The Benefits Of Eating Healthy Diet? Lots of them................

Do you Know them?

The benefits of eating healthy diet? You wanna make a guess?

Yes? No?

Well, don't scratch your head over it.......

I'll run you the bevy of benefits since I myself experience them practising the healthy eating lifestyle......

Hee....hee....

OK, let's get down to the grind.

I believe the adage that says: "You Are What You Eat". Really, it's literally true to the last letter.

Honestly, ever since I start to eat healthily, I enjoy good health, have more energy and my body functions in balanced, optimum level.

• I choose and concoct a diet that's varied, well-balanced and nutritious to meet my nutritional requirement . I won't get into nutritional deficiencies, which can take a toll on my health
• Healthy eating can prevent the risk of developing certain cancers and also heart disease.

  One very good example I practise is through eating less saturated fat and high cholesterol food , which are the 2 main culprits responsible for causing heart attack or stroke .

  P/S: While on the subject of heart attack, do you know symptoms of heart attack in women are different from men's?

  The other good example is eating less salt and sugar, which increase the chance of developing diabetes and high blood pressure

• I get to manage and control my body weight, maintain it at a healthy level, easier. Those excess flab and bulges seem to drop off without me realizing it.......
• My brain functions pretty well; not fuzzy, blur, lose focus or can't concentrate - that kind of stuff. Certain food like carbohydrates if taken too much, I realize, can really make me feel tired and lethargic
• I feel better and more energetic and can combat stress easier
• I enjoy better sleep and concentration
• Certainly I've lower total cholesterol; higher HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol
• I hardly fall sick, well, due to strengthened immune system. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....give myself a big fat clap!
• I've less body fat, become leaner and lighter in weight. What a feeling!
• My skin turns softer, clearer, brighter. My hair shines with healthy sheen and vibrancy (I'm not blowing my own trumpet!)
• My memory sharpens. No joke, I can even remember names and faces of my childhood friends, whom I haven't seen for well over 20 years!
• One study says that one of the benefits of eating healthy diet is delayed menopause. I don't know how true this is. Just want to let you know in case you're approaching menopause. Why don't try out the healthy diet to prove it?

Of course this isn't the whole bevy of benefits of eating healthy diet, but I'm sure somewhere in your brain, it does "click" and "light" up?

I won't leave you high and dry here - you know, just talking about benefits of eating healthy diet and don't give you a clue as to how to cook one such diet.......

I don't blame you if you kind of thinking that healthy diet is B-O-R-I-N-G and blend and complicated. That's because you haven't got the hang yet - the smart way to "mix and match" your food........

I want to say this - learn to prepare healthy meals in simple ways. Don't complicate the whole thing by stressing so much on the "calories". You won't enjoy and savor the food anymore, that is.

Hey, eating food is a pleasure to enjoy, not a hard, complicated chore to suffer.......

Let's talk first about food that you can eat raw and fresh.

What comes to your mind?

Of course, fruits, right? And some types of vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, celeries, salad greens.......

I eat raw and fresh fruits and vegetables because this is the only way to eat them in as close to their natural state as possible, to get the maximum goodness.

I eat 2 apples, 1 banana and 1 sweet potato for breakfast in the morning.

I call this a "wake up" menu as it provides vitamins, minerals, potassium, complex carbohydrates and fiber. A wonderful "feel-full" meal that can last me until lunch time, I rarely need to snack in between.

If I've the hunger pang, I dig into my tomatoes, carrots and wholemeal bread.

Fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium, and calories. They don't have cholesterol.

Next, vegetables are fantastic in controlling body weight. They're rich in fiber, don’t have too many calories and are pretty filling.

5 portions of vegetables in various colors give me sufficient nutrients and a wide range of nutrients. They're also high in phytochemicals.

If you're innovative enough, you can cook vegetables in so many ways (boil, stir fry, steam....) that can turn the most unpalatable greens to some tempting dishes.

I love to just easy-boil the vegetables, with a pinch of salt.......Whoa, I get to taste the real juicy original flavor.

Sometimes, I stir-fry them lightly in sunflower oil or steam them for 3 minutes. Mmmmm....delicious!

I eat these vegetables raw and fresh: carrots, tomatoes, celeries.... In raw and fresh forms, they're loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain anti-oxidants and fibre.

That's why the more colorful your diet is, the more phytochemicals your body gets. When you eat sizeable portions of these regularly, you delay aging and also reduce your tendency to develop cancer.

I love whole grains and you should too. These foods (oat, barley, wheat, brown rice.....) are supreb sources of fiber.

Instead of going for high carb foods like white bread, pasta and pastries/biscuits , I choose wholemeal bread, multi-grain bread, wheat bread......They're so good to eat!

Whoa! Benefits of eating healthy diet get better and better!

I go for lean protein (i.e. lean meat) wherever I can. And I always take away the skin and fat before I eat meat - chicken, beef, lamb, fish.......I also eat meat baked, grilled and boiled rather than fried.

I cut back on these extra fats, such as butter or margarine on bread, sour cream on baked potatoes, rich, creamy salad dressings and gravies.

These are famous sources of "hidden fats" which you think aren't "there" and not a lot. Hey, you'd be surprised at the amount of fat thrown in to make these stuffs.

I drink more than 8 glasses of water daily, to help cleanse my internal sytem, to flush out toxins and waste.

And mind you, I rarely touch alcoholic drinks, sugary beverages and juices and sodas. These're rich in sugar and high in calories as well.

I'm careful with my salt intake as well since high doses of salt increase risk of high blood pressure, which in turn can affect my brain...eyes and.....heart…

What about fast food? They're famous for high fat, high salt, high carb.....

If you're an avid fast food fan, this fast food fact sure can help you to lessen the above-said "ill" effects.

I also cut down on unnecessary sugar. If I feel the pang for sweetness, I go for fruits, veggies or a high protein snack rather than sweets, which actually rob my body of energy.

You might think I'm crazy to be so careful with food but I think I can't afford not to, simply because my health's at stake and benefits of eating healthy diet far, far outweigh the unhealthy one......

I know you'll protest: "It's easy, you just prattle away like that on the ways to eat healthily and on the benefits of eating healthy diet....But said is easier than done. The done part is the harrrr....dddd......part!"

I agreed wholeheartedly.

That's why I'm also giving you "smart" tips to help you migrate from your old, settled way of eating to the new "dynamic" way.

First, get this right.

You know all the benefits of eating healthy diet. It's now your call to consciously make a change and to choose the right, healthy food to eat, for your health.

Once you made that call, then proceed like this:

• Make one small change per week
• Daily, add 1 piece of fruit and 1 serving of vegetables to your meals
• Eat new low-fat food or snack per week
• Go for wholemeal/wholegrain bread
• Trim off all fats, avoid trans fat and saturated fat, at all cost; they're super high in cholesterol. Here, prepare the best diet to manage your cholesterol level
• Increase intake of water gradually - I know it's hard to drink 8 big glasses of water, just like that out of the blue!
• Eat a variety of food to get all-round nutrition. Don't go for certain types of food only. It's bad for your health
• Eat smaller food portions and stop eating when you're full. Don't continue eating just for the sake of eating!

Don't go for gigantic changes. They'll overwhelm you. You can't handle them all at one short.

The result? You give up. Go back to your old ways of eating........

Hey, give yourself a chance to reap the benefits of eating healthy diet!

My "common sense" approach in reaping benefits of eating healthy diet is that you eat enough of the right foods and not too much of the wrong foods.

It’s all about balance.

I've given you a good way of looking at eating healthily.

And I think you need to make a conscious effort to start eating this way.

It's not difficult. In fact, when you taste the benefits of eating healthy diet, you'd wondered why you didn't start it sooner!!!

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