Nutrition seems to confuse many people. However, nutrition is actually very simple if you follow a few basic rules and guidelines. This article provides several tips to help you make nutritious choices. You owe it to yourself and your family to make better food choices.
If you are traveling to a high-altitude destination, don’t take medication that might mask the effects of altitude sickness. Instead, drink plenty of water to mitigate the symptoms. Masking them might mean you don’t realize the danger until it’s already too late; it’s better to just deal with that headache for a few hours instead.
Though refined carbohydrates such as white bread and white/table sugar may taste good, they are far less nutritious than unrefined carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread and brown/raw sugar. You should avoid refined carbohydrates whenever possible, or at the very least balance your diet between refined and unrefined carbohydrates. Unrefined carbohydrates make your body consume energy to process them, keeping your metabolism up and allowing a sustained level of energy rather than a drastic spike up and then down as is the case with refined carbohydrates.
Vegetables contain many healthy antioxidants. If you are looking to get as many of these antioxidants as possible out of your vegetables, steam them or eat them raw. Boiling and microwaving vegetables can account for at least a 66 percent loss of the healthy antioxidants that raw vegetables contain.
Eat raw foods. As you get older, your body has a harder time digesting foods, making it less likely that you will be able to extract all the vitamins and nutrients from processed and cooked foods. Raw foods have more nutrients, therefore it’s easier for your digestive system to access them.
Try not to use dessert as a reward for eating healthy. If a child sees dessert as a reward, they’re going to think that it is the best food. This will only reinforce their desire to have sweets. If you want to use dessert as a reward, try offering fruits and other healthy foods.
Vegetables are one of the cornerstones of proper nutrition. To be sure that your daily vitamin and nutrient requirements are met, eat a wide variety of vegetables in as many colors as you can throughout the day. For instance, try eating green broccoli, red peppers and orange carrots to vary the types of vitamins that your body is getting. Aim for eating at least three servings of vegetables each day.
Focus on food labels. Always look at the fat and sugar content of foods when shopping. Check the ingredients list, as they are listed in order of weight. Certain nutritional food claims can be misleading. ‘Light’ or ‘reduced fat’ may be just that, but it can still be very high in calories, due to the sugar content.
If you find it hard to make nutritious meals because of the time it takes to make them at the end of a long day, try taking one day a week, to cook and prepare lots of dishes that can be stored in the freezer. Then each night, you only need to take one out and heat it up to have a healthy, homemade meal.
Ascorbic acid, also known as Vitamin C, is crucial to keep in your diet. It is used for the maintenance of multiple body systems, most importantly the repair pathways and as an antioxidant. It is found in many popular fruits and vegetables, but it is also sometimes added to foods as an preservative.
If you don’t like the taste of some of the healthier options, give your body some time to change. If you stay motivated and dedicated, you will find that your taste changes fairly quickly. The idea of a greasy hamburger will start to become unappealing to you, and you will find yourself grabbing something healthier.
Avoid using excess salt when seasoning your foods. When salt is used heavily in foods, it can increase blood pressure, which can cause a heightened chance of strokes and heart attacks. Instead of using salt on your food, try using other healthy season alternatives for flavorful results when cooking.
It is impossible to overstate the important role that eating a good breakfast each morning plays to your overall nutrition and health. Eating breakfast primes your day for success by stoking your metabolism, waking up your brain and giving you fuel to burn throughout your morning. A well-balanced breakfast helps you avoid that mid-morning slump and serious weight gain when sugary junk food is so appealing. Whether your preference is eggs and wheat toast, whole grain cereal or a fresh fruit smoothie, there are an unlimited variety of healthy breakfast options sure to get your morning off to a great start!
There are a lot of simple things that you can do to get more vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids in your diet. At first it may seem really difficult, and you may be tempted to revert to your usual habits. But if you stick to make wise choices, soon it will come easily and you will even enjoy it!
