Healthy Eating: 5 Simple Ways to Start

What does healthy eating really mean?

Should you eat these foods but avoid other foods? Or should you follow a diet like; Whole 30, Paleo, or Low-fat, etc.

Healthy Eating defined:

It’s simply eating clean whole foods, or “real foods” that come out of the ground and are unprocessed and unrefined, making them as close to their natural form as possible.

Basically human beings have been consuming real foods for thousands of years until ready-to-eat foods became popular in the 20th century.

5 Simple Ways to Start

Your goal should be to gain knowledge of healthier eating choices so that you can embrace a lifelong healthier way of living! Best to skip the latest diets and other quick fixes that only have temporary results.

1.  Meatless Monday

Take your commitment to healthy eating one step further by cooking a Meatless Monday meal – it could save your life! Eating just one vegetarian meal a week can lower the risk of dying from cancer or heart disease by up to 20%.

You’ll save money and feel sexier! Buying less meat at the store trims down your grocery bill and can help with weight loss and disappear belly fat.

2.  Dirty 12 and Clean 15

The Dirty 12 is a list of produce with the highest pesticide loads, with leafy greens and hot peppers carrying the highest toxic load. As a healthier choice it’s recommended that you buy organic produce for the items on this list.

The Clean 15 list of produce are least likely to hold pesticide residues with avocados as the cleanest with only 1 percent showing any detectable pesticides.

Get the downloadable shopping guide from Environmental Working Group (EWG) for a list of fruits and vegetables and their pesticide levels.

3.  Eat the Rainbow

Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables every day provide vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to help nourish your body. Different color foods provide nourishment to different parts of the body as listed below:

Red foods are for blood building and heart strengthening, orange for anti-inflammatory, moods and eye health, yellow builds and repairs tissue and immune system development, green for detoxifier and liver cleanser, blue for stem cells, bone marrow, throat and thyroid, brown for intestines and digestive tract, white for benefit the lungs, immune system and energy and black for longevity, marrow, kidney and thyroid.

4.  Steam and Roast Vegetables

Steaming vegetables is one of the best way to preserve nutrients since they don’t come in contact with the cooking water.

Roasting is another  healthy cooking method since it uses dry heat to soften vegetables and doesn’t require any butter or oil.

Steaming and roasting vegetables are the two healthier methods yet there is a risk of losing some enzymes and nutrients with any cooking method.

5.  GMO vs. Non-GMO Foods

GMO’s also called genetically modified organisms have altered the genetic material in a way that does not occur naturally. Scientists and environmental groups have cited many health risks with foods containing GMO’s.

For healthier choices, look for Non-GMO products labeled as USDA Certified Organic or Non-GMO Project Verified.

Avoid GMO crops of corn, canola, soy, cotton and sugar beets which end up as additives in packaged foods as corn syrup, oil, flavoring agents, thickeners, sugar and other ingredients.

Benefits of Healthy Eating

• Real food may be more expensive than processed food in the short-term but the cost of managing a chronic disease like diabetes and obesity are more expensive in the long-term.
• Antioxidants are found in all real food especially plants like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and legumes. They are compounds that help fight free radicals which are unstable molecules that can damage cells in your body.
• Consuming real foods is good for your gut health plus improves blood sugar control.
• Unprocessed plant and animal foods contain vitamins, minerals and other beneficial nutrients your body needs for optimal health.
• Eating real food is packed with nutrients that promote heart health, reduces inflammation and the risk for chronic diseases.

Remember healthy eating is a lifestyle and not a short-term diet.

Here’s a couple of my favorite go to websites:

• Dr. Josh Axe, doctor of natural medicine, author of The Real Food Diet Cookbook, a regular on the Dr. Oz show and passionate to help people get healthy by using food as medicine.
• Dr. Mehmet Oz, cardiothoracic surgeon, professor at Columbia University, author and television personality.

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Heal your body naturally from the inside out with nutrition and live young every day!

Photo credit: Photodune

Cheers to a Healthy Life!

 

 

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