In a food paradise like Singapore where delicious food can be found everywhere, choosing to eat healthy is not always everyone’s first choice, but it’s certainly becoming more popular. There’s increasing evidence that our island home is transforming into a more health-conscious nation, with an expanding health and lifestyle market to meet the needs of the growing number of health-conscious consumers.

Everyone can easily start the journey towards a healthier lifestyle today. Read on as we walk through 6 healthy eating habits that we can all adopt for better health.

Benefits of Eating Healthy Foods

Healthy eating promotes a myriad of different health benefits. From more energy and stronger immune systems to better protection against diseases, there is no shortage of benefits.

Improved Mood and Energy

Countless studies have highlighted the connection between food and mood. Healthy choices like vegetables and lean proteins can help us keep depression at bay, boost our mood, and improve our mental wellbeing, and this in turn will invariably make us feel more energetic and ready to take on the day. Conversely, foods full of fat and sugar increase our likelihood of depression and anxiety.

Better Quality Sleep

Healthy eating also leads to healthy sleeping. A balanced diet that’s high in fibre and low-fat proteins helps us sleep better. This is important as getting enough sleep is critical to our physical and mental health. Sleep is not only necessary to maintain critical body functions, repair muscle tissue, and restore energy, it’s also crucial for boosting brain function and concentration. It is therefore recommended that we eat a diet which emphasises vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat proteins which are rich in B vitamins as Vitamin B helps to regulate melatonin – a natural sleep aid.

A Stronger Immune System

What we eat plays a big role in how well our immune systems can fight viruses. By eating healthy foods, we are filling our bodies with essential nutrients, and boosting our immune systems with the vitamins and minerals present in healthy foods, which are crucial for strengthening our bodies’ defences against common colds and viruses.

Healthier Weight and Less Body Fat

Eating foods with high nutritional value, while avoiding foods with high saturated and trans fats, sugar and salt, can help us maintain a healthy body weight. By steering clear of empty calories from food with little or no nutritional value, we can significantly lower our risk of obesity and other related health problems.

Better Protection Against Diseases and Illnesses

Healthy eating has been proven to combat common diseases. For example, lowering sugar intake can reduce our risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while reducing cholesterol intake can promote our heart health and reduce our risk of heart disease. Eating potassium-rich foods can also help us maintain healthy blood pressure levels.

3 Easy Habits For a Healthier Start to the New Year

When it comes to building healthier habits, the best approach is to take small steps in order to ensure that we’re not only fostering good and sustainable habits, but also setting attainable goals.

1. Buy and Eat Local Produce

As local produce have unparalleled freshness, they taste better and retain more nutrients. A small step like choosing local produce will provide us with more delicious and nutritious vegetables, fish and eggs. To consume healthier food, simply buy from local farmers who pride themselves on consistently producing high-quality foods that are safe to eat.

2. Make Portion Sizes Smaller

Controlling portion sizes is another small step in the journey towards building healthier habits. Eating too much is not good for us. Just follow the recommended food groups and portion sizes, and eat the right amounts of each food group for each meal to give our bodies the nutrients we need.

3. Drink More Water

Drink more water, and less sugary drinks which are laden with empty calories. When consumed in large amounts, sugary drinks can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and even heart disease. So, choose water instead and add a slice of lemon for a citrusy twist.

3 Bigger Habit Shifts for Long-Term Vitality and Better Health

After a sustained period of taking small steps towards a healthier lifestyle, we can take a bigger leap for longer-term vitality. This can include diet changes like eating less meat, and making healthier choices.

1. Eat Less Meat

Eating less meat is not only better for our planet but also better for us as it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as lower our risk of developing heart disease and cancer. To eat less meat, we can adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet, or simply go meat-free one or two meals a week by replacing meat with another protein, like fish.

2. Choose More Locally-Sourced Low-Fat Proteins

Eating enough protein is important when trying to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. When choosing protein, pick healthier sources of protein with lower levels of fat and cholesterol like vegetables, fish and eggs. With over 200 vegetable, fish and egg farms islandwide, it’s so easy to include locally-sourced low-fat proteins in our diet.

3. Make Healthier Choices

Deep-fried foods may be delicious, but they are also high in fat and calories. Whether dining in or out, choose healthier cooking methods, such as stir fried instead of deep fried, grilled instead of cooked with gravy, or simply steamed. When cooking at home, use healthier oils like canola oil or olive oil, and more herbs and spices instead of salt for flavouring. And when grocery-shopping, go for foods with the Healthier Choice Symbol, which are lower in fat, salt and sugar, and higher in fibre, calcium and whole grains.

Choose Local Produce to Improve Our Health, Our Planet, and Our Food Security

A key step towards becoming healthier is incorporating healthier eating habits into our everyday routine. Healthy eating relies on sourcing the right types of food for our diet.

With our farmers working hard to farm quality produce ranging from pasteurised and nutrient-enriched eggs, to leafy vegetables and sprouts, and Omega 3-rich fish, choosing nutritious local produce has never been easier.

By including local produce in our healthy eating regime, we are not only eating fresh, nutritious and safe food, we are also contributing to less greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthening Singapore’s food security for many years to come.

Where to Buy Quality Local Produce in Singapore

When it comes to healthy eating, we don’t have to overhaul our lifestyles. Instead, we can take things slowly, build up a good foundation of healthy eating habits, and over time we will begin to reap the benefits of better health.

So, let’s kickstart our new health goals with local produce today by simply shopping at e-SG Farmers’ Market via this link: bit.ly/e-sgfm