Top tips for making your diet healthier

If you want to make your diet healthier it’s not that hard to do. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, or start eating very differently. Usually, a few small changes here and there will make a big difference. Here are some top tips for making your diet healthier.

• Eat more slowly. You might not have expected this as a tip but how fast we eat has an influence on weight gain. It’s hormones that tell the brain when you are full but this can happen up to 20 minutes after you actually eat. So, if you slow down you give your brain more time to understand that you are full. As a result, you are less likely to eat too much and put on weight.
• Pick wholegrains. If you eat a lot of refined grains (often white bread etc) then you can simply swap this for wholegrains. Some of the benefits you will get from doing this include more fibre and more B vitamins.
• Include eggs in your diet. Eggs are full of protein and also have lots of essential nutrients in them. Plus, eating eggs in the morning can make you feel fuller for longer. One study found that eating eggs for breakfast meant people ate less during the day.
• Choose protein. There are lots of ways to eat more protein, including nuts, dairy and peanut butter. In one study, more protein in meals was found to generate less ghrelin, which is the hunger hormone. Protein can also help with muscle mass and even how many calories your body is able to burn every day.
• Drink plenty of water. This will not only keep you healthy but can even help to increase the number of calories that you burn every day. Plus, drinking water before you eat has been found to help reduce how hungry you are after the meal.
• Change the way you make your food. A lot of the food that we eat is cooked – and how you cook it will make a difference to how healthy it is. For example, if you fry a lot of your food, one simple change would be to bake it instead. This can reduce the amount of fat involved. It will also mean you are eating fewer of the toxic substances that can be formed during frying, such as heterocyclic amines.
• Take your supplements. Some of the most important supplements for a healthy diet are Omega-3 and Vitamin D.
• Change the way you eat out. It can be a nice treat to eat out once in a while – but this doesn’t always have to be unhealthy fast food. There are lots of options to replace burgers or pizza that will make your diet healthier.
• Have your green veg to start with. A starter of broccoli or spinach will make sure that you don’t skip these healthy foods. And it could slow down how carbs are absorbed into your blood and help with maintaining blood sugar.

These top tips show how you can easily make your diet healthier.