What exactly is a healthy eating plan?

 When you're young, say, in your twenties or thirties, you give little thought to your future health. You're active, your body is strong and health problems that might develop in your 50s or 60s are of little concern. You can't even imagine being a victim of arthritis, high blood pressure or any of a host of the so-called 'senior' complaints. Right now, you're flying high, enjoying the peak of health. You don't have a thing to worry about, right? Do you pay much attention to your diet? Probably not.

However, to give yourself the best chance at avoiding health problems in your later years, now is the time to start paying attention to developing and following, a healthy eating plan.

To find out what constitutes a healthy eating plan, start by consulting the food pyramid online. (Google 'food pyramid'.) You'll readily see that fruits and veggies should be a major component of a healthy eating plan. You might wonder why produce is so essential to good health, as well as feeling a sense of astonishment as to how you can possibly eat all of this on a daily basis! Let's see.

As to the health benefits, most produce is jam packed with fiber, which keeps your digestive tract clean and in good order. These fruits and veggies are also rich in antioxidants, which helps prevent free radical damage – the major cancer causing culprit – and also minimizes aging of the skin and other organs. Most produce is also nutrient rich in a variety of vitamins and trace minerals essential to almost every function of your body.

Now to the question of how you can fit those 5-9 servings into a daily healthy eating plan: you can get 2-3 servings from just one fruit smoothie for breakfast. Have a small green salad at lunch. Get another serving in a mid-afternoon fruit snack. A side – or two – of veggies with dinner and you've almost got the max! Anyone for a banana split for dessert? With the exception of the dessert, this healthy eating plan is also a good dieter's plan! All that produce fills you up.

Although there is some controversy over the value of using vitamin supplements, you may want to discuss this with your doctor. If you choose to use supplements, keep in mind that water soluble vitamins are washed right out of your system if you take them soon after consuming coffee, so wait at least a couple of hours before taking your vitamins.

As to your protein intake, did you know that all you really need is about 20 grams per day for good health? Americans have traditionally adhered to the 'lots of meat' mindset. Cutting your meat portions and adding more produce is a much better choice when planning your menus.

Whatever you do, try to avoid processed foods, which contain too much sodium and added sugars, along with additives you can't even pronounce and which don't add up to healthy eating.

Following this type of healthy eating, you'll avoid a great number of age-related problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol of the bad type and postpone many of the natural developments of aging. By anticipating future health problems and making a healthy eating plan a habit now, you'll be able to enjoy your later years more fully.

Check out our many articles we have on eating healthy