Healthy Eating
Healthy Food Choices
Eating healthy is something we all would like to do,
although it can be hard. In order to eat healthy, you
must first make the right food choices. Eating healthy
is all about what you eat, which makes the choices very
crucial to your results.
Grains
You should consume 6 ounces of grains per day. To do this,
you can eat 3 ounces of whole grain cereals, breads, rice,
crackers, or pasta. You can get an ounce of grains in
a single slice of bread, or 1 cut of cereal.
Vegetables
These should be varied, as you should eat 2 1/2 cups of
them each day. You should start eating more of the dark
vegetables, such as broccili and spinach. Carrots and
sweet potatoes are good as well. You should also eat
more dry beans such as peas, pinto beans, and even kidney
beans.
Fruits
Fruits are very important. You should try to eat 2 cups
of them each day. Focus on eating a variety, such as
fresh, frozen, canned, or even dried fruit. You can
drink fruit juices as well, although you should use
moderation when doing so.
Milk
Milk is your calcium rich friend. For adults, 3 cups
is the ideal goal. For kids 2 – 8, 2 cups is where you
want to be. When choosing milk products or yogurt, you
should go for fat-free or low-fat. Those of you who
don’t like milk or can’t have it, should go for lactose
free products or other sources of calcium such as fortified
foods and beverages.
Meat and beans
Eating 5 ounces a day is the ideal goal, as you should go
lean with your protein. When eating meat, always bake it,
grill it, or broil it, as this will prevent grease from
adding to the equation. You should vary your protein
as well, with more fish, beans, peas, and nuts.
When cooking your food, you should also limit solid fats
such as butter, margarine, shortening, and lard. These
foods may add flavor to your dishes, although they can
also help raise your cholesterol as well. Therefore, you
should try to add these foods and any foods that happen
to contain them.
To help keep your saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium low,
you can check the nutrition facts label. This label can
be found on the food package and will tell you all the
information you need to know about the food item.
By picking your foods wisely and watching what you eat,
you’ll help control your lifestyle. Exercise is great as
well, as it goes along perfect with a healthy eating
lifestyle. No matter what your age may be, eating healthy
will help you keep your active lifestyle for years and
years – even help you and your health in the long run
as well.
Becoming A Healthy Eater
Being a healthy eater requires you to become both
educated and smart about what healthy eating
actually is. Being food smart isn’t about
learning to calculate grams or fat, or is it
about studying labels and counting calories.
Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderate
eating, consisting of healthy meals at least
three times per day. Healthy eaters eat many
different types of foods, not limiting themselves
to one specific food type or food group.
Eating healthy requires quite a bit of leeway. You
might eat too much or not enough, consume
foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious.
However, you should always fuel your body and
your brain regularly with enough food to keep
both your mind and body strong and alert.
A healthy eater is a good problem solver. Healthy
eaters have learned to take care of themselves
and their eating with sound judgement and making
wise decisions. Healthy eaters are always aware
of what they eat, and know the effect that it
will have on their bodies.
When someone is unable to take control of their
eating, they are also likely to get out of control
with other aspects of life as well. They could
end up spending too much, talking too much, even
going to bed later and later.
You should always remember that restricting food
in any way is always a bad thing. Healthy eating
is a way of life, something that you can do to
enhance your body or your lifestyle. If you’ve
thought about making your life better, healthy
eating is just the place to start. You’ll make
life easier for yourself, those around you, and
even your family.