Contributed by: Healthians Team
Introduction
Healthy eating has a huge impact on your lifestyle. h It helps in improving the health and functioning of your organs and directly influences your energy levels, mood, concentration, thinking capacity, and almost everything involved in your routine.
The selection of healthy foods and consuming them regularly can help you in managing your weight and enhancing your immunity to defend you from both diseases. and infections. While these recommendations are ideal for a healthier you, yet it will be ill-advised to rush into them. It’s best to adopt these recommendations gradually to help your body adjust to the changes.
Changing a long-term habit at once can be a difficult task. However, you can it one step at a time by monitoring your healthy and unhealthy eating practices, replacing the unhealthy ones with healthier habits, and implementing the changes gradually in your routine.
In the previous article, we explored the seven scientifically approved dietary changes that you can adopt in your life and achieve your desired fitness goals. This article will take you through seven more healthy food habits which you should put into effect.
Prepare your grocery list wisely
Preparing a list of food items before you go shopping will not only help in buying more nutritious foods but will also save you money and time. This happens because when you shop without a list, you tend to buy food items (just because they taste good) that you might not even need or could be detrimental to your health. We also recommend not to shop on an empty stomach because it increases the chances of you buying more unhealthy and unessential foods.
Increase Vitamin-D intake
Vitamin D deficiency is common in India. If your body lacks it, you may experience bone and back pain, tooth pain and loss, an increase in fatigue and tiredness, frequent illnesses, slow healing of wounds, darkening of the skin, pain in the muscles, obesity, bone loss, and hair loss.
You can naturally increase vitamin D in your body by increasing your exposure to the sunlight between 10 AM to 3 PM, consuming more dairy products, cereals, and egg yolks.
Eat more green vegetables
Green leafy vegetables are very important for your overall health. They are full of vitamins, minerals, and have low calories. Start consuming more greens to manage obesity, heart ailments, blood pressure, and to improve your mental health. Let us simplify it for you by informing you about some green vegetables that are easily available:
- Fenugreek (methi): Provides several health benefits and helps in managing diabetes, promotes healthy weight loss, increases testosterone levels, reduces pain and inflammation, improves heart health, and blood pressure management.
- Spinach: Also known as palak is an easily available green vegetable in India. Consuming spinach can help you in improving your eye health, prevent cancer, and manage blood pressure.
- Cabbage: This green veggie is full of nutrients like vitamin C and vitamin K. It can help in improving your digestion, heart health, manage blood pressure, and even lower cholesterol levels.
Avoid ordering food. Put your apron on!
Food ordering is a habit that you should actively shun, as the chances of getting a healthy meal are nearly next to none. Make a habit of cooking your food. This is a very good practice because if you cook your own food, you’ll exactly know the content involved and you can add or remove any component as per your diet plan.
Swap French fries with baked potatoes
Potatoes are the most common vegetable in Indian households that are used in a variety of dishes and also as a side dish (mashed potatoes, or potato salad). However, there can be some downsides to unhealthy potato consumption, such as French fries.
Though delicious, this snack is actually deep-fried and high in calories. Swapping it with boiled or baked potatoes, which are gluten-free and rich in antioxidants is a great way to reduce calorie intake, control blood sugar levels, and improving digestion.
Replace tetra pack juices with actual fruits
Packed juices are not at all alternative to fresh fruits and juice. These off-the-shelf juice packs contain artificial sweeteners and additives that can be bad for your health. On the other hand, actual fruits are full of antioxidants, fiber, water, vitamins, and minerals.
Eating fruits regularly is greatly beneficial to your overall well-being. It can help manage ailments such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, cancer complications, heart diseases, and also helps improve mental health.
Switch from sugary beverages to sparkling water
Sugary beverages have no impact on your hunger and are probably one of the unhealthiest drinks you can ever consume. They are manufactured with very high levels of sugar and can cause severe health complications like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Sparkling water, on the other hand, prevents the buildup of excess calories, gives a sense of fullness to those who tend to feel constantly hungry, while also lowering your sugar intake, significantly. It also helps you stay more hydrated throughout the day, as against regular mineral or tap water.
Final thoughts
Changing your food habits can have a great impact on your overall well-being from improving your digestion to maintaining your mental health. These small dietary changes can literally help you in managing severe health complications while enabling you to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.
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