The phrase ‘healthy eating’ scares many people and is associated with steamed vegetables or lean chicken breast.

In fact, it’s not that scary. You don’t have to give up your favorite foods, and you can even allow yourself some treats. The main thing is not to forget about a sense of proportion and the balance of nutrients.

It is much wiser to eat right all the time than to go on diets that give short-term results. A balanced diet will help you not only to gradually get rid of excess weight, but also to feel better.

But the refusal of fats or carbohydrates, which many diets call for, can provoke health problems. After all, with food the body must receive all the macro- and microelements necessary for normal functioning every day.

Maintaining a healthy diet is not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

Knowing the basic rules of nutrition, each person can independently create a balanced diet, choose the right food products, and develop a healthy menu for their family, taking into account their financial capabilities.

For proper and healthy nutrition, it is not at all necessary to buy expensive products; it is much more important how you prepare these products. Of course, the composition of the ideal human diet depends on the type of activity, lifestyle and place of residence, but there are more or less universal tips:

1. Use only fresh natural products.  Semi-finished products, packaged goods with many preservatives, colorings, flavor enhancers do not fit into the healthy eating system.

After all, such food colossally increases the load on the body, contributes to the clogging of the intestines, slows down the metabolism and prevents the removal of toxins. So any piece of meat baked in the oven is healthier than store-bought sausage, even the best production.

2. Limit refined foods.  Refined foods lack such an important component as fiber, which is necessary for the functioning of the digestive organs, nutrition of lacto- and bifidobacteria inhabiting the intestinal walls. 

Strive to have whole grains, legumes and nuts in your daily diet. About a third of bread, cereals, and flour in the diet should be products enriched with micronutrients. In practice, this means that instead of a white loaf, it is better to eat whole grain bread, and instead of white rice, brown.

Regular refined sugar can be replaced with honey. A few spoons of honey a day will provide the body with vitamins and minerals, help prevent colds and boost immunity. But do not put honey in hot tea, since when heated, honey loses some of its beneficial properties.

3. Fruits and vegetables every day. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits. They contain a lot of fiber and vitamins that our body needs. Raw vegetables and fruits increase the rate of metabolic processes in the body. 

Try to eat at least 300 g of fresh vegetables and 300 g of fresh fruits every day. With these products, you get soluble and insoluble fiber and essential vitamins.

The easiest way to take an apple or a pear, cut into slices, carrot or celery sticks to work. This way, you won’t even notice how you eat the required number of vegetables and fruits, satisfying your hunger at the same time. 

But be careful, if you have any health contraindications (gastrointestinal tract problems), fresh vegetables and fruits may be contraindicated for you. Therefore, it is better to consult a doctor.

4. Eat more protein foods.  Firstly, they give you a long-lasting feeling of satiety. Secondly, they are rich in essential amino acids. These foods include different types of meat, rabbit, guinea fowl, quail, fish and seafood, cod, perch, shrimp, squid, scallops, etc.

5. Use a variety of vegetable oils.  This is the best source of essential fatty acids (for example, linoleic). It is good if you have 4-5 bottles of various oils in your kitchen – flaxseed, grape seed, sesame, olive, and walnut. Saturated fats (animal, solid vegetable fats) – should make up to 1/3 of the fat consumed; the remaining 2/3 of fats should be unsaturated, liquid fats.

6. Stick to a routine.  Eating too infrequently is just as harmful as constantly snacking. Try to eat 4-5 meals a day, as a gap of more than 5 hours slows down your metabolism and sets your body up for economical energy expenditure.

The consequence is the accumulation of fat deposits. You shouldn’t constantly chew either. Don’t snack at work, while watching TV or reading social networks.

This way, you don’t control the process of food consumption, don’t feel full and can’t stop in time. As a result, you eat more than you need. 

The daily menu should consist of breakfast, late breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Try to eat at the same time every day; this has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract.

7. Limit fast carbohydrates.  Sugar from sweets and baked goods is quickly absorbed into the blood and instantly raises the glucose level. This is followed by an equally rapid decrease, and you feel hungry again. In addition, such sharp fluctuations in sugar have a negative effect on the body. Limit the consumption of simple carbohydrates (sugar, sweet carbonated drinks) – no more than 30-40 g per day.

8. Be careful with salt.  It is better to replace regular table salt with sea or Himalayan salt. Table salt contains only two microelements, sodium and chlorine, while sea salt contains up to 90. 

You can use iodized salt instead of regular salt. And of course, you should try to gradually reduce your salt intake. You don’t need to give it up completely. However, excess salt causes fluid retention in the body, leading to oedema and high blood pressure. It is better to under-salt your dishes than oversalt them.

9. Drink water. Try to drink plenty of clean water throughout the day. Water is essential for our body, as it is 2/3 water. Just don’t drink a lot of water at night, or you risk waking up with swelling. 

You need to drink at least 30-35 ml of liquid per kilogram of your weight. Remember that coffee and juices are not a substitute for water. By the way, it’s better to avoid juices and sweet carbonated drinks altogether – they contain too much sugar.

10. Cook food properly.  Minimal heat treatment is the key to preserving the integral structure of products. For example, cereals or pasta can be boiled for just a few minutes.

They turn out a little hard (aldente) and retain useful starch. For meat and fish products, the most suitable methods are boiling, steaming, baking in the oven and (for variety!) grilling.

And don’t forget that sometimes allowing yourself a sandwich with sausage or a cake is not a crime. The main thing is that such a menu does not become a daily diet. You can share this story on social media:

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