If you’re interested in living a healthy life, you’ll need to start with being aware with what you eat. Following a diet, for example, the keto diet plan, is essential if you want to eat healthy.
Take note that eating healthy and living a green life doesn’t only involve eating healthy foods like vegetables and fruits, but it also involves many other things like cutting out some items from your diet and taking care of your calorie count.
Here is a small guide for green living and healthy eating.
What you need to remove
Attempting to eat only healthy food often fails, primarily because of the presence of unhealthy and tempting edibles present in your house. The same also applies for when you try out a new diet, but you fail to follow it through.
In order to make sure that you succeed in your mission to eat healthy, you need to remove all the triggers from your eyesight.
This is a crucial step as it helps to prevent you from ruining your hard work when you have a moment of weakness and you crave something unhealthy.
If throwing out items is not practical, then ask someone to place all the unhealthy items in such a place that you would least expect to find them.
Regardless of where they are kept, the main thing is that they stay out of your sight.
The things you need to eliminate include the following:
- Grains and starches
This includes all forms of grains and starches, ranging from wraps to cereals it includes croissants, rolls, bagels, flour, quinoa, oats, corn, potatoes, rice, bread, and pasta.
- All items made using sugar
Apart from sugar, you also need to get rid of all forms of refined sugar as they contain a high amount of carbohydrates. Moreover, you also need to remove all candy bars, pastries, milk chocolate, fizzy drinks, desserts, and fruit juices.
This might seem a little surprising; however, in order to eat healthily, you will have to discard all lentils, peas, and beans. Legumes contain an acid known as phytic acid which binds to the nutrients that are present in the food. Consequently, the body fails to absorb the bounded nutrients easily, making the food less nutrient-dense.
- Seed oils and vegetable oils
You need to stop using seed oils and vegetable oils such as grapeseed, corn, canola, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oil. There are various reasons for this; first, excessive use of these oils causes a structural change in the cell membranes and the stores of fat. Furthermore, both these oils are rich in ‘trans’ fats which are unsaturated fats that are solid at room temperature.
Not only are these highly toxic, but they are also often linked with various diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Another form of ‘trans’ fat that you need to steer clear of is margarine.
What should you eat?
Once you have cleaned out all the items that can tempt you, the next step is to stock up on things that you should eat if you want to be healthy.
Following are the foods that can help you become healthier, lose weight, and feel livelier!
- Eggs, fish, and meat
All kinds of fresh fish and meat are good for you, and these include salmon, tuna, pork, lamb, chicken, and beef. However, you must eat only organic meat or grass-fed meat, and the fish must be wild-caught.
You can have as many eggs as you want; just remember that they should be organic eggs from free-range chickens. Here’s some information from the NHS regarding meat consumption.
Try to eat as many non-starchy vegetables as you can. Make sure you especially incorporate zucchini, Brussels sprout, garlic, tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers, onions, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, mushrooms, and asparagus.
Eating full-fat dairy items such as cheeses, heavy cream, butter, unsweetened yogurt, and sour cream can help you lose weight. Moreover, despite not being dairy items, coconut milk and unsweetened almond milk work as great substitutes for regular milk.
Remember to stay away from sweetened yogurts, skim milk, and regular milk as they contain a high amount of sugar. You’ll need to stay away from low-fat and fat-free dairy products.
- Fats and oils
Bacon fat, butter, avocado oil, and olive oil are ideal for consuming and cooking. In fact, avocado oil is ideal for searing because of its high smoke point.
The best fruit you can have is avocados because they are very low in carbohydrates. Moreover, you can also eat berries like raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries, but only in small amounts.
- Other items
Make sure to take a good amount of water every day. You can also have unsweetened tea, coffee, and sweeteners such as erythritol and stevia.
Furthermore, you can also have condiments like sriracha, pesto, mustard, and mayonnaise.
Other items you can include in your diet include chicken, beef, and bone broths, fermented foods such as pickles, and nuts and seeds including macadamias, walnuts, almonds, pecans, flaxseeds, and chia seeds.
Introducing the keto diet
One diet that involves a meal plan including all the items mentioned above is the keto diet. This is a high fat and low carbohydrate diet and is great for losing weight.
Moreover, studies suggest that it helps to lower the chances of epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, stroke, heart diseases, and diabetes. See one study here.
When you follow the keto diet, the body goes into a metabolic state which is known as ketosis. In such a state, the body starts to use ketone for energy in place of glucose.
Ketones are basically a derivative of fats, and they are a more steady and stable energy source than glucose (which comes from carbohydrates).
Once the body is in ketosis, it starts to use the stored fat as well as the fat you consume throughout the day for energy in place of carbs.
Benefits of the keto diet
According to studies, a person can enjoy the following benefits by following the keto diet:
- The diet helps to lose a greater amount of body fat.
- It maintains the levels of cholesterol in a better manner.
- The diet also leads to reduced insulin resistance and blood sugar, thus reversing type 2- diabetes and prediabetes.
- People following the keto diet also enjoy a decrease in their appetite as well as reduced levels of triglyceride which in turn reduces the risk of heart diseases.
For the ultimate Keto guide, head over to: https://www.tasteaholics.com/the-complete-keto-diet-guide-for-beginners/
Wrapping It Up
If you’re interested in healthy eating and green living, one of the best diet plans for you to go for happens to be the Keto diet. It has everything a person requires to help their body prevent disease, and be livelier.
How Going Green Can Save A Company Money
What is going green?
Going green means to live life in a way that is environmentally friendly for an entire population. It is the conservation of energy, water, and air. Going green means using products and resources that will not contaminate or pollute the air. It means being educated and well informed about the surroundings, and how to best protect them. It means recycling products that may not be biodegradable. Companies, as well as people, that adhere to going green can help to ensure a safer life for humanity.
The first step in going green
There are actually no step by step instructions for going green. The only requirement needed is making the decision to become environmentally conscious. It takes a caring attitude, and a willingness to make the change. It has been found that companies have improved their profit margins by going green. They have saved money on many of the frivolous things they they thought were a necessity. Besides saving money, companies are operating more efficiently than before going green. Companies have become aware of their ecological responsibility by pursuing the knowledge needed to make decisions that would change lifestyles and help sustain the earth’s natural resources for present and future generations.
Making needed changes within the company
After making the decision to go green, there are several things that can be changed in the workplace. A good place to start would be conserving energy used by electrical appliances. First, turning off the computer will save over the long run. Just letting it sleep still uses energy overnight. Turn off all other appliances like coffee maker, or anything that plugs in. Pull the socket from the outlet to stop unnecessary energy loss. Appliances continue to use electricity although they are switched off, and not unplugged. Get in the habit of turning off the lights whenever you leave a room. Change to fluorescent light bulbs, and lighting throughout the building. Have any leaks sealed on the premises to avoid the escape of heat or air.
Reducing the common paper waste
Modern technologies and state of the art equipment, and tools have almost eliminated the use of paper in the office. Instead of sending out newsletters, brochures, written memos and reminders, you can now do all of these and more by technology while saving on the use of paper. Send out digital documents and emails to communicate with staff and other employees. By using this virtual bookkeeping technique, you will save a bundle on paper. When it is necessary to use paper for printing purposes or other services, choose the already recycled paper. It is smartly labeled and easy to find in any office supply store. It is called the Post Consumer Waste paper, or PCW paper. This will show that your company is dedicated to the preservation of natural resources. By using PCW paper, everyone helps to save the trees which provides and emits many important nutrients into the atmosphere.
Make money by spreading the word
Companies realize that consumers like to buy, or invest in whatever the latest trend may be. They also cater to companies that are doing great things for the quality of life of all people. People want to know that the companies that they cater to are doing their part for the environment and ecology. By going green, you can tell consumers of your experiences with helping them and communities be eco-friendly. This is a sound public relations technique to bring revenue to your brand. Boost the impact that your company makes on the environment. Go green, save and make money while essentially preserving what is normally taken for granted. The benefits of having a green company are enormous for consumers as well as the companies that engage in the process.
5 Easy Things You Can Do to Make Your Home More Sustainable
Increasing your home’s energy efficiency is one of the smartest moves you can make as a homeowner. It will lower your bills, increase the resale value of your property, and help minimize our planet’s fast-approaching climate crisis. While major home retrofits can seem daunting, there are plenty of quick and cost-effective ways to start reducing your carbon footprint today. Here are five easy projects to make your home more sustainable.
1. Weather stripping
If you’re looking to make your home more energy efficient, an energy audit is a highly recommended first step. This will reveal where your home is lacking in regards to sustainability suggests the best plan of attack.
Some form of weather stripping is nearly always advised because it is so easy and inexpensive yet can yield such transformative results. The audit will provide information about air leaks which you can couple with your own knowledge of your home’s ventilation needs to develop a strategic plan.
Make sure you choose the appropriate type of weather stripping for each location in your home. Areas that receive a lot of wear and tear, like popular doorways, are best served by slightly more expensive vinyl or metal options. Immobile cracks or infrequently opened windows can be treated with inexpensive foams or caulking. Depending on the age and quality of your home, the resulting energy savings can be as much as 20 percent.
2. Programmable thermostats
Programmable thermostats have tremendous potential to save money and minimize unnecessary energy usage. About 45 percent of a home’s energy is earmarked for heating and cooling needs with a large fraction of that wasted on unoccupied spaces. Programmable thermostats can automatically lower the heat overnight or shut off the air conditioning when you go to work.
Every degree Fahrenheit you lower the thermostat equates to 1 percent less energy use, which amounts to considerable savings over the course of a year. When used correctly, programmable thermostats reduce heating and cooling bills by 10 to 30 percent. Of course, the same result can be achieved by manually adjusting your thermostats to coincide with your activities, just make sure you remember to do it!
3. Low-flow water hardware
With the current focus on carbon emissions and climate change, we typically equate environmental stability to lower energy use, but fresh water shortage is an equal threat. Installing low-flow hardware for toilets and showers, particularly in drought prone areas, is an inexpensive and easy way to cut water consumption by 50 percent and save as much as $145 per year.
Older toilets use up to 6 gallons of water per flush, the equivalent of an astounding 20.1 gallons per person each day. This makes them the biggest consumer of indoor water. New low-flow toilets are standardized at 1.6 gallons per flush and can save more than 20,000 gallons a year in a 4-member household.
Similarly, low-flow shower heads can decrease water consumption by 40 percent or more while also lowering water heating bills and reducing CO2 emissions. Unlike early versions, new low-flow models are equipped with excellent pressure technology so your shower will be no less satisfying.
4. Energy efficient light bulbs
An average household dedicates about 5 percent of its energy use to lighting, but this value is dropping thanks to new lighting technology. Incandescent bulbs are quickly becoming a thing of the past. These inefficient light sources give off 90 percent of their energy as heat which is not only impractical from a lighting standpoint, but also raises energy bills even further during hot weather.
New LED and compact fluorescent options are far more efficient and longer lasting. Though the upfront costs are higher, the long term environmental and financial benefits are well worth it. Energy efficient light bulbs use as much as 80 percent less energy than traditional incandescent and last 3 to 25 times longer producing savings of about $6 per year per bulb.
5. Installing solar panels
Adding solar panels may not be the easiest, or least expensive, sustainability upgrade for your home, but it will certainly have the greatest impact on both your energy bills and your environmental footprint. Installing solar panels can run about $15,000 – $20,000 upfront, though a number of government incentives are bringing these numbers down. Alternatively, panels can also be leased for a much lower initial investment.
Once operational, a solar system saves about $600 per year over the course of its 25 to 30-year lifespan, and this figure will grow as energy prices rise. Solar installations require little to no maintenance and increase the value of your home.
From an environmental standpoint, the average five-kilowatt residential system can reduce household CO2 emissions by 15,000 pounds every year. Using your solar system to power an electric vehicle is the ultimate sustainable solution serving to reduce total CO2 emissions by as much as 70%!
These days, being environmentally responsible is the hallmark of a good global citizen and it need not require major sacrifices in regards to your lifestyle or your wallet. In fact, increasing your home’s sustainability is apt to make your residence more livable and save you money in the long run. The five projects listed here are just a few of the easy ways to reduce both your environmental footprint and your energy bills. So, give one or more of them a try; with a small budget and a little know-how, there is no reason you can’t start today.