Food is fuel to our body and mind!
Having plenty of food is of course a luxury, but having plenty doesn’t make you healthy. As most of us are still confronting problems like malnutrition, nutrient deficiency, lack of a strong immune system etc that arises due to poor diet!
“Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health”
As per WHO analysis– a healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
This topic is vast. But today we can discuss a portion of it to start with. So, what should you have on a daily basis that improves your health and wellness?
Here are 4 food everybody should include in their daily diet for overall wellness:
Fruit and vegetables
Did you know that eating at least five portions, of varieties of fruit and vegetables per day reduces the risk of diseases and helps to ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre?
- Always include vegetables in meals in the form of curries, salads or any other form.
- Eating veggies and fruits without cooking have added benefits that eating cooked ones. Try eating them as snacks and mid-meal.
- Consume leafy veggies including spinach, broccoli, methi leaves, lettuce etc a bare minimum of one serving a day. Low in calories, you can eat them plenty and don’t have to worry about putting on weight.
- You should never fail to eat fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season
- Not just eat one category of fruits and vegetables, try including as many varieties of them as you can.
- Avoid such veggies and fruits that create allergies or discomfort to you.
Eggs
From school days onwards we are all taught that egg is a complete food. Let me get down to the facts,
- You should know that an egg contains roughly 13 essential vitamins, minerals and high-quality protein packed into just 70 calories.
- So clearly this is one superfood you can’t avoid at any cost, and this is one food you can have alone when you can’t have a complete meal to keep you healthy and energetic
- Include at least 1 egg in your breakfast preferably or in any meal, a day in any form you like an omelette, boiled, scrambled etc.
- It is suggested, safe to eat 1–2 eggs a day depending on how much other cholesterol is in your diet.
Whole grains
We Indians can’t think of a day without having rice or roti. Whole grains are our staple food. But mind you, you should not have them in abundance either.
- Whole grains like wheat, rice, corn, pasta, oat, barley etc are high in nutrients and fibre.
- In fact, eating whole grains is associated with various benefits, including a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
- The slow-cooked old-fashioned oatmeal is probably the best food you can have in a day.
- You can also add barley, whole-grain brown rice, oatmeal cookies, or other foods made from whole grains to your daily diet to feel the difference.
- health problems like obesity and inflammation are some of the disadvantages of having them in plenty, so try to limit it to 1 or 2 meals per day possible.
Dry fruits and nuts
Don’t just store dry fruits and nuts, it’s time to take them out and have them.
Apricots, dried figs, dates, almonds, and cashews are superfoods packed with nutrients, vitamins, protein, fibre, vitamins and healthy fats.
- Have a handful of almonds, walnut, pistachio, pumpkin seeds, fenugreek etc daily stand alone as breakfast or late-night snacks or drinks or by adding them to your daily meal.
- It can even be consumed with milk, sweets or a fruit bowl or shakes.
- Many lactating mothers also eat almonds, sesame seeds etc. to increase milk production
- You can have nuts and seeds by toasting and sprinkling them over a salad or veggies.
These are just painstakingly selected 4 superfoods you should be having on a daily basis. Always keep your daily diet healthy, varied and balanced.
The goal is never to have plenty of the mentioned foods, it is to have enough healthy food that works for your body and wellness.
So how busy you may get, or how lazy you are, how ignorant you are, this year make it a pledge for yourself to include at least these 4 foods and other healthy and organic food in your daily diet and feel the difference.
Until the next read!
