WHY SHOULD YOU SWITCH TO HEALTHIER FOOD CHOICES?

What can you possibly understand by “healthy food”? The term itself is self-explanatory.  But it’s not why this article is here. It is because we want the coming generation to be acknowledged about what is healthy food items and why should we consume them. With the fast-paced world, we are inclining towards fast food and packaged items.

Long gone are the days when fruits and vegetables used to come directly from fields. With industrialization, we are processing and packaging these items to be stored and used later. What we do not realize is they keep losing their nutritional value during storage.

Healthy food items are nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, red meat, fish, etc. They not only contain the macro nutrients such as Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Calcium ; but also micro nutrients such as Selenium, Magnesium, Cobalt which are required in minute amounts but are quite essential.

The word “healthy” resonates with the well-being of the mind, body and soul. Well, eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated as some of the peers try to portray. Just get started and be consistent with your plan. One doesn’t need an extensive diet plan to get started, you don’t have to punish or restrict yourself.

• The fundamentals :-

The trick to healthy food is to strike the balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibers and vitamins that our body needs. The base is to tick off the critical amount essential for us to function properly. Only then you can focus on making up for thrashing those fast food items into your body.

• Advantages of healthy food :-

• Healthy Heart :-

It is not uncommon that heart disease is one of the prime reasons of fatality among adults. Deep fried  and packaged food items combined with lifestyle has given way for blood sugar and blood pressure to cripple up to our hearts.

There’s no need to be afraid. The food that we eat help us to regulate our heart and associated functions. Fishes are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids that protects our heart and enhances the function.

• Healthy Gut :-

Gut is considered the second brain. Hence, it is of utmost importance that we take very good care of what goes into our stomach. Food items rich in fiber, high density cholesterol, vitamins bestow our gut with good microbiome. These microbiome effectively breakdown the food.

Fermented foods like kimchi, yogurt, sauerkraut , etc. are our gut’s best friend. On the contrary, food items with high sugar and salt content, interferes with the microbiome. These foods disrupt the microbiome and affects the absorption of certain vitamins and the gut becomes susceptible to bacterial and viral infections.

• Mental Health :-

Eating healthy foods have been experimentally proven to circulate certain feel good hormones like serotonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine and the like. It was discovered that food items that have high glycemic index have shown to trigger symptoms of depression and fatigue.

Berries are packed with antioxidants anthocyanin, catechin, caffeic acid. Above antioxidants are proven to enhance the plasticity of brain cells, form new connections to increase communication and memory and reduce overall inflammation of the body. Few examples of berries are strawberries Blueberries , raspberries, etc.

• Maintain weight :-

Who doesn’t want to feel fresh and look fit outside all day round as well as inside? That’s where healthy and hygienic food items comes into the scene. Healthy food items offer plethora of advantages. Apart from healing the inside of our body, it helps in maintaining our weight and enhance our body language on the outside.

Eating right portions of  clean and healthy food items at regular intervals and maintaining fasting period of 12-14 hours helps to loose extra fats. These extra fats get accumulated over time due to consumption of unhealthy food items and lethargic lifestyle.

It’s time to switch to healthier choice , in food as well as lifestyle.

• Good for the environment :-

Let us first clear what do we mean by “healthy and organic food items”?  Those which are free from any fertilizers, chemical compounds or not wrapped with plastics.

Human civilization is booming like no other. Producing billion tons of vegetables and fruits to feed us will eventually harm our planet. Chemical fertilizers are used to speed up the harvest and produce per unit area or per plant. Above chemical compounds destroy our mother nature at double the rate.

Development of sustainable agricultural practices will benefit our planet over time. Reducing the plastic used for packaging and keeping the items in fresh condition is to be immediately implemented as well are aware what these plastics are capable of.

• Takeaway :-

Healthy food is just a small component of healthy lifestyle. Apart from food, inclusion of exercise, healthy sleeping pattern and meditation will boost your mental and physical health alike.

As goes the saying, “Little goes long way”. Getting started with this will benefit you in the long run. Also, your taste buds will thank you. Healthy and organic food items have exotic flavor and very delicious to say the least. So, it’s a win – win situation.

Featured image source: Vegan food photo created by jcomp – www.freepik.com