Since there is often a lot of salt and additives, flavor enhancers or sugar in ready-made food, you should mainly choose as unprocessed, natural products as possible as a rule of thumb for healthy eating, the shorter the list of ingredients, the better. Plant-based foods such as cereals, fruits and vegetables are therefore essential for good nutrition. But also because they are real nutritional aids with their mix of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals, they should be consumed regularly. From evolvhealth you can find the smartest options.
Five servings of fruits and vegetables
Five servings of vegetables and fruit are recommended (optimal: 2 servings of fruit, 3 servings of vegetables) per day, where one serving means approximately two handfuls (shaped into a bowl). In addition, at least 1.5 liters of drinks (unsweetened, e.g. water, tea) should be drunk every day, and correspondingly more with physical exertion.
If you are unsure which food groups should be on the menu for the right nutrition and how often, you will also find orientation in schemes such as the food pyramid, the nutrition group.
Healthy eating: children
But what is healthy eating broken down into different stages of life? For infants, healthy eating is simply breast milk. In principle, the same principles apply to children and adolescents up to the age of 19 as to adults, but their nutritional relation with protein and fat deviates slightly. Since they are still growing and build up body substances, the energy requirements of children and adolescents are higher and they need more protein.
Healthy eating: adults
Adults can adhere to the ten rules of the DGE when it comes to healthy eating:
- Eat varied
- Lots of grain and potatoes
- Five servings of fruits and vegetables a day
- Milk (products) daily
- Fish once or twice a week,
- Meat, sausage and eggs in moderation
- Less fat
- Sugar and salt in moderation
- Plenty of fluid
- Prepare food gently
- Take time and enjoy
- Pay attention to the weight and keep moving.
By the way: While adult women have an average daily requirement of 2,000 kilocalories and sedentary men have one of 2,500 kilocalories, the energy requirement for seniors is lower due to the decreasing muscle mass.
Healthy eating: How do you eat healthy in everyday life?
According to studies, most people know that healthy eating is important. When it comes to practical implementation in everyday life, most of them are quickly over with the interest in healthy eating due to lack of time or convenience. There are many tips on how to eat a wholesome diet even under stress and without much effort, for example:
Cook on stock at the weekend or on a quiet evening, freeze the leftovers in portions and take them to the office or eat in the evening. It’s a quick, easy way to maintain healthy eating even in stressful job phases.
If you eat in the canteen or in the restaurant, you should avoid fat salad dressings and cream sauces. Tip: Put the vinegar-oil dressing and (tomato) sauce in a separate container and dose you. Also, if you choose vegetable topping instead of salami for pizza, omit the parmesan over the pasta and instead of uninhibited access to the breadbasket, spoon a broth or drink a large glass of mineral water, you support a healthy diet.
