Nutrition Tips
Eat more fruits and vegetables
Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber are associated with a reduced risk of certain cancers, diabetes, digestive disorders, and heart disease. If you can commit to only one change in your eating habits try to eat more fruits and vegetables. Eating 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit every day, ideally as a substitute for a less healthy snack choice, is a great way to improve your diet. The most nutritious fruits? According to the Center for Science in the public interest: kiwi, grapefruit and watermelon. Also try to include tomatoes and tomato sauce in your diet. They taste great and have great health benefits.
Eliminate soda and butter
If you are really ready to aggressively change, try this. Eliminate soda and butter from your diet completely. Soda has no nutritional value and even if you choose sugar-free, you?re still better off with plain water, seltzer or seltzer mixed with a small amount of juice. Also, avoid slathering whole grain bread with butter or drowning fresh steamed vegetables in it, it?s counter-productive.
Eat more fiber
Fiber is important for a number of reasons. Dietary fibers are complex carbohydrates with little caloric value. They help to maintain colon function and some studies show that dietary fiber may play an important role in health maintenance and disease prevention. The goal for every person, of any age, is 30 grams of fiber per day. A banana has 3 grams, an apple 3.8, these are great choices and are easy to eat every day.
Read food labels
Serving size is listed in the Nutrition Information box. Sometimes a small box or container can contain 2 or more servings. Now multiply the number of servings by the number of calories per serving. If one serving is 300 calories, but you eat the entire box, you could end up ingesting a lot more calories than you expected.
Eliminate partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats)
If the ingredients list any partially hydrogenated oils or trans fatty acids, put it back on the shelf. If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it. Good dietary habits begin in the grocery store.
Don’t give up everything you love
If you can’t give up whole fat ice cream then just limit it to once a month. If you can’t give up syrup, use less or treat yourself to it only one day a week. Keep what you love, it is a part of you and what you enjoy; make some healthier choices in other areas of your diet.