In recent years, the topic of healthy eating has become very common and fashionable. Such a trend will continue due to the association of “healthy eating” with a slim figure. Although the effects of individual products on the condition of our bodies have been studied for decades, new theories about what is “healthy” and what is not are constantly emerging. Often, these theories contradict each other and even contradict each other, making the average John feel lost and tempted to ask, “How do I eat to be healthy?”
The Importance of Healthy Eating
Our body is made up of cells that are constantly growing and renewing themselves, and for this they need nutrients from the food we eat. In this way, our appearance, well-being, ability to perform many activities and health depend on our daily diet. It is important to realize that it is not worth waiting for a healthy lifestyle until old age, while not eating properly, not getting enough sleep and not taking care of rest. Right now, no matter what stage of life you are in, you can implement changes that will make your current and future quality of life better than before. There is no doubt that the relationship between eating habits and the occurrence of dangerous civilization diseases (such as obesity, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, some cancers) is strongly related to what you eat.
Balanced diet
In fact, it is difficult to count all the minerals, vitamins, flavonoids, enzymes and other compounds that we provide ourselves with food. And that’s a good thing, because our body needs all of them for proper development and the changes that are still taking place in it. Unfortunately, our diet is usually rich only in favorite, easy-to-prepare and well-known products, which narrows down the richness of the ingredients we take. We don’t like to experiment in the kitchen, and once we buy yogurt, we eat it for a long time. It’s high time to change that and reach for a number of different types of products. It is important for your health to keep trying new products, changing brands and grades.
Although some of us are proud of the speed of life we lead, you need to know that the body works best when it knows what awaits it during the day. He likes to know, for example, the times and length of your sleep. It’s the same with nutrition – it’s important that your meal times are fairly constant. In this way, you will noticeably prevent fluctuations in blood sugar levels, gain weight or feel hungry at odd times of the day. It is recommended to eat 4-5 meals. This may seem like too much to you, but it will make your meals more modest and your stomach unoverloaded. Breakfast should be eaten at home, shortly after waking up, while dinner is a meal eaten 2 hours before going to bed. If you’re a night owl and usually fall asleep around midnight, don’t be afraid to eat dinner after 8 p.m. Remember that this last meal should be easy to digest so that it allows you to fall asleep peacefully.
Amount of food consumed
Due to the risk of obesity (and consequently a number of other diseases), it is important to remember not to overeat. It’s a good idea to determine the right body weight for you. To do this, you can subtract the number 100 (for men) or 110 (for women) from your height and you will get the optimal body weight. Another way is to calculate your BMI, which will show you the range of weight you should be in. Let’s recall: divide the current mass by the height raised to the second power expressed in meters. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 indicates an appropriate body weight, a BMI between 25 and 29.9 indicates overweight, and a value greater than or equal to 30 indicates obesity.
For many people, it’s troublesome not knowing the size of the portions we should be consuming, and putting on the amount we think we’re going to eat too often leads to “overdoing.” So I suggest you remember a simple method based on the size of your hand.
- Roughage products (such as pasta, groats, rice, potatoes) should be the size of two fists.
- Fruit – here the portion will be the volume of one fist.
- Meat and its substitutes (dry legumes, fish) – the size should resemble the palm of your hand, and its thickness should not exceed the thickness of your little finger.
- Vegetables (except dry legumes and potatoes) – as much as you would take in two hands.
- Fat – tiny, like the tip of your thumb.
The secret to healthy eating lies in the variety of healthy and natural food products. If they are the basis of our diet, we do not have to worry about obesity and many diseases associated with it.
