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Is Eating a Healthy Diet More Difficult Than Doing Your Taxes?

Doing your own taxes can be quite daunting, almost to the point of hiring someone else to do it. In fact, 90% of Americans hire someone else to do their taxes or have a computer program to figure it out. 52% of Americans believe that doing their own taxes is easier than eating a healthy diet.

Differentiating between healthy verses unhealthy foods can sometimes be complicated, but learning just a few basic rules about nutrition can apply to almost everything you eat. I bet you couldn't say that about figuring out those complex federal codes! The following are some basic tips that will make your quest for healthy foods less overwhelming.

A little planning goes a long way. When you map out your meals or write a grocery list before you go shopping, you will be more likely to buy only what you need. Aim to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. With that in mind, half your grocery cart should be full of produce, too.
Which foods are most essential yet much ignored when trying to eat healthfully? Fruits and vegetables! Fresh, frozen or even canned are all good choices. When buying fresh produce, try to get them in season; when buying frozen, be sure that the ingredients are solely veggies and when buying canned, look for "low sodium."
But when you're not buying produce, how would you pick a healthy item without being overwhelmed by the nutrition label? Some things to consider are calories, saturated fat and sodium. The numbers for these items should be relatively low. When it applies, look for a value less than 20 percent under "Daily Value." On the other hand, look for higher numbers (or more than 20 percent Daily Value) for fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
The ingredients label may look even more complicated than your tax forms; but one simple tip to follow when reading those hard-to-pronounce words is to focus on the first three ingredients. The first three make up most of the weight of the product. When buying grains, look for “whole wheat,” “whole grain wheat,” or “whole grain oats” in the first three ingredients. Also, if sugar is one of the first ingredients, you know that the bulk of that product is sugar.
With that in mind, one simple tip that will surely improve your health is to try not to drink your calories. Sodas, energy drinks, sugar-sweetened coffees or teas, and juices (not 100 percent juice) are full of added sugars and empty calories. Consider this: you could eat two cups of fresh spinach for 15 calories plus loads of vitamins, minerals and disease fighting properties, or drink two cups (16 ounces) of Pepsi® for 200 calories and no nutrients at all.
Those who keep a food journal are more aware of what they eat. In this day and age, food logging couldn't be easier. Applications like My Fitness Pal, Lose It and My Net Diary allow you to see the nutrient and calorie content of virtually any food you enter. You can even scan the barcode of a food item and automatically get a breakdown of all the nutrients in that food. Now if only you could do that with your taxes!

Although nutritional guidelines often change, these basic rules stay the same. Choosing the right foods can be a challenge, but once you start improving your diet, it is quite rewarding. So, eating a healthy diet really can be quite simple—even more so than doing your own taxes.

To schedule a one-on-one consultation with a Cooper Clinic Registered Dietitian Nutritionist or learn more about Cooper Clinic Nutrition, visit cooperclinicnutrition.com or call 972.560.2655.

Article provided by Cooper Clinic Nutrition.