For most people, eating a piece of cake while dieting would invoke extreme guilt and frustration. If you are living a healthy lifestyle and consuming the correct foods on a regular basis, then there is nothing wrong with treating yourself once in a while. In fact, treating yourself can be healthy. Find out why, and how to make sure you don’t overdo it.
Some people can afford to add a little bit of extra food to their diet. If you’re eating high-quality (preferably organic) foods, and taking in the right amount of vitamins and minerals (whether through supplementation or superfoods), then you are effectively giving your body what it needs to function at optimal levels. Since your body’s dietary needs are satisfied, it will not be detrimental to treat yourself to something extra like chocolate or ice cream, assuming you are not suffering from any medical conditions.
If you are sick, your body is working overtime to try and fight against what ails you. Obviously, this is not the time to stress your body with excess sugars and fats that it must therefore breakdown. When you are ill, it is important to eat even more powerful foods, and even less nutrient-deficient foods. Take a strong vitamin (or superfood), and make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D. Of course depending on the season and your geographic location, the sun delivers a different amount of vitamin D to everyone. Check out the vitamin D guide to ensure you’re getting enough.
Why not Make the Treat Itself Healthy
It’s hard for some people to think that cheating in your diet can be healthy, but it absolutely can. Not only does it ensure that you won’t reach your breaking point and start eating everything in sight, but the treat itself can actually be healthy as well. Take chocolate for example. Derived from the cacao plant, chocolate actually has many beneficial properties. Besides tasting great, cacao-chocolate helps with digestion, kidney function, bowel function, and a number of other things.
When I say cacao-chocolate, this is chocolate containing a certain percentage of cacao. Pure cacao is extremely bitter, and therefore most people will not enjoy it. With cacao-containing chocolate, you can still retain around 80-90% of the cacao without such a hard-hitting bitterness. Don’t take the percentage of cacao down too low, or you’re starting to take away from the effectiveness of the chocolate.
Treating yourself is a great way to ensure that you stay strong in your healthy new nutritional lifestyle, and yet another way to include some healthy foods in interesting ways. Treat yourself around once a week, and try and keep it fresh and preferably organic.
Original Post: http://naturalsociety.com/its-healthy-to-treat-yourself-once-in-a-while/
