In the first HEALTHY EATING blog, it was emphasized that your body, though fearfully and wonderfully made, still needs time when it is not constantly busy with digestion. There needs to be time for focus on other goals. After all, there is a lot of machinery…..a lot of moving parts to maintain. So leaving longer periods between feedings is important! SHOCKING AS THIS TRUTH IS, for most people, it is healthy to skip meals and even healthy to fast for 24 hours or longer.
However, during the time that we ARE eating, we need to supply our bodies with the right tools and material to build and maintain everything in the best working order. Much of what is sold as food these days has very little nutrition. We can eat a lot of calories with very little benefit. It actually takes a lot of knowledge to avoid all of the new but unhealthy choices trying to steal your grocery dollars!
One helpful resource, published by the government, is THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS. The USDA and The department of health and human services work together to issue this guidance. It is updated every 5 years, with the current issue covering 2015 – 2020. This is your tax dollars at work, so take advantage of it!
It takes a lot of time and work to change a habit, but even small shifts in the right direction can yield big benefits. No one follows guidelines perfectly. But we can use guidelines to improve bit by bit.
The latest guidance from The dietary guidelines for Americans give us FIVE basic rules to follow
- 1 – Follow a healthy eating pattern across your lifespan
- 2 – Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount
- 3 – Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake
- 4 – Shift to healthier food and beverage choices
- 5 – support healthier eating patterns for all
This is just a starting point. Of course, there is a lot more information on the government site, so to further explore it, visit www.dietaryguidelines.gov.
We will continue to explore healthy eating at SMALLTOWNDOCTORMOM, so please continue to visit us!
SMALL SHIFTS TOWARD HEALTHIER EATING CAN YIELD LARGE BENEFITS
