Some people are healthy, others are not. Do they consume more nutrients? Do they have better-eating habits? Are their bodies better? Yes, yes and yes. Our eating habits are important factors that go into our health quotient, which includes what, when and how much we eat. When you get down to it, food is the fuel that energizes the body, and the better quality the fuel, the better the results that are gained in terms of body maintenance.

Michael Pollan, the famous American author, conveyed a strong message in very few words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the golden rule of healthy eating. From these lines, a couple of questions come to mind:

• Is what we’re eating real food?
• Are we eating the right amount?
• Are we eating enough plants?

Let’s delve deeper.

1. Are You Eating Real Food?

Our fast-paced lives do not give us enough time to think about what we’re putting into our bodies. We tend to munch on snacks, keep the fridge filled with aerated drinks, and order fast food items that are easy to grab and eat. These habits have become so common that we don’t even find anything wrong with them, but the truth is that they’re turning us into mindless eaters.

The worst part is that the highly processed food we eat contains a large amount of added sugars, oils, unhealthy fats and sodium that’s easy to get addicted to, but lacks the essential nutrients required to stay healthy. Because of all of this, it’s easy for us to keep munching unhealthy snacks all day.

Keep in mind that the fast food and unhealthy, processed snacks you eat are not truly food because a real food item is a nutritious substance consumed to fulfill the nutritional requirement of a body, including vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats. Getting down to it, shouldn’t all the food we eat come from a plant or animal? Why would we eat otherwise? Why would we opt for food made in factories that’s not even close to the kind of food we should be eating to stay fit?

2. Keep Your Food Close to Nature

The closer your food is to nature, the healthier it will be. Nature has gifted us with so many food products that fulfill our nutritional requirements that it’s ludicrous to turn anywhere else. For example, plant-based diets are some of the best because they contain all the essential vitamins and minerals we need, along with plenty of fiber and phytonutrients. In other words, add a portion of plants in every meal of the day, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner, and you’ll be that much healthier for it.

3. Are You Eating the Right Amount?

Munching on processed snacks and fast food dims our capability of identifying hunger, leading us to misunderstood cravings with hunger. We forget what it feels like to actually be hungry because the snacks and aerated drinks we eat are always accessible, and the more we eat them the more that our hunger is transformed into cravings.

Instead, listen to what your body is saying: are you really hungry or they just the cravings? Eat to feed your body, not your mind. As far as the amount of food is concerned, it’s all in your hands:

• Protein should not be bigger than the size of the palm.
• Carbs should be the size of your fist.
• Fats and oils should equal the size of your thumb.
• Dessert should be equal to the size of your finger.
• Fruits and vegetable should be the biggest in terms of size, measured by opening your palms and joining them together.

4. Avoid Sugar-Filled Aerated Drinks

Sugar-filled aerated drinks are consumed by the gallons in the summers in order to quench thirst and please our taste-buds; we tend to focus more on their temporary taste than their more permanent side-effects. These drinks are high in sugar, creating blood sugar spikes and, in the long-term, can lead to diabetes, heart problems, liver damage, premature aging and even cancer.

Instead of grabbing these drinks, choose something healthier like water to quench your thirst or cold-pressed juice to fulfill your body’s nutritional requirements and stay energized.

5. It’s OK to Cheat on Occasions, but in Limit

If you’re following healthy eating rules most of the time, it’s ok to indulge in delicacies every now and then. Additionally:

• It frees you up from the stress of eating healthy all the time.
• The 80-20 rule of healthy and unhealthy eating also helps in maintaining a healthy metabolism.
• It helps reduce cravings and lets you plan them in a better way.
• It lets you enjoy food at its fullest, just make sure to limit your cravings.

Did you get all of that? Here’s what we covered, all over again:

1. Opt for real food
2. You should eat food that’s close to nature
3. Eat the right amount
4. Avoid processed foods and sugar-filled aerated drinks
5. It’s okay to cheat every now and then