C R Y D E R
P O I N T
MARCH 11
WWW.QNS.COM | MARCH 2021| CRYDER POINT COURIER 11
Easy changes to your routine
for a healthier lifestyle
(BPT)–It’s natural to want to eat healthy
and fuel your body with the nutrients it
needs to feel good. Figuring out how to
eat healthy and make smart choices can be
difficult if you don’t know where to begin.
Try these five simple tips to introduce better
habits into your diet.
PLAN AHEAD
Planning is important for healthy eating,
and even more so when you’re busy
and time is limited. Start by choosing a
consistent day to plan all your meals for
the week, then check inventory in the
fridge, freezer and pantry before making
a grocery list. Always keep some healthy
and easy shelf-stable or freezer meals on
hand for busy days, and if you’re making a
meal or snack that is freezable, double the
recipe so you have it on standby.
BUILD A BALANCED PLATE
Easily build a healthy and balanced
plate, without pulling out measuring
cups or a scale, with these easy to eyeball
proportions: fill half your plate with
vegetables, a quarter with healthy carbs, a
quarter with lean protein and a small dollop
of healthy fats. Make sure your diet is
diverse and eat from all five food groups,
enjoying a wide range of vegetables, fruits,
lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, whole
grains and naturally lower-fat dairy foods
across each week.
Fill up on fruits and vegetables
It’s recommended that adults eat at least
five portions of fruits and vegetables every
day. Fruits and vegetables are healthy
snack alternatives to foods like pretzels,
sweets and chips. To ensure you always
have healthy food options ready for
snacking, chop and prep your fruits and
veggies using a produce extender as soon
as you get home from the store. It keeps
fresh cut produce like apples, carrots,
celery, pears and peaches from browning
while maintaining the texture and without
altering the flavor. It keeps produce fresh
in your fridge for up to one week helping
you ensure healthy snacks are always
readily available.
CUT DOWN SALT AND
SUGAR
Regularly eating foods high in sodium
and sugar may affect long-term health.
However, consuming both in moderation
is okay. Most dietary sodium and added
sugars come from eating packaged and
prepared foods, so learning how to read
food labels will help you stay on track.
Visit the FDA.gov website for more details
on how to properly use the Percent
Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts label
as a tool to determine if a serving of the
food is high or low in sodium or added
sugars.
WHEN EATING OUT, MAKE
HEALTHY CHOICES
Despite your best efforts to plan, sometimes
you end up getting take-out or eating
out at a restaurant. This doesn’t mean
you have to abandon your healthy eating
habits. A few easy and healthier choices
include asking for dressing on the side;
choosing baked, broiled or grilled options
instead of fried; and asking for water instead
of sodas and other sweetened beverages.
Finally, if you’re not too hungry
or the serving size is large, simply divide
your plate into two servings and save half
for another meal.
Making dramatic changes to your diet
all at once can be hard to swallow, literally.
Keep these tips in mind and try incorporating
them into your daily routine gradually
for a healthier lifestyle.
Can Good Nutrition Give Your
Immune System a Power Boost?
BY KATRINA TRISKO
REGISTERED DIETITIAN, ELITE
AMENITY MANAGEMENT
It’s March, the days are still cold and
short, and there’s still a pandemic going
on. Especially now, when staying healthy
is on everyone’s mind, maybe you’ve wondered
what you should be doing to ramp
up your immune system. There are plenty
of supplements, cleanses, and other fads
that claim to boost immunity, but is there
truth behind the trends?
While we all wish there were a silver
bullet that could supercharge our immune
systems and keep us healthy, it’s not
quite that simple. What really works is to
take a holistic approach to your health.
That said, nutrition and immune function
definitely do go hand in hand. Here are
three simple habits to keep your immune
system strong:
1. EAT A COLORFUL DIET.
Nutritionists have a saying: “Eat the
rainbow.” It’s a quick rule of thumb to
remind you that when choosing fresh
fruits and vegetables, you want to see
the full range of colors on your plate.
Leafy greens have lots of Vitamin K;
orange fruits and vegetables are rich in
beta-carotene. The list goes on, but you
don’t need to memorize it. Just make sure
you’re eating a colorful diet, and you’ll
boost your vitamin intake without even
thinking about it.
2. MAINTAIN CONSISTENT
SLEEP HABITS, AND MAKE
SURE YOU’RE SLEEPING
ENOUGH.
Don’t forget that adults need seven
to eight hours of sleep a night. In these
stressed-out, work-from-home times,
you may need to set boundaries to protect
your sleep. Go to bed at a set time if
you can, and try to avoid screens for 30-45
minutes beforehand. Sleep in a dark, quiet
room. And aim for 30 minutes of moderate
exercise, three to five days a week; your
sleep will be more restful if you do.
3. MANAGE YOUR STRESS
LEVELS.
Stress can chip away at your immune
response. That means good stress management
is key to staying healthy. So be
proactive; build simple habits into your
routine that keep you feeling calm. Take
a few minutes each day to connect with
friends. Make a playlist of your favorite
songs. Get outdoors as part of your
routine, even if it’s only for a short time.
Meditate. Just setting the intention to take
control of your stress can make a difference.
Try it and see!
Katrina Trisko is a Registered Dietitian
offering nutritional services to ELITE
members. To learn more, find Katrina on
the ELITE App.
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/FDA.gov
