or less per serving
Reduced Calorie: At least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food
Extra Lean: Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood
Lean Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood
Light (fat): 50% or less of the fat than in the comparison food (ex: 50% less fat than our regular cheese)
Light (calories): 1/3 fewer calories than the comparison food
Sugar-Free: Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving
High-Fiber: 5 grams or more fiber per serving
Low Sodium: 140 mg or less per serving
Very Low Sodium: 35 mg or less per serving
Sodium-Free or Salt-Free: Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
6. Protein Rich Almonds
Almonds are a rich source of proteins. They are delicious and make great protein enriched snacks. They have been found to reduce the risk of heart attacks by about 50%. Keep some almonds in your pocket and munch them on your way to office to keep healthy.
7. Flaxseed
One can stay way from heart problems and can make the cardiovascular system healthy by the intake of flaxseed in one's diet. The alpha-linolenic acid is one of the constituents of flaxseed and is a fatty acid. In the control of blood pressure, fatty acids play a key role. Thus, they are helpful in digestion. However, you must take care of one thing while using flaxseed in the food. To ensure proper digestion, flaxseed must be completely crushed before its intake.
8. Minimize the Quantity of Sugar
To lead a healthy life, try to minimize the quantity of sugar in your diet. Take care of the quantity of sugar while taking tea or any other drink. Many people believe that juices or the low-fat fruit roll-ups have less amount of sugar. But, they are mistaken, as fruit juices or low-fat fruit roll-up contains more sugar than soda. So, always take care while eating or drinking anything, as sugar is the cause for many severe health problems.
9. Berries - The Healthy and Tasty Food
Are you feeling thirsty? If you need some refreshing, sweet and juicy drink, then go for grapes, strawberries and blueberries. There is no need to worry about their sugar content. Berries are one fruit that are tasty as well as healthy. They have anthocyanidins that act as a plant nutrient. They are among the best antioxidants. Some of the berries are even helpful in protecting against heart disease and cancer, as they contain high levels of resveratrol.
10. Have Hot and Spicy Food - Feel Active
Are you feeling a little down? Then go for something spicy. Spicy food will help you in recovery. The cause for the recovery is the triggering of endorphins. The spicy hot foods that have curry, chilies, or hot peppers in them are quite helpful in triggering the endorphin hormone. These hormones will make you feel good and healthy. Moreover, endorphins act like natural morphine and sooth your pains and make you feel active and healthy. Now, whenever you feel a little low or have some minor pain then go for some hot and spicy food.
11. Do Not Eat Food that Cause Allergies
Always take care while eating, as your food can be the cause of several allergies.
Most of us love to eat various dishes at several restaurants. But, we are not aware of the allergies and other reactions that may be caused. After eating food in a restaurant, if your stomach is upset, or you have a headache, or any other kind of problem, it means that you are suffering from allergy. The common foods that may cause problems are eggs, peanuts, milk, soy, shellfish, tree nuts and fish. Among children, it may be cow's milk, soy, wheat and eggs. Certain clothes are also known to cause skin allergies.
12. Avoid Caffeine
Try to avoid the intake of caffeine, as it will dehydrate your body. The intake of caffeine can lead to some severe health problems. As an option, it would be better to go for herbal tea.
13. Fibrous Foods
If you are conscious about your health then go for fibrous foods. Whole wheat is best from the point of view of health. It minimizes the danger of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, diverticulosis etc. Whole wheat has fibers in it, which is quite good for health. Try to avoid white flour and bread and prefer food consisting of barley, oat, bulgur, millet, brown rice, rye, buckwheat and wheat.
14. Flavonoids
Do you know, excess hormones in the body can cause cancer? Compounds rich in oestrogen block the growth of excess hormones. Flavonoid is one such oestrogen-like compound and is found in plants. It acts as a strong antioxidant. So, try to take maximum amount of products rich in flavonoid such as beans, onions, soy products, broccoli and apples.
15. Green Tea
Most of us drink tea, as it relaxes us and we feel a little active after having it. However, tea has some disadvantages also that can lead to health problems. Therefore, everyone must prefer green tea, as its intake has many advantages. Firstly, it aids in the metabolism of fat and thus, helps in digestion. Secondly, it also provides the excess-hormone-blocker, flavonoids to your body. Lastly, we all know that tea is a natural diuretic and thus green tea is harmless and good for health.
16. Reduce Sodium in Your Diet
These days High blood pressure is a common problem among the masses. The main cause for growing heart problems is the unorganized lifestyle and tensions. You can prevent this problem by organizing your lifestyle and taking a few precautions as well. Minimize the intake of salt or sodium in your food. Not only table salt contains sodium, but certain canned vegetables, soup and soda increase the amount of sodium in your body. Now, before having any canned food read the ingredients carefully and check the amount of sodium in it. So, to be healthy avoid salty food and prefer natural seasoning or a little salt.
17. Normoglycaemia
Most of us love having sweet foods. However, eating sweet food in large amounts can cause severe health problems. You can avoid the cravings for sweet food by normalizing the glucose levels in your blood. Start using Normoglycaemia, it will normalize the glucose levels and help you in avoiding the intake of sweet food. Moreover, it has large amount of magnesium, B vitamins and chromium.
18. Prefer Quality Not Quantity
People have a misconception that eating less means they will be fit and in shape. Do not jump to the conclusion that eating more is being healthy. For attaining a healthy body, it is the quality of food you are eating that matters and not the quantity you are having. Always go for nutritious foods such as orange, hard-boiled eggs, broiled chicken breast, green and fresh vegetables. For lovers of sweet stuff, check out for weight watchers such as cheesecake or éclairs. Do not deprive yourself of food, and make sure that you are having healthy food.
19. Right Food
Are you feeling down? The cause for your laziness or tiredness is that your body is not getting the right kind of nutritious food. You must be depriving your body of the nutritious foods such as carrots, rice cakes, potatoes, bananas and breakfast cereals. Include all these healthy foods in your regular diet and feel the new freshness.
20. The ideal balance
The body's requirement of protein depends on the amount of exercise you are doing. For Instance, if you are exercising a lot then your body needs much protein than others. The ideal balance would be 50 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 20 to 25 percent protein and fat would be 20 percent or less. This balance will be suitable for everyone. So, try this balance in your diet and enjoy the benefits.
21. Fitness that goes with food
Some foods are only meant to burn fat. Start eating peas, honey and soya beans to have the result. Some foods provide special benefits for the people who workout.
Generally, you are not supposed to take carbohydrate foods after you finish your exercise. You may try out fresh fruit or water. The reason is that even after an hour of your exercise, the body is still breaking down fat.
We hope all the above information will help you stay healthy and understand what is good for you and what isn't! Remember your body is your temple!
