Have you tried to live a more health-conscious lifestyle but found yourself failing miserably after starting a new diet? We’ve been there. You aren’t alone. Studies show that almost 65% of people, 2 out of 3 people, who start dieting eventually quit and become regressive eaters due to excessive control or hyper fixation over their food choices for an extended duration.
How to decide what to eat? How to make the right eating choices? How do you achieve your health goals without depriving yourself of your favorite foods? The answer to all these concerns is referred to as “food freedom.”
Read on to learn all about it as the simplest method to achieve your health goals!
What Does the Term Food Freedom Mean?
As the term suggests, food freedom is the “freedom” to eat anything and everything you desire—within reasonable constraints. When
people start to suppress their dietary urges, they develop uncomfortable or unhealthy long-term habits. This lingering guilt hovers over people’s heads like a cloud whenever they enter a fast food joint or take another sip of wine. It results in increasing mental anxiety and stress.
Thus, setting your mind free from feelings of guilt when you pick up that one extra slice of pizza is essential to longevity. Having said that, food freedom doesn’t mean that people should not take into consideration the nutritional quality of food, its importance, and its impact on bodily functions.
We need to understand that eating in the right proportions and making better eating choices is essential, but at the same time, managing a healthy and peaceful mental space is equally important.
How to Create Balance?
Creating balance starts with education. It is the core tenet behind achieving your health goals and leading a healthy life—knowledge is power, and you need to know what and how your body responds to and processes certain foods. Sometimes, it’s intuitive. You know yourself and your body better than anyone else ever could.
Learn the nutritional facts about what you’re ingesting and fueling your body with. Then, apply that knowledge to creating balanced meals—vegans can learn how to create plant-based protein-rich meals, while omnivores can learn how to reduce red meat intake and prioritize fish and veggies.
You can indulge in that second slice of pizza guilt-free but don’t make it a daily habit.
Create a habit of mindful eating. Mindful eating is being consciously aware of what you are doing. It includes the following four parameters:
Paying attention to yourself—are you hungry or full? How energetic are you? Do you feel stressed?
Avoid multitasking while eating—be physically and mentally present in the moment while eating. Avoid watching television or scrolling on your phone. Chew food slowly.
Enjoy the food—take time to eat and feel its taste, smell, and texture. Digestion begins in the mouth.
Do not judge yourself. Most importantly, do not guilt trip. If you decide to have something, do not worry about the past or the future implications of your dietary choice at that moment, work on making permanent, lasting changes long-term.
Fears Associated with “Dieting”
Dieting is a scary term to most people. This is because, for most people, it is associated with the idea of eating less and living on soups and salads to lose weight. Forget indulging in your favorite foods—dieting is about this idea of sacrifice.
However, this perception is entirely wrong.
There are hundreds of healthy food options. Living in a rich culture, with readily available plant foods means we now have the ability, more than ever before, to make better dietary choices without depriving ourselves. Telling yourself not to eat certain types of food to lose weight, for instance, does the opposite of its intended purpose.
When you think to “not” eat something, you are, in reality, constantly thinking about eating it and then restricting yourself, which leads to stress building and further increases the desire for the “forbidden” food.
The term “diet” includes everything you eat in the entire day. Hence, dieting doesn’t mean stopping altogether, but being more mindful of what you eat. What you need is a properly balanced diet to achieve your health goals and live a healthy life.
Until now, we have talked about the importance of food freedom and how indulging in your cravings is not a sin. However, we also need to understand that while you should give in to cravings occasionally, it is always crucial to be mindful of what you eat.
Importance of Food Freedom
Practicing food freedom is good for both physical and mental health.
First, it helps you to better understand the body in relation to what you eat. Secondly, practicing food freedom helps eliminate feelings of guilt and stress from following strict food rules, and obsessive dieting. You actually enjoy your favorite food rather than ...
Welcome to the world of healthy eating!
We all know that food is an essential part of our daily lives, but it's not just about satisfying our hunger. What we eat directly impacts our overall health and well-being. With so much information out there about what's good and bad for us, it can be challenging to know where to start.
But fear not; we'll explore everything you need to know about healthy eating, from the benefits of a balanced diet to easy and delicious recipes that you can incorporate into your daily routine.
So, whether you're looking to improve your energy levels, maintain a healthy weight, or simply feel your best – read on to learn everything you need to know about what healthy eating entails!
How Does Healthy Eating Make A Difference?
Healthy eating is not just a trend. It is a lifestyle that can significantly impact overall health and well-being. The food that we consume provides our bodies with the essential nutrients needed for optimal functioning. Continually consuming unhealthy foods can lead to a host of health problems, including type 2 diabetes.
The benefits of healthy eating are numerous. These include maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the risk of chronic disease, reducing the risk of cognitive decline, improving energy levels, and enhancing overall mood. Consuming a diet rich in whole fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats can provide the body with all the key nutrients it needs to thrive.
On the other hand, consuming an unhealthy diet high in processed foods, added sugars, refined grains, and saturated or trans fats can lead to weight gain, elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammation, Alzheimer’s, and other chronic health conditions.
Making the switch to healthy eating can seem daunting, but it does not have to be complicated.
Small changes like incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet, choosing whole grains over processed (refined) ones, and swapping unhealthy snacks for healthier options can make a big difference. This means choosing brown rice over white, quinoa over couscous, or steel-cut oats over instant.
Healthy eating isn't just about restriction and deprivation, it's about nourishing your body with the right foods to help it function at its best. This means eating as close as possible to the unrefined whole food source as possible. By making healthy eating a priority, you're investing in your long-term health and well-being, and setting yourself up for a happier, healthier future.
Busting The Myth!
Well, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to follow a specific diet for healthy eating. That being said, you can benefit from implementing certain eating habits. For example, following a low-carb diet can work wonders for you if done right, while you can just as easily maintain optimal health on a high-carb diet.
Generally speaking, eating healthy does not necessarily demand adhering to diets or following a set of dietary rules religiously. The basic mantra of healthy eating is to fuel your body with nutritious whole foods, which in turn, ensure holistic wellness. Your location, socio-economic status, culture, and many other factors might determine the specifics.
What Does Healthy Eating Comprise
Nutrient density:
Nutrient density refers to the nutrient content of a particular food, relative to its calorie content. In other words, it's a measure of how many essential nutrients a food contains per calorie.
Foods that are nutrient-dense are generally those that provide a high amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other essential nutrients per serving, while also being relatively low in calories. These types of foods are important for maintaining good health and preventing chronic diseases.
Examples of nutrient-dense foods include leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts and seeds, whole grains, lean proteins, and oily fish. These foods are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and they also provide important nutrients like protein, fiber, and healthy fat.
On the other hand, foods that are not nutrient-dense, such as processed snacks and sugary drinks, are often high in calories but provide very few essential nutrients. These types of foods can contribute to weight gain and chronic health problems when consumed in excess.
Choosing nutrient-dense foods is an important part of a healthy diet. By focusing on foods that provide a high amount of essential nutrients per calorie, you can ensure that you're getting the nutrients your body needs to function properly while also maintaining a healthy weight.
Diet Diversity:
Diet diversity refers to the variety of different foods and food groups that are included in a person's diet. It is an important aspect of healthy eating because a diverse diet can provide a wide range of nutrients and help to reduce the risk of nutrient deficiencies.
Eating a varied diet can also help to ...
Sports nutrition is the study and practice of nutrition and diet with regard to improving athletic performance. Nutrition is a significant aspect of numerous sports training regimens. It figures heavily into strength sports like weightlifting and bodybuilding, and endurance sports like cycling, running, swimming and paddling.
Sports nutrition concentrates on which foods and liquids an athlete takes in and how they do it. It manages the use of supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, and organic substances that incorporate carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
How is sports nutrition different from regular nutrition?
Sports nutrition varies from regular nutrition, since athletes require different measures of supplements and nutrients than non-athletes. For athletes to perform well, they have to train hard and fuel their bodies with the right foods and supplements. Nothing can substitute for a balanced diet. A healthy, energy-rich diet gives athletes the vitality and strength to play their best, and helps prevent injuries and enable quick recovery.
Factors influencing nutritional requirements
An effective sports nutrition plan cannot be administered with a one-size-fits-all approach. Athletes’ diets are tailored to their circumstances and needs.
Some factors that influence nutritional needs include the athlete’s gender, weight, physique and BMI, the type of activity or exercise, and the time of day.
Factors that impede performance are exhaustion, injury and soreness; an appropriate eating program will diminish these problems. The key to an effective nutritional regimen is to include a variety of foods and to ensure all the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients are covered. It’s important to choose whole unprocessed foods; for instance, an orange rather than orange juice. Eating natural, whole foods gives the athlete the greatest dietary benefit.
1. Gender
There are clear contrasts between male and female anatomy. While the physiology is essentially the same, the way men and women process nutrients is different. Men have a lower ratio of muscle to fat; however, they tend to carry most of their fat in the adipose tissue located in the abdominal region. Women have a higher ratio of fat, which they store mostly in the subcutaneous layer of their hip region.
2. Anaerobic exercise
During anaerobic exercise, the process of glycolysis separates the sugars from starches for energy without the use of oxygen. This kind of exercise includes activities like power runs, resistance training, and exercises that use quick movements to work the muscles for force and speed, with short-time energy use. After this type of activity, the body needs to be refueled.
3. Aerobic exercise
Exercise that requires oxygen for cellular reactions is called cardiovascular conditioning, or cardio. Aerobic exercise includes activities like running, cycling, swimming, and paddling. Athletes who engage in aerobic exercise are working to build their endurance. They are training their slow-twitch muscles to absorb more oxygen and get it to their muscles.
Types of Nutrients
Macronutrients
Macronutrients make up the major sources of calories that give the body energy. They are needed for proper cell development and to maintain regular body functions. These nutrients are required by the body in large quantities to sustain life.
There are three kinds of macronutrients:
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
Carbohydrates contribute significantly to waste disposal and intestinal health. Carbohydrates can be found in milk products, fruits, vegetables and grains, and give the body 4 calories for each gram.
Proteins are made out of chains of amino acids. They are mostly found in animal products, nuts and beans, and provide 4 calories per gram.
Fats are the most energy-rich macronutrient and provide the most significant caloric content, giving the body 9 calories for every gram.
Micronutrients
Micronutrients are the 13 organic vitamins and seven inorganic minerals that the human body needs in small amounts every day. Micronutrients play a significant role in energy creation, hemoglobin synthesis, development, bone and immune health, and digestion. Though the required amounts are small, as the name suggests, it’s important to maintain the right level of these nutrients and minerals in the body.
The 13 vitamins can be sorted into two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble. The eight water-soluble nutrients –the vitamins B and vitamin C – must be taken every day, as the body can't store what it doesn't promptly utilize. Interestingly, the fat-soluble vitamins K, A, D and E can be stored in the body's fat tissue. Consequently, they don’t need to be consumed on a daily basis to maintain the correct levels.
Hydration and performance
Adequate hydration and electrolyte levels are fundamental for good he ...
What is the immune system?
The immune system is one of the most important mechanisms of the human body. This is because it’s the body’s natural defense against illness.
The immune system attacks and destroys invading pathogens to keep the body free from disease.
This vast network of cells, tissues, proteins, and organs fights off diseases and infections by identifying viruses, bacteria and parasites, and neutralizing these threats. It is constantly at work.
Once this defense system encounters a pathogen, it deploys an immune response to fight and kill it. The most important thing about this system is that it can distinguish the body's healthy tissue from foreign, disease-causing tissue.
Dead and faulty cells are also identified and eliminated by the immune system.
How does the immune response work?
The immune system can be activated by a lot of different organisms that the body doesn’t recognize. The substances that activate the immune response are called antigens.
Antigens include the proteins on the surfaces of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. When these antigens come into contact with the special receptors on the immune system cells, a whole series of processes are triggered in the body.
When the body is exposed to a disease-causing germ for the first time, the immune system usually stores data about the pathogen and how to fight it. Then, if the same type of germ invades again, the immune system recognizes it right away and starts fighting it sooner.
Diseases related to the immune system
The immune system is a very complex mechanism. This complexity means there are opportunities for disorders to disrupt the system.
Following are the different types of immune system disorders:
1. Immunodeficiencies
Immunodeficiency is the lack or absence of immune system cells in the body. Simply put, one or more parts of the immune system do not work properly.
Immunodeficiencies can be caused by a number of factors, including age, obesity and alcoholism.
In underdeveloped countries, malnutrition is a common cause of immunodeficiency.
In some cases, the condition is inherited.
2. Autoimmunity
Autoimmunity is a condition in which the immune system mistakenly targets and destroys the body’s healthy cells. In this case, the immune system is not able to distinguish between its own healthy cells and foreign pathogens or faulty cells.
The body’s cells also have surface proteins, called autoantibodies. But they are not the antibodies that should trigger the immune system.
When the immune system cannot distinguish its own tissues from foreign tissues, it attacks healthy, harmless cells in the body.
Autoimmune diseases include celiac disease, Type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity is when the immune system overreacts to such a degree that it damages healthy tissues. An example is anaphylaxis, when the body’s response to an allergen is so strong that it can be life-threatening.
Immune System Boosters
Some people have strong immune systems, while others have weak ones. The good news is that you can strengthen your immune system through a proper diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Certain foods, supplements, and lifestyle changes will have a positive effect on your ability to stay healthy.
Herbs that boost the immune system
Many natural substances are known to boost immunity. Since ancient times, herbs and spices have been in high demand for both their healing properties and their ability to help people stay well.
According to the World Health Organization, over 80% of the world’s population uses herbal medicines and herbs as part of their primary healthcare.
Most of the preferred herbs are high in anti-inflammatory properties, which help bolster the body’s natural immunity. Most of these herbs and spices are relatively safe, compared to allopathic medicines like antibiotics, which can have serious side effects.
Here’s a list of herbs and spices that can help improve immunity:
1. Holy basil
Holy basil is a very old medicinal herb. Its leaves are rich in phytonutrients.
Basil is also rich in chlorophyll, vitamins and minerals, and eugenol. Eugenol is a bioactive compound with antifungal, antimicrobial, and antibacterial properties, which can help reduce stress and lower plasma glucose levels.
How to consume basil:
You can simply chew fresh basil leaves in the morning or infuse them in your morning tea. Just ensure that you wash them well in running water before using them.
1. Ginger
Ginger is widely used in Indian cooking to add flavor to dishes. This popular spice has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.
Since ancient times, ginger has been extensively used for treating asthma, travel sickness, morning sickness, colds, coughs, nausea, arthritis, gastrointestinal complaints, and even depres ...
