Over the next three weeks we are going to be taking a look at the three pillars to a healthy life. These pillars are a healthy, well balanced diet, getting good exercise, and finally, a healthy mind. So to start with, this week we are going to take a look at what a healthy diet is and what you can do to help incorporate this into your daily life.
So often we diet in order to lose weight and not because we want to live a healthier life. Our diet is one of our main tools to achieving a healthy lifestyle and if we bring a healthy diet into our daily life we will find that weight-loss will naturally follow. Having said this, if you are sticking to a specific diet in order to lose weight, good health does not necessarily always follow. We are all unique in our body shape and size and so by eating a healthy diet we will allow our bodies to find their natural and most healthy states.
A great way to start making your diet a more healthy one is to introduce lots of raw or partially cooked vegetables. Rotate your foods by bringing lots of vegetables in a variety of different colours into your meal plans as the different colours all have different benefits for you and your body.
Fruit is another great asset as it is generally high in fibre which is very helpful in the digestive process. It is good to know that when we juice fruits we lose that fibre content. So while we will still get a lot of the benefits that they have to offer we do lose out on some of the benefits. It is also worth mentioning that certain fruits may not mix well with other fruits when we make them into smoothies. We have a great resource on our website called the “Smoothie Builder” which will help you make better sense of which fruits will mix well together and which fruits you should try to avoid combining.
Another great step we can take to help us get the most out of our diet is to try and introduce some raw foods into your meal before you eat your main cooked dish. This can be something as simple a salad for starters as it helps activate your digestive system in a more gentle way.
Carbohydrates have received a terrible reputation in recent times and while they are not great to be consuming in large quantities they do still hold a lot of value in a healthy diet. Look at consuming things such as brown rice, sweet potatoes and butternut as some good carbs to be including in your diet.
Proteins are equally important to be included into your meals. This can be achieved through the obvious means of eating meats but it is not limited only to meats. Good sauces are also a great way to include proteins into your diet, even certain legumes and of course our favourites, bone broth and collagen, are sure ways to get good quality protein into your meals.
Finally, do not neglect the fats. Fats are really important and something you should be trying to include into your diet on a daily basis. Things like avo’s, olives, olive oil, a variety of nut oils and nut butters are all great fats with massive benefits and are really simple and easy to include into your diet. Even something as simple as a good quality farm produced butter holds health benefits when used in moderation.
Healthy living and a healthy diet is so much more than following one certain regime, but with a little time, effort and listening to your body you will be pleasantly surprised at the many benefits you will enjoy by converting to a healthy lifestyle.
