Many people like to use the excuse that they are too busy to eat a healthy diet and maintain their good nutrition. The real truth is that healthy choices are even more important when you have a lot to do. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time to eat the right foods when you use some of the recommendations in the article below.
If you like to drink soda pop, then this one is for you. You can make your own simple fruit juice sodas by mixing 1 part of your favorite juice with 2 parts carbonated water (soda water or seltzer is fine). If it’s not sweet enough, just add a bit more juice. This tastes really good with grape, cranberry, apple, or peach juices. Lemon or lime works too, so long as you combine it with a sweet juice such as apple. By drinking this instead, you reduce the number of the calories per drink, and it has the added benefit of giving you the extra vitamins and minerals that are naturally in the fruit juice.
Vitamin B12 is an important part of a healthy diet. It plays a role in releasing energy from the fat, carbohydrates and protein that you eat. Vitamin B12 also helps in the formation of blood cells, nervous system maintenance and bone metabolism. You can find this vitamin in dairy products, eggs, fish, meat and poultry.
To improve your nutrition, you should keep track of what you eat. All food contains a certain number of calories that you should add up, to make sure you meet the amount of calories that you need everyday. Counting calories also helps you to reduce the quantity of food that you eat, if you tend to overeat.
Sometimes it is better to add things to your diet rather than remove them. If you absolutely do not have the willpower to replace all those unhealthy snack foods you eat with fruits and vegetables, eat the fruits and vegetables anyway. Slowly begin to phase the snack foods out when you feel you can.
Arrange your schedule so you can get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Adequate sleep prevents you from confusing tiredness with hunger. The sleep also gives your body the opportunity to repair itself. Getting enough sleep means you will remain calmer in times of anxiety, which helps you cut down on eating in stressful situations.
Clean out your fridge, freezer and cabinets. Toss the “bad” foods and replace with health alternatives. Keep fresh fruit and veggies on hand for snacking. Put a note on the refrigerator that says “no junk allowed” if you must. If you have kids, have a special place for any of their snacks that might tempt you.
A good nutrition tip is to try to eat more alkaline based foods and avoid acid based foods. Eating a lot of acid based foods can upset your body’s balance and make you become sick. Some good alkaline based foods are nuts, artichokes and bananas, just to name a few.
Nutrition in infants is very easy. Under the age of six months, an infant needs nothing but breast milk or formula. Once the child has reached six months old, pediatricians recommend that you introduce solid foods. This is more for acceptance than nutrition, as breast milk and formula has all the nutrition that an infant needs in the first year of life.
To add some flavor to your meals, fresh herbs are a wonderful option. You can grow them yourself in your kitchen, or you can buy them fresh from your local farmers market or grocery store. Adding herbs to your meals will add a ton of flavor to your cooking.
Be a good nutrition role model for your child and give them an early head start on eating healthy. If you like to munch on raw vegetables, your child will do the same. If you snack with a candy bar, your child learns that candy is good eating. Offer only healthy choices when it’s time for a snack.
To ensure that you always have some high-quality protein readily available, pick up some frozen boneless and skinless chicken breasts to keep in the freezer. They’re easy to defrost in a covered skillet over low heat, and you can finish cooking them in the same pan. Add some instant rice and fresh vegetables for an easy nutritious dinner.
Make sure to add foods rich in choline to your nutritional, pregnancy diet, in order to boost fetal brain development. When you are pregnant, your reserve of choline is used up quickly, so it is especially important to include eggs in your daily nutrition routine. It is important to prepare the whole egg because the choline is found in the yolk.
Eat oatmeal for breakfast. Oatmeal is a great source of fiber, protein and whole grains. It will fill you up, keep you full and help to clean the cholesterol out of your system. Oatmeal can be eaten plain, or with whole fruit added to sweeten it up.
Kabobs are a great alternative to some of the more unhealthy meals. Kabobs allow everyone to choose the meats and vegetables they want to eat. Use bright colors to increase visual attraction.
Even if your nutrition during pregnancy is nearly perfect, taking a prenatal vitamin supplement can make sure that you are getting the right amount of some very critical nutrients. Even if you think you’re getting what you need, almost all women can benefit from the folic acid and iron found in all prenatal supplements.
As you grow older, it can be more of a challenge to maintain good nutrition on a daily basis, so it is important to keep your appetite stimulated with fresh ideas. Try a new spice, read a best selling cookbook, or just wander among the colorful produce at the local farmers market to jump start new interest in eating healthy.
When your nutrition is poor, you will find that you have less energy than you need to cope with the demands of your busy day. When your nutrition is good, you will find that you have the energy you need to accomplish even more than you thought you could. Stop making excuses, and get your nutrition back on track with these practical tips.