Transform your diet in 11 steps

People who take care of their health always want to improve their diet, but they often meet with resistance. For many different reasons, this laudable intention does not always end up coming true. If what we want is to really change eating habits, we must bear in mind that behind each one there are many reasons that maintain it. Therefore, any modification may imply changes in other spheres vital, for example from emotions to schedules.

Create your plan to improve your diet

To succeed and not stay in the attempt it is essential to design a good plan. This requires, among other things, creating feasible expectations, specifying the objectives and defining how, when and where we are going to make the changes.

You must also take into account the possible obstacles with whom we can meet and anticipate measures to avoid their impact, generate favorable conditions for change, maintain motivation and reinforce beneficial behaviors. Likewise, since changes are a process, it is not convenient to negatively exaggerate specific “relapses” nor to get stuck in them.

Posts to change aspects of food, there are some objectives that are at the base of what is currently considered a healthy diet. It would suffice to consolidate one of them each month, as we remember that a lasting transformation is preferable to a fleeting improvement.

1. Fruits and vegetables in abundance

Garden products are important sources of certain vitamins, in particular vitamin C, folic acid and provitamin A, and certain minerals, such as magnesium and potassium, to which is added its high content of dietary fiber, all with a low caloric intake and absence of fat and cholesterol.

To this is added the value of the calls “bioactive compounds”, substances increasingly appreciated for their potential favorable effects on health. Among those currently deserving more attention are carotenoids and polyphenols, which exert their main biological action through antioxidation mechanisms.

For all these reasons, an abundant daily consumption of them is unanimously recommended, no less than two servings of fruit and two of vegetables, at all stages of the life cycle. The new “bread” of each day. To the extent that these staple foods provide us with generous amounts of sensory pleasure, the likelihood that we will consume more of them increases.

For this it is important to stock up on quality products: Seasonal food, little handled, organic… Finding their own space, for example at breakfast, snack or dessert, diversifying their presentations, betting on variety and preparing juices are other good measures.

2. Eat more legumes

This pillar of the Mediterranean diet has many advantages. The protein content of legumes is high: 19-25%, and more in the case of soybeans. The generous presence of digestible complex carbohydrates (more than 50% of its dry weight) provides energy without glucose spikes. The significant fiber content exerts beneficial effects at the intestinal level.

Are rich in vitamins such as thiamine (B1), folic acid and pyridoxine (B6), and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc. For this reason, the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition recommends taking 2 to 4 servings a week.

In the same direction, but emphasizing the importance of protecting oneself against the action of free radicals, goes the so-called “antioxidant wheel of foods”, in which the need to eat foods with antioxidant capacity is visually represented. Along with fruit, bread, potatoes, vegetables, cocoa, nuts and olive oil, there are legumes, of which a plate two or three times a week is recommended.

Leaving the cliché of traditional preparations and expanding its culinary possibilities will favor its consumption. They can be consumed in cold and hot dishes, in soups, purées, creams, salads… In addition to the classic chickpeas, lentils and beans, to increase the variety we can count on soybeans, beans, peas, mung and adzuki beans, broad beans…

3. Cereals yes, and especially whole grains

A large amount of evidence has freed cereals from their supposed “sin” of being fattening, which has banned them from many tables. To this day they continue to be one of the so-called staple foods and one of the main sources of starch, the carbohydrate that is recommended as main source of energy. Therefore, they can be consumed daily.

And as a recommendation, better integral than refined, since most of the essential nutrients are present in the germ and in the bran, where oligosaccharides, lignans, phytic acid, tannins, phenolic acid and flavonoids can also be found, among other antioxidant compounds; hence the negative impact of removing them with refining.

We can find different types of cereals in multiple presentations, which allows introducing variety into the diet and a large number of culinary possibilities. It also enables them to be part of any of the food intakes throughout the day.

4. Fats, the healthier the better

The quantity and quality of fats it is an essential aspect of any healthy diet. Two important measures in this regard are the use of olive oil and the intake of skimmed dairy products.

Olive oil, unlike other oils and most fats, is rich in oleic acid. Many studies have indicated that olive oil lowers LDL or “bad” cholesterol and increases HDL or “good” cholesterol, two good news for cardiovascular health. The general recommendation on its consumption is from 30 to 50 ml daily, that is, from 3 to 5 tablespoons. The ideal is to distribute these amounts between lunch and dinner.

If you include dairy in your diet, keep in mind that its fats are mainly saturated, associated with increased cholesterol levels. The Spanish Arteriosclerosis Society places skimmed milk among the foods that can be consumed daily, while it considers that the consumption of whole milk should be exceptional. In addition, the elimination of fat considerably reduces its energy content; in the case of milk, for example, half.

5. Eat raw

Interested in a high daily consumption of natural foods, unpackaged, unprecooked and unhandled. In addition to many vegetables and all fruits, we can also eat raw dried fruit, unroasted oilseeds, sprouted seeds, honey or the same virgin olive oil.

This is an advisable practice throughout the year, adapting the choice of food to the season. The raw food They also resist the test of demanding palates, since their consumption is not at odds with gastronomy. Salads of all kinds, cold soups, smoothies or fruit salads are good examples of this. In winter, food can be tempered in a bain-marie or left in the oven for a few moments.

6. Beware of sugar

Sugar is liked and this is one of the reasons why its intake is frequently excessive. But not a staple food and its consumption can have repercussions on health: obesity, mood swings, intestinal problems…

What would be a reasonable dosage? In general, it has been pointed out that between 20 and 30 g daily, adding the intake of sugar as is and that of foods that include it, which are not few. But being totally expendable, the most sensible recommendation is the less, the better.

7. Prudent use of salt

Salt is not a food, but a seasoning. And the moderate salt intake, Together with the practice of a Mediterranean diet and physical exercise, it is among the lifestyle habits that can allow the prevention of arterial hypertension. A reasonable amount of sodium in the diet is 2 g per day, which is equivalent to 5 g of salt.

Effective measures to consume less salt are: reduce or stop using salt when cooking, do not bring the salt shaker to the table, reduce consumption or do without superfluous foods rich in salt, read the labels and choose products made without salt or those that are low in sodium, and use preparations that enhance the flavor of food: steam, oven, iron…

8. Healthy cooking

The kitchen is an extraordinary laboratory where innumerable transformations take place, many of which have repercussions on the palate and on health. The battle is being fought on three fronts. On the one hand, it is minimize nutrient losses, avoiding, for example, excessive cooking times or cutting food too much.

For the same reason, they are steam and oven cooking are preferable before the boiled ones. It is necessary to avoid charring when cooking on the grill or on the grill, since reactions occur in which harmful products are generated. Lastly, it is recommended that cooking does not contain too much fat and that it is not subjected to excessive temperatures, in particular preventing the oils from burning.

9. Slow down, food tastes better

Fast food has been an undeniable success that seems to continue to gain popularity. Even every day more people decide to eat standing up. This is not good news for our digestions, which They appreciate some peace of mind. Nor does sensory enjoyment benefit when savoring is replaced by swallowing.

Some of the measures to achieve eating in peace are: design the day in order to have enough time to eat, chew well, dedicate attention to each bite to get the most out of it, rest the food for a certain time and eat in relaxing environments and protected from information that generates stress.

10. Avoid excesses

“You eat a lot after you’ve had your fill,” says the saying. Despite the fact that there are signals that warn the brain that enough is enough, these can be ignored or silenced by other motivations or more powerful emotional or social pressures. Precisely, attend to stomach signals can help control this basic aspect of eating.

Other useful factors are, for example, bring the right amount of food to the table, not insisting on finishing the portions, serving food on small plates, not getting used to preparing very succulent desserts. And above all, learn to enjoy the pleasant sensation of getting up from the table fully, but without heaviness.