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By Maria Faller |
In honor of March being National Nutrition Month, let’s talk about nutrition!
There’s so much conflicting information on what healthy nutrition means. The information we receive on a daily basis is endless. We are bombarded on social media with posts and advertisements on what proper nutrition means. We get different information from our medical doctors, the nightly news and our fitness trainers. So how do we know that what we are doing is actually healthy for us? Start with listening to your body. How do certain foods make you feel? Are you gaining too much weight or lacking energy? Is your blood pressure stable? How are your sugar and cholesterol levels?
While it can be challenging to determine where to begin, I always recommend consulting with a medical professional regarding your health. Get the proper blood work and testing done to see what your health status looks like.
In the interim, here are my five simple yet significant nutrition hacks you can start utilizing.
1. Don’t believe the hype
If you see a supplement, drink or pill that claims it is super healthy, extra nutritious, hyper infused with vitamins, all natural, and will cause extreme weight loss, I suggest you research it immediately before trying it. Chances are it is high in sodium or sugar, may contain high doses of caffeine and various herbs or ingredients that can harm you.
2. Keep it PG
If you’re out eating and you can’t figure out what is your healthiest option just keep it PG – Proteins and Greens. Choose lean proteins such as chicken breast, cod, egg whites or turkey and add lots of green veggies like celery, spinach, broccoli, string beans and peppers.
3. Think outside the box
If your favorite foods happen to come in a box, chances are they are filled with preservatives, sugars, sodium and other ingredients that are less than nutritious. Cereals, flavored pastas, microwave dinners and other boxed foods will more than likely be adding to your waistline while declining your health.
4. Find your farmers
Get on the internet and search for your local farms and farmers markets. Not only can you get lots of local, healthy, fresh veggies and fruits, but many times you can get them at a better price than the local supermarkets.
5. Shake the sugar
High sugar foods and drinks will only harm you. The research on this is massive. From developing diabetes, heart disease and obesity there is no happy ending when it comes to over doing the sweets. Ditch the soda, juices, cookies and candy. Your future self will thank you.
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