
The new year is fast approaching and people are setting their new year's resolutions. Perhaps eating healthier is on your list? If so, check out these five cleansing tips to a healthier you in 2015.
1. Avoid added sugar. The first step to reducing added sugars in your diet is finding them. Unfortunately, you can’t tell easily by looking at the nutrition facts panel of a food if it contains added sugars. The line for “sugars” includes both added and natural sugars. Naturally occurring sugars are found in milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose). Any product that contains milk (such as yogurt, milk or cream) or fruit (fresh, dried) contains some natural sugars.
Use these simple tips to reduce sugar in your diet:
- Remove sugar (white and brown), syrup, honey and molasses from the table—out of sight, out of mind!
- Cut back on the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there, or consider using an artificial sweetener.
- Buy sugar-free or low-calorie beverages.
- Buy fresh fruits or fruits canned in water or natural juice. Avoid fruit canned in syrup, especially heavy syrup.
- Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, add fresh fruit (try bananas, cherries or strawberries) or dried fruit (raisins, cranberries or apricots).
- When baking cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar called for in your recipe by one-third to one-half. Often you won’t notice the difference.
- Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts such as almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.
- Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar; try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.
- Substitute unsweetened applesauce for sugar in recipes (use equal amounts).
2. Stop eating processed foods. Processed foods are usually loaded with added sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup. Most highly processed foods are have artificial chemicals, including flavorants, texturants, colorants and preservatives. Many people can literally become addicted to processed junk foods. Junk foods can hijack the biochemistry of the brain, leading to downright addiction and cause them to lose control over their consumption. Processed foods are also often high in refined or "simple" carbohydrates that lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels that cause negative health effects. And, if you're looking for something nutritious, processed food are extremely low in essential nutrients compared to whole, unprocessed foods.
3. Eat less meat. Eating less meat is not only healthy for you but it's good for the health of the planet. Livestock production is responsible for 18 percent of the Earth’s greenhouse gas emissions, which fuel climate change. Thirty percent of the globe’s ice-free land is devoted to livestock production, with 26 percent of all land on Earth devoted to animal grazing and 33 percent of arable land used for feed production. The resources going into animal feed could feed four billion people. Meat production is water-intensive as well. And industrial animal farming methods have speed up the degradation of the soil. In fact, it’s the factory-scale production of meat—ramped up to fuel an increasing taste for meat in developing nations trying to keep up with industrialized countries—that is most to blame for consuming these resources. Consider going vegetarian or if that's to extreme, think about joining Meatless Monday, a global movement with a simple message: once a week, cut the meet.
4. Avoid junk food, which is disguised as health food. From processed breakfast cereals to vegetable oils to margarine to sports drinks, be careful not to eat unhealthy foods marketed as health foods. These foods are responsible for making people fatter and sicker than ever before. Salad dressings, for example, are loaded with unhealthy ingredients like sugar, vegetable oils and trans fats, along with a bunch of artificial chemicals. Keep in mind that truly healthy foods are those that don't need an ingredient list.
5. Stay Hydrated. You've probably heard the commonly recommended eight, 8-ounce glasses or half a gallon of water is what you should drink each day. Since researchers says that mild dehydration can have negative effects on both physical and mental performance, it's a good idea to stay hydrated, especially when you are exercising or in the heat.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
8 Ways to Tap Into the Superfood Powers of Ancient Grains
10 Benefits of Cinnamon: One of the Healthiest Spices on the Planet
Grow Food Year Round With Radically Sustainable Passive Solar Greenhouse
New EarthX Special 'Protecting the Amazon' Suggests Ways to Save the World’s Greatest Rainforest
To save the planet, we must save the Amazon rainforest. To save the rainforest, we must save its indigenous peoples. And to do that, we must demarcate their land.
A new EarthxTV film special calls for the protection of the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people that call it home. EarthxTV.org
- Meet the 'Women Warriors' Protecting the Amazon Forest - EcoWatch ›
- Indigenous Tribes Are Using Drones to Protect the Amazon ... ›
- Amazon Rainforest Will Collapse by 2064, New Study Predicts ... ›
- Deforestation in Amazon Skyrockets to 12-Year High Under Bolsonaro ›
- Amazon Rainforest on the Brink of Turning Into a Net Carbon Emitter ... ›
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Anke Rasper
"Today's interim report from the UNFCCC is a red alert for our planet," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The report, released Friday, looks at the national climate efforts of 75 states that have already submitted their updated "nationally determined contributions," or NDCs. The countries included in the report are responsible for about 30% of the world's global greenhouse gas emissions.
- World Leaders Fall Short of Meeting Paris Agreement Goal - EcoWatch ›
- UN Climate Change Conference COP26 Delayed to November ... ›
- 5 Years After Paris: How Countries' Climate Policies Match up to ... ›
- Biden Win Puts World 'Within Striking Distance' of 1.5 C Paris Goal ... ›
- Biden Reaffirms Commitment to Rejoining Paris Agreement ... ›
Trending
Plastic Burning Makes It Harder for New Delhi Residents to See, Study Suggests
India's New Delhi has been called the "world air pollution capital" for its high concentrations of particulate matter that make it harder for its residents to breathe and see. But one thing has puzzled scientists, according to The Guardian. Why does New Delhi see more blinding smogs than other polluted Asian cities, such as Beijing?
- This Indian Startup Turns Polluted Air Into Climate-Friendly Tiles ... ›
- How to Win the Fight Against Plastic - EcoWatch ›
In a historic move, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted Thursday to ban hydraulic fracking in the region. The ban was supported by all four basin states — New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York — putting a permanent end to hydraulic fracking for natural gas along the 13,539-square-mile basin, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
- Appalachian Fracking Boom Was a Jobs Bust, Finds New Report ... ›
- Long-Awaited EPA Study Says Fracking Pollutes Drinking Water ... ›
- Pennsylvania Fracking Water Contamination Much Higher Than ... ›
Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of coffee, and yet also one of the most economically disadvantaged. According to research by the national statistic center DANE, 35% of the population in Columbia lives in monetary poverty, compared to an estimated 11% in the U.S., according to census data. This has led to a housing insecurity issue throughout the country, one which construction company Woodpecker is working hard to solve.
- Kenyan Engineer Recycles Plastic Into Bricks Stronger Than ... ›
- Could IKEA's New Tiny House Help Fight the Climate Crisis ... ›