Healthy food: what it means to eat healthy and what is the right diet to live well

 Eating healthy food is not a sacrifice, but the most concrete way to help your body live healthily. Following a healthy diet should not be a penance, but a way of approaching life and loving yourself: the benefits of a healthy diet are enormous for both the body and the mind.

Eating healthy food is a way of life

Eating healthy food is a habit that can offer many benefits in terms of beauty and health and also mental health: mens sana in corpore sano the Ancient Romans already said! By ‘healthy eating’ we mean in short the habit of eating in a balanced, clean and healthy way.

It is one of the first steps towards a correct lifestyle, which must start from the mind. First of all:

• Learn to appreciate natural and simple food , at the expense of overly elaborate and fatty dishes, fresh fruit, organic flour
• Start researching everything that is wholemeal : rice, rod, bread, and whole grains
• Adopt a healthy attitude towards food and eat only for sustenance and not out of boredom, compensation or stress.
• Practicing physical activity that is complementary to a healthy diet and helps keep your body and mind in shape.
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  Nutritional balance and healthy food 

  What is nutritional balance? It is a parameter that evaluates the quantities and proportions of nutritional values ​​that must be taken in the diet: only by eating healthy is it possible to maintain the nutritional balance.

  The body is a perfect machine and to keep it that way it needs to take a certain amount of nutritional values that determine the so-called real need, calculated on the basis of age, sex, type of musculature and the type of life that takes place. , but also of metabolic predispositions, of any hereditary pathologies …

  Nutritional components to take 

  We list the nutrients and nutritional components of an average individual, with average daily physical activity and healthy.

• Water : in addition to that contained in food, an average of another 2 liters must be taken
• Lipids : cholesterol is part of lipids and a maximum of 300 / m2 per day must be taken
• Carbohydrates : the function of carbohydrates is to provide energy to the body, they also play a very important role for the functionality and structure of cells, tissues and organs.
• Proteins : important for the metabolism above all they must be taken during the growth period. As adults, the organism requires only what is necessary to compensate for the losses.
• Vitamins . They are many and varied: folic acid, vitamin AB-B1-CD. They are all needed by our body and to introduce them all the diet must be varied.
• Mineral salts . The deficiency of iodine, iron and calcium is very common while sodium is often taken in excess if we think that it is already present in foods in sufficient quantity for our body.
• Dietary fiber : it is essential for the health of the intestine and to modulate nutritional absorption because taking fiber gives a sense of satiety. It takes about 30g of fiber per day.
• Antioxidants are used to fight oxidative stress and reduce the risk of metabolic diseases.
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  How to choose healthy food

  At the heart of a healthy life is a healthy diet: eating healthy food promotes both performance and general well-being and allows the body to avoid many diseases.

• Dietary needs differ from person to person: they depend on age, how much sport is practiced, on the state of health… so it is difficult to recommend healthy food for all categories. But these are the sure bases from which to start to follow a healthy diet.

  Get the right carbohydrates

  Carbohydrates can be as simple as sugar and white flour or as complex as whole flours and grains.

  • Simple carbohydrates are assimilated quickly and should therefore be consumed in moderation.
  • Complex carbohydrates such as wholemeal flour , vegetables, oats, and unprocessed grains such as brown rice are digested more slowly. These foods are usually richer in vitamins and other nutrients useful for the body, and contain more fiber (which helps the digestive system to function properly).

  Take leafy vegetables

  Like cabbage, lettuce, mustard leaves, and Swiss chard. They are full of nutrients that fill you quickly.

  Eat lean proteins

  Protein helps muscle development and provides energy throughout the day: between 10 and 35% of daily calories are consumed through protein. Lean proteins include healthy foods such as:

  • lean fish
  • poultry and white meats,
  • dried fruit such as cashews .

  Choose good fats

  There are good fats and bad fats. For the proper functioning of the body, fats must be taken, in particular:

• monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids that help lower the level of bad cholesterol in the body, increasing the good one and reducing the risk of heart disease. We find them in olive oil, nuts, fish oil, some seed oils.

• What are the healthy foods with excellent properties

  There are really special foods for our health: they have the potential to fight heart disease, ward off cancer, reduce cholesterol levels and even improve your mood.

  What are these very very healthy foods?

  • Algae : not everyone likes them, but algae are rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids, as well as being beneficial for the intestinal flora.
  • Blueberries: Improve brain health. If they are not available in your area, try different berries, such as fresh raspberries.
  • Cranberries . This red berry contains quercetin, a natural anticarcinogen. It is low in sugar and is a good source of vitamin C, which is essential for bone health and the prevention of scurvy.
  • Salmon : High in omega-3 fatty acids, a type of healthy fat. Omega-3 fats are beneficial for blood pressure, brain function, and heart health.

  What foods not to eat 

  • Fizzy drinks , diet sodas, packaged fruit juices and anything that contains artificial sweeteners.
  • Fast food food . It is harmful to health because it often tends to be preserved, fried and excessively salty. Most of the fat in these foods is hydrogenated fat which is very bad for you.
  • Salt . Salt is useful for the human body: but the food we ingest already contains the necessary quantity. So the habit of salting dishes is unhealthy: excessive amounts of salt can cause high blood pressure, osteoporosis and stomach acid. It is therefore advisable to moderate the use of salt in moderation and choose foods that have the words low in sodium .
  • Saturated and hydrogenated fats . Hydrogenated fats are a type of unsaturated fat commonly found in processed foods, the consumption of which can increase the risk of heart disease. Choose foods where it does not appear hydrogenated in the ingredients list.

  Is wine a healthy food? 

  Drinking a glass of red wine (or beer) during meals is not bad for adults, on the contrary it offers numerous beneficial effects on health: it increases memory functions, reduces bacterial infections and boosts estrogen levels.

  However, if the quantities increase and exceed 2 glasses a day, it becomes harmful to health. Red wine contains a polyphenol called resveratrol which is thought to have beneficial properties on the heart.

  It works by improving the function of the blood vessels in the heart and helps reduce the amount of bad cholesterol .