There are numerous reasons to improve your diet. Maybe it’s to lose weight, perhaps you’re lacking energy, or maybe you’re trying to counter the impacts of poor health. Regardless, your diet, even more than exercise, maybe the best way to get back on top of your health. (1)
One of the most effective ways to take control of your health is to take control of your diet, and this starts at home. Knowing that old habits die hard, this transition likely won’t be an easy one. It will be a time for great learning and personal growth, and it’s inevitable there will be some bumps in the road along the way. This article will provide you with tips and tricks to get you cooking healthier.
Why should you prioritize a healthy diet?
The benefits of a healthy diet cannot be overstated. Your diet is a primary determinant for your quality of life. It affects you physically, psychologically, and by extension, even socially. This is even more pertinent when faced with the reality that obesity rates have been rising dramatically for decades. Some key facts about unhealthy diets include: (2)
- Since 1975, obesity has almost tripled.
- In 2016 it was found that 1.9 billion people over the age of 18 were overweight.
- Of those, 650 million were obese, 13% of the world’s adult population.
- The prevalence of being overweight or obese in children and adolescents is about 18%. (2)
Being overweight was traditionally considered a problem of rich and developed nations, but this has changed over time. Now, roughly half of overweight children under the age of five are in Asia. Evidently, the need to cook healthier at home knows no demographic or geographical boundaries. Follow these tips to help you with your journey. (2)
1. Learn how to cook
First things first, if you want to cook healthier, you’ll need to have some cooking skills under your belt. Learning to cook might sound like a pain in the neck, but it can actually be incredibly rewarding, not to mention a skill that you will retain for the rest of your life.
In America, an uptick in poor health and obesity rates has been attributed to a decline in cooking skills. This has been linked to a lack of formal cooking training, as most people have either been taught by family or teach themselves. This is despite the fact that a broad majority are in favor of including cooking and health education in schools. (3)
Some ways to step up your cooking game include:
- Investing in some cookbooks: Great for recipes, inspiration, and tips and tricks in the kitchen.
- Stock your cupboards with the right kinds of foods: Switch from foods high in saturated fat to alternatives like polyphenol rich olive oil and unsalted butter.
- Get the right equipment: Pots, pans, woks, chopping boards, mixing bowls, and a good set of knives will be your essential weapons in the kitchen.
- Keep your kitchen clean: Like it or not, cooking and cleaning go hand-in-hand. A clean kitchen will actually encourage your cooking adventures.
2. Go plant-based
Plant-based diets are experiencing phenomenal growth rates, and they are not simply a pump and dump fad. People have been inspired to adopt a vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian diet for both health and environmental reasons.
Of the most mainstream diets, veganism has the lowest carbon footprint, followed by vegetarianism and then all diets which include any animal products. With climate change rising so rapidly, feeling good about your choices can have positive impacts on your health. (4) (5)
Focus on plant proteins like beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy-based products like tempeh and tofu. Focusing on these proteins removes a great deal of sodium and saturated fats from your diet, things that are linked to heart disease and cancer. As plant-based proteins naturally pair with fruits, vegetables, and healthier fats like cold pressed olive oil, this change should impact your diet for the better. (6)
3. Experiment with other cuisines
Traditionally, Western food has not always been the healthiest. Meat and three, barbeque, and numerous varieties of fried potato—these are seldom recommended for anyone looking to step up their health.
Many other cuisines do a much better job at including vegetables. Some ideas include:
- Thai food: Stir-fries and curries are a great way to pack veggies into your diet.
- Indian food: With the biggest population of vegetarians in the world, Indian curries are flavorful and packed with vegetables.
- The Mediterranean and Italian food: the Mediterranean and Italian diets perplex health scientists as they contain huge amounts of fat, but produce some of the slimmest people. They also promote a lot of fruits and vegetables, and focus largely on healthy fats.
4. Condition yourself to avoid takeout
Change the way you approach food. Cooking should be your modus operandi. The yin to your yang. If you don’t know what’s in it, then you shouldn’t be eating it. This is because restaurant food isn’t designed to be healthy, it’s designed to be tasty. The amount of oil, salt, and fat used is considerably higher than what you would use in a home setting.
Takeaway food often includes processed ingredients that are high in phthalates, a chemical that can impact your regular hormonal function. Additionally, greasy, carb-rich foods can lead to spikes in blood sugar, eczema, and can affect bone strength. Cooking with fresh vegetables can keep your body healthy and in shape.
5. Follow the five-a-day methodology
In 2003, the British government launched the five-a-day campaign, an initiative aimed at encouraging the British population to eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables every day. Since then, the mantra has become commonplace amongst many both within and beyond British borders, and many others have found that having a daily target helps them achieve success. (7)
If you factor five a day into your cooking, this can be a good way to incorporate numerous portions into single meals. A vegetable curry can provide two or more servings at dinner. A salad sandwich for lunch can provide at least one. Or porridge with berries can be one or more servings, as well as being a natural hit of sugar and antioxidants to start off your day.
In conclusion
What you eat and how you cook is a huge determinant of your overall health. By improving your cooking skills, considering a plant-based diet, broadening your culinary horizons, and following the five-a-day mantra, you may live healthier and happier.
References
- “Why exercise won’t make you lose weight,” Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/04/health/diet-exercise-weight-loss/index.html
- “Obesity And Overweight,” Source: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
- “Perspectives on learning to cook and public support for cooking education policies in the United States: A mixed methods study,” Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666316305116
- “Vegan vs Paleo: Carbon Footprints and Diet Quality of 5 Popular Eating Patterns as Reported by US Consumers (P03-007-19),” Source: https://academic.oup.com/cdn/article/3/Supplement_1/nzz047.P03-007-19/5517901?login=true
- “Climate Change: How Do We Know?” Source: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
- “Is eating fat really bad for you? Here’s what the science says,” Source: https://www.vox.com/2015/11/24/9782098/dietary-fat-saturated-fat-good-or-bad
- “The ‘5-a-day’ campaign,” Source: https://navigator.health.org.uk/theme/5-day-campaign.