Getting into the groove of living a healthy lifestyle — from making sure to engage in consistent exercise plus eating a balanced diet — can sometimes feel like a heavy lift.
Dr. John Whyte, WebMD chief medical officer, recently spoke with Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview in New York about the power of proper nutrition for healthy living. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“Food really is medicine,” he said. “It’s as powerful as a prescription drug. It impacts every system of your body.”
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Knowing what to eat and which diets to try can get “easily overwhelming,” Whyte acknowledged.
He recommended starting with a few simple steps to get into a healthy routine. Read on.
1. Replace beverages with water
Besides coffee or tea in the morning for caffeine and other benefits, Whyte suggested replacing every other beverage with water.
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“We drink so many calories through sugary and sweetened beverages,” he said.
Especially as the weather warms, indulgent drinks like sweetened lemonade or iced tea might taste delicious but have “a lot of calories,” the doctor cautioned.
“You really want to replace those calorie-rich liquids with water,” he said. “That’s going to help you lose weight, and it’s going to keep your blood sugar under control.”
2. Swap meat with fish once a week
When deciding what to have for meals throughout the week, Whyte recommended replacing meat with fish at least one day per week.
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Only 20% of people eat fish once a week, although the health benefits are major, according to the doctor.
“Replacing meat with fish — automatically it’s going to be fewer calories,” he said.
“It’s going to have many more nutrients and minerals that your body needs. It’s going to help with antioxidants, which are a good thing.”
For those who may not enjoy eating fish, Whyte said it’s worth a try, as there are a variety of “healthy fish” that can be cooked in different ways.
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“It really is a superfood, and that’s an easy step that people can take,” he said.
3. Focus on healthy snacking
Weight gain can often occur due to “mindless” snacking, which often involves unhealthy options, according to Whyte.
“You buy foods that you’re trying to avoid, so we have to stop doing that,” he said.
The doctor suggested swapping out common snacks like chips and cookies for healthier choices like sliced vegetables and hummus.
“Try to focus on some unsalted mixed nuts,” he recommended. “Prepare those healthy snacks so you have them.”
Another key step to healthy eating is preparation.
“When you’re hungry, you eat what’s available,” he said. “So, if you have more healthy options at home, you’re more likely to eat them.”
‘Make food healthier’
As the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has the nation re-evaluating what people are consuming, Whyte agreed there are “lots of things that we need to be doing in order to make food healthier.”
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“There’s so much food that we consume that’s processed and, even more concerning, ultraprocessed,” he said.
“It often seems to be more convenient. It’s cheaper, it lasts longer,” he went on. “And sometimes, I’m concerned about how long some of these foods last. What’s in them that’s allowing them to stay in your pantry for a couple of years?”
As an example, Whyte referenced “blue zones,” areas of the world where people live to be 100 and have a low incidence of dementia and heart disease.
Residents in blue zones eat a primarily plant-based, whole-foods diet, he noted.
“Food really is medicine. It’s as powerful as a prescription drug.”
“They’re not eating a lot of processed cookies, meats or snacks,” he said.
“And that’s where I think we need to have this important discussion as to how we have more healthy food. How do we make it more available? How do we make it economical for people?”
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To decipher whether food is healthy or not, Whyte encouraged people to check food labels and note how many ingredients are unrecognizable.
“We need to move to this concept [of] more whole foods, foods that are less processed,” he said. “That’s going to make us healthier.”
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