Eating a well-balanced diet is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle and can even prevent heart diseases, diabetes, and other severe health conditions. Eating healthy with sufficient nutrients and vitamins is advisable for most people, but asking your physicians about the proper diet never hurts. Please see our intuitive eating-assisted therapy if you wonder how to start eating healthy again. This approach promotes a healthy attitude toward food and a better understanding of hunger. Today, we`ll discover the best ways to start eating healthy.
How to start eating healthy for beginners?
1. Focus on fruits and vegetables
If your goal is to start a healthy diet, eating more fruits and vegetables is good. They contain the essential vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function well. For instance, Vitamin C is good for our skin and takes part in iron absorption, while Vitamin A keeps our eyes healthy and fights infections. Minerals are also vital for our systems, like Magnesium which participates in bone strengthening. The recommended amount of fruits and vegetables varies from person to person. For example, 2 cups of fruits and 2.5 cups of vegetables are advisable for women at 19-30 ages, while 2 and 3 cups are recommended for men accordingly.
2. Avoid processed foods
Any food preserving, such as canning or freezing, significantly changes its nutritional content and is typically high-calorie. Preservatives, salt, and sugar are usually added to processed food, resulting in bad effects on the human body. If you want to eat healthily, start limiting fast food, chips, candies, cookies, cakes, sausages, etc. This can also help you reduce health risks.
3. Eat whole grains
Even though whole grains are pretty nourishing, they contain essential human body vitamins, micronutrients, and protein. It is worth mentioning that whole grains involve brown rice, whole grain bread and pasta, oats, and quinoa. According to the 2020 analysis of trials, eating whole grains as an alternative to refined grains results in a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and optimal cholesterol. It is advisable for people interested in a healthy diet to consume at least half of the carbohydrates be whole grains daily.
4. Consume more healthy fats
If you still wonder how to start eating healthy when you never have, then implementing more healthy fats into your diet appears as a good option. Unsaturated fats promote more heart health benefits than saturated ones. Healthy fats are mostly contained in avocados, olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish, such as salmon. Specialists recommend eating unsaturated fats as 20% to 35% of your overall calorie content. In contrast, you should avoid eating trans fats found in processed foods, like fast food and baking, since they can increase the possibility of chronic health conditions.