10 rules to healthy eating

Healthy living and nutrition advices are contradictory, who can I trust?Nutrition should be rather simple, some foods are healthy and other are bad, right? Well, wait a sec! On nearly every ingredient you may find positive and negative advice as well. Further more, as with the example of the egg, advice will change also with time. With so much contradictory advices who may I trust? What can I eat without any problem?

Rule 1
Keep it simple and go diverse.
It may be tough to follow the ideal diet but it’s easy to be nearly perfect. Skip the miracle, one item diet, and go for a wide variety of fresh whole products and you will have already done the bigger step in the right direction.

Rule 2
The less processed, the better.
Because the more the food is refined and processed, the more it lacks the most beneficial parts, vitamins and fibers to name a few.

Rule 3
Beware of supplements and isolated products.
These processed foods are less well absorbed and may lead to health problems as they behave differently than the whole food.

Rule 4
Be light with salt, oil and sugar (S.O.S)
Not adding salt is one of the better move you can do to improve your health and fight hypertension.Removing sugar will help reduce insulin spikes and eating cravings.Oil should be used lightly as it is also a refined product (prefer when possible the whole product : nuts and seeds to get fiber and minerals). It’s also very caloric and it causes blood flow constriction.

Rule 5
Be heavy on fruits and veggies.
If you don’t have major health concerns you may eat them nearly as much as you want.They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients with a lot of antioxidants protecting your cells. And also a lot of water. So they aren’t very caloric and even for fruits the sugar inside is more slowly absorbed due to the fibers.

Rule 6
Enjoy legumes!
Legumes is our magic pill.They are very satieting and help keep your glycemic load in control. They are also very versatile, from hummus to curry and are super cheap.

Rule 7
Be light on animal proteins.
First you don’t need so much animal protein that you may think. Useful when you were a baby to help your growth but now that you’re adult you don’t want to be saturated with growth hormone!And you also don’t need antibiotics and saturated fat.So keep it in control and if you think you’re missing the flavour, add umami foods from veggies as they mimic the flavors from the meat.

Rule 8
Carbs are ok!
because as the legumes they help you feel fulfilled. So pack on carbs but as much as possible on whole products, whole rice, whole pasta, potatoes, sweet potatoes.But be cautious with the salsa you add. It may be the most caloric part of your plate if you go on cheese and other fat.

Rule 9
Pleasure first.
A satisfying meal must be appealing, so be creative, have fun, mix colors, texture, develop aromas using herbs and spices if you tolerate them.

Rule 10
It’s for life!
The good diet is the diet you can maintain for the rest of your life, so it has to be really good for you to stick with it.