Use Nutrition Data And Good Sense To Gain More From Exercise

By Marion Peters

For anyone who enjoys an active lifestyle, whether as an athlete or simply to stay fit, nutrition data can be a very useful tool. When coupled with experience and common sense, information of this kind can be used to inform the choices made about diet. While pages of statistics, or numbers on labels, can be confusing, using some sense with regard to food choices is not hard.

For a start, anyone who wants to make their body healthier and fitter should avoid processed food of any kind. Scanning the label of many pre-processed and pre-packaged foods can be like reading a chemistry textbook on occasion. The more chemical compounds that there are listed on the side of a product, then the greater the need to avoid it becomes.

Anyone who wants to take a drastci first step towards improving their diet should cut sugar out of what they eat, especially if they eat a lot of processed or refined sugars, such as those found in fizzy drinks. While fat was once seen as the enemy of healthy bodies, with many companies manufacturing 'low fat' food products, many fats are in fact good for the body. The natural fats in olive oil, eggs, some dairy products and nuts can in actual fact help to keep people slim, as well as offering important nutrition.

When eating meat it is best to eat lean, white meat, such as chicken, as this contains less of the harmful fats which are often present in red meat, and is also easier to digest. Fish is another good protein source, especially oily fish such as mackerel.

Avoiding foods fried in corn or vegetable oil is also a good idea. Using olive oil as a replacement fat can make certain frying processes healthier, though. Using olive oil as a dressing for salads and other foods can help the body to burn fat, and this type of oil also offers good all-round nutrition.

A good general rule for choosing healthy foods is whether it can be killed, or whether it can be grown. If either of those criteria can be applied, then it is probably very healthy. If a product has a long list of chemical ingredients, it should be avoided.

Nutrition data can be a useful complement to common sense when choosing food. Avoid foods which are processed and pre-packaged. Choose foods which are as close to their natural state as possible before preparation and cooking.

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