A healthy life style is having a healthy diet – a well balanced intake of fruits and vegetables with enough nutrients for your body. Others are taking it one step further – going for green to be healthier and to contribute to the well being of the environment.

It is a good concept to combine a healthy diet for you and help save the environment as well. There are just some basic ways to follow to achieve healthy results for this.

Think organic – meaning eat more natural foods or organic-grown vegetables and fruits. These are healthier for you. These organic products have no chemicals in them; so that means that the soil, land and vegetation where these products are produced have not been infected with chemicals from pesticides and other toxic materials. Some good organic vegetables are broccoli, corn, onions, pineapples and sweet potatoes.

You can make your own vegetable garden. Raise organic ones by planting home sourced seeds using natural composts to promote growth.

It would be healthier to eat lesser meat and beef. The meat products which come from cows and hogs require a lot of water care, land, antibiotics to protect these animals from disease, waste elimination processes and others which cause harm to the environment. The pollution is spread to land, water and air as well. Try to substitute meat to chicken, fish, tofu, beans and nuts.

Buy more local and in-season foods. Buying from local sellers will saves you some gas and travel time. The local products are fresher and offer a wider selection of products. It also saves processing costs like packaging, refrigeration and shipping. That way you save the environment from a lot of pollution caused by transportations to distribute these products.

If you opt to buy imported foods, remember to look for the fair-trade- certification of these products. This guarantees good environmental standards were followed to make these products. It means watersheds and virgin forest were protected, promoting good soil fertility and water conservation processes were observed properly.

Limit usage of food packaging. Buy foods with limited packaging or those that use bio-based plastic packing. Put your foods in containers which you can reuse again. Plan your meals carefully – cook foods which you can store in the fridge for later consumption.

Try to reduce your cooking fuel. Cook food enough for the family to consume within the day. Avoid leftovers as much as possible to eliminate waste. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables like salads.

Take responsibility in taking care of your trash. Leftovers can be processed as composts to be used for your garden. Remember to reduce, reuse and recycle materials as much as possible. Eating green is healthy for you and keeps the environment healthy as well.

Jonathan Pitts

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