There’s a lot of reasons people might need some nutritional guidance. First, everyone is blasted by advertisement that says certain foods are super healthy, so eat them. That’s just not true of some foods. If you’ve listened to the ads for high fructose corn syrup, they say it’s natural, because it comes from corn. According to the FDA, it is. It doesn’t contain artificial flavors, colors or synthetic substances. However, it’s far from natural. The starch is extracted from corn, treated with an enzyme that releases the glucose and then another one that changes half of that into fructose. The substance left, high-fructose corn syrup, never would or could appear in nature without scientific intervention. It can cause changes in hormones that can make you gain weight.
What do you believe?
That’s a tough question. The answer, however, can be simple. If you want to eat healthy, eat foods that are closer to their natural state and undergo little if any processing and avoid sugary food. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, a healthy lean source of protein and healthy fat, such as an avocado, olive oil or nuts, can keep you on a road to healthy eating.
Planning well balanced meals may be a simple as creating a rainbow on your plate.
Fruits and vegetables of different colors have different nutrients. They even have different phytonutrients. Yellow and orange vegetables, for instance, contain beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C. Beta-carotene comes from the yellow or orange coloring. It converts to vitamin A. Blue and purple vegetables contain lutein, anthocyanin, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin. The anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant, gives the fruit or vegetable the purple color. Each color provides different health benefits.
You might think it’s too expensive to eat healthy, but it’s not.
Not all your protein has to come from grass fed organic beef or other more expensive sources. Beans are a great source of protein and a bag of beans can make a soup that feeds a family. Add a fresh salad and a side of vegetables, like garlic roasted broccoli and you have a healthy meal. Don’t let some of those high cost “specialty” items fool you. Remember, if it says gluten free and has a high price tag, you might be paying for the advertisement. Foods like rice and potatoes are naturally gluten free.
- Eating healthy doesn’t have to take a lot of time, but it does take planning. If you plan ahead, you can make extra meals when you cook and freeze it. It’s easy when you make soup.
- When you buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, you can also save money.
- The biggest benefit of getting nutritional guidance is learning how to create healthy meals. It’s not a diet, because they don’t work.
- Once you start eating healthy, you won’t want to go back to old eating habits. You’ll find that healthy food actually tastes better.