Having good eating habits doesn’t only mean having a balanced diet; there are many other factors that influence our everyday well-being. The first and most important thing to be aware of is that through good nutrition, all of our body’s organs can function effectively. We also have more energy throughout the day, we physically look better and we can prevent and avoid a great number of illnesses.

We must not forget to include the four food groups in our daily diet:

  1. Grains and tubers
  2. Fruits and vegetables
  3. Animal products
  4. Fats and sugars

But it is also important to remember that other habits can bring us different benefits:

  • Chew slowly:

That’s right. Besides enjoying the taste of our food even more, by chewing slowly we can avoid a number of issues with our digestive systems, like our stomach or intestines working overtime or feeling overfull.

Chewing properly and slowly helps to calm our nervous systems and increase the amount of oxygen in the body, as well as to reduce anxiety during meals.

  • Drink water:

Medical professionals advise drinking water at least one and a half hours before a meal and after eating, but it is not advised to drink while we eat as it slows down our stomach processes.

  • Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day:

Don’t forget that eating fruit and vegetables is related to the reduction in the risk of suffering from cardiovascular illnesses and certain types of cancer. They also improve our blood pressure.

  • Limit the amount of fats, sugars and alcohol you consume:

For this, we need to get used to eating meats that are low in fat, such as chicken or fish; cooking with less oil; and cutting down on our high-in-sugar desserts, like chocolate, ice-cream or cake.

  • Proteins in modest amounts:

Limit your portions of meat to 150 or 200 grams.

As well as following this advice for improving your eating habits, if you also reduce the amount of processed food that you eat and read the information on food labels, you will improve your dietary choices, which will make you look and feel better.

Consistency is the important thing.