Nutritional Nourishment: Is Your Diet As Healthy As It Could Be?

Photo by Laura James

If you took a second to type the words ‘healthy eating’ into a search engine, you’d be greeted with pages and pages of results. It’s wonderful to have access to so much information, but the problem is that this makes it difficult to decipher what’s true from popular food myths. Healthy eating is a subject of great intrigue and debate, as well as being a multi-million dollar industry. With conflicting information around, it’s easy to assume that your diet is healthier than it actually is. This guide will hopefully help you to eat well and provide your body with nutritional nourishment.

What you eat

It’s easy to link the word diet to weight loss, but actually, the primary focus of your everyday diet should always be your health. The truth of the matter is that some foods are much more beneficial for your mental and physical wellbeing than others. Some snacks and meals you eat may do nothing significant for your body while others will provide it with all kinds of nutrients. Even if you’re actively trying to lose weight, try and select foods based on their nutritional rather than their calorific value.

When you’re shopping, take care to research what you’re actually eating. Buy organic, natural products whenever possible, as these are less likely to contain ingredients or additives that could potentially harm your health. It’s worth paying a little more for better quality produce that hasn’t been tampered with along the way. Read food labels and look out for ingredients, which may pose a risk to your health, such as aspartame and titanium dioxide.

There’s a great deal of debate about what kinds of foods are good for you, but most nutritionists and medical experts recommend a balanced diet, which is made up of foods that contain complex carbohydrates, protein, and fats as well as fruit and vegetables. Aim for whole grains rather than refined foods, opt for lean cuts of meat and poultry rather than processed foods, and don’t think of grains or fats as public enemy number one. The media and people behind fad diets tend to vilify these food groups, but your body needs them to function properly.

Bear in mind that ‘healthy’ products aren’t always what they seem. If you see labels emblazoned with descriptions like ‘low fat’ or ‘sugar-free,’ take a moment to read the labels. Often, fat-free products contain a lot of added sugar to enhance the flavor and sugar-free foods contain artificial sweeteners.

How you cook

If you’re making a conscious effort to select the best ingredients and follow healthy recipes, it’s important to complete the job by preparing and cooking your food in the right way. There’s no point in buying beautiful fresh produce and then dousing it in oil and deep frying it. This will increase the fat content significantly. Consider how you usually prepare meals and think about healthier alternatives. Using an air fryer, for example, helps to reduce oil content by up to 80 percent. You can find reviews of the best air fryers for frying food online. You could also roast or grill meat rather than frying it and bake or steam potatoes and vegetables. If you don’t cook much, try and spend more time in the kitchen. When you order food in restaurants, or you pick up a takeout, you don’t really have any idea what you’re eating. The person who cooked that meal could have added all kinds of ingredients. When you’re in charge, you have control of which ingredients you use, how your food is seasoned and which cooking methods you use.

Take a smoothie as an example. The world has gone mad for smoothies and juices, and if you buy a smoothie on your way to work every day, you may assume that this is a healthy habit. The reality is that many shop-bought products are laden with added sugar. In contrast, if you made a smoothie at home, it could be a really healthy addition to your daily diet. You decide what goes into it and you can regulate the sugar content. If you choose the right ingredients, you shouldn’t need to add spoonfuls of sugar to ensure that your creation tastes great.

Home cooking is often preferable to eating out when it comes to healthy eating, but it is possible to enjoy a meal out without worrying about breaking resolutions or falling off the wagon. Look for restaurants and cafes that specialize in fresh produce and organic ingredients and opt for meals that are packed with flavor and nutrients. Search for options like lean meat with a vegetable medley, fresh fish, and stews made with seeds and pulses.

Taking an interest

Even if you’re not a self-confessed foodie, it’s important to take an interest in what you eat. Take time to find out what you’re buying, where it has come from and what kinds of processes the product has been through to make it to the shelf. If you’re worried about artificial flavorings, preservatives or additives, buy natural products from farms or stores that specialize in organic products. Look for foods that are sourced locally and be wary of anything that is marketed as a healthy alternative to foods that are traditionally regarded as unhealthy options. Learn more about the benefits of embracing healthy eating and get some ideas for recipes that are easy to prepare online. You see articles about superfoods all the time, but do you know what’s super about them? It’s always worth reading up and asking questions to understand how different foods benefit your health.

There’s a huge amount of interest in healthy eating these days. The trouble is that as a society, we often link healthy eating to body weight and this means that we lose track of the importance of nourishing our body. If you’re eager to improve your diet, prioritize your health and learn more about which foods are good for you and why they’re better for you than other options. It’s always worth taking time to read the nutritional information and to look for signs that indicate where the product originates from. Buy natural food whenever possible and focus on getting the balance right.