Our health is directly related to what we eat; the old saying, you are what you eat is true to a great degree. Many diseases are caused by poor eating habits and the obesity it often causes. Heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and even some types of cancer can be caused be eating the wrong food or highly processed foods that lack nutrition.
Poor eating habits start from childhood and can be caused by parents not taking enough time to find out what is the right way to eat for health. And often when both parents have to work it is an easy choice to purchase fast foods or foods that come out of a packet. Even foods from the freezer section of the supermarket are not as healthy as natural foods, especially if they are processed and pre-cooked.
What are the healthiest foods?
Food that looks as close to nature as possible is the healthiest. Fresh fruit and vegetables that are steamed quickly and lightly without any additives such as salt or fats are good. Raw vegetables are also very healthy in most cases, although some are difficult to digest. However, they can be grated to make it a bit easier on the teeth and digestion. Some vegetables should not be eaten raw. Potatoes may not be clean enough to eat raw and if they have any green flesh on them it should be avoided as it contains a poison when not cooked.
Fresh meat in moderation is also a healthy choice so long as it is not too fatty or cooked in vegetable oils. While many think vegetable oils are much healthier than lard – the old fashioned cooking fat – in actual fact, when they are heated up enough to fry meat they turn into the bad fats. Olive oil and coconut oil can withstand a higher temperature range without turning into bad fats, so it is preferable to use them for cooking meat.
Salads are particularly healthy when they consist of salad foods in their natural state. Adding coleslaw, potato salad or pasta salad adds unhealthy elements, although most people can eat such foods in moderation without any ill effects.
Of course there are many tasty foods that we all eat even though they are not very good for us. Ice-cream, custard even canned fruit have a great deal of sugar and preservatives in them, but they are okay if you don’t eat them all the time and if you keep your portions small.
When you choose the nutritious foods that nature provides over processed and packet foods you’ll be a great deal healthier and very likely will find losing weight much easier. Many such foods have in them the answer to preventing diseases such as cancer and arthritis.
