Health & Beauty
2 Simple Rules For Healthy Eating
Eating healthy is a whole lot of work. It has to be a deliberate conscious effort.
Your choice of food is something you should take seriously. Allowing the look, smell, and taste of that fried chicken and chips make the decision for you, would be irresponsible. You should take responsibility for what you eat.
Like NEO in the movie; ‘Matrix’, you’re faced with an option of two pills. One red and the other blue. You would have to make a choice.
For the sake of this article, let us assume the red pill and the blue pill are both food choices.
Taking the red pill could take you down a tunnel of degenerative diseases which includes but aren’t limited to diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, fatigue, obesity, and high cholesterol.
Taking the blue pill, on the other hand, gives you a surge of immune boost, revitalization, and energy.
What pill are you going to take? You don’t need to answer that.
The truth is, these pills are not imaginary. They are as real as the phone in your hand right now. Stuffed up in your refrigerator, kitchen cabinet, and deep freezer are the blue and red pills. They are mixed up together; a jar of peanut butter and olive oil, mouth-watering pizza and bananas, etc
You need to understand that everything you consume has the power to produce life or death. Maybe not immediately but eventually.
I did a bit of research and came up with two simple rules that could help you avoid the lure ‘consumables’.
Below are the rules to healthy eating :
1. Take less of the processed food and more of the unprocessed ones
Some things we eat, really shouldn’t be called ‘food’, they should be referred to as ‘edibles’ or ‘consumables’.
Many ‘consumables’ undergo bleaching, refinement, chemical enhancement, or preservation. Altered in every imaginable way to prolong their shelf life for the longest possible time and be as addictive as possible.
Consumables hit your body like a foreign invasion. Chemicals, including preservatives, food additives, and bleaching agents, exert much pressure on the liver. Toxic synthetic fats start accumulating in your cell membrane to form plaques in your arteries. Your body works extra hard to absorb the minute traces of good in the deadly mix. In the end, you are undernourished, underfed, and overweight.
Unprocessed food on the other hand is plucked, harvested, and squeezed. Embedded within them are vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and more. All of these stream into your system in their natural state; unaltered, which fires your system up to function optimally.
2. Overcome your cravings
Stress is an emotional motivator that can send you running to the fridge. If you allow stress and worries, you will end up depressed. All of these emotions can lead to overeating as you turn to food for comfort.
Cravings for unhealthy food requires an extra measure of self-control.
Here are a few practical tips to help you curb unhealthy food cravings.
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Keep a bottle of water handy at all times
Consuming plenty of water can often curb hunger pangs and make you feel full without turning to unhealthy foods or high-sugar beverages.
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Think of healthier alternatives
For instance, instead of a bowl of ice cream try a scoop of yogurt. While these alternatives might not be ideal, they are a step in the right direction.
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Distract yourself.
Taking a quick stroll will not only help get your mind off of your cravings, but it will also relieve stress and set some calories up in flames.
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Control your portions
If you feel like indulging in unhealthy food, don’t eat directly from the pack. Place a small portion on a table and put the rest away. Challenge yourself to leave part of the food on the plate when you’re through, or see if you can move on after only a bite or two.
According to science, it takes about twenty minutes for the food you’ve eaten to reach your small intestines and signal your brain to stop eating.
If you stuff yourself with consumables. it can take even longer for your brain to detect that it has the nutrition it needs.
If you keep eating, you will be caught in a toxic trap.