The majority of people think that ordering takeaway/takeout is unhealthy, but it can be as nutritious as you like if you order sensibly. A balanced diet is a key here, and for this you need to eat all kinds of foods in order to provide your body with the nutrients it needs. Even some salt and fat content is essential to stay healthy.
Do you shy away from food delivery? Well here are some tips for ensuring you continue to stay healthy, whilst allowing yourself the occasional takeaway:
Here in this article:
Everything in Moderation
Eating sensibly allows every type of food in your diet. A mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins are all required in order for your body to repair itself and store energy. You can treat yourself to food stuffs that aren’t amazing healthy as long as you’re getting plenty of the good stuff around it. Fat and carbs are important in a balanced diet, and you should always follow the recommended intake levels for a healthy lifestyle. There can even be room for pizza if you balance the rest of your week’s dining.
Eating vegetables all day or food that has no nutritional value can be detrimental to your health unless you careful and know what you need to be eating. Vegetarians become accustom to this as they know their bodies and keep an eye to make sure they eat everything within guidelines.
Sodium Levels
Although a lot of food from restaurants has a high salt content, this can be beneficial after extended periods of exercise or when in the heat. Sweat has a lot of minerals and natural body salts, so when it’s hot you will be losing a lot of your essentials. Replenishing these is essential, and eating salty food is similar to drinking energy drinks, as it replaces what you’ve lost.
There’s Food like Sushi Too!
When ordering delivery food there is a number of options, and it isn’t all ‘fast food’. There are a number of outlets specialising in healthy food, and some restaurants who deliver food on the premium end of the scale. Don’t forget that a lot of sushi and Thai food options are available and a lot of these cuisines are fresh, light and low calorie.
Sushi is both trendy and light, making it the perfect dinner if you are craving some food, and let’s face it, sushi is fairly hard to make at home unless you have all the ingredients prepared in advance. Try a lighter option and surprise yourself.
Reduces the Stress of Life
Ordering food means you don’t have to cook it, and cooking is a long and stressful process a lot of the time. Ordering food will benefit you in other ways, other than nutritionally as the stress you experience in preparing food and shopping for the food will go down. You might also have some extra time free which can be used for sporting activities or hobbies.
Variation of Food is Key
Nasty problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can occur if you repeat eat too much of the same food. Ordering food allows you to sample different cuisines and dishes on demand allowing you to mix up what you eat.
This will prevent the monotony of eating and allow you to vary the nutritional values of your meal planning. For example you might choose to eat a large portion of protein on one night, but then ordering food allows you to try fish or something high in omega oils the next day. This all ties back into balancing your diet and eating everything in moderation.
Key takeaways:
To summarise, ordering food has a stigma that it can be quite unhealthy, but using common sense and balancing your diet generally will help you make the most of these services. You can order healthy options like sushi too if you are still concerned. Whatever you choose, don’t take it to the extreme and vary what you eat to maximise the nutritional benefits.
This post has been written by Steve, a food fanatic who still finds room for pizza delivery in his diet. Websites such as Just-Eat have a great selection of different takeaways/takeouts.