Some Basic Health Food Diet Tips

Some Basic Health Food Diet Tips

The following tips to maintain a healthy diet are not comprehensive, but just some quick pointers. There is new research being done all the time, and results published just about every week, so if you are serious about a healthy diet, there is a good reason to keep up to date with the latest developments online or through health magazines.

1. Maybe grandma told you this, but if she did she was right: eat lots of fruit and vegetables, up to 5 servings a day if possible, mixing different colours. These are rich in vitamins and minerals, and some powerful antioxidants, as well as being a good source of fibre.

2. Fresh fish from a safe source can make a very tasty and healthy contribution to your diet. The availability of fish varies greatly fro area to area, country to country, but in most places you can get some. Maybe not the vast quantities we are lucky enough to find here in Palawan at the local market, where fresh tuna is very affordable, but at least you should be able to obtain some fish in your home area.

3. There is no need to drop meat from a healthy diet, but you can benefit from low fat meats such as chicken and turkey. If you find the meat you have bought has a lot of fat on the outside, then it is easy enough to trim, and well worth the effort. Fish is rich in protein, low in fat, and is also high in many crucial nutrients.  Additionally, fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to have protective effects on the cardiovascular system.

4. An often neglected element of diet is the oil you use for cooking.  The various oils used in cooking can add significant amounts of fat and calories to your diet, so it is believed to be desirable use those oils that contain healthier polyunsaturated fat, rather than harmful saturated fats.  Saturated fats come mostly from animal sources and include such things as lard.  Polyunsaturated fats are mainly derived from plant sources, and include soybean oil and olive oil. However, this is an area of research that you should keep a close eye on, as there are differing views. Also, some oils may be beneficial for one type of cooking but not another. So, if you use a particular oil it is worth searching for reports on its benefits, and how to use it in a healthy way. You may find it necessary to have one type of oil for high heat frying, another for low heat cooking, and yet another for salad dressing.

5. Avoid highly processed foods wherever possible. These foods, such as white bread, cakes and ready packed and convenience meals, are likely to be less healthful than more wholesome foods such as whole grain products, fresh vegetables and fruits.

6. High fat milk products like cheese and butter, can be replaced by lower fat alternatives. You can easily find low fat and non fat alternatives for milk, cheese, butter, margarine, yoghourts and other dairy products.

Those are just a few simple tips, but remember to find out more about your nutrition needs for good health from your doctor and nutritionist.