Health Food

Confused by all conflicting dietary advice? These simple tips will show you how to plan, enjoy and stick to a healthy diet.

What is a healthy diet?

A healthy diet is not about imposing strict restrictions, unrealistically poor nutrition or depriving yourself of your favourite food. Rather, it is about feeling good, having more energy, improving your health and raising your spirits.

A healthy diet should not be overly complex. If you feel overwhelmed by all conflicting diet and nutrition advice, you are not alone. It seems that for every specialist who tells you that a certain food is good for you, the other says the exact opposite. The truth is that while some specific foods or nutrients have been shown to have a positive effect on your mood, your total diet is the most important. The cornerstone of a healthy diet should be the replacement of processed foods with real ones. Eating foods that are as close as possible to how nature created them can make a huge difference to how you think, look and feel.

These simple tips will help you break through the confusion and learn how to create and maintain a delicious, varied and nutritious diet that is as good for your mind as it is for your body.

The Healthy Nutrition Pyramid

The Harvard Healthy Nutrition Pyramid is the latest development in nutrition science. The broadest part below is for the things that matter the most. The food at the narrow top is what you need to eat sparingly, if at all.

The basics of healthy eating

Although some extreme diets may suggest otherwise, to maintain a healthy body we all need a balanced ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals in our diet. You don't need to exclude certain categories of food from your diet, but you need to choose from each category the most healthy options.

Protein gives you the energy you need to stand up and move on, while maintaining your mood and cognitive function. Too much protein can be harmful for people with kidney disease, but recent research shows that many of us need better protein, especially with age. This doesn't mean that you need to eat more animal protein - a variety of sources of plant protein every day can ensure that your body gets all the protein it needs. 

Fat. Not all fats are the same. While bad fats can ruin your diet and increase the risk of certain diseases, good fats protect the brain and heart. In fact, healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, are crucial to your physical and emotional health. If you include more healthy fats in your diet, you can improve your mood, improve your health and even reduce your waist.

Fiber. A fiber-rich diet (cereals, fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans) can help you eat regularly and reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It can also improve your skin and even help you lose weight. 

Calcium. In addition to osteoporosis, insufficient calcium in your diet can also contribute to anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Regardless of your age and gender, it is important to include calcium-rich foods in your diet, limit the amount of calcium in your diet and provide enough magnesium and vitamins D and K to do your job. 

Carbohydrates are one of the main sources of energy in your body. However, most should come from complex, unrefined carbohydrates (vegetables, whole grains, fruits) rather than sugar and refined carbohydrates. By avoiding white bread, baking, starch and sugar, rapid blood sugar jumps, mood and energy changes, and fat accumulation, especially around the waist, can be prevented.

Switching to a healthy diet

The transition to a healthy diet does not have to be an all-or-nothing sentence. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to completely eliminate the food you like, you don't have to change everything at once - it usually only leads to cheating or abandoning the new diet plan.

The best approach is to make several small changes at once. If you keep your goals modest, you will be able to achieve more in the long run without feeling constrained or overwhelmed by serious dietary changes. Think of healthy eating planning as a series of small, workable steps, such as adding salad to your diet once a day. If your small changes become a habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices.

Get Ready for Success

To prepare for success, try to simplify things. A healthier diet does not have to be difficult. For example, instead of being too busy calculating calories, think about your diet in terms of colour, variety and freshness. Focus on avoiding packaged and processed foods, and choose fresher ingredients if possible.

Cook more of your dishes. By cooking more at home, you can better control what you eat and better watch what comes into your food. You will consume fewer calories and avoid chemical additives, sugars and unhealthy fats in packaged and processed foods that can cause you to get tired, bloated and irritated and exacerbate symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety.

Make the right changes. If you limit unhealthy food in your diet, it is important to replace it with a healthy alternative. Replacing dangerous trans fats with healthy ones (for example, replacing fried chicken with grilled salmon) will have a positive effect on your health. However, replacing animal fats with refined carbohydrates (for example, replacing bacon with a donut breakfast) will not reduce your risk of heart disease or improve your mood.

Read the labels. It's important to know what's in your food, because producers often hide large amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats in packaged foods, even those that claim to be healthy.

Focus on how you feel after eating. This will promote new healthy habits and tastes. The healthier the food, the better you feel after eating. The more junk food you eat, the more likely it is that you will feel uncomfortable, nauseous or out of energy.

Drink a lot of water. Water helps wash our waste product and toxin systems, but many of us go through dehydration throughout our life cycle, resulting in fatigue, lack of energy and headaches. Thirst is often confused with hunger. So, keeping good hydration also helps you choose healthier food.

Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet

Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and rich in nutrients, which means they are packaged with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. Focus on the recommended daily intake of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, which will naturally fill you up and help to reduce unhealthy foods. For example, one serving is half a glass of raw fruit or vegetables or a small apple or banana. Most of us need to double the amount we are currently eating.

To increase our consumption

Add antioxidant rich berries to your favourite breakfast cereal.

Eat a mixture of sweet fruits - oranges, mangoes, pineapples, grapes - for dessert...

Exchange the side dish of rice or noodles for a colourful salad.

Instead of eating processed appetizers, snack on vegetables such as carrots, snow peas or cherry tomatoes along with spicy hummus sauce or peanut butter.