What Are Healthy Foods?

Healthy foods are foods that contain nutrients needed to maintain and sustain your body’s growth and development. The key nutrients needed in a balanced diet are; carbohydrate, protein, fat and oil, vitamins, minerals, and water. Recently, there’s been a rise in the demand for healthy snack foods. This is because nutritionists, health experts, and medical practitioners have made it a duty to educate people on the dangers of processed foods continually.

Processed foods also are known as ready-made foods and junks. Although made from natural products, they usually contain little or no nutritional value because all the nutrients would have been stripped away while it is processed.

These junk food items are high in calories and usually lack the nutrition that the body needs. Many processed products are made up of excess and harmful nutrients like sugar, salt, and saturated fat.

Are Fats Bad?

Some people have the misconception that all fats are unhealthy. This claim is not valid. Not all fats are unhealthy. There are good and bad fats. Good fats are suitable for the body. They are an essential source of energy. They help in muscle movement, blood clotting, cell membrane build up and also reduce inflammation. Avocados and nuts are examples of snack foods with healthy fat. They are both high in fat. They contain essential mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats.

While mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats are healthy sources of fats, trans fats and saturated fats are examples of unhealthy fats. Saturated fats can be found in whole milk, red meats, cheese, and coconut oil, while trans fat can be found in baked foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Consuming snack foods containing unhealthy amounts of fas can cause artery blockage and inflammation.

These can, in turn, lead to chronic health conditions like stroke and heart diseases. This is why doctors advise older individuals to abstain from consuming junk food and snacks.

Are Carbs Healthy?

Just like fat, there are healthy and unhealthy snacks. Unlike fat, however, carbs are healthy when eaten in moderation. Healthy carbs, when eaten in moderation, can help promote weight loss. Chickpea, edamame, corn, brown rice, oats, cauliflower broccoli, and others are examples of healthy carbs. Unhealthy carbs are carbs found in processed foods. Cookies, pasta, cereals, pretzels, confectioneries are processed snacks, and they contain unhealthy fats.

Examples of healthy snacks are different varieties of fruits, Yoghurt and granola, vegetables, cottage cheese with flaxseed and cinnamon, red Bell pepper with guacamole, hard-boiled eggs, apple slices with peanut butter, cucumber slices with hummus and more.

One can still lead a healthy life despite the heavy presence of processed foods all around. Consuming healthy Snack foods might not look important now, but it importance increases with age.