To develop a healthy eating program to maintain a healthy weight, it’s a good idea to do some research on health and nutrition. If you’re not trying to lose weight but just want to eat well for good health, then it’s important to understand how your body uses food. This makes it easier for you to choose healthy food and not be tricked when less-than healthy foods call themselves natural and healthy.
A healthy eating program should offer you much more than just a good balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates. But if that balance isn’t in place to start with, the plan probably isn’t all that healthy. Any plan that keeps fat at about 30% or less of the diet and stresses good fats over saturated fats probably has a healthy fat balance. There should be plenty of sources of protein other than meat, like lots of fish, healthy dairy sources like yogurt, and beans.
And carbohydrates should be mostly whole grain sources like whole grain bread and oatmeal. Whole grain pastas are better than regular pastas, and basmati rice is better than regular white rice. A healthy eating program that stresses these smart choices over things like instant white rice and instant pre-packaged sweetened and flavored oatmeal is better than one that includes too many convenience items.
A healthy eating program should follow the government food pyramid pretty closely. Whole grain carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, lean meat and dairy products can all be part of a very healthy diet. But there are other things to look at, no matter what kind of diet you choose to follow.
You want to make sure your healthy eating program has enough diversity so that you don’t get bored, and you get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Baked chicken breasts, broccoli and a whole grain roll might be a healthy lunch, but no one wants to eat that several times a week. Your plan needs to include a variety of vegetables, not just one or two. There are more lean meats than chicken breasts, and many different ways to prepare these and other dishes.
You’ll also want to make sure that unhealthy things aren’t creeping into your meals. Some diets stress that you use margarine instead of butter, for instance, because it’s lower fat and not full of saturated fat like butter. But margarine is mostly trans fat, a fat that even the government now agrees is worse for you than saturated fat. It’s a fat that should be eliminated, or at the very least severely restricted, from our diets. A healthy eating program that allows certain commercially packaged low-fat cookies and treats might not take into account the amount of trans fats and sugar in those foods, either.
You have to be the detective and examine all the parts of the diet you want to follow. Yes, the balance of foods and nutrition is important, but don’t forget to look at all the other parts of your healthy eating program.
Some people think aging is inevitable. They feel to stay young forever is not going to happen. Science has advanced and it has been discovered methods to use to stay younger is quite possible. Studies show changing the habits or lifestyle makes a huge difference between staying young forever and feeling old before your time.
If you smoke quit. If you don’t smoke then don’t start. Smoking increases the free radicals leading to cell death, damaging your lungs. You will have breathing complications including difficulty exercising.
Have a healthy diet that includes your essential fatty acids. It is recommended you eat fish twice a week so you get enough omega-3, omega-6, and DHA. These help your body cells be flexible and permeable. It has been proven they are an important part of the cells in the nervous system, blood vessels, and skin. They help to fight wrinkles and the brain. Oily fish is the considered the best for the diet.
Include fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet. The vegetables that are orange and yellow are high sources of beta-carotene, which is antioxidant that fights free radicals in the body. They help the body’s cells stay healthy and fight off cancer. Beta-carotene is converted into Vitamin A, which is great for your skin and eyes.
Maintain a healthy weight. When you are overweight you hurt your joints and put extra stress on your heart. When you are overweight you also have other health complications such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. Being underweight is not good for the body either. When you are underweight, the muscles and bones are robbed of the benefits of building stronger as well as energy. It is damages your kidneys and leads to early menopause and osteoporosis.
Exercise helps to work your heart. Cardiovascular exercise makes your heart pump and become a stronger muscle. When you keep your heart in good shape it lessens the chances of heart disease and stroke. You also lower your blood pressure helping the blood flow easier through the vessel, skin, brain, and digestive systems creating a healthy youthful body.
Build up your muscles. Start a weight training regimen of training twice a week. Strong muscles lead to strong bones helping you reduce the risks of breaking them easily. With age, it is easy to break bones so the stronger muscles and bones help you create a stronger youthful body.
As you get older, your sense of balance is effective. Combat the loss of balance practice yoga or dance. The neuromuscular exercise helps your body and brain remain in contact and builds the communication that is often lost with age resulting in balance problems.
To keep your brain active and sharp, do crossword puzzles, brain teasers, and math problems and read to stimulate the brain. Research has shown older adults who regularly stimulate their brain are less prone to the mental deterioration associated with memory loss.
Laughter goes along way. Make a younger attitude that is filled with laughter to keep you feeling youthful.
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