When it comes to your overall health and wellness, proper nutrition has to be a huge part of your daily life. While everyone has different body types and nutritional needs of course, there are several things that you can do to ensure that you are getting what you require in order to help you stay as healthy as possible.
Not only does proper nutrition give you healthier-looking skin, but it also helps:
- Boost your immunity
- Strengthen bones
- Support your digestive system
- Lower the risk of heart disease & type 2 diabetes
- Keep your skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
When it comes to health and nutrition, confusion is quite rampant. So, in order to help you improve your everyday health and wellness by improving your nutritional intake, we’ve got a few tips we wanted to share.
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1. Limit Sugary Drinks
If you’re like many Americans, soda, sweet tea, and fruit juices are the primary sources of added sugar in your diet. However, popular theories indicate that even if you’re not currently burdened with excess body fat, these can increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
For a healthier alternative, try:
- Water
- Sparkling water
- Unsweetened tea
- Coffee
2. Dietary Supplements
In order to avoid issues such as a folate deficiency, you need to add vitamins and other supplements to your grocery list. Americans typically don’t get enough of vitamins A, C, D, or E, as well as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and fiber. Additionally, since many of us don’t eat enough foods that are rich in minerals, you might consider taking mineral pills.
Right along with vitamins and minerals, your body also needs the proper amount of bacteria. Low or improper stomach bacteria levels may lead to some chronic diseases, such as obesity and various digestive problems. To help level out your gut bacteria, eat probiotic foods and consider taking probiotic supplements.
3. Hydration
Most sources you turn to will say that while everyone requires a different amount of hydration each day, you should consume at least around 2 liters a day.
This helps maintain sufficient blood volume and keeps your body functioning optimally. So, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
4. Get Plenty of Sleep
If you’re dealing with insomnia, you should probably talk it over with your doctor. The value of quality sleep cannot be overstated and in fact, along with reducing insulin resistance and disrupting the hormones that affect appetite, poor sleep is one of the main risk factors for unwanted weight gain, as you’re more likely to make food choices that are higher in fat, sugar, and calories.
5. Eat Better
Along with limiting your sugar intake, you need to eat more of the right foods. While of course this includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, you might also add more fatty fish, nuts and seeds, eggs, and foods high in protein to your diet. Additionally, consider cutting back on the amount of processed foods, refined carbs, and artificial trans fats that you eat.
6. Avoid Fad Diets
Different diets come and go all the time and, unfortunately, some of these are overly restrictive and actually reduce the amount of calories that you burn because they lower your metabolic rate. Furthermore, they can alter hormones that affect hunger and satiation, meaning that they actually make you hungrier than normal and lead to strong cravings for foods that are high in sugar, calories, and fat.
Your everyday health and wellness are extremely important no matter what point you’re at in your life. Maintaining a diet that includes plenty of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, and reduces or even eliminates the wrong foods and drinks, can help ensure that your body is operating as best as possible.