14 Everyday Food Habits For Better Health

Food habits are a very important and vital part of one's life. Our health and entire life cycle depends on what we eat. As well said “Health is wealth”, so, to maintain our health, we must concentrate on healthy food habits. To change food habits is the most difficult thing to change. Also, it is the most popular thing to try to change. Here are some everyday food habits that you can follow to ensure a better health.

• Replace sodas with water – This is an easy transition actually. An obvious advantage of consuming water than soda, is that you intake less sugar and thus you do less damage to your teeth. Also by consuming less sugar, you keep a check on your obesity.

• Replace sweet snacks with vegetables, fruit and nuts -  Instead of indulging into cookies and cakes, you can try to have apples, bananas, blueberries and in the nuts department cashews, almonds and peanuts. But remember to have just a handful of these two nuts, not a big bowl. These nuts pack a lot of fat.

• Eat more fibre – Eating fibre can lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It also helps you with weight loss as high-fibre food often takes longer time to chew which gives your body time to register when you are full. Overeating therefore becomes less likely and the fibre also makes you feel full longer. You can find a good amount of fibre in beans, fruits and raw vegetables.

• Eliminate temptations in your environment – You can change your environment to change yourself wherever you find the possibility. If you don't have unhealthy food in your home and cubicle, the temptations to have them will be quite a bit smaller. And one of the best ways to change a habit is to replace it. Think about what you can throw out and what healthier option you can replace it with.

• Cook and bring your own meals to work –  Outside food contains extra fat and sugar. So try to cook at home. When you cook for yourself, you know and you have control on what you are putting into your body.

• Avoid the buffet – When you eat in a buffet, you have the tendency to eat more. When you eat in a buffet be aware and little careful on how much you eat.

• Be careful with your plate-size – You'll probably habitually want to fill the plate. If you are using a big plate you run the risk of eating too big servings.

• Eat a healthy breakfast – It's the most important meal of the day. Don't forget to keep it healthy too. There are benefits of eating a healthy breakfast: you are more likely to consume more vitamins and minerals and less fat and cholesterol, to have better concentration and be more productive during the morning, to control your weight better and to have lower cholesterol.

• Eat slower – It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full. That's because your stomach needs to begin stretching before it starts to produce the hormones that tells your brain that you are full. By slowing down your eating your brain can stop you before you eat unnecessarily much. Eating slower can also help prevent digestion problems and generally makes you feel less stressed.

• Don't eat and drive – Just like talking on the cell phone while driving is dangerous, it is also dangerous for you and your fellow motorist to eat and drink while driving. Sit down at a table while eating.

• Use a grocery list – Try to stick to buying just what you've written down. A written list can decrease the need of impulse buying which often results in more unhealthy foods in the grocery bag.

• Shop when you are full – Like using a written shopping list, this is useful for limiting impulse buying. You are likely to shop for anything when you are hungry. Also, when you go shopping hungry it seems to increase the craving for junk food.

• Get enough sleep – If you're not getting enough sleep your hormonal signals may change and increase your appetite. In one study sleep was restricted to four hours for one night. The next day the results among the participants were a 24% increase in hunger and 23% in appetite.

• Be conscious of what you eat – Last, but not the least, try thinking before you eat anything instead of just going along with your normal routine. Think about what you should eat and plan at least a little instead of just gulping down something unhealthy while thinking of everything else except what you are eating. Be aware of what you put into yourself. Do some research on what is more or less healthy. Take control of what you eat.