There is a huge difference between healthy and unhealthy foods. Whether you want to learn more for a diet or simply want to know which foods you can and should continue to eat daily, there is a wide variety of food out there with immense amounts of nutrients to nourish your body. So, what are the 10 best healthy foods to eat every day?
You have a wide variety of options when looking at the 10 best healthy foods to eat every day. By grabbing different selections from different places on the food pyramid, you can ensure that you are getting plenty of the nutrients that you need to sustain your healthy body.
Read on to find out the 10 best healthy foods to eat every day, as well as frequently asked questions that might make your journey to a healthy lifestyle more manageable. There are so many different foods to choose from, but the foods in this article are some of the most nutrient-rich, beneficial foods to eat every day.
Article Contents
What Makes A Food Healthy Vs. Unhealthy?
When it comes to choosing the right foods to eat, things can go wrong quickly. First off, you must make sure that you are eating a variety of healthy foods to have a sufficient balance of necessary nutrients that you need to fuel your body.
The main nutrients to take note of when choosing foods include:
- Proteins
- Fats
- Carbohydrates
- Vitamins
- Minerals
If you find a good balance with these nutrients from the foods you eat, you are well on your way to a healthy lifestyle. While some of the nutrients mentioned above, like fats and carbs, have an unhealthy stigmatization around them, they are necessary for a healthy, balanced diet.
For instance, unsaturated fats are good for you in moderation because they can help stabilize your cholesterol levels, while saturated and trans fats will do the opposite when you eat them too often.
So, what makes a food healthy vs. unhealthy? There are several characteristics to take note of when making these choices:
| Healthy Foods | Unhealthy Foods |
|---|---|
| ● Are rich in a variety of nutrients ● Are as pure as possible ● Lack synthetic sugar, salt, and other additives ● Are often full of fiber ● Provide noticeable increases in energy, mood, and more | ● Are highly processed ● Lack a sufficient amount of key nutrients ● Have more components added to them than the original food itself ● Have processed simple carbs, unsaturated fats, and more |
Upon further research, it is easy to understand the difference between unhealthy and healthy foods. At the most basic level, if it does not look fresh, it is probably highly processed. While some producers might claim their foods are “healthy alternatives” to a similar, unhealthy food, you should do some research into the legitimacy of these claims.
Is It True I Can Overeat Even Healthy Foods?
Even before reading this article, you were probably well aware that it is particularly unhealthy to overeat unhealthy foods. What you may not know, however, is that you can overeat healthy foods as well. If you do not find a balance in your diet, you may not see or feel the results you are looking for.
The problem that many people might face when not seeing results even when they stick to a strict, balanced diet is that they are still eating too much. While the nutrients in healthy food are far better for you than processed and other unhealthy foods, you must still keep track of your caloric intake.
Healthy foods have calories, just like unhealthy foods. While the nutrients-per-calorie ratio is much more beneficial for healthy foods, you can still take in too many calories. For instance, it can be okay to eat chicken and rice one time – or even two times – a day, but if you are only eating chicken and rice, you may not be getting the nutrients you need from other food sources.
At the same time, chicken and rice have more calories than some fruits, vegetables, and more, so if you are eating too much of one thing to replace eating another food, the calories can build up quickly.
Even if you are eating a balanced diet, you can still overeat. As you will learn shortly, there are a number of the healthiest foods to eat every day. While they are beneficial in moderation, you should not be stuffing your face with every single healthy food during the day. If you do not limit your caloric intake, your healthy lifestyle needs will not be met.
What Determines How Much Of A Food I Should Eat?
The main things to consider when deciding how much of a specific food you should eat include:
- How many calories you eat vs. how many calories you burn in a day
- If you are substantially lacking one or more key nutrients in your diet
- How many calories a specific food has
If you pay close attention to the following information, you will be better suited to determine how much of a food you should eat daily. The first aspect involves your caloric intake vs. energy expenditure.
Depending on how active you are daily, you burn a certain amount of calories. The link provided above gives clear information regarding sex and age-related to caloric requirements.
If you eat more calories than you burn daily, you will not see any changes if you are trying to lose weight. Especially if you are eating unhealthy foods, the calories will skyrocket. An easy way to gauge how much of a food you should eat is by doing some research and making a chart of the foods you eat daily.
Note how many calories they have and add them up to a total. If you are not burning more calories than you are eating, your weight-loss journey might come to a stand-still.
Of course, not everyone is trying to lose weight. If you want to know more about your specific diet and bodily needs, you should contact your doctor, who can give you professional information and might even offer options for a nutritionist to get in touch with you.
What Should I Do If My Nutrients Aren’t Balanced?
Another thing to consider is what nutrients you do or do not have enough of in your body. Before getting too deep into this, it is essential that you understand one thing: just because you might have high cholesterol, low blood sugar, or any other possible minor imbalance in your diet does not mean you should only eat food that lowers cholesterol, raises blood sugar, etc.
If you have major deficiencies or surpluses of nutrients in your body, it is certainly acceptable to add or take away a bit more from your diet, but even so, you still need other nutrients that you might not be getting from the select few foods you eat to solve the problem you are facing.
As mentioned above, you must also take note of the individual calorie contents of different foods that you eat. If you choose to make a chart clearly identifying the characteristics of different foods, you should have no problem finding a balance between the calories that a specific food has.
The 10 Best Healthy Foods To Eat Every Day
Now that you are aware of the different advantages and disadvantages of healthy vs. unhealthy foods, you can read below to learn about the 10 best healthy foods to eat every day.
Bear in mind, however, that all of the information above pertains to these foods as well. Just because they are the healthiest foods to eat does not mean they can be overeating, and it is essential to form a balanced diet from the choices below.
Almonds
Almonds are perhaps the most healthy nuts you can eat. They are completely stocked with key nutrients like magnesium, vitamin E, and iron.
You must be careful though, because almonds have a lot of calories for how small they are, and if you eat too many of them, the fat concentration in your body will rise quickly.
Blueberries
Blueberries are high in fiber and antioxidants. The antioxidants are amazing supplements for your diet, as they have been shown to help prevent cognitive disease and various bodily declinations.
Apples
Apples are also known for the antioxidants they have. Additionally, with high concentrates of fiber, vitamin C, and more, they are great for regulating the amounts of key nutrients you require.
It is no surprise that people say, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” While you should obviously not only eat apples, they are filling and act as a great large snack or minor meal replacement.
Broccoli
It is possible that many people do not like broccoli because of its reputation for young children. Not every kid likes to eat their vegetables.
However, broccoli is one of the most healthy greens you can put in your body. It contains countless nutrients, as well as phytonutrients that help fight severe diseases.
The best way to get as much as you can out of eating broccoli is by looking up the healthiest ways to cook it; overcooked broccoli can lose nutrients quickly.
Kale
Kale is a leafy green vegetable full of vitamins and other key nutrients. With bioactive compounds to help fight diseases, kale is a great addition to a larger meal like lunch or dinner.
You can look up several ways to make it enjoyable for various main courses.
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the most filling healthy foods you can eat. They are full of vitamins and nutrients such as vitamins C and B, potassium, magnesium, and iron.
Overall, potatoes are one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can find. However, they are high in carbohydrates and low in protein, so if you eat too much while being active, the carbs might not have anywhere to go besides your fat stores.
Rice
There is a huge debate on whether brown rice is actually healthier than white rice. While many people are quick to give their input, both brown and white rice are healthy, daily options.
Rice is full of vitamin B1, fiber, and magnesium. While it does not have every nutrient you need, it can be a healthy addition to your meal because it is extremely filling.
Chicken Breast
Chicken is one of the healthiest, most filling foods you can eat every single day. It has immense amounts of protein while lacking much fat or many calories.
As long as you keep your daily diet balanced, you can eat chicken as a part of every meal to give you the strength and energy your body needs to thrive.
Salmon
Salmon is one of the – if not the single – most healthy fish you can eat. It contains huge amounts of Omega-3s fatty acids, protein, and vitamins and minerals to help fight diseases, regulate your body’s health, and keep you energized during the day.
Eggs
Eggs are huge sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals that play countless roles in keeping your body healthy. They are filling, easy to prepare, and taste great.
What you should take note of, however, is that eggs are comparatively high in fat and cholesterol. If you have problems due to high concentrations of fat and cholesterol, you should be careful to not eat eggs too often.
Takeaway
There are plenty of healthy foods out there to choose from, but the ones listed above are the 10 best healthy foods you can eat as often as you would like – keeping in mind that certain foods might have more or less effect depending on the current state of your health.
Whether you choose to stick to a strict diet or simply want to begin including more healthy foods into your daily routine, the options above are a great place to start.
