By Susanne Mitschke
You know roughly how many calories you should eat every day. But, do you know how an actual healthy plate looks like? Even though you might only get a few calories in, the food you consume might not be good for you. A healthy eating plate, created by Harvard Health Publications and nutrition experts at the Harvard School of Public Health is a good way to also visualise which food is good for you. This plate is based on the latest nutrition research and is not influenced by the food industry or agriculture policy. See here for yourself:
Source: Harvard Health Publications - Harvard Medical School, 01/18/2017 (http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-eating-plate)
While there is no silver bullet to a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle, the Healthy Eating Plate by Harvard University gives very good pointers what to include to your diet to make a difference.
If you are hungry and crave for food, steamed vegetables make a good snack, as most of them are low in fat and calories. In addition, vegetables are an important source of many nutrients, such as dietary fiber, vitamin c and a, as well as potassium.
Fruits on the other side are an excellent source of minerals and vitamins. If you often eat fruits, you can also prevent a vitamin a and c deficit. But, attention, eating too much fruit might impact your health! Why? Because of the high sugar concentration in fruit. Yes, you heard right! Even eating too much fruit might lead to diabetes, as high blood sugar can be caused by too much (fruit) glucose.
Harvard also suggest to add whole grain to your diet. Whole grain are packed with nutrients, such as antioxidants, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, b vitamins, fiber and protein. Research has even shown that a diet rich in whole grains might reduce type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer.
It is also important to add healthy protein to your diet, means, chicken (or other forms of poultry), nuts, fish and beans. Adding protein to your diet becomes even more important with age, as it is a building stone of muscles, bones and blood, and will help you body to build and repair tissues.
All in all, it is important that you follow a balanced diet, as well as a healthy lifestyle. The combination of these two are the best weapons against a range of diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even some forms of cancer.