Table of replacing harmful foods with healthy ones

Breakfast cereals

Breakfast cereals and instant cereals have nothing to do with healthy eating and benefits. Their only advantage is the speed and ease of preparation.

Ready-made breakfasts contain a huge amount of sugar, food additives and flavorings, which do not have the best effect on your figure and overall health.

Any cereal that requires at least 10 minutes to cook will be a useful alternative to breakfast cereals.

An excellent option for breakfast is porridge: oatmeal or rice can be supplemented with a fruit or berry composition, while buckwheat goes well with vegetables.

Another alternative option is low-fat cottage cheese with added fruit.

This breakfast will give you energy for the whole day and replenish your supply of vitamins and minerals.

Colored lollipops

As you know, technologists do not always adhere to standards and use a lot of dyes in the production of sweets. Yellow, red, green candies on supermarket shelves attract small and large buyers with bright wrappers, calling them again and again to feel the sour-sweet taste, to which the receptors quickly get used to.

Artificial dyes cause a lack of vitamins and become catalysts for the development of many unpleasant diseases.

You can replace the treat with fruits, berries, or make sweets at home.

Stir sugar syrup, or even better honey, with any berries and leave in the refrigerator until completely hardened. Fresh berries promote weight loss, and fortified sweets without dyes will not only be tasty, but also healthy.

Yeast bread

Yeast bread can not only harm your figure, but also disrupt digestion, since yeast helps to intensify the fermentation process.

Of course, you can give preference to healthier yeast-free bread, but it is also quite high in calories (depending on the type of flour, 100 g of product will contain 180 - 225 kcal).

What to do?
It is enough to replace it with bran whole grain bread, which is no less tasty, but at the same time really healthy:

Contains B vitamins.
Cleanses the digestive tract of waste and toxins.
Promotes rapid weight loss.

Avocado vs Pumpkin Seeds

Photo: istockphoto.com

Avocado is one of the most popular foods among nutrition fans. No PP blog is complete without a recipe for guacamole (avocado sauce) or fruit spread. In addition to fatty acids, avocado contains B vitamins, vitamin E and a large amount of potassium. But this “superfood” also has an inexpensive analogue.

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Pumpkin seeds contain no less essential fatty acids. Thanks to vitamins A and E, the skin maintains elasticity and youth, and a record amount of zinc fights cancer cells. 50 grams of avocado will replace 30 grams of seeds. You will save money, save on the quantity of product and, most importantly, you will not lose quality.

White sugar

Sugar is a high-calorie product, 100 g of which contains about 400 kcal.

White sugar has long been included in the list of harmful foods, since its excessive consumption negatively affects the figure, condition of the skin and hair, and the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.

If you cannot completely give up sweets, simply replace white sugar with brown sugar, which, although high in calories, is also a source of a complex of vitamins and minerals. It should be consumed in limited doses.

White sugar can also be replaced with honey (recommended daily dose for adults is 2.5 - 3 tbsp). If you want to lose weight, then it is better to reduce the amount of honey to 2 tsp. in a day.

The most useful alternative to sugar is fructose, which has lower calorie content and does not increase blood glucose levels, making it suitable for people with diabetes.

Honey instead of sugar

Refined sugar is blamed for a whole range of diseases, including obesity and diabetes; nutritionists advise completely avoiding this harmful product. And replace it with honey, whose benefits are undeniable.

Candies

Sweets are the same sugar and a source of fast carbohydrates, which slow down metabolic processes and, when consumed in large quantities, lead to excess body weight. In addition, they contain a huge amount of flavors, dyes and preservatives that destroy human health.

A nutritious, tasty and healthy alternative to candy will be:

berries (raspberries, strawberries, currants, blueberries);
dried fruits (dried apricots, raisins, dates, prunes).

They contain fructose, as well as a huge amount of vitamins and minerals that the human body needs.

If you cannot completely give up sweets, you can occasionally treat yourself to a small piece of good dark chocolate. This will certainly improve your mood and have a positive effect on the activity of the central nervous system.

But remember that the basis of high-quality dark chocolate are:

grated cocoa;
cocoa butter;
cocoa powder;
whole cocoa beans.

The higher the percentage of cocoa in chocolate, the more natural and healthy it is: choose chocolate that contains 85, or better yet, 99% cocoa.

But there should be no palm oil in real dark chocolate.

The reason is deeper than you think

Gastronomic preferences are not always your whims. Doctors have long found out that taste weaknesses can indicate a lack of important substances. Perhaps cravings for a certain product are caused by a deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals. Also, partiality to junk food occurs due to an unbalanced diet. Therefore, first of all, we recommend that you review your diet and, if necessary, rebuild it. Following your cravings will not solve the problem.

If you are craving salty foods, your body is most likely experiencing dehydration. Try to improve your drinking regime. Before eating anything salty, drink a glass of water. In case of severe stress, do not eat away the irritation, calming your nerves. Take a sip of water and go for a walk.
Are you suffering from chocolate addiction? Perhaps the body is signaling a deficiency of iron and magnesium, which are contained in cocoa beans. Also, a craving for chocolate is observed in those who are engaged in mental and intellectual work, as the brain asks for glucose. The way out of this situation is simple - eat a slice of dark or bitter bar a day, look for a replacement in the form of fruits and dried fruits.
When you constantly want something sour, this may indicate that your diet contains heavy food that takes a long time to digest. The brain requests acidic foods to increase the acidity of gastric juice. Review your menu and exclude fatty and heavy dishes from it.

Gastronomic preferences can be inconvenient. Everyone sometimes wants to eat something that is harmful but tasty. We do not encourage you to give up your favorite food, but suggest finding new taste solutions that will be an excellent alternative to the old ones. Healthy eating habits will help you shape your figure and, of course, stay healthy.

Packaged juices

By abandoning sugary sparkling water in favor of packaged juices, we are doing ourselves a disservice, since they contain no less sugar than soda, not to mention preservatives and all sorts of additives designed to enhance the taste and improve the color of the juice.

If you like juices, make your own from fresh fruits. To ensure your body gets the maximum benefit, drink the juice immediately after preparing it.

White rice

This product has a high glycemic index and therefore increases blood glucose levels.

Replace white rice with brown rice, the shell of which contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients. In addition, brown rice takes longer to be absorbed by the body, and therefore saturates the body with energy for a long time.

An excellent alternative to white rice will also be quinoa, a cereal crop that contains 9 types of amino acids and a large amount of fiber. Its only drawback is its high cost.

Butter

Despite the fact that butter contains a complex of healthy fatty acids, excessive consumption of this product can lead to the accumulation of harmful cholesterol in the blood in the body, which increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis.

Diversify your diet: alternate between eating butter and avocado paste. To prepare the paste, simply peel the avocado and grind its pulp using a blender. If desired, you can add a small amount of salt, spices and herbs to the resulting mass.

Avocado also contains a complex of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, so it will only bring benefits to your body.

Find yourself someone else. What familiar products can be replaced with “analogs”

Replace sugar with stevia, regular milk with vegetable milk, coffee with chicory, and you will be happy, some experts and manufacturers convince us. Are such “sacrifices” necessary, and most importantly, will they make you healthy, nutritionist Marina Makisha

Sugar - stevia

The number one problem in modern nutrition is an excess of so-called “fast” carbohydrates in the diet. Sugar is the #1 poison that essentially destroys our entire body. According to statistics, every third Russian over the age of forty has either diabetes mellitus or a condition that is its precursor - insulin resistance. Remember, sugar can only be eaten in very limited quantities: women - 30 g per day, men - 50 g, no more. Naturally, many do not comply with this norm, because giving up sweets is very difficult.

In order to still reduce the harmful effects of this product on the body, change taste habits and at the same time leave a more or less comfortable diet for a person, nutritionists use safe and proven alternatives. Stevia is one of them.

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Coffee - chicory

The body's reaction to coffee will always be individual. For some, this drink lowers blood pressure, for others it increases. If you belong to the latter category and suffer from hypertension, but love the taste and aroma of coffee, chicory will be a worthy alternative. In addition, it has a lot of advantages. For example, it contains inulin, a so-called soluble fiber, which has a beneficial effect on the digestive system and supports intestinal microflora. A number of studies suggest that inulin reduces the risk of colorectal cancer. As you can see, chicory is a truly healthy drink that you can include in your diet to improve your health.

Also, do not forget that coffee has a strong diuretic effect and stimulates the removal of minerals from the body. If you drink more than six cups of espresso per day, of course, it is better to at least partially replace them with chicory and drink these two drinks on a 50/50 basis.

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Cow's milk and plant milk (coconut, almond)

I do not support such a replacement. Natural milk is a protein product and has a completely different nutritional value. Plant analogues themselves are empty and are necessary only for those people who suffer from intolerance to regular milk, naturally, if the diagnosis is confirmed by research.

Dairy products are the main source of calcium. By excluding them from the diet, we can get a number of serious problems with bones and teeth. I have a lot of such patients. So I wouldn't give up regular milk without a good reason.

And one more important point: milk is not water. There is no need to consume it in liters. For an adult, 1-2 glasses a day are enough. If you really want two, then drink them more than once! The problem of intolerance to this product in adults is due to the fact that the enzyme that processes it works weaker than in children. If your body processes 200-250 ml of milk normally, then a liter will lead to various unpleasant consequences, such as stool upset.

Dairy products and low-fat dairy products

Milk fat itself is healthy because it contains phospholipids necessary for cell repair. The main thing is to know when to stop, so I usually recommend products with low fat content rather than completely low-fat ones. For example, if we are talking about cottage cheese, then this is 5%; for kefir and milk this figure can be up to 3.2%.

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White bread and crispbreads

It’s better to avoid white bread altogether; it’s an empty food that raises your blood sugar levels just like sweets. As an alternative, choose whole grain bread or, if you prefer, crispbread. What is important here is not the appearance, but the quality of the flour from which the product is made. Do you like bread better? Please, the main thing is that they are produced using the correct technology (outwardly they should look like swollen grain).

Chicken and quail eggs

The myth that chicken eggs increase cholesterol levels has long been debunked. It’s definitely not worth giving preference to quail, relying solely on it.

Of course, there is an opinion that quails get sick less often than chickens, so fewer antibiotics are used when raising them, but please tell me how they get into the eggs? I don't really see any difference between these two products, so choose what you like best.

Butter and ghee

Although many manufacturers of ghee convince us that it is healthier than regular butter, the point here is not at all about usefulness. It is better not to fry anything with butter, because it starts to burn quite quickly, forming carcinogens. Ghee in this sense is ideal for frying.

And yet, I note that the procedure for obtaining ghee (when we heat the product) leads to the partial destruction of vitamin A. So, of course, it is better to spread regular butter on a sandwich; the daily consumption rate for this product is only 15-20 g.

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Black and green tea

It is unlikely that you will be able to find scientifically based information that some tea is more healthy and some less so. Both of these drinks have an antioxidant effect and contain tannins, which can lead to increased tone, so you should not drink them in the evening. Both green and black tea are more of a morning and afternoon drink. At night, it is better to use some herbal analogues, such as chamomile.

Mayonnaise and sour cream

Ready-made sauces, sour cream and mayonnaise are very high in calories, and they also contain artificial flavors, dyes and starch, which will definitely not benefit your health.

If you like salads with creamy dressings, just use Greek yogurt. It contains a minimum of calories and maximum benefits. To improve the taste, you can add some herbs and your favorite spices to the yogurt.

Ice cream

In terms of nutritional value, ice cream can be compared to candy. It contains a huge amount of sugar, as well as a variety of “food chemicals” for every taste and color. Such a dessert will certainly make itself felt over time with excess fat deposits in problem areas.

Fruit sorbet will be a healthy and at the same time very tasty alternative to ice cream. Despite the unfamiliar name, this dessert is very simple to prepare. All you have to do is take frozen fruit (any fruit you like) and puree it in a blender. Fruit sorbet is ready!

If you don’t have time to prepare sorbet and you buy this delicacy in a store, be sure to study its composition. Sorbet will not be beneficial if it contains refined sugar, flavorings and dyes.

Pasta from soft wheat varieties

A huge plus of pasta is that it can be prepared very easily and quickly. However, pasta made from soft wheat varieties (groups B and C) is very high in calories and contains a heavy dose of fast carbohydrates.

Choose pasta made from durum wheat that says “group A” on the packaging.

In addition, you can replace pasta with low-calorie and fortified zucchini or zucchini paste, which can be easily prepared at home.

To do this, you need to cut the zucchini or zucchini into thin strips (you can grate them on a Korean carrot grater), and then boil them in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes. The finished pasta can be supplemented with a sauce of grated tomatoes, spices and herbs.

Coffee

Who among us doesn’t love coffee, because it perfectly tones and gives energy. However, it is worth remembering that the caffeine present in the drink removes a large amount of fluid from the body.

In addition, excessive coffee consumption increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

You can replace coffee with a healthier and at the same time affordable drink made from chicory, which does not contain caffeine, but at the same time has a mild tonic effect on the central nervous system, invigorates and helps restore strength.

Feta instead of Parmesan

Fatty cheeses (which, for example, include cheddar, parmesan and the popular Russian cheese in our country), alas, are also included in the list of harmful foods. They will add calories and bad cholesterol to you.

Greek feta cheese contains only 210 calories per 100 grams, while “Russian” cheese contains more than 350. At the same time, feta is rich in calcium, riboflavin, and phosphorus, as well as vitamin B12, which is responsible for liver health and the regeneration of nerve fibers.

Of all the cheeses, it is better to choose feta. Photo: pixabay Olga Volkova

delicious food healthy eating healthy lifestyle

Chips and popcorn

In the production of chips, various snacks and popcorn, large amounts of salt, food additives, trans fats and flavorings are used, which together can trigger the development of a malignant tumor in the body. And this is not to mention the high calorie content of these products.

Replacing a food industry product with truly healthy chips is not difficult. You can prepare them yourself, using any fruits or vegetables - for example, bananas, apples, pears, carrots, beets, zucchini. Simply cut them into thin slices and dry them in the oven. Vegetables can be salted and spices added if desired. A tasty and healthy snack is ready.

You can also replace the chips with unsalted nuts.

Salt

Let us immediately note that you should not completely give up salt, because it contains sodium, which is necessary for the full functioning of the heart and the body as a whole. It is enough to limit its consumption to 3–5 g per day.

When preparing dishes, instead of salt, use various spices at your discretion - pepper, curry, turmeric, ginger, etc. This will make your favorite dishes even more aromatic and healthy.

Mashed Potatoes vs Mashed Cauliflower

We have nothing against potatoes boiled or baked in their jackets, but most of us prefer fried potatoes in oil or mashed potatoes made with the addition of a large amount of butter and milk to such a dietary dish, which can no longer be called a product of proper nutrition. To find a replacement for your favorite delicacy, use cauliflower puree, which is an excellent false potato.

Mashed potatoes

Potatoes themselves are a harmless vegetable, but when mashed they contain a large amount of starch. In addition, the dish is high in calories, so it can prevent your figure from becoming slim.

You can replace it with cauliflower puree. This vegetable contains half the calories, cooks quickly and is also a source of a complex of minerals and vitamins.

To prepare the puree, boil the cauliflower, disassembled into inflorescences, in boiling salted water for 10 - 15 minutes, then drain the water, and mash the inflorescences with a press or beat with a submersible blender until a puree of a uniform consistency is formed. Herbs and all kinds of spices will perfectly complement the taste of puree.

Build your diet using the right foods to bring exceptional benefits to your body!

Sweet potato instead of potatoes

This vegetable, unfortunately, is not yet very common in our country. But if you can replace regular potatoes with yams (sweet potatoes), do it. It contains more minerals and vitamins than potatoes, and, unlike the latter, does not cause spikes in blood sugar.

Yam (sweet potato). Photo: pixabay