Introduction
Maintaining healthy nutrition is a fundamental necessity for the human body, as diet-associated problems result in severe illnesses and deteriorate the individual’s life quality. My goal is to establish healthy eating patterns instead of remaining a person whose daily nutrition consists of an unbalanced diet with frequent shifts toward overeating or undereating. This initiative helps me to terminate my unhealthy eating behavior, consume varied plates, and stay hydrated and active, thus demanding me to rely on mindful eating and portion control.
General Recommendations and Healthy Behaviors
The primary step in my journey is to identify healthy nutrition habits. Mahmood et al. (2021) suggest that eating habits are the repetitive process of food consumption, covering its quantity and time, while eating behavior includes food policy decision-making. Healthy eating patterns consider these both, introducing a balanced diet – a high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts, with a low intake of refined grains and fatty acids.
Another suggestion is to read food labels and avoid energy- and sugar-dense products (Koca & Arkan, 2021). Controlling plate sizes and proper hydration helps the body in digestion and circulation, hindering overeating. Therefore, each eating behavior should be conscious to ensure the body receives appropriate vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
Current Trends in Healthy Living
Current trends connected to food consumption come from the Buddhist philosophy of mindfulness. The scientists (Stanszus et al., 2019) urge individuals to develop awareness of emotional reactivity and disconnect it from eating, creating a conscious consumption. Although I have been aware of this trend, I have never followed it since I occasionally purchase unhealthy products and overeat due to stress. Since I do not prepare food at home, I prefer purchased plates with cheap vegetable oils and over-processed foods, neglecting the food groups from the balanced diet (Ridgway et al., 2019). As I eat the same food repeatedly, I have minimal nutrition sources, which hints at my unhealthy eating behavior. However, I follow hydration guidelines as I drink two liters of water daily. Nevertheless, my acknowledgment of my diet-related issue begins my diet improvement journey.
Benefits of Applying Healthy Practices
Once healthy eating patterns are determined, their application brings me many benefits. Primarily, they prevent the development of nutrition-associated diseases: “thinness, obesity, malnutrition, avitaminosis, dental caries, simple goiter, and anemia” (Koca & Arkan, 2021, p. 718). If I follow the mindful eating trend, I will reduce the automaticity in my shopping and eating procedures, learning to respond to physical cues instead of external cravings or impulsive triggers (Stanszus et al., 2019). Moreover, eating at home leads to better diet quality and intake of Vitamin C and calcium (Mahmood et al., 2021). A balanced diet contributes to weight management and prevents fatigue while enhancing overall well-being.
Barriers to Following Recommendations
However, the barriers to a healthy eating lifestyle remain unresolved, demanding a comprehensive approach. As the Global Nutrition Report (2022) states, the number of people with limited financial access to a healthy diet increased by 112 million in 2020, pointing to the major global issue – food insecurity. When the governments and the public support these nations by providing nutrition assistance programs, they have more chances to follow these guidelines.
Meanwhile, the barriers for other privileged people like me are the preference for convenience foods overcooking and a lack of food literacy. Hence, such people require more time management and education interventions to prioritize healthy eating. While overcoming individual barriers might be less resource-consuming, fighting the world’s problems is more challenging.
Conclusion
To conclude, positive dietary intake starts with education and overcoming fears and laziness. Adolescents striving for nutrition improvement should develop food literacy and preparation skills. I improve my eating behavior once I start following a balanced diet with a variety of whole foods and plant-based alternatives while listening to my body’s internal cues. This action leads to a healthy body and mentality, energy boost, and productivity.
References
Global Nutrition Report. (2022). Executive summary. Web.
Koca, B., & Arkan, G. (2021). The relationship between adolescents’ nutrition literacy and food habits, and affecting factors. Public Health Nutrition, 24(4), 717-728. Web.
Mahmood, L., Flores-Barrantes, P., Moreno, L. A., Manios, Y., & Gonzalez-Gil, E. M. (2021). The influence of parental dietary behaviors and practices on children’s eating habits. Nutrients, 13(4), 1-13. Web.
Ridgway, E., Baker, P., Woods, J., & Lawrence, M. (2019). Historical developments and paradigm shifts in public health nutrition science, guidance and policy actions: A narrative review. Nutrients, 11(3), 1-22. Web.
Stanszus, L. S., Frank, P., & Geiger, S. M. (2019). Healthy eating and sustainable nutrition through mindfulness? Mixed method results of a controlled intervention study. Appetite, 141(1), 1-12. Web.
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