Top 10 Healthy Eating Tips for the New Year
For many of us, the start of a new year brings the commitment to cultivate healthier eating habits. Maybe an overindulgent holiday season has left you feeling sluggish and bloated, or you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to finally lose the weight. Perhaps you have unwanted digestive symptoms, or you simply want to improve your overall health.
Whatever your reason, choosing a healthy diet will provide many benefits. Eating healthy, nutrient-dense whole-foods can improve your cardiovascular health, gut health, energy levels, sleep, memory, mood and mental health. It can also decrease your risk of disease, as well as reduce or eliminate uncomfortable digestive symptoms like bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation.
Sound good? We think so, too. To help get you started, we’ve put together our top 10 tips for healthier eating.
- Eat a balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, nuts, seafood, lean protein and healthy fats. Aim to eat mostly unprocessed foods, and limit foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt. The Mediterranean Diet is a good example of a healthy eating plan, and there are plenty of ways to keep your meals new and interesting.
- Focus on fruits and vegetables, aiming to get at least five servings a day but preferably more. Make sure you’re getting a good variety. A great way to do this is to include all of the colors: yellow, orange, red and plenty of greens. If you struggle to meet your daily goal, smoothies are a delicious way to pack more produce into your diet.
- Ditch the salt. Between processed foods, cooking with salt and adding it to the food on our plates, many Americans are consuming far too much salt. There are some great salt substitutes to help you kick the habit.
- Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated is important, and the best choice is water. If you’re craving something with flavor, there are plenty of refreshing infused-water recipes to try.
- Take a look at your portion sizes, as well as your snacking habits. Even if you are choosing healthy foods, overeating is still a problem. Paying careful attention to portion sizes and creating balanced meals are both important when it comes to building a healthy diet. A general rule of thumb is to fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, one-quarter with a healthy protein source, and one-quarter with whole-grains or starchy vegetables.
- Fill up on fiber. High-fiber foods include whole-grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Fiber helps improve gut health and keep you regular. It can also help with weight loss by keeping you fuller for longer, making it a particularly smart choice for breakfast.
- Include prebiotics and probiotics in your diet, preferably from food rather than supplements. Prebiotics (such as garlic, onion, bananas and whole-grains) help feed the good bacteria in your gut. Probiotics found in fermented foods (including yogurt, kombucha and sauerkraut) are live organisms that add to the good bacteria you already have.
- Switch out refined grains with whole-grains, which are much higher in nutrition and fiber. There is a wide variety of whole-grain options to try and plenty of delicious ways to use them.
- Get enough omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and fish and flaxseed oils. Our bodies do not produce these essential fatty acids, so it is important to include them in your diet. A good goal is to eat at least two portions of fish per week.
- Make a plan. Planning out your meals and even taking the extra step of meal prepping each week can help you stick to your healthy eating habits. Shopping only for the items you need and having easy meals ready to go throughout the week can help you avoid eating out or reaching for unhealthy snacks.
The team at GastroIntestinal Specialists, A.M.C., treats multiple conditions and diseases of the GI tract. Our Board-certified physicians have over 150 years of combined experience in providing quality care you can trust. To schedule an appointment, call (318) 631-9121 or click here.