Improve your health with these 10 nutrition tips

Did you know that following a few simple nutritional tips can improve your health? Eating right is essential for feeling good, both inside and out. However, sometimes it becomes impossible due to lack of time and the pace of modern life. The reality is that it’s not as difficult as it seems. All you have to do is incorporate certain eating habits into your daily routine. Want to know what they are? In this post, we give you 10 nutritional tips to help you be healthier. But first, let’s review some important concepts related to good nutrition.

Do you eat or do you feed yourself?

When we sit down to eat, we can have two goals: to eat the first thing we find, or to try to put food on our plate that helps us meet our nutritional needs and stay as healthy as possible. Which one do you identify with? It’s true that the second option takes a little more effort, especially at first. However, it is well worth choosing this option, because once we implement a diet and habits, we are investing in our health.

You have probably heard or read that certain diseases depend on both genetic and environmental factors. Well, among the latter, diet is the most relevant. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense: the foods we eat, with their good or bad properties, become part of our body. Therefore, before you put anything in your mouth, remember the nutritional advice we are going to give you.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA)

Our bodies need certain amounts of nutrients, which should form a proportionate part of our diet: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc.

Although the recommended daily amounts of each nutrient are constantly debated by experts, there is currently a consensus that can guide us on the amount of each type of nutrient we should incorporate into our daily diet to be healthy, depending on our age and gender.

The recommended daily allowances (RDAs) present a practical problem: they are based on nutrient recommendations, so we need to know how to translate this information into our diet. Fortunately, we have two tools to help us interpret these recommendations: nutritional tables and mathematics.

How to use nutritional tables

Nutritional tables usually indicate the amount of nutrients per 100 g of product. For example, to determine how much protein a particular food contains, we must look at how much it has per 100 g. A chicken fillet of this weight contains 22 g of protein.

It is important to clarify one idea: it is common to think that some foods only contain one type of nutrient, but this is a misconception, as they usually contain several. In fact, the 100 g chicken fillet mentioned above also contains carbohydrates (2.30 g) and fat (5.2 g) in addition to protein, so we must also add these values.

Although it is not necessary to count the exact grams of each type of nutrient we consume, it is advisable to include different nutritional groups in each meal to ensure a correct intake: carbohydrates, proteins, and vegetables should always be present in our dishes.

Labels: your allies

If we want to know the nutritional composition of fresh foods, we have no choice but to consult nutritional tables. In the case of packaged foods, we have something that makes things much easier: the label. That is why it is important to check them when you have doubts about a product or want to compare two similar ones.

10 nutritional tips to improve your health

We know that constantly referring to nutritional tables and calculations can be a hassle, so we want to make things easier for you with these 10 nutritional tips.

Following these 10 nutritional tips will help you eat better every day and be healthier. The more you put into practice, the better. But don’t stress, you don’t have to start with all of them at once. You can incorporate them little by little, starting with the ones that are easiest for you. Your health will thank you!

1. Make vegetables and fruits the stars of all your dishes.

If you’re thinking of a boring menu dominated by the color green, banish that image! Each fruit or vegetable has different qualities and contains different nutrients and antioxidants. The colors of fruits and vegetables—which come from chlorophyll, carotenoids, flavones, and anthocyanins—are indicators of their different properties and antioxidants. So now you know, turn your dishes into a festival of color!

• White: These vegetables contain potassium and antioxidants, which give them antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and circulatory system protective properties. You’ll find them in vegetables such as turnips, leeks, garlic, and onions.

• Yellow and orange: The color is due to the presence of carotenes and carotenoids, which are characterized by their powerful antioxidant effect. They are linked to improved memory and also strengthen the body’s defenses and contribute to healthy eyesight, skin, and mucous membranes. You can benefit from them by eating foods such as carrots, squash, and mangoes, among others.

• Red and purple: the color of these foods is due to anthocyanins or resveratrol, substances with antioxidant power that are associated with anti-cancer effects, cardiovascular protection, and memory improvement. They can be found in strawberries, pomegranates, raspberries, blackberries, black grapes, and blueberries.

• Green: vegetables of this color are rich in vitamins B9 and C, minerals, and chlorophyll. They have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Take advantage of these qualities by eating spinach, Swiss chard, peas, avocado, arugula, or lamb’s lettuce.

2. Limit red meat in your diet

If vegetables are to be the undisputed star of your dishes, red meat should only make very occasional appearances. As you know, it doesn’t have a very good reputation, as it has been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Recommendations on maximum intake are reviewed periodically, based on available scientific information. However, it is not a question of completely eliminating this type of meat. You can eat a hamburger or steak occasionally, but it is advisable to replace it in your daily diet with chicken, turkey, or fish.

3. Fruit, best whole or in smoothies

When we eat whole fruit, we provide our body with both vitamins and fiber. However, the latter is lost if we only drink the juice, for example by squeezing oranges or using a blender. If you’re feeling lazy or don’t feel like eating whole fruit when you wake up, smoothies or fruit and vegetable shakes are a great option. Many people find them more appealing in the morning. The truth is, they’re delicious! Best of all, they provide you with a large amount of nutrients, which is essential for starting the day in the best possible way.

Whether you eat the fruit whole or in smoothies—either is a good option—we recommend peeling it first or buying organically grown fruit, as pesticides are commonly found in both fruit and vegetables nowadays.

We also encourage you to try adding beneficial foods such as ginger or turmeric to your smoothies. Incorporating them into the Mediterranean diet is complicated, but they are the ideal complement to your smoothies. Write down this recipe: red berries, pineapple, cucumber, spinach, mint, ginger, and turmeric. Try it, you’ll love it! As you can see, this nutritional advice can be delicious.

4. Gradually reduce sugar in your diet

Nowadays, many foods contain large amounts of added sugar. As a result, our taste buds have become accustomed to sweet flavors and crave them more and more. However, if we reduce our sugar intake gradually, we will eventually stop craving it.

• Blood sugar spikes, which put extra strain on the pancreas and increase the risk of diabetes in the long term

• Alteration of the microbiota or intestinal flora; we now know that a healthy microbiota is key to our defenses and our overall health

• Some studies indicate that there may be a link between sugar consumption and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

So now you know, cut that sugar cube you put in your coffee in half, or better yet, eliminate it altogether. When it comes to sugar in general, the less, the better. If you find it difficult to give up sweetness, you can use stevia, a natural, calorie-free sweetener that can help you enjoy food without the harmful effects of sugar.

5. Choose whole grain

Nowadays, we have a wide variety of foods made with whole grain flour, from pasta to pizza dough and bread. In addition to containing fiber, it is more beneficial than refined flour for several reasons:

• Whole grain flour reduces the absorption of carbohydrates and fats, thus decreasing the sudden increase in blood sugar caused by foods with refined flour.

• It feeds the good bacteria in our gut microbiota, promoting their growth and improving our defenses, our intestinal transit, and reducing the risk of colorectal cancer.

Important! Please note that not all foods labeled as “whole grain” are actually whole grain. That’s why it’s best to consult your allies: the labels. They will tell you whether the product is completely whole grain or whether it is a food made with refined flour to which grains have been added.

For example, until very recently, “whole grain” bread could be made with refined flour, as long as grains such as bran were added later. However, the law has now changed and is stricter in this regard.

In general, we recommend that whenever you are faced with a whole grain food, you check the label. In addition to verifying that it really is whole grain, you will be able to detect whether it contains preservatives and thus avoid them.

Finally, promoting a varied diet is positive, so we recommend that you incorporate different types of flour. There is life beyond wheat! Have you tried buckwheat flour, spelt flour, or legume flour?

6. Feed your microbiota

Our sixth nutritional tip has to do with the gut microbiota. Did you know that some foods also serve to nourish it and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria? You’ve probably heard that potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rice are best eaten cold. This is because, after cooling down after being cooked, these foods generate a substance called type III starch, which is key to the muconutritive microbiota, producing a substance that protects our colon. We can reheat these foods before eating them, but only gently.

There are two other great friends of the microbiota:

• Kombucha: a fermented tea drink high in probiotics and available in many flavors.

• Kefir: a product similar to yogurt.

It is very important to take care of our microbiota, as there is growing evidence of its relationship with our defenses, response to medications, allergies, and even our mood.

7. Eat nuts

It is very important to consume them, but in moderation. Nuts provide antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and are crucial for a healthy diet. Walnuts are especially important for cardiovascular health, but we should limit ourselves to the necessary daily amounts so as not to exceed our calorie intake—a handful a day is enough!

8. Eat lots of fruit!

In this case, there are no restrictions. Fruit is very beneficial because it provides vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and many other benefits for the body. Each type of fruit has different properties. For example, red fruits have great antioxidant power and are high in flavonoids. They are so beneficial that they should be eaten daily.

One trick to eating more fruit is to get into the habit of choosing it over any processed food when you feel like snacking. We recommend that you eat seasonal fruit whenever possible.

9. Avoid processed foods and additives

This is one of the most important nutritional tips. The ultra-processing of some foods makes them an unhealthy choice, full of preservatives, colorants, and all kinds of additives. Therefore, avoid them at all costs.

Nowadays, there are apps such as Yuka that can be used to scan a food’s barcode and see if it is highly processed, as well as to indicate the content of additives that may be potentially harmful.

10. Eat legumes every week

They are very healthy and can be eaten in a thousand different ways. Want some ideas? Try them in salads, as hummus, or as a traditional stew. Legumes contain B vitamins (thiamine, niacin, B6, and folic acid) and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, and iron. They are also a food that contains both carbohydrates and protein. Yes, protein! What’s more, it’s plant-based and almost fat-free.

To round off these 10 nutritional tips, it is also important to stay hydrated and get regular exercise. So drink an average of 2 liters of water a day to cleanse your body and exercise regularly. You’ll see the benefits!

We hope you liked these tips from Veritas and, above all, that you put them into practice. Investing some time and effort in healthy eating is investing in your health, both now and in the future. Taking care of your body will help you feel better, stronger, and healthier.

Incorporate these nutritional tips into your routine and start feeling better right away!