The year 2020 has been filled with many ups and downs, and the focal point for most being the pandemic. And we have to agree, the pandemic affected our lives one way or another, in both the good and the bad, and the best thing that must have happened to most of us is eating more at home and eating healthy cooked meals enjoyed with our families. Which created stronger bonds and made us realise the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So how about looking at some of the best diets you can try out with this New Year, to help you kick start a new chapter on a good note.
- The Dash diet
It has been a common diet option tried by individuals looking for ways to reduce Hypertension and high blood pressure. But still, a good option if you are looking to lose some weight, reduce the likelihood of getting chronic diseases and just maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The diet emphasises consuming more fruits, vegetables, whole greens and lean protein together with some low-fat dairy. These foods are high in all the good nutrients to keep your body healthy; they are loaded with good fibre, calcium, protein and potassium. While on this diet, it will help you avoid sugary drinks and foods, high saturated fats and full-fat dairy products. And when you pair this with some good workout, you will love the results it offers.
- The Mediterranean diet
Have you ever noticed that most people who live in the Mediterranean suffer less from these chronic diseases and tend to leave longer? It is all thanks to the healthy diet they have incorporated and an active lifestyle. Like the DASH diet, this is also high in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, fresh spices and herbs, but low in sugar, red meat, and saturated fat. When you follow this Mediterranean diet, it will help keep unwanted weight and prevent cases of chronic disease. As you will see, it is a very easy diet to follow, one that you will easily incorporate into your current lifestyle due to its flexibility.
- Look into the flexitarian diet.
It is a flexible vegetarian diet that you can easily follow. If you are a meat-eater, don’t stop reading just yet, as you can still incorporate some meat with this diet. The idea is to eat a little less meat than you have been used to but slowly increasing other food groups. Which means you will slowly increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, bean, pea and more egg protein plus have more whole grains and low-fat dairy while still reducing sugary foods and drinks. Remember this is a flexible diet, so when you get the craving for some meat in your diet, you can easily incorporate it, and when on this diet, it is strongly advised that you incorporate some exercise.
Conclusion
These diets paired with some exercise can offer your body some desirable results. But remember to keep the unwanted weight off effectively, you need to learn to properly balance the energy that we consume with the energy that we burn in a given day.