The Absolute #1 Most Important Healthy Lifestyle Habit Ever!

Healthy living encompasses a whole lot of moving parts, and healthy eating is arguably the most significant. While I don’t believe in the whole “you are (strictly) what you eat” stories there is a direct correlation between the quality of your diet and the quality of your life. And many gurus and experts will tell you what they think you should and shouldn’t eat, leading to a morass of what is now nutritional science.

Why does everything good need to be difficult, or a loathsome challenge that big freakin’ deals are made of? They don’t. So put that all out of your mind right now.

This one eating habit is not disputed by any reputable medical professional.

It’s NOT about superfoods.

It’s NOT about supplements.

It’s NOT about any kind of dietary restriction whatsoever.

It IS eating more whole vegetables, excluding white potatoes and corn, since they have most characteristics of grains. And this is as easy as increasing your daily vegetable intake by 2 servings. Or 4 servings. Or 10%. Or 1 more broccoli floret.Or 2%, it doesn’t matter, just eat more than you do now!

It could be as simple as throwing some sliced cucumber on the side of that macaroni and cheese. Or tossing a few grilled vegetables on your pizza. (The pic above is my fabulous homemade whole grain crust pizza with zucchini, asparagus and caramelized shallots and yes, I overdid it a bit with this pie)

Again, all you need to do is increase your vegetable intake at your own pace. No measuring cups, calculators, apps or scales required.

Here is why filling your daily diet with the most vegetables you can is so important.

• Vegetables are super nutrient-dense, and most of those nutrients are bioavailable, unlike those in the form of supplements that just get peed out.
• Vegetables come in an insane variety, if you don’t like one, there are thousands of others to love, and they come in such pretty colors!
• Vegetables are high in fiber, which is bulky and relatively low in calories, which helps with healthy weight management and reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Healthy eating is never a case of all or nothing. Every little bit counts. There are extremists out here who don’t want to hear this. And to protect from further extremism taking this post and running the wrong way with it, let me be abundantly clear:

• I did NOT say avoid fruit, I said increase vegetables.
• I did NOT say avoid potatoes or corn, I said increase vegetables.
• I did NOT say eat only vegetables and nothing else, I said increase vegetables.
• I did NOT say become a raw vegan, I said increase vegetables.

Just so you know, the #2 most important healthy lifestyle habit ever is exercise.