Better health ideas that actually work - Part 1
Get better health with simple but proper nutrition.
Nutritious food is one of the keys to achieving health. It’s not the easy path, but the most effective in the long-term and gratifying.
Nourishing your body, the old-fashioned way, has a significant role in your health and well being by:
- Reducing the risk of disease
- Increasing energy
- Improving your immune system
Healthy eating is the single most important thing you can do to get into better health. With healthy cooking and proper food selection, you are on your way to prepare foods that will ultimately heal your body.
Achieve better health by adding whole green vegetables and an assortment of colorful fruit to your day
If you are not one to take your greens, what’s missing from your diet could be affecting your health!
In this series about nourishing your body, we’ll master little known facts about our food, and how and why some of them can help you advance your health. We’ll also learn about the challenges of the food industry and its impact on our health and the responsibility we hold for our well being.
A healthy dish of protein and vegetables!We’ll also get to understand and appreciate how food relates to our growth and maintenance and ways to get more bang for our buck
We’ll finish with some nourishment tips and cooking tricks to make our lives easier but more nutritionally rich.
If you eat better, you’ll end up eating less. And this is not only great news if you want to lose weight, it’s about upgrading your choices to become a better physical version of yourself, the natural way.
We are in the age of convenience. If we can find something already prepared and pre-cooked at the supermarket, we’ll buy it. At work, few people bring their lunch with them, most go the nearest deli and buy food by the pound.
Better health is the direct result of the quality of the food you eat
I also believe we have isolated our relationship with food. It is no longer something that is meant to serve us (nourish) but is a chore that is meant to be done (work).
With the myriad of packaged and prepared food, we no longer know what we are feeding our bodies. The ingredients on the labels are usually foreign and unintelligible. We don’t even know where and how our food comes from.
The convenience of supermarkets, fast-food chains and convenience meals has conditioned us to having our food prepared, packaged and delivered with little to no thought.
Our children are growing up with finger foods like chicken nuggets and fries – it seems that’s all they always want!
And no wonder we have no idea how to nourish ourselves either
Fruit during the summer is a great way to get kids to eat healthy and get hydrated at the same time!What is nutrition? Do we really know?
Better health depends on the nutrients you absorb through food.
Eating is ideally a mindful practice where we utilize food to consume it for nourishment.
When we eat, foods is broken down to then use it to repair and create tissues and cells and keep us going.
- Food is the building block of our survival, we need it for energy and to sustain life
- Macronutrients are the protein, carbs and fat that we need to fuel our body for energy
- Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals that we need to get our organs and systems to function
- Water and fiber are also essential for our bodily functions
Better health means going back to nutrition and food basics
I am the first person to choose convenience and practicality as much as you probably do, but I’ve also tried to simplify the way I cook and upgrade the food I buy in a conscious effort to better feed myself.
What have I done:
- Read and learn more
- Shop mostly the perimeter of the grocery store
- Shop local and in season (as much as I can)
- Experiment with new ways to prepare and store food
Changing my old habits was not easy and the pull of habit was very strong at first!
Now, I no longer have irresistible urges or cravings. Feeding my body with lean protein and lots of veggies has taught me to appreciate food and what it can do for me.
One of the most important things I’ve learnt is that quality food staves off hunger and balances my blood sugar levels
Cooking doesn't have to be a chore as long as you keep things simple and use spices for taste!That means I am no longer ravenous and hungry all the time and I feel good!
Some of the most nutritious foods you can have are:
- Salmon
- Kale
- Seaweed
- Shellfish
- Liver
- Blueberries
- Eggs
To feel good, eat natural, high quality foods. For example, there is a difference between nutrient-dense food and calorie-dense food.
Nowadays, calorie-dense food is everywhere, it is readily available in the supermarket, at the convenience stores and of course in all the fast-food chains.
Most fast-foods or convenient foods are calorie dense because they contain many empty calories
This means that although they may contain some sources of nutrients, proportionately most of its calories come from sugars, fats and chemicals.
Cookies, cakes, candies, doughnuts, cheeseburgers, fries are all foods energy-dense but somewhat nutrient-poor.
If you are trying to gain better health, avoid calorie-dense food and choose nutrient-dense food instead.
You’ll probably end up buying less quantity but more quality. Get better health with whole greens and fruits and lean meats.
The magic trick, which I never knew would bring out the flavor, has a whole section in the supermarket and you can get some for yourself!
Part 2 - Whole greens and colorful fruit
American Heart Association, Empower your cart, www.heart.org
Health Line, The 11 most nutrient dense foods on the planet, www.healthline.com
