simple changes for a healthier diet
Over the past 7+ years, I had been looking for the meaning of healthy living and now I finally can say that I know the meaning of a healthy lifestyle. I became so passionate about the topic, and I can’t stop talking about it to my friends and family. I love bringing healthy-ish desserts to gatherings to prove that “healthy” labeled food can be delicious.
A healthy lifestyle in my opinion is divided into healthy food and healthy practices. In this post, I will be focusing on the food side of it and I will be sharing some changes/practices you can implement now for a healthier diet.
Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian, and this is solely based on my research, experience, and what works for me. I do have my own philosophy when it comes to food and living, and that philosophy works for me.
Healthy Food Introduction
Healthy food or clean food is trendy now. Everyone wants to eat healthier and cleaner food and; even brands start to market some products with these buzzwords.
All types of real fresh food are healthy in my opinion. If you are buying fresh produce and cooking at home, you are already eating healthy. However, packaged and processed food are problematic. Packaged food often contains preservatives, high in sodium, most likely has sugar, unhealthy processed fat, and other additives.
To change your eating habits to healthier, you need to focus on eating real food. If you want to buy ready-to-eat meals, read the ingredients on the package and make sure you recognize every single one of them.
To healthify your diet, here are the three main elements you need to pay attention to:
Sugar
Dairy
Diet Components
Sugar
Sugar is inside almost everything you buy (packaged) and not all sugar types are the same. The key is to know:
Sugar Names and Amount.
Sugar Types
Sugar Sources
Sugar Names and Amount -Read the Ingredients and Nutrition Facts: I wasn’t aware that everything I buy from the store has some type of sugar until I started reading the ingredients and educating myself.
Sugar has many names, such as high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, molasses, glucose, carob syrup, ...etc. The American heart association (AHA) recommends no more than 24 grams of sugar or 6 teaspoons for women and 36 grams of sugar or 9 teaspoons for men.
For example, Caramel Macchiato from a coffee shop has over 45 grams of sugar! A chocolate bar also has a high amount of added sugar per serving. Therefore, it is important to know how much sugar is inside everything you are buying by reading the ingredients and recognizing them, then check the nutrition facts label for the amount of added sugar per serving.
Sugar Types: The body treats sugar equally but not all sugar is created equally. Refined sugar has a high glycemic index which means it causes a spike in the blood sugar (raises the sugar in the blood faster and higher) while some other types that have a lower glycemic index such as sugar from some fruits are less likely to cause a spike. Consuming much food that has a high glycemic index can cause many health issues such as weight, diabetes, and heart issues.
Also, some sugar is empty calories (which means high in calories without any benefits) while some have values (vitamins and minerals) such as honey and maple syrup. Be smart while choosing your sugar and control your refined sugar intake only for special occasions.
Sugar Sources -Carbs: The body converts carbs to sugar, but not all carbs are created equally. Rich fiber food (complex carb) is less likely to cause a spike in blood sugar because the body can’t absorb and break down the fiber. You can read more about fibers from the CDC here. Being smart with your carb choices is the key here, always pick wholewheat bread and diversify the carb in your diet to include quinoa, barley, bulgur, farro, ..etc; don’t only rely on white bread and white rice as your carb sources. Carbs with fiber should give you the energy you need throughout your day.
Sugar Hack
One of my favorite sugar replacements is Monk Fruit sweetener. Monk Fruit sweetener is derived from a natural herb in Asia, it is naturally sweet, and it is 1:1 ratio with sugar. I sometimes mix it with coconut sugar while baking to lower the added sugar amount and to keep the taste of coconut sugar. Use this hack to control the amount of added sugar when you bake at home. If you usually sweeten your tea or coffee with white sugar, mix Monk Fruit sweetener with the white sugar and no one will be able to tell the differences.
Dairy
Dairy in my opinion is a double-edged sword. While it is rich in minerals, vitamins, and the main source of protein in many cultures, many nowadays see it as a source of inflammation... thanks to the dairy industry.
Dairy has two main issues:
The Dairy Industry and Hormones
Fat
The Dairy Industry and Hormones: This can be controversial. My opinion is the dairy industry system is broken!. it is all about making money and producing as many products as possible, even if this compromises the quality.
Cows are being injected with growth hormones (rbGH or rbST) to produce more milk. The hormones will make it to the human body and can mess up the body (not much research had been done about the link). However, this does not mean you should stop consuming dairy.
Many farmers are now waking up and trying to bring back the good reputation of the dairy industry by making sure that their dairy products are free of growth hormones and grass-fed. Knowledge is power, knowing your body and the available dairy products will help you in making your choices.
For example, Yogurt is considered the healthiest dairy product because it is fermented which means it has good bacteria that is useful for the gut.
Fat: Fat was blamed for a while but now researchers found healthy fat (in moderation), is an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet. One of the NYTimes articles titled “How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat” revealed that “The sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to play down the link between sugar and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the culprit instead”
I am not going to go into the deep science of fat but keep in mind that fat is very important for a balanced diet but it should be consumed in moderation.
Dairy Hack:
Nowadays, there are many replacements for dairy products, and you can easily pick your favorites. Swap some dairy products with your favorite non-dairy and keep your favorites and best of the dairy products for balance. Use milk alternatives instead of cow milk; I prefer cashew, almond, or coconut products over soya. Also, use coconut cream over heavy cream. Coconut cream has less cholesterol than heavy cream. This can balance your dairy intake without cutting dairy completely.
Diet Components
Think about your body as a house foundation and the food you put in your body as the foundation material, do you want to build a good or poor house foundation? I think I know the answer. You should think about investing in your body by nourishing it.
Real food is unprocessed food that is as close to its natural state as possible, such as vegetables and fruits, beans and legumes, whole grains, seeds and nuts, unrefined oil …etc. I don’t think this should be expensive, all that you need to buy is real fresh food.
The key here is a colorful dish based on a lot of veggies, complex carbs, some protein, and some fat.
I found what worked for me is a diet that consists of 75% vegetables and fruits, 15% animal products (dairy, seafood, and meat), and 10% fat. For the fat, I love olive oil, avocados, coconut cream, nut butter, grass-fed butter in moderation, and Greek yogurt.
Key Takeaways
Read the Ingredients and the Nutrition Label on the packaged food
Get familiar with the sugar names, types, and sources
Use natural sweetener (Monk Fruit) as a sugar replacement.
Consume complex carb
Fat is essential for a balanced diet but it should be chosen carefully and consumed in moderation
Use some dairy alternatives to balance your dairy products intake.
Eat real fresh food that consists of fruits and vegetables and limit your processed food.
Everything should be enjoyed in moderation
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