March is National Nutrition Month, and the theme for 2015 set by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is “Bite Into a Healthy Lifestyle.” I like this theme, because “bite-sized” is the type of change that seems to be manageable and sustainable for most people. I also like that the focus is not just on food, but overall health. Good nutrition is only one part of the puzzle — you can’t eat your way out of an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle.
To play on this theme and inspire some healthy changes this month, here are some bite-sized tips that really make a difference in overall health:
Eat a little more fiber. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that people who were given just one key piece of dietary advice — eat more fiber — lost almost as much weight as people given a whole set of diet tips to follow. The fiber group was advised to aim for 30 grams of fiber each day, which is about double of what most Americans typically get in a day, while the other group was advised to follow the American Heart Association’s guidelines, which is made up of 13 distinct tips.
The beauty of focusing on just adding fiber is that it works on many levels in the diet. Foods that are highest in fiber — fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds — are also the foods that offer a great dose of nutrition for less calories. Fiber also helps a person stay full for longer, helping to cut down on extra snacking between meals. Finally, if a person is adding foods high in fiber, the hope is that he or she is also replacing foods that are not high in fiber — swapping white bread with whole-wheat bread and adding more beans and less meat to chili, for example.
Move a little more. If you can’t seem to find the time to fit in a workout, consider trying to fit in short bursts of activity a few times a day. Researchers at Arizona State University demonstrated that people who walked briskly for 10 minutes, three times a day, experienced better blood pressure control when compared to walking briskly for 30 straight minutes. Another study published in Diabetes Care showed that people with diabetes achieved better blood sugar control when they did two-minute bursts of light-to-moderate walking on the treadmill every 20 minutes, compared to sitting all day.
Add a little movement to your day by weaving in short walks throughout the day, or try a new app that helps deliver five minutes of exercise, like Sworkit, which allows you to adjust the minutes and types of workout you want throughout the day.
Learn a little more. Making improvements to your diet may require brushing up on your knowledge base — after all, if you want to start consuming more fiber, you’ll need to learn which foods offer the most fiber. If you’re not familiar with preparing these new foods, you’ll want to learn some new cooking techniques. Rather than getting overwhelmed and feeling like you need to learn everything, simply allow yourself to learn a little every day. Browse reputable websites, such as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American College of Sports Medicine and ChooseMyPlate.gov.
Breathe a little more. Research indicates that chronic stress produces a physical response in our body, making it more susceptible to problems of chronic inflammation and less likely to fight off illness. One study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated that the inflammatory response was stronger in chronically stressed people exposed to the cold virus compared to less stressed people. This meant that the chronically stressed group experienced worse cold symptoms, and a longer cold duration overall. Relaxation techniques, such as planned meditation breaks or deep-breathing exercises, have been shown to help reduce the body’s physical response to stress.
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Bite-Sized Steps Into a Healthy Lifestyle originally appeared on usnews.com
