Just thinking of a couple health tips I agree with and decided to share!
Going Barefoot
Since I was a little girl I remember I loved being barefoot, at that time my parents were living in a house with wood floors so you could find me running around barefoot as much as i pleased even outside to my mom's dismay ( i was barefoot and uncontrollable). As i got older i always choose sandals or shoes i could slip on and off easily so that i could take my feet out of confinement ASAP. I never realized as a child that going barefoot was so beneficial to the body and has some detoxifying benefits. The reasoning behind this is our bodies are made up of 60% water which conducts electricity and the negative charge the earth gives us can detoxify, calm, and balance your internal systems, power up circulation and great for overall balance. Next time you're in a grassy or sandy park or a beach or even your wood floors at home try going barefoot and let your feet breathe!
Drinking Lots of water
10 years ago and i can promise you i would not be writing this post on water, I was soda's best friend. I thought water was boring and unappealing. As time would tell that view changed and i always say my favorite accessory is a bottle of water. You all know that our bodies are made up of 60% water and it has many beneficial functions including maintaining body temperature, creation of saliva, digestion and aiding in skin hydration. If you're like me and need to wean yourself off sugar drinks start slow limiting your intake and eventually cut it out completely, sugar is addictive and can be hard to cut out of your diet but after it's gone you won't even think about it. Also jazz up your water with fresh add-inst (lemon, berries, lime, mint, cucumber)
Eating the whole Egg
It seems everywhere i look everyone is misinformed when it comes to one of the most common and heart healthy breakfast staples. So in hopes of unbrainwashing let me explain why eating the whole egg is good for you. As i mentioned fat is something that's in many foods ( real foods even) and it's not necessarily the enemy, eggs contain essential Omega-3 fatty acids along with many B vitamins that are helpful in protein production. Curious as to whether eggs will affect your cholesterol levels? Eggs contain HDL cholesterol ( good cholesterol) that aids in lowering your LDL (bad cholesterol). Basically if you're eating a couple egg's (2-3) daily you're ok. Also for all you egg yolk haters, when you only eat the white you're missing out on half of the nutrients and because of the low amount of (good) fat it will cause your hunger levels to spike which could then lead to bad decisions in the break room. So reconsider kindly next time you want to toss out the yolk
Non restrictive eating
Cutting carbs? Cutting fat? Cutting sugar? Cutting proteins? Don't! All of these are part of a healthy balanced diet in moderation. The key thing to remember is to keep it balanced, eat mindfully & take into consideration what you're eating. When I'm eating I try to remember this PFC; Proteins( fish, lean meats, beans, eggs,) Fats ( olive oil, nuts, grass fed organic butter, avocado, real cheese, dairy) Carbs (whole grains & veggies). Keep the sugary and processed foods at a low.
Reading the ingredient list and nutrition information
Many packaged foods make really ridiculous health claims, from low fat to hi fiber. Don't believe any of the bells and whistles of their marketing team and turn to the back to check out the nutrition facts and ingredient list. When I look at the back of packages the first thing I look for is enemies for example, trans fat and saturated fat whether it's there or not and how much ( these are the fats to avoid). Next I look for how much sodium and how much sugar is in the packaged product, use table to gage your daily intake and to decide whether it has too much sugar or salt. Last but certainly not least I look for the friends, good stuff like protein and fiber, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Also it's important to look at ingredient lists, typically they're hard to understand but if the first item on a package of pizza rolls is soy you probably want to reconsider buying them. Just keep in mind the shorter the ingredient list the better off you probably are and most good food doesn't need to have extensive ingredient lists or even make dietary boasts. Do the apples you ate this morning boast hi fiber and low fat? probably not, why because they don't have to! Below is a nutrition label for you to use as reference it's from a popular food item ( goldfish crackers). You'll see that it has very little protein and fiber per serving, tons of sodium and trans fat ( thumbs down!) Check out this crazy ingredient list! Not sure how many smiles this will induce but i can assure you if you put together a batch of baked cheese crackers you probably wouldn't have so many ingredients on it or trans fat or saturated fat! Keep it real folks!
Try to reduce your cravings with real food, craving goldfish crackers? have a piece of cheese. want some gummy bears? have some frozen grapes or sliced strawberries. Craving a cold soda? quench your thirst with some lemon soda water or berry infused water. Craving a piece of double chocolate cake? Eat it! I know we all get our cravings and junk food is ok in moderation but they're not foods you should keep around the house and preferably make your favorite junk food from scratch ( you should know what you're eating). Cheers to Health and Moderation!
Trish
