Healthy Food & Nutritional Diet Tips

A nutritional diet may sound like a complicated subject, but it’s really quite simple. Basically, a nutritional diet describes how the healthy food choices that you make affect your overall wellness. This includes how your body functions at the level of your cells, tissues and organs. But what kinds of food are considered healthy food?  

Overview Of Healthy Food & A Nutritional Diet

In order to stay healthy, you have to eat healthy food that provides your body with the energy and nutrients that it needs to work optimally. In a nutritional diet, these include…

  • Proteins
  • Fats
  • Minerals
  • Other nutrients from plants (phytonutrients)
  • Carbohydrates
  • Vitamins
  • Water

A nutritional diet that includes healthy food can be easy to design. Keep in mind the following basic guidelines…

  • Eat many different types of healthy food, including a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains
  • Choose lean protein sources such as beans, peas, fish, lean meats, poultry and low-fat dairy products
  • Limit your intake of sugar, salt, trans and saturated fats
  • Consume alcohol only in moderation
  • Drink plenty of water

More Detailed Information On A Nutritional Diet

The basics of a nutritional diet will go a long way towards keeping you healthy. However, knowing more about what’s in your food will help you make smart choices about what to eat. Here is a little more information on nutrition.

  • Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Healthy foods contain a wide number of nutrients. Both vitamins and minerals are needed by your body to grow and develop normally.  Plants also contain other nutrients (phytonutrients), some of which may have cancer-fighting properties or other benefits.
  • Superfoods. These special foods contain nutrients that are above and beyond what’s needed to simply keep your body going. Superfoods include leafy greens (such as spinach and kale), tomatoes, chocolate (i.e., dark chocolate with at least 70-percent cacao), blueberries and certain spices, such as turmeric. Each superfood has its own benefits, so be sure to eat a wide variety of them, as often as possible.
  • Whole grains. Whole grains include wheat, oats, brown rice, barley, and cornmeal to name a few. They are not processed, or refined. Processed foods may include grains, but they typically include refined grains from which the nutritional value has been leached. Examples of processed foods with refined grains are breads, pasta, cereal, white flour, white rice and cookies. In contrast, whole grains contain important nutrients, including fiber. To get the most health benefits, make sure at least half of your grains and foods that contain grains are whole grains.
  • Lean protein sources. Your body needs protein-rich foods to build muscle and carry out many functions in the cells and tissues. Some protein sources do contain high levels of saturated fat that can be bad for your health. To boost your health, look for lean protein sources such as, poultry, seafood, beans, peas (legumes), nuts and seeds.
  • Sugar, salt, saturated and trans fats. Many processed foods contain things that can damage your health if eaten in large quantities. Some of these, such as salt, sugar and trans fats, are added to processed foods to change the flavour. Others, such as saturated fats, occur naturally in foods like meat and eggs. To stay as healthy as possible, try to limit your intake of these, opting instead for fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you would like to seek professional help or discuss Healthy Eating tips, please contact our chiropractic clinic in Oakville directly at 905-827-4197.   Book An Appointment

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