It happens. The busier you are, the
harder it is to find time to take care of yourself. Pretty soon, you're
watching those healthy eating habits circle the drain.
That's why we came up with 25
ridiculously easy healthy eating tips--total no-brainers--that make
impressive nutrition happen even on days when you're on autopilot. Do the Big
Easies, and you'll automatically get seven servings of fruits and veggies, all
the calcium you need, plenty of fiber and omega-3 fats, tons of healing
antioxidants, and more.
And the payoffs? You improve your
chances of fending off cancer, stroke, heart attack, and diabetes; have more
energy; stay slimmer; keep your mind sharp; and sidestep urinary tract
infections.
Imagine it's a typical weekday, and
you're busier than ever. Now, do the healthy eating Big Easies!
Healthy
Eating Tips: 6 AM: Rise and Shine
You hit the snooze button for the
last time and fumble your way into the kitchen. Now try these healthy eating
tips:
1. Drink Orange Juice with Added
Calcium If you start the day with orange
juice, don't miss the chance to get calcium too. This superstar mineral fends
off PMS, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis. And the latest? It might even
help you lose weight! Most calcium-fortified orange and grapefruit juices have
as much calcium as milk--or more!
2. Take a Multi One little pill, such big benefits! People who take a daily
multivitamin/mineral supplement have dramatic reductions in the risk of colon
cancer and heart disease, studies show. Another benefit: The folic acid in your
multi is almost two times more absorbable than the form of this vitamin found
in food.
3. Have "7-gram" Cereal That means cereal with at least 7 g of fiber per serving,
because eating cereal is your easiest chance to get lots of fiber in a small
package. Not only is fiber a cancer fighter, but it actually cancels out some
of the calories you eat! For example, if you eat 30 g of fiber a day--slightly
more than double what most of us get--your body will absorb 120 fewer calories
a day. That adds up to a 13-lb loss in a year!
4. Toss Some Blueberries on That
Cereal Blueberries are youth berries. Even
frozen blueberries are so packed with antioxidants that just 1/2 cup can double
the antioxidant power of most people's diets--something that experts suspect
will slow down your aging clock. Blueberries actually reversed memory loss in
one animal study!
5. Make Your Coffee with Milk If you make instant coffee with hot water, all you're
getting is a wake-up call. Use milk, and you've got cafe au lait--along with
insurance against osteoporosis from the calcium and vitamin D in the milk.
6. Drink a Glass of Water When You
Brush Your Teeth You've got the water and the glass
right there. So drink! Only one-third of all Americans get the recommended
eight glasses daily. Think a little shortfall doesn't matter? Signs of mild
dehydration include fatigue upon awakening, fatigue at midday, lack of
concentration, and headaches.
Healthy
Eating Tips: 8:00 AM: On the Job
With these healthy eating tips,
snacks at work can make you healthier:
7. Take an Apple to Work Put one on your desk in the morning, and an apple becomes
see-food--the handiest snack to grab when the munchies hit. If it's not there,
you'll be hunting for sticky buns or whatever else is around. In addition to
apples being a low-cal snack, a recent study revealed that the lungs of
apple-a-day eaters may have better protection against air pollution.
8. Stash Nuts In Your Desk Probably because nuts are rich in healthy monounsaturated
fats, vitamin E, magnesium, and photochemical, folks who snack on a small
handful of them four or five times a week tend to live longer, several studies
suggest. Just don't overdo it: One ounce of peanuts (approximately 1/8 cup)
contains about 170 calories and 14 g of fat.
Healthy
Eating Tips: 11:30 AM: Grocery Shopping
You dash out for groceries over your
lunch hour. Here's how to be a healthy shopper even when you're on autopilot:
9. Buy Better Bread If you eat white bread, you're eating vitamin-fortified
starch. Whole wheat bread has fiber, important nutrients such as selenium and
copper, and a treasury of other healthy ingredients. Maybe that's why
whole-grain eaters seem to have less diabetes, breast cancer, and heart
disease. Just don't be fooled by a dark color: Unless the first ingredient
includes the word "whole," it isn't whole wheat bread.
10. Choose Canola Salad Dressing Are you a salad eater? Terrific! Now look for a dressing
made with canola oil, rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). One study found that
nurses who got more than 1 g of ALA per day had half the number of fatal heart
attacks.
11. Be Picky about Decaf Tea Regular tea delivers a rich stew of healing antioxidants--but
some decaf teas don't. If the decaf method isn't listed on the package, assume
they used ethyl acetate, which dramatically lowers antioxidant levels. Look for
tea that says it's been decaffeinated with water and carbon dioxide (sometimes
called "natural" or "effervescence")--which preserves
antioxidants.
12. Pick Up Whole Wheat Pasta Do you need more help getting to your 30 or so g of daily
fiber? Try doing this: Substitute 1 cup of whole wheat pasta (6.3 g of fiber)
for the same amount of regular (2.4 g). This one easy switch pushes you 4 g
closer to your total daily fiber goal.
13. Find Ice Cream that Builds Bones You know you want some. So find a brand with 15 percent of
the Daily Value (DV) for calcium in a 1/2-cup serving. That means when you eat
a cup of ice cream, you'll get 30 percent of the DV for calcium--as much as a
glass of milk. Same tip applies to frozen yogurt.
Healthy
Eating Tips: 12:30 PM: Takeout Pizza
Buying pizza to eat lunch at your
desk? Give it this instant healthy makeover:
14. Order Pizza the
"Double-Half" Way When you
order, ask for double tomato sauce and half cheese. Double sauce? Many studies
link higher consumption of cooked tomato products with reduced risk of prostate
and other cancers. Half cheese? You'll cut down on artery-clogging saturated
fat. Trust us, after just one "double-half" pizza, you'll never go
back!
Healthy
Eating Tips: 4:00 PM: Party Time
Your division boss is retiring, and
there's a goodbye reception. These tricks build automatic nutrition into
calorie-laden buffet tables:
15. Sidle Up to the Shrimp These denizens of the deep are ultralow in fat and
calories, but they taste so rich that you can really satisfy yourself--without
gaining weight! (Twelve large nonbreaded shrimp contain just 65 calories and
less than 1 g of fat!)
Healthy
Eating Tips: 8 PM: In a Restaurant
The choices! The sauces! Here's how
to automatically make your restaurant meal healthier than ever:
18. Order Dessert First Ask your waiter if they have berries for dessert then order
them as an appetizer. Low-cal raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries are
rich in fiber, antioxidants, and ellagic acid, a compound that's being studied
as a colon cancer fighter. Since restaurants get the very best berries, don't
pass up this heavenly superfood!
16. Reach for the Sparkling Water
Few things are more chic--or better for your health! So whatever else you drink at the party, make sure you also sip on a glass of club soda or seltzer. Staying well hydrated helps fight urinary tract infections by keeping your urine diluted.
17. Dip Your Carrots
Are you snacking only on carrot sticks? Make sure you eat them with some fat--a dab of dip or a cube of cheese. Without any fat, you absorb very little of carrot's cancer-fighting carotenoids.20. Say "Salmon!"
Don't miss this boat! Salmon is one of the richest--and possibly most delicious--sources of omega-3 fats. By boosting your intake of omega-3s, you may help ward off depression, severe menstrual cramps, macular degeneration (a cause of blindness), fatal heart attacks, and possibly even breast cancer. (A 3-oz serving of cooked salmon has 1.9 g of omega-3s; in comparison, 3 oz of cooked chicken breast has a mere 0.05 g.)
21. Side with the Veggies
It's easy to leave a restaurant without touching any vegetables except french fries--unless you routinely order a side dish of broccoli, spinach, or whatever they've got that sounds good. The antioxidants in veggies--including vitamins E and C--prevent the free radical damage that promotes cancer, cataracts, and memory loss. Antioxidants can also bolster immunity, fending off things such as the flu. Not a veggie lover? Make them taste better by adding a little pat of butter--but remember that a little goes a long way.
22. Finish with Tea
Don't miss this chance for a tidal wave of antioxidants--tea has more than most veggies. People who drink 4 cups of green tea a day seem to get less cancer, perhaps due to a powerful antioxidant called EGCG. Black tea contains quercetin, a compound that helps prevent blood clots--the immediate triggers of most heart attacks.
Healthy Eating Tips: 11:00 PM: Bedtime
Congratulations! The day is over ... at last. Now finish up your healthy eating day with a few more Big Easies:23. Have a Cup of Hot Cocoa Love chocolate, but still want to be healthy? Good news! Cocoa (chocolate with much of the fat removed) actually has even more antioxidant power than tea!
The flavonoids in cocoa can keep blood platelets from clotting, which may prevent heart attacks. Plus, the milk in hot cocoa loves your bones! (Note: An average cup of cocoa has less than 1/10 the caffeine of instant coffee. But if you're very caffeine sensitive, bedtime isn't the best time for any caffeine.)
24. Not Drinking Cocoa? Pop a Calcium Supplement Most women get less than one-half of the calcium they need for strong bones, so if you're not drinking cocoa, bedtime is a great time to take a calcium supplement. (If your tummy is empty, calcium citrate supplements are absorbed best.)
25. Drink Another Big Glass of Water After You Brush Your Teeth Yup, more water. And another solid reason why: In a study last year, people who drank lots of water had less colon cancer. Down the hatch!
Source: http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/25-healthy-eating-diet-tips
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