Nutrition is the key to a healthier you. People generally think that nutrition takes a lot of effort and time. If you know where to look and what to change in your diet, you will have a much easier time in incorporating nutritious food into your diet. Use the tips below to help you determine what you should add or take away from your current diet.
If you are trying to eat as cheaply as possible, but still want to be healthy, purchase a variety of fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamins and minerals are added so it’s as if you’re taking a multivitamin. One box provides you with 4 or 5 meals so the cost per meal is less than one dollar for you.
Incorporate a variety of vegetables into your diet and keep yourself from a nutritional rut. Many people only eat a handful of vegetables and lose interest in eating them. There are a wide variety of vegetables with different nutritional values. Keeping a wide assortment of them in your diet is not only healthy, but makes eating more enjoyable.
To keep your diet healthy, you should try to consume many fruits and vegetables each day. The USDA recommended daily allowance of fruits and veggies combined is 9-13 servings a day. That sounds like a lot, but it’s really not difficult to fit them in. Have a glass of real orange juice with your breakfast or put tomato pasta sauce on your spaghetti.
Vitamin E is an important part of a healthy diet. It acts as an antioxidant, ridding the body of free radicals that have the ability to damage your cells and help to cause cancer and cardiovascular disease. Immune function and DNA repair are also helped by Vitamin E. You can get Vitamin E in vegetables oils, fortified cereals, nuts, beans, whole grains and leafy green vegetables.
Copper is an important mineral which should be a part of a healthy diet. It allows the iron to function in your body, thus preventing anemia. Copper acts as an antioxidant by protecting against free radicals. It also helps keep your bones, blood vessels and lungs healthy. You can get copper in legumes, cereal, whole grains, fish and liver.
Peanut butter is a great source of protein, but you should eat natural peanut butter. The ingredients are usually just peanuts and salt. Regular peanut butter contains hydrogenated fats and sometimes extra sugar or other ingredients. Since there is no hydrogenated fat, the oil will float to the top in the natural peanut butter. You will need to store it in the refrigerator and stir it before use.
Carrots are universally recommended by nutritionists. Most of us eat carrots because we like the taste. They are also rich in carotenoids, vitamins and iodine. Studies show that carrots lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of lung cancer. Also, carrots provide a natural source of sugar, that is safe for diabetics.
The above tips are great guidelines to help you see where you can make improvement in your current diet. Nutrition doesn’t take too much effort on your part, especially if you plan out what you will eat ahead of time. Don’t let the word faze you out, it’s just a word!