9 Easy Ways to Improve Your Nutrition

By meghan roces | August 9, 2021

ironting a nutritious diet is a great way to protect yourself from a whole host of illnesses, but it can be difficult to get enough nutrition in your life, especially if you don’t have much time or you don’t really know what you are doing. 

The good news is, there are lots of simple things you can do to make sure your diet is more nutritious, and that your body is getting everything it needs to function optimally…

1. Work out how many calories you need

It doesn’t matter how nutritious your food is, if you are eating too much or too little of it, you will not be getting all of the vitamins, minerals, protein, etc., that you need to maintain a healthy body and mind. So, the most important thing you can do right now, in terms of your nutrition, is to work out how many calories you need for your age, height, and activity level. There are numerous calculators that will help you determine this. Once you have your number, take some time to plan meals that will hit your calories requirements, while also maximizing nutrition levels – you’ll soon start to notice a difference in how well you feel and how good your body looks.

2. Eat Slowly

If you are someone who is often prone to overeating something you can try to improve your situation is mindful eating. This is simply the process of eating more slowly, savoring every bite, and truly paying attention to the tastes, smells, and textures you consume. Mindful eating has not only been shown to help people eat less by satisfying them more, but it is also a great way to get more appreciation from simple food like veggies and grains, which are very healthy, but which are also not always considered to be the most exciting.

3. Add an extra portion of veggies

Veggies should make up around one-third or more of our plates due to the fact they contain lots of essential vitamins and minerals, without being particularly high in calories. Unfortunately, many of us do not eat enough of them. If you’re someone who knows you don’t eat enough veg, and you want to change that, simply start adding an extra portion to each meal –  eat what you usually would, but add an additional serving of carrots, broccoli, or spinach, for example, to the plate. Pretty soon, you’ll get accustomed to having veggies with every meal, and doing so will become natural to you.

4. Make whole grains your main source of carbs

Some people think that you need to do away with carbs completely if you want to eat as nutritiously as possible, but that is not necessarily the case, and actually, carbs are a great source of energy and nutrients if you choose them wisely, by which I mean, if you choose healthy whole grains. 

Not only are whole grains the most nutritious grains, but they are an excellent source of energy too. Packed with B vitamins, iron, calcium, and a whole source of goodness, replace your usual serving of pasta or white rice with them and you will soon see an improvement in how good you feel with very little effort on your part.

5. Eat more plant-based proteins

You don’t have to go the whole hog and become a vegetarian or vegan, but if you want to improve your nutrition, a really easy way of doing so is by switching to leaner forms of protein, particularly those that are plant-based like tofu, beans, nuts, and seeds. Why? Because not only are they typically lower in calories, but they also contain more vitamins and minerals than your typical animal-based proteins, which means you will be able to better feed your body without very much effort.

6. Switch to sweeteners

Replacing as much of your sugar intake as you can with natural sweeteners like Stevia, is a simple way to reduce the number of calories you consume while also eliminating one of the most problematic ingredients from your life. Sugar may taste great but it is bad for the skin, the body, and the waistline when consumed in more than very small amounts, and since you can still have a sweet treat by switching to natural sweeteners, why wouldn’t you?

7. Eat seaweed

So many people in the western world are suffering from a lack of iodine in their diets, which can lead to thyroid problems, fatigue, and a whole host of other health issues. A really easy way to counteract this is by eating seaweed. Whether you have sushi or laverbread, adding a few servings of seaweed to your weekly diet will help to deliver you the iodine your body needs, and actually, it’s pretty delicious too!

8. Drink more water

Water is so important for the body. It helps to prevent dehydration and keep your skin looking smooth and supple, but so many of us avoid it in favor of calorific sodas or unhealthy sports drinks. If you’re serious about improving your nutrition, ditch the expensive sugary drinks and switch to water sweetened with a wedge of lemon – you’ll feel so much better if you do, and your body will thank you.

9. Eat a wider variety

If you eat a wider variety of foods, you will take in more nutrients overall because, as you will no doubt be aware, each different fruit, vegetable, whole grain, etc., will have its own unique makeup of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. If you eat the same thing day in day out, you will only be getting a limited amount of nutrition from it, even if it is keeping you going, so be sure to try new things – there’s no excuse when you can find an endless supply of recipes for everything you could imagine online!. 

As you can see, improving your nutrition can be pretty easy, all it takes is a little forethought and a bit of knowledge about what your body needs and what you can do to improve your current circumstances. So, what are you waiting for?