Healthy eating is about making conscious decisions to keep your entire body in a healthy condition. It’s about providing all the important vitamins and minerals you need to function properly. Eating is not only a pleasure, but also a way to feel better, be healthier and live better.
A healthy diet is all about providing your body with the right amount of nutrients and physical activity. All this will allow you to achieve your goal, which is usually to lose a few pounds. Diet should be tailored to each person individually, depending on their needs, preferences and diseases with which they struggle. However, there are 10 basic principles of any healthy diet that invariably fit everyone. And at the beginning of your journey, in changing eating habits, it is worth starting just by following them.
This applies to both meals and also physical activity. Regularity is important in all aspects of life because it allows you to make permanent changes that lead to an improved quality of life. A healthy person should eat 3-5 meals a day, every 3-4 hours and composed in such a way that each such meal contains micro and macro nutrients. This will reduce the consumption of caloric snacks, and thus also uncontrolled hunger attacks, contributing to the consumption of excess calories.
The basis of any healthy diet is fruit and vegetables. Vegetables should constitute ¾ of the diet, and fruit ¼. A diet rich in these components will positively influence the organism, provide it with vitamins and minerals, or reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or cancer. In addition, they have a beneficial effect on immunity, regulate the functioning of hormones and reduce the level of bad cholesterol.
Proper hydration of the body is fundamental. The best choice has always been water. Water is necessary for the proper functioning of the entire body and should be supplied regularly. Insufficient water supply can lead to reduced physical performance, impaired concentration, poor well-being and various ailments related to the digestive and urinary systems. A minimum of 1.5 liters of pure water should be consumed per day, not including water from food.
Regular physical activity helps you achieve your fitness and body shape goals. Workout should be done at least 3 times a week and the best is the one that will make us happy. Because only to such training, no one will ever have to force us. Sport is health and many positive effects of regular training have been proven. Apart from its health-promoting properties, physical activity also reduces stress and improves our mood, as it allows us to regenerate after the hardships of everyday life.
Whole grain products, unlike those made of wheat flour, have more nutrients and are rich in fibre, which has an important place in a healthy diet. When choosing products for your diet, it is worth betting on good quality groats, such as millet, buckwheat, oat, spelt, pearl or bulgur, wholemeal pasta and rice, amaranth and quinoa, and wholemeal bread. These foods are great sources of vitamin B, magnesium, zinc and iron.
It is a well-known fact that salt used in large quantities is not good for anyone. It leads to hypertension, can lead to the occurrence of autoimmune diseases or cancer. Therefore, instead of using salt, it is recommended to replace it with any expressive spices that will positively affect the taste of dishes.
Fats are essential to life, they regulate many processes in the body and affect the work of hormones. They are the carrier of vitamins A, D, E and K. They build cell membranes, and 20% of the dry weight of the brain is fats. In the diet you should provide primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. This is primarily: olive oil, flaxseed oil, nuts, seeds and fatty fish.
It is worth remembering that meat should not be eaten every day. A good way to provide complete protein in your diet is to eat fish, as well as leguminous plants or eggs. Legumes that should be included in your diet include – peas, beans, chickpeas, or lentils. They are a great source of vitamins excellent for your health.
Remember, not everything “bio”, “eco” and “light” is healthy and full of nutrients. Unfortunately, we live in a time when certain terms are frequently used because they sell well or are simply fashionable. So if you are making a conscious decision to eat healthy, read labels and check what is really in the product. Then you can be sure that you know what you are buying.
To achieve your goal, getting enough hours of sleep is also important. A minimum of 8 hours of sleep is essential for every person, regardless of the lifestyle they lead. This is also the time for recovery, without which it is hard to see any effects of your work. Sleep is beneficial for weight loss and for minimizing stress. So make sure to go to bed fairly early so that you can get up much more rested the next day.
