Paying close attention to your nutrition is a key part of developing and maintaining good health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has always highlighted that you need to actually consume good nutrition at all stages of life in order to keep your health in a good state. Maintaining good nutrition improves your health, leads to a more comfortable and satisfactory quality of life, and can also prolong your life. The following are eight pieces of nutritional advice that you should follow in order to keep your health in a good state and ensure that you are eating properly and in a well that is beneficial rather than damaging to your body.
Aim to include protein in every meal
Including protein in every meal that you consume will help to balance your blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of a heart problem or heart attack. From all of the food groups, protein also maximizes how full we feel after a meal. From the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), proteins help us to feel fuller for the longest period of time. If you often feel hungry, it’s likely that you do need to introduce more proteins into your diet. Getting enough protein can help to prevent unhealthy and unnecessary cravings. Proteins help to maximize your body’s response to training as training and protein intake benefits your muscle’s protein synthesis. This helps to ensure that we get maximum benefits from our training. Always remember that you maximize the benefits of training significantly by eating properly. Looking for a new food item to try that is rich in protein? If so, consider making this chicken and mushroom pie. If you are considering a career in the health and fitness industry, it is important that you do research on the different types of personal training certification that is available. Choosing good training certification will not only improve your access to jobs but also equip you with more skills and knowledge which is required to be a success in the industry.
Eat your greens
Dark green leafy vegetables are a great source of nutrition. You should aim to have around 5-7 serves of vegetables per day with each serving being around 75g. Leafy greens provide your body with its needed vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are alkalizing and help to maintain the PH level of your blood at a necessary level for your well-being. They are also full of fiber and most people do not have adequate fiber in their diet. Fiber comes from the indigestible parts or compounds of plants and is needed to help maintain the healthy state of your digestive system. Are you looking to have a delicious meal that will help with your intake of necessary leafy greens? If so, consider exploring the delicious recipes from Healthy Luxe.
Ensure that you have adequate sleep
The average person needs 6-8 hours of sleep in order to function optimally. If you are getting anything less than these hours of sleep, you are living dangerously. Not only does a lack of sleep make it harder to concentrate and gives you headaches, but it also messes up with your diet and can cause you to eat either more or less than you should. Ensure that you have healthy sleeping habits. Stay away from caffeine in the late hours of the night. You should turn off all lights before going to sleep and try not to use any electronic devices for at least 30 minutes you sleep. Sleeping should be regarded as a top priority in a similar fashion to exercising properly. If you don’t sleep properly, you will basically contribute to the destruction of your quality of life and days.
Enjoy coffee
Whilst you should avoid coffee before going to sleep, you can feel free to enjoy it during the day. According to studies, enjoying 3-5 cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and cardiovascular diseases. If you are pregnant or lactating, you should not be consuming more than two cups of coffee per day and will need to be monitoring your intake of coffee more closely. Studies have also found that drinking plenty of green tea and coffee is linked to lower chances of dying for those who have or are at risk of type 2 diabetes. People who have type 2 diabetes are more prone to circulatory diseases, dementia, cancer, and bone fractures. Hence, it is imperative that they closely monitor their food intake and ensure that they are having a healthy diet.
Drink alcohol in moderation
Amidst all the stresses that are caused by the pandemic and the markets around the world declining, an increasing amount of people are turning to alcohol. Whilst you can drink alcohol, you need to moderate your intake and be wary of the fact that alcohol is a substance that is highly addictive. Generally, females are advised to drink up to one drink of alcohol a day whilst the number is two for men. Excessive alcohol can increase your chances of chronic disease, cancer, violence, and embarrassment. Alcohol is also expensive and you can save a lot of cash by drinking it in moderation. If you are drinking for stress-relief, consider exploring more healthier alternatives for overcoming your stress and calming yourself.
Eat more home-cooked meals
There is nothing wrong with eating at a restaurant every now and then but you should consume home-cooked meals on most days. Research has indicated that families eating home-cooked meals leads to healthier diets and relations. People who eat home-cooked meals on a regular basis live happier lives on average and are less inclined towards consuming sugar and processed foods which can result in lesser processed foods consumption and better mental health overall. By eating home-cooked meals, we are not only benefiting ourselves but also benefiting the environment by reducing our carbon footprint.
Ensure that you eat breakfast
There are very important reasons why people regard breakfast as being the most important meal of the day. It is normal to feel a bit tired and empty when you wake up in the morning as your body has gone several hours without any energy intake. Breakfast replenishes your supply of glucose which increases energy levels. It improves your ability to concentrate and can assist with better weight management. If you feel depleted and lethargic in the morning on a regular basis, it is very likely that you are not eating a proper breakfast. Despite the negative effects that happen if you don’t eat breakfast, many people still opt to skip it. People who eat breakfast are less likely to be obese. Breakfast helps with weight management as it prevents blood fluctuations, helping to moderate your appetite. If you never eat breakfast, you may find that exerting your mind and focusing strongly in the morning can be difficult. Most of us work 9-5 day jobs and so it is essential that we are able to function well in the morning. The reason for this is because your brain lacks the necessary glucose to make it function well. People who eat breakfast tend to perform academically better than those that don’t. They also tend to be more enthusiastic about their work because of the heightened ability to apply themselves and listen.
Consider more meat-free days
There are several benefits to having more meat-free days. Many people consume excessive amounts of red meat which makes them more vulnerable to heart problems and diseases. As primates, our bodies are not adapted for a carnivorous diet, whilst we are omnivores, our natural diet is meant to include the intake of far more vegetables than meat. On average, people who eat less meat have lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower rates of hypertension, and are at less risk of contracting type 2 diabetes. Believe it or not, meat-free days can actually help you also contribute towards eradicating world hunger. Animals convert plant protein and energy into meat protein and energy inefficiently. It actually takes up to 1kg of grain just to produce 1kg beef. People who consume vast amounts of mean actually contribute to the consumption of a disproportionate amount of the world’s nutrients. If you are environmentally conscious, you can reduce your carbon footprint by having regular meat-free days. According to the meat-free website, there will be a mass extinction of species over the next century if current trends of meat consumption continue.
Conclusion
There are many things that you should be doing in order to increase your access to proper nutrition and quality of life. You should always make sure that you regularly monitor nutritional advice. Like everything, the advice on nutrition is regularly changing with time with new foods being introduced. You should make sure that you acquire proper nutrition as a matter of utmost importance. It will ensure that you have a quality of life, boost your health, well-being, and ultimately your overall life-expectancy.
About Ben Rose
Ben is the co-founder of TrainerAcademy.org. He is a certified personal trainer with 10+ years of experience in the fitness industry. Among other disciplines, he is an expert in sports conditioning and strength training.