How to choose healthy foods and which benefits you will receive.

Are there any healthy foods available nowadays? You might answer yes, but...

Did you know that every year in average every human consumes about 4 Kg of pesticides and herbicides from food?

Did you know there's a higher amount of children with autism that have been tested for mercury in their brains and found extraordinary amounts of such metal there?

It's a fact that foods have changed and are less nutritious, more contaminated with different toxins and heavy metals than ever! But...

It's also true there is a group of farmers, manufacturers and distributors that want to provide healthier products, not only because there's a huge market, but also because they know it contributes to the health of people.

Then, how do you find these products? And where? How much they cost? I will provide some tips to address these questions:

How to choose healthy foods and where.

1) Learn to read the food labels.

Learning how to read food labels

On choosing healthy foods, calories are not the most important factor, you must also look at the amount of fats, carbohydrates, proteins and sodium. Then, choose the options lower in fats, sodium and calories.

A tiny tip, if you buy high sodium goods and is possible to rinse them with water, do it.

2) Fresh foods vs. Packed foods. Obviously fresher goods win because not only packed and frozen will have less nutritional value, but taste is not the same in fresher than from processed or frozen or packed. You know where to look for fresher right?

3) Fruits and vegetables are your best friends. They must become the basis of your diet. Look for them fresh, better from the specific season and preferably organic. There are special sections for organic products at the supermarket or even specialized stores that offer such foods.

4) Go for the good fat! It means to limit the saturated and trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils) you consume each day, and exchanging them for unsaturated fats like the ones you find in cold water fish, legumes and seeds.

Another tiny tip: If you buy fish, check for fresh one (if you live at the coast) or vacuum packed so that you ensure at least more control on metals presence in this food. Avoid buying fish that has been exposed to the air, like in a supermarket's counter, because not only metals count, but oxidation as well.

5) Make an eye to legumes! They can substitute high consumption of foods from animal sources, because they're high in protein and inexpensive. Include them in soups, salads, dips and spreads.

6) Don't forget the grains. They're the seeds of plants. If you consume whole goods, meaning they include the endosperm, the germ and the bran, not only they give you good carbohydrates (called complex), but they also have lower glycemic indexes, which will not force your pancreas and insulin secretion.

More about glycemic index and how glucose is affected

Healthier choices lead to healthy eating. Your nutrition will improve if you try these tips. Then, come back soon to the site, as I'll be adding articles about specific foods with great nutritional value.

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