Which Foods Are Healthiest?

The term "health food" is often used pejoratively to describe bland, tasteless stuff that is nonetheless good for you. While it acknowledges the health benefits of these foods, it discounts the fact that most of them are quite tasty. It's also a nebulous term. There is no set of minimum or maximum requirements for a food to be considered healthy.

What counts as a health food then? The healthiest foods are low in fat and sugar and high in vitamins and minerals. All fruits and vegetables are healthy options like gluten free snacks.

It's better to eat fruits and vegetables of different colors. The different colored fruits and vegetables have different vitamin contents.

When it comes to proteins, leaner is better. Instead of red meats, choose fish or skinless poultry. If you don't eat meat products, you can still get plenty of protein from beans and nuts.

Instead of white breads, choose whole wheat, and avoid white pasta in favor of quinoa, barley, or whole wheat varieties. Brown rice (which still retains its outer shell) is also a whole grain.

Oils and fats should be used sparingly. If you do use oils, avoid butter and other fats that are solid at room temperature and stick to oils like olive oil, canola oil, and sesame oil (oils that are liquid at room temperature). To make your dairy choices healthier, go with low or no fat versions of cheese, yogurt, and milk.

People tend to under season their food, which has probably helped enforce the stereotype of healthy food as being tasteless. Many common spices also have beneficial health properties, and you should keep in mind that it is hard to eat too much of these flavor-enhancing additives. Spices like garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, and tumeric all fall in this category. You can also add flavor (without adding calories) with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. Unless you're on a salt restricted diet, you don't have to cut it out entirely.

How much of each type of food you eat is also important. The new guidelines for a balanced meal have little added fats (in the form of oils) and dairy, and a big emphasis on fruits and vegetables (half your plate), whole grains (one quarter of your plate), and lean protein (also one quarter). Guidelines produced by other organizations have slightly different ratios, but the general idea is the same. People who eat high fiber diets are also healthier, on average, than their peers. All adults under fifty should get upwards of 25 grams of fiber a day, but diets with considerably higher fiber intake have been linked to reductions in cholesterol and a reversal of heart disease.

When it comes to diets, the healthiest are all heavy on plants and light on animal products. They should also be low in salt, cholesterol, sugar, and fat. There are plenty of specific diets that follow these general rules. Head to Glenny's Snacks to learn more about healthy food.