Follow These Suggestions To Ensure Optimal Nutrition Intake

If you look to so many other countries, it is easy to see how lucky we are to have the food choices that we have. Nutrition isn't a difficult thing to understand. We have to make the right choices in the foods that we eat, in order to be healthier people. Read this article to see how you can make an impact in your own health.

Oprah Winfrey used the phrase "clean eating" in her book Oprah's Kitchen. It's helpful to think of clean eating as a good way to approach food. Simple preparations, lighter salad dressings, using less oils and fats (though still a bit for flavor!), and keeping things as fresh as possible - all these ideas contribute to her way of clean eating. Oprah loved her fried chicken - and presents a clean way of cooking it in her book. The bottom line is, if you have a choice between fancy and heavy vs. simple and fresh, go with the latter and your scale will thank you, no matter what food you're eating.

Calcium is one of the most important things our bodies need to perform optimally. Whether you're nine years old or forty-nine years old, everyone needs calcium. At younger ages, calcium aids in the building of healthy bones. At older ages, our bones begin to deteriorate. Calcium can slow and even stop that process.

Eat nuts as a snack everyday. These healthy little gems are packed full of good fats and plant sterols that can lower your cholesterol. They are low in fat and an easy item to eat on the go. Serving sizes for these snacks can be easily measured by handfuls.

Don't rely so much on artificial sweeteners to satiate your sweet tooth. Also try to cut back on actual sugar, honey, corn syrup and molasses. Try to opt for naturally sweet foods like fruits such as strawberries, cherries, peaches, etc. A fruit salad or trifle is also a great dessert that is very sweet.

Vitamin B6 is an important part of a healthy diet. Vitamin B6 works to metabolize protein and carbohydrates. It is also important in helping your body maintain a healthy blood sugar level. B6 is a player in the functioning of your immune and nervous systems. It also helps to keep anemia away.

Vitamin B12 is an important part of a healthy diet. It plays a role in releasing energy from the fat, carbohydrates and protein that you eat. Vitamin B12 also helps in the formation of blood cells, nervous system maintenance and bone metabolism. You can find this vitamin in dairy products, eggs, fish, meat and poultry.

So many people in the world are under nourished and are suffering from malnutrition. This is not because they make poor choices, but because they don't have the options that we have. We are a very unhealthy country because of the choices that we make. If you follow the advice you read here, you will be among a small number of people, who make the right choices and find the difference that proper nutrition can make in your life.