There is no magic pill you can take to ensure a long, active life. To enjoy a life free of chronic disease and aches and pains, you have to put in the work to maintain a healthy lifestyle that affords adequate exercise, plenty of rest and proper nutrition. Changing your eating habits to support a healthy lifestyle may not be as difficult as you may think. In fact, there are five easy ways to improve your diet to support overall health and well-being:
Most people are chronically dehydrated, and that impairs your body’s ability to synthesize the tissues and chemical regulators it needs for optimal health. It also limits your body’s ability to flush out toxins, allowing them to buildup in your tissues, giving rise to a number of chronic health conditions.
Most nutritional practitioners recommend eight 8-oz glasses of water a day (a total of 64 oz). You can flavor your water intake without adding extra sugars, calories or caffeine with fruit infusions. Simply slice your favorite fruit and add it to your water. You can strengthen the flavor by letting the fruit steep for a few hours or overnight.
Overeating is a common unhealthy lifestyle habit in our fast-paced society. Often, overeating happens because we do not take the time to actually recognize hunger signals (and differentiate them from thirst signals) and/or we do not allow enough time between consuming one serving and the next to recognize satiety cues. (It takes about 20 minutes after eating before your brain gets signals from the digestive system that the stomach is full.)
One way to combat overeating is to simply pause and take a breath before eating anything…and do that before each bite. During each pause, assess if you are really hungry. Stop when you are not or when the food seems to have lost its flavor. Mindfully eating in this way can enhance your experience with food as it will allow you more time to savor the aroma, flavor and texture of what you are eating.
Fast and processed foods tend to be color-neutral. White, off-white, yellow and brown foods tend to be low in nutrient density (but not calories). To pack more vitamins, minerals and other health-boosting compounds into your diet, eat a variety of brightly colored foods—bright green veggies, dark leafy greens, red and purple berries and root vegetables, etc. The more colorful your plate, the more complete the nutrient profile you are consuming.
Moving into fall, you may notice less variety of fresh produce. When you cannot find fresh fruits and vegetables (or you need produce that won’t go bad quickly), opt for frozen. Frozen produce is flash-frozen at the plant’s peak ripeness, so you get the highest nutrient content and best flavor and texture when thawed. Canned varieties, on the other hand, require cooking, which depletes nutrient content and may degrade the chemical integrity of some nutrient compounds. Canned produce is usually high in sodium, too, and excess sodium is linked to fluid retention and high blood pressure.
Whenever possible, incorporate whole foods into your diet—i.e., foods that have been minimally processed and contain all parts of the original plant. Whole foods have more nutritional value, like higher fiber content and more protein, than processed foods. By substituting more raw and/or lightly cooked fruits and vegetables for starchy fillers, you can eliminate a lot of empty calories from your daily intake.
If you would like more specific suggestions for incorporating these healthy lifestyle nutritional tips, contact ICWA and schedule a consultation with one of our nutritionists. Our experienced team can help you understand healthier alternatives, how to be a smart shopper and how to plan and prepare meals.
