Food Based Nutrition - The Basis of Good Health
The benefits of nutritional supplements are being flaunted right, left and center in the health sector today. What most ordinary Americans fail to hear is that for the supplements to take full effect, one should make food based nutrition the backbone of their health. Ideally, the supplements should only be used to augment the hard to get nutrients.
The best nutrition advice that people can get is to base their diets on plant products. This means that one needs to eat more fruits, whole grains and vegetables. Fats are also an important part of a healthy nutrition, but should be based on healthy unsaturated fats only. Canola and olive oils fall in the healthy category. Another important pointer to wholesome food based nutrition is the need to keep the calories in healthy proportions. Consuming more calories than the body can use usually leads to weight gain.
Ideal health through nutrition can be attained if people learn to eat good carbohydrates contained in whole grains. As opposed to most what people think, carbohydrates are not bad for the body. Rather, it is the refined and processing that they go through before being placed on the store's shelves that make them destroys the many good elements in them.
One should also pay attention to protein sources that he incorporates in the diet. The best protein sources of proteins are beans, fish, nuts and skinned poultry. More to this, the diet should have sufficient fiber. Fiber is available from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. More to this, one should incorporate variety of fruits in their diet. Nutritionists believe that brightly colored fruits and vegetables have more vitamins and minerals. As such, one should go for the dark red, orange, yellow and green vegetables and fruits. Overall, a healthy diet should contain vitamins, fruits, vegetables, fats, proteins, carbohydrates and fiber. One should only consider dietary supplements if he is not getting sufficient minerals or fruits.
The ideal starting place to healthy food based nutrition is one's kitchen. By stocking the kitchen with healthy foods, the likelihood of cooking and eating unhealthy meals is greatly reduced. When shopping for food items, one should include fresh vegetables and fruits as their top-most priority. Carrots, spinach, apples, garlic and onions should make this list for any shopper. When shopping for grain, substitute white grains for whole grains. Consider purchasing brown rice, bulgur, and barley. Quinoa and oat berries are also other healthy options.
When shopping for proteins, avoid the temptation to purchase a stock of red meat to keep in your fridge. Rather, pick healthier options of fish, chicken, beans, eggs, tofu and nuts. Red meat should be eaten occasionally but not as part of the daily diet. Instead of fats, one should pick oils for stir-frying, general cooking and topping sandwiches.
