Feed Your Body Better

It's easy to make smart choices. Unfortunately, it's a little tougher to follow through. The trick to feeding your body begins with personal commitment and the ability to work hard at keeping your diet in check.

Choosing healthy foods seems like a simple enough concept, but after a hard day at work it's just so much easier to stop for drive-thru burgers or, worse yet, sit down with a comforting tub of cookie dough ice cream. You need to educate your mind before feeding your body. Understand what you'll get from good nutrition, and you'll find it much easier to make healthier choices.

Vegetables

Your mom was right; vegetables are essential for building a healthy body. The earth provides us with a huge assortment of delicious vegetables that should be the basis of your healthy diet. As a rule, you should eat no less than 2 cups of fresh vegetables every day. Choose a variety of vegetables, including dark, leafy varieties like broccoli and spinach. Sweet potatoes are a delicious alternative to white, and carrots make an excellent snack. Chickpeas and dry beans including kidney, lima and pinto beans are packed with beneficial nutrients. Meeting your daily vegetable requirements is easy when you reach for a fresh spinach salad instead of French fries, or grab a bag of baby carrots instead of chips.

Eating Grains

When you consider that the average slice of bread contains just one ounce of grains, it can be a little daunting to think of satisfying your required intake of six ounces per day. An easy option is choosing whole grains and multi-grain alternatives wherever possible. Most breakfast cereals contain about one ounce of grains per cup, but whole grain choice can up the ante. Adding whole wheat pasta, rice and bran to your recipes also contributes to your daily intake, and reaching for a handful of whole grain crackers or popcorn is a sensible way to satisfy your snacking urges.

Pass the Fruit!

There's no excuse for choosing fat and sugary snacks when you keep fresh fruits on hand. Just two cups of fruit per day, or the equivalent of one banana and one apple, can meet your daily requirement. Snacking aside, fruits are perfect accompaniments to virtually every meal. Slice a banana onto your peanut butter sandwich. Try sliced berries on your French toast, or grapes and mandarin wedges in your salad. Frozen, canned and dried fruits can work in a pinch, but fresh varieties are the best dietary choices. Fruit juice (not fruit punch) can also boost your daily intake, but these are loaded with sugars and should be limited.

Don't Skip Dairy

People of all ages need calcium for healthy teeth and bones. Kids from two to eight years of age require the calcium equivalent of about two cups of milk per day, while older kids, teenagers and adults need about three cups per day. At snack time, reach for calcium-rich yogurt and cheese. Watching your weight? Choose low-fat milk and dairy products. Even if you're lactose intolerant, you can still reach your calcium requirements with lactose-free and calcium fortified food choices.

Meat and beans

Protein is essential to every good diet, and meat is a natural choice. There are many other natural sources, however, and vegetarians lead protein-rich lives by choosing these alternatives. There is a wide variety of beans and peas that pack a protein punch in all sorts of recipes. Getting your five ounces of protein per day can also be achieved by eating fish and nuts. When you do choose meat, try to trim away any excess fat, and grill or bake your meat to avoid fatty greases.

Fat

Your body needs certain fats to function normally, but fats must be taken in moderation. The important thing is to know how to choose between "good" and "bad" fats. Foods that are high in fat, such as butter, will only add to your weight and cholesterol levels, so take steps to limit your intake. Saut your food in a little chicken or vegetable broth, or use a non-stick pan instead of loading your skillet with butter, margarine, lard or shortening. You can also add to the flavor of foods without the fat by using fruit juices and seasonings.

Smart eating begins with smart shopping. Many processed foods are loaded with fat, salt and additives. Try to stay within the fresh produce and meat aisles at your supermarket. When you do purchase pre-packaged foods, check the ingredient labels and nutrition facts before you buy. This will help to reduce your intake of saturated fats, trans fats and sodium.

It really is amazing how choosing healthy foods can literally change your entire lifestyle. When you fuel your body with a nutrient-charged diet, you'll have more energy and a brighter overall outlook. Where you used to lie on the couch after consuming an eight-slice pizza, you'll find you have enough energy after your healthy dinner to enjoy an evening stroll around the neighborhood. Choosing healthy foods can be hard work, but you'll receive a lifetime of good health for your efforts.

Writer Ambrose Hutson contributes to a variety of web sites, on senior health and child health themes.
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