It's really hard especially nowadays to just eat whatever that's available with the prevalence of the fast food, immediate and processed food. So, if one is health-conscious like me, he should really be aware and be beware of the foods that he's eating. It's not easy though. There would be frequent times that there wouldn't be available food his consumption because none has passed to his set standards for healthy foods. To make sure that I won't fall into the trap, I always bring my own food, even not for my meals, but at least for my snack. So when there's none that I can buy to eat, I have my own that I can get from My Bag.
Most foods are not inherently unhealthy, as fast food can be a good addition to your diet if it is eaten in moderation. One of the most important factors to consider is the total number of calories you are eating in a day on average, and to make sure that this number is appropriate for the amount of physical activity you do. This is to prevent excessive weight gain and obesity, which has many negative health implications. Getting enough nutrients in your diet is of paramount importance, and this is accomplished by eating a variety of different foods. This can be made easier by consuming mostly vegetables in your diet, and adding in some protein such as from meat, poultry, fish, fruit, grains and dairy. Even from this list of what is generally considered healthy, eating an excess is still not beneficial for your health.
Unfortunately, I think that the only way to make sure that one is eating healthily - like 100% - is to grow their own stuff. I am always saying it, but I really wish that they had taught us the important lie skills in school, as opposed to the lies that some of the subject lessons were made up of, such as History, for instance. They could have instead taught us the important stuff, like how to grow produce and nourish our bodies, and how to do taxes and deal with banks, and make sure that we have healthy finances. With all of the GMO food without any labeling these days, doing harm to our bodies, I feel that there are very few options to eat healthily.
I think a good tip is to eat as little processed food as possible. Make sure that you are eating something that is close to the unaltered form in which it originated from. For example, a pork chop instead of ham or sausage, vegetables instead of coleslaw, baked potatoes instead of fries etc. Generally the more processed the food, the more additives are present in it.
I agree with Squigly, the less processed food you eat the better. I generally don't restrict myself too much, I eat what I eat but always in moderation. I also try to make all my food from scratch and avoid ready made meals as much as possible, and keep eating out and getting take away food to a minimum.
I guess for me it's all about buying foods that are as unprocessed as possible. Obviously, if we're talking food and vegetables then as organic and untreated as possible, though the price of organic stuff can be a bit prohibitive. But in essence the more processing and chemicals that the food has been exposed to, the less healthy the food is likely to be. That's my approach to it all anyway.
It's not only the food you eat and where the food is from, but also how its cooked. Food soaked in oil or overcooked form being reheated loses all its nutritional value. I try to get a good balance, as a vegetarian I always check the ingredients of all packets and avoid anything with a huge list. Canned goods aren't always bad and are good for the pantry as sweetcorn is just sweetcorn, water and some salt and sugar, cheaper and lasts longer
You grow it yourself or make darn sure your food is local. The closer the grower is to you, the better. Even if it's a food straight from the ground, if it's coming from half way across the planet from you, there is no nutritional value left in it by the time it gets to you. No point. If you're talking about stuff on the shelf in boxes.. nope.. not healthy and nope, fast food is not a part of a balanced healthy diet lol. Anybody that says "in moderation", I assure you, doesn't know what it means.
