Healthy Eating Guides

Healthy Eating Guides

Healthy eating is about feeling great, having more energy, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible. Choose the types of foods that improve your health and avoid the types of foods that raise your risk for such illnesses as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. So learn some nutrition basics and incorporating them in a way that works for you.

Here are the big picture strategies for healthy eating, excerpted from an article of Helpguide.Org.

• Eat enough calories but not too many. Maintain a balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don't eat more food than your body uses.
• Eat a wide variety of foods. Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don't normally eat.
• Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.
• Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol.
• Limit sugary foods, salt, and refined-grain products. Sugar is added to a vast array of foods. In a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can increase your weight by 16 pounds.
• Don’t be the food police. You can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation, as long as they are an occasional part of your overall healthy diet. Food is a great source of pleasure, and pleasure is good for the heart.
• Get moving. A healthy diet improves your energy and feelings of well-being while reducing your risk of many diseases. Adding regular physical activity and exercise will make it work even better.
• One step at a time. Establishing new food habits is much easier if you focus on and take action on one food group or food fact at a time.