Monday, February 11, 2013

Proper Nutrition Leads To A Better Life!

By Isaac Caroselli


There are a lot of health-food nuts out there, always pushing their organic and microbiotic products on you. But is this food really nutritious? The truth is that nutrition is a wide-ranging issue, and you need to be informed about every type of food. Read this article for some great nutrition tips.

A simple strategy to have a more nutritious diet is to drink water instead of sugary drinks. Not only will this help hydrate the body better and lead to better health, it will also cut calories from you daily intake and lead to better fitness. Energy drinks, sports drinks, and soda are a major source of added calories and sugars in American diets.

If you invest your health today, you will reap the rewards tomorrow. This means making the right choices every day by choosing foods that are healthy, exercising regularly and getting a good night's sleep. These three recommendations will give you energy and focus to stay on the right track and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Before you even sit down to order, make a commitment to abstain from the fried treats and fatty sweets that are pictured so temptingly on every page of the menu. Chances are good that you will find yourself fully satified by the end of your meal anyhow. Rather than risk ruining the night feeling overstuffed and bloated, remind yourself of your plans to live a more nutritious daily outlook.

If you need to lower LDL cholesterol -that's the unhealthy kind- you might consider increasing your intake of something that's not usually known for healthy living: Beer. Studies have recently shown this benefit from beer also increases the good kind of cholesterol, HDL. Those with problems with alcohol shouldn't take this approach, and moderation is always in order for everyone.

For the best nutritional value, be sure not to overcook your vegetables. Simply steaming them for 10 minutes or so is usually plenty to get the right texture and retain the most in flavor and nutrition. Whatever you do, don't boil your veggies for an extended period of time. This robs them of nutritional value.

Expanding your understanding of salad is a great way to improve your nutrition. Salads are not limited to just lettuce and ranch dressing. Anything from raw fruits and vegetables to cooked meat and grains, can go into a salad. Get creative! Salads can be hot or cold and can easily serve as the main course of a meal without leaving you feeling hungry and unsatisfied. Trying new dressing recipes is an easy way to freshen up salads. Add new things to your salad or throw in some ingredients you have never before considered as salad fixings: nuts, berries, dried fruit, napa cabbage, tahini, peanut butter, ginger and fresh herbs, can all help to make salad an exciting and nutritious part of any meal.

Tomatoes are a versatile and terrific addition to the diet. In addition to being relatively low in calories and high in fiber, Vitamin A, and lycopene, it's used in everything from pizza to cocktails. However, in order to get the best use out of it, one should lightly cook it with foods containing oil, like cheeses or meats.

Creating good food habits is a key to maintaining good nutrition. One important habit to cultivate is portion control. It is easy to forget what real portion sizes are in our super-size culture, but by measuring carefully for a few days, you can familiarize yourself with the amount of food you should really be consuming.

Know which food will give you the most benefit. The United States Department of Agriculture have released a list of the very best fresh foods you can possibly eat. The list includes blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, oranges, beets, avocados, brussels sprouts, plums, broccoli, kiwis, red bell peppers, and cherries.

Puree up your favorite fruits, especially those that are over-ripe and about to be thrown away, and use these as sauces for pancakes; pour over chicken as a sweet and sour sauce; or use where some sweetness would be a nice touch. Remember not to add any extra sugar though. The fruit should provide all the sweetness you need.

Now that you know a little more about nutrition, you can see that it's not very difficult to stay properly nourished. There are many foods out there with great health benefits and many ways that you can stay as healthy as possible, just by simply making a few changes. Use these tips to help balance your nutrition.




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