These are the four benefits of frequently changing your diet
KONTAN.CO.ID – JAKARTA. Eating the same food every day is boring, right? That is why we need to provide variations in our diet.
In fact, health experts also advise us to change our diet so that our nutritional needs are maintained. “Eating a variety of foods not only makes your eating routine interesting and fresh. It also provides impressive nutritional benefits,” says dietitian Beth Czerwony.
Here are the various benefits of changing our daily diet:
1. Get more nutrients
Eating the same foods increases our chances of losing nutrients. For example, cashews and pine nuts are good sources of magnesium. But if you never eat sunflower and hazelnut seeds, you may be deficient in vitamin E.
The same rule applies to food colors. Each food color also carries different nutritional benefits and is important for the health of the body. For example, green vegetables and fruits provide you with lots of plant-based phytonutrients like chlorophyll.
But you may be deficient in phytonutrients from red, orange, yellow, and blue or purple plant foods. So, make sure to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, then add grains and protein.
Try adding new color variations to our diet such as purple cauliflower, white asparagus, sweet potatoes and rainbow colored carrots. If you are not sure where to start, consult a dietitian.
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2. Increase life expectancy
Eating a wide variety of nutritious foods can reduce the risk of death. Research testing 59,000 women found that those who switched between 16 to 17 healthy meals had a 42% lower risk of dying.
According to researchers, dietary variety is as important as limiting unhealthy foods. So, instead of just focusing on limiting unhealthy foods, make sure to increase the variety of nutrients in your diet by eating lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, healthy fats and lean protein.
3. Reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome
In one study, researchers compared two groups of men and women, ages 40 to 69. The first group included a variety of foods in their diet such as fish, vegetables, seaweed, fruits, nuts, and the like. The second group ate a limited variety of foods.
From the data analysis, it is evident that those who frequently change their food have a lower risk of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for obesity, elevated cholesterol and glucose levels, increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
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4. Lose weight
Frequently changing food helps increase the diversity of good bacteria in the gut. The diversity of good digestive bacteria helps improve body health and aids in weight loss. One of the best ways to achieve these altered gut bacteria is by consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables of different colors in the diet.
This article has been published on Kompas.com with the title 4 Benefits of Frequently Changing Meals.
Author: Ariska Puspita Anggraini
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Editor: Wahyu T. Rahmawati
