Tips to Healthier, Tastier Eating
By Nancy Adler
Food! We all love to look forward to an amazing meal. Not only is it a source of great pleasure; it also serves as a gateway to experiencing different cultures and is at the heart of many of our most cherished traditions. Perhaps most importantly, it serves as fuel for our bodies when we eat healthy. And here’s the good news: there are plenty of healthy food options to choose from that will please both your taste buds and your body.
If you’re looking to improve what you eat, but aren’t willing to swear off your favorite foods altogether, you’re in luck. Think of changing your diet as a series of small, tasty, changes that can add up to better nutrition and better health. Consider this list a roadmap to good nutrition. There are a lot of stopping points where you can explore new foods and add a bit of variety to your diet.
The main thing is to embrace antioxidants – beta carotene and vitamins C, E, and selenium. They are great for your health and they’re found in a variety of foods, from blueberries and cranberries to pecans and even dark chocolate! For one thing, they’re good for your skin. For another, they’re known to help prevent cell damage which is associated with some cancers. So, make sure to load up your diet with berries, nuts, and even some dark chocolate too.
Enough of all this bread taboo please. Fiber is your friend. Fruits and vegetables such as apples, bananas, broccoli, spinach and beets, beans and legumes, and whole grains are all great sources of fiber, so load up that salad with vegetables, and embrace the legume. Not only does fiber fill you up, it has also been shown to lower cholesterol, help regulate blood sugar levels, and may even help you control your weight. There is even evidence that fiber can prevent some cancers like colon cancer.
Anyone who knows me will hear somewhere in the back of their head me saying, “Did you drink your H2O today?” I always advise my clients not to fill up on high-calorie drinks such as sodas, juices, and sports drinks. Mother Nature created the only thirst-quencher your body truly needs — water. It’s the perfect liquid because it keeps you hydrated and flushes toxins from your system. Need a little flavor? Try adding lemon, berries, or mint.
Big question, “Nancy what are your thoughts on buying organic?” Organic is a major buzzword, but there’s more to it than marketing. To qualify as organic, food producers must meet US Department of Agriculture organic standards that require soil free of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and certain fertilizers. But organic produce can be expensive, so you’ll need to get the most bang for your organic buck. I try to shop at local farmers markets, buy produce in season, and focus my organic selections on the fruits and veggies that benefit most from organic farming.
We have all heard that we should eat a rainbow of foods. Think red peppers, orange carrots, yellow lemons, green spinach, blueberries, and purple grapes. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables from the color spectrum, exposes you to powerful bioflavonoids — which is just a fancy term for super-antioxidants that help support strong cell formation and may help prevent disease. And who wants to eat ugly foods anyway?
I am and always will be a huge proponent of supplementation – even when eating a balanced diet. Omega-3s and Omega-6s are at the top of the list. It’s time to ditch the idea that all fats are bad. Polyunsaturated fats (or omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as they are more commonly known) are essential fats that our bodies need, but cannot produce. These essential fats help build healthy cells and keep your brain and nervous system healthy. Omega-3s are found in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, while omega-6s can be found in nuts, seeds, and plant oils such as soybean oil.
Then there is sugar.
While sugar isn’t inherently bad for you, the amount of sugar Americans consume every year has increased steadily. Sugar is a major culprit in the obesity epidemic and the rising rates of Type 2 diabetes. The problem is added sugars show up in in everything from bread to salad dressing to yogurt. So even though you may be avoiding dessert, your sugar intake could be high simply due to the sugars added to everyday foods. You would be surprised how much added sugars are in your foods let alone the obvious. No one needs sugar in their diet. Let’s face it. It tastes good. You want it. you don’t need it. try to stay in a guideline of four teaspoons only per day. And that’s not just in your coffee. It’s in everything not only the obvious. Flavored coffees, protein bars,
Who doesn’t love a great French fry on a warm summer day strolling the boardwalk. Trans fats, also known as partially-hydrogenated oils, artificially created trans-fats destroy cells, raise your cholesterol levels, and increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.
Trans-fats are commonly found in many processed foods such as cookies, pizza, French fries, and other fried foods or baked goods, so make sure you read nutrition labels. Try some crunchy Kale chips or baked sweet potato fries. I suggest a baked apple with cinnamon. Raw Fresh veggies dipped in a light dressing really will do the trick and stop those sugar cravings.
Steaming is one of the best and easiest ways to cook veggies. Boiling vegetables results in a loss of vitamins and minerals as they are leached out into the water during the boiling process. Fresh vegetables that are steamed retain most of their nutrients.
