While choosing the right kind of food yourself, you need to consider multifarious factors. These factors include – tastes, availability, affordability, culture, personal preference, and most importantly the nutritional value of the food. However, some people keep their taste and preference above all when they choose the foods that they eat. But if you want to remain fit and healthy then you must take the nutritional value of the food into consideration and then decide which foods you should be consuming. We are giving you some nutritional tips that you must follow in order to choose the best foods for yourself.
Choose foods with good fats
Cutting fats is a good thing but taking good fats is also essential. You have to make sure that you consume good fats like monounsaturated fats and essential fatty acids like Omega 3 in fair amounts. Olive oil, fatty fish oil, nuts, seeds, and legumes are good sources of the good fats. And the bad fats you already know are the saturated fats, trans fat and the fatty acids, which you make sure that you avoid them.
High in protein content
Protein makes your muscles strong, repair your cells, and form hormones such as thyroxine and serotonin. Therefore, it is essential that you get fair amount of protein in your everyday diet. Make sure you consider the protein section on the nutrition facts label for your daily protein intake requirement, so that you do not either fall short or overdo its consumption.
Go for complex carbohydrates and whole grains
You should prefer complex carbohydrates to simple ones and whole grains over refined ones. Complex carbohydrates are starches and they take more efforts to break down than the simple carbohydrates. They are the main source of energy and in case you consume a low-carbohydrate diet, then the proteins and fats will also be used for energy.
Check the added sugar value
You should refrain from the foods that contain high levels of added sugar. Sugar is also named as corn syrup and dextrose on some nutrition facts label. Foods with natural sugar are good; however, the ones that have high amounts of added sugar are not good for your health.
Check sodium content
Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels but the sodium suppresses the vessels and increases the blood pressure. Therefore, sodium is a no-no for people having high blood pressure. So find no-sodium substitutes for salt. On the other hand, if you are an athlete, then sodium is an essential mineral for you because you perspire and loose salt and water from your body.
Summary
Healthy food is a key to good health. Do not forget to consider these nutritional points while choosing foods for you.