“Mom’s cooking” is one thing many people say they miss most about home after moving out. Have you ever really stopped to think about the thought and love that went into those meals? For at least 18 years, your parents were in charge of your nutrition. From day one, they were concerned about your growth and development. Were you eating enough? Did you get the right vitamins and minerals on a daily basis? How would they ever convince you vegetables — a nutrition powerhouse — were delicious so you could keep up healthy habits?
But if you were like many other young adults, your rebellious teenage ways saw you eating a ton of potato chips and chugging sugary sodas, and you were thrilled to keep up the trend when you moved out. Being an adult is great in so many ways — especially when no one’s around to guilt you out of eating ice cream for breakfast!
Unfortunately, the euphoria of eating whatever you want gives way to the inevitable side-effects: sluggish mental power, uncomfortable bloating, and yep — weight gain. If you’re starting to think you should probably be eating more “real food,” you’re on the right track!
That’s because eating whole, unprocessed foods is one of the keys to good nutrition. When you choose to eat whole wheat bread versus white bread, for example, the less-processed whole wheat version contains more fiber, fewer simple sugars, more protein, and even some extra vitamins and minerals. All of these are important for a healthy digestive system — and for a healthy body, period.
You might choose to zero-in on certain aspects of nutrition depending on your goals. Maybe you want to eat organic foods to reduce your exposure to chemicals and endocrine disruptors.
Perhaps you want to lose weight or gain muscle (or both!) but aren’t sure which of the dozens of dietary approaches will work for you. Maybe you want to take baby steps and learn how to read food labels so you can pick the healthier options without radically changing your eating habits.
We get it! You want to be healthy, meet your goals, and also not feel like you’re depriving yourself of the joy of food. That’s why certified nutritionists write our educational articles, and why we have a recipe database to give you some culinary inspiration.
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