Easy Tips for Planning a Healthy Diet
and Sticking to it
Healthy eating is not
about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving
yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more
energy, improving your outlook, and stabilizing your mood. If you feel overwhelmed
by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re not alone.
It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you,
you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. But by using these simple
tips, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a tasty,
varied, and healthy diet that is as good for your mind as it is for your body.
How does healthy eating affect mental and
emotional health?
We all know that eating
right can help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid certain health problems,
but your diet can also have a profound effect on your mood and sense of
wellbeing. Studies have linked eating a typical Western diet—filled with
processed meats, packaged meals, takeout food, and sugary snacks—with higher
rates of depression, stress, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. Eating an unhealthy
diet may even play a role in the development of mental health disorders such as
ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia, or in the increased risk of
suicide in young people.
Eating more fresh fruits
and vegetables, cooking meals at home, and reducing your intake of sugar and
refined carbohydrates, on the other hand, may help to improve mood and lower
your risk for mental health problems. If you have already been diagnosed with a
mental health problem, eating well can even help to manage your symptoms and
regain control of your life.
While some specific foods
or nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect on mood, it’s your
overall dietary pattern that is most important. That means switching to a
healthy diet doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. You don’t have
to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to
have a healthy diet and make a difference to the way you think and feel.
To set yourself up for
success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable
steps—like adding a salad to your diet once a day—rather than one big drastic
change. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more
healthy choices.
- Prepare more of your own meals. Cooking more
meals at home can help you take charge of what you’re eating and better
monitor exactly what goes into your food.
- Make the right changes. When cutting back on
unhealthy foods in your diet, it’s important to replace them with healthy
alternatives. Replacing dangerous trans-fats with healthy fats (such as
switching fried chicken for grilled fish) will make a positive difference
to your health. Switching animal fats for refined carbohydrates, though
(such as switching your breakfast bacon for a donut), won’t lower your
risk for heart disease or improve your mood.
- Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting
calories, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness.
Focus on avoiding packaged and processed foods and opting for more fresh
ingredients.
- Read the labels. It’s important to be aware of what’s in
your food as manufacturers often hide large amounts of sugar or unhealthy
fats in packaged food, even food claiming to be healthy.
- Focus on how you feel after eating. This will help
foster healthy new habits and tastes. The more healthy food you eat, the
better you’ll feel after a meal. The more junk food you eat, the more
likely you are to feel uncomfortable, nauseous, or drained of energy.
- Drink plenty of water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet
many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and
headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well
hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.
Key to any healthy diet
is moderation. But what is moderation? In essence, it means eating only as much
food as your body needs. You should feel satisfied at the end of a meal, but
not stuffed. Moderation is also about balance. Despite what fad diets would
have you believe, we all need a balance of protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates,
vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.
For many of us,
moderation also means eating less than we do now. But it doesn't mean
eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for breakfast once a week, for
example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a healthy lunch
and dinner—but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza.
If you eat 100 calories of chocolate one afternoon, balance it out by deducting
100 calories from your evening meal. If you're still hungry, fill up with extra
vegetables.
- Try not to think of certain foods as “off-limits.” When you ban
certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and
then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. Start by reducing
portion sizes of unhealthy foods and not eating them as often. As you
reduce your intake of unhealthy foods, you may find yourself craving them
less or thinking of them as only occasional indulgences.
- Think smaller portions. Serving sizes have
ballooned recently. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an
entree, split a dish with a friend, and don't order supersized anything.
At home, visual cues can help with portion sizes–you’re serving of meat,
fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards and half a cup of
mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of a traditional light
bulb. If you don't feel satisfied at the end of a meal, add more leafy
green vegetables or round off the meal with fruit.
- Take your time. Stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes
for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat
slowly.
- Eat with others whenever possible. As well as the emotional benefits, this allows you to model healthy
eating habits for your kids. Eating in front of the TV or computer often
leads to mindless overeating.
Aside from portion size,
perhaps the single biggest problem with the modern Western diet is the amount
of added sugar in our food. As well as creating weight problems, too much sugar
causes energy spikes and has been linked to diabetes, depression, and even an
increase in suicidal behaviors in young people. Reducing the amount of candy
and desserts you eat is only part of the solution as sugar is also hidden in
foods such as bread, cereals, canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce,
margarine, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, low-fat meals, fast food,
and ketchup. Your body gets all it needs from sugar naturally occurring in food
so all this added sugar just means a lot of empty calories.
Tips for cutting down on
sugar
- Slowly reduce the sugar in your diet a little at a time to
give your taste buds time to adjust and wean yourself off the craving.
- Avoid sugary drinks. Try drinking sparkling water with
a splash of fruit juice instead.
- Don’t replace saturated fat with sugar. Many of us make the
mistake of replacing healthy sources of saturated fat, such as whole milk
dairy, with refined carbs or sugary foods, thinking we’re making a
healthier choice. Low-fat doesn’t necessarily mean healthy, especially
when the fat has been replaced by added sugar to make up for loss of
taste.
- Avoid processed or packaged foods like canned
soups, frozen dinners, or low-fat meals that often contain hidden sugar
that quickly surpasses the recommended limit.
- Be careful when eating out. Most gravy, dressings and sauces are also packed with salt and sugar,
so ask for it to be served on the side.
- Eat healthier snacks. Cut down on sweet snacks such as candy, chocolate, and cakes.
Instead, eat naturally sweet food such as fruit,
peppers, or natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth.
- Check labels and choose low-sugar products.
- Greens. Branch out beyond lettuce. Kale, mustard
greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage are all packed with calcium,
magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K.
- Sweet vegetables. Naturally sweet vegetables—such as corn,
carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and squash—add healthy
sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for added sugars.
- Fruit. Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill
up on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting,
apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.
Eating foods high in dietary fiber can help you stay regular, lower your
risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, and help you lose weight.
Depending on your age and gender, nutrition experts recommend you eat at least
21 to 38 grams of fiber per day for optimal health. Many of us aren't eating
half that amount.
- In general, the more
natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber.
- Good sources of fiber
include whole grains, wheat cereals, barley, oatmeal, beans, and nuts,
vegetables such as carrots, celery, and tomatoes, and fruits such as
apples, berries, citrus fruits, and pears.
- There is no fiber in
meat, dairy, or sugar. Refined or “white” foods, such as white bread,
white rice, and pastries, have had all or most of their fiber removed.
- An easy way to add
more fiber to your diet is to start your day with a whole grain cereal or
add unprocessed wheat bran to your favorite cereal.
How fiber can help you
lose weight
Since fiber stays
in the stomach longer than other foods, the feeling of fullness will stay with
you much longer, helping you eat less. Fiber also moves fat through your
digestive system quicker so less of it is absorbed. And when you fill up on
fiber, you'll also have more energy for exercising.
Choose healthy
carbohydrates and fiber sources, especially whole grains, for long-lasting
energy. Whole grains are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help to
protect against coronary heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes.
What are healthy carbs
and unhealthy carbs?
Healthy carbs (or good carbs)
include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested
slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels
stable.
Unhealthy carbs (or bad carbs) are foods
such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of
all bran, fiber, and nutrients. They digest quickly and cause spikes in blood
sugar levels and energy.
Tips for eating more
healthy carbs
- Include a variety of whole grains in your healthy diet, including whole
wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and barley.
- Make sure you're really getting whole grains. Check for the Whole Grain Stamps that distinguish between partial
whole grain and 100% whole grain.
- Try mixing grains as a first step to switching to whole
grains. If whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat pasta don’t sound
good at first, start by mixing what you normally use with the whole
grains. You can gradually increase the whole grain to 100%.
Avoid: Refined foods such
as breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals that are not whole grain.
Healthy eating tip 7: Add calcium for
bone health
Your body uses calcium to build healthy bones and teeth, keep them strong as you
age, send messages through the nervous system, and regulate the heart’s rhythm.
If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, your body will take calcium from
your bones to ensure normal cell function, which can lead to osteoporosis.
Recommended calcium
levels are 1000 mg per day, 1200 mg if you are over 50 years old. Try to get as
much from food as possible and use
only low-dose calcium supplements to make up any shortfall. Limit foods that
deplete your body’s calcium stores (caffeine, alcohol, sugary drinks), do
weight-bearing exercise, and get a daily dose of magnesium and vitamins D and
K—nutrients that help calcium do its job.
Good sources of calcium
include:
- Dairy: Dairy products are rich in calcium in a form
that is easily digested and absorbed by the body. Sources include milk,
unsweetened yogurt, and cheese.
- Vegetables and greens: Many vegetables,
especially leafy green ones, are rich sources of calcium. Try collard
greens, kale, romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, summer
squash, green beans, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and crimini mushrooms.
- Beans: such as black beans, pinto beans, kidney
beans, white beans, black-eyed peas, or baked beans.
Protein gives us the
energy to get up and go—and keep going. While too much protein can be harmful
to people with kidney disease, the latest research suggests that most of us
need more high-quality protein, especially as we age.
- Eat plenty of fish,
chicken, or plant-based protein such as beans, nuts, and soy.
- Replace processed
carbohydrates from pastries, cakes, pizza, cookies and chips with fish,
beans, nuts, seeds, peas, tofu, chicken, dairy, and soy products.
- Snack on nuts and
seeds instead of chips, replace baked dessert with Greek yogurt, or swap
out slices of pizza for a grilled chicken breast and a side of beans.
Despite what you may have
been told, not all fats are unhealthy. While “bad” fats can increase your risk
of certain diseases, “good” fats are essential to physical and emotional
health. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats, for example, can reduce your risk
of cardiovascular disease, improve your mood, and help prevent dementia.
Good fats
- Monounsaturated fats from avocados, nuts
(like almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans), and seeds (such as pumpkin and
sesame).
- Polyunsaturated fats, including Omega-3s, found in fatty fish
such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and some cold
water fish oil supplements. Good vegetarian sources of polyunsaturated
fats include flaxseed and walnuts.
Bad fats
- Trans fats, found in processed foods, vegetable shortenings, margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, or anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil in the ingredients, even if it claims to be trans-fat free.
The debate about
saturated fats
Saturated fats are mainly
found in tropical oils, dairy, and animal products such as red meat, while
poultry and fish also contain some saturated fat. The latest news in the
nutritional world studies—with old and new studies to back them up—suggest that
not all saturated fat is a dietary demon, either. While many prominent health
organizations maintain that eating saturated fat from any source increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, other
nutrition experts take a different view. The new argument is that saturated
fat contributes to weight control and
overall health.
Of course, not all
saturated fat is the same. The saturated fat in whole milk, coconut oil, or
salmon is different to the unhealthy saturated fat found in pizza, French
fries, and processed meat products (such as ham, sausage, hot dogs, salami, and
other cold cuts) which have been linked to coronary disease and cancer.
For more, see Choosing
Healthy Fats.
Sodium is another
ingredient that is frequently added to food to improve taste, even though your
body needs less than one gram of sodium a day (about half a teaspoon of table
salt). Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to an increased
risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, memory loss, and erectile
dysfunction. It may also worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder.
- Use herbs and spices such as garlic, curry
powder, cayenne or black pepper to improve the flavor of meals instead of
salt.
- Be careful when eating out. Most restaurant and
fast food meals are loaded with sodium. Some offer lower-sodium choices or
you can ask for your meal to be made without salt.
- Buy unsalted nuts and add a little of your own salt until your taste buds are accustomed to eating them salt-free.
Healthy eating: fats
Omega-3 Fats: An
Essential Contribution – All about health
benefits of the important omega-3 fatty acids, including the best food sources
in which to find them.
Clarifying the
Facts on Fats: Is Butter Really Back? – Concentrating too much on eliminating “fat” from our
diets has led us to replace healthy fats with simple carbohydrate foods that
may actually be worse for our health.
Healthy eating:
sugar
Sugar exposed as
deadly villain in obesity epidemic – Article about addictive
sugar can be, with tips to cut down.
Healthy eating: salt
Sodium Content of
Your Food – How sodium affects your
body and how to cut down on dietary sodium. Included tips on reading nutrition
labels, and suggestions for cooking and shopping.
