You can choose healthy foods with balanced nutrition by buying a variety of fresh, unprocessed foods. Processing adds artificial ingredients, such as sodium, which can contribute to heart disease, while fresh foods contain natural nutrition your body can easily process. Get the carbs, protein and limited fat you need by eating whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy products.
Healthy Carbs
About half of the calories you eat in any healthy diet is from carbohydrates. The simple carbs you find in a variety of fruits and vegetables provide quick energy and water-soluble vitamins, such as B-complex vitamins and vitamin C. But that quick energy can leave just as quickly. MyPyramid.gov states that whole-grain foods, such as brown rice, whole grain breads, pastas and cereals contain complex carbs that take longer to process in your body and supply long-lasting energy. Whole-grain foods also provide plenty of fiber for good digestion.
Low-Fat Protein
Get plenty of protein for strong muscles without too much fat by choosing low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry and fish. Low-fat dairy products contain fat-soluble vitamins like D, K, A and E which your body can store for later use. Choose fish and poultry over beef whenever possible to keep your fat intake down. The fats in red meat and full-fat dairy products can contribute to high cholesterol levels and lead to heart disease. The Harvard School of Public Health states that a similar amount of salmon contains almost as much protein as beef, with a quarter of the fat.
The Problem with Processing
Processed foods tend to leave out essential nutrition while adding sodium, sugars and preservatives that add unneeded fat and empty calories. MayoClinic.com states that by starting in the fresh produce part of the supermarket, you can put the focus for snacks, side dishes and salads on nutritious fresh produce and avoid filling up on processed snacks. You can count on additives and less fiber if the label doesn't say 100 percent whole grain or 100 percent fruit juice.
Unhealthy Refining
Being refined isn't a good thing when it comes to breads, cereals, rice and pastas. The refining process takes away necessary digestive fiber as well as vitamins and minerals. MyPyramid.gov states that even if those B-complex vitamins and iron lost during milling are put back with enrichment, the fiber is still left out and the artificial replacement nutrition may not be as easily absorbed by your body as the original, natural nutrition in whole grains.
Member Comments