Healthy Eating Guidelines: What You Need to Know to Get Healthy and Stay Healthy

The numbers are alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33% of all adults are now considered obese (this number has more than doubled from what it was just 25 years ago). Most people don't want to admit they fall into this category, but the fact of the matter is there's a 1 in 3 chance that any given person is considered obese. Learning about nutrition and following a few healthy eating guidelines will help you stay within your target weight range and decrease your likelihood for obesity and disease.

There is truly an obesity epidemic in the U.S. right now, and it's getting worse and worse. Nearly 30% of kids ages 2-19 are now overweight, an increase of 15% from 25 years ago. Studies show that today nearly 50% of our kids' diet comes from calories from sugar and fat! Health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and health care costs are multiplying exponentially. One way to find out if you're borderline overweight or obese is to check out this free bmi calculator.

Consider the following mind-boggling statistic, which comes from the Director of the Division of Diabetes Translation for the Center for Disease Control: of all the children born in America in 2000, one in three will develop diabetes in their lifetime. It's no coincidence that studies have found strong and significant associations between overweight and obese children and diabetes. If want to understand diabetes and eating properly, see this site for an in-depth look.

Poor dietary choices also plays a major role in the prevalence of heart diseases, which are the #1 cause of deaths in the U.S. Around 1 in 3 Americans has some type of cardiovascular disease, and people who are overweight are much more likely to be at risk for heart diseases and heart attacks (for some more great information about preventing heart attacks, check out www.preventing-a-heart-attack.com).

There is no simple solution to the problem but it starts with education. Here are some the must-know healthy eating guidelines that will help you understand the most important aspects of nutrition and will arm you with the knowledge you need to start leading a healthier lifestyle, for yourself and your loved ones:

Understanding Proteins, Fats, and Carbs
A summary of what you need to know about the components of a healthy diet. Learn about healthy protein sources, which fats are good and which are bad, which carbohydrates you should be eating and which ones you should be staying away from, the importance of a high-fiber diet, what vitamins and minerals are important, and why water should replace most of the current beverages you are drinking.

Healthy Eating Pyramid
Learn about how much food you should be eating from each food group and get 4 must-know tips to getting the most out of the healthy eating pyramid.

How to Read a Nutrition Label
Learn about what all those items on the nutrition label mean and how much of each you should be eating. I'll give you a run-down of each item on the food label, including serving size, calories, % daily value, fat, carbs, protein, cholesterol, sodium, and ingredients and tell you exactly how much you should be eating to start living a heart healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Fast Food Options
How to eat healthy at fast food restaurants. This section tells you exactly what to eat and the nutritional information for the healthy menu options at several different fast food restaurants.

Sources of Protein
Find out what the healthiest sources of protein are for all different types of foods - meat & poultry, fish, grains, dairy & eggs, beans/legumes, nuts & seeds, and fruits & vegetables and how much protein a serving of each of these food provides.

Understanding Calories
Learn the basics about calories and find out how many calories per day you should be eating with a calorie counting tool. Research shows that keeping track of how many calories you're eating can help you lose 50% more weight.

Healthy Eating Plans
Learn 7 steps to beginning a heart healthy eating plan and check out a low carb sample menu designed to help you lose weight and gain lean muscle.

Nutritional Value Calculator
Resources to help you find out the nutritional value of foods so you know what you're eating. I'll show you several online resources that you can use to look up the nutritional information for most foods.

Be sure to check out our great Deals and Discounts page, where we've compiled the absolute best online deals on every type of health and exercise product imaginable - the best exercise equipment, healthy recipe ebooks and cookbooks, magazines, healthy food, supplements, gym memberships, and much more!

Next: Healthy Diet Plan: Understanding Proteins, Fats, and Carbs

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