Tips for Eating a Vitamin-Rich Diet
If you're looking to improve your overall health and well-being, then your diet is a great place to start changing things up.
Many people who are interested in their health and nutrition focus on eating a balanced diet that includes all the major food groups. But there's more to a healthy diet than just adding up your servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats.
There are nutrients that your body needs in order to function properly: vitamins and minerals that can keep your brain sharp, counteract the effects of aging, and lower your rick of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. You will want to make sure that you're getting enough of these important nutrients in your daily life.
Many people turns to supplements to help them achieve this. This is a helpful approach, but it is even better for you to start consuming more vitamin- and mineral-rich foods in your daily meals.
Here are some ways you can improve your diet.
Make sure your foods are colorful.
Color often indicates the nutrient content of fruits and vegetables. Many fruits of red and reddish orange include the phytonutrient lycopene, which is a strong antioxidant that may also reduce bad cholesterol. Dark leafy greens provide plentiful amounts of vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron, folate, fiber, and potassium. And yellow and orange food often offer carotenoids and bioflavonoids among other nutrients.
Obviously, there are many more nutrients in individual foods, and some foods—considered superfoods—pack an especially powerful punch of vitamins and minerals. However, eating foods of many colors is a helpfully simple way to take an inventory of the nutritional value of your diet.
Focus on plant-based foods.
Meat and dairy have significant roles in many dishes around the world. Certainly, they flavor meals and offer easily accessible protein. However, they easily take up more space in our diets than they are worth. Putting a greater emphasis on plants-based food will increase your nutritional intake and lower your chances of cancer and heart disease.
It is especially important to limit your consumption of salted and preserved meats, like jerky, hot dogs, salami, ham, and sausages. Their negative effects certainly outweigh the protein they offer. And there are plenty of delicious sources of protein from plants: soy, quinoa, beans and lentils, algae, and the list goes on.
If choosing processed foods, look for fortified ones.
Processed foods are of course very convenient and widely available in the developed world. They are not, however, good sources of nutrition. Often, they are full of empty calories and rely strongly on sugar and salt.
Because they are easily available and appealing. However, it’s easy to resort to them when you have a craving or have nothing else prepared. So, if you find yourself getting a yen for some mainstream cereals or other processed foods, you should at least look for ones that are fortified with vitamins and minerals that will add something of value to the occasional indulgence.
Make meal prep as easy as possible.
Often, we choose junk food or processed foods because they’re easy when we’re short on time or energy. So, if you are concerned about your diet, it’s important to make it easier for yourself by preparing healthy meals in advance.
If you know that you will be busy over the weekend, cook a little extra stir-fry on Friday that can be easily reheated. Or you can make meals with leftovers that will contribute well to other meals: such as salmon that can later add protein to a salad, beans that could become the basis of a soup, or sauteed tofu that can enrich a curry.
It’s also useful to collect easy recipes with simple but nutritious ingredients, so that you’re never short of options. Have dishes that require cooking and some that are best cold, and be sure to keep healthy snacks on hand. Experiment with enjoying some delicious smoothies for breakfast!
Seek variety.
It’s easy to fall into a routine, eating the same meals again and again. However, while using your leftovers is key to a healthy lifestyle, you do not want to make the same meals every week.
It is best for both your digestive system and your body overall to include variety in your diet. So, think about that when you do your shopping each week. You could even let what fruits and vegetables are on sale lead the way. Then, you’ll be saving money and eating a diverse diet.
At Natura.Punkt, we know how hard it is to keep things both healthy and easy. So, we design our snacks and protein powders around bringing nutrients into your life easily. You can find granolas, snack bars, and more to keep on hand and easily reach for when you (or your kid) is hungry.
Many people who are interested in their health and nutrition focus on eating a balanced diet that includes all the major food groups. But there's more to a healthy diet than just adding up your servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats.
There are nutrients that your body needs in order to function properly: vitamins and minerals that can keep your brain sharp, counteract the effects of aging, and lower your rick of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. You will want to make sure that you're getting enough of these important nutrients in your daily life.
Many people turns to supplements to help them achieve this. This is a helpful approach, but it is even better for you to start consuming more vitamin- and mineral-rich foods in your daily meals.
Here are some ways you can improve your diet.
Make sure your foods are colorful.
Color often indicates the nutrient content of fruits and vegetables. Many fruits of red and reddish orange include the phytonutrient lycopene, which is a strong antioxidant that may also reduce bad cholesterol. Dark leafy greens provide plentiful amounts of vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron, folate, fiber, and potassium. And yellow and orange food often offer carotenoids and bioflavonoids among other nutrients.
Obviously, there are many more nutrients in individual foods, and some foods—considered superfoods—pack an especially powerful punch of vitamins and minerals. However, eating foods of many colors is a helpfully simple way to take an inventory of the nutritional value of your diet.
Focus on plant-based foods.
Meat and dairy have significant roles in many dishes around the world. Certainly, they flavor meals and offer easily accessible protein. However, they easily take up more space in our diets than they are worth. Putting a greater emphasis on plants-based food will increase your nutritional intake and lower your chances of cancer and heart disease.
It is especially important to limit your consumption of salted and preserved meats, like jerky, hot dogs, salami, ham, and sausages. Their negative effects certainly outweigh the protein they offer. And there are plenty of delicious sources of protein from plants: soy, quinoa, beans and lentils, algae, and the list goes on.
If choosing processed foods, look for fortified ones.
Processed foods are of course very convenient and widely available in the developed world. They are not, however, good sources of nutrition. Often, they are full of empty calories and rely strongly on sugar and salt.
Because they are easily available and appealing. However, it’s easy to resort to them when you have a craving or have nothing else prepared. So, if you find yourself getting a yen for some mainstream cereals or other processed foods, you should at least look for ones that are fortified with vitamins and minerals that will add something of value to the occasional indulgence.
Make meal prep as easy as possible.
Often, we choose junk food or processed foods because they’re easy when we’re short on time or energy. So, if you are concerned about your diet, it’s important to make it easier for yourself by preparing healthy meals in advance.
If you know that you will be busy over the weekend, cook a little extra stir-fry on Friday that can be easily reheated. Or you can make meals with leftovers that will contribute well to other meals: such as salmon that can later add protein to a salad, beans that could become the basis of a soup, or sauteed tofu that can enrich a curry.
It’s also useful to collect easy recipes with simple but nutritious ingredients, so that you’re never short of options. Have dishes that require cooking and some that are best cold, and be sure to keep healthy snacks on hand. Experiment with enjoying some delicious smoothies for breakfast!
Seek variety.
It’s easy to fall into a routine, eating the same meals again and again. However, while using your leftovers is key to a healthy lifestyle, you do not want to make the same meals every week.
It is best for both your digestive system and your body overall to include variety in your diet. So, think about that when you do your shopping each week. You could even let what fruits and vegetables are on sale lead the way. Then, you’ll be saving money and eating a diverse diet.
At Natura.Punkt, we know how hard it is to keep things both healthy and easy. So, we design our snacks and protein powders around bringing nutrients into your life easily. You can find granolas, snack bars, and more to keep on hand and easily reach for when you (or your kid) is hungry.