It’s uncomfortably easy to obsess over what you’re eating, and it doesn’t take much scrolling on social media to find all sorts of (often contradictory) advice about what should — or, more commonly, should not — be on your plate. But we’re pleased to report that you can actually expand what’s included in your meals, rather than taking things away, and still nourish your body appropriately.
We asked Federica Amati, Ph.D., the head nutritionist at ZOE and author of Every Body Should Know This, to share her best guidance for building a truly healthy diet. She gave us six simple, attainable goals designed to keep you in tip-top shape for years to come.
How to eat healthier
1. Focus on grains, nuts, beans, and fruit
“There’s a lot of discussion about how we need to stop eating certain foods,” Dr. Amati says. “But for most people, the focus should be on adding to our plates. The modern Western diet is lacking in specific foods, and there’s evidence that that’s part of what’s driving disease and disability.”
Dr. Amati recommends including more whole grains, nuts, beans, and fruit into your meals. Whole grains are a great source of complex carbohydrates, including vitamins that are directly correlated to better health outcomes. Nuts provide Omega-3 fatty acids, while beans and lentils are high in fiber. And fruit, “although it’s been demonized” in recent years because of its sugar content, is very important too, because it’s also a great source of fiber — and contains a specific polyphenol that’s anti-inflammatory.
An easy way to fill up on grains and fruit is by having whole oats and berries for breakfast, she says — and for dinner, if you’re having rice, try swapping it out for quinoa or barley. Dr. Amati keeps a jar of nuts and seeds on her counter to sprinkle into her salads, giving them more texture and a satisfying crunch. She’s also a big fan of hummus, which you can whip up quickly by blending basically any bean with a bit of oil.
2. Challenge yourself to eat 30 plants a week
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is obviously an essential part of a healthy diet, and Dr. Amati wants you to chomp on 30 a week. But as it turns out, it’s not just about quantity: Consuming a wide variety of leafy greens and legumes is important, too.
New research suggests that having a diversity of plants in your diet is one of the best things you can do to support your gut microbiome, that friendly community of bacteria and fungi living within your intestinal tract, Dr. Amati says. You want to cultivate lots of different types of good bugs within your microbiome, and to do that you need many forms of the prebiotics on which these microbes can feed.
Now, eating 30 plants may seem like a lot, but we’re not just talking about spinach and kale. Grains, nuts, beans, and spices all count, too. An easy way to start, Dr. Amati says, is by incorporating more herbs, like basil or parsley, into your cooking — or, if you’re prepping a salad, toss in a half-can of assorted beans. “I know people who keep a list on their fridge tracking the plants they’ve eaten that week,” Dr. Amati says.
3. Rethink your approach to ultra-processed foods
“We all know that ultra-processed foods pose a problem,” Dr. Amati says. “But it’s not realistic to cut them out entirely. That’d be really hard to maintain, if not impossible.”
Items like baked beans or whole-grain breads may be ultra-processed, but they shouldn’t be banished from your grocery lists. The real culprits you want to eliminate are foods “high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats with little to no beneficial nutrients,” Dr. Amati says.
If you’re having a hard time evaluating products, Dr. Amati suggests first checking out the ingredients list. “You’re better off choosing the product with a shorter list of ingredients and fewer artificial additives,” she says. Plus, peep the fiber content: “Ultra-processed foods are often stripped of fiber, so I’d lean toward the one that has more of the nutrient.”
4. Introduce fermented foods into your diet
Research shows that fermented foods are great for your gut, Dr. Amati says. A recent Stanford study found that people who had at least three tablespoons a day of yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and other fermented fare for 10 weeks increased the diversity of the gut microbiome. Plus, they had lowered levels of inflammatory proteins, like those linked to rheumatoid arthritis and Type 2 diabetes. “That could be unflavored Greek yogurt in the morning for breakfast, adding sauerkraut to your salad at lunch, or even cooking with some miso paste,” Dr. Amati says.
5. Think before you drink
From soda to juices to coffee creamers, many beverages out there are packed with added sugar. And that, as you’ve no doubt heard, is a recipe for disaster.
“Sugary drinks are associated with increased risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,” Dr. Amati says. “It’s a universally understood bad habit that can be hard to kick.”
Want to cut down? You can start by gradually reducing the amount of sugar you add to your coffee or tea, and if you enjoy seltzer, opting for a sugar-free brand.
6. Snack smarter
Snacking gets a bad rap, but munching throughout the day isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. The problem is when you’re stress-eating potato chips instead of grazing on high-quality foods.
“We get about a quarter of our calories from snacks,” Dr. Amati says. “So you could transform your diet just by being a little more mindful about your snacks and choosing fruits, nuts, natural yogurt, boiled eggs, hummus, and other whole foods.”
Snacking, crunching, and sipping your way to better health: Sounds like a doable plan to us.
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The information provided on this website isn’t intended as medical advice, and shouldn’t replace professional medical treatment. Consult your doctor with any serious health concerns.
