Good Nutrition for Your Busy Schedule

Reprinted from the Reliv Blog

Eat right… who has time? If you’re feeling overbooked, overloaded and overwhelmed, you’re not alone. More people than ever these days say as much as they’d like to eat better, they just don’t have time.

That’s why I decided to write Eat Right When Time is Tight: 150 Slim-Down Strategies and No-Cook Food Fixes, to show you how you can eat better, no matter how busy you are, how many projects are pending at the office and how many kids tug at your sleeves.

While many of my clients are interested in weight loss, the benefits of eating healthier go far beyond slimming down. Making smart food and lifestyle choices can boost your energy, improve your mood, beautify your skin and hair, and better your short-term and long-term health. Here are few simple steps you can take to “eat right when time is tight”:

Munch Every Morn

I know you already know you should eat breakfast. But if you’re too busy in the morning to prepare a meal or you’re not hungry first thing, that’s okay – sort of. You don’t have to eat “breakfast,” per se, just eat something that contains protein and fiber within two hours of waking up. That simple step will boost your metabolism, improve your mood, and make you more likely to consume the calories your body needs (without going overboard) for the rest of the day. Something as quick and simple as a slice of whole-wheat toast with natural peanut butter or a low-fat Greek yogurt and a banana provides enough protein and fiber to set you up for success all day long.

Veg Out and Fruit Up

Research proves people who eat diets high in fruits and vegetables are more likely to maintain a healthy body weight and less likely to develop chronic conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer. But you probably knew that. The challenge is: who really has time to count up the recommended five to nine servings a day?

One of the easiest ways to do this is to eyeball it — aim to fill half your plate with fruit and vegetables. And while fresh is nice, canned and frozen produce can provide a nutritious and convenient option when another trip to the supermarket just isn’t possible. Another tip is to go colorful — oranges, reds, greens and purples — the more colorful fruit and vegetables on your plate the more nutrients you can reap the benefits from.

Supplement Smart

In addition to your diet, new discoveries in nutrition science continue to unlock nutritional components that best promote optimal health. One of the most exciting recent discoveries is lunasin, the naturally occurring peptide responsible for many of soy’s health benefits.

Lunasin is a heavily researched and scientifically supported nutritional component — there are more than 50 published papers from more than 25 research institutions showing that lunasin works at a cellular level to promote a wide range of health benefits, including heart health, cholesterol management, inflammation reduction, improved immunity and overall cellular health. And the list keeps growing.

While the research is exciting, choosing a quality supplement that puts that research to use is equally important. No other products available today optimize lunasin content like Reliv’s line of exclusive LunaRich® products. Adding LunaRich products to your healthy lifestyle is a quick and easy step you can take to improve your health no matter how hectic life gets.

By Patricia Bannan, MS, RD, author of Eat Right When Time is Tight