Many people still think that health food should be left to the rabbits. However, in today’s scientific study of nutrition and its effects on the body, it’s plain to see that nutrition isn’t something we can take for granted.
Our body is a machine of sorts that relies on the fuel that we give it. If we aren’t fueling up with the right kinds of foods, we are giving our body less of a chance to succeed in the activities that we need it to do. And just like a car that doesn’t get the right fuel, we can break down much sooner without the proper food.
Defining health food
The idea that health food is limited to carrots and celery is too narrow – in fact, healthy foods come from a variety of sources. Starting with the meat group, you can choose from a number of foods: chicken, red meat, pork, and fish, for example. From the dairy group, there’s yogurt, cheese, and milk.
In the vegetable group, there are hundreds of vegetables to choose from – peas, carrots, lettuce, zucchini, corn, spinach, and so many more.
But you can also choose from the fruits – apples, oranges, pineapples, grapes, bananas, and more. And from the grains group, you have breads and oatmeal, for example. There’s also nuts and beans that fall into the health food groups as well.
What you may want to realize is that healthy foods are those that are as natural as possible – that is, they don’t have an extra ingredients to make them taste ‘good.’ They naturally taste good.
You can find most health foods by heading to the outside aisles of your local supermarket, where the refrigerated sections are. These foods are the closet to their original form when they were picked – making them the best fuel for your body as well.
Defining junk food
But on the other side of health food is the ever popular junk food. These are foods that contain preservatives and added ingredients that were not a part of the food to begin with. These would include anything from boxes of macaroni and cheese to pre-packaged dinners. Junk food can look like healthy food in some cases too.
Many more organic manufacturers are boxing up their foods to be easier to prepare, but these can contain unnecessary ingredients that may be harmful to your health. Junk food is also found at fast food restaurants and street vendors, as well as some restaurants. When in doubt, if you can’t understand the ingredients list for a food, it’s probably not a good choice.
A healthy diet will contain all the vitamins and minerals you need
A healthy diet is the best way to fuel your body because it allows the various systems within your body to access everything it needs in an easier fashion. Because your body doesn’t have to process artificial ingredients, it can get right to the vitamins, minerals and other healthy parts of the food.
A healthy diet also does not include possibly harmful additives that have been linked with some cancers, food allergies, and weight gain. The human body was designed to run on a health diet that includes foods that are closest to the original source – the ground or the animal itself.
More benefits from eating health foods include:
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Better skin
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Easier digestion
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Easier weight maintenance or loss
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Increased energy and vitality
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Increased immune system function
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Lower blood pressure
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Lower cholesterol
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Lower cost than processed foods
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Lower risk of diabetes
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Lowered risk of heart disease
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More resistance to diseases like cancers
And this list is incomplete. A health diet allows your body to perform to its maximum capacity, which allows you to function better than you ever could by ingesting junk foods.
How do I switch to eating more healthier food?
If you’re accustomed to eating junk food instead of health food, the transition can be a little more difficult. What you will want to do is slowly introduce new health foods to replace the junk that you have been choosing.
By replacing just one food at a time, you will start to create new habits and feel better which then spurns you into adding even more healthy foods. Over time, you will create new habits as well as new health for yourself.
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