Top 15 Food Changes to Make Your Diet Healthier
It is evident that eating healthy benefits your body and mind in multiple ways. Most importantly, making healthy food changes to your diet is much easier than you may think. Since I began making my diet changes a few years ago, I’m visibly healthier, happier and more productive. Check out these big-payoff changes I make to my diet to boost my health:
1. Juicing: I take a glass of vegetable juice daily. Green vegetables are rich in chlorophyll that helps build blood. They are also very rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Adding them to my daily diet has helped reduce anaemia, blood pressure, inflammation, pain and sickle crisis.
2. Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables: I use them for soups, stir-fries, stews, smoothies and juices.
3. Honey or coconut sugar. I avoid sugar like the plague. So, if I need to sweeten anything, I use a teaspoon of honey or coconut sugar. Sugar is terrible for our health and causes lots of inflammation.
4. Apple cider vinegar: I take a tablespoon of it in a tall glass of warm water each morning. It promotes heart health. It is anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and also functions as an antioxidant.
5. Healthy fats: I use coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil for my cooking. Stay away from oils rich in trans fats like canola oil and soybean oil, and margarine.
6. Fermented foods: I always have jars of homemade pickled ginger, garlic, cucumber, olives etc., in my fridge to eat with every meal. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi are rich in probiotics that improve digestive health and reduce inflammation and blood sugar. Add them to every meal.
7. Spices and herbs: I always have dried parsley, garlic, ginger, onion, turmeric, white pepper, black pepper on hand to add to my food. I use fresh spices whenever available, but I always keep dried spices in case I run out. Besides, they last longer and save me multiple trips to the store to get fresh herbs ever so often.
8. Fresh fruits and vegetables: Most fruits and vegetables won’t last that long. So, I don’t buy too many of them at once. Instead, I always have the following fruits and vegetables at home because they are healthy and last longer than others. They include sweet potatoes, pumpkin, beets, apples, cabbage, carrots, citrus fruits and pomegranate.
9. Frozen meat, fish and chicken: I always stock my freezer with them, and it saves me trips to the store as I always have something at home to whip up lunch or dinner.
10. Eggs: We eat eggs daily. They are rich in protein and good for health. One of my favourites in eating eggs is making a nutrient-dense omelette with avocado, veggies, tomatoes, and onions for a complete meal. You can also add eggs to salads or other vegetables dishes to increase their protein content.
11. Yoghurt: We enjoy homemade yoghurt daily for breakfast or as a snack with some fruit. It’s rich in probiotics and good for digestive health. No added sugar.
12. Condiments: opt for low sodium soy sauce, balsamic vinegar for homemade vinaigrette and coconut amigos to replace soy sauce altogether. We have also replaced all salt with Himalayan sea salt.
13. Beans and lentils: They are very nutritious and rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and iron. I add them to soups and stews.
14. Nuts and seeds: We enjoy pistachio nuts, but you can eat whatever nuts you like. They are rich in healthy fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. We add them to milkshakes too. The ones I usually eat include chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp hearts.
15. Grains: Ditch the white grains and choose healthier options like brown rice, quinoa, sprouted grains, bread, oats. These are high in fibre content and rich in vitamin b, magnesium, and manganese, which could help protect you from heart diseases and cancer.
These changes have helped to significantly improve my health and minimise inflammation, pain and sickle cell crisis.
What other diet changes have you made to improve your health? Would you please share with me in the comments below?
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