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Spring is on the way, and now is a good time to start building healthy eating habits during National Nutrition Month in March.
“What we eat may play a small role in one condition or a bigger role in another, but the overall message has been that choosing healthier foods and drinks is one of the best things we can do for our health,” said Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “This not only can help us live longer; it also can help lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, dementia and cancer, among other serious conditions. Healthy eating can also help us keep weight gain in control, which brings many additional benefits.”
He recommends several commonsense steps to promoting a healthy diet.
READ: Why unhealthy food is cheap and plentiful
• Choose more fruits and vegetables. Make fruits or vegetables a part of every meal. Although fresh options are great, frozen and many canned versions are good choices too, as long as they’re low in sodium and unsweetened.
• Choose more whole grains. A lot of nutrients, and health benefits, get stripped from whole grains when they’re processed for foods such as white rice and white bread. Try to choose 100 percent whole-wheat bread, whole-grain pasta, oatmeal and other foods labeled “whole-grain” or “100 percent whole grain.”
• Choose healthy drinks. Opt for healthy options to stay hydrated, including unsweetened tea and coffee, fizzy water or plain water flavored with a splash of lime juice. Sugary beverages and health risks are linked to weight gain and obesity. Many specialty coffee drinks can have a lot of calories and added sugar.
• Choose more healthy fats and oils. Instead of cooking with butter, lard or other oils high in saturated fats, choose options such as canola and olive oils, which are higher in healthy unsaturated fats.
• Limit fast food and other processed foods. Although convenient, fast food and processed foods typically ae high in calories, salt and unhealthy fats. Cutting back is the healthiest choice.
• Limit red and processed meats. Choosing healthier protein options such as chicken, fish, beans and nuts, is healthier than picking red and processed meats.
• Limit alcohol — zero is best. Alcohol has a lot of risks, including increasing the chances of developing several cancers. So, not drinking alcohol is the healthiest choice overall. Alcohol-free alternatives and other drinks can be good alternatives to try.
“Small changes to one or two areas can make a difference, and we can build from there,” Colditz said. “It’s not a race; it’s a step-by-step journey, fueled with healthy food.”
