Top 4 Things to Limit in a Healthy Diet

Healthy eating also means decreasing or completely avoiding certain components of our daily food intake.

Kick Bad Eating Habits

Let's start with the one we all know- Sodium (Salt) Sodium is found in, of course, table salt -but most of the sodium we eat comes from packaged/prcoessed foods or food that is prepared in restaurants. A Chicken Fajita Rollup from Applebee's has an astounding 4,030 mg of sodium according to Eatthis.com. Our entire daily intake should be less than 2,300 mgs per day according to the AHA. Whether this restaurant figure is completely accurate or not, you get the picture.

A high sodium intake can put you at risk of several health problems including " Heart disease, Hypertension and Stroke.

Added Sugars Added sugars include syrups and sweeteners that many food and drink manufacturers add to products like sodas, yogurt, and cereals —not to mention sugary things you might add to your coffee, tea. breakfast cereals and more.

A high sugar diet can impact heart health, inflamation and fatty liver disease and diabetes.

Saturated Fats These are found mostly in animal based foods such as beef and pork, and full-fat dairy products like cheese and butter, as well as tropical fats including coconut and palm oil. Snack foods and many sweets also may be high in saturated fat.

Saturated fats are sometimes referred to as "solid fats" because they are typically solid at room temperature. Think of Crisco, lard and butter.

Saturated fats can cause problems with your cholesterol levels which can increase your risk of heart disease.

What about Alcohol? If you choose to drink, drink in moderation — 1 drink or less in a day for women and 2 drinks or less in a day for men is okay for healthy individuals. Remember, drinking less is always better for your health than drinking more. A drink is considered a 5oz. glass of wine, 12 oz of beer, or 1.5 oz of distilled/hard liquor.

Realistically, completely avoiding each of these items in our diets, is almost impossible. However, if we consciously limit these choices, and substitute with healthier options, our overall health will improve.