Ever wondered why you fall sick very often? Why you can’t shed excess weight? Why you suffer from indigestion or constipation? Well, the answer to all the above questions is that you don’t eat smart. This is the key reason for your ill health and body related problems. If you don’t eat well, you will never be close to the term ‘healthy’. If you want to lead a healthy life, you need to eat smart and need to follow some important guidelines.

First and foremost, you need to take time to eat your food. You need to chew your food well as chewing helps in digesting the food better. Chewing the food well helps in reducing the indigestion and constipation rate. Never eat your food in a hurry as it not only causes indigestion but also choking. You need to have small meals every two or three hours. Starving yourself is no solution for losing weight as starving leads to a low metabolism rate, which in turn leads to gaining unwanted weight as the body burns fewer calories when the metabolism rate is low.

Avoid eating meat regularly, especially red meat, as they are high in saturated fat and contain high levels of cholesterol. Instead of meat, try eating fruits and vegetables as most of them contain almost no fat and are healthy sources of vitamins and minerals. To prevent constipation, try eating 5-6 black raisins or guavas with seed. You can also have honey with milk, twice a day. Eat as often as you can because keeping your stomach empty for a long time causes acidity. To prevent acidity, one needs to have cold milk before going to sleep.

Include more of onion and garlic in your food as it lowers the cholesterol level. Use less salt while cooking as excess salt is injurious to health. It leads to high blood pressure. One should have food products which contain calcium, like milk, milk products, figs and so on as these products are known to strengthen bones. One should have double toned or skimmed milk as it contains less fat. Replace ‘maida’ products with whole grains as ‘maida’ sticks to your intestines and is not good for health. Eat beetroot, beans, spinach and dried fruits as they contain iron which lessens blood related illnesses.

Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day as it flushes out all the toxins from your body and reduces the chances of kidney failure. Substitute artificial flavoured juices and aerated drinks with fresh fruit juice and coconut water. Do not drink water for least 30 minutes before and after a meal. Also, learn to enjoy your food as there is no better experience. If you believe that the food you eat is good for you, it will surely have a good effect on your life and health. So if you think you are not eating healthy enough, you need to follow the above points. So eat healthy and stay fit.