Easy food habits to adopt for a healthier you in 2023.

So many people develop New Year’s Resolutions focusing on giving up things or on losing weight.  Why not focus on adopting some healthier habits in 2023 and some healthier lifestyle changes?  Last year I discussed some recommendation by a  nutritionist in London, Kate Llewellyn-Waters, on how you can adopt a healthier lifestyle.  Below are some of her easy-to- adopt suggestions and I have added some suggestions of my own.

• Protein at every meal – Protein is filling and helps stave off those hunger pains between meals.  What are some high quality protein foods?  All animal foods provide high quality protein.  Focus on lean proteins like chicken breasts.  Chicken and other lean meats, provide not only high-quality protein but also many nutrients like iron, zinc, selenium and many B vitamins.  B vitamins are known as the energy vitamins as they help your body produce the energy needed for all your activities.  A top-rated protein is found in eggs.  Actually, eggs are rated as the gold standard for protein quality.  Eggs provide all the essential amino acids, egg protein is easily absorbed, and eggs are low in calories (only about 74 calories an egg).  Eggs are one of the few foods that provide vitamin D, which so many Americans are lacking in their diet.  The second-best foods in terms of protein quality are dairy foods including cow’s milk, yogurt made from cow’s milk and cheese.  Not true of non-dairy milks like oat milk, and almond milk as these are low in protein and don’t provide a high quality protein.  But real cow’s milk is an excellent protein source.
• To add some high-quality protein to my breakfast, I use a cup of nonfat cow’s milk to make my morning oatmeal.  Most people use water to make their oatmeal, but cow’s milk works just as well and adds 8 grams of high-quality protein to your breakfast.
• Some plant foods provide protein but the quality is not as good as protein from animal sources.  Focus on beans, chickpeas, and hummus.  A good snack is hummus and vegetables.  To learn about high quality protein foods, go to What are some top high quality protein foods? 
• Add some fiber to your day.   Most Americans have diets low in fiber.  (See:  A power nutrient your diet may be lacking .)  As the American Society for Nutrition notes, “Most Americans are not getting enough fiber in our diets. Just 7% of adults meet fiber recommendations, raising risk of chronic diseases”.  On average men get less fiber than women with only 5% of men getting enough fiber in their diets compared to 9% of women.  To add fiber to your day, focus on more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain foods.  While shopping at Costco recently, I was buying some Dave’s bread.  I overheard a lady telling her husband, “Don’t forget the Dave’s bread.”   I looked at the guy and said, “Dave’s bread is one of the healthiest breads you can eat.”  He replied, “It sure is.”   My daughter told me to try the Dave’s English Muffins.  She said they are delicious and I agree.  I actually like them better than Thomas’ English Muffins.  The Mayo Clinic notes that getting enough daily fiber is important for diabetics as fiber slows the absorption of sugar into your blood and thus can “help improve blood sugar levels”.  Fiber also helps reduce the risk of heart disease by helping to lower cholesterol levels.  That’s why Cheerios says “heart healthy” and “can help lower cholesterol” on their cereal.

• 5 A Day – add more fresh fruit and vegetables to your day, every day.  Aim for at least 5 A Day, five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.  (The London nutritionist recommends aiming for seven servings of fruit and vegetables a day with “at least 5 vegetables and 2 fruit servings.).  My husband and I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.  At breakfast I have a banana, some real 100% juice, raisins on my cereal and often some blueberries on my cereal.  My sister’s health care practitioner advised her to have vegetables at every lunch such as baby carrots.  I now follow this recommendation and usually have some baby carrots or other vegetable at every lunch.  One of my students didn’t really like many fruits or vegetables but he added a glass of V8 fusion every day.  One of my daughters likes to drink Naked Juice.  A great way to get a blend of 100% juice with no sugar added.  A sister likes to drink her vegetables and enjoys juicing.  Find a way for you to add some fresh fruit or vegetables to your day.  If fresh fruit and/or vegetables are not your thing, try a smoothie.  A good way to add a high-quality protein with real cow’s milk or yogurt and enjoy some fresh fruit.  Make every lunch a lunch with a vegetable.  Make every morning a morning with some fresh fruit or 100% juice.  When packing a lunch, be sure to pack some vegetable or fresh fruit in your lunch.

• Feed your gut – who knew that your gut has some good bacteria?  How can you add some of these good bacteria to your diet?  By adding foods that contain those good bacteria, called probiotics.  WebMD notes, Probiotics are often called “good” or “helpful” bacteria because they help keep your gut healthy. Add some of these good bacteria to your diet by adding yogurt to your day.  When packing a lunch, I always include some yogurt.  At home, I eat some yogurt for lunch every day.  Enjoying some yogurt is an easy way to add a high-quality protein to my day, some calcium, vitamin D and those healthy probiotics.  But those good bacteria then need to be fed.  How do you feed them?  With fiber.  Your body can’t digest fiber – it is good roughage.  But the good bacteria in your gut thrive on fiber.  Someone asks the health experts at Harvard, “Is cheese a healthy source of probiotics?”  Their response is that some cheeses have probiotics.  Focus on Swiss, provolone, Gouda, cheddar, Edam, Gruyere, and enjoy some cottage cheese. 

Besides adding healthy foods to your diet to have a healthier lifestyle in 2023, there are some things to cut back on.

1.       Eat less foods high in Added Sugar – say yes to fruit or 100% juice that has no added sugar, but say no to the processed foods that manufacturers have added sugar and sometimes lots of sugar to the food.  Ever look at the ingredients in cereal?  Some cereals list “sugar” as the first ingredient.  That means the cereal is mostly sugar.  (See:  20 brands of cereal that contain the most sugar .)   Take time to look at the ingredient list in the foods you buy and you will be surprised how many foods have added sugar such at tomato soup, ketchup.  But many foods are mostly added sugar, so not a healthy choice, unless it is for a dessert.  Save foods high in added sugar for dessert, not the main course.

2.       Cut back on processed foods – Some of my students have diets that consist of almost 100% processed foods and little, if any, real food like fresh fruit and vegetables, real 100% juice, lean meat, and whole grains.  Some even purchase packaged, processed, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (Uncrustables).  It is very hard to eat a healthy diet when the foods are highly processed as these foods often have added sugar, added fat and lots of salt and many have chemical additives such as preservatives, dyes.  Some foods are now so processed they have a new category called “ultra-processed foods”.  One of my students focused his eating on foods from the land.  He ate the apple, not the applesauce, drank real cow’s milk, not fake milk.  His diet was very healthy with few processed foods and no ultra-processed foods.  A study in Cell Metabolism, found that people who eat ultra-processed diets eat up to 500 calories a day more than those eating an unprocessed food diet.  The title of this article:  Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain.”

It may be easier to buy healthy food soon as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is coming out with a new food label for “Healthy”.  For food products to have “Healthy” on the label, the product must be low in saturated fat, low in added sugar, and low in salt.  Cereals would need to provide at least ¾ ounces of whole grains. 

Healthy Eating Tips for 2023

What healthier food choices can you adopt in 2023?  Can you add a piece of fresh fruit each day?  Can you add some real cow’s milk yogurt to your day to add some of those healthy probiotics?  Can you up your fiber intake?  Read some food labels to see how much fiber is in the bread you buy, the crackers you eat.  Make some simple changes to have a healthier lifestyle in 2023.  Focus on adding some healthy foods to your day, rather than eliminating foods. 

To get you started on healthier eating, choose a healthy food habit to adopt in 2023:

• I will pack a piece of fresh fruit in my lunch.
• I will eat another vegetable a day such as 5 baby carrots a day.
• I will start my day with a small glass of 100% juice.
• I will eat cow’s milk yogurt everyday to get those healthy probiotics.
• I will read the bread label and choose a choose a whole grain bread (See:  Choose some healthy bread )
• I will eat a handful of nuts each day.
• I will eat a bowl of oatmeal or Cheerios at least once a week.  

Sources:  nutritionist , high quality protein foods? , egg protein , What are some top high quality protein foods?  ,   A power nutrient your diet may be lacking , American Society for Nutrition , Mayo Clinic ,  notes ,  Harvard , 20 brands of cereal that contain the most sugar , Uncrustables, ultra-processed foods , study, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Healthy , Choose some healthy bread   Image Sources:  V8 V-Fusion ,  Fiber and type 2 diabetes , 5 a day