Healthy Eating Habits
Almost everyone is interested in healthy habits but then
seem confused by nutrition myths as to what is healthy. So many people are “watching their carbs” or
avoiding starches, avoiding bread. But
none of these are really healthy habits.
Adopting good, healthy eating habits and making even small changes in
daily habits can result in good things for your health. The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports
and Nutrition has Eight Healthy
Eating Goals. We will review 4 this
week and 4 goals next week. They
recommend making small changes each week towards a healthier diet and a
healthier you.
Goal 1: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables:
Eating more fruits and vegetables
is so very important to good health. The
easiest way to do this is 5 A Day – aiming for eating at least 5 fruits and
vegetables a day. Have a serving of fruit
at breakfast, a fruit and vegetable serving at lunch and then 2 vegetables at
dinner. You want to vary the color for
optimal nutrition as different colors offer different antioxidants, different
vitamins and minerals.
Goal 2: Make half
your grains whole grains: Rather than “watching your carbs” or avoiding
bread, you should add carbs to your day.
But good carbs that are whole grain.
Enjoy a whole grain cereal for breakfast. Buy English muffins or bagel thins that are
whole grain. Buy some whole grain
crackers. Enjoy some popcorn as a snack.
The President’s Council recommends looking for
things like: "whole wheat," "brown rice,"
"bulgur," "buckwheat," "oatmeal," "rolled
oats," quinoa," or "wild rice."
Goal 3: Choose low fat milk, yogurt and cheese. Some people think low fat milk or fat free
milk has less nutrients than whole milk. But that isn’t true. The calcium, protein and other nutrients are
the same. Just the fat is less. If you are used to drinking whole milk, try
switching to 2%. If you drink 2% milk,
try switching to 1% milk. Any reduction
in fat is good for your health. Yogurt
is great for your health, but choose low fat yogurt. Look for lower fat cheese, like mozzarella
made with 2% milk.
Goal 4: Lower the sodium in your diet. I would also add increase the potassium. Read the label to see how much sodium in in
the food you are eating. And be sure to
add more fruits and vegetables to your day for extra potassium. Potassium helps counter the bad effects of
sodium in your diet.
What small changes can you make this week? Pack your lunch and include 2 fruits and
vegetables. Bring a fruit such as an
apple or banana along for a snack.
Choose some whole grains like a bowl of Cheerios with a sliced banana
and some 1% milk.
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| Healthy Grains |
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ReplyDeleteGlad you found the information useful. Please come back and share my blog with others.
ReplyDeleteThe most important of the facts about healthy eating is that you should always plan a balanced diet of various nutrients for the meals that you eat on a daily basis. Most of the myths we hear is that you have to count all the calories and grams of the foods you eat. The thought of such tasks when it comes to the facts about healthy eating discourages many people from even attempting to plan a diet. Counting calories is okay if you have the skill and the time but for general purposes, all you have to ensure if you have wholesome foods from different food groups( sources of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral ions and fiber) in most of the meals that eat and this will go a long way in improving your health status. There are many other myths and facts about healthy eating that we get all jumbled up and you should review you eating habits to know what you have been doing wrong and how to make it right. diabetic dominos
ReplyDeletePlanning meals around MyPlate is an easy way to get the nutrients one needs and to balance carbs, fats and protein. One doesn't need to count the grams of food we eat. Ensuring one gets enough whole grains is also important. You make a good point that we should eat "wholesome foods from different food groups" and that is why eating MyPlate meals is an easy way to ensure one is getting the food groups needed at each meal. Thank you for your comments.
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