Replacing your daily foods with healthier options is not as difficult as it sounds. Switching for a few healthier options is one of the easiest and achievable way to gain health and lose weight. You don’t need to start with any extreme diet, just a few simple changes are the ones that will work in the long run.

So don’t wait anymore, replace these unhealthy foods and remember even small changes overtime can add up to a big overall difference.

1. Replace Butter and Vegetable Oil With Ghee

Butter has become a necessary item in our refrigerators. It adds flavour to many dishes and a nice toast does not go without butter. However, a healthier alternative has been a part of our kitchen for ages. While the marketing industry has made it the enemy, ghee is a lot better than even the low-calorie light butter available in the market.

Ghee has a higher smoke point which makes it perfect for cooking or frying foods. So not just butter, it is a great option to replace even cooking oils. Ghee, when cooked at high temperature, produces less acrylamide which is a chemical compound that develops when starchy foods such as potatoes are cooked. This compound is known to increase the risk of cancer. Ghee because of its preparation method separates milk from fat and is lactose-free.

One tablespoon of ghee has about 120 calories, whereas one tablespoon of butter has about 102 calories. Even though ghee has slightly more calories and fat than butter it’s nutritional profile makes it a far better option than butter.

Ghee contains MCTs (Medium Chain Triglycerides)  which helps boost weight loss. A 2015 review which included 13 trials found out that MCT may result in negative energy balance and weight loss through increased energy expenditure. (1)

Not just MCTs but ghee also contains CLA (Conjugated Linolenic Acid) which is an omega-6 fatty acid and is known to change the body composition, reduce body fat levels and reduce weight.

Ghee also reduces the glycemic index of our food. Glycemic Index is nothing but the relative ranking of carbs according to their effect on our blood glucose level. A high GI carb will be digested and absorbed faster and give instant energy causing our blood sugar levels to rise suddenly. However, low GI food will be digested slowly and provide energy constantly over a longer duration of time. Thus, our blood sugar levels or insulin do not rise abruptly. It is always preferable to go for a low GI carb.(2)

Indian food is generally high on carbs be it chapati or rice. Adding a spoonful of ghee on top reduces the overall glycemic index of the food and makes it more easily digestible.

However, excess of anything is not good. So limit your daily ghee consumption to only 10 percent of your total daily calories.

Also Read: Carb Cycling- What Is It and How It Helps To Lose Weight?

2. Replace White Rice With Brown Rice

Rice is a staple food for most Indians and practically the entire Asia. You must have heard it a million times that brown rice is better than white rice but is it really true?

Rice whether brown or white is entirely carbs and a very small amount of protein, then what makes brown rice better than white rice? Brown rice is a whole grain, it contains all the parts of the grain including the fibrous bran and nutritious germ which are absent in white rice. When rice is harvested, it is washed and the hulls are removed from the grains. What is left is brown rice. White rice is formed from brown rice by milling and polishing it and removing the bran. This deprives white rice of many essential nutrients.

Brown rice has much more fiber and antioxidants and a lot more vitamins and minerals. 100 grams of cooked brown rice provide 1.8 grams of fiber, whereas 100 grams of cooked white provide only 0.4 grams of fiber. (3, 4)

Brown rice due to its high magnesium and fiber content lowers blood sugar levels (5). Brown rice even has a lower GI (50) than white rice (89) i.e. it increases blood sugar levels slowly compared to white rice. Eating brown rice instead of white may also significantly reduce weight and body mass index (BMI) (6)

However, all is not good on the brown side. Brown rice contains phytic acid and is also higher in arsenic content compared to white rice. If you eat a lot of rice on a daily basis this could be a concern. For those consuming only a few servings per week, this is fine.

Also Read: Skinny Fat: Is Getting Skinny Same As Getting Healthy?

3. Replace Juices With Whole Fruits

Fruit juice is considered as a healthy option by most. But as a matter of fact, it is no better than any other sugary drink that you avoid. It’s convenient to get a fresh glass of juice and carry it anywhere but fruit juices are also loaded with sugar.

The concept of squeezing out the entire nutrients of a fruit in a glass seems attractive but in the process, we miss out on a lot of things that actually make the fruit healthy.

If you compare a calorie from the whole fruit and from its juice, fruit juices are nutritionally poor compared to whole fruits. The main problem is fruit juice contains no fiber and is very high in sugar.

Now you must be wondering if sugar is so high in juices, it must be high in the whole fruit itself. However, When we eat the whole fruit the sugar in it is bound within fibrous structures that break down slowly during digestion. Hence, there is no sudden overload of sugar and the liver can slowly metabolise the small amount of sugar released over time. Fruits are also more filling than juices. On the other hand, if you drink fruit juice it suddenly sends a huge amount of sugar to the liver. When the liver takes in more fructose than it can handle, some of it gets turned into fat.

One more unique thing about liquid calories is that they are more fattening than solid calories because they don't work in the same way as calories from solid foods. When you eat more of solid calories from one thing you subconsciously compensate for it by eating lesser calories from other solid food. But in the case of liquids, people don't compensate by eating less of other foods because of their less filling effect.

Also Read: What Is PCOS And How To Lose Weight With PCOS?

4. Mayonnaise With Greek Yogurt

Sandwiches or burgers and even dumplings taste great with a mayo dip. But it’s not healthy and deep down we know it!! What if there was a replacement to mayo which was equally tasty and healthier too!! Grab a bowl of greek yogurt and make your own dip.

One tablespoon of mayonnaise has 120 calories and 4.9 grams of fat. On the other hand, greek yogurt has a mere 49 calories, zero fat, and super-healthy probiotics. Don’t worry about the taste just add a little salt and pepper, some onion, and a touch of mustard and get a similar texture to mayonnaise or add a little garlic, salt and herbs to get a dressing that’s way better than mayonnaise.

Greek yogurt is filled with nutrients including:

• calcium

• protein

• probiotics

• iodine

• vitamin B-12

Greek yogurt is rich in calcium and protein. Greek yogurt is protein-rich so it may help people feel fuller for longer. One study has found that increasing protein in your diet leads to fewer calorie consumption overall and results in greater weight loss.

The probiotics in Greek yogurt result in a healthy gut. The high protein content also reduces hunger, boosts metabolism, and builds muscle. Eating Greek yogurt is also associated with lower blood pressure and a lower risk of type-2 diabetes. Greek yogurt is also a great source of calcium and leads to healthy bones.

Also Read: Intermittent Fasting: 101

5. Replace White Bread With Whole Grain Bread

You must have heard it ample number of times that brown or wholewheat bread is much healthier than white bread. This is because brown bread is made from whole wheat, contains more fiber than white bread, as well as a greater amount of nutrients such as vitamins B-6 and E, magnesium, folic acid, copper, zinc, and manganese.

If you are still unaware let me tell you that you don’t naturally get white bread. Potassium bromate, benzoyl peroxide, and chlorine dioxide are the three chemicals that are used to bleach brown bread to white. Potassium bromate is dangerous if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin in large doses. Benzoyl peroxide and chlorine dioxide are equally harmful, although they are used in small quantities to get white bread.

One single slice of whole-grain bread has 69 calories whereas white bread has 74. The wholegrain bread is also lower in carbohydrates and higher in fiber. Eating whole grains leads to weight loss, lower cholesterol, and low body mass index according to a study published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

Now, most of you while buying bread just look at the colour and assume that if it’s brown it’s whole wheat. But that’s not the case, to ensure you are actually buying the right bread, read labels and check to see that the first ingredient listed is either whole wheat or "wholemeal" flour. If the label reads "enriched," the flour is the same as that for white bread.

So, the next time you are in a grocery store ditch your usual food options and opt for these healthier replacements. You might be surprised to see the kind of difference small lifestyle changes can bring about in your health.

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