Nothing is more important to our health than a good diet. Without it, no amount of exercise or anything else will keep us healthy.
Of course, the problem isn’t knowing that we should eat a healthy diet. The challenge is in actually doing it. There are many reasons why people struggle to adopt better eating habits, but one of the most common ones is taste.
From a biological perspective, taste shouldn’t matter. As far as our bodies are concerned, eating is strictly for the purpose of acquiring the nutrients necessary to keep our bodies running properly.
Of course, that’s not the only reason we eat. Enjoying food is a key reason why we sit down at the table three (or more) times a day, and if the food doesn’t taste good, that usually trumps every nutritional consideration.
So what’s the solution? How do we get ourselves to eat a good diet without hating every bite and every sip? It’s not as hard as it might sound.
You have to start with the basics, one of which would be adequate water consumption. Of course, water is often considered about the blandest option there is for drinking, and that’s why so many of us gravitate toward soda and other products that are loaded with sugar, artificial colors, and other problematic substances.
That’s where quality water flavoring comes in. Instead of dreading glass after glass of water, you can literally mix things up by adding in unique flavors that break up the monotony of your intake.
Another good strategy is to find ways to add a nutritious boost to other foods. This won’t compensate for excessive calories or high saturated fats, but it can help increase the nutritional value of a food that’s already good for you.
One way to do that is to disguise some fiber in a meal. Low-fiber foods are bad for our digestive health and can even contribute to cancer, so mixing some ground cauliflower in with other foods can increase their digestive quality without significantly impacting flavor.
A final trick is to take advantage of new foods. It’s easy to fall into bad diet traps when you’re limited to the same old foods, but if you are traveling, you may find the menu so unique that you can actually set aside your flavor hang-ups in favor of a more nutritious local offering. With a little homework, you may be able to capture those recipes to use at home, adding something healthy and delicious to your repertoire in the kitchen.
Almost all of us need to make adjustments to what we eat. It might be more protein here or less saturated fat there. It might even just be an increase in vitamin intake or higher consumption of water. Whatever our particular dietary deficiencies are, a major barrier to changing them is getting things that taste right. It’s not necessarily an issue of things tasting worse so much as it is of tasting different, so when we can find a way to improve the flavors and textures so that we will eat healthier things, we’ve got the best of both worlds.
