The Healthy Switch Diet

The New Year is fast approaching and one of your New Year’s resolutions would be to eat cleaner to get healthy once and for all. You’ll probably plan on a diet that has been trending, has worked for others, or has been proven for weight loss.

Let’s face it, it’s not just on New Year that we get this sudden urge for a healthier lifestyle but New Year is when weight loss or diet resolutions are most commonly made and often, also quickly abandoned. While some still have the luxury of choosing whichever food they like, some actually get unexpected bloodwork with elevated blood sugar or cholesterol levels causing worry and stress. Some are even diagnosed with diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. Frequently, this news jumpstarts major diet changes but people often revert to their old ways with their health at stake.

Lifestyle changes can be difficult and people have reasons for failing at them. The most common reasons are making too many changes at once and choosing changes that are too difficult to do or goals that are hard to meet.

Why not start with small changes to the food already in our diet, or do some swaps to help stick with healthier habits? Everyone including those with preexisting conditions, newly diagnosed conditions, and those who want to prevent future disease can make simple, everyday swaps to the staple foods in their diet to help in managing or reducing the risk of diabetes, heart diseases, and many other diseases. Again as we often say, small changes can make big results.

Healthy Food Swaps to a Healthier New You

1. Switch to vegetables for rice, pasta, pizza crust, or tacos, cauliflower can be swapped for all four or you can use squash or zucchini for spaghetti or noodles respectively. This veggie switch will lower the amount of carbohydrates in a meal as well as add an extra dose of fiber and veggie nutrients.
2. Choose whole grains over refined grains. Choose wholemeal flour, brown rice, wild rice, brown bread, oatmeal, quinoa, corn, barley, spelt, buckwheat, and whole wheat noodles and pasta. Use less white enriched or all-purpose flour, white rice, parboiled rice, white bread, cream of wheat, and degermed corn flour. Including a source of fiber at every meal helps with managing blood glucose levels while also helping with controlling appetite by making you feel fuller for longer and maintaining a healthy gut.
3. Instead of soda, go for flavored sparkling water or seltzer, green tea, kombucha, or infused water. You can also opt for fizzy water with mint leaf and cucumber, or a glass of water with ice cubes made from fruit. This reduces blood sugar and calorie intake. While plain water is still your best bet for staying hydrated with zero calories.
4. Try tea or coffee in place of energy drinks. Energy drinks may help increase concentration with a burst of energy but they are also loaded with added sugars. Unsweetened tea or coffee drink alternatives have less sugar while also providing antioxidants for heart, skin, and brain health.
5. Choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is lower in sugar and higher in beneficial antioxidants.
6. Use olive or avocado oil instead of butter. These oils offer higher heart-protective fats.
7. Choose fatty fish like salmon or tuna instead of steak. These fatty fish contain heart-healthy fats.
8. Swap your cheese for reduced-fat cheese. Lower fat consumption by simply opting for a reduced-fat version of your regular cheese. Or when you’re whipping up one of your signature dishes, try sprinkling grated reduced-fat cheese over the top, as the difference will likely go unnoticed.
9. Eat a piece of fruit rather than drinking fruit juice. Fruits add to your dietary fiber as well.
10. Switch out those fruit-flavored yogurt to plain or Greek yogurt with fresh fruit. Plain unsweetened yogurt has less sugar while adding fresh fruit to it boosts both dietary fiber and antioxidant intake.
11. Snack with a hard-boiled egg or a handful of unsalted roasted nuts instead of your usual coffee shop pastries. Most coffee shop pastries are high in refined carbohydrates including sugar. Opt instead for a high-protein snack.
12. Swap your favorite potato chips for raw vegetable sticks like carrots, celery, or bell peppers with hummus, avocado, or yogurt dip. Most potato chips are high in saturated fat, salt, and calories. Replacing them with fresh vegetable sticks increases fiber intake. Just keep in mind to pick a dip with low salt levels.
13. Use homemade salad dressing with extra virgin olive oil and lemon or balsamic vinegar instead of store-bought dressings. Store-bought dressings are often full of sodium with large amounts of sugar for flavor. This swap will add antioxidants with proven benefits for heart health and weight control.
14. Ditch ice cream for a frozen mango or frozen half banana on a stick dipped in dark chocolate. Ice cream is high in sugars, fat, and calories but low in nutrients. Frozen mango is also high in sugars but has added health benefits of high fiber, Vitamin C, and antioxidants. Bananas have the same benefits and it is also high in potassium.

Eating more fruits and vegetables, more fiber, less saturated fat, and more unsaturated fats helps reduce risks for chronic heart diseases. Being careful with sugar intake and the types of carbohydrates we eat will help with controlling diabetes or reducing the risk. Start slow and pick one swap at a time. Once a habit is formed, pick another diet switch and keep taking these small steps towards a healthier you. Whether the goal is to lose weight, reduce cholesterol or blood pressure, or just eat healthier, simple food swaps can help support your health goals. Make small simple changes with everyday food and beverages which will make a big difference to everyday health. If you need more recommendations for healthy food and drink alternatives, best to consult a healthcare professional.

Author

Jenna Wishnew Dr Wishnew is a Board Certified General Surgeon practicing in the North Texas area She specializes in general surgery, gastroparesis, wound care, vein concerns and robotic surgery.