I. The Science of Healthy Eating
Each nutritionist and diet master discusses what to eat. Rather, I'd like to talk about why we eat the manner in which we do and how we can change that. The motivation behind this guide is to share the science and system you have to get the outcomes you need.
Presently, the advantages of good sustenance are genuinely clear to a large portion of us. You have more vitality, your wellbeing improves, and your profitability blooms. Good dieting additionally assumes an enormous job in keeping up a solid weight, which means a diminished danger of sort 2 diabetes, certain malignant growths, heart issues, hypertension, and a large group of other wellbeing sicknesses. (Hereditary qualities likewise assumes a huge job. I'm not some insane individual who figures qualities don't make a difference.)
In any case, if there are such a significant number of valid justifications for good dieting, for what reason is it so hard to really do? To respond to that question, we should begin by realizing why we long for shoddy nourishment.
II. How to Make Healthy Eating Easier
Most people think that building better habits or changing your actions is all about willpower or motivation. But the more I learn, the more I believe that the number one driver of behavior change is your environment.
Your environment has an incredible ability to shape your behavior. Nowhere is this more true than with food. What we eat on a daily basis is often a result of what we are presented.
Let me share an interesting experiment to show you exactly what I mean…
The Importance of Environment for Healthy Eating
Anne Thorndike is a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Thorndike and her colleagues conducted a six-month study that was published in the American Journal of Public Health.
This study secretly took place in the hospital cafeteria and helped thousands of people develop healthy eating habits without changing their willpower or motivation in the slightest way. Thorndike and her team utilized a concept known as “choice architecture.” Choice architecture is just a fancy word for changing the way the food and drinks are displayed, but, as it turns out, it makes a big difference.
The researchers started by changing the choice architecture of the drinks in the cafeteria. Originally, there were three main refrigerators, all of which were filled with soda. The researchers made sure that water was added to each of those units and also placed baskets of bottled water throughout the room.
The image below depicts what the room looked like before the changes (Figure A) and after the changes (Figure B). The dark boxes indicate areas where bottled water is available.
III. How to Stick to a Healthy Eating Habit
Address the Root Problem of Unhealthy Eating
There’s a reason why many people eat as a way to cope with stress. Stress causes certain regions of the brain to release chemicals (specifically, opiates and neuropeptide Y). These chemicals can trigger mechanisms that are similar to the cravings you get from fat and sugar. In other words, when you get stressed, your brain feels the addictive call of fat and sugar and you’re pulled back to junk food.
We all have stressful situations that arise in our lives. Learning to deal with stress in a different way can help you overcome the addictive pull of junk food. This could include simple breathing techniques or a short guided meditation. Or something more physical like exercise or making art.
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