Competing marketing claims and mixed messages from food regulators complicate healthy eating. Making smart nutritional choices improves your energy, reduces your risk of developing certain chronic diseases and helps you manage your weight. A common-sense approach that incorporates more whole foods and reduces processed products is the best way to become a healthy eater.
Step 1
Focus on whole foods. Select an apple over apple juice, old-fashioned oats instead of instant, presweetened varieties, or roasted chicken over a hot dog. The farther away a food is from its natural state, the less nutritional value it provides for you. The Centers for Disease Control notes that nutrients should come primarily from foods, rather than from supplements, because compounds in whole foods combine with nutrients to protect your health.
Step 2
Aim to minimize your intake of added sugars. Read labels and avoid products whose ingredient lists have cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, brown sugar or honey in the first few ingredients on the list. Reserve soda or other sugary drinks for very special occasions. Follow American Heart Association recommendations that women eat no more than 100 calories per day and men no more than 150 calories per day in added sugars. A 12 oz. soda, for example, contains about 130 extra sugar calories.
Step 3
Consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day---more if you are able. Include a vegetable or fruit with every meal, and when you go back for seconds, make it plant-foods. Prepare your vegetables without added fats; rather, season them with fresh herbs, vinegar or citrus juices.
Step 4
Increase your intake of monounsaturated fats and limit saturated and trans fats. Use olive or canola oil for sautés and salad dressings. Add avocado to your sandwiches instead of mayonnaise. Snack on a handful of nuts, rather than processed snack mixes.
Step 5
Swap in whole grains. Obtain fiber and B vitamins with increased consumption of breads, cereals and pastas that list a whole grain (like whole wheat flour, quinoa, oats, bran, amaranth or barley) as the first ingredient. Whole grains help stabilize your blood sugar, discourage insulin spikes and discourage the storage of body fat.
Step 6
Eat less ground beef and fatty steaks. Opt for fish twice a week and other lean protein options, like skinless chicken, beans or lean cuts of pork, for other meals. Try one or two vegetarian meals a week featuring lentils, soy or eggs.
Tips and Warnings
- Make changes gradually; a drastic approach may make you feel deprived and you might give up on healthy habits altogether.
Things You'll Need
- Fruits and vegetables
- Whole grains
- Olive oil, avocados, nuts
- Fish
- Eggs
- Beans
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