Do You Want to Live a Healthier Life? 5 Things to Avoid
Have you been talking about making some changes so that you are living a healthier life? Good for you! We know some of the things we should do such as eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep. Let’s look at five things you should avoid.
1. Avoid processed and refined carbs. They offer you no healthy value. Eating any foods with more than ten grams of sugar and less than three grams of fiber per serving will increase your risk of heart disease and/or diabetes. Make sure you take the time to read labels.
2. Do not use artificial sweeteners. These sweeteners are five hundred times sweeter than sugar and no calories, what more could you ask for? You will be disappointed when you learn that research has shown you are much more likely to be overweight if you use artificial sweeteners. That is because the sweet taste of artificial sweeteners causes your body to think it is going to get a rush of caloric energy. Then it does not and you start to crave food so you eat too much.
3. You should not eat bologna, hot dogs, or other processed meats. They are high in fat, salt, and nitrates. Fat and salt are linked to heart disease, and nitrates are linked to some forms of cancer.
4. Limit yourself to no more than one drink a day. More than that can result in an increased risk of dementia when you are older.
5. Do not be fooled by packaging that reads fortified when you are looking at junk food. These nutritional claims that flash across the front of the packaging should not be believed. Instead, take the time to read the label so you know what the ingredients are. Remember enriched four is simply a fancier way to say refined white flour. Products that list fructose, sucrose, etc are to be avoided – these are just other names for sugar. Make sure you understand what the ingredient listings really mean. Make sure to look up ingredients you don’t understand.
These five things to avoid are a great way to improve your overall health, when combined with lifestyle changes. You want to live longer, but let’s make sure those later years are healthy ones so you can enjoy quality of life no just live longer. Be good to yourself now and enjoy the benefits now and later.
Eat Your Way to Healthy Living
If healthy living is important to you, then you’ll be happy to hear that you can actually eat your way to healthy living. Certain foods offer tremendous benefits to our health both immediate and long term, especially when related to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
1. Include legumes (peas, peanuts, beans) into your diet. They are a great source of magnesium, which your body needs to in its role of producing energy for your body.
2. Make spinach your friend. If you consider yourself the salad type, make sure you add spinach to your list of must eat foods. It is an excellent source of iron and it helps to energy filled oxygen to your cells. It is also rich in Vitamin C.
3. Replace white rice with Quinoa. White rice can cause you to have blood sugar crashes leaving you tired and without energy. Because Quinoa is a complex carb, it offers you a stream of energy that continues on. It also contains all nine essential amino acids, which is very rare.
4. Make sure you are eating tons of tomatoes. They are packed with the antioxidant lycopene, which is known to reduce inflammation in your lungs, and reduce allergies.
5. Drink milk that is fortified with Vitamin D. If you are low in Vitamin D you will be more prone to asthma or wheezing. Vitamin D has a protective ability that reduces these symptoms. Vitamin D also boosts the immune systems and builds strong bones.
6. Apples contain the flavonoid quercetin, which is an antioxidant that acts as a natural antihistamine and it can block allergy symptoms.
7. Walnuts are an excellent source of protein and the contain serotonin a chemical that helps to keep you calm and happy. There is new research that indicates that the serotonin can be directly absorbed from food.
8. Eat lots of fish, especially fatty fish like tuna or salmon that are high in omega 3 fatty acids, which can play an important role in the body reducing signs of arthritis, improving cholesterol levels, improving heart health, and improving mood, decreasing depression, and irritability.
9. Make berries your friend. Berries can help to slow the brain’s aging process and the powerful antioxidants can protect you from cancer.
10. Eggs are a great source of choline, an important nutrient needed to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which helps with memory. Eggs used to worry us as they were said to increase your risk of heart disease, but research has proved this wrong, so don’t worry eat your eggs and your brain will thank you.
