By Omotayo Edubi
The excess food, carbonated drinks and sweets that come with the holiday celebrations can be overwhelming and difficult to pass off without having a taste, especially, when you have everyone around you munching on something.
It is likely to give in situations like that and eat or drink all you can have with no care. The holidays allow you to be carefree, after all, that is the aim.
Although the body doesn’t take a break from retaining vitamins, fat and oil and all sorts of nutrients from all that we digest, it is best to avoid the intake of drinks and foods unhealthy for your body at all times.
Nonetheless, if you fell off the healthy eating trail during the holidays or you were not on one, you can get started this New Year following these simple eating tips;
1. Eating fruits daily is a healthy way to start the year. Fruits are full of vitamins and less fatty than many processed foods. It is recommended to ingest at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit daily. You can have them frozen, fresh or dried.
Apart from being an excellent source of minerals and vitamins, they are high in fibre. Fibre helps to keep the body full and offers a smooth digestion process.
More so, fruits are packed with antioxidants which help fight free radicals that cause damage to the cells. Fruits are best eaten fresh, although you can have them in any form as long as they are not spoiled.
One prominent advantage of fruits is that you wouldn’t need to worry about going through a cooking process to eat them. Fruits save you time, stress and keep your body system healthy.
2. Fish is a great source of protein and contains a good amount of vitamins and minerals healthy for the body. It is recommended to eat at least 2 portions of fish weekly, including at least 1 portion of oily fish.
Although eating foods high in oil can be bad for your heart, oily fish isn’t. Nonetheless, it is best to not overindulge. Oily fish are high in omega-3 fats, which can help to prevent heart diseases.
There is a variety of oily fish one can eat. They include; Trout, Sardines, Mackerel, Salmon Herring and pilchards. Non-oily fish include Cod, Tuna, Tilapia and Pollock. You can choose from canned, frozen or fresh fish.
3. Smoothies are healthy drinks made of fruits and other supplements. Instead of fizzy drinks which are high in sugar and detrimental to the health of your body, it is recommended to replace carbonated drinks with smoothies.
Smoothies can be just as sweet and refreshing. You can make a smoothie with a variety of fruits and blend it with vegetables and liquids such as Spinach, broccoli, milk, honey and many more.
Smoothie doesn’t limit taste buds. You can make it with a blend of any fruit and veggies you desire. You can have it with or without ice, whichever suits your taste.
Frequent heavy late-night snacking is not an entirely good eating habit. It can cause the body to digest the intake of the food at a slower pace, thereby creating room for the retention of fat.
Therefore, if you have to snack at night, it is recommended to have a bowl of salad or cereal. These are light foods and great for helping the body relax at night time. With these, you stay fed, light, and healthy.
4. Drinking lots of water is one of the easiest ways to stay healthy. It is also one of the richest elements of nature in terms of the natural elements that help to keep the body healthy. Water offers many benefits to the body, mostly because the human body is majorly made up of fluid. In essence, water is a substance that helps to regulate the whole body system. From the functioning of your brain to regulating the body temperature and flushing out waste from the body, water does it all. Water is life, so it will be good for you to drink lots of it.