Nutrition can imply a lot of different connotations depending upon whom you ask or talk to about it. We all know that food should taste good, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be bad for you. Take some time to eat healthier and look your best using the tips below.
Here’s a scary one. Have you ever wondered why dogs only live 10 to 15 years while humans live typically 60 years or more? It all lies within our cells and our metabolism where oxygen plays a big part. Oxygen moves energy throughout our cells breaking the carbs we consume into energy. The problem is, oxygen also breaks down our cells in the same process. This is called “oxidation.” But our cells also have a buffer against the oxygen, these are called “antioxidants” and are prevalent in fruits and veggies.
Dogs have faster metabolisms than humans, which breaks down energy quicker and pumps much more oxygen into the cells. The cells die faster because of oxidation. Dogs also don’t or can’t eat many fruits and veggies, which carry those all important antioxidants.
While humans have slower metabolisms, you can actually speed yours up almost to the speed of a dog’s, simply by eating pure sugar, which the body converts to energy almost immediately. Pure sugar is a high energy carb. Cells turn the sugar into energy, but harm the cells in the process. Cells take time to grow back and they don’t grow back indefinitely! So if you want to live a longer life, eat lots of fruits and veggies and keep away from the pure sugar!
Vitamin D is an important part of a healthy diet. It assists in bone and teeth formation by maintaining calcium and phosphorous levels in the body. Vitamin D also helps in immune function and cell growth. Lowering cancer risk is yet another benefit of vitamin D.
Eating well and taking supplemental vitamins are keys to maintaining one’s health. For one to appreciate what “eating well” means, they must understand that having a well-balanced diet is very simple, but also very important for one’s physical and mental well-being. The human body requires the proper mix of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates, in order to function. Food is fuel for any animal and having a good understanding of what is good for one’s body is important. Lean meats, fruits and vegetables and grains are all important and all of these need to be items in one’s daily diet.
For a healthier diet substitute olive oil for butter. Butter contains high amounts of saturated fats which is associated with high cholesterol and heart disease. Olive oil is much healthier. You can drizzle olive oil, instead of butter, over vegetables. You can also dip your bread, or fry your eggs in olive oil instead of butter.
For best nutrition, don’t make the mistake of thinking that brown eggs are somehow magically better than white eggs. Egg companies want you to think so; the mystique of brown eggs allow them to charge you up to 25% more than for white ones. But in reality, the differences are only shell-deep. White eggs are every bit as nutritious as their brown-shelled cousins, and are almost always cheaper.
Try eating a variety of foods like nuts, low-fat dairy, fish, different types of fresh produce, and whole grains. Adding several different types of foods in your meals ensures that you receive all of the vitamins and minerals you require at one sitting.
A good nutrition tip is to eat darker colored vegetables. Darker colored vegetables tend to offer the best nutrition. A good example of a darker vegetable would be something like broccoli or spinach. Avoid lighter colored vegetables such as celery and iceberg lettuce because they offer very little in terms of nutrition.
When looking to add more nutritious vegetables to your diet, make it easy by chopping a batch of vegetables to keep on hand for when time is short. Choose vegetables that are rich in color to maximize vitamins and minerals. Having the vegetables ready to add to soups and salads will make it more likely that you will actually eat them.
Always try and choose a whole wheat option with your food. Whole wheat can reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and many other diseases. Don’t bye white bread, it has none of these benefits, and will increase your waist line. Try purchasing rye bread, or whole wheat instead. Also try a brown rice instead of white.
It’s true that food needs to be tasty for you to want to eat it. That said, you still have to eat things that are good for you and your body. You can always improve upon your nutrition plan, and hopefully these tips gave you advice on how to do that.