Nutrition is an essential part of good health. The foods you choose to eat each day impact your weight, energy level and risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease. Even small changes can have a big impact on your health, so take action to reap the benefits of good nutrition.
Reconsider Fat
Fat is an essential nutrient that should make up about 35 percent of your diet. Avoid artery-clogging saturated and trans fats found in fatty meats, full-fat and 2 percent milk and other dairy products, butter, baked goods, French fries and fast foods. Instead, get healthy, unsaturated fats in your diet from olives and olive oil, canola oil, nuts and nut butters, seeds, avocado and cold-water fish, such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines. Healthy fats reduce harmful cholesterol and help prevent heart disease and many other diseases.
Change Your Grains
Carbohydrates provide you with energy. The best sources of healthy carbohydrates are whole grains, not highly refined sources like white bread, white rice, donuts, processed breakfast cereals, bagels, muffins, white potatoes and sweets, which wreak havoc with your blood sugar levels, causing hunger, weight gain and possibly diabetes. Choose whole-grain bread, cereals and pasta, brown rice, barley and oatmeal. Whole grains are absorbed slowly and steadily during digestion, which keeps hunger and blood sugar under control. Whole grains also contain the vitamins, minerals and fiber that refined grains lack.
Go for Plant-Based Foods
Plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables and beans, are high in vitamins and minerals, fiber and antioxidants. They may help prevent certain types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cataracts and macular degeneration, the major causes of blindness. To get more plant-based foods in your diet, fill two-thirds of your plate with vegetables, beans, whole grains and fruits, and only one-third with lean meat or fish. Add vegetables to sandwiches, pasta sauces and casseroles. Chop vegetables like carrots, celery, cucumbers, jicama and bell peppers, and dip in them in hummus. Skip sweet, fattening desserts and have fruit instead.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health: Food Pyramids: What Should You Really Eat?
- ACE Fitness: Are All Fats Bad? What Kinds of Fats Are Good to Include In My Diet?
- HelpGuide.org: The Anti-Cancer Diet: Cancer Prevention Nutrition Tips and Cancer-Fighting Foods
- FamilyDoctor.org: Nutrition: Tips for Improving Your Health
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