PART II Tip #4- Diversify your Fruit Intake Diversify of Fruit Intake Fruit is an essential source of natural glucose, which is a healthy al...
PART II
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| Diversify of Fruit Intake |
However, this is just one of the benefits of eating fruit.Just a few decades ago, it was only possible to eat fruit that was in season and the variety of canned fruit was very limited. Gone are the days when we're stuck with apples or bananas because they're usually available year-round.
Today, there's a huge variety of canned and frozen fruit right at your local supermarket, in addition to fresh. There's no excuse! And diversifying your fruit intake follows the same principle as eating a rainbow. You need to give your body the full range of benefits that different fruits can provide.
There's a misconception that fresh fruits will give you the most nutritional benefits because canned or frozen fruits contain additives and preservatives, and the essential nutrients are lost in the canning and freezing process. This is absolutely false. Frozen and canned fruit contain the same nutritional value as fresh and is completely safe and healthy. So,set your mind at rest and take advantage of this to diversify your fruit intake dramatically.
Frozen grapes, strawberries, blueberries and cherries are great options for optimizing a rainbow diet. As for canned, the choices are almost endless.
Pineapple, figs, plums, apricots and peaches are some delicious suggestions (do choose fruits canned in natural syrup). Pureed fruits like applesauce are another super healthy addition that can offer change and diversity.
Exotic options like mangoes, guava, dates and papaya are also available at most supermarkets today.
Apples and bananas are great and it's important to eat plenty of them but it's also important to diversify so that you give your body a full range of essential vitamins and minerals. Bananas are known for their high potassium content, whereas avocadoes contain vitamins D and E.
Grapes are packed with healthy natural glucose and citrus fruits are the super food for vitamin C.
Diversifying your fruit intake allows you to get the recommended intake of all the essential minerals and vitamins on a regular basis to avoid deficiencies. Do eat fresh fruits when they're in season but remember that canned or frozen are just as healthy and nutritious.
Tip #5 – Switch to Whole Grain
Pasta, tortillas, rice, bread, muffins, crackers, and even bagels... if you think making the switch to whole grain means deprivation from many of your favourite foods, think again. These are just some of the products that are widely available nowadays in whole grain. We've come a long way.
Making the switch to whole grain has never been easier.Grains are essential to our diet but that's when we're eating the healthy kinds. Refined grains are those that have had most of the natural nutrients and healthy fiber stripped out of them so that you're essentially filling your body with calories, starch and zero nutrition.
Even products labeled 'enriched' are very weak nutritionally compared to whole-grain versions. So, don't be fooled when the label on the pasta box reads 'enriched'. Nothing beats natural. Some other artificially enriched foods may include white bread, white rice, pasta and white flour.
Making the switch to whole grains that are packed with all-natural nutrients and fiber is easy. Whole grains should therefore be your mainstay for a healthier diet. Simply consider making the following replacements:
- Make your own baked goods - it's worth the effort. Enjoy your favourite foods such as waffles, pancakes and cookies using whole grain flour instead of white, or at least a mixture of half and half.
- Buy ready-made cake, cookie and pancake mixes labeled 'whole grain'.
- Buy whole-grain breakfast cereal or opt for oatmeal.
- Replace white rice with brown rice.
- Replace regular pasta with whole grain.
- Replace white bread with whole-grain bread.
- Replace regular tortillas, bagels, muffins and pita bread with those labeled 'whole grain'.
It's that simple - and so much healthier! Thanks to our health-conscious modern culture, we're seeing a massive switch to whole grains, and the market is rushing to keep up. We're now able to eat more nutritious versions of our favourite foods.
Switching to whole grains is now a way of life for many people and the best thing you can do for your health is to join the club!
Check out your local supermarket or online stores and you'll be amazed at the wide range of whole-grain foods available. The taste is not that much different, either. In fact, many people claim whole grain is tastier.
Tip #6 – Bake, Roast and Grill
Instead of Frying
Some of our most favourite foods are those that we think require frying.Think crispy bacon and sausages, pan-fried steak and potatoes, onion rings, fried chicken and French fries. These are the types of food we also tend to associate with health risks such as high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. But we just love them too much to give them up.
The fact is that all foods, including meat protein, starches and carbohydrates are essential for a well-balanced diet. The key is moderation and opting for lean meats.
But more importantly, it's how you cook your food that makes the difference between healthy and unhealthy. And frying, especially deep frying, is extremely unhealthy.
Baking, grilling or roasting, particularly meat and fish, is super easy and in fact, is the traditional way used to cook many dishes. The classic steak and potatoes is a healthy dish as long as the meat is lean and if the dish is baked or roasted. Hamburgers are healthy if the meat is lean and if they're grilled or even roasted in the oven, with the French fries drizzled with a few drops of oil on the same tray.
As for classic fried foods, baking, grilling or roasting should also be the rule. Bacon and sausages, for example, can be baked and will come out just as crispy and tasty as fried. In fact, if you think of it, almost anything you fry can be grilled, roasted or baked - even fried chicken!
Check out YouTube for some delicious baked fried chicken recipes that are just as tasty but massively healthier and lower in calories.
The bottom line is this: avoid frying as much as you possibly can. Frying saturates the food with unhealthy fats. This is what makes them a health risk and not the type of food. Always grill, bake or roast meats on low to medium heat so that they cook in their own juices and are less fat-saturated.
A great suggestion is to invest in a big wok, which can be a great replacement for the frying pan. All it takes is some creativity, a good oven and a grill and a wok. The result? Super healthy versions of your favourite meals that you can enjoy guilt-free!
Tip #7- Avoid toxic trans fats
First off, it's crucial to really digest the following fact, which has been conclusively confirmed by a wealth of research: trans fats are a recipe for a health disaster. Translate that into heart disease, heart attack, high, blood pressure, out-of-control cholesterol levels, diabetes, and severe obesity. These are some but by no means all of the health risks associated with these toxic fats.
What are trans fats?
Trans fats are a by-product of hydrogenation, a process that transforms healthy fats into solids to prevent them from going bad. Trans fats have become extremely popular in the food industry because they're easy to produce, the process is cheap and they last longer without going rancid. Trans fats also add flavor to foods and make them tastier.
Why trans fats are dangerous?
The scary thing is that trans fats have absolutely no health benefits whatsoever so you are virtually consuming nothing more than empty calories. But worse than that, there's no safe level for the consumption of trans fats, meaning that even the smallest amount is unhealthy. The bottom line is that trans fats are totally toxic, even in the smallest amounts. Unfortunately, our intake of trans fats is not even limited to small amounts. We consume them extensively in a wide variety of foods,and we do so unknowingly.
Consuming trans fats raises LDL (harmful cholesterol) levels dramatically while inhibiting HDL (healthy cholesterol) levels. Trans fats have been directly linked to chronic inflammation, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. Research has indicated that excessive consumption is also linked with obesity issues and some types of cancer.
These toxic fats are now banned in the United States and many other countries are following suit. However, some unscrupulous manufacturers continue to use traces of trans fats in their products while putting 'zero trans fat' on their labels. Hopefully, this will be addressed in the future.
Beware of the following foods which are known to contain trans fats and make sure to read food labels carefully:
- Commercially-produced frosting
- Frozen pizza
- Some brands of margarine
- Commercially-produced cakes and pies
- Vegetable shortening
- Some vegetable oils not labeled natural
- Fried fast food
- Some brands of microwave popcorn
- Cookies
- Non-dairy coffee creamers
- Creamy filling in baked goods
- Muffins and doughnuts
- Fatty processed meats and most deli meats
Here are some much healthier options:.
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