One of the most commonly Googled questions in the world is this: What is a healthy diet?! 🤔
There’s so much information out there – contradictory advice, fad diets, all sorts of elimination diets and shakes… is any of this really healthy for your body? 🤷♀️
With so much different information flying around, it’s no wonder we can get confused by this deceptively simple question!
However, with a few straightforward rules, you can definitely achieve a healthy diet. Here’s what we think is fundamental to eating healthily:
1. Fruit and vegetables are essential 🥦
Aim to have a diverse array of fresh fruits and vegetables in each meal. Lots of bright colours means lots of different vitamins and minerals! It’s an easy rule of thumb to apply every day. Stick to low fruit (1-2 pieces a day) and high veg for the best mix.
2. Processed foods are to be avoided 🙅
We don’t need more chemicals in the body! Avoid things that have already been processed for your consumption. That includes foods like white bread, pasta, rice, biscuits, cakes and any products that claim to be low fat or gluten free. These have gone through extra processing in order to be suitable for sale and storage!
3. Eat plenty of oily fish 🐟
Rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, oily fish help reduce inflammation in the body. There’s some evidence to show they can help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Examples include sardines, herring, anchovies, salmon, trout, tuna, swordfish and mackerel.
4. Limit your meat intake 🥩
Consume meat only 2 times a week at most. Choose days when you don’t eat any meat at all. This can help encourage you to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to diversify what you eat. Don’t just rely on meat as your source of protein, try nuts and eggs too. This can also save the planet by reducing gases biproducts and deforestation linked with meat production.
5. Try growing your own 🌱
For all the budding green thumbs out there, growing your own food is a powerful change you can make for your health. Without pesticides or genetic interference, your home-grown goodies are guaranteed to be more nutritious and better for you than what you can buy in the store. It’s a great habit if you’ve got the space – though you can also grow plenty of veggies and herbs from pots and other small containers!
6. Don’t forget what you’re drinking 🚰
Choose water, please! Getting enough water is really important for the body to work at its best. Fizzy drinks, diet drinks and alcohol contribute to the unnecessary added sugars in your diet and can increase inflammation. Select drinks carefully! They do actually add calories and impact your health.
7. Don’t forget to treat yourself 🍰
It’s totally fine to have a treat once in a while. Just remember to always match what you eat with how you move – that means, getting enough exercise to ensure what you eat is being burned off through calorie use.
There you have it: easy steps you can take to eat better and feel better in your body. 💪
Don’t overcomplicate it with fancy diets or fads! Stick to the ground rules and be kind to yourself. Your body will thank you for it! 🙌
