Now is as good a time as any to make sensible-eating resolutions toward improved health and well-being. Studies have shown that most Asians, especially Filipinos, eat too much animal saturated fats, like pork and beef; and too much carbohydrate, like rice, breads, and sweets. Recently released statistics by the Sixth National Nutrition Survey and Nutrition Institute of the Department of Science and Technology revealed that heart and kidney disease, and stroke are the three leading illnesses in the Philippines, usually resulting from a combination of a bad diet and an inactive lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, and lack of exercise).
There are such things as healthy foods, healthy cooking, and healthy choices. Making this conscious switch to healthier ways can become an easy habit after a while. Grocery shopping is the easiest way to make sure you are making a healthy-foods selection, as you personally have control over what you choose.
The best way to prepare your healthy foods is to grill your lean meats with minimal sauce (preferably none). A twist of lemon or calamansi enhances the flavor and keeps all healthy foods tasty. Basil is another great healthy-foods spice, which is used to add flavor and can lower blood pressure, and ease symptoms of bronchitis. A healthy selection of meat would include fish such as salmon and tuna, chicken breast, and the occasional beef (sirloin). Organic foods, which are grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other artificial treatments, are also healthy choices.
Vegetables are the best bet too because they include complex carbohydrates. Stick to dark green leafy vegetables—they are high in antioxidants, the naturally occurring compounds that help protect the body from disease. Frozen vegetables are also a healthy foods selection over canned vegetables as they are preserved in their natural state. Canned vegetables, besides having less vitamins and minerals, contain preservatives, which lessen their nutritional value.
The same holds true for fruit, which are rich in vitamins and minerals. One tablespoon of dried fruits is a healthy-foods selection as these are low in fat and have a low glycemic index, which means they're absorbed slowly from the stomach into the bloodstream and make you feel full longer. Dried fruits are also high in iron and fiber.
Healthy foods for snacking include nuts. Nuts are healthy because they provide essential nutrients, antioxidants, vitamin E, protein, minerals like selenium, zinc, and magnesium and are low in carbohydrates. Another healthy snack is pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Healthy foods such as seeds help provide essential omega-three fatty acids which help maintain healthy cells, skin, and brain functionality.
Healthy foods are chosen not only for a healthy lifestyle, but also but for those who wish to lose weight and are watching their calories. Diabetics also choose healthy foods to control their diabetes. Low-phosphorous and low-potassium healthy foods are sought by renal patients and those who are sensitive to the intake of these minerals.
The best way to ensure that you are following a healthy-foods diet is by eating a variety of foods to get the energy, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber required by your body. Balance the healthy foods that you eat with physical activity, and maintain or improve your weight to reduce your chances of having high blood pressure, heart disease, a stroke, certain cancers, and common kinds of diabetes. Go for a diet with plenty of healthy foods containing grain products, vegetables and fruits which provide needed vitamins, minerals, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Choose healthy foods low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Supplement your healthy-foods diet with healthy fats such as fish oils, EFA+ and Alpha Omega M3s. Choose healthy foods that are moderate in salt and sodium, the culprit in several cases of hypertension and related health problems.
The misconception that healthy foods can’t taste good has already been proven wrong by the growing number of healthy flavoring alternatives. Sweeteners and salt substitutes are widely available today, helping those who have chosen healthy living.
But not all substitutes are equal. Salt substitutes replace some or all of the sodium in salt with other minerals such as potassium or magnesium. Potassium chloride is a common salt substitute. But salt substitutes, or some low-sodium salts, often taste bitter and aren’t recommended for people on a potassium-restricted diet. To be sure, such substitutes’ metallic aftertaste ruins the taste of food and takes the joy out of eating.
Fortunately, there’s PANSALT®—the healthy, good-tasting salt—to enhance the flavor of healthy foods. Imported from Finland and distributed exclusively by Accord International, Inc., PANSALT® is the healthy mineral salt with Iodine that contains only 56-57 percent sodium, and is the product of extensive research by Finnish health experts. Of all the healthy salt options and alternatives in the market today, PANSALT® has the best taste profile. More important, PANSALT® has been found to remarkably improve the therapeutic effects of drugs used for the treatment of high blood pressure, and is virtually devoid of the harmful effects characteristic of common salt. Because it has found great consumer acceptance, PANSALT® is already being used in more than a thousand food products from hundreds of manufacturers across the world. PANSALT® now flavors prepared meat products and processed food; prepared fish, dairy, hamburger, and bakery products; snack food; seasonings; and flour mixtures. For more information on PANSALT® and healthy-food choices, visit www.pansalt.ph or call(02) 531-4881/ 0917-811-SALT (7258). 
