10 tips for healthy diet: guideline for acquiring good eating habits

Most people are very much aware of which food products are healthy and which ones are not. Nevertheless, the essence of a healthy diet is not limited to selecting «right» foodstuff. Nutritionists insist unanimously that it is important to develop habits of healthy eating. In other words, let’s talk about how to eat instead of discussing what to eat.

Hunger rules it

Digestion involves large amounts of energy and the body should be ready to accept food. Hunger is a natural signal for this. So don’t take food before you feel really hungry since eating without esuriency overloads stomach and promotes formation of fat deposit.

Chew it really well

One of the most important principles of healthy eating is thorough chewing. It helps your digestive system to process food since chewing provides both mechanical disintegration and initial breakdown of amylum and partly proteins.

Your food just has to be tasty

Tasteless food is poorly absorbed, because synthesis of many digestive enzymes is managed by the tongue (or rather its receptors). However, if you are really hungry, only bad food may seem tasteless for you. Even simple but fresh healthy products are perceived as delicious by a starving person.

All in good time

Are you permitted to eat after 6 p.m.? Of course, you are and you can have a meal even at 10 p.m. if you go to bed at midnight (maybe, you are a late sleeper). It is recommended to eat 2-3 hours before bedtime and you are free to adopt this rule to your day’s route. Take meal 3-5 times during a day but try not to snack between meals allowing your stomach to rest. However, you can eat some fruits or drink juice half an hour prior to meals, but at intervals it is desirable to drink only water.

A little more about the water

It is not recommended to drink a lot just before, during and after meals. Generally, your saliva should be enough for comfortable food processing, but if a meal is dried, you can wash it down with a small amount of water. Water or herbal tea may be a part of a meal, but after eating it is desirable to refrain from drinking at least for an hour. Altogether, you should drink at least 2-3 liters (including hidden water in fruits, vegetables and other foods). It is useful to drink a glass of water in the morning (just after waking up), in the evening (before going to bed) and half an hour prior to each meal.

Diversity is welcomed

It is recommended to very food products during a day and a week. Monodiets based on a particular product is usually used only for a limited time in the course of treatment or for fast weight loss. Yet, after the body becomes accustomed to healthy diet, it will «suggest» what products it really needs.

Rules for healthy cooking

There are several rules you should adopt for healthy cooking. First, try to cook dishes in such an amount to eat everything at a time. Re-warmed dishes taken from a fridge lose a good portion of their nutritional value, but save calories. Avoid fried foods since they are digested badly, irritate stomach and intestinal tract, overload liver and kidneys. The most appropriate ways to cook healthy products are to boil them in water, to steam or to cook in the oven. And remember that if you are in a good mood while cooking and eating, food seems tastier and it is really healthier.

Attention to temperature

Nutritionists advise to avoid contrasting temperatures in one meal (for example, cold soup and hot cereal, hot coffee with ice cream, etc.). In fact, food is equally harmful when it is very cold and very hot. It is believed that cold food should be a room temperature and hot food should not burn lips and mouth.

Choosing healthy products

You know that vegetables and fruits are very useful but keep in mind that it is recommended to give preference to seasonal vegetables and fruits of your own locality. And although in practice it is rather difficult to provide a variety of seasonal vegetables and fruits (especially in winter), it is better not to overuse exotic foods and delicacies of the season.

After eating

It is believed that after meal the stomach should be half-empty. Of course, it is difficult to measure the amount of food in stomach, but indeed you should not overeat. To avoid overeating ask yourself if you want to eat a slice of stale bread. If your answer is «no», then you can get out the table despite the desire to eat anything else. After eating it is undesirable to immediately start working especially if it is physical work. You should rest for 20-30 minutes, but certainly not lying or sleeping because while you sleep digestive process slows down. The perfect way of rest is to sit calmly in the fresh air, read a newspaper or magazine, watch TV or choose any other easy thing to do which does not require much physical and mental effort. Do not smoke and take water procedures after a meal!