There is no time like the present to start on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. One way to live healthier is by eating holistic, unprocessed foods from local farmer’s markets or your own garden. Doing so has numerous benefits, including boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation, and balancing blood sugar. While it may be tempting to continue buying easy pre-packaged foods, here are some holistic eating habits you can start now:
1. Eating whole raw foods
Raw foods have three main elements—the food should be unprocessed, plant-based, and organic. The main benefit of eating whole raw foods is the natural vitamins they provide the body. Where processed foods often lack essential nutrients, you should have no trouble getting the substantial amount of nutrients your body needs from raw foods.
2. Drinking plenty of water
Water intake is vital to balancing your body, staying hydrated, and flushing out bad toxins. Water helps the body digest, absorb, and transport nutrients. Drinking plenty of water also increases circulation and helps you maintain a healthy body temperature
3. Consuming healthy fats
One reason eating plant-based proteins is so important for a holistic diet is because doing so cuts down on your consumption of unhealthy fats. Animal protein often has too much saturated fat and can cause the very things that we are trying to avoid including heart disease, increased stroke risk, and heart attack. When you partake in a holistic diet, consuming healthy fats means eating primarily monounsaturated fats from foods such as avocados, nuts and seeds, olive oil, and dark chocolate. These foods naturally contain high levels of fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins.
4. Reducing sugar and sodium intake
High sugar and sodium intake can cause many of the same health issues as saturated fats. Therefore, sugar and sodium must also be reduced in a holistic diet plan. You can use alternatives for salt like fresh garlic, parsley, or mint. You can find these fresh herbs at a Whole Foods store or farmer’s market, or you can grow an herb garden yourself. As for sugar cravings, try sweet vegetables instead, or as mentioned earlier, dark chocolate. If the cravings become too much, you can make things like dark chocolate brownies with natural sweeteners or add natural flavoring, such as lemon, to your water. However, a person on a holistic diet should always cut out sugary drinks.
5. Being conscious of portions
You should always be mindful of portions during mealtimes. A few suggestions to maintain control over portion sizes include eating slowly and partaking in silent eating with no noise or distractions to increase mindfulness.
