Tips on a Healthy Diet

What to eat is a question that has plagued Americans for decades. New fad diets pop up all the time, promising weight loss and better health. But most of these diets disappear quickly. A food promoted as healthy one day can suddenly be labeled dangerous the next. With all this conflicting information, how can you confidently embark on a healthy diet? Some time-tested truths help point the way toward healthy eating.

Fruits and Vegetables

In his book, "In Defense of Food: An Easter's Manifesto," Michael Pollan simplifies the requirements for a healthy diet: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." While this may seem like common sense, two thirds of the average American diet consists of corn, soy, wheat and rice in one form or another. In "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy," Dr. Walter C. Willett devotes an entire chapter to the importance of fruits and vegetables. Popping a multivitamin isn't the same, as whole fruits and vegetables contain a rich variety of nutrients that you can't get anywhere else. Regularly consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables can help prevent cancer, heart disease and gastrointestinal problems. Willett suggests a daily diet that includes at least one serving each of dark-green, leafy vegetables; yellow or orange fruits and vegetables; red fruits and vegetables; legumes; and citrus fruits.

Fats

A common misconception--all fats are bad--gets in the way of a healthy diet. In fact, many fats are essential to good health. Willett notes that "Cutting back on all types of fat and eating extra carbohydrates will do little to protect against heart disease and will ultimately harm some people. Instead, replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats is a safe, proven, and delicious way to cut the rates of heart disease." Foods that can help to incorporate healthy fats into your diet include peanuts, cashews, walnuts, avocados, legumes, seeds, ground flaxseeds and soy products. Olive oil is a healthy alternative to butter or margarine. Poultry and fish contain healthier fats than beef products.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates often get a bad rap. Low-carb and no-carb diets portray these foods as dangerous and unhealthy when in fact the opposite is true. The most important consideration is the type of carbohydrates you choose. "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy" notes that the average American diet gets the majority of its carbohydrates from sugars and highly refined grains, such as those found in soft drinks, cakes, cookies, sugars, syrups and ready-to-eat cereals. Instead, the bulk of your carbohydrates should come from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole grain pasta are much healthier than their bleached counterparts.

Processed Foods

One of the broadest, most important strategies for eating a healthy diet is also one of the most difficult: Avoid processed foods. When processed foods are prevalent, diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease soon follow. As Michael Pollan states, "the chronic diseases that now kill most of us can be traced directly to the industrialization of our food." The closer your meals are to their original, natural ingredients, the healthier they--and you--will be.