HEALTHY FOODS for seniors have become the fastest growing segment in the senior marketplace. With more seniors moving toward health-conscious living and healthier diets, it’s no surprise that HEALTHY FOODS for seniors are rapidly rising in sales. A healthier diet contributes to weight loss, increased energy, improved mood, and even contributes to longer life!
Healthy Food. An entire industry has emerged around the idea of healthy food. It’s not just about taste anymore! Some people are allergic to certain foods, so instead of buying a packaged food, they make their own. Healthier cooking methods and the addition of vitamins and nutrients are leading the way toward a better-tasting and healthier diet.
Making it tasty is the easy part. Just add fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, chicken, etc. Many health food stores sell healthy food for kids. The best approach is to provide nutritious and attractive meals that kids enjoy. One of the challenges is to find attractive meals that don’t end up as snacks – they should be full-size meals.
The only problem with a healthy food diet includes keeping it balanced. Too many fruits and vegetables and not enough lean protein or other nutrients makes a diet less than healthy. A balance can be achieved by including lean meats such as low-fat beef or poultry, yogurt or buttermilk, and a few fresh fruits. Some experts believe that a low-fat, low-calorie diet includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while others emphasize adding healthy fats (such as those found in olive oil) and protein to make up for the lack of lean meat.
In choosing among healthy foods for kids, you need to pay attention to sodium content. Healthy foods for kids are lower in sodium than traditional junk foods. Sodium helps prevent blood pressure from high levels, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. For example, a diet high in nuts, low in sodium, but high in protein (that is, lean meats) lowers blood pressure. To make sure you get the recommended daily amount of sodium, you should learn from your doctor the average amount of sodium you need. If you have high blood pressure, you should get your blood checked regularly and advise you family of any additional changes in diet to keep the risk low.
HEALTHY EATING is not a one-time activity. You should continue with it long after your children have left home to ensure they remain healthy and well. Develop healthy eating habits now by getting the recommended daily value of each major nutrient and making sure your children have fun and variety in their meals. Invite them to help make the choices. Give them the responsibility for portion control and help them develop the habit of taking their meals at reasonable times (such as before and after school, during lunch, snack time, and dinner). You will find that this will encourage healthy eating.