Intelligent Eating for good health

Intelligent Eating 

Intelligent eating is all about the focus on the food you eat and the efforts required so that it is beneficial for you and your health. After all, it is the nutrition and daily calorie goals that matter to achieving desired health parameters.

 If your diet plan is not supporting you in your weight loss goal, if you want to do lifestyle changes in order to control your high blood pressure problems or if you have any fitness goal that you need to follow but are unable to do so. Then the intelligent eating plan is what you required. Actually, you need to make smart choices for every meal of the day and plan it in advance matching your calorie and nutritional requirement and following them quite religiously.

 Load your plate with fruits and vegetables

 

According to the British Journal of health psychology, insufficient consumption of food is detrimental to health. It is associated with health risks like hypertension and cardiovascular disease. 

So, at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables are needed to be consumed daily. There is a relationship between eating fruits and vegetables and feeling positive.

The choice of colored veggies and fruits 

It adds to the overall nutritional benefits. The red color in veggies like tomatoes and carrots is due to a plant pigment called lycopene, which mainly reduces cell damage and helps fight cancer. 

Leafy green veggies are a rich source of iron, folate, ascorbic acid and potassium. They lower blood pressure, keep cholesterol in check and protect against heart disease.

Pay attention to Portion control 

Portion control or the serving size will provide you essential nutrients without overeating. It will help you maintain weight and digest food easily. For portion control, measures such as 

1, Using a smaller plate for eating
2, Reducing the number of carbs in a meal
3, Take at least 20 minutes to finish the food 
4, Checking the food label on each branded food product (which clearly displays the information regarding the calories, fat, and carbohydrates) is important. 

It is quite good and beneficial especially if you want to lose weight.

Eating healthy according to your age

Change to low-fat or double-toned milk from full-fat milk, and substitute egg whites for whole eggs if you want to go on diet. You can give whole eggs, yellow and white both to kids. 
If you are regularly doing workouts, you can have a maximum of two eggs a day. Instead of red meat go for white meat like chicken and fish. Ensure you are having lean and skinless meat.

Avoid high-fat food

High-fat food like potato chips, cookies, cakes, pizza, pancakes, waffles, whole-fat cheese and butter. Remember to have good fats like olive oil, canola oil, etc. as we need fat for the intake of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin K. Besides excessive intake of fatty food leads to higher cholesterol in the body.

Stay hydrated

Drink at least 8 glasses of water or liquid a day, you can also have fat-free buttermilk, soup or broth in place of it. Plan to have a glass of water every hour while you stay awake, it will flush out the toxins from your body. 

Fruits as snacks

You can also have water-dense food like apples, watermelon, figs or pineapples. They will instantly hydrate you and can be replaced with high-calorie snacks. This way you will spare yourself from the calorie-laden snack and you will get vitamins and many other nutrients as food.

Eat slower and be more mindful 

Mindful eating is related to reduced calorie consumption and less impulsive eating. Mindful eating is a new addition to lifestyle changes that can be applied to shed extra weight, get the desired shape and achieve an increase in strength. 

Eating mindfully involves being aware of the food we eat, how we feel when we eat and its effects on the body, both good and bad. The food may be such that it should be satisfying as well as nourishing.

Find out if you are eating food due to emotions like happiness, anger, etc. or real physical hunger. Mindfulness in eating means a preference for healthier food options.

Limit sodium intake 

High-salt food especially processed food as salty food is bad for the heart. To flush out excess sodium from your body drink water, consume water-rich food like cucumber and watermelon, go for walk and eat high-potassium food like bananas. Excess salt can cause bloating, severe thirst and a temporary rise in BP.

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art

To eat intelligently frequency of eating, meal time, the quantity of food and variety of food and its nutritional value are essential markers. Our eating habits affect our health in a big way. To maintain good health, awareness of food, meal patterns and meal planning is equally essential.