Believe it or not, what you put on your plate and in your body plays a major role in how you feel and how long you live. When you follow healthy eating patterns, you experience an improved ability to focus and a lot fewer mood swings. There are also studies that have found that eating clean foods—mainly whole and unprocessed foods—can significantly reduce or even eliminate symptoms of anxiety and depression, not to mention decrease your risk of a heart attack or stroke. If your goal is to age as gracefully as possible and live longer, it turns out you can achieve this by simply following these eating habits.
1.Don’t overeat
When you eat more calories than your body needs for fuel then you’re overeating. If done frequently and over extended periods of time, there can be many negative health consequences. It’s ultimately acceptable if you happen to overeat on some social occasion, such as a holiday or get-together, but people also tend to overeat when they’re stressed, sad, frustrated, or angry. They use food as a coping mechanism for difficult emotions.
Food fuels your body so going too long without eating lowers your blood sugar, causing mood swings. Ensure that you eat every four hours; breakfast in particular is essential, so never skip it. Eat a well-balanced diet to provide you with all of the energy you need, stay active throughout the day, and fight off illness. If you feel that you can’t cope with this problem by yourself, don’t hesitate to consult a specialist. Leverage Leadar to find an experienced dietician who can help you devise a meal plan.
2.Eat less sugar and salt
By nature, sugar is within all foods with carbohydrates—grains, fruits, dairy, and vegetables. Apart from carbohydrates, dairy also has calcium and protein, and plant foods have high amounts of antioxidants, fiber, and essential minerals. Eating whole foods with natural sugar is fine—they digest slowly and the sugar within them steadily supplies your cells with energy. It has been shown that a high intake of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits reduces your risk of chronic diseases, like heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. What’s dangerous is consuming too much added sugar—sugar added to food to improve its flavor or extend its shelf life. Your best bet would be to avoid these at all costs because they can increase chronic inflammation, raise your blood pressure, make you gain weight, and give you diabetes, all ultimately leading to heart disease.
Salt is used to flavor our food, and also as a stabilizer, food preservative, and binder. The human body also needs a little sodium in salt to contract and relax muscles, manage nerve impulses, and maintain a proper balance of minerals and water. The amount of sodium needed by the human body on a daily basis is estimated to be 500 mg. Anything above that can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and calcium losses—primarily from your bones. Foods with high salt content include fast food, canned foods, and processed foods. To help control your salt intake, carefully read food labels before you buy them—avoid anything with more than 2% of your daily value for sodium.
3.Choose complex carbohydrates over simple carbohydrates
Carbohydrates have long had a bad rap. Many believe that it is unhealthy when in actual fact, your body needs it. Carbohydrates supply the body with glucose that is converted into energy that is used to support bodily functions and physical activity. One of the carbohydrates’ functions is to produce serotonin—a chemical in the brain that suppresses appetite, boosts mood, and has a calming effect. So while a low-carb diet does result in weight loss, it also makes you more likely to feel tense, angry, depressed, and tired. Carbohydrates are therefore an important part of a healthy diet.
What needs to be noted is that some carbohydrates are better than others. Simple carbohydrates are broken down so quickly by the body that they cause a spike in blood sugar which if repeated over the long term can lead to heart, kidney, and eyesight problems, as well as nerve issues, like neuropathy—a loss of feeling in your toes and fingers. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, provide the body with a steady supply of energy and has a positive effect on your mood.
4.Drink lots of water
Water is crucial to good health. It has no calories and can prevent dehydration, a condition that can lead to kidney stones and constipation, cause your body to overheat and think unclearly, and result in mood changes. Additionally, water helps your body maintain a normal temperature, eliminate waste, lubricate and cushion joints, and protect your spinal cord. Authorities recommend drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day.
5.Avoid foods high in saturated and trans fats
The human body is unable to manufacture fatty acids, therefore, an iota of fat is essential to a healthy diet to assist with the absorption of vitamins A, D, and E by the body—a process that won’t be possible without the help of fats. It’s important to pay attention to how much and what type of fat you eat, though, because any fat unused by your body’s cells is converted to body fat, and we’re sure you don’t want that.
Saturated fats are those found in animal-based foods—full-fat dairy products, eggs, beef, poultry, pork, and tropical oils, like palm and coconut. Too much of this fat in your diet can make you feel sluggish and raise your blood cholesterol levels, putting you at risk of developing heart disease. They are also linked to dementia and depression. So, instead, aim to eat foods with unsaturated fats, like oily fish, avocados, nuts, an
