How to Improve Your Health!

Eat a balanced diet of foods that are high-fiber, healthy fats, low-sugar, and low-salt. A healthy diet gives you more energy and improves your outlook and moods. High-fiber diets help keep you regular, and lower your risk for stroke, heart disease, and diabetes, while excess salt can increase your risk for these complications. Sugar causes short energy spikes that can lead to a crash later. It has also been linked to depression and diabetes.

• Healthy fats can be found in foods such as fish, nuts, and avocados.

• Eat lots of leafy green vegetables. Kale, broccoli, cabbage and other leafy greens are packed full of essential vitamins and nutrients.
• Whole foods such as fruit and vegetables have more than enough sugar to give your body what it needs.
• Limit your fruit intake. While fruit does contain essential nutrients, it is also very high in sugar. Eating too much fruit can be just as bad as eating a cookie.

Start your day with a high-protein, high-fiber breakfast. Eating breakfast every day is a must. Waking up and eating a filling breakfast helps you maintain concentration during the day, enhances strength and endurance during physical activity, and can lower cholesterol levels. Eating a breakfast high in protein and fiber will keep you full throughout the morning and help you avoid snacking. Fiber is also digested slower and helps you feel full longer.

• Eat lean protein such as eggs or a slice of salmon.
• Whole grain, high-fiber cereals can also keep you full through the morning.
• A hearty breakfast can also keep you from snacking before lunch. While snacking is not necessarily a bad thing, you want to snack smart. Eat a handful of roasted nuts or a small piece of fruit.

Keep a food log of everything you eat each day. Just the act of writing down what you’ve eaten can keep you from eating that extra candy bar. Keeping a log of everything you eat makes you aware of gaps in your diet or unhealthy foods you may be consuming too much of. Assess the foods you eat on a regular basis (every one to two weeks) and alter your diet as necessary.

• Find a logger that works best for you. Some may want to use plain old pencil and paper while others might find a website or phone app works better.
• Keep your diary nearby so you don’t have to go out of your way to log the foods you eat.
• Some food log apps include nutritional information that can also assist you in your logging.
• Be honest with your tracker. This food log is for you, so cheating only hurts you.

Read the nutrition labels on packaging. Foods containing hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup are not going to be good for you. Taking a second to read the ingredients list and nutrition facts will make you more aware of what you’re eating. Foods high in sugar and sodium should also be avoided.

• When reading the labels, note the serving size.  At first glance, a food item might not seem that bad until you realize there are three servings in the package.