4 rules of smart eating

“Good nutrition is one of the most important factors for maintaining connection with the body,” writes Keith Hudson. “The more pure and whole (close to natural) food we eat, the better our body works.” The actress admits that she realized from personal experience that during long trips or filming, when the diet is disturbed, she constantly feels tired and overwhelmed and suffers from headaches.

Kate Hudson advises keeping a food diary to keep track of the quantity and quality of what you eat. At first, this can cause certain difficulties, but after a couple of weeks it becomes a habit.

“Changing your diet will make you more self-confident and strengthen your intuitive relationship with your body, which is so important to living in an atmosphere of goodwill, love and joy. This is not just another fashion trend! By getting rid of the “bad” foods in your diet and replenishing your body with what it needs, you will help restore natural signals. After eating, you will feel full again and will no longer suffer from the mood swings that happen when the body is bombarded with “junk” food,” writes Kate Hudson.

The actress’s approach to proper nutrition is based on four rules.

1. Choose your food carefully

The basis of your diet should be fruits, vegetables and whole grains. In addition, the actress calls for abandoning processed food, replacing it with whole foods. Processed foods are higher in calories, contain dangerous additives, and provide fewer nutrients to the body. Our body needs four main groups of nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats and dietary fiber), but the sources of these substances are also important.

To make a smart choice, you need to adhere to the following rules:

• Eat a variety of foods. Include vegetables and fruits of different colors in your diet – they contain different minerals, vitamins and fibers. Protein sources should also be varied. You don’t need to lean only on chicken or veal, add mushrooms, beans, lamb and tofu to your diet.
• Eat local foods according to the season. It is better to buy them at the market or in a farm shop: there is a chance that they have been processed with less pesticides and preservatives, and most importantly, they have retained more nutrients.
• Load up on vegetables. Americans prefer meat, but fiber-rich vegetables and grains are more satiating. At the same time, it is not necessary to completely abandon fish, meat or poultry.
• Drink more water. Combined with fresh, whole foods, water will help you feel fresher and more energized. 8-9 glasses a day is the bare minimum. Herbal tea is also considered, but soda, energy drinks and coffee with syrup should be excluded. Alcohol should also be kept to a minimum.

2. Control portions

It is not necessary to take a calculator every time before eating and calculate the number of calories. “You will gradually get used to determining by eye how much food you enjoy,” writes Keith Hudson. “If a serving in a restaurant seems too big for you, don’t eat it all, especially when you are no longer hungry.”

And a few more rules of thumb:

• Proteins – a portion the size of the palm of your hand is enough.
• Starchy carbohydrates (rice, pasta, potatoes) – a fist-sized serving.
• Whole grains – a serving the size of two fists.
• Fruits and vegetables – a portion the size of two palms.
• Fats (olive oil, avocado, peanut butter) – two thumbs-sized servings.

Note: One main meal is one serving. If you eat chicken with vegetables, then chicken should be half a palm, and vegetables should be palm-sized.

3. Eat often

The debate about how often you can and should eat has been going on for many years. Classical dietology advises doing this three times a day, modern experts recommend adding two more snacks to maintain the desired blood sugar balance. Of course, every body is different. Kate Hudson shares habits that turned out to be optimal for her personally.

• Have breakfast a maximum of half an hour after getting out of bed.
• Four hours after breakfast, you can have lunch, and be sure to have dinner in the evening. In addition, you can lightly snack twice with a mixture of nuts and dried fruits, fresh vegetables or gluten-free crackers.
• The last meal is at least two hours before bedtime.
• Do not eat mindlessly while watching TV or reading something on the Internet.

4. Choose the right combination of dishes

It is very important to maintain the correct acid-base balance of the body (pH): in order for us to feel good, the pH must remain slightly alkaline. The problem is that most processed foods and some whole foods cause a strong acid reaction. This is why it is so important to eat more alkaline foods and less acidic foods.

Alkaline forms most fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds, and herbal teas in the body. Acid is formed by most cereals, legumes, meat, dairy products, as well as fast food and processed food.

When we eat acidic foods, the body has to work hard to restore the acid-base balance. To do this, alkaline minerals are released into the blood – calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. If there is not enough alkaline food, the body has to take them from the bones, teeth and internal organs. This leads to a decrease in immunity, chronic fatigue, fragility of teeth and bones. The correct ratio of acidic and alkaline foods should be 20-40% to 80-60%.

Do these tips seem too complicated to follow? Maybe so, but on the other side of the scale is your health, productivity and quality of life. What outweighs – you decide.