Ever notice how the ideal of ‘healthy living’ is discussed in such a negative light? There’s a misconception that to achieve it, we need to restrict certain foods or eliminate them altogether from our diet. When you’re motivated to ‘become healthy’, how often does that involve:
- Giving up sweets/desserts
- Avoiding carbs at dinner
- Eliminating wheat from your diet
- Restricting your calorie intake
Ok, such behavior may contribute to good health but ‘healthy living’ goes beyond that. It should be about adding new habits into your life to improve your overall health rather than taking something away. More than just restricting and losing weight, ‘healthy living’ should be about gaining health and vitality. It’s the small changes and incorporations which we’re likely to stick to and will hence produce big results.
Based on personal experience (and my math classes when I was at school ;)), adding in tends to be easier than taking something away. Over the last few months, 3 notable habits which I’ve introduced and stuck to include:
- Incorporating healthy fats into my daily diet: Nuts in my cereal and avocado in my salads
- Starting my morning with a shot of vegetable juice : The taste has actually grown on me 😯
- Adding more strength training into my workouts: More than just help me look like THE shiz, improving my muscle fitness will help ward off health conditions like osteoporosis, joint pain, diabetes, and high blood pressure
My next addition which I plan on starting from tomorrow is taking a daily dose of flaxseeds i.e. THE superfood of the 21st century. The packet of flaxseeds in my kitchen (courtesy of the madre) has been eyeing be for the longest time so it’s about time I give in ;). They’re an easy, quick, and inexpensive way to enhance your health. Given their size, these seeds carry quite a punch:
- Non-animal source of Omega-3 fatty acids
- Forget laxatives, flax seeds contain both soluble & insoluble fiber…just what we need to help keep things regular 😳
- Ground flaxseeds have shown to work just as well as statins in lowering cholesterol
- Contain high levels of lingans and hence can protect against estrogen-dependent cancers such as breast cancer
- Decrease insulin resistance and may protect against diabetes
- Very good source of manganese, vitamin B6, and folate
- Forms a gel-like substance in stomach, and hence increase the feeling of fullness
- If you’re worried about your carb intake, flaxseeds can actually help lower your sugar and starch
Just one tablespoon per day is enough in most cases. It’s also worthwhile to note that it’s best to grind flaxseeds in order to enhance their digestibility and therefore their nutritional value. I plan on sprinkling them into my bowl of oats and yogurt every morning. Other recommended ways to consume flaxseeds include:
- Adding flaxseeds to baked goods’ recipes
- Replacing eggs with ‘flax eggs’: i.e. 1 egg= 1 tspn flaxseeds + 2 tablespoons water
- Adding flaxseeds to smoothies
- Sprinkling some ground flaxseeds on top of cooked vegetables to give them a nuttier flavor
What have you added into your life to enhance your health?
Try chia seeds – they are also amazing and have similar benefits to flax seeds. Perfect as a salad topper:)