Knowing What Foods Are Healthy
The question of what foods are healthy can often be quite a difficult one to answer. The research often seems to be in conflict, The studies that say a particular food is great for you one day often turn around and warn against that very food the next day. Sorting through all this clutter to find the real deal on nutrition and what foods are healthy can be difficult.
Dietary fads seem to come and go on an alarmingly regular basis as well. The low fiber high fat diets of yesterday give way to low fat low protein diets, and the wheel just keeps rolling, with too little thought given to what foods are healthy.
Understanding Your Current Diet
When evaluating your own diet, it is important to take a couple of steps back and evaluate your own health, including what you want to get out of your diet. Knowing your own tastes and preferences, in addition to knowing which foods are healthy, will help you create a diet you can stick to for the rest of your life.
When choosing what foods are healthy, it is essential that you choose foods you actually like. If you choose a list of healthy foods you hate, you will obviously have trouble sticking to your diet long term, and your overall health and fitness level will suffer as a result. It is best to choose from the long list of healthy foods you already like, and to incorporate them into your diet for maximum benefit.
The Importance Of Fruits And Vegetables In The Diet
Among the healthiest of all foods are fruits and vegetables. There is a good reason that fruits and vegetables make up such a large part of the government's new food pyramid. The new government guidelines recommend that everyone eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, but unfortunately most people fall far short of this important goal. It is important, however, to incorporate as many fruits and vegetables into your diet as you possibly can.
Eating fruits and vegetables does not mean you are limited to simply eating pieces of fruit and raw carrots all day. When choosing what foods are healthy, it is just as important to prepare them in new and interesting ways. You can add fresh fruits to your favorite energy drink or smoothie, for instance, top your yogurt with strawberries or enjoy a sliced banana with your morning cereal.
Learn To Think Long Term
This kind of variety is vital to the long term success of any diet. It is not enough to simply know what foods are healthy. It is vital to use that knowledge to create healthy meals that you and your family will love.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, of course, there are a wide variety of foods that are good for the body. These excellent foods include whole grains, including whole wheat bread and crackers, low fat meats, chicken, turkey and other poultry products and fresh fish. There are so many answers to the question of what foods are healthy that the hardest part may be choosing among them.
About Nutrition
| February Is American Heart Month |
 Have you taken care of your heart today? Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest killer in the United States and February is American Heart Month. Every year since 1963, the president of the United States declares February to be American Heart Month in order to draw more attention to cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.
Part of taking care of your heart includes eating healthy foods and watching your weight. Foods For Heart Health Daily Nutrition TipImage © Marcela Barsse February Is American Heart Month originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 11:01:51. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Vitamin D In the Winter |
 is a popular vitamin right now - it seems there's news about vitamin D research every week. Your body needs vitamin D in order to absorb calcium and various research studies have linked deficiencies with several health conditions. You don't usually get much vitamin D from the foods you eat, although milk is usually fortified with it, you're body makes vitamin D after your skin is exposed to sunlight.
Those of us who live north of a line drawn on a map from the northern border of California in the west to Boston in the east can't even get vitamin D from the sun during the winter months because the sun's rays just aren't strong enough to give us the UV exposure we need. So it's a good idea to take vitamin D supplements during the winter (or any time of the year if you avoid sun exposure). Image © Chris Chidsey Vitamin D In the Winter originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 10:45:43. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Omega-3 Fats |
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I know fats can be confusing; which ones are bad and how bad are they? And which ones are good? One of the good fats is called omega-3 fat, and you're probably not getting enough of it in your diet.
The omega-3 fats are good for us because they'll help to keep our hearts and blood vessels healthy and resent research suggests they may even help us live longer.
Read More
Image © Linnea Paulson Omega-3 Fats originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 10:36:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Favorite Nutrition Cell Phone Applications? |
 My son and I are in the middle of a continuous argument about who's phone is the superior one - he has a iPhone and I have an Android phone. Both phones have tons of applications, including some that will help find healthy recipes, track your calories or offer suggestions to your menu plans. So far I haven't found any diet or nutrition apps that I just can't live without, but I'm having fun trying many of them. Today I'm looking at GoodFoodNearYou, an application that helps you find food within a few miles of wherever you and your phone happen to be. Not sure how much use I'll have for it, but we'll see. Do you have any favorite diet or fitness apps for your phone? If so, let me know. Image © Redd Room Studios Favorite Nutrition Cell Phone Applications? originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 14:25:29. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Potatoes and Your Health |
Did you drop potatoes from your menu back when they became the carbohydrate villains of the low-carb diet fad? That's really a shame, because when you prepare them properly, they're very good for you.  Potatoes are good for your health because they contain fiber, vitamins B6 and C, lots of potassium, plus phytochemicals that help keep your blood pressure normal. Potatoes are also low in calories. Visit Potato Goodness from the US Potato Board for lots of tips and recipe ideas to help you add this healthy vegetable back into your diet. Heart Health - Potatoes and Potassium
Photo © US Potato Board Potatoes and Your Health originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 10:07:29. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
Most of us probably need more than what we're getting from our diets, but you can add more omega-3 fats when you eat fish, flax, canola oil, walnuts, soy and pumpkin seeds. Or you can take them in supplement form (and they're sneaking into many food products as a nutritional ingredient).