Common Sense Eating And 10 Tips To A Healthy Diet

Developing healthy eating habits isn't as confusing as many people imagine and does not need to be an ordeal.

Variety & Natural Products

The first principle of a healthy diet is to simply eat a wide variety of foods, as different foods make different nutritional contributions to your overall health. The reason many people are over weight in our modern society is down to eating processed foods. In days gone by people tended not to be fat and obesity was almost unknown

Eat fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes-foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals which are low in fat, and importantly free of cholesterol. These foods should make up the majority of the calories consumed on a daily basis. The rest should come from low-fat dairy products, lean meat and poultry, and fish.

Following the above doesn't mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. As long as your overall diet is low in fat and rich in complex carbohydrates, there is nothing wrong with eating something as atreat such as a chocolate bar or hamburger.

A healthy diet also gives you an opportunity to increase your choices by trying new foods. Try and add healthy options such as vegetables, grains, or fruits-that you don't normally eat. A healthy diet doesn't have to mean eating needs to be an ordeal or boring

1O Guidelines To Healthy Eating

1 Balance Fat & Protein

Fat should supply around 30% of your total daily calories. Limit your intake of fat by having more vegetables in your diet.

Eat lean meats, light-meat poultry without the skin, fish, and low-fat dairy products. In addition, cut back on vegetable oils and butter-or foods made with these.

Protein should be around 15% of your calorie intake. Don't fall for the myth of eating protein at the expense of fat it's not natural and can cause health problems. The trick is not to increase protein over fat, but eat good fat rather than saturated fats.

2 Limit your intake of saturated fat.

This is the kind of fat, found mostly in animal products, that increases blood cholesterol levels and has other negative health effects. It should supply less than one-third of the calories derived from fat. Keep your cholesterol intake below 300 milligrams per day. Cholesterol is found only in animal products, such as meats, poultry, dairy products, and egg yolks, so it's easy to keep a check on your intake

3 Eat foods rich in complex carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates should contribute around 55% of your total daily calories. Don't fall for the hype that carbohydrates are bad for you they are not, just make sure you eat complex carbohydrates

To help get the right sources, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and six or more servings of grains (preferably whole grains) or legumes daily. This will help you obtain the 20 to 30 grams of dietary fiber you need each day, as well as provide important vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals essential to good health).

4 Avoid too much sugar.

Sugar is a source of "empty" calories, and many foods that are high in sugar are also high in fat. Look at the labels to see how much sugar is a product many products say they are low in fat but they are high in sugar and this turns to fat. Read labels and you may be surprised at how many so called healthy foods are high in sugar i.e yoghurt and muesli.

5 Make sure to include green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables

Examples would be broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, and citrus fruits. The antioxidants and other nutrients in these foods are regarded as increasingly important in helping protect against developing certain types of cancer and other diseases. Eat three to five more servings a day.

6 Variety

Eat a variety of foods; this really is the key to a balanced diet. Don't try to fill your nutrient requirements by eating the same foods every day. It is possible that not every essential nutrient has been identified, and so eating a wide variety of foods helps to ensure that you will get all the necessary nutrients. In addition, this will limit your exposure to any pesticides or toxic substances that may be present in specific foods.

7 Limit your sodium intake

Your sodium intake should be no more than 2,400 milligrams per day. This is equivalent to the amount of sodium in a about teaspoon of salt. Cut back on your use of salt in cooking and on the table; avoid salty foods; check food labels for the inclusion of ingredients containing sodium. The amount of salt in certain foods is way above daily limits, so again read the labels of foods.

8 Try to get your vitamins and minerals from foods,

Try and get most of these naturally and not from supplements. Supplements cannot substitute for a healthy diet, which supplies nutrients and other compounds besides vitamins and minerals. Foods also provide the "synergy" that many nutrients require to be effective and broken down in the body and utilized correctly. There is a case for supplements but they should complement your diet and not be the main single source of vitamins and minerals

9. Maintain a desirable weight.

Balance energy (calorie) intake with energy output. Eating a low-fat diet will help you maintain-or lower-your weight, as will regular exercise. Don't ignore exercise, it only needs to be moderate, you don't have to kill yourself in the gym! The two biggest causes of obesity are processed unnatural foods and our modern lazy life style. Diet and exercise go together and complement each other.

10. Enjoy Your Food

If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation eat chocolate crisps etc but don't overdo it. Why shouldn't you enjoy what you really enjoy? There is no reason why you can't. You just have to move to a diet that has all around balance. Once you have done this you will control your weight for life, prevent disease and look and feel better. Think balance combined with moderation and you will enjoy all the foods you normally do, as well as enjoying some new ones as well.

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