Friday, April 6, 2012

What does eating healthy even mean?

Do you eat healthy? It seems like a simple questions right? The problem is what is healthy for me may not be healthy for you. So what is healthy then? The answer it typically based on your past experience with food (what you ate growing up and your cultural heritage) and any health concerns you might have.  If you grew up eating McDonalds and other fast-food every night for dinner, you might consider homemade chicken and rice (without any veggies) a healthy choice. But if you grew up in a house that typically ate that, you might consider a salad with grilled chicken a health choice. If you grew up in an Italian household eating pasta with veggies might seem like a healthy choice, but not if you have problems with gluten.  When it comes to a healthy diet, like most things in life it’s all relative. With that being said here are some general advice on what makes a healthy diet (for those without dietary restrictions).



1.       Don’t forget the vegetables! Many people look at their diet and say… It doesn’t have a lot of fat, it’s not fried, it’s high in protein, there’s not butter, ect but forget to ask the most important question… where are the vegetables and other foods that are packed full of nutrients. It’s not enough to not eat ‘bad’ foods; you have to make sure you eat ‘good’ foods that are high in nutrients.

2.       Make sure to eat enough protein. For whatever reason women tend to not get enough protein in their diet. Protein is an essential part of giving the body the energy it needs on a daily basis.

3.       Minimize simple carbs like white bread, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar. In moderation these things are fine (again depending on your health concerns this may not be true), but a lot of American do not realize how high their diet are in these items and the negative health consequences they can have.

4.       Snacking is a good thing. It’s true, eating many small meals throughout the day is one of the best ways to create a high metabolism.

2 comments:

  1. Nice post. For a bit of light relief you might enjoy this cartoon about the food pyramid. http://caroleschatter.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/food-pyramid.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha I did enjoy that cartoon... thanks for sharing Carole

      Delete