The Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating
The Easy Way To Healthy Eating
Wanting to live a healthy lifestyle is a goal many of us aspire to. The benefits of a healthy lifestyle—prolonged life, increased resistance to disease and sickness, and an overall sense of well being and self esteem—are indeed the things many of us look for in our lives. It is not impossible to achieve. It just needs a little effort and discipline to pull it off. So what does a beginner need to know about getting a healthy lifestyle?
One of the keys to a healthy lifestyle is the proper diet. A proper diet is a balanced one, or a diet with the appropriate amount of food from the different food groups. From the healthy eating perspective, foods are grouped according to the amount of it we are supposed to consume in a day. We call this a food pyramid or triangle. A triangle is shaped with a broad base at the bottom becoming narrower at the top until the two vertical sides meet at a point. Thus, in a food triangle, the foods we are supposed to consume more of are found at the bottom layers while those we should consume less of occupy the top layers.
We find that at the bottom layer are starches, such as bread, rice, potatoes and cereals. Besides being a good source of vitamins and minerals, the food in this group are those which provide our bodies with the energy to go about our everyday activities. We are encouraged to eat more of these foods from this group in order to maintain the energy levels our body needs to function properly.
At the next level are fruit and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are a main source of essential vitamins and minerals. For instance, green leafy vegetables are a rich source of iron which is needed by our body’s blood to carry oxygen around it. Experts recommend we eat five portions or 400 grams everyday.
Next we have meat and fish. Although the meat of animals are an essential part of a balanced diet, experts have found it to be a rich source of saturated fats which can pose health hazards to us if we consume too much of it. That is why dieticians recommend we eat less meat, and if we do to try to avoid cooking it in too much oil or fats. Fish, although still considered a meat, is much healthier than pork, lamb, poultry or beef since it contains unsaturated fats which are healthier than the saturated kind.
At the same level, we find milk and dairy products. The reason behind why we should consume less dairy products is because of the fact that they are also rich in animal fat. They however, are a rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals as well, which makes them an important part of a balanced diet.
At the apex of the pyramid is the group consisting of foods we should avoid eating when we can since too much of any one of them can put our health at risk. These are fat, oils and sugar. Consuming too much fat and oil can lead to coronary and heart disease while too much consumption of sugar can lead to diabetes and tooth decay.
Knowing the basics about nutrition is an important stepping stone towards a healthy lifestyle. Thus armed with this knowledge, you are one step closer to achieving that goal.
