A healthy diet provides your body with the nutrients it needs each day and balances your calorie intake, helping to manage your weight. When your diet is inadequate, your body is more prone to fatigue and vulnerable to infections and chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
A diet based on nutrient-dense foods may also reduce the inflammation characteristic of hidradenitis suppurativa (also called hidradenitis suppurativa). Additionally, healthy eating has been consistently associated with good mental health 1-4 .
Eating healthy isn’t as complicated as you might think. It’s all about choosing lots of plants—vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes (e.g., beans, peas, lentils), nuts—and limiting your intake of heavily processed foods.
1. Increase your fruit and vegetable intake
From a nutritional standpoint, fruits and vegetables are hard to beat. They are exceptional sources of fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and folate, all essential nutrients for maintaining good health. They also contain thousands of phytochemicals (natural compounds) that protect against disease.
Include 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables in your diet. One serving is equal to: 1 medium fruit, ¼ cup (50 mL) dried fruit, ½ cup (125 mL) cooked or raw vegetables, 1 cup (250 mL) leafy greens, and ½ cup (125 mL) 100% juice. Choose whole fruit over juice whenever possible, as it has more fibre and fewer calories.
Add a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet every day. Depending on their color, fruits and vegetables have different nutrient and phytochemical profiles. To maximize their health benefits, eat fruits and vegetables that are red, blue, and purple (e.g., tomatoes, watermelon, berries, red grapes), orange and yellow (e.g., carrots, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, mango, peaches), green (e.g., asparagus, broccoli, green beans, spinach), and white (e.g., cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, bananas.
2. Choose whole grains
Unlike refined (white) grains, whole grains retain the bran and germ, two of their parts, and thus nearly all of the fiber and nutrients they have to offer. Eating whole-grain foods instead of refined grains is associated with many health benefits, including a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Fiber-rich whole grains may also help maintain a healthy weight by increasing satiety and delaying hunger.
In addition, a steady intake of refined grains, such as white rice or those found in white bread and refined breakfast cereals, can actually make acne worse. Because highly processed grains are broken down quickly during digestion, they cause a rapid rise in blood glucose (the amount of glucose in the blood). In response to the rapid rise in blood glucose, the pancreas produces a large amount of insulin, the hormone that moves glucose from the bloodstream into cells. The scientific hypothesis is that high insulin levels facilitate the binding of androgens—hormones that play a role in acne—to cells . 5-7
Make sure half of the grains you eat are whole grains, such as oats, brown rice, quinoa and barley. When buying bread and breakfast cereals, look for products that are made with 100% whole grains. If the package doesn’t say so, read the ingredient list. Make sure a whole grain—e.g., oats, whole wheat, whole rye, brown rice—is listed first (the ingredients are listed in order of weight, from heaviest to lightest). Look for a product that lists all of the grains in the ingredient list as whole grains.
3. Limit consumption of added sugars
They are identified on labels as brown sugar, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, cane syrup, dextrose, high fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose-fructose, honey, and molasses. The main sources of added sugar are sugar-sweetened beverages (e.g., soft drinks, iced tea, lemonade, energy drinks, sports drinks), candy, cakes, cookies, pastries, fruit drinks, dairy desserts (e.g., ice cream, sorbet), sweetened yogurt, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.
Added sugars do not meet any nutritional needs; they add calories without providing any nutrients. Additionally, like refined grains, added sugars can cause blood sugar to spike rapidly. Evidence suggests that excessive sugar consumption increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Added sugars should make up less than 10% of daily calories, or better yet, around 5%. Limiting added sugars to 5% of daily calories is about six teaspoons (24 grams) for women and nine teaspoons (36 grams) for men.
To reduce your intake of added sugars, avoid sugary drinks. Replace soft drinks with water, vegetable juice, or unsweetened tea or coffee. Cut the amount of sugar, honey, or maple syrup you usually add to your foods and drinks by half; gradually use even less.
Read labels. Look for breakfast cereals that contain no more than 6 grams of sugar per serving. Look for those with no added sugar. Choose snack bars that have no more than half of their total carbohydrate content coming from sugar. Buy sugar-free non-dairy beverages and plain instant breakfast cereals.
4. Minimize saturated fat intake and avoid trans fats
There is no doubt that excessive consumption of saturated (animal) fat and trans fats increases the concentration of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in the blood, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Worse still, trans fats, which are formed by a chemical process called partial hydrogenation, also decrease the concentration of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol). Consumed in excess, both types of fat can promote inflammation.
To reduce your saturated fat intake, choose lean cuts of meat (e.g., sirloin, filet mignon, flank steak, eye of round), poultry breast, and low-fat dairy products (milk with 1% fat or less). If you use butter, do so sparingly.
Trans fats are found in many commercial baked goods, snack foods, fried foods, and some margarines. Read the nutrition facts to choose foods that are free of trans fats. When nutrition facts are not listed on the package of some foods, as may be the case with prepared foods at the grocery store, read the ingredient list. Avoid buying products that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, hydrogenated oil, or shortening.
5. Favor unsaturated oils
Foods contain two types of unsaturated fats: polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats can improve blood cholesterol levels and reduce inflammation. Some polyunsaturated fats, such as the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, can help lower triglyceride (a type of fat) levels in the blood.
Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats in your diet. Vegetable oils (e.g., grapeseed, sunflower, safflower), walnuts, pumpkin, sunflower, flax, and chia seeds, and fatty fish (e.g., salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel) are good sources of polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats are found in avocados, olives, olive oil, canola oil, almonds, almond butter, cashews, pecans, pistachios, peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil, sunflower oil (this is a mixture of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils), and sesame oil.
6. Add plant-based proteins to your diet.
Compared to foods that contain protein from meat or other animal sources, foods that contain plant-based proteins, such as legumes, lentils, soy, nuts, and seeds, have virtually no saturated fat and many are low in calories. Unlike meat, plant proteins provide a wide range of beneficial phytochemicals. Many are also very high in fiber.
Try to include more meatless meals in your weekly menu. For example, eat lentil and bean soups, black bean tacos, pasta with white beans, tofu stir-fry, and soy burgers. Snack on fruits and nuts, raw vegetables and hummus, whole-grain crackers and almond butter, or a smoothie made with unsweetened soy beverage.
7. Drink plenty of water
Water is an essential nutrient that keeps your body functioning properly. It regulates body temperature, protects joints, carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, flushes organs of toxins, and hydrates skin. Drinking plenty of water can also improve mood, sharpen mental acuity, and aid in weight loss.
Current recommendations call for women to drink 9 cups (2.2 liters) of water daily, and men should drink 12 cups (3 liters). If you exercise, you should drink more to replace the water lost through sweat.
All beverages, except alcoholic beverages (which dehydrate), serve to meet daily water needs. In addition to plain water, milk, vegetable drinks, fruit juices, coffee and tea can hydrate the body.
8. Limit alcohol consumption
Although moderate alcohol consumption—one drink a day for women and two a day for men—is thought to have a protective effect against heart disease, it can also carry risks. Even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of certain cancers. Alcohol can also disrupt sleep and promote weight gain.
If they drink alcohol, men should limit themselves to two drinks per day and women to one. One drink is equivalent to 341 mL (12 oz) of regular beer, 142 mL (5 oz) of wine or 43 mL (1.5 oz) of 40% spirits.
9. Consider taking a vitamin and mineral supplement
The best strategy for staying healthy is to eat a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods. However, supplements cannot replace healthy foods, which provide countless disease-fighting compounds. However, some people may benefit, for whatever reason, from supplementing their diet with a daily vitamin and mineral supplement.
In some cases, it can be difficult to meet daily nutrient needs through diet alone. Stress, work demands, and lack of time and energy can be barriers to healthy eating. Taking a daily supplement ensures that the recommended intake of most vitamins and minerals is met.
This is especially true for menstruating women who have higher iron needs, and for people who are on a calorie-restricted diet. Women of childbearing age—especially those trying to conceive—should make sure they are getting enough folic acid to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. In addition, adults over the age of 50 are advised to take a vitamin B12 supplement or consume it in foods that are fortified with it, as the ability to digest this vitamin from food declines with age.
If you think you might benefit from taking a vitamin or mineral supplement, talk to your dietitian or doctor so they can recommend the best product for you. If you are taking medications, ask about possible interactions between medications and supplements .
10. Maintain a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is essential for good health. By maintaining a healthy weight, you are less likely to develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Excess fat in the abdominal area also increases inflammation.
If you are overweight, the best way to lose weight is to combine good nutrition with exercise. Start implementing the healthy eating strategies listed above.
If possible, do moderate physical activity for 30 minutes most days. This could be brisk walking, cycling, dancing, playing tennis or other sports. Regular exercise will not only help you lose weight, but also keep it off.
If you’re having trouble managing your weight, consult a dietitian who can design an eating plan that fits your lifestyle, food preferences, and health needs.