This is a guest post by: Rania Paula who writes for the Men’s Health blog which provides exclusive information on men’s health fitness, health, relationships, nutrition, weight loss and muscle building. You can also find information on various men’s health topics like prostate cancer, men’s sexual health, etc…
Making healthy food options can be a tricky thing. Everywhere you go, there is news about what is the best food for you and knowing what to eat can be bit confusing. Eating junk food might be convenient, cheap, and filling. However, eating junk food adds more calories, fat, sodium and sugar to your body.
Here are some simple ways to make healthy food options instead:
Grains:
Breads made with whole grains are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates and helps you prevent overeating by triggering the feeling of fullness.
Choose the bread whose first term says ‘whole’ like ‘whole white flour’ or ‘whole wheat flour’, since ‘enriched’ flours have made by removing important natural nutrients and fiber then are ‘enriched’ with artificial nutrients. Avoid baked foods like: muffins, sweet rolls and donuts as these types of foods have more than 50% of their calories from fat.
Vegetables and Fruits:
These are naturally low in bad fats. They can add taste to your daily foods. They include vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Poultry, Fish and Meat:
Choose low fat meats and before cooking, cut off the outside fat. Broiling, roasting and baking are the best ways to cook meat using a non-stick pan instead of margarine or butter. Before eating if there is any inside fat separate it.
Fish:
Baking, broiling, steaming and poaching are the best ways to prepare the fish. Fresh fish must have the moist look, clear eyes, springy flesh, clean firm and smell.
Poultry:
Remove visible fat and skin before cooking. Chicken breasts are healthy food options, since they are high in protein and low in fat.
Olive Oil:
One more powerhouse food choice is olive oil. This can be perfect with leafy green vegetables. Olive oil contains powerful antioxidants known as polyphenols. These can be helpful in preventing cells that cause the colon and breast cancer. Olive oil doesn’t have saturated fats so it is good for heart health.
Flaxseeds:
These are rich in fiber that can lower body cholesterol and prevent constipation. These seeds also contain polyphenol compounds, lignans, which can protect you from cancers. This seed oil contains omega-3 fatty acids.
Green Tea:
Substitute your soft drinks with green tea, as it can be a lifesaver. And also black teas are wonderful in providing antioxidants. Pale green tea is a free radical fighter and it is rich in polyphenols. This can also increase the metabolism and help you burn off the food.