Combine Nutrition Data With Common Sense To Stay Healthy And Get Fit

By Marion Peters


For anyone who enjoys an active lifestyle, whether as an athlete or simply to stay fit, nutrition data can be a very useful tool. When coupled with experience and common sense, information of this kind can be used to inform the choices made about diet. While pages of statistics, or numbers on labels, can be confusing, using some sense with regard to food choices is not hard.

For a start, anyone who wants to make their body healthier and fitter should avoid processed food of any kind. Scanning the label of many pre-processed and pre-packaged foods can be like reading a chemistry textbook on occasion. The more chemical compounds that there are listed on the side of a product, then the greater the need to avoid it becomes.

Anyone who wants to take a drastci first step towards improving their diet should cut sugar out of what they eat, especially if they eat a lot of processed or refined sugars, such as those found in fizzy drinks. While fat was once seen as the enemy of healthy bodies, with many companies manufacturing 'low fat' food products, many fats are in fact good for the body. The natural fats in olive oil, eggs, some dairy products and nuts can in actual fact help to keep people slim, as well as offering important nutrition.

Finding a healthy protein source is essential for a good diet, and white meat, such as chicken, and fish can play an important role in providing protein. Red meat contains more saturated, or unhealthy, fat than meats which are classified as white. It also contains more cholesterol, and has been identified as a cause of digestive illness and heart conditions.

Avoiding foods fried in corn or vegetable oil is also a good idea. Using olive oil as a replacement fat can make certain frying processes healthier, though. Using olive oil as a dressing for salads and other foods can help the body to burn fat, and this type of oil also offers good all-round nutrition.

The process of selecting food can be made much easier by following a simple rule. If it can be killed, or is grown from the soil, then it is, generally speaking, a good thing to eat. If it has a long list of chemicals on its label, where the ingredients should be, then it is best avoided.

Nutrition data can be a useful complement to common sense when choosing food. Avoid foods which are processed and pre-packaged. Choose foods which are as close to their natural state as possible before preparation and cooking.




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