How many times have you heard that one before?
And is it where you would like to be right now?
Well, let’s see if I can offer you a little bit of help and motivation to get you there.
Discover the 6 Major Benefits of a Healthy Diet
The number one place to start is here…..the fight against poor health and most lifestyle diseases starts with eating a healthy diet. Throwing in a bit of moderate regular exercise is a great help as well.
I am talking about good health for the long haul here so you can enjoy your retirement years…….it needs to become part of your Active Ageing Program and you can start at any age.
So many of our modern miracle cures provided by big Pharma and the medical researchers are really attempts to undo the damage caused by poor dietary choices and lack of exercise.
It is what I call masking the real issue and it makes these companies very wealthy.
Of course there are some people who can’t eat healthy foods due to their circumstances, either environmental or financial. Too often though, lack of finance is given as an excuse for not eating healthy foods. Way too often the real culprits are:
• Not taking the time to educate one’s self about real nutrient requirements.
• Letting the taste buds define food choices.
• Taking the easy, convenient highly processed food option.
This is mainly because processed foods are readily accessible, heavily marketed and just as prevalent, or more so, as healthy food choices. The trouble lies in trying to resist the ease and convenience that fast foods provide and this is the root cause of so many health problems.
That’s why it’s worth keeping in the back of your mind what Michael Pollan once said, “It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.”
A healthy diet really should be the number one priority in a person’s life so that a healthy mind and body happens automatically!
If the mind is healthy, happy relationships can form. If your body is healthy, disease has a harder time to set in. If the mind and body are both healthy all good things are possible, and certainly far more likely to happen.
“It isn’t what you did in the past that will affect the present. It’s what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.” – Paulo Coelho
Here are the 6 Major Benefits of a Healthy Diet
1. It Simplifies Weight Management
This is self-evident. A healthy well balanced diet makes managing your weight easy. For people wanting to win against the battle of obesity, a good start is to cut back on high carbohydrate content food.
Learn to make good dietary choices a lifestyle, not just a short-term fix for an upcoming event. You are in this for life!
Go for a diet that is lower in calories but high in nutrients. Eat some fresh fruit and increase your vegetable consumption. Tip: Use the two-thirds one-third rule; two-thirds of your plate fresh vegetables and one-third protein.
Grass fed animal meats and poultry cuts provide excellent protein, but eat them as close to natural as possible, don’t lather them with high salt and sugar sauces or marinades and crumb coatings.
Stay away from foods containing simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white pasta, chips, pies and pastries, cakes, sweet biscuits and sweets.
If you need some more help with ideas for weight loss then check out this informative article: 14 Undisputed Facts for Helping You to Understand (and beat) Fat Loss
2. More Energy – You’re Body’s Fuel Source
The quality of the fuel you use determines how well your body’s motor will run.
Your diet needs to provide you with the right amount and types of nutrients containing good calories for you to have enough energy for our bodies to operate at the frenetic levels required of us in our modern day society.
This energy will be used by your body so that thought (brain), healing and growth processes will be able to function properly. Healthy foods greatly improve performance, alertness and brain health.
3. A Healthy Diet Prevents Lifestyle Diseases
Failure to observe a healthy diet puts anyone at a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other serious illnesses. Your diet should not contain too many foods that are high in saturated and trans fats, as these are known to be linked to an increased incidence of stroke and heart attack.
Saturated and trans fats can be found in biscuits, vegetable shortenings, some margarines and any other foods that are fried using partially hydrogenated oils.
Trans fats increase your risk of coronary heart diseases. Use olive oil when cooking and if using margarine choose one made from olive oil too.
To find out more ways to prevent lifestyle diseases read “Why Age and Physical Fitness are taking on a Whole New Meaning in Modern Society”.
4. Improves Your Mood (others will notice the improvement)
The right foods can do wonders in improving your mood. However, do not succumb to emotional eating.
Emotion-driven food binges will almost certainly be poor dietary choices and the effects will be very temporary – leading to repeated bad patterns of behavior.
Foods containing important nutrients such as vitamin B folate help in combating anxiety and depression. Foods rich in B vitamins help in the production of serotonin in the brain.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that can affect behavior and moods so beware.
5. Improves Mental Capacity and Performance
Studies have shown that people who eat foods rich in vitamins B, C, D and E, plus omega-3 fatty acids have better performance in several cognitive tests compared to those who did not eat fresh fruits, vegetables and fish.
Researchers are providing more and more evidence that prove having a healthy diet will help prevent diseases related to brain-shrinkage.
6. Your New Goal – To Take Control of Your Food Choices
Make a lifelong habit of basing your daily food intake on mindful healthy choices.
This will help avoid developing (and in many cases reverse) many of the lifestyle diseases which cause ongoing health problems in your life.
That’s why I often ask people I meet hard and confronting questions like, “Why ruin your retirement years because of the poor choices you have made in the past when they can be so easily changed?” It is the reason Why Your Health is Your Future.
When you get to my age it is so good feeling fit and healthy so I urge you all to heed my advice regardless of your age and current health.
Diet and exercise can reverse more ills than most people are aware of.
There are far more food choices on offer than most of us need. In most cases, mindful eating comes down to what we don’t eat – that is, avoiding foods that we know aren’t good for us. There are plenty of foods that are both tasty and healthy.
So when all is said and done you can think about it like this – “Healthy is not a size…..it is a lifestyle.”
Enjoy your journey…….and become the person you always wanted to be……..the changes you make will be well worth it.
Cheers – John – your Active Ageing Coach and Activist.
P.S. Got any questions or need some assistance then just ask – I am happy to help. What Jenny Craig says here may help you get started (or keep going); “It’s not what you do once in a while; it’s what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.”
P.P.S. Help a friend…..don’t forget to like and share :-).
harriz joe says
Nice info, I think this article is very helpful.
John Falkinder says
Cheers……and thanks – I am pleased you found it of interest. John.