Secrets of Healthy Living

More than ever before, people are now striving to live longer and stay healthier. The secrets of healthy living are hidden gems, which are presented in the following content. If you are desirous to stay healthier, be advised to make sure that the food you eat is healthy. It's important to combine food types to create a well balanced diet. As we learn to understand how the food that we eat interacts in our body, the better we can decide, as on what to keep in our daily diet to stay healthier.

The food we take can be broadly classified as:

Alkaline and Acidic

Acidic environment favors development of harmful bacteria, while the alkaline environment potentiates the development of good ones. Food that we typically take is 70% acidic and 30% alkaline, which in fact should be opposite for a healthy living. As the human body is Alkaline in nature so; it has to maintain slightly alkaline plasma. The insufficient intake of alkaline food compels body to restore balance by extracting calcium from bones and other places like teeth. Furthermore, the deficiency of Vitamin D due to lack of sunlight and animal food are the main reasons for continual increase in Dental diseases, fragile bones and Arthritis.

Hence, the nutritious food includes 70%alkaline and 30% acidic food. A few points should also be taken care of for a healthy living:

-        The intake of Fats and oils should not exceed 10-15 ml per day (that is; 3 tea spoons) 

-        Increased intake of organic food, whilst the carbohydrate based foods should be minimized as much as possible

-        Avoid sugar and salt

-        Drink lots of water

-        Use mouthwash at night to avoid dental problems

Vegetables and Fruits

These should be the major portion of the food you eat each day. These are very rich in nutrients and would give your body the essential minerals and vitamins it requires. It doesn't make any difference if they are fresh or frozen. The only fact that they are eaten is more than enough. Eating salad regularly is one of the best ways to consume these. An olive oil dressing mixed with lemon and some pepper can make them taste even better. For instance, following should be eaten;

- Green leafy vegetables: for example spinach, cabbage & cauliflower

- Red color vegetables: for example tomato, carrots, beetroot and reddish

- Seasonal Fruits: including bananas, berries, mango, apple, grapes, oranges and so on

Cereals

Dieticians recommend that cereals should make up one third of your daily food intake. Generally, people have misconceptions about this group. Therefore, they consciously avoid eating rice or starchy foods with a mindset that these will increase their waist line. However, this is poor set of information that is prevalent and should be corrected.

Actually cereals contain essential carbohydrates that work wonders. The only thing you have to keep an eye on is the quantity. The bread that people normally think increases weight actually gives them wholesome nutrients required by the body. However, the extra spoon of jam or butter can produce negative effects. Controlling the amount of whatever one takes is another step towards a healthy diet.

The noteworthy examples of cereals good for health include;

- Rice & breakfast cereals

- Whole meal multigrain fresh bread and noodles

- Sweet potatoes, beans and lentils

Dairy products

These are very important in the daily diet. They do contain lots of fats, but still hold great importance. In this regard, the low fat versions of foods like skimmed milk, reduced fat cheese and low fat yoghurt are healthier choices.

Sweets

Anyone can do well if consume these items in moderation. Despite the fact that these foods are almost everyone's favorite, these must be avoided to ensure healthy living. This doesn't mean to completely give up eating them forever; in fact simply decrease the frequency of intake from everyday to once in two a week period or month. Some common examples of these foodies are;

- Fried food

- Chocolates & candies

- Cakes and cookies

- Creams, drinks and soda pop etc.

Meat

Meat is undoubtedly rich in proteins and vital for our body. They should be eaten as a part of diet but in moderation. The good part of it is that you can remove the fat in the meat quite easily. One should take fish at least twice a week and be assured that you eat different kind of fish every time. Some of the examples of healthy meat include; White meat, in which chicken without skin should be used.

Along with a healthy diet, exercise is also an essential part of a healthy living. It is said that one-third of body toxins are removed by sweating only, which would otherwise will have heavy burden on Liver and Kidney.