Selecting nutritious food helps adults maintain a healthy weight, reduce their risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers, enhance mental well-being, and diminish symptoms of certain illnesses.
Eating various healthy foods is one way to enjoy meals more and reduce calories from fat, salt, and sugar. To do this successfully, reading food labels and ingredient lists on packaged products is important.
Why you want to eat healthy.
Eating healthy can help you feel your best and decrease the risk of severe health conditions while saving money on medicines and medical costs. Plus, eating healthily is easier than you might think!
Consistency can be hard when it comes to eating healthily, which is why a balanced diet requires eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, and protein sources (such as seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, tofu beans, and nuts) at every meal.
Healthy choices can help protect against high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes – plus, you’ll enjoy delicious yet nutrient-rich food! Unfortunately, life often gets in the way of our efforts to be healthier. Bookmark recipes, shop for kale and quinoa, and purchase a pressure cooker, but then you become overwhelmed with work projects or caring for sick kids or parents, or spending your days running errands; before long, you find yourself back at the drive-thru eating pizza again. Understanding why you want to eat healthier is crucial to stay on track with your goals, avoiding dieting cycles, and ultimately feeling great daily. Lifestyle nutrition OTs/OTAs can teach clients how to make food choices that suit both their busy lives and body types.
How you can eat healthy.
Many people desire a healthy diet but struggle with how to achieve it. Healthy eating is a lifestyle choice that involves making daily food and beverage selections that nourish both body and soul – it provides energy, supports mental well-being, manages illness better, and lowers risks such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and some cancers.
A healthy diet should include foods from each of the five major food groups in moderation. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains should be prioritized over refined or processed products; consulting a nutritionist may assist in designing an eating pattern explicitly tailored to your preferences, culture, and medical conditions.
Eating healthier doesn’t need to be expensive or tedious; all it takes is selecting foods low in sodium, sugar, and saturated fat while enjoying some “discretionary choices” throughout the day that won’t negatively impact your overall healthy diet.
Create healthier choices by making meals and snacks rather than eating out or ordering takeout. Doing this gives you more control over the ingredients’ quality and their nutrient value; it also saves money!
What you can do to eat healthy.
Eating healthily doesn’t need to be complicated; you only need to make intelligent choices to establish a healthy eating pattern. That means selecting foods and beverages low in sodium (salt), saturated fat and added sugars while restricting alcohol and remaining physically active.
Eat foods from each of the five food groups at least twice daily to provide your body with all the essential nutrients it requires for good health. Include proteins like legumes (beans and lentils), fish, poultry without skin, lean meat, eggs, and nuts as part of a balanced diet; whole grains like brown/wild rice, quinoa, barley, and oatmeal, as well as fruits and vegetables in this effort.
Avoid foods and beverages high in added sugars, saturated fat, trans-fats, and salt, such as soft drinks, candy, cookies and cakes, ice cream, energy bars, donuts, fast food, and fast food restaurants.
Food labels provide insight into the ingredients and nutrient content of packaged foods. Select items lower in added sugars, saturated fat, trans-fats, and sodium content. Make healthy snack choices such as veggies with hummus dip or fruit with low-fat yogurt sticks as snacks, or an apple with peanut butter for lunch or snack time!
Limit how much you eat when dining at restaurants and cafeterias, where portions may be larger than at home. Use smaller plates and bowls, and practice mindful eating by paying attention to hunger and fullness signals.
Maintain a healthy weight by engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day on most days of the week – walking, swimming, or using aerobic exercise machines can all count. Do muscle-strengthening activities two to three times each week as well. Also, try limiting how much sedentary time is spent watching TV or working at desk jobs.
How to make healthy choices.
Eating healthy can be made easy with some careful planning. Start by donating or discarding food you know is unhealthy for you, then fill your fridge and pantry with nutritious alternatives. Make it as convenient to eat healthy by prepping meals ahead of time and always having vegetables, fruit, low-fat milk yogurt, whole grains, and protein-rich foods on hand in your house at all times – fast foods, chips, crisp pies, processed meats should also be limited where possible. Encourage participants to keep a food diary to track better daily eating habits and any areas for improvement that could arise.
Each newsletter will cover one aspect of lifestyle nutrition and offer tips for starting, such as learning the food groups, selecting nutritious ingredients, and shopping for groceries.
