HABITS FOR HEALTHY EATING

Nutrition experts share their best tips on how to eat well

- CAROLINE HOPKINS LEGASPI

Ask any reputable dietitian or nutrition scientist about how to eat healthfully and they will probably tell you to avoid dieting.

Many diets emphasise restriction, whether it's of calories, carbohydrates, fats or something else. And that's not a healthy strategy, said Alison Brown, a nutrition researcher at the National Institutes of Health. Diets like these can cause you to miss out on the range of nutrients your body requires, she said.

A better way to maintain healthy eating habits, she added, is to focus on foods that not only nourish, but also bring joy.

That can be challenging when nutrition fads are coming and going with seemingly increasing speed, and often conflicting advice. Is saturated fat the enemy or not? Are we all deficient in protein? Turns out, the best ways to foster healthy eating are also the simplest. Here's how.

1. PRIORITISE WHOLE FOODS

Not all processed foods are unhealthy, but they're often stripped of beneficial nutrients, Brown said. And they may contain high levels of ingredients that can be harmful to health, such as added sugars and sodium.

Because of this, it's best to consume foods "as close as possible to how they exist in nature", Brown said.

Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and nuts are packed with many important nutrients. Fibre, for instance, is linked with reduced risks for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. And fruits and vegetables — especially leafy greens and berries — contain beneficial compounds that can reduce inflammation. In a recent study of nearly 50,000 women, scientists found that those who ate more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes were more likely to age in a healthy way than those who ate fewer of those foods.