Protandim

Healthy eating can be as easy as crossing items off a list. When most people hear the term ‘eating healthy,’ they immediately get a bad taste in their mouth—no pun intended. They imagine abstaining from their favorite foods, eating tasteless, bland meals and being hungry all the time. The fact is you don’t have to suffer through any of those things to eat healthy. The following guidelines can help you develop healthy eating habits without wanting to pull your hair out.

1. Eat high-fiber foods. These include fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. These contain the good carbohydrates that are nutritious and are low in calories. Fiber helps slow the absorption of carbohydrates so there’s less effect on insulin and blood sugar. These foods also provide essential vitamins and minerals.

2. Control your sugars! Sugar is the most popular additive. In some way we add it to every meal we consume. Bread products that contain refined grain such as white bread and salty snack foods block the absorption of vitamins and minerals if consumed in excess.

3. Portion control is key. We all have our guilty pleasures that are usually high in calories and low in nutrition. It’s acceptable to eat these, but in moderation. With the advent of super-sized meal, Americans believe, more and more, that bigger is better.

4. Focus on getting your vitamins and minerals from foods and not from supplements. It is easier for the body to absorb vitamins and minerals from healthy foods and from powders and pills.

5. Control your fats. Cutting down on animal fat that his high in saturated fat can help lower cholesterol levels. Instead choose lean meats like skinless poultry and low or non-fat dairy products. Trans-fats are also a trouble area. By cutting back on trans-fats, which are supplied by hydrogenated vegetable oils used in processed foods, you can lower you cholesterol and blood pressure. Eating foods that contain healthy unsaturated fats can aid in healthy living. Foods such as fish and nuts contain the good kind of fat and can help you on your healthy eating journey.

6. Give yourself some variety. Don’t eat the same foods everyday or you won’t get very far on your path to healthy eating. Try new foods or new food combinations. This will help keep meals exciting and not let your pallet get bored.

7. Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol. Moderation is the key when consuming alcohol. There is a lot of hype about the health benefits of red wine, but the benefits come from the grapes, not the alcohol. One glass of wine per day is the recommended amount.

The holidays are filled with rolls, eggnog, brownies, fudge, candy, and pretty much anything else you could imagine that is unhealthy, which is why immediately proceeding the holidays is the New Year, where we can all make a goal to live healthier and get in shape for the summer. Around this time of year, millions buy diet plans or health supplements to aid them in their quest for the perfect body. However, some of these products are effective and some are not. Finding the correct plan for the New Year is not an easy task.

Many people set such lofty expectations for their New Year’s Diet that it is impossible to fulfill their goal. A diet needs to be sustainable, meaning that you have to be able to live while you are on it and do it for a long amount of time. Any diet that limits your choices of food to just a few things is not going to work. For instance, a friend of mine tried a diet in which she only ate salmon and fish related products for nearly a month. Sure, fish oils and the nutrients found in salmon are good for you, but they only make up a part of your entire nutritional needs. Another popular “diet” is the protein diet in which you only eat foods that are mostly protein, like nuts and egg whites. These are more fads than diets. Also, no one can survive by only eating 500 calories a day, or some other ridiculously low number. Make your diet feasible and realistic.

If you are considering a nutritional supplement to aid in your new diet, like Acai berries, or a more chemical-based weight loss supplement, understand that those are secondary to diet and exercise, meaning you shouldn’t expect to completely lose all of your weight because of them. Some supplements are good aids, but if you read carefully you see that none are effective without a proper diet and exercise schedule. Just make sure the supplement is not counterproductive by being harmful to your body, and don’t expect the supplement to be a cure in and of itself.

New Year’s diets are great goals, and even if you try and fail, at least you ate healthier for a few months. The most effective way to get in shape is to hire a trainer and nutritionalist, but they can be expensive. Increasing your exercise alone will make you healthier, as will cutting out unnecessary food like lattes or candy; sometimes it is best not to overcomplicate the situation and just stick with the basics.