Tips to Eat Healthy in 2017

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Highlights:

• Begin the day with breakfast and do not miss out on any meal during the day. Be it a salad or just a smoothie, have it before your tummy starts churning.
• Pack fruit, sliced vegetables, low-fat string cheese, or unsalted nuts as snacks to eat during road trips or long commutes.
• Have a glass of water every 30 minutes to keep you hydrated, and feel more energetic.

New Year begins with a lot of resolutions, new decisions and most of them revolves around health.If you have contemplated on eating healthy from the New Year 2017, here are a few ways to begin practicing these habits and enjoying them as well.

Drink Plenty of Water

Be it in school, office or play, when you feel thirsty, take that sip of water. It is actually good to have a bottle of water to sip it when you feel that you need a drink. Also, it is better to have a glass of water every 30 minutes to keep you hydrated, feel more energetic, fill your belly, aid in digestion prevent constipation and to make your skin glow.

‘Based on your age, gender, physical activity and weight get personalized help from a dietitian to make sure that you begin eating healthy at least most days in a week.’

Eat Whole Grains

Whole wheat, oatmeal, rye, barley, corn, popcorn, brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, triticale, bulgur (cracked wheat), millet, quinoa, and sorghum are some commonly used whole grains If you haven't tried brown rice, millets or quinoa so far, try them one at a time to add a little variety to your diet. Whole grains are packed with minerals, which boost up your metabolism and are loaded with fiber which makes you feel full for long hours. The fiber in whole grains also helps reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and improves blood sugar levels.

Add More Veggies

When the meal is mostly focused on rice, bread or pasta, you get an uncomfortably bloated and sometimes drowsy feeling. Having more vegetables makes you feel full, light and satisfied. We know this strategy all along but it is always difficult to fill up our plates with vegetables or at least half of it. From 2017, decide to have more vegetables than you previously did.

Learn to Cook Healthy

Though having vegetables, fruits and fiber-rich foods are a healthy option, it is equally important to cook them the right way. Cooking vegetables need utmost care as you tend to lose all the water-soluble vitamins when it is subjected to high temperature or prolonged exposure to heat. Try pressure cooking vegetables with very minimal water just enough to cook it. For cereals, avoid soaking them for long hours to prevent leaching of vitamins in the water. While preparing stock, make sure you cook it in a closed pot or pan.

Pack Your Lunch

Nothing replaces a home cooked meal. You may often buy lunch when you are off to work for want of time, however, try cooking that one meal which you mostly buy outside. You can avoid excess calorie intake when you pack lunch to work as you tend to eat what you have brought. Prepare extra food for dinner if you are more likely to buy fast food. Having a light dinner does you more good than fast food.

Include Beans

Chick peas, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, and cannellini beans are some of the plant-based protein which should be added to your diet at least once a day. Packed with minerals and fiber, they make you feel full and keep hunger pangs at bay. Half a cup of cooked beans everyday reduces the risk of developing diabetes and helps reduce hypertension.

Adding beans to your daily diet can be one important healthy eating habit to cultivate in 2017. Soak the beans overnight before cooking them instead of using canned ones.

Cut Out Sugar Once a Day

Are you addicted to white sugar? Cutting back on sugar can decrease cravings. Excess sugar is stored as fat by the liver and so having more and more sugar tends to make you gain more weight. Pick one time during the day to skip out white sugar and replace them with foods which are naturally sweet. If you are used to having sugar in every cup of coffee or tea you have, try avoiding sugar from one of them.

Go Natural

Instant foods or convenience foods have loads of sugar, salt or fat to keep them from spoilage. Food processing removes some of the nutrients, vitamins and fiber present in the food. Try to buy and prepare foods from the market. They may not have a long shelf life but they contain more nutrients than the processed foods.Use fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned ones. Use oats to make your own oatmeal instead of the packed ones.

Make Healthy Snacks

Make sure you have some pre-made healthy snacks on hand to grab them when you are hungry. When hunger strikes you may tend to buy and have more than you want so preparing some snacks and carrying them with you can stop cravings. Nut bars, granola bars, a handful of nuts or dates are some handy snacks you can make and pack them for immediate use.

Eat all your Meals

Skipping meals is sometimes very easy, especially when you are late or lazy to cook. The main role of food is to provide nutrients to the body and mainly the brain. So when you miss a meal, you tend to eat more in the subsequent meals and mostly opt for sweets and fast food. Secondly, it may become a habit. Most people don't have breakfast because they are used to it. The depriving body of the nutrients and nourishment it needs can lead to fatal effects in the long run.

Adopting new strategies can be exciting, but always remember to choose the ones you are comfortable. You know what your body needs and where you are missing out so begin the New Year with choices that make you stay healthy.

References:

1. Whole Grains and Fiber - (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/HealthyDietGoals/Whole-Grains-and-Fiber_UCM_303249_Article.jsp#)
2. 8 Tips for healthy Eating - (https:www.nutrition.org.uk/attachments/article/816/8%20Healthy%20eating%20tips%20resource.pdf)
3. Eating foods away from home - (https:www.mountsinai.org/static_files/MSMC/Files/About%20Us/Newsroom/DGTipsheet41EatingFoodsAwayFromHome_0.pdf)

Source: Medindia

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