A healthy lifestyle always starts with the primary thing which is food habits. You need to strive to make your diet plan healthy religiously.
Your diet must include the fruits and vegetables that are meant to aid the health benefits to your body.
It also provides a protective layer against various diseases including several chronic diseases.
Furthermore, eating healthy can be hard at times. But it is important to take smaller steps each day to achieve the big goal of eating healthy regularly.
Although it will be tough at the start with perseverance and consistency you will be able to pull it off. Change is always mandatory when you are looking to achieve a better lifestyle.
Eating Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle
Below there are a few eating tips for a healthy lifestyle to inculcate in your daily life-
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Include Egg In Your Breakfast
You have to start healthy to end on a healthy note. Eating eggs for breakfast is the wisest decision you can make in maintaining a healthy diet.
Eggs contain top-quality protein with many other powerful nutrients. One of the most beneficial[1] elements in eggs is choline.
This is very rare and people must eat eggs solely for this reason. Also, based on numerous studies eggs have won among all the other breakfast options.
Moreover, when you eat eggs in the morning it makes you full very quickly. So it can be a great item to add to your weight loss journey.
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Eat Fruits
Every fruit has different benefits associated with them. Different fruits offer different flavors and beneficial nutrients for your body.
Consuming fruits may aid in providing various health benefits which could also include[2] saving from lifestyle-related disorders like Type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, etc.
Fruits when consumed whole would provide additional[3] fiber and it could be said that removing the pulp wouldn’t be a wise idea as it could lose all essential nutrients.
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Include Vegetables In Your Diet
Vegetables are always sidelined as boring items to eat. But if you are looking to lead a healthy lifestyle you must add some varieties of vegetables to your platter.
Green vegetables with some more vegetables can fulfill the vitamins, minerals, and fiber requirements in your body.
Greens have a way of providing satiating calories without adding on fat, just pure nutrition you might get through their consumption.
According to this study[4], consuming vegetables might as well help in managing glucose levels and may not cause an insulin spike in healthier non-diabetic people.
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Make A Diet Plan
This is the primary step toward eating and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Once you have your diet plan for the whole day. You will try to avoid the foods that were not included in the list.
One can try to make a diet plan as per their body’s requirements for food. They can avoid foods they are allergic to.
A more convenient way could be to consult a dietician to have the best precise diet plan for your body.
A healthy eating plan will also allow[5] you to have less fuss around making meals for dinner or lunch. You will only eat what you have instructed or planned in your chart.
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Have Seafood In Your Diet
Most people love to eat sea foods. While many people avoid seafood due to the foul smell in it.
But what we miss out on is the seafood is packed[6] with loads[7] of protein, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Eating sea foods at least once or twice a week can make your eating habits very healthy.
You may start with a small portion of seafood with consistency[8] rather than eating too much and skipping for a while.
There are many varieties of seafood to try such as salmon, tuna, trout, crab, mussels, and oysters.
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Drink Adequate Water
Water is the most essential[9] factor in having a healthy lifestyle when it comes to eating right.
You must keep yourself hydrated throughout the whole day.
Drinking 8 glasses of water per day are generally considered the basic minimum requirement for your body. Thus, water is required[10] for most bodily functions.
Whenever you feel thirsty you must try to drink water instead of any sugary drink or cold drinks.
These drinks will only destroy your health with an increment of calories in your body.
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Eat Whole Grain Foods
It is important to have your diet planned with whole grain foods that are sources[11] of good carbohydrates.
These are the healthiest option instead of using the white bread that is processed.
Whole grain food varieties consist of brown bread, whole grain bread, crackers, brown or wild rice, quinoa, oatmeal, or barley.
The importance[12] of using whole grain items is they are full of fiber, protein, and B vitamins to make your body healthy.
Also, to make your appetite full with less food whole grain food items are great choices. Try to inculcate whole grain food in your diet even in a small portion.
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Consume Less Sodium
High blood pressure problems are very common among everyone in today’s time. Here sodium plays a very important[13] role in increasing your blood pressure levels.
Plus it may cause a risk of heart attack or stroke. You need to cut down on the usage of sodium in your food.
Sodiums are highly found in packaged or processed food. So it’s better to avoid them as much as you can.
Salt in the food does make it desirable but it destroys the health of our body.
You can use some of the alternatives of salt like lemon, oregano, or herbs to make it spicy and tasty.
Check the ingredients list before buying any packaged food from the store.
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Include Higher Fiber Foods
Carbohydrates are crucial in the meal you eat in a day. Regular potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, or cereals are leaded with high-fiber starchy carbohydrates.
Although, all of these may pose issues when not consumed in moderation. Thus, you have to be very careful while choosing[14] the type of fiber or wholegrain varieties.
You may eat wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or eat potatoes with skin to have the best starchy carbohydrates.
Also, it has higher fiber content with a more filling ratio than any other variety.
You must eat carbohydrates in every meal with less calorie count to have fiber in your body.
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Have A Protein-Rich Diet
Protein is an essential constituent of an ideal and healthy diet plan. Made with amino acids, they play an important[15] role in repairing muscle tissues and in keeping bones healthy.
Moreover, adding protein to your diet plan could assist in maintaining muscle mass which decreases with age. Protein-rich diets could support slowing down muscle aging.
Some of the basic sources of protein in your regular food items are dairy products, nuts, peanut butter, eggs, beans, and lean meat.
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Choose Healthy Oils
Including oil after preparing the food or while sauteing any veggies could be done, maintain the nutrient value of the foods.
Olive oils and mustard oil are considered[16] the healthiest oil option. Prefer these oils in your food rather than processed or refined oils.
Conclusion
The above tips regarding the plan to have the best eating habits for a healthy lifestyle are very beneficial.
However, you may not be able to build all the habits that are mentioned. Yet you can try to follow the tips as much as you can.
Furthermore, you have to start with small steps rather than jumping to larger steps. Every habit takes time.
Similarly, with eating habits, you have to bear patience and have consistency throughout the time.
References/Sources
Working4Health prefers using primary and verified references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and our primary references include peer-reviewed research, academic, and medical institution studies.
- Choline. Available from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-Consumer/
- Hyun Ah Park. Fruit Intake to Prevent and Control Hypertension and Diabetes. Korean J Fam Med. 2021 Jan; 42(1): 9–16. Published online 2021 Jan 20. doi: 10.4082/kjfm.20.0225
- Mark L. Dreher. Whole Fruits and Fruit Fiber Emerging Health Effects. Nutrients. 2018 Dec; 10(12): 1833.
Published online 2018 Nov 28. doi: 10.3390/nu10121833 - Kimiko Nishino, Masaru Sakurai, Yumie Takeshita, et al. Consuming Carbohydrates after Meat or Vegetables Lowers Postprandial Excursions of Glucose and Insulin in Nondiabetic Subjects. Clinical Trial J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2018;64(5):316-320. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.64.316. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30381620/
- Healthy Eating Plan. Available from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/eat/calories.htm
- Benefits and Risks of Eating Fish. Available from https://oehha.ca.gov/fish/benefits-risks
- Jörg Oehlenschläger. Seafood: nutritional benefits and risk aspects. Review Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2012 Jun;82(3):168-76. doi: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000108. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23258397/
- Ryota Hosomi, Munehiro Yoshida, and Kenji Fukunaga. Seafood Consumption and Components for Health. Glob J Health Sci. 2012 May; 4(3): 72–86.Published online 2012 May 1. doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v4n3p72
- Barry M. Popkin, Kristen E. D’Anci, and Irwin H. Rosenberg. Water, Hydration and Health. Nutr Rev. 2010 Aug; 68(8): 439–458.doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x.
- Water – a vital nutrient. Available from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/water-a-vital-nutrient
- Carbohydrates. Available from https://medlineplus.gov/carbohydrates.html
- Whole Grains. Available from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/whole-grains/
- Sodium and Health. Available from https://www.cdc.gov/salt/index.htm
- THE ROLE OF FIBER. Available from https://www.med.umich.edu/pfans/_pdf/hetm-2016/0816-roleoffiber.pdf
- Protein. Available from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/protein
- Monika Gorzynik-Debicka, Paulina Przychodzen, Francesco Cappello, et al. Potential Health Benefits of Olive Oil and Plant Polyphenols. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Mar; 19(3): 686. Published online 2018 Feb 28. doi: 10.3390/ijms19030686
- About the Author
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Alisha Matthew has been a practicing nutritionist since 2016. She holds a master’s degree in nutrition from the University of IOWA. She is a staunch believer in improving the human health index by educating people about nutrition and the importance of nutrition in leading a healthy and happy life. Her long-term goal is to keep educating people on general health and keep herself updated with the latest trends in the field of health.