We all know the slogans “eat, move” or “eat 10 fruits and vegetables a day”, but in concrete terms, how can we apply this good advice to have a healthy and balanced diet? We give you the 10 nutrition recommendations to change your bad habits.

Eat 10 fruits and vegetables a day

For a long time, it has always been recommended eating at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day, a target that many specialists consider too low. 5 portions of 80g of fruit and vegetables only represent 400g/day. Don’t hesitate to raise the bar to 10 fruits and vegetables a day, with a particular focus on vegetables to avoid sugar.

We bet on raw vegetables at the beginning of the meal (salad, green vegetables) which improve digestion thanks to the enzymes they provide.

Eat less meat

Even if our consumption is decreasing more and more each year, we still eat too much meat. Often at both lunch and dinner. Our nutritionists recommend limiting yourself to 500 g per week for beef, lamb and pork. And for charcuterie, the recommendation is even more drastic, only 25 g per day (the equivalent of half a slice of ham).

On the other hand, we should eat fish at least twice a week, alternating oily fish (salmon, trout, sardines) and lean fish (cod, sole, skate, sea bass). On the other hand, we should avoid preparing smoked, salted or fried fish or fish cooked at very high temperatures, as they are no longer of great nutritional interest.

Choosing the right fats

Eating fat is essential to be fit, energetic and healthy. But be careful, this does not mean eating chips, pizzas and other fried foods at every meal! You should limit the trans fats found in ultra-processed foods and responsible for bad cholesterol. On the other hand, you should favour foods rich in good fats: omega 3. They are found in fatty fish such as salmon, trout, herring, cod and mackerel, in walnut, flax, rapeseed and hemp oils, in nuts, chia seeds, cabbage and also in eggs.

Fortunately, manufacturers and distributors are now making efforts on the composition of their products, like Intermarché, which is committed to helping the French eat better with the improvement of more than 6,500 products over the next five years, both in terms of content and packaging. The aim is to offer quality products that are more sustainable, better for your health and always at the right price.

Limiting sugars

We often consume sugar without knowing it! We must therefore be careful not to have too much carbohydrate intake. Because, beyond the sugar cube that goes with coffee, we consume a lot of it, frequently without really being aware of the quantities we are absorbing. For example, a glass of apple juice (without added sugar) is equivalent to 5 lumps of sugar (21g), a can of soda is equivalent to 9 lumps of sugar (36g) and a flavoured yoghurt to 5 lumps of sugar (18g).
It should be remembered that unlike fat, sugar has no nutritional value because our bodies produce it naturally from proteins and fats.

It is recommended to limit yourself to one glass of fruit juice or sweetened drink per day, even for industrial juices that are 100% juice and have no added sugar, to favour freshly squeezed juices that are richer in vitamins, and remember that a glass of fruit juice cannot be counted as part of the 5 fruits and vegetables per day.

Eat more legumes

At present, we eat an average of 11g per day, which is still too little. A contribution that is still too low. Pulses are a great source of fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, and protect against diabetes, heart disease and cancer. So don’t hesitate to include chickpeas, broad beans, split peas, white and kidney beans and lentils on the menu more often.

Eat more whole grains

Although cereals are found almost everywhere in our diet (flour, bread, rice, pancakes, breakfast cereals, pizza, pasta), it is more interesting to choose wholegrain cereals. They are much more satiating than other cereals and make it possible to avoid snacking, they contain more vitamins and minerals and improve digestive comfort. Finally, they have a real impact on the reduction of chronic diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.

Beware, they must be consumed organically because wholemeal cereals are chemically treated for preservation.

Beware of pollutants

There is a real problem with chemicals…It is difficult to identify combinations of foods that both meet the nutritional needs of the population and limit exposure to contaminants. For a limited number of contaminants, notably inorganic arsenic, acrylamide and lead, exposure levels remain a concern. As mentioned in the conclusions of its recent opinions on the total diet studies (EAT2, EAT for children), efforts to reduce the levels of contaminants of concern are still necessary. In the long term, this will ensure that the population’s food choices are governed by nutritional constraints and not by the levels of contamination in the food.
In short: if you eat more fruit and vegetables, the risk of chemical contamination becomes a concern. There is no solution… except to eat ORGANIC.

Get more sun

We have a chronic vitamin D deficiency overall. To remedy this, we rely on greater exposure to the sun (be careful, no UV cabins, which we have just confirmed are harmful from the first minute) or we can turn to supplementation with food supplements.

Less heavy cooking

For some time now, rapid cooking at high temperatures has been increasingly discouraged because it degrades vitamins and trace elements and leads to the creation of toxic components.

On the other hand, it is interesting to favour steaming and low temperature cooking.

Get moving!

There is no need to engage in intensive activities, a little walking every day or climbing stairs, cycling, can be enough but the important thing is to do a little every day.