Healthy Eating in January!

It may be easy to forget the importance of living a healthy life when we're going through the daily grind. It may be even easier to get caught up in what's convenient instead of what's good for us. However, the benefits you can enjoy with a healthy lifestyle are worth making healthy living a priority!

Eat nutritious food. 

A healthy living tip is to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Many people believe that they don't need to eat healthy or watch their diet because they don't need to lose weight. 

• I have had people say, "I am not fat, or why do I have diabetes and be thin." Diabetes and other chronic diseases such as hypertension and elevated cholesterol can happen to people thin or overweight, tall or short, and all ethnicities.

Not eating healthy couldn't be further from the truth! You should put only the best foods in your mouth no matter how much you weigh, what size you wear, or how fit you look. 

The food issues.

We see food type, preparation, and combination as an issue. 

Do you remember having hamburgers and french fries? How about hot dogs and potato chips, and let's not forget cereal with whole milk and orange juice for breakfast. These are a few of the same combinations we see today as adults. I call it convenient, fast foods, but we also see them in larger portions with higher amounts of salt and fat than in the past.

Food high in sugar, salt, and fat increases your risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol. One nutritious and healthiest way to eat is plant-based. More specifically, plant-based foods prepared with less fat, salt, and sugar taste good and improve health.

• Have you tried steaming mixed vegetables with garlic, onion, and smoked paprika? No salt or oil is needed, and it tastes delicious. 

Like many, I believe in knowing everything about eating healthy. As a diabetes educator, I focus not only on diabetes but also on brain health and well-being. Do you know that if you have started to cut back on salt, fat, and sugar, it will also affect other parts of your body?

What you eat affects your entire body, including your brain. 

You can think clearer, feel happier, enjoy more energy, and avoid illness by eating nutritious foods. Strive to eat more raw vegetables and fruits instead of processed or packaged foods.

Start a fresh new way of eating. Plant-based eating incorporates foods that give you energy and lower your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. This way of eating is worth making healthy living a priority in January.

    Can you think of ways this month to eat healthier?