Eat a variety of foods for a healthy lifestyle
Zaak OConan

Everyone knows that variety is important when it comes to diet. Not only is eating the same foods every day boring, but it is extremely unhealthy as well. That is because each type of food contains different nutrients, and different levels of those nutrients. The best way to eat healthy is to eat a wide variety of foods from all the food groups.

It is important to eat a good combination of meats, beans, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. All these foods contain important nutrients, and no vitamin pill in existence can provide the vast variety of nutrients your body needs every day.

Of course simply eating foods from a variety of sources is not enough. It is also important to make smart choices within those food groups. After all, nonfat yogurt and an hot fudge sundae are both dairy products! The best choice in that situation should be obvious, but other choices are more subtle.

Fortunately, the nutritional labels which are required on all packaged foods are a big help for those pursuing a healthier diet. Not only do these labels contain information on the number of calories, fat grams, etc., but they provide detailed information on the levels of many important vitamins and minerals as well.

When choosing healthy foods, small changes can have a huge impact. Simply exchanging fresh, low fat fish for higher fat meats can greatly lower the amount of fat in your diet and increase your level of health.

Replacing highly processed grains for more nutritious whole grain products can also have a great impact on healthy eating. In nutritional terms, less is often more – that is less processing and less refining. Processing and refining methods can strip many vital nutrients from foods, so choosing less refined whole grain foods is important.

Cooking techniques are also very important when maximizing the health benefits of the foods you choose. After taking the time to choose the healthiest, freshest broccoli in the supermarket, it would be quite a waste to slather that cooked broccoli with cheese and butter, for instance.

It would also be a mistake to overcook that broccoli, especially by boiling it in water for a long time. That is because vegetables can lose significant amounts of nutrients through overcooking. When preparing fresh vegetables, it is best to quickly steam them in the microwave or on the stove, using as little water as possible. Use only enough water to keep the vegetables from scorching.

When cooking potatoes, it is a good idea to eat the entire potato, including the skin. Potato skins contain significant levels of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins and minerals. Cooking a baked potato in the microwave, or on the grill, is a great way to make the skin moist and delicious. In addition, these methods of cooking minimize the need for high fat butter or sour cream to flavor the potato. In place of these high fat options, why not use a dollop of plain nonfat yogurt, or some low fat cottage cheese?

Choosing a variety of foods is important to a healthy lifestyle, but it just as important to limit the amount of certain foods. Foods high in sugar, and those high in sodium should be avoided as much as possible. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy that piece of cake or serving of potato chips as an occasional snack; it simply means limiting regular consumption of these high fat, low nutrition products.

When adopting healthier eating habits, it is important to make changes that you can stick with for the long run. After all, a healthy eating lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle. Changing your shopping, cooking and eating habits are not easy, but the many benefits make healthy eating an important habit to get into.
About the Author

Zaak O’Conan discovers and presents useful information on how to enhance and/or repair your life, body and relationships. You’ll find his other articles on eating better and other ways how to improve your life at http://your-health-center.com

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Looking for healthy ways to lose weight? Well, if so, you have to look no further than your own cupboards, refrigerator or sidewalk. All you need is a combination of diet (eating the right things, not starving yourself) and exercise.

I know that today we are all being sold on the idea that we can get whatever we want quickly and easily. And that is not always the truth. It depends on what you really want to accomplish; how much weight you need to lose and how much time (and effort) you are willing to invest in the process.

The first thing you should do is talk to your doctor and find out what they recommend. Only they will know your unique health issues, if any, and should be able to advise you on your options.

It may not be sexy and it may sound hard and intimidating, but there are healthy ways to lose weight and it has nothing to do with popping pills or buying the latest workout DVD or gizmo.

You can go go at it with as much vigor as you want. As quickly or as slowly as you want. It takes time to lose weight and get in better shape, but you can make major changes to your daily routine or you can start with some small changes, one at a time, and go from there.

One thing that I have recently found out is that some people don’t eat enough. Yep, that’s right, you heard me, they don’t eat enough. They don’t eat often enough and they eat too much processed foods and not enough foods that are good for them.

When I started eating six small, healthy meals a day I lost weight. Six pounds in one week to be exact. I was just providing my body with what it needed to give me the best results.

By eating too little or eating too much food with minimal nutritional value, I was making it harder to lose weight. When I kept my body fed throughout the day I was encouraging my metabolism to burn hot all day… that is why I lost weight.

I actually ate my way to weight loss! Cool, huh. Not only was it easy, it was also fast. And it was healthy. I was just giving my body what it needed. How can you go wrong with something like that?

Look, I know it may sound hard and it may not sound very sexy, but the truth is that getting in shape and losing weight can go a long way to helping you improve the quality of your life. You can live longer and live better if you are in good health.

The best healthy ways to lose weight are to ask your doctor for ideas and what limitations you may have, eat a well balanced diet with few processed foods and a lot of fresh, natural foods, drink plenty of water get plenty of sleep and get more exercise.

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There are so many ways to loose weight you might get a little confused and not know where to start. The first thing you should remember is to not get all caught up in the hype of the latest fad diet out there. While you may actually lose some weight with these diets, they are not the types of diets that you can sustain for any length of time and when you stop the likelihood you will put all the weight back on is strong.

The truth is there is no magic potion or pill that will do all the work for you. You have to be an active participant. And I do mean active. You can’t lose weight sitting on your backside in front of the TV and eating anything you want. To effectively lose the weight you want to lose you need to change things up and get regular exercise and eat healthier.

Start by making small changes first. Do not try to do it all at once. If you make small changes then you will not get too overwhelmed and the weight loss will be more effective in the long run. Be smart with the ways to loose weight.

One of the ways to lose weight is to wake up your metabolism. If you have tried to lose weight in the past and you were largely unsuccessful then you probably did not have your metabolism working for you. Wake it up by eating five or six small meals a day. By small, I mean 300 calories or under. Eat lots of lean protein and greens. Stay away from processed carbs and bread for at least the first two weeks then add them back in sparingly. Your waistline will thank you.

In the beginning of your weight loss, anything made with white flour and white sugar are your enemies. You will need to steer clear of anything made with these products. If you make it through the week then you can give yourself a little treat to reward yourself for being good. Just do not over do it. No sense in undoing the great week you just had.

Products made with the white products are referred to as simple carbs and are immediately converted to simple sugars in your body. The weight you have gained happened because of these simple sugars. If you do not burn these sugars off and use them as energy as soon as they are available then your insulin will convert them to fat and place them right around your middle. This is why you have the belly fat that you do.

Here is the old standby, drink a lot of water throughout your day. This will help cleanse your body of toxins and keep you hydrated. Just like with food the more you drink the better your body will work and the more weight you will lose. Try these ways to loose weight and see if they can work for you, too.

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Trying to get fit isn’t always easy. If it was, then there wouldn’t be nearly as many products on the market to help people get healthy. But let’s face it, getting fit can be a lot harder than it should be.

There may be any number of reasons for this. Maybe it’s because junk food is so easy to find. Maybe it’s a busy schedule that doesn’t give us enough time to eat right. Maybe it’s the stress of the modern world that causes the problem. Regardless of the the causes of your unhealthy eating habits, you can turn that around at any time by adopting healthy eating habits.

You don’t have to wait. You don’t have to spend a fortune on the latest fad diet. You can start right away by being mindful of the food you eat. Remember, everything you consume is going to have some effect on your body. The only question is if that effect is good or bad. Studies have shown that subjects who paid attention to what they ate, started to eat better. They weren’t even aware that they were making healthier choices. It was almost as if paying attention to the food they ate flipped a switch that caused them to start eating better. And you can do the same thing.

One of the benefits of trying to change your eating habits is that you can do it at the pace that’s best for you. Remember that you are in this for the long haul, so if you want to make a few small changes at a time, then that’s perfectly acceptable. You know what’s best for you. No matter how you go about it, it’s much better to make changes that are going to stick and see more steady results. Sure, you could make a lot of changes and be able to see some drastic results in short amount of time may seem fantastic, but if you find it too difficult and then go back to your old ways, then it’s not really worth it.

A good rule of thumb is to eat foods that are as close to their natural source as possible. For example, it’s better to eat corn on the cob, than it is to eat it ground up, deep fried, salted and flavored. That sounds logical, yet how many people choose to eat corn chips instead of fresh corn on a daily basis. And that’s only one example. If you could make this one little change, you would be adopting one of the best healthy eating habits.

Another good healthy eating habit is to make better choices at the grocery store. To do this, simply compare two similar foods that you like to eat, then choose the one that’s healthier. However, don’t do this only once, but rather every time you go shopping. Think of it as a contest and try to beat your previous record. Over time your diet will improve, and you will feel a whole lot better to boot!

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