Habits take a long time to form, and aren’t easily altered overnight. Why should intelligent eating be any different? Food cravings are powerful! Even if you start to eat healthier, how can you actually enjoy healthier foods?

Like any life change, it’s a process. You need to not only change your diet, but your thinking around how to love eating healthy. And that doesn’t just mean what’s going on in your head. You need to start thinking of your stomach as a second brain—and feed it wisely.

You’re probably aware eating healthy has numerous health benefits. Increased energy, maintaining a healthy weight, a healthy heart, and having the building blocks for your whole body. The problem isn’t in knowing the benefits of eating healthy. It’s learning how to make yourself like healthy food. You can figure out how to love eating healthy by answering a few questions.

How Can I Practice Intelligent Eating When It’s So Hard?

Alright, so going cold turkey isn’t always the best approach to quitting something. You can’t just give up fried chicken, burgers, and pizza every night and expect to jump into a plate of kale. You would most likely fail. You also can’t expect to ease into a new habit without a plan to adjust your tastes and habits.

Changing your preferences to healthier options has a few roadblocks. Some are a function of the busyness of modern life. A trip to the grocery store or farmers market won’t mean much after work when you’re tired and stressed out. The fast-food drive-through can just be too tempting.

Other roadblocks come built into the human body. Example: Your taste buds are often subject to a process called neophobia. This is a fear of trying new or different things.

Like a lot of hang ups around food, there’s an evolutionary component to this process. Our ancestors didn’t always know which foods were healthy, and which foods might kill them. Once they found a food source wasn’t harmful, our ancestors would develop a taste for it. Eventually they might even enjoy it.

Most people aren’t foraging for food these days. So, you don’t have to worry about consuming something mysterious and potentially poisonous. But, the evolutionary defense mechanism remains.

There’s good news, though. First, eating spinach won’t kill you. And second, the more you eat a certain type of food, the more you acquire a taste for it. Even to the point of enjoyment.

You can also pair new foods with your old favorites. Maybe even replacing an unhealthy food with ingredients that are better for you. Instead of mayonnaise on your next sandwich, try spreading avocado. Instead of getting the meat lover’s pizza, try the vegetarian. If you start eating healthier foods with favorites you already enjoy, you’ll find that the new, healthy foods might start being tasty by association.

What Exactly is a Healthy Diet?

Whether or not you are actually on a strict diet, you need to eat a mix of healthy, nutrient-rich foods. Start with whole fruits and vegetables. Half of what you eat should be made up of these nutritious plants. And vegetables should take up the larger share. Whole grains and lean protein should make up the other half, with grains taking up the larger portion. This is followed by a side of dairy like cheese, milk, or yogurt. If you follow this general outline every day, you should receive a foundation of necessary nutrients.

More important than nailing the ratios of healthy food groups though, is to control your portions and limit your intake of overly processed foods. Chips, cookies, soda, frozen dinners, fast food, and the like can all contain unhealthy amounts of sugar, fat, and salt.

A diet high in fat and rich in sugar is harder for your body to process on many levels. Sugar tastes great, but doesn’t do much to curb hunger. So, it takes an awful lot of sugary, processed foods to make you feel full. Fat and sugar also trigger the pleasure receptors in the brain.

For many of our distant ancestors, it was rare to come across calorie-dense foods. Those they found would provide much needed sustenance, and any calories the body didn’t convert to quick energy was stored as fat for future use. Gorging on sweets and fats whenever they were available gave humans an evolutionary advantage.

Now, this process works against us. Foods high in sugar and fat are everywhere, and, instead of feasting, the challenge now is to limit your intake. That means paying attention to those ingredient labels!

Better yet, try to eat whole and fresh foods as often as possible. You don’t have to search an ingredient label when you buy fresh produce, meat, and fish in the store. That’s because there are no added ingredients. When it comes to grains, try to stick with whole grains like whole wheat, oatmeal, and brown rice.

How Do Healthy Foods and the Gut-Brain Axis Combine to Create Intelligent Eating?

A remarkable amount of research has recently expanded on the links between the brain and microbiome. There isn’t just evidence a healthy microbiome can influence weight and help deal with occasional stress. It may play a role in regulating mood and maintaining overall health.

There is a vast network of millions of nerves and chemical interactions that connect the gut to the brain. This is commonly referred to as the gut-brain axis.

The vagus nerve is one of the biggest nerves connecting your gut and brain. Signals travel in both directions along this pathway, from the gut to the brain and back. Research has shown these signals can be impacted by hormones and by what’s happening in your gut. That includes what kind of bacteria you’re cultivating with your diet. Since changing your diet changes the type of bacteria in your gut, you can help maintain the efficiency and health of this important connection.

Here’s an example of how diet can impact your gut-brain axis.

Some of the chemicals produced in your gut are called short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Among the most important for the gut-brain axis are butyrate and propionate. These SCFAs (and many others) are the product of gut bacteria fermenting fiber. So, by eating more fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, it can help your body make SCFAs.

And that’s a good thing because these short-chain fatty acids help provide energy to the cells of your colon. There’s also evidence that butyrate helps in forming the blood brain barrier. Some studies have even shown butyrate to have a role in maintaining neurological health.

Meanwhile, an increase in propionate in the gut has been shown to lower the amount of activity in the pleasure centers of the brain when exposed to high energy, unhealthy food. Scientists detected considerably weaker electrical impulse activity in the nervous systems of test subjects that had higher fiber diets. Because there was less of a reward response in the brain, they literally found the unhealthy food less appealing!

Reducing your enjoyment of junk food isn’t the only way supporting your gut-brain axis with diet could help you manage your weight. The flora in your gut can also play a large role.

There are literally trillions of microbes in your gut. Two of the most important are Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Studies have shown that these two play a significant role when it comes to managing weight.

Consuming high amounts of fat and sugar tends to boost the levels of Firmicutes, while limiting the presence of Bacteroidetes. With that dietary pattern, it might not be surprising that higher levels of Firmicutes have been detected in the microbiomes of obese people.

But the gut microbiome isn’t fixed. When obese people ate diets lower in fat and sugar, they lost weight. And, sure enough, samples of their microbiomes would reveal a decrease in Firmicutes and an increase in Bacteroidetes.

What are Some Tips for Learning How to Love Eating Healthy?

Your best bet is to start small, slow, and to have a plan. Here are six tips to get you started.

1. Once or twice a week, plan a meal with a healthy vegetable you’ve never tried before, and experiment with how you prepare it. Sure, you may not like steamed broccoli. But what if it’s sautéed in a bit of olive oil, and tossed with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and lemon juice? Swiss chard may not be your thing, but use sautéed leaves for a filling in enchiladas, or even raw in a smoothie? You might make a delicious discovery. And, remember, cooking at home is always better (for your health and for your wallet) than going out to eat.
2. Next time you have a salad, try making a simple vinaigrette. Mix up olive oil, vinegar, and whole-grain mustard—three parts oil to one part vinegar with a dab of mustard works best. You’ll be skipping the bottled salad dressing that most likely has a lot of extra sugar and calories.
3. Instead of buying sweetened cereal or yogurt, simply add your own fresh fruit. You’ll find it’s just as tasty, and you’ll feel good about the choice.
4. Feed your microbiome. Some of the best foods for increasing healthy gut bacteria are high in fiber and those rich in omega-3 fatty acids like fish and eggs. Maybe skip the processed smoked salmon or lox, and try grilling salmon with olive oil and fresh herbs on top.
5. Try introducing probiotics into your diet. Probiotics are foods that contain active microorganisms. When you consume these foods, you introduce healthy bacteria into your gut that can help maintain a healthy balance of microbes to support gut health. Common probiotic foods include yogurt, kombucha, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and sourdough bread.
6. Grow a garden. Nothing quite beats the taste of a fresh-off-the-vine heirloom tomato you watched grow all summer. It’s not really fair to compare homemade pesto to the store-bought version either. You can get a real sense of accomplishment that comes with growing your own food, too. And kids might be more likely to sample the literal fruits of their labor. If you don’t have the yard space for a garden, you can grow some plants and herbs in smaller pots and containers. If that doesn’t work, try hitting the farmers market, or signing up for community garden.

So, now you’ve learned tips about how to love eating healthy. It’s not easy to switch your food cravings to healthier options, and it takes repetition and commitment. Luckily, the steps aren’t complex. It all comes down to making newer food palatable for you.

But you can only figure out what you enjoy if you keep trying new things. The internet is your friend here. For every type of new food, there are a hundred different recipes to explore. Pick one and start your intelligent eating journey today.

Chances are good you, or the person next to you, dieted in the last year. Statistics show 49.3 percent of the population tried to lose weight by dieting in the last 12 months. Over the course of your lifetime, you’ve probably dieted at least five times—possibly more.

It makes sense. You live in a weight-obsessed culture. And, you know weight is closely linked to health. So, you try to lose the pounds. You may find yourself wondering, “what is a healthy diet”?

Paleo. Keto. Low-fat. Low-carb. Vegan. Fruitarian. Whole30. Wheat Belly. Jenny Craig. Dukan. Dubrow. Fit for Life. Carnivore. South Beach. Atkins. If you want to lose weight, you have a lot of choices. Each has its own pros and cons.

Here’s a sobering statistic: an estimated 95 percent of people who lose weight on restrictive, fad diets gain the weight back in one to five years. And, with all the different advice, it’s hard to know who to trust or how you should really eat.

Even if a restrictive diet fad helps you lose weight in the short term, is it a good idea to eat that way forever? To never give your body another carb? Or to stop eating fruit? Or to only eat fruit? What about loading up on butter and bacon?

It’s all mind-bogglingly overwhelming. And, looking at the statistics, it’s pretty hard to argue with the fact that fad diets simply don’t work. In the words of ‘90s fitness icon Susan Powter, it’s time to “stop the insanity.”

Say Farewell to Fad Diets Forever

Consider this: If it were impossible for your body to ever lose another pound, would that mean you should give up trying to eat healthier foods? Of course not.

Adopting short-term, fad diets for weight loss will almost always fail. The answer lies in turning your focus to eating for your health—for the rest of your life. It’s not restricting yourself for a short time because you’re trying to fit a number on a scale.

Health comes in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of your weight, you deserve to feel your best every day. Giving your body the nutrition that science has shown it needs to thrive comes with many rewards. You’ll glow with health. Your body will feel good. You’ll have plenty of energy. And, you’ll feel mentally and emotionally ready to tackle your goals and challenges every day.

Then there are the long-term benefits. Healthy eating patterns have been associated with maintaining the health of virtually every part of your body. This includes your heart, brain, bones and joints, and metabolic function, just to name a few.

The key to success is changing your behavior for a lifetime. Finding a way to eat that feels natural and that you can enjoy forever. A more positive relationship with healthy food will help you live a long, healthy life doing the things you enjoy with those you love.

Below you’ll read an overview of a healthy diet packed with foods science shows are most beneficial for health. You’ll also get guidelines and goals you can work toward to help you make a gradual, permanent shift in how you eat each day.

What is a Healthy Diet?

Most people have gotten it wrong. They eat foods that weigh them down and not enough of those that will help them live long, healthy lives.

A 2019 study found consumption of nearly all healthy food is below optimal levels. Researchers reported the healthy foods you don’t eat are as important, if not more so, as the unhealthy foods you may eat too often. They noted that “suboptimal diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risks globally, including tobacco smoking.”

Low intakes of whole grains and fruit were the worst offenders when it came to negative impacts on health. Not eating enough nuts and seeds, vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and polyunsaturated fats also had negative effects on quality of life. Overconsumption of salt was a serious issue for long-term health, too.

This study shines a light on what you need to add to achieve a healthy diet, instead of only focusing on what you need to cut out. Author Michael Pollan summed it up simply in his book, In Defense of Food, when he observed we should, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Healthy dietary patterns are generally a variation of the Mediterranean diet (modeled after traditional dietary patterns from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea). These diets emphasize whole, minimally processed foods: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and beneficial fats (especially from extra virgin olive oil).

This type of diet can be adjusted to fit most dietary, cultural, or ethical preferences. It can be healthy with or without animal-based foods. Although, careful planning is often required to ensure vegan and vegetarian diets are complete and balanced. Many people find that having some meat in their diet helps manage hunger better. But it’s a personal choice only you can make. You may also opt for organic produce and grass-fed or pasture-raised animal products.

And, plain old water is best to quench your thirst.

Chew on the Science of a Healthy Diet

There is abundant evidence that sticking to a whole-food diet based on plant foods supports the health outcomes that matter the most. That means more years in your life and more life in your years.

A healthy diet provides many of the nutrients you need for wellness. This includes omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and antioxidants—along with a range of vitamins and minerals—that work together to deliver major benefits for health. These benefits have been proven in many studies, in thousands of people.

A study of 23,153 Germans aged 35–65 found high intake of fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain bread, along with low meat consumption, was associated with improved health. The results were even more significant in those who maintained a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), never smoked, and exercised for three-and-a-half hours or more per week.

A study conducted by the World Health Organization found it’s never too late to start eating better. They saw a two-year increase in life expectancy at the age of 60 in those who adhered to healthy dietary patterns.

Dozens of studies and clinical trials have shown a Mediterranean-style diet helps maintain:

• healthy waist circumference and body weight/BMI
• normal cholesterol
• healthy blood glucose
• normal blood lipids/lipoproteins
• healthy blood pressure and circulation
• normal cognitive function

The Lowdown on Glycemic Index and a Healthy Diet

Generally, a healthy eating pattern consists of food with a low glycemic index or load.

When it comes to the glycemic index, common sense should dictate your decisions. The goal is to limit nutrient-poor, processed foods with refined starches and sugars. Not foods from nature. Many starchy vegetables, such as carrots, and fruits have a higher glycemic index.

But there’s no evidence these foods are harmful.

In fact, a 2018 review showed dramatic benefits linked to eating multiple servings of whole fruit. This is thanks, in part, to their fiber content and prebiotic effects (i.e., how well they feed the good bacteria in your gut). Benefits were seen in cardiovascular, digestive, metabolic, respiratory, and bone health. Plus, eating fruit improved measures of psychological well-being and skin health, too.

A Day in the Life of a Healthy Diet (for Adults)

Now you’ve digested a good overview of what a healthy diet includes. So, let’s look more closely at how those foods could shape your daily eating.

The following standards reflect commonalities and differences of the most well-established healthy eating patterns. These include the Mediterranean diet, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (commonly called DASH), Mediterranean-DASH-diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND), Flexitarian (or semi-vegetarian), and USDA Dietary Guidelines.

No foods are off limits—everything can fit into a healthy diet. But that comes with a stipulation: some foods should only be consumed on a very limited basis. Let’s call them “special occasion” foods.

Generally, special occasion foods are the worst for your waistline and your health. Truly savor them without guilt when you indulge. But reserve these foods for only a few times a month:

• Desserts and sugar-sweetened foods
• Chips and processed snacks
• Refined grains, like white bread or pasta
• Fried or fat-laden dishes
• Processed and cured meats (bacon, salami)
• Sodas or fruit juices

It’s all about finding the balance that works for you. To find what you enjoy, pay attention to the signals from your body, not just your taste buds. What does your body like? How do certain foods make you feel? Writing down the answers to these questions in a food journal can help.

Try new things, but don’t force yourself to eat foods you dislike. Your best diet is the one that’s made up of the healthiest, most nutritious foods you will love eating for life.

Mind Your Macros

Experts generally recommend certain ratios of macronutrients in your daily diet. Don’t get too hung up on the numbers. If you eat a healthy diet, like what’s listed above, you should be able to come close to these ranges with a little planning.

Carbohydrates and Fiber

• 45–65 percent of your dietary calories should come from carbohydrates (mostly from whole grains, fruit, and vegetables)
• 25–37 grams of fiber per day

Protein

• Aim to consume .8 g–2 grams of protein for each kilogram (kg) of body weight, spread evenly throughout the day. (Mature individuals, people who want to lose weight, and very active individuals should consume protein at the higher end of the range.)
  • To calculate your weight in kg, divide your weight in pounds (lbs.) by 2.205, then multiply that amount by .8 and 1.2 to get the range.
  • For example, if you weigh 150 lbs.
    • 150/2.205=68
    • .8(68) = 54
    • 2(68)=82
    • Your range is 54–82 g protein per day
  • 15–25 percent of your dietary calories should come from protein

Fat

• 20–35 percent of daily calories come from dietary fats
  • Unsaturated fats should be 90 percent of dietary fat intake
  • Saturated fats less than 10 percent of dietary fat intake

A Lifetime of Wellness Starts with a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is only one of the eight pillars of holistic health and wellness. This article summarizes how variations of the Mediterranean diet are proven to support vitality and well-being. Other aspects of the Mediterranean culture are also essential parts of a healthy lifestyle: getting plenty of exercise and adequate rest, along with maintaining strong social relationships.

Each day and every meal are full of chances to make good choices. Establishing positive habits is the key to long-term success. So, commit to saying farewell to fad diets forever and breaking the cycle of unhealthy eating. Start by setting small goals and use the science of self-motivation to begin your journey toward a lifetime of good food and good health today.

To learn more about how to adopt a healthy, whole-food diet, download the USANA® Food Guide. Inside, you’ll find a list of healthy foods, smart swaps, a week of sample menus, and serving sizes. There’s also a suggested shopping list, along with blank shopping lists and meal planning worksheets, and much more.