Healthy Eating Guide, Simple And Practical For Your Daily Nutritional Need
This healthy eating guide is for you to eat food for the nutrients it provides, so as to help your body to function healthily.
As no single food contains all the nutrients you need, you should eat a variety of them to get the required nutrients (i.e. vitamins, minerals, protein, fats, carbohydrates, fiber and water).
First, get acquainted with these 5 food groups:
I. Bread, cereal and potatoes, essentially the carbohydrate group
II. Fruits and vegetables, essentially the vitamins & minerals group
III. Milk and dairy products, essentially the protein & minerals group
IV. Meat, fish and alternatives, essentially the protein group
V. Fatty and sugary foods, essentially the fats group
To get the mentioned nutrients, you should, on a daily basis, choose one food from the 5 groups of food above.
1. Carbohydrates
They should make up 45 - 65% of your total daily calories.
Carbohydrates supply energy to your body in the form of glucose, which is the source of energy for your red blood cells.
And this energy is also the preferred energy source for your brain and central nervous system.
However, you should choose to eat complex carbohydrates like whole grains products which include oatmeal, popcorn, brown rice, whole-wheat flour, sprouted grains and whole-wheat bread.
Whole grains are nutritionally superior to refined grains, richer in dietary fiber, antioxidants, protein, vitamins and minerals.
If you eat whole grains regularly, you'll have lower risk of obesity and lower cholesterol levels.
Because of the phytochemicals and antioxidants, if you eat 3 servings of whole grains daily, you'll reduce risk of heart disease by 25-36%, stroke by 37%, Type II diabetes by 21-27%, digestive system cancers by 21-43%, and hormone-related cancers by 10-40%.
2. Protein
You should eat between 10 - 35% of your total calories as protein.
Choose to eat lean protein foods like lean red meats; skinned chicken and turkey breasts in baked, grilled or broiled forms; low or fat-free dairy products; eggs; fish and shellfish; cooked dried beans, peas and lentils; and tofu or other soy products.
3. Fats
Keep your total fat intake between 20 - 35% of your total calories.
Contrary to what has ben said abouts fats, they're necessary for a healthful diet. If your intake of fats is less than 20% of your total calories, you may run into the risk of having inadequate intake of vitamin E and essential faty acids.
The safer and healthier way of eating fats is to avoid or reduce eating saturated fats (e.g. all animal fats). If you must eat them, limit your eating to not more than 10% of your total calories. Get the rest of your fats from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
4. Fruits & Vegetables
They are rich in vitamins and minerals and are also good sources of fiber. They are also low in calories.
You should eat 5 - 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day together with complex carbohydrates; these 2 combined will give you the 20 - 30 grams of dietary fiber you need per day.
You can eat all types of fruits and vegetables. However, dark green and oranged colored fruits & vegetables are better choices.
If you follow this healthy eating guide, you'll meet your daily nutritional need. Always eat real, natural foods and resort only to supplement to make up for nutrient(s) that you feel insufficient.
Cecelia Yap is an avid exerciser and author of the popular exercise website: perfect-body-toning.com - a web site born out of her passion which she successfully turns into a profitable business. Perhaps you have a passion or hobby you'd like to write about. Find out how you too can turn it into a profitable business like Cecelia does, here: www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html
Please Rate this Article
Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Nutrition Articles Via RSS!
