The key to healthy diet is right number of calories, enough water and balanced diet. It is recommended that men should have around 2500 calories a day and women around 2000. Eating more or less calories is not considered good for health.
Choose a meal that contain starchy carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates meal includes potatoes, bread, rice, cereals and pasta. It should make up no more than one third of the food that you eat.
It is better to choose whole grain varieties or (eat potatoes with their skin on) as they contain more fiber.
So, it is healthier to choose at least one starchy food with each main meal.
Consume more fruits and vegetables
It is recommended to eat fruits and vegetables every day. We should eat five portions of variety of fruit and vegetable each day. Fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothie only make one portion.
It is better to take fresh fruits with your breakfast cereal.
Eat more fish
There is no doubt that fish contains more sources of proteins, vitamins and minerals. You should always aim to have at least two portions of fish including oily fish in a week.
Oily fish includes salmon, mackerel, trout, fresh tuna, pilchards, etc. They are rich in omega 3 fats which help to prevent heart disease.
Non oily fish includes skate, cod, plaice, canned tuna, etc. However, be careful that canned and smoked fish contains high amount of salt.
So, always consume both oily and non oily fish.
Lower the contained of saturated fat and sugar
There are two types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat is not good for health as it increases the amount of cholesterol in blood. It is recommended not to take more than 25g of saturated fat.
Saturated fat is found in food like biscuits, hard cheese, sausage, cream, butter, pies, etc.
Always lower the saturated fat contained food and choose food that contains unsaturated fat like vegetable oils, avocados and oily fish.
Moreover, consuming high sugar increases the risk of obesity and tooth decay. Sugary food and drinks including alcohol contains high amount of sugar. Similarly packaged foods and drink contain high amount of free sugars. Free sugars are any sugars which are added in foods or drinks. It is also found in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices.
It is better to carefully see the contain of sugar in food label. If there is more than 22.5g sugars per 100g than it means that food contains high amount of sugar. Similarly, 5g of total sugar per 100g means food is low in sugar.
Maintain the amount, cut down saturated fat and sugar in your diet.
Eat less salt
Consuming too much salt in food raise your blood pressure and is more likely to have stroke or develop heart disease.
It is recommended not to eat more than 6g of salt per day. Food labels will help you cut down the salt label. If the food contains more than 1.5g of salt per 100g than it is high in salt.
So, it is better to eat less salt for healthier health.
Get healthy and active
Healthy diet is a balanced diet and balanced diet is what makes us healthy. Being both overweight and underweight affects your health.
Adults need to eat fewer calories and lose weight. It is better to avoid food that contains high saturated fat and sugar. If you are planning to lose weight then be very precise in choosing the food items. Moreover, physical exercise plays an important role to keep you fit and healthy. Physical exercise is not that you have to spend hours in gym, rather a simple walking and running along with proper diet plan can contribute in your fitness.
Drink enough water
It is recommended to drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water every day. We get fluid from food that we eat but water and lower fat milk are healthier choice to keep you hydrated.
However, drinks that contain high amount of sugar should be avoided. It is also suggested not to have more than 150 ml of drinks (from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies).
Stop avoiding breakfast
People often skip breakfast to lose weight. But, research shows that people who eat breakfast regularly seem to be healthy and fit.
Breakfast increases the child’s mental performance and has positive impact on children.
A healthy breakfast provides some of the vitamins and minerals we need and is also the part of balanced diet.
So, never ever try to skip breakfast.