How to make your diet healthy in the new year: advice from a nutritionist from Germany

A nutritionist from Germany called diversity one of the key principles of healthy eating. The diet should be as varied as possible, the expert emphasizes.

Another tip: use as few ready-made products as possible. Almost all such products contain potentially harmful substances – flour – sugar, salt, trans fats.

“Eat as much variety as possible and save on highly processed foods. This applies not only to such products as, for example, frozen pizza, but also to cookies, bread, confectionery, canned goods,” noted the nutritionist.

You can also make your diet healthier by eating raw vegetables. An expert from Germany recommends eating them at every meal.

Another advice to a nutritionist: how to use frozen vegetables more actively. Burger notes that they are frozen immediately after harvesting, so these products contain a lot of vitamins.

In addition, the specialist considers it necessary to check the nutritional value of vegetables. For example, the nutritionist says, iceberg lettuce is very popular among supporters of healthy fats, but it contains almost no nutrients – it is much more useful to eat ordinary cabbage.

For those who want to make their diet healthy, Burger advises to pay attention to the oils used for cooking and consumption. For strong heating and frying, it is better to use rapeseed or olive oil, the expert states. In other oils, heat changes the chemical structure and makes them unhealthy, she explains.

As for cold-pressed oils, they're good because they contain so-called polyunsaturated fatty acids, but they're often not suitable for cooking at high temperatures. In addition, oils containing a lot of omega-3 fatty acids are very sensitive, they should be protected from light and should not be stored for a long time to avoid rancidity. They often give energy, but do not contain nutrients, in addition, they are high in calories. Juices, in turn, should be diluted with water.

Another recommendation is to use nuts for snacks instead of various sweets. The problem with sweets is that they cause blood sugar levels to rise sharply and then drop significantly again, awakening a strong appetite. Nuts do not cause such a strong increase in blood sugar, they contain a lot of nutrients, protein and keep the feeling of satiety for a long time.