The World Health Organization has released a report with healthy eating tips. The purpose of the material is to make people aware of the importance of maintaining a balanced diet.
An important point is when the entity mentions that it is necessary to maintain a daily balance between the amount of calories consumed with the expenditure of energy. For this, the presence of physical activity is fundamental.
Although many of these healthy eating tips are already part of many people’s daily lives, the information is always renewed and it is important to remember improvements – especially at the beginning, when the promises to change habits gain strength.
Healthy eating tips, according to WHO
Consume various food groups
For the organism, variety is very important, since none has all the necessary nutrients for it to perform all functions.
The exact composition of a diversified diet cannot be predetermined, as the needs may depend on the individual characteristics of each one (such as age, sex, lifestyle and degree of physical intensity).
However, the basic principles of what make up a healthy diet remain the same.
The foods that are part of this balanced diet are: fruits and vegetables (400 g or 5 servings daily); legumes (for example, lentils and beans); nuts; whole grains (unprocessed corn, oats, wheat and brown rice); animal foods (for people who are not vegetarian or vegan).
For meats, the best choice would be lean meats, with little fat. Always give preference to cooking or boiling food rather than frying it.
Reduce the amount of salt
Salt, when consumed in large quantities, can raise blood pressure and, consequently, cause hypertension, one of the main risk factors for heart disease.
Most people consume larger amounts than recommended by the WHO, through foods rich in sodium, which is a maximum of 5 g, or a teaspoon per day.
These sodium-rich foods (normally found in processed foods) do not contain the necessary amount of potassium, increasing the risk of developing illnesses and even strokes.
Even if you do not salt your food after it is prepared, it is important to keep an eye on the large quantities of processed foods and beverages.
Simple changes can decrease the excessive consumption of salt, such as exchanging processed foods for natural and fresh foods during the day, in addition to checking food labels and looking for products with lower sodium content.
In addition, limiting the amount of salt and condiments with a high sodium content (for example, soy sauce, fish sauce and broth) when cooking and preparing food is a valuable salt reduction tip.
The taste can quickly adjust to new conditions, so removing condiment from the table during meals out of habit can result in eating foods with less salt.
The reduction of salt consumption to less than 5g per day can deduct about 1.7 million deaths each year.
Decrease the use of certain fats and oils
Fat can be beneficial for health , but when consumed in small amounts (up to 30% of daily food consumption) and in the right way. However, some types of fat can increase the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in oils such as sunflower, soy, canola and olive oil) are preferable to saturated fats (found in fatty meats, butter, ghee, palm and coconut oil, creams , cheese and lard) and trans fats.
Saturated fats should consume less than 10% of daily food consumption – trans fats should be avoided entirely . They are present in baked and fried foods, snacks and foods such as frozen pizza, pies, cookies, crackers, oils and creams, in addition to the fat found in foods of animal origin.
Limit your sugar intake
Sugar consumption has become very high in recent years. One of WHO’s healthy eating tips is that consumption is less than 10% of daily energy consumption.
Not only harmful to dental health, sugars can favor the emergence of obesity. Free sugars influence blood pressure and serum lipids, increasing risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
To reduce these rates, it is recommended to limit the consumption of foods and beverages that contain high amounts of sugars, such as sugary snacks, sweets and drinks sweetened with sugar .
These beverages include carbonated or still soft drinks, fruit or vegetable juices or drinks, liquid and powdered concentrates, flavored water, energy and sports drinks, ready-to-drink tea, ready-to-drink coffee and flavored dairy drinks.
Eating fresh fruits and raw vegetables as snacks instead of sugary snacks is also an alternative to lower blood sugar levels.
