Your diet—that is, the foods you eat on a regular basis—must supply your body with a consistent balance of nutrients in order to maintain peak fitness and health. This requires developing regular habits of eating high-quality foods. If you’re not feeling your best, try making some simple diet changes that can have a big impact.
Eat More Whole Grains
Whole grains provide your body with the fiber needed to maintain digestive health, manage your weight, and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They are also great sources of low-fat protein. Whole grains will fill you up quickly and give you lasting energy.
The best way to incorporate more whole grains is to substitute them for other foods in your diet. Change your buying habits to whole grain bread, pasta, and whole wheat flour for baking or cooking. For breakfast, switch to a whole grain cereal or add crunchy granola to your yogurt.
Reduce Your Meat Consumption
Eating a more plant-based diet can reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases. The fat in meat can raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides, either potentially leading to clogged arteries and the hardening of the arteries. Too much meat can also unbalance your gut biome, contributing to your risk of cancer.
It’s not necessary to go vegan, but it’s a good idea to reduce your intake of meat. You can plan a couple of meat-free days in your week, or you can confine your meat consumption to one meal only per day. You can also try eating more fish instead of meat.
Increase Fresh Vegetables
It’s trendy these days to “hide” vegetables by disguising them as rice or pasta or baking them into a pizza crust. That’s clever, but you’re missing out on the most important benefits of vegetables. Eating your veggies fresh ensures that you get their complete health advantages.
Fresh vegetables increase your fiber intake naturally and provide you with vitamins like C, A, E, and minerals like magnesium, zinc, and phosphorus. While frozen canned vegetables are acceptable, you’ll get maximum nutrients in fresh.
Making simple changes in your diet can give you more energy in the short-term and keep you healthier in the long-term. Take time to plan your diet in advance. To be truly effective, the changes don’t have to be major, but they do need to be permanent.
Check out this article on why you should eat fruit with the skin on!
