Who doesn’t love food? I certainly do, and I bet you all do too!
As awesome as it is to have a ton of food choices, we still have to watch what we eat if we want to feel and look as good as we possibly can. Lucky for us, Canada has just released a new food guide that doesn’t include studies backed by the food industry lobby. Remember being told we should drink two glasses of milk every day? Guess where that came from!
The guide, which has a handy visual representation in the form of a plate, is pushing dairy and protein to the side and letting plant-based diets take center stage. Shown as a colorful dish, the new guide has fruits and veggies taking up one half, one-fourth devoted to plant-based proteins such as tofu, beans and nuts, and one-fourth earmarked for whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice. Instead of milk, a glass of water is shown next to the plate as the beverage of choice.
Although the new Canada guide is mainly about dietary recommendations, it does offer more than just food advice. On Canada’s official food guide, there are many new eating habit recommendations, including: (https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/)
- Be more aware of your eating habits.
- Cook for yourself more often. Going with take-out food is more likely to lead to bad food choices.
- Enjoy what you eat. Take the time to slowly chew and taste your food.
- Eat some meals with other people. It makes meal time more pleasant, and you may end up eating less.
- Read food labels carefully so you make better choices when you’re out and about.
- Limit foods that are high in sugar, sodium or saturated fat.
- Be aware of how food marketing may try to influence what you buy and eat. Some marketing forms, such as on social media, are less obvious that traditional tactics.
Of course, this isn’t some radical, off-the-wall advice. We have been hearing for years that you need to eat more fruits and veggies. However, what Canada has done is make it simple for people to see what they need to do, and they’ve really honed in on ways of getting protein from sources beyond animals.
Consider Canada’s new food recommendations, which are based on research and not on studies paid for by the highest bidder, as you change your current diet to a healthier one.