5 Tips for a Healthy Diet to Try in 2019

Whatever your New Year’s resolution is, a healthy and balanced diet will provide many benefits into 2019 and beyond.

What we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to fight infections, as well as how likely we are to develop health problems later in life.

Here are some healthy tips to be tried out in the new year that can help change one’s lifestyle:

1. Eat a Variety of Foods

Food variety means eating a wide variety of foods from each of the five food groups, in the amounts recommended. Eating many different foods helps maintain a healthy and interesting diet which provides a range of different nutrients to the body. Eating a variety of foods promotes good health and can help reduce the risk of disease.

The five food groups are vegetables and legumes/beans, fruit, lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, legumes/beans, grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fiber varieties, milk, yogurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat.

You can achieve a healthful, nutritious eating pattern with many combinations of foods from the five major food groups. Choosing a variety of foods within and across food groups improves dietary patterns because foods within the same group have different combinations of nutrients and other beneficial substances.

2. Cut Back on Salt

Sodium is essential for your body. It helps regulate fluid balance, blood volume, and blood pressure. Your muscles and nerves also need sodium to work properly. The mineral is found naturally in the foods you eat. However, most of the sodium you consume comes from the salt and sauces that are added during processing and meal preparation. Salt is made up of 40 percent sodium.

To maintain normal fluid balance, your body needs only a small amount of sodium. The recommended amount of sodium intake is less than 2,000mg per day, equivalent to one teaspoon (5g) of salt.

Excess sodium acts like a sponge and retains water in your body. This, in turn, leads to an increase in blood volume and raises your blood pressure. Hence, excessive sodium intake is a key risk factor of high blood pressure, which increases the risks of stroke, heart attack, and heart and kidney failure.

3. Limit Sugar Intake

The sugar in your diet can either be naturally occurring or added. Naturally occurring sugar is found in foods like fruit and dairy products. Because of this, naturally occurring sugar is accompanied by important vitamins and minerals.

The term “added sugar” refers to the sugars and syrups added to foods during processing or preparation. Added sugars contain no essential nutrients and contribute to a multitude of health problems. It is these added sugars that you have to limit in your diet.

Diets high in added sugars may increase your risk for cavities, obesity and chronic diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Sugary foods often displace healthier foods in the diet, limiting the consumption of essential nutrients. Read labels to figure out which processed foods contain added sugars.

4. Reducing Alcohol Intake

There are so many benefits to reducing your alcohol consumption, some you may expect and others that may be a welcome surprise. Not only is it good for your general health, improving your appearance and how you feel, drinking less will have a positive impact on other aspects of your life including your relationships and work.

A sound night’s sleep. Brighter skin. More time and energy. Cutting back on alcohol can have some positive effects on the way you look and feel – often within just a few days. And while you enjoy them, you’ll be reducing your longer-term risk of some serious illnesses such as cancer and liver and heart disease.

5. Reduce use of Unhealthy Fats

Fat has twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrate, so it’s easy to see that reducing fat is important to energy balance.

You need to consume a certain amount of fat and carbohydrates each day to stay healthy. Both fat and carbohydrates provide your body with energy, and fat is also important for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins, limiting inflammation, furthering brain development, clotting blood and keeping your hair and skin healthy.

However, too much of either of these macronutrients puts you at risk for obesity and other health problems, so it’s important to limit your total sugar and oil intake.