Adopting a healthier and balanced diet is easier said than done for most people. With some incentives and positive reinforcement, healthy eating can be easy and painless.
History
Healthy eating isn't a new concept. The ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Persians all understood that adopting a healthy and balanced diet can help fight disease, improve physical fitness and sharpen mental focus. Socrates and Plato were advocates of healthy eating who believed that diets high in fiber, fruits and vegetables can help men live to ripe old ages.
Description
One commonality in all healthy diets is that they are plant-based, containing wheat, corn, rice, leafy vegetables, legumes and fruit, with meat served as a side-dish. Native diets in Okinawa, Japan; Mexico; and Italy―although different in appearance―share this plant-based template.
Benefits
Adopting a healthy diet provides more fringe benefits than your employers could give you. These include providing more energy, improving your immune system, lowering bad cholesterol, improving organ function, reducing body fat (complemented with regular exercise), saving money and extending your longevity.
Types
Hundreds of healthy diets out there reflect on culture and geography, but three stand out:
--Mediterranean Diet: refers to the native diets of Greece, Crete and Italy.
--Vegetarian Diet: ovo-lacto vegetarianism; refers to those who do not eat any meat or animal products except for dairy and egg products.
--Diabetes Diet: for those who are type 1 or 2 diabetic or for those who are at risk for diabetes
Economics
Buying whole foods in their natural state is much more economical than buying processed or packaged foods. At a wholesale store, you can purchase a head of fresh lettuce for 45 cents a pound while packaged salads can cost $3 to $5 for less than a pound.
Although some processed foods and dollar-menu foods are cheaper than whole foods, the negative health consequences they cause can cost well into thousands of dollars in the form of treatment for heart disease, liver dysfunction and high blood pressure.
Summary
Learning to eat right can be as challenging as learning a foreign language or exercising regularly. It is a lifetime learning process that pays you back in dividends of longevity and fitness.
References
- "Perspectives in Nutrition"; Gordon Wardlaw and Margaret Kessel; 2002
- "Exercise Physiology"; William McArdle; 2003
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