5 Things You Can Add to Your Diet for A Healthy Lifestyle
Your diet plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The basic premise is that a diet that includes fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds can improve our immunity against many chronic illnesses. However, given our busy lifestyles, making drastic changes to our diets may seem overwhelming. Instead of making drastic changes, you can begin with some incremental changes in diet.
There are several simple hacks and tweaks that we can incorporate into our diet to maintain optimum health. We will discuss five things or changes that you can follow in your diet for a healthier lifestyle.
5 Things You Can Add to Your Diet for A Healthy Lifestyle:
1. Eat slowly
We all tend to eat faster than usual due to looming work deadlines or when we have to attend a meeting very soon. But you’re eating pace decides how much you consume and the probability of gaining weight. Studies show that people who eat faster are more likely to consume more food. Also, they are more likely to have a high body mass index (BMI) when compared to slow eaters. Your hormones control your appetite and food intake since they are responsible for feelings of fullness.
Such Hormones tend to communicate all this information to your brain. It takes around 20 minutes to relay these messages to the brain. Hence, if you eat slowly, you may help your brain get more time to decide whether you are full or hungry. Moreover, Other Studies have proven that eating at a slower pace makes you consume fewer calories and helps you to reduce your weight. So, you need to slow down your eating pace and chew your food well enough as part of your meal routines.
2. Increase protein intake
Protein constitutes an essential part of our diet. Studies show that protein can affect satiety and hunger hormones. In fact, it is perceived as the most filling macronutrient. Furthermore, some studies have pointed out that eating a high protein meal helps to reduce the levels of ghrelin – the hunger hormone more effectively than a carbohydrate-rich meal in obese people.
Moreover, some studies show that protein can help you preserve muscle mass and also help you burn slightly more calories each day. So, if you plan to lose weight, aim to incorporate protein in some form into your meals. You will feel fuller for longer durations. Also, protein intake will prevent you from overeating while curbing cravings. So, include eggs, lean meats, dairy products, and nuts as protein sources in your daily diet.
3. Roast or bake your food
Your method of food preparation can vastly affect your health. You might be frying, grilling, or deep frying your meats and seafood. However, such methods release harmful toxic compounds. These compounds have been linked to potentially serious health ailments like heart disease and cancer.
In hindsight, baking, stewing, poaching, and simmering are healthy ways of cooking food. Such cooking methods do not promote the release of harmful toxins and produce healthy food. Although you might be tempted to deep fry your food to make it more palatable, we recommend that you use such cooking modes sparingly.
4. Consider therapeutic herbs
CBD or cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive compound derived from the Hemp (Cannabis sativa) plants. It is increasingly used by the pharma and medical community as a panacea to treat pain, mood, and sleep disorders. Furthermore, the WHO mentions that CBD does not display any potential dependence or abuse. Hence, this herb can also be incorporated into your diet to improve your lifestyle.
You might just feel like unwinding after a long hard day at work. Also, sometimes anxiety may not allow you to sleep well at night. In such instances, instead of reaching for sleeping pills, you can try taking CBD vape juice. Simply add CBD oil to your tea or use it as CBD gummies. However, we recommend you consult trusted CBD retailer like CBD Genesis.
Take vitamin D and omega-3 supplements
It’s been observed that many people are vitamin D deficient. Studies have shown that low vitamin D levels can cause medical and mental health issues like depression. In fact, around 1 billion people worldwide are lacking in this sunshine vitamin. This fat-soluble nutrient helps maintain your bone health and your immune function. Although sparsely found in food, vitamin D is found abundantly in fatty seafood.
Omega-3 fatty acids are another set of nutrients commonly lacking in the general population. Studies show that these nutrients help reduce inflammation while maintaining cardiac health and optimum brain function.
On the contrary, omega-6 fatty acids, which increase inflammation and cause many chronic diseases, have been found in high amounts in the typical Western diet. If you find it cumbersome to consume seafood regularly, consider taking vitamin D and omega-3 supplements. Today, vitamin D and omega-3 can be found together in many supplements.
The Bottom Line
Diet is the cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. These diet-related tips can surely help you to lead a healthy lifestyle. Be well-informed and more aware of your food choices. Also, you can consult a certified dietician or a healthcare professional for diet-related queries.
