You are what you eat. Problem is, it’s hard to know what you’re eating these days – not to mention where it came from. That’s why we have to get smarter about what we’re putting in our bodies if we want to stay healthy.

Luckily, It’s not that hard to eat better: you just have to pay attention to what you eat! A good diet has many benefits: Choosing foods that are good for your body can help you live longer and avoid health problems, and it can help protect the planet.

Below, we’ve compiled a short list of the best ways to eat healthy and save money doing it – all while curbing the environmental impact of your diet.

1. Eat Whole Foods Instead of Processed

Whole foods can be simply defined as anything—fruits, vegetables, meats, grains—that are brought to you unprocessed, in pure form. They are, simply, food, not food-derived products that claim to be vitamin enriched or calcium fortified and dominate modern supermarkets.

Whole foods provide nutrients in their most natural state, when they are best able to absorb into the body and help prevent illness. More than anything, a whole foods diet will help you live healthily, but it can also help protect the environment by reducing the carbon emitted when foods are processed and packaged.

A diet of whole foods is extremely easy to follow and can save you big bucks at the grocery store. When you eat, go for fresh produce and whole grain bread and pasta products, while avoiding processed, “low-fat” and enriched foods that have been modified out of their original forms, and staying out of fast food restaurants.

Click here for 6 healthy, delicious whole-food snack ideas.

2. Break your Sugar Habit

Sugar is nearly impossible to avoid. We may think we are only consuming the slightest bit, but even on our best days but our coffee, breads, fast foods, snacks, and even certain fruits are laden with sugars that are difficult for the body to process and eliminate, so they often get stored as fat.

There are also some serious side effects related to high sugar intake including obesity, blood sugar imbalances, heart disease, arthritis, immuno-suppression, and vitamin and mineral depletion.

Try replacing sweet sugary snacks with foods that are naturally sweet. Sweet potatoes, pears, cinnamon, these foods are soothing to the pancreas and can satisfy the body’s craving for sweet taste.

Still need to satisfy that sweet tooth? There are many healthier alternatives to refined white sugar. Honey, agave nectar, stevia (a plant extract), and maple syrup are just a few of the many options out there.

Click here for more ways to fight sugar cravings.

3. Eat Less Meat

When humans first evolved, meat was the ultimate luxury. Packed with protein and fat, the meat of an antelope or buffalo would satisfy the hunter’s hunger for days. As a result, early humans developed an instinct to eat as much meat as possible whenever we could get our hands on it.

Now that meat is readily available, our instincts (along with the marketing efforts of the meat industry) are driving us to eat it at every meal. As the rest of the world adopts a higher standard of living, the demand for meat is rising dramatically, posing a grave threat to our health and our planet.

Daily meat consumption can cause all sorts of health problems, from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and cancer.¹ As a result, most doctors now recommend cutting your meat consumption to two or three times per week, less if you have a history of heart or weight problems.²

Meat production also has a massive impact on the environment. Large-scale meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, emit massive amounts of greenhouse gases, and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains.³

So, eating less meat can make you healthier and shrink your carbon footprint – all while saving you some serious money. Try going veggie one day per week and you’ll find that it’s easy to eat a satisfying meal that’s meat-free.

Need some ideas? Click here for some delectable recipes for vegetarian dishes.

4. Eat Organic

Though sometimes more expensive, eating organic can help you discover tastier and more varied foods, avoid nasty additives, and support small, sustainable farmers.

Organic foods are often, but not always, produced locally—look for a farmers’ market or check the web for local dairy and meat farms.

Stores like Whole Foods provide tons of great organic choices. By sticking to fresh produce and avoiding processed and packaged foods, you can minimize a lot of the cost associated with eating organic.

Eating organic can be difficult, especially when prices are high and mass-produced alternatives taste almost as good. But if you want to be sure that your food is harmless and sustainable, organic is the way to go.

Can’t afford to buy everything organic? Click here to learn which conventionally grown fruits and veggies are most contaminated.

Sources:

1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032301626.html
2. http://www.thedoctorschannel.com/video/1944.html
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1