Various types of bread lay on a counter
Adding whole grains, vegetables, healthy fats, and more is the first step to eating more healthy foods.

Healthy Foods You Should be Eating

Eating healthy can help you feel more energetic, stay well, and live longer.

Let’s look at five of the best kinds of healthy foods which you can add to your diet.

1. Whole Grains

Eating whole grains is better for you than eating refined ones because whole grains are complete. Every part of a grain has nutritional value, but refined flours and grains have had parts removed by chemical and physical processing methods. This results in a loss of nutrients.

Artificial nutrients then need to be added back into refined flour. When you see labels on packages that say “enriched,” the product contains a grain that has been stripped of its natural nutrients and then had chemically-made vitamins put in. However, many of the nutrients are not replaced.

Whole grains are inexpensive, easy to prepare, and are great sources of a wide array of nutrients including proteins, minerals and B vitamins. Whole wheat, barley, oats, brown rice, farro and kasha are just a few of the many whole grains available.

One of the most important nutrients lost, and is not replaced, when grains are processed is fiber. Fiber is a valuable nutrient for many reasons. Fiber…

  • Increases your metabolic rate and helps you feel full which helps to maintain a healthy weight.
  • It improves bowel function, thereby reducing the risk of constipation and colon cancer.
  • It helps to deactivate and remove toxins from your body.
  • It prevents the absorption of certain fats. Fiber helps to balance blood sugar levels and reduces levels of unhealthy, LDL, cholesterol.

Aim to consume 35 grams of fiber each day. In addition to whole grains, fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber. One half of a cup of bran or one cup of dried legumes contains 10 grams of fiber.

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