Get Started Eating Healthier

Healthy eating requires planning and attention to the nutritional content of food. A typical American diet focuses heavily on animal proteins and processed foods, resulting in very real health consequences such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Start a healthy eating routine gradually, incorporating a few simple techniques first and allowing them to develop into habits. An occasional treat is fine, but strive to make healthy choices.

Step 1

Eat plant foods at every meal. Add berries to your morning cereal. Enjoy a side salad with dark greens and fresh tomatoes instead of fries with your lunch. Make two vegetables to go with dinner to increase variety and your overall intake. Eating vegetables provides you with a low-calorie way to obtain vital nutrients and disease-fighting anti-oxidants.

Step 2

Cut back on sugar. Read labels to identify added sugars---look for cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, barley malt syrup, molasses and fructose in the ingredient list. Try cutting out soda and fruit-flavored juices first, as one regular soda typically adds about eight teaspoons of sugar to your diet. Limit consumption of sugary cereals, flavored yogurts and sweet snacks--opting for plain cheerios, cottage cheese and fruit as alternatives. Work towards obtaining no more than 25 added grams of sugar a day if you are a female or 37.5 grams for men---or six and nine added teaspoons respectively---as recommended by the American Heart Association.

Step 3

Replace refined grains with whole grains. Choose cereals, pasta and crackers that list whole grains as the first ingredient. Look for these products to contain at least three grams of fiber per serving, as recommended by nutritionists at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Step 4

Avoid saturated and trans fats. Cut back on red meat and full-fat dairy to reduce your intake of saturated fat. Serve grilled chicken instead of hamburgers at your next barbecue. Choose 1 percent milk instead of whole.

Step 5

Vow to stop purchasing processed foods---particularly snack foods and fast foods---that list "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredient list. Most nutritionists, including those at the American Heart Association, the Harvard School of Public Health and the National Cancer Institute, agree that trans fats contribute to increased health problems.

Do not try to make all of these changes at once. Incorporate one or two over the course of a few months and ease into your new eating routine. Too many changes at once may overwhelm or frustrate you and cause you to give up on your commitment to healthy eating.

Article provided by Livestrong