THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK 10.6 - What should we be eating to be healthy and vibrant?
A healthy and balanced diet comprises all the essential nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, minerals, and water, that are available in the proper quantity. A balanced diet should contain 60–70% of total calories from carbohydrates, 10% from protein, and 20% of total calories from fat. However, it depends on age, genetic makeup, and one’s personal body needs, so what I eat to stay fit and healthy may not apply to everyone.
But we should know that diet is one of the major determinants of good health, so it is impossible to stay healthy without a rational food plan. In fact, a proper diet is no less than medicine that saves you from various diseases. A diet has its effects on our bodies and its influence on our minds equally.
Healthy eating increases energy, improves the way our body functions, strengthens the immune system and prevents weight imbalance. Other benefits of healthy food include our nutritional requirements.
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Bread, Indian style
A common misconception about food is that skipping food keeps you healthy, but the most important rule of healthy eating is not to skip any meals. Sometimes, skipping meals lowers your metabolism. I eat breakfast, two main meals, and snacks as needed, but my snacks are mostly fruits and vegetables. But Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I always make sure I eat it. I eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible and consume vegetable juices every day. Sometimes, I skip my lunch for fruits and salads.
Choosing healthy foods doesn’t mean one has to give up their favorite foods. I am a fitness freak, so I try my best to turn my favorite foods into healthier options. For example, I use multigrain flour instead of simple wheat or refined flour. Also, I use home-made curd instead of flavored yogurt from the market. I add chopped fruits without adding sugar to home-made curd or vegetables with a small quantity of salt.
I mostly rub the vegetables instead of peeling them because the peel contains many nutrients. I use low-salt whole foods or whole grains, reduced-fat cheese spread, low-fat cottage cheese, and lots of vegetables to make my sandwiches. Lentils are also part of my diet at least five times a week.
Sprouts and lentils are healthy and rich sources of protein, and I add them to salads, which go well with vegetables. I use olive, sunflower, and mustard oils, and stay away from hydrogenated oils, as they contain unhealthy trans fats. Let me add here that simply having low or zero fat doesn’t make food any healthier, but can prove harmful.
Your Posture is Important When You Eat
I consume enough water besides tea and coffee to keep myself hydrated. I am not a big fan of sweets, so I avoid them or limit myself to one or two servings per week. I am fond of milk and other milk products like buttermilk, in addition to at least one glass of fruit juice every day.
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Juice
Eating healthy is a way to keep your weight in balance. The main purpose of eating is to achieve "dietary quality," or the quality of the food. As they say, we eat to live or live to eat. I am of the first type, which means I eat to live and not to satisfy my taste buds.
It is more important to consider the carbohydrates we consume in our diet than the amount of carbohydrates we consume because some carbohydrates, such as vegetables (other than potatoes), fruits, whole grains, and lentils, are beneficial.
I love eating beans, which are rich in soluble fiber and perfect antioxidants. Apart from this, the amount of protein in them is more than any other leafy food, but the protein content in beans is not enough, so I eat them with rice or roti (Indian bread). By eating kidney beans, cowpeas, etc. with rice and roti (Indian bread), I get the nutrition for my body.
I am a vegetarian, so beans are a substantial source of protein for me. Sometimes I mix beans in my salads. A quarter cup of beans has the same amount of nutrition as a full serving of meat.
How to make curd at home
Yogurt is another favorite healthy food of mine. The calcium in curd is very beneficial for bones. The probiotics present in curd play an important role in providing nutrition to the body and fighting diseases. So I use curd regularly in my diet. If I'm having stuffed parathas for breakfast, I have to have some homemade curd on the side.
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Curd
I am a great fan of fruits, so by adding apples, nuts, or strawberries to a bowl of curd, its nutritional value and benefits increase manifold. Consumption of curd is helpful in relieving urinary tract infections. It adds nutrition value to your food by adding it to salads or mixing it with fruits and vegetables, for example. By the way, I am a great fan of Lassi, the curd shake with lots of ice during the summer.
All fruits and vegetables are beneficial, but green and leafy vegetables help decrease the risk of disease. I don’t much like the taste of certain vegetables, such as spinach and cabbage, but I eat them. I don’t much like eating citrus fruits, such as oranges, but I drink orange juice for its nutrient values. Mangoes, watermelon, bananas and lichis are my favorite fruits. I eat sweet limes in small quantity for its health benefit, even though it's not my favorite fruit.
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Fruits
I eat from a long list of my favorite healthy fruits and vegetables, which are part of my regular diet. They say apples are one of the best fruits for keeping doctors away, but I prefer pears and guavas, which are tastier and less expensive. I prefer all the berries available in India, but our berries differ from the popular berries available in Europe and other western countries.
Video from YouTube and header image made using all the images on this page from pixabay.
Sounds like your natural preferences run to the healthier options. It’s great that you have a taste for fruit rather than sweets and that you avoid processed foods. Sticking to a balaned diet and eating three full meals a day is also wise. I’d love the recipe for your homemade curd, you should have included it ? ❤️💕🤗
Your healthy alternative lifestyle will pay dividends as you get older. Good stuff @rayt2 🙃😊
Thanks @itsostylish so kind of you for using so nice words. I have added how to make curd at home on popular public demand 😄. But first, you need a spoonful of curd to make it. In case you have no curd to make curd at home you can put 4 green chilis (with stalk) in the milk pan that will also serve your purpose. YouTube is full of such tricks so just search and you're good to go. NOTE- You don't have to add in anything as additive but milk and a spoon of curd will do the trick.
Thank you for sharing this @rayt2 I really appreciate the healthy food shared to maintain a healthy living.
Thanks bro, I appreciate your words :)
It's a pleasure, keep up the good work.
Is healthy snacking even for real, haha!
Yes, this is so true. A lot of people I know skip their meals just to get slimmer but that indeed is very wrong and doesn't aid fitness at all.
For me yes, I always eat healthy if you think a stuffed paratha with butter and curd is healthy. Thank you. As I said, I can skip my lunch for a full plate of fruit salads and a glass of lassi :) Thank you @sugandhaseth !
I have known you to be a vegetarian and I love that because fruits and vegetables works effectively in our bodies to give us a healthy lifestyle.
Spinach has been my favorite vegetable and I love the taste too.
Thanks @princessbusayo I envy people that love eating spinach lol but yes it's one of the healthiest green for sure.
It's my pleasure 😊
It is possible for me to know vegetarians, whom I admire because fruits and vegetables function efficiently in our bodies to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Your preference for fruits over sweets and your avoidance of processed foods are both commendable traits.
Thanks, I belong to a vegetarian family so there :)
You are right. Eating beans is truly good and healthy. I love beans as it contains protein. Eating fruits and making your food with vegetable is the best as well.