Last updated on September 4th, 2018 at 06:54 am
According to world health organization (WHO), in June 2016, worldwide obesity has doubled since 1980. Over 1.9 billion adults were overweight in 2014 and the number is increasing by every passing day. Bad eating habits can have many negative consequences towards your health and well being. Bad eating habits could cause obesity, diabetes and, heart diseases. It’s high time you look at your eating habits, and get rid of bad food habits, and adopt healthy eating habits. Healthy eating habits can truly transform your mind and body. And that’s what we are going to talk about in this post. We will learn about disadvantages and bad effects of bad eating habits, benefits of healthy eating and how to adopt healthy eating habits in our day to day life.
Bad eating habits and its effects
Whether you recognize it or not, we have become so occupied with our fast pace life that, we often skip meals and snacks and rely on junk food. Some time we are occupied, at other times we don’t feel like cooking and grab a pizza or other frozen food. And slowly and steadily, it has become the part of our daily life.
Did you know that packaged food is packed using various types of preservatives, sodium, extra fat which we end up consuming? Even if the junk food does not taste bad, it can’t be treated or substituted for a balanced and nutritious meal. Bad eating habits could have both short term and long term effect on our body including
- Weight gain and obesity
- Indigestion and acidity
- Poor sleep and stress
- Mood swing
- Laziness
- Poor brain function
It’s seriously important to consume right food and in right quantity.
7 Healthy eating habits worth adopting
Change what you eat and your life will change. Healthy eating habits can actually change your life.
What are the healthy eating habits?
Healthy eating is eating well balanced and nutritious meal in right quantity, at right time. It’s important to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, protein and dairy products, fat and sugar. Eating in right quantity and right interval is equally important. Even if you are consuming these foods, but not consuming at the right time, then you need to change this habit.
Eating right can make you healthy and wise and may be wealthy too J
Here are some of the most essential healthy eating habits worth adopting;
Eat balanced meal in right quantity
According a dietician friend of mine, food has been divided in several groups like whole grains, fresh fruits; green and fresh vegetables, protein, carbohydrate, fat etc and our body require all of these to function correctly. And thus, it is important to eat a balanced meal in right quantity.
Include food prepared from whole grains like wheat, brown rice, corn, oatmeal, pasta, cereals etc. in your daily intake. Fresh vegetable and fruits should be included in your meal. Researchers say the fresh fruits and vegetables are high source of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and fiber which is good for your body and well being. Include such food in your daily intake.
There are many who would not eat sweet dishes, rice or other such food. But that’s not for everybody. You should eat right and balanced meal in right quantity. Over eating is bad for your body and health.
Eat at the right time – every time, everyday
What kinds of food we eat can impact our health, but when we eat is equally important. Different people have different lifestyle, but there is a good and healthy life style that we should adopt. And it says you should eat at the right time.
And the right time can be read as same time as well. Fix a time for your breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.
- Ideally, you should eat breakfast between 7:30 to 8 AM
- Best time for lunch is between 1:30 to 2:00 PM
- Evening snack between 5:00 to 5:30 PM
- Dinner should be finished before 8:00 PM
It’s okay to tweak the routine a little, but stick to the timing, without fail. Try not to miss the timing for a week, then second week and it will become your habit.
Eat food prepared from whole grains
Ideally, we should be eating 3 whole grain foods. Whole grain means the grains with its outside layer, not the polished white grains. Wheat, oats, corns, brown rice are some of the best whole grain ingredients you should use.
Whole grain foods are much nutritious and it offers more nutrition and fiber than the processed and polished grains. Food prepared using whole grain can make you feel fuller and energized for longer. So there is no reason why you would not prepare your food using whole grains.
Eating unprocessed whole grains and other high fiber foods can help lose weight, reduce cholesterol level and blood sugar.
Adopt healthy cooking methods
What you eat, when you eat is essential and so is the how you cook your food. If you want to ensure the foods you cook are actually healthy and nutritious, you should adopt healthy cooking habits, such as instead of deep frying, do the sauté. When you deep fry something, it does not any value to the food, rather fill it with extra calories.
- Here are the other healthy cooking habits worth adopting;
- Don’t overheat oil till smoking, let it shimmer and its ready to cook food
- Use nonstick for cooking with less oil
- Don’t over heat the nonstick pan when cooking
- Avoid too much ketchup and sauces (it has sugar content), use spices instead for garnishing
- Don’t over boil vegetables
Prepare your food in such a way that it does not lose the nutrients.
Use turmeric, garlic and similar spices in cooking
Both turmeric and garlic can enhance the taste of your foods and it’s really good for your health. Turmeric has Curcumin which is a natural anti-inflammatory compound and it also increases the antioxidant capacity of your body. It also reduces the risk of heart diseases. Similarly garlic is considered to have nutritious values and has very less calories. Garlic can protect from cold and sickness as well.
Limit the frequency of eating out
It’s okay to eat out occasionally, but not often. Eating out frequently is not good, for your health and wealth. And when you plan to eat out, take a good look at the menu and order right.
Avoid deep fried items like chips or fish fries and order salad or other nutritious recipes. Include salad and other healthy recipes from the menu.
If it’s a buffet dinner system, fill your plate once and avid over eating because your diner has to be lighter than the lunch you had. And post dinner, you will be going to bed after a short walk may be, so eating less is just fine.
Also, if you plan to eat out, plan your day accordingly. If you are eating chicken and fries in the lunch, you should balance the food intake in the evening snacks or dinner with nuts, fruits, veggies and salads. And if required, balance the subsequent meals the next day.
Drink enough water throughout the day
Water is life. You can survive without food for over two weeks, but without water, your body won’t survive for even a week. Drink plenty of water every day. Starting in the morning, to whole day, you should have a strict water drinking routine to keep your body hydrated.
Consume 2 glasses of water (Luke warm preferred) after bed, in empty stomach. Drink a glass of normal water 30 minutes before breakfast. Drink one glass of water, after one hour of breakfast. Continue drinking throughout the day. Just remember to not drink water, unless it’s essential while having a meal. Ideally, you should drink water 30 minutes before your meal and another glass or two after one hour of breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Avoiding sugar rich soft drinks or cola is best for your body.
Summary
Healthy eating habits encourage us to eat rightly balanced food, in right quantity and at right time. It’s serious important to eat well balanced food like whole grains, fresh vegetables, fruits, protein, carbohydrate and dairy foods. When you eat right, you lead a healthy and a happy life.
What else do you think one should to develop a good and healthy eating habits?
