Eating for a healthier you

So, you’ve decided you need or want to eat healthier, but where do you begin? Doctors often like to throw in a quick comment about eating healthier in the last few minutes of your check-up. Food companies like to throw around the term “healthy” for marketing purposes. But what really is eating healthier?

Many people may say it’s about eating more fruits and vegetables, or less sweets. Some dietitians will even say no food is healthy or unhealthy, it’s all food, but that’s a little oversimplified. 

Regardless of your reason to start eating healthier, you can apply these basic concepts to get you started. Once you have made them a part of your lifestyle, working with a dietitian can help fine tune your diet changes to improve a specific ailment.

The Basic Concepts of Eating Healthy

Eating healthy used to be simple, but in today’s time of packaged foods and corporate bottom lines, companies are fighting to get your money. This means making food that is highly palatable and that you crave for.

Take for example the original cereal by Dr. Kellogg, what is now known as Kellogg’s. He made a cereal from whole grain that was hard and tasted like cardboard but was actually healthy. There were religious reasons as well why he kept the cereal so bland, but the point was that it was actually an early healthy food.

At some point, a worker for Kellogg’s left and started his own cereal company called Post. His cereal became an instant hit and started to put Kellogg’s out of business. His secret ingredient was added sugar. Dr. Kellogg’s brother knew they had to add sugar to stay in business, but Dr. Kellogg did not agree and wanted to leave his cereal as a health food. Eventually, Dr. Kellogg was forced out of the company and his brother added sugar to their cereal saving the company. 

This is the same case for many foods today. They’re all fighting for your money and to keep you buying them more often than you really need.

1. Decrease use of packaged foods

With this in mind, the first step you can take to eating healthier is to minimize using packaged foods. They are convenient, but at a price and that price ends up being your health. Making food from scratch can be time consuming but this is one of the keys to eating healthier. 

Not only do you have control over the ingredients, but the time alone will also keep you from eating a given food too often and too much of. It’s a self-limiting step that will keep you from overeating.

2. Increase fiber 

Choosing vegetables, fruits, whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat, etc.) is the best way to increase your fiber intake. Fiber fills us up helping to limit how much we eat, and it keeps us full for longer minimizing how often we eat. 

Choosing fiber-containing foods also increases the nutrient content of our food, giving our body more of the nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc.) it needs to stay healthy and run smoothly. 

3. Focus on protein

Our body needs amino acids to make proteins that are integral to running our body’s everyday processes such as our metabolism, rebuilding cells, moving nutrients in and out of cells, etc. To find out more about the importance of protein, check out this blog on it.

Protein rich foods, also help fill us up and keep us full just as fiber rich foods do. Eating a meal with fiber and protein will keep you full and satisfied from a smaller amount for longer.

Keep in mind that plant-based protein sources are a great way of getting fiber and protein in one. Beans, lentils, quinoa are just some of the plant-based options that are packed with both protein and fiber. 

When choosing animal-based sources, opt for leaner cuts but don’t go too lean as our body does need some fat as well. Plus, it’ll make the meal a lot more satisfying, which is key to eating less.

4. Choose healthy cooking methods

How you cook your food can make a difference in the taste and of the meal and the health of your body. For instance, steaming your vegetables instead of boiling, retains more of the vitamins and minerals in the vegetables and makes them taste better as well. 

A couple other healthy cooking methods that help increase the flavor of the food and lock in nutrients include:

• Sauteing

• Baking

• Grilling

• Stir-frying

• Blanching (best for meal prepping vegetables)

• Roasting

5. Minimize added sugars

Don’t simply cut back on sweets but pay attention to the nutrition label of your foods. You may be shocked how many foods have added sugars! Limiting how often we eat foods with added sugars helps to decrease calories, minimize insulin release, prevent desensitization, and reduce low-grade inflammation. Best of all, it can increase your perception of the natural sweetness of fruits and even vegetables. 

You’ll find as you reduce your added sugar intake that overtime you no longer crave as much of it. You may even find that when you do eat something with added sugar, such as a piece of cake, that it’s now too sweet for you.

The Takeaway

Eating healthy used to be easy, simply because we were not bombarded with the food companies trying to make profits on us. In today’s time, a grocery store can become an overwhelming experience. Time also forces us to choose quick-to-make meals that are made to get us hooked on eating them more often and in greater amounts.

If you’re ready to start eating healthier to protect your body and maintain your health as you age, apply these core concepts to your everyday food and meal choices. 

If you want to focus on improving a certain ailment (cholesterol levels, weight, blood sugars, etc.) or want some more guidance on eating healthier, schedule your free consultation with Dietitian2Go to get started today!

Written by: Adam Skowyra MPPD, RDN. LD