Healthy Eating

The first step to feeling healthy and energetic is a well-balanced diet. Discover the secrets of great nutrition and easy ways to make sure you're eating right

You are what you eat, in more ways than one. Subsisting on fat-laden chips, sugar-filled drinks, and salt-packed convenience foods can leave you sluggish and weak. You drag all day, hit an afternoon slump and your body immediately demands more sugar for energy. Enjoying a variety of vitamin-, mineral-, and fibre-packed foods, on the other hand, builds a strong body and allows you to power effortlessly through the day. A well-balanced diet can also help you fight off colds, daily stressors and disease.

• Nutrition basics
• Sample menu
• Putting ideas into action

Nutrition basics

• Don't skip meals
  Missing meals on a regular basis is a bad idea no matter what your reason. No time? Make time. Trying to lose weight? This won't work. Skipping meals leads to overeating later in the day. In addition, the body becomes very efficient to prevent starvation. Translation: your metabolism slows down and stores more fat. Finally, without the continuous energy food supplies, you become run down and more susceptible to sickness. The solution: during the day try to eat every three to four hours. That means breakfast, perhaps a snack, lunch, a snack, and dinner.

• Eat breakfast
  Certainly every meal is important, but the first meal after a long night's rest is crucial in many ways. It's the first shot of energy to rev you up and get your day started. It's a great opportunity to eat your first servings of calcium-rich dairy foods, fruits, and whole grains - common ingredients in morning meals. A good breakfast also helps you steer clear of high fat/sugar vending machine fillers.
• Eat protein with your carbs
  There's no need to avoid carbs altogether, just don't overdo it. Pairing protein-rich foods with your carbs makes this task easier. Carbohydrates provide much-needed energy to your body; however they are digested quickly leaving you feeling hungry soon after eating. Bagels and muffins for breakfast, chocolate snacks and large portions of pasta and rice at lunch and dinner become an unending cycle resulting in hunger pangs and the need for a pick-me-up. Proteins digest more slowly therefore you feel satisfied longer. The solution: enjoy complex carbs in moderate amounts and along with low-fat protein. Instead of a bagel and cream cheese, try a toasted muffin with peanut butter. Instead of a bar of chocolate, how about dried cranberries and almonds. Instead of a big bowl of pasta, dish out a handful of pasta along with a grilled chicken breast.