A healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to improve your overall health. In fact, when many experts talk about how to stay healthy, they mention two things first and foremost. They are “eating” and “exercising” in that order. In other words, eating a healthy diet is the most important thing you can do to maintain a healthy body and avoid getting sick.
One example that many people give about healthy eating is the idea that our body is like a car. What you put in your car determines how well it will perform. If you use the wrong kind of gasoline or no gasoline at all, your car won’t be able to go very far. In other words, if you eat the wrong kind of food, or worse, don’t eat at all, your body will not be able to carry you very far.
Most people know what kind of food to eat to have a healthy body, and fat people know what kind of food to eat to lose weight. For example, few people can look at two breakfast menus and figure out which one is healthier. If you choose three donuts and oatmeal with fresh fruit, most people know that oatmeal with fruit is a healthy meal. Donuts are junk food treats, high in sugar and calories, but without any real nutrition.
However, other distinctions are more difficult to make. For example, which is healthier, a lettuce salad with a fat-free dressing or a whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter? In such a case, you need to take into account what you are eating that day to determine which is the healthier meal. Since some fat is necessary for good health, natural peanut butter, which is made only from peanuts and their natural oils, should not be dismissed on the basis of fat content alone. If your meal of the day (before or after) is high in fat, then a salad may be a better choice. However, if your other meals contain little or no fat or protein, then a peanut butter sandwich is a good choice.
The second part of the health equation is also greatly influenced by exercise. A sedentary person and an active person eat a little differently when it comes to healthy eating. The more you exercise, the more calories you will burn while maintaining a healthy weight. A sedentary person can consume more calories than an active person and still not gain weight.
It may sound complicated, but whether you are active or sedentary, it is not difficult to make healthy food choices. (If you are sedentary, you need to make an exercise plan and stick to it for your health). You can’t go wrong if you try to choose foods that are as natural and whole as possible, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains instead of processed grains like flour, and legumes. Most of the unhealthy foods are processed and packaged. For a healthy diet, avoid such processed and pre-cooked foods and choose foods that are as close to natural as possible.
