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How To Start Healthy Eating Food

By: Brenna Coleman

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Want to learn how to start healthy eating foods? To lose weight, improve energy levels, or simply to increase overall well-being, it is important to know how to eat right. Healthy eating food habits have nothing to do with complicated diets or tedious calorie counting. Start simply by learning about what exactly healthy eating is.

  1. Processed or natural — does it make a difference? How to start healthy eating? Eat natural. The more a food item is processed, the less nutrition available for the body to absorb and the more likely that unwanted preservatives, hydrogenated fats and other additives are to be in the food. A fresh apple is much healthier than a packaged, frozen apple pie. In fact, one is loaded with fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and flavor, while the other is nearly bereft of nutritional value.
  2. Cook for health. First, to start healthy eating food habits, cook at home as much as possible. Second, cook with well-being in mind. This means lightly steaming your broccoli with lemon rather than frying at a high heat. Broil your salmon; bake your chicken; and, simmer your beans.
  3. Yes, you have to eat your veggies. Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is a cornerstone of healthy eating habits. Especially when raw, these foods provide nutrients that the body requires, nutrients which many people who eat western diets are deficient in. Try to eat a green salad every day, not with iceberg lettuce, but with dark leafy greens. Snack on fruit throughout the day, and drink vegetable juice instead of cola for energy.
  4. Understand the good fats. Fat is a part of a well-balanced diet. While processed foods that are filled with trans fats and hydrogenated oils, and excess amounts of red meat, cheese and butter are not a good thing, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from minimally processed or raw food sources are beneficial. Also, a small amount of saturated fat is good, and even necessary. Nuts, nutritional oils, avocados and olives are all sources of good fats.
  5. Why brown is better. Brown rice, brown bread, brown pasta and all whole grains (barley, oatmeal, rye, quinoa, whole wheat) are the way to go for amino acids, omega oils, fiber and B vitamins. Start eating healthy food by going for the brown grains.

Knowing how to start healthy eating food habits is about making responsible choices. You know that turkey burgers are better for you than ground beef, frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream and a baked sweet potato a smarter choice than french fries. Choose what is good for you, be aware, eat well and live well.

Posted on: Jul. 31, 2010