Knowing more about nutrition could help you make educated choices about what you eat. If you know what is good for you, chances are you will think twice before ordering a cheeseburger the next time you eat out. Find out what you should eat and how to adopt better habits.
Fruits
Here’s a scary one. Have you ever wondered why dogs only live 10 to 15 years while humans live typically 60 years or more? It all lies within our cells and our metabolism where oxygen plays a big part. Oxygen moves energy throughout our cells breaking the carbs we consume into energy. The problem is, oxygen also breaks down our cells in the same process. This is called “oxidation.” But our cells also have a buffer against the oxygen, these are called “antioxidants” and are prevalent in fruits and veggies.
Dogs have faster metabolisms than humans, which breaks down energy quicker and pumps much more oxygen into the cells. The cells die faster because of oxidation. Dogs also don’t or can’t eat many fruits and veggies, which carry those all important antioxidants.
While humans have slower metabolisms, you can actually speed yours up almost to the speed of a dog’s, simply by eating pure sugar, which the body converts to energy almost immediately. Pure sugar is a high energy carb. Cells turn the sugar into energy, but harm the cells in the process. Cells take time to grow back and they don’t grow back indefinitely! So if you want to live a longer life, eat lots of fruits and veggies and keep away from the pure sugar!
Vegetables
If you want to eat more nutritious foods at home and away, you live in very propitious times. Although our markets are filled with an endless array of nutrient-poor foods, you can also choose from a wide variety of much healthier options than were previously available, from low-carb high-fiber tortillas to power-packed super fruit smoothies. For people too busy to cut up vegetables for work lunches, you can purchase little packages of precut fresh veggies and dip. In many ways, while it has become harder to dodge all the unhealthy choices, it has also become exponentially more convenient to find better nutritional choices.
Fiber
A great way to improve your eating habits, is to eat more foods high in fiber. Fiber expands with water to help you feel fuller with less food. Lentils and beans, like kidney, navy, pinto and black beans, are excellent because they are high in fiber, as well as protein. This makes them all, very healthy and filling food.
Carbs
Know your carbohydrates. Many people believe that all carbs are bad for you. This is completely untrue. Complex carbohydrates are actually necessary for your brain and body to successfully function. Understanding the differences in these can help you learn which choices to make the next time you are at the grocery store.
Fat
High cholesterol increases your risk for dangerous heart disease. If you want to lower your cholesterol, try replacing foods with saturated fats to foods with monosaturated fats. An easy way to do this is through stocking up on avocados, olives, olive oil and almonds. These monosaturated fat-rich foods will help lower LDL cholesterol.
Perhaps applying all these tips would be too much work and not correspond to your lifestyle. The important thing is to be aware of what you should do to eat healthier. Maybe you could apply only a few of these tips at first, and gradually change your life style as you discover what nutrition can work for you.