Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is essential for our overall health and well-being.
The foods we eat play a significant role in our health; a large chunk of our health comes from the inside out.
When it comes to talk of healthy eating, I noticed we’re often told that the keys to being healthy are to cut out certain foods.
We always hear what we shouldn’t be eating; processed foods, sugars, white bread, sugary drinks, etc, etc.
The focus is always on what we shouldn’t be eating, not what we should be eating.
I’m a firm believer that in order to live a happy and healthy life, you can’t hyper fixate on all the foods you shouldn’t be eating.
This would lead to so much additional stress and pressure on ourselves, taking away from the joy and experience of eating in the first place.
I’m here to take a new approach and tell you about the foods that you should add to your diet, not what you should take out of it.
Here are six foods I believe you should eat more of and why:
1. Dark, leafy greens
The first type of food I believe is essential to add to your diet are dark, leafy greens.
Things like spinach, chard, and kale all qualify as leafy greens and let me tell you: they are nutrient powerhouses.
They’re rich in so many vitamins and minerals, vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron, and so many more, that it’s more shocking to me when people don’t eat these foods.
Spinach specifically has a lot of magnesium.
As of now, I myself am focusing on eating plenty of spinach everyday because I’m trying to increase my magnesium levels.
I do this by sneaking a cup or two into my smoothies everyday and I hardly even taste a difference.
It can be that easy to find ways to incorporate more of these nutrient dense foods into our diets.
Not to mention, these vegetables also contain plenty of antioxidants, which provide tons of benefits for us and help protect against certain chronic diseases.
2. Berries
I don’t think a lot of people realize how good berries are for our health.
Berries like blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are all packed full of antioxidants.
These antioxidants are essential for our bodies.
They provide so many benefits for our bodies like reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which can lead to chronic diseases in the body.
Additionally, berries are filled with fiber which is essential for our bodies.
Fiber is essential specifically for digestive health and helps keep you fuller for longer.
3. Fatty fish
Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and trout are loaded with one essential nutrient for our bodies: omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids are extremely beneficial for our bodies, yet many people don’t eat enough of them.
Typically, we eat too many omega-6 fats, which aren’t very good for us, and far too little omega-3 fats, which are extremely healthy for us.
Omega 6s are usually found in seed oils whereas omega-3’s are found in things like walnuts and salmon.
Omega-3’s are crucial for our heart and brain health; lowering the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation, and enhancing cognitive function.
They are a great source of energy, keeping our lungs, cells, blood vessels, and immune system working the way they should be.
Additionally, fatty fish are also high in protein, and protein is essential for building muscle in the gym.
4. Nuts and seeds
Many nuts and seeds are rich in healthy fats, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Just hearing that, who wouldn’t want to incorporate nuts and seeds into their diet?
With all these nutrients within them, nuts and seeds aid in heart health, reduce the risk of heart disease, and can control your blood sugar by keeping it from spiking.
Additionally, as they have a high fat content, you can add nuts and seeds to your meals and snacks to keep you fuller for longer.
The healthy fats within them help to keep you more satiated between your meals.
I love to sprinkle them on top of my yogurt or into my oatmeal for the extra nutrients.
Some of my favorite examples of nuts and seeds are chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, almonds, and walnuts.
5. Whole grains
There are two very different types of grains; whole grains and refined grains. The ones we’re talking about here, and the ones you should focus on eating, are whole grains.
Refined grains aren’t as healthy for you as whole grains are. Whole grains retain certain parts of their composition that make them much more nutrient dense, whereas refined grains do not.
Whole grains are an extremely important carbohydrate to incorporate into our diet.
Being high in fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients, they do tremendous things in our bodies.
For example, they help regulate blood sugar, promote digestive health, and reduce the risk of certain diseases.
They’re also complex carbs, which means they’re a great source of long lasting energy for the day.
Some of my favorite whole grains to incorporate into my diet are oats, quinoa, and whole grain bread.
6. Yogurt
The final food on this list of foods to add to your diet is yogurt.
Because yogurt is a fermented food, it’s incredibly high in probiotics. Probiotics are a type of bacteria that’s actually good for you, they promote our gut health.
A healthy gut microbiome is essential for digestion, immune function, mood regulation (because it plays a huge role in our hormone production), and more, the list goes on and on.
There’s so much to know about how important gut health is to our overall health, it’s impossible to cover it all in this post. But just know, our gut health correlates to a lot of our health.
Many people don’t know that so many of the issues the face everyday can be caused from poor gut health.
Bloating, depression, anxiety, acne, inability to lose weight, poor digestion, all of these can be a result of poor gut health.
So if there’s anything from this list I would say you should look to incorporate into your diet the most, it’s yogurt.
Or any other type of fermented food for that matter.
What you can do now
By starting to incorporate these six foods into your diet, I guarantee you’ll notice nothing but improvements.
You’ll notice better moods, improved energy, improved digestion, and better health overall.
Most importantly, you’ll be one step closer to a happier, healthier you!
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