Having a balanced approach to eating is essential for many reasons, including keeping away colds and other illnesses that persist and get worse as you approach old age. But, while you likely already know this, you might not yet feel you have many healthy eating habits in place or know quite how to build them up. If that’s the case, this guide will help as it explains five top habits to improve your relationship with food.
1. Eat plenty of fruit and veg
Fruit and vegetables are ideally the bedrock of your diet, especially when it comes to eating food between meals. Make sure that you reach for an apple instead of chips if you are looking for a short and sharp burst of energy. That’s what I did last night!
The traditional recommendation here is to make sure that you eat at least five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day. If you feel like you are not getting enough vitamins through a normal diet, consider investing in quality women’s vitamins.
2. Healthy eating habits include eating more fish
Fish is colloquially known as brain food because it can help boost your brain health and prevent mental illnesses, such as:
- Depression
- ADHD
- Dementia
- Alzheimer’s
Fish is an important source of omega-3, meaning that it can also help lower heart risk and prevent arthritis, making it an essential part of any balanced diet. If you are a vegetarian, then it is worth getting those same nutrients through omega-3 tablets instead.
3. Eat less fat and sugar
A balanced diet is just as much about what you don’t eat as what you do. This point is especially true when it comes to items like fat and sugar, which can be highly damaging health-wise in large amounts.
Fat is commonly in meat, butter, cakes, biscuits, and pies. As for sugar, you’ll find it in fizzy drinks, chocolate, alcoholic drinks, and pastries. Try and cut down on these items as part of your goal to build healthy eating habits.
4. Drink lots of water
Water is the unsung and unglamorous hero of a balanced approach to food. H2O essential to ensure you stay hydrated to stay healthy.
It is recommended to drink between 6 to 8 glasses a day, as well as avoiding alcoholic drinks. You’ll also want to sip fewer beverages that have a lot of sugar, such as fizzy drinks and certain fruit juices.
5. The final healthy eating habit: Avoid snacking so much
When it comes to food that is bad for you, you probably won’t have to look much further than easy-to-consume snacks, such as chips, chocolate bars, and assorted candies. So, try not to eat them so much.
Some people might say not to eat them at all but I don’t take that strict approach to health. Instead, I am in favor of moderation, being realistic, and kindness to the self. Life needs joy, which includes moments with loved ones and the occasional unhealthy treat.
Snacking is as much a mental exercise as a physical one, so it’ll take willpower to cut down how many unhealthy snacks you’re consuming if you usually have a lot of them. I suggest not having a lot of them in the house so that you’re not around that temptation!
Do you find it challenging to incorporate healthy eating habits into your day? Why or why not?
Food really is medicine for our bodies. If we think of it that way, I think we would all do better with our diets.
I love what you say: Food is medicine for the body. Well said, Peggy.
Great tips. Drinking water is great. Sometimes my body really isn’t hungry, just thirsty.
Exactly!
Nice article, common sense! Ah, the snacking trap…
The snack trap gets me sometimes too 🙋♀️
Usually, it’s when I skimp on a meal, like eating a few crackers and cheese at my desk instead of a real lunch…
I totally get that. It’s easy sometimes to just eat at the desk.