7 Principles of Healthy Eating

When trying to lose weight and to live a healthier lifestyle certain principles can be followed.

 

It is important to note that the remedy for eating better isn’t deprivation, blandness, or a rigid diet – it’s incorporating good habits into your life.

In a recent Real Simple Magazine article Seven Principles of Health Eating were indicated.

These principles are as follows:

 

1. Know yourself. Some people revel in the art of food preparation. For others, the microwave is a lifesaver. What matters is that you find a healthy way to cook and eat that works for you.
2. Give peas (and peaches) a chance. It’s easy to say “Eat more vegetables,” but what about people who don’t like spinach and broccoli? With a little attention to food prep, even vegephobes should be able to find greens (and oranges and reds) that are appealing.
Another benefit of piling on the vegetables is that you can pump up the volume of a meal, even as you trim calories

3. Eat less meat. The mainstays of a healthy diet should be grains, nuts, and seeds, as well as nonstarchy vegetables and fruits, rather than meat. Whole grains (oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat bread) provide fiber, which aids the digestive system and makes you feel fuller, and B vitamins, which can boost energy and aid metabolism. Replacing meat with legumes as a protein source is a good strategy for reducing saturated-fat intake.

It’s easier than you think to work these foods into your day. Open up a can of kidney beans or chickpeas and add them to soup, chili, or pasta.
4. Separate your fats. When it comes to fats, there’s perhaps no other area of nutrition in which researchers have learned so much and confused so many consumers in the process. What you need to know is this: Fat has more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein, so if you’re trying to maintain or lose weight, limit the amount of fat you eat.

That said, not all fats affect the body equally. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the “good” fats; they’re found in nut and vegetable oils and oily fish, such as salmon, trout, and herring. They don’t raise blood cholesterol levels and may even reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems.

 

5. Watch those portions. Even as you try to eat foods that are loaded with nutrients, pay attention to the overall amount you consume.
 
6. Eat, don’t drink, your calories. Beverages don’t fill you up in the same way that foods do: Studies have shown that people eat the same amount whether or not they wash down their food with a 150-calorie drink. And most beverages don’t contribute many nutrients.
 
7. Limit packaged foods and read labels. Many nutritionists recommend shopping the perimeter of a supermarket, where fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are usually sold, and avoiding highly processed foods, which tend to be found in boxes in the center aisles. But you may find it hard to resist the core of the store, with its convenient treats and processed foods.
The trick is to turn a blind eye to all the enticing claims on the fronts of packages-low-fat, low-net-carbs, zero trans fats!-as some are empty, some are unregulated, and some are misleading. Instead, cast a critical eye over the nutrition-facts box.

Look first at calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. Saturated fat and sodium are presented in grams and milligrams, respectively, and as a percentage of the recommended limit of what we should eat in a day; calories and trans fats are listed simply as amounts. If the numbers seem high, check out a few competing products to see if you can do better.

 

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