When you want to improve your overall health, nutrition is an obvious place to make small improvements for significant results. Just substituting one type of food for another -- like whole grains instead of white flours and sugars -- can improve your health along with your energy levels and health status. Over time, improving your diet and the nutrition it delivers can alter or even reverse some health issues.
Basics
A healthy diet begins with the food guide pyramid. By designing a diet plan based on the pyramid or one of its variations, such as the Mediterranean pyramid, a wide variety of foods will provide the nutrients that your body needs, including protein, carbohydrate, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, fiber, and vitamins and minerals while minimizing saturated fats and sugars.
Specifics
Certain food choices are powerhouses for nutrition. These include choosing whole grains for carbs, choosing poultry, fish, nuts and beans for proteins, and choosing healthy fats by limiting saturated fat and eliminating trans fats. Add plenty of fruits and vegetables for fiber and variety, calcium-rich foods such as skim dairy. Maximize water while minimizing salt and sugar, limit alcohol, and supplement with a multivitamin plus vitamin D.
Diseases
Specific diets can help with treatment and living with certain conditions, such as DASH for low blood pressure. A heart-healthy diet would be high in oatmeal, salmon, avocado, olive oil, nuts, berries, legumes, berries, spinach, flaxseed and soy. These foods have a few nutrients in common, all of which are associated with heart health: omega 3 fatty acids, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, folate, fiber, potassium, anti-inflammatories and calcium.
Recommendations
For a healthy diet and lifestyle change, begin by considering any health conditions you may have. This will help guide you toward specific dietary guidelines that may apply to that condition. It is always a good idea to speak with your doctor about these changes and for additional recommendations. Specific nutrition plans can be found for conditions including diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, digestive disorders, eating disorders, food allergies and AIDS/HIV.
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