In today’s world, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are making up an increasing share of diets globally, contributing to various health issues due to their high sugar, salt, and unhealthy fat content. For example, in the UK, ultra-processed foods contribute around 66% of calorie intake among adolescents, highlighting their prevalence among younger generations. The global shift toward highly processed foods means that even the average grocery store has become a challenging environment to navigate for those aiming to make healthier food choices.
In this article I aim to offer practical steps for making healthier daily food choices, from selecting minimally processed whole foods to adopting better food preparation methods. Whether it’s choosing whole fruits over juices, opting for whole grains, or understanding the health impact of different food groups, these small changes can support overall well-being in a fast-paced world filled with convenience foods.
Making the Most of Vegetables
Vegetables are nutrient-dense foods that are best enjoyed in their natural form as much as possible depending on the vegetable, either raw, steamed, boiled, or baked. Shorter cooking times help preserve vitamins and minerals, so aim to cook vegetables for the minimum time required to soften them. Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil on vegetables before eating to better absorb the vitamins. Aim to have half of your plate at every meal filled with raw and cooked vegetables.
Including fermented vegetables (like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles) in your diet, ideally 1-2 tablespoons daily, supports your gut health with beneficial probiotics.
Adding Legumes Regularly
Legumes, such as beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas, are excellent plant-based protein and fibre sources. If you buy the beans and peas raw, they should be soaked and thoroughly cooked before consumption to improve digestibility. You can purchase already steamed or boiled beans and lentils from the store, which are ready to eat- read the product label though to avoid unnecessary ingredients. Aim to eat legumes 3-4 times a week.
Incorporating Mushrooms Weekly
Mushrooms offer a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, supporting overall health. Consuming mushrooms once or twice a week can diversify nutrient intake and add rich flavour to meals.
Adding Sprouts Regularly
Sprouts are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making them a nutritional powerhouse. Add a small amount to salads, sandwiches, or grain bowls to maximise these benefits. It's possible to purchase them from the grocery store, but it's also very easy to sprout the seeds at home.
Enjoying Starchy Foods Wisely
For starchy foods like potatoes and sweet potatoes, choose boiled, steamed, or baked methods over fried options to retain more nutrients and limit added fats. Avoid fries or heavily fried potato dishes to reduce unnecessary calorie intake and unhealthy fats.
Eating Fruits and Berries Whole over Juices, Nectars
Whole fruits and berries are better choices than juices and nectars, as they retain their natural fibres, essential for digestion and satiety. Consuming them whole provides a steady release of sugars into the bloodstream. Enjoy dried fruits only occasionally, as they contain concentrated natural sugars. Fresh or frozen options for vegetables, fruits and berries are ideal, where flash frozen actually helps to make sure most nutrients are retained and they are picked and packed at their best ripeness.
Choosing Whole Grains Over Refined Grains
Whole grains are essential for a balanced diet, offering more fibre, vitamins, and minerals than refined grains. When buying grain products like bread, pasta, and rice, opt for wholegrain options such as whole rye or whole wheat. Check the fibre content on the bread label (7g and more fibre per 100g is a good choice). These choices help balance blood sugar levels, keep you full longer, and improve digestion. When making oat porridge, choose steel-gut oats or rolled oats instead of instant oats. Try and buy oats, wheat, rice organic, when possible as many of these grain fields are sprayed with glyphosate and other pesticides.
Dairy: Fermented and Unflavoured Choices
For those who tolerate lactose (milk sugar) and casein (milk protein), fermented dairy products like kefir, yoghurt or sour milk are a good sources of beneficial gut bacteria, vitamin B12, and calcium. Stick to unflavoured yoghurt, cottage cheese, or curd cheese for a clean source of protein, and flavour them with fresh fruits, berries, chia seeds etc. Pre-flavoured dairy products sold in store very often contain too many added sugars and other artificial or unnecessary ingredients. In this article I provide some examples of milk products sold in stores and their sugar content.
Selecting Fish, Poultry, and Meat Mindfully
For animal protein, prioritise fresh fish, poultry (such as chicken or turkey), and lean meats- marinate them yourself as store marinades often contain sugar, thickeners, preservatives. Red meat (beef, pork, lamb) is best limited to not more than 500 grams per week due to saturated fat content. Avoid or purchase processed meat products like sausages, deli meats, meatballs, salamis and bacon as little as possible, as these are often high in salt, preservatives, and unhealthy fats.
Eat Eggs Regularly
Eggs provide high-quality protein, vitamins, and minerals. Soft-boiled eggs are absorbed more efficiently than hard-boiled eggs. According to for example Estonia national nutritional guidelines, it is not recommended to consume more than 0.5 eggs per day. When choosing eggs, it is better to purchase organic free-range eggs, because they contain more micronutrients due to the more diverse diet of the chickens.
Choosing Fats Carefully
When cooking with fats, olive oil is an excellent choice, especially for low and medium temperatures or as a dressing. For higher temperature cooking, ghee is a good choice. You can learn more about different types of fats and what fats to use for different cooking methods at different temperatures here.
Daily consumption (a handful) of a variety of nuts and seeds (unsalted and not roasted) is recommended for their healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Limiting Added Sugars for Long-term Health
Limiting added sugars to less than 10% of your daily caloric intake (ideally under 5%) promotes optimal health. This amounts to no more than 50 grams, ideally under 25g of added sugar for a 2000-calorie diet. In this article I dive deep into the sugar, how too much added sugar affects our health and what are healthier choices to sweeten your food if desired.
A Note on Alcohol
Alcohol consumption poses risks to numerous body systems, and no amount is entirely "safe." While national dietary guidelines suggest a maximum of one drink per day for women and two for men, even moderate intake can have health consequences. Less is always better because even low and moderate consumption can affect health negatively depending on the person and their health status. One unit of alcohol is 10g of pure absolute alcohol, which is approximately one bottle of beer (330 ml), one glass of wine (120 ml) or one drink of strong alcohol (40 ml).
How does alcohol affect health in a nutshell?
Regular alcohol consumption has a negative effect on the liver, causing inflammation, fatty liver disease, and long-term excessive consumption of liver diseases such as liver cirrhosis. The liver is responsible for more than 500 functions in the body - in this article you can read about the functions of the liver and how you can support its health.
Alcohol affects gut health by altering the microbiome (increasing the number of pathogenic bacteria) and also by increasing gut permeability, which allows toxins to enter the bloodstream, promoting inflammatory processes.
Alcohol affects the health of the brain, causing short-term cognitive impairment and potentially long-term memory damage when consumed in excess.
Due to its diuretic effect, alcohol stresses kidney function, contributing to dehydration and reducing the kidneys' ability to effectively filter toxins from the body.
Alcohol causes hormonal imbalances and fertility problems
Alcohol affects negatively cardiovascular and immune system functions.
Given the wide-ranging effects of alcohol on our physical health, it is important to regularly assess our relationship with alcohol – assess the amounts we consume; evaluate the role alcohol plays in life and whether it supports or undermines our health values and goals.
Reading product labels
It's important to read product labels in the grocery store, so you are making an informed decision what you put into your body- in terms of added sugars, thickeners, preservatives, food colourings etc. And it's important to teach the basics of how to read the labels also to your children. This article gives you guidelines how to do it. It's good to start with reading the labels of the products you typically buy to see which ones you might want to stop buying, for which ones to choose healthier alternatives.
Creating a Balanced Diet as a Habit
Making healthier choices isn’t about giving up favourite foods but about making better choices that support long-term health and wellness. A balanced diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats can help manage cravings, sustain energy, and improve mood. By building healthy habits, you can enjoy the benefits of nutritious eating and feel your best every day.
If you want to improve your diet, what to make healthier choices, but are unsure where to start, don't hesitate to reach out to me for nutrition counselling at info@katrinpeo.com.
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