Secrets of a Healthy Diet

Everyone knows that having a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to help your overall health. Along with physical activity, your diet is the major factor that affects your weight. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea (breathing problems while sleeping), osteoarthritis, and some cancers.

Having a healthy diet is sometimes easier said than done. It is tempting to eat less healthy foods because they might be easier to get or prepare, or they satisfy a craving. Between family and work or school, you are probably balancing a hundred things at once. Taking time to buy the ingredients for and cooking a healthy meal sometimes falls last on your list.

Here are some secrets

When you go shopping, are you confused by the labels you see on foods, like "fat free" and "low calorie."? Terms like these are on many food packages. Here are some definitions based on one serving of a food. If you eat more than one serving, you will go over these levels of calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

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Calorie-free: fewer than 5 calories
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Low calorie: 40 calories or fewer
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Reduced calorie: at least 25% fewer calories than the regular food item has
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Fat free: less than ½ gram of fat
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Low fat: 3 grams of fat or fewer
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Reduced fat: at least 25% less fat than the regular food item has
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Cholesterol free: fewer than 2 milligrams cholesterol and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat
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Low cholesterol: 20 milligrams or fewer cholesterol and 2 grams or less saturated fat
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Sodium free: fewer than 5 milligrams sodium
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Very low sodium: fewer than 35 milligrams sodium
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Low sodium: fewer than 140 milligrams sodium
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High fiber: 5 grams or more fiber

Here's a tricky one. How can you follow a healthy diet if you eat out a lot?
The American Heart Association gives these tips for a healthy diet, even when you aren't cooking at home:

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Ask the server to make substitutions, like having steamed vegetables instead of fries.
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Pick lean meat, fish, or skinless chicken.
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Make sure your entrée is broiled, baked, grilled, steamed, or poached instead of fried.
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Ask for baked, boiled, or roasted potatoes instead of fried.
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Order lots of vegetable side dishes and ask that any sauces or butter be left off.
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Ask for low-calorie salad dressing or a lemon to squeeze on your salad instead of dressing.
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Order fresh fruit or fruit sorbet in place of cake, pie, or ice cream desserts.

With these few hints and information, you are on your way to learning the secrets to a healthy diet.

Source: National Women's Health Information Center