Diet-Friendly Foods

Eating a healthy diet doesn’t need to be hard. Keep a supply of easy-to-cook foods on hand to make it easier to make healthier choices.

Try to eat a wide variety of foods from each of the 5 food groups daily, in the recommended amounts. This helps ensure you get 밀키트 enough of all the important nutrients.

Fruits

Fruits are naturally low in calories, making them a good choice for satisfying a sweet tooth and adding nutrients to a diet. Eating enough fruits and vegetables helps reduce your risk of obesity and disease, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and some cancers.

Try to include a variety of fresh fruit in your meals, such as oranges and berries. Avoid fruits with added sugar or syrup, and choose whole fruits over juices. Fruits such as cherries are especially nutrient-dense and can help improve muscle recovery after exercise. They’re also low in calories and a great source of vitamin C, folic acid and potassium.

Vegetables

Veggies are a good source of potassium, folate, vitamins A and C and fiber. They also supply disease-fighting phytochemicals like sulforaphane (highest in broccoli), which may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer.

Technically, the distinction between fruits and vegetables depends on whether a food contains seeds or not. So tomatoes, for example, are technically fruits but we usually think of them as vegetables when cooking or shopping in the produce aisle.

Try to fill your diet with 2 to 4 cups of vegetables daily — that includes dark green, red and orange veggies, starchy veggies and legumes like beans and peas.

Lean Meat

Lean meats contain less fat than other meats and are therefore lower in calories. They are important sources of protein and nutrients like selenium, vitamins B3 and B6, choline and folic acid. Examples include skinless poultry, lean beef (choose “Choice” or “Select” instead of “Prime,” which typically has more fat) and ground meat with a low fat percentage.

When cooked in a healthy manner, red meat can provide the body with vital proteins needed for optimal health and weight loss. However, it is a good idea to limit the amount of red and processed meat eaten. Too much can raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease.

Fish

Fish is a delicious and nutritious addition to any diet. It provides protein, heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), and important nutrients like vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, zinc, and iron.

The best seafood options are those that are low in mercury and sustainable, such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and canned tuna and salmon. Avoid high-mercury seafood choices like swordfish and shark.

Nuts

Nuts provide protein, healthy fats and many important vitamins and minerals. They’re also delicious and easy to eat. When choosing nuts, go for unsalted varieties and avoid those with added sugar or salt.

Four clinical trials using sizeable amounts of peanuts, almonds and walnuts have shown an inverse association between regular nut consumption and CHD mortality rates (relative risk 0.63; 95% CI 0.51 to 0.91). Nuts appear to improve vascular reactivity by decreasing inflammation and lowering triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels. However, long-term nut feeding studies are needed to determine whether this effect is consistent.

Poultry

Poultry is an important source of protein, and it contains a range of health-promoting nutrients like niacin, selenium and B vitamins. It is also a rich source of iron, iodine and zinc.

Try to choose lean cuts of poultry, and prepare it using healthier cooking methods like grilling and roasting. Trim all visible fat before cooking.

Epidemiological studies show that consuming poultry meat, as part of a vegetable-rich diet, is associated with a reduced risk of overweight or obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is also considered to be moderately protective or neutral for cancer risk. It is recommended to consume poultry that is raised without hormones.