Eat Healthy, Live Healthy - Eat Right For A Healthy Life

Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving your outlook, and stabilizing your mood. If you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you, you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. But by using these simple tips, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a tasty, varied, and healthy diet that is as good for your mind as it is for your body.

Healthy eating means consuming the right quantities of foods from all food groups in order to lead a healthy life.

Diet is often referred to as some dietary regimen for losing weight. However, diet simply means what food we eat in the course of a 24-hour, one week, or one month, etc. period.

A good diet is a nutritional lifestyle that promotes good health. A good diet must include several food groups because one single group cannot provide everything a human needs for good health.

When we eat matters too
A large breakfast helps control body weight - a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, Israel, explained in the journal Obesity that a big breakfast - one containing about 700 calories - is better for losing weight and lowering one's risk of developing heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes.

How do you define healthy eating?
The crucial part of healthy eating is a balanced diet. A balanced diet - or a good diet - means consuming from all the different good groups in the right quantities. Nutritionists say there are five main food groups - whole grains, fruit and vegetables, protein, diary, and fat & sugar.

Whole grains
According to the USDA (United States Dept. of Agriculture)2, we should consume at least 3 ounces of whole grains per day. A whole grain, unlike refined grains, still has the bran and the germ attached. Whole grains are rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins. When grains are refined the bran and germ are removed.

It is not possible to know whether food is made from whole grain just by looking at it.

To be really sure you have to read the label. In the list of ingredients, the word whole or wholegrain needs to appear before the name of the grain.

Whole grain products include breads, pastas and cereals - they need to be made with 100% whole grain.

Whole grain foods and flours include 100% whole wheat, brown rice, bulger, corn, buckwheat, oatmeal (oats), spelt and wild rice.


Fruit and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables Fruit and vegetables are rich in vital vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Fruit and vegetables have a high vitamin, mineral and fiber content - these nutrients are vital for your body to function well.

Several studies have proven that a good intake of fruit and vegetables may protect from developing heart disease, diabetes type 2, and cancer.

Most health departments throughout the world recommend that we consume five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. This could include either fresh, frozen or canned, or dried fruit and veggies.

A portion means either one large fruit, such as an apple, mango, or a banana, or three heaped tablespoons of vegetables. It could also include one glass of 100% fruit or vegetable juice.

A fruit/vegetable drink is one portion, no matter how big it is. Beans and pulses can also count as one portion.


Protein
We need protein for the building and repairing of tissue in our body. Protein-rich foods also include essential minerals, such as iron, magnesium, zinc, as well as B vitamins.

Douglas Paddon-Jones, PhD, Associate Professor, The University of Texas Medical Branch says that proteins should make up about 20 to 25 percent of our nutritional intake.

The following foods are good sources of protein:

Tofu - a good source of protein Tofu, an example of a plant sourced protein.
meat
poultry
fish
eggs
beans
nuts
quorn
soya (includes tofu)

Nutritionists advise that the fat in meat should be trimmed and drained away after cooking. The skin should be removed from poultry.

For people who are not vegetarians, nutritionist advise we consume fish at least twice a week, preferably fish rich in omega oils, such as trout, fresh tuna, sardines, mackerel and salmon.

The canning process of tuna removes the essential oils, hence only fresh tuna is considered as an oily fish.

It is better for your health to grill, roast or microwave meats and fish, rather than frying them.

Vegans, who do not eat any foods from animal sources, may get their protein from nuts, seeds, soya, beans and quorn. Vegans may have to supplement their zinc and B12 vitamin intake as these foods are not rich in them.

Legumes
Legumes are plants in the pea family that produce pods that slit open naturally along a seam (dehisce), revealing a row of seeds.

A selection of legumes Legumes help improve glycemic control.
The following are the most commonly eaten legumes:

soy
peas
peanuts
mesquite
lupins
lentils
clover
carob
beans
alfafa

Researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, reported in Archives of Internal Medicine, October 2012 issue, that eating plenty of legumes helps improve glycemic control in people with diabetes type 2, as well as reducing the risk of developing coronary heart disease.


Dairy
Although butter, cream and even sometimes eggs are often classed as dairy products, in nutrition they are more frequently placed in the protein (eggs) or fat & sugar category. Dairy products are a good source of calcium which is important for healthy bones and teeth.

Dairy products include milk, yoghurts, cheese, and some soya dairy products. Nutritionists say we should aim for low fat dairy products.

People who do not consume animal sourced foods can get their calcium intake from other products, such as broccoli, cabbage and soya milk and yoghurts with added calcium.


Fats and sugars
These include sugar, chocolate, cakes, biscuits, jam, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, non-diet sodas, etc. - all products with a very high fat or sugar content.

There are two basic types of fats - saturated and unsaturated. Cream, margarine and fried foods are high in saturated fats, while vegetable oils and oily fish are rich in unsaturated fats. Saturated fat consumption should be kept to a minimum because excess consumption significantly increases the risk of developing such diseases as heart disease.

Even sugary foods and drinks, like some sodas and sweets should be kept to a minimum because they are high in calories and bad for your teeth.