The best ways of feeding healthy are also the simplest.
If you ask any reputed dietitist or nutritionist how to eat healthy, it will probably tell you to avoid diets.
Many diets emphasize restriction, whether calories, carbohydrates, fats or anything else. And that is not a healthy strategy, said Alison Brown, a researcher in nutrition from the National Health Institutes. Diets of this type can make you miss the range of nutrients that your body needs, he said.
A much better way to maintain healthy eating habits, he added, is to focus on foods that are not only nutritious, but also give you joy.
This can be difficult when nutritional fashions come and go with a speed that apparently accelerates more and more, they often offer contradictory advice. Is saturated fat or not? Do we all have protein deficiencies? It turns out that the best ways to favor healthy eating are also the simplest. Here we tell you how.
1. Prioritize unprocessed foods
Not all processed foods are bad for health, but they are often devoid of beneficial nutrients such as fiber and certain vitamins and minerals, Brown said. And they can contain high levels of health harmful ingredients, such as added sugars and sodium.
Therefore, it is best to consume foods “as similar as possible to how they exist in nature,” Brown said.
Comprehensive foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains are full of many important nutrients. Fiber, for example, is related to the reduction of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. And fruits and vegetables – especially those with green leaf and red fruits – contain beneficial compounds that can reduce inflammation. In a recent study of almost 50,000 women, scientists discovered that those who ate more integral cereals, fruits, vegetables and legumes were more likely to age healthy than those who ate less of those foods.
“The best foods have no nutritional label,” said Christopher Gardner, a scientist specialized in nutrition and medical professor at Stanford.
2. Eat more healthy fats
During the 1980s, the dominant nutritional council was to eat less fat. However, researchers have discovered since then that not all fats are bad. In fact, eating more unsaturated fats, which are found in foods such as nuts, avocados, fish and olive oil, can reduce the low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (or “bad” cholesterol) in the blood, and thus help prevent infarctions and cerebral spills.
On the other hand, saturated fats, which are found in animal products such as meat and dairy products, can raise LDL cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease, Brown said.
It is not necessary that you completely eliminate the saturated fats of your diet, said Alice H. Lichtenstein, professor of science and nutrition policies at the University of Tufts. But when you choose between healthy and not so healthy sources (olive oil in front of butter, for example), try to opt for the healthiest.
3. Be careful with added sugars
Although experts focused on certain foods that you should eat more, they agreed that you should limit added sugars.
Added sugars should represent less than 10 percent of your daily calories, or no more than 50 grams if you consume 2000 calories per day, according to federal guidelines. The American Heart Association establishes a stricter limit of no more than 25 grams of sugars added a day for women and no more than 36 grams per day for men.
Added sugars rich can increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, among other chronic conditions.
Added sugars are found in many foods, including those that do not expect, such as tomato sauces and salad dressings you buy in the store. That is why it can be difficult to avoid them.
But if you follow the rest of the strategies of a healthy diet – consistently eating more comprehensive foods – it is likely that you consume less added sugars in general, experts said. The fiber of integral fruits and vegetables, for example, can help keep you satiated for a longer time and be less prone to look for sugary tente, Brown said. And comprehensive foods, by definition, do not include added sugars.
4. Try to cook more
According to recent government data, US consumers spend a majority of their revenues in meals away from home than in food for cooking at home.
There is nothing wrong with eating away from home from time to time, experts said. But research suggests that people who prepare more meals at home are more likely to follow a healthier diet and consume less calories, and are less prone to obesity or develop type 2 diabetes.
Cooking does not have to be complicated or take a long time, said Candice Schreiber, clinical dietitian at Ohio State University. You can prepare tasty dishes using simple methods such as roasting or cooking. And preparing meals can save a lot of time, Schreiber said.
When Cooking, Gardner recommends that fruit and vegetables be the main part of the food. Instead of a piece of veal with a small garrison of vegetables, for example, put vegetables as a main dish with a small garrison of meat. Or instead of a cheese pay with a couple of red fruits on top of it, he added, he takes a bowl of red fruits with a portion of cheese pay.
5. Find joy, and flavor, in healthy food
Learning to love healthy food usually requires patience and experimentation.
“One of the things that bother me as dietitian is that people think that healthy food cannot know well,” said Schreiber. “Yes it can.”
To find joy in a healthy diet, Gardner said, try to add aromatic herbs and spices to your food. Give flavor to the nuts or the vegetables with a homemade “fastest dust” made with garlic, onion and English powder sauce, for example.
And look for healthier alternatives to less healthy food than you love, said Gardner. If you eat an ice cream bowl every night, prove whether red fruits or apple slices with honey or butter of nuts can give you the same satisfaction. Or if the fried potatoes are your usual snack in the middle of the afternoon, try the popcorn with a little olive oil and nutritional yeast.
Finding these healthiest alternatives can take time, said Gardner. But don’t give up. It is “really feasible” to find something you like so much or more, he said.