10 Healthy Eating Rules Everyone Can Follow

The phrase “healthy eating” scares many and is associated with steamed vegetables or lean chicken breast. In fact, everything is not so scary. No need to give up your favorite foods and you can even afford treats. The main thing is not to forget about the sense of proportion and the balance of nutrients.

Consistently eating right is much smarter than going on diets that give short-term results. A balanced diet will not only help you gradually lose weight, but also feel better.

But the rejection of fats or carbohydrates, which many diets call for, can provoke health problems. Indeed, with food, the body must receive daily all the macro- and microelements necessary for normal functioning.

1. Use only fresh natural products

Semi-finished products, packaged goods with a lot of preservatives, dyes, flavor enhancers do not fit into a healthy diet. After all, such food tremendously increases the load on the body, promotes slagging of the intestines, slows down the metabolism and prevents the removal of toxins. So any piece of meat baked in the oven is more useful than store-bought sausage, even the best production.

2. Limit refined foods

Purified products are deprived of such an important component as fiber, which is necessary for the functioning of the digestive organs, the nutrition of lacto- and bifidumbacteria that inhabit the intestinal walls.

In practice, this means that instead of a white loaf it is more correct to eat whole grain bread, and instead of white rice – brown. Ordinary refined sugar can be replaced with honey, agave syrup, Jerusalem artichoke or other natural sugars.

3. Fruits and vegetables every day

Try to eat at least 300 grams of fresh vegetables and 300 grams of fresh fruits every day. With these foods, you get soluble and insoluble fiber and essential vitamins.

The easiest way to take with you to work is an apple or pear cut into slices, carrot or celery sticks. So you won’t even notice how you eat the required amount of vegetables and fruits, simultaneously satisfying your hunger.

4. Load up on protein

First, it gives a long feeling of satiety. Secondly, it is rich in essential amino acids. These products include different types of meat, rabbit, guinea fowl, quail, fish and seafood, cod, perch, shrimp, squid, scallops and others.

5. Use a Variety of Vegetable Oils

It is the best source of essential fatty acids (such as linoleic). It’s good if you have 4-5 bottles with a variety of oils in your kitchen – linseed, grape seed, sesame, olive, walnut.

6. Stick to a routine

Eating too infrequently is just as harmful as constant snacking. Try to make 3-4 meals a day, as a gap of more than 5 hours slows down the metabolism and adjusts the body to save energy. The result is the accumulation of body fat.

You don’t have to eat all the time either. Don’t snack at work, while watching TV or reading social media. So you do not control the process of eating food, do not feel full and cannot stop in time. You end up eating more than you need.

7. Limit Fast Carbs

Sugar from sweets and bakery products is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and instantly raises glucose levels. This is followed by an equally rapid decrease in it, and you again experience a feeling of hunger. In addition, such sharp fluctuations in sugar negatively affect the functioning of the body.

8. Careful with salt

It is better to replace ordinary table salt with sea or Himalayan salt. Table salt contains only two microelements – sodium and chlorine, while sea salt contains up to 90 of them. And of course, you should try to gradually reduce salt intake. You don’t have to give up completely. However, excess salt causes fluid retention in the body, leading to edema and high blood pressure.

9. Drink water

You need to drink at least 30-35 milliliters of fluid per kilogram of your weight. Remember that coffee and juices do not replace water. By the way, it is better to refuse juices and sweet carbonated drinks altogether – they contain too much sugar.

10. Prepare food properly

Minimal heat treatment is the key to maintaining the integrity of the product structure. For example, cereals or pasta can be cooked in just a few minutes. They turn out a little harsh (al dente) and retain useful starch. For meat and fish products, the most suitable methods are boiling, steaming, baking in the oven and (for a change!) grilling.

And do not forget that sometimes allowing yourself a sandwich with sausage or a cake is not a crime. The main thing is that such a menu does not become a daily diet.

About the Developer

Oleg Iryshkin – doctor of sports medicine and sports nutrition, expert nutritionist of the federal network of fitness clubs X-Fit.

Leave a Reply