Let's not lie, it can be hard to eat well in 2022! The restaurants deliver to our doorstep, we receive a lot of discount coupons by mail and, on top of that, "healthy" food is very expensive in the grocery store!
How can we eat better under such unfavorable conditions?
Well, we are here to help you by going "back to basics".
It's easy to stray from what's good for you when you don't know what you're putting in your body. So we're going to briefly explain "the basics" to you.
The basis of good nutrition
When you choose what to eat, you must also think about nourishing your body. That is, be aware of what your body needs to function properly.
Choose foods that contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and a reasonable amount of sugar and fat.
Why do we say "reasonable amount of sugar and fat"? It is because the maximum recommendation for sugar per day is 45g and not all fats are good in large quantities. Although there are good fats such as olive oil, avocado and nuts, you should limit the consumption of saturated fats such as animal fat, coconut oil and butter.
Vitamins
Vitamins are nutrients that are necessary for the body, which the body cannot synthesize or which it manufactures in insufficient quantities. It is therefore essential to have a supply of vitamins through the diet. It is essential to function well.
Good news! Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins!
Minerals
As far as minerals are concerned, they are present in very small quantities in the body but are nevertheless very important. They include zinc, iron, calcium, sodium and potassium.
These nutrients are essential to the proper functioning of the human body. They contribute to the building of the skeleton, nerve conduction and muscle contraction.
Fibers
The main purpose of fiber is to regulate intestinal transit. It helps prevent many diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.
Proteins
What is important to know is that protein is vital to our functioning.
The amount of protein we need to eat per day differs according to our weight. The recommended minimum is 0.8 g per kilo per day (e.g. a woman weighing 65 kilos should eat about 52g of protein per day).
Proteins are meat, fish, eggs, seafood, seaweed, cereals and legumes among others.
Drinking water
Water is one of the most important nutrients, especially because it is the main component of the human body. As much as it is possible to survive several days without eating, our body cannot live without water for more than 3 days. Therefore, it is recommended to drink between 2 and 3 liters of water per day.
In brief
Drink a minimum of 2-3 L of water per day
Eat 2-3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit per day
Choose whole grains
Avoid processed foods
Beware of added sugar
Vary your protein sources: vegetable and animal
Limit your fat intake
Limit your sodium intake
Limit your alcohol consumption
Cheers!
