Ikechukwu Joseph's Blog - Posts Tagged "diets"
Healthy Eating
Chapter One
Healthy Eating
What do you eat? Why do you eat it? How do you eat it? When do you eat it? Answering these questions and others sincerely, adequately and correctly will save us a lot of health risks, heartbreak and headaches. So, whatever you do eat, eat well so you live well as we look at the basics of healthy eating choices and diets. The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right number of calories or the right quantity of foods and drinks.
- A healthy diet preserves and improves our general health and wellbeing. Healthy diet offers proper and adequate fluid, micronutrients, macronutrients and adequate calories to the body. Healthy diet consists of mainly vegetables, fruits, whole grains with little or no processed food and sweeteners in beverages. Medical and governmental institutions publish dietary guides to educate the populace on what to eat and what not to eat. Nutritional values labels must be placed on food packages to help consumers make quality choices. A healthy lifestyle involves daily exercises coupled with eating healthy diet. This will lower risk of heart diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high bad cholesterol and cancer. Medical nutrition therapies are specialized diet for people with different health challenges. The World Health Organization made five recommendations on healthy diet:
1.Maintain a healthy weight by eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using.
2. You must limit intake of fats such that fat contribute not more than 30% of your total calories need. Go for unsaturated fats. Avoid trans fats.
3. Eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables daily. A healthy diet also contains legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), whole grains and nuts.
4. You should limit the intake of simple sugars to less than 10% of calorie (below 5% of calories or 25 grams may be even better).
5. Limit salt / sodium from all sources and ensure that salt is iodized. Less than 5 grams of salt per day can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Energy we derive from food we eat or drinks we take is measured as calories. The more we eat and drink the more the calories, the more fat we acquire. Hence the increase in our weight because the excess is stored up as fat. True is also the opposite. The less we eat or drink the less calories we use up.
- When we eat and drink more calories than we use up, our bodies store the excess as body fat. If this continues, over time we put on weight. We need energy to contain and survive our day to day activities and for a good functional body system. So, we must balance our energy intake and energy consumption or energy used up. An important part of a healthy diet is balancing the energy you put into your body with the energy you use up. The more physical work we do or activities, the more the energy we use up.
- Check the nutritional label on your food containers to get the calorie value of what you eat. Like how many calories are contained in 100 grams or 100 milliliters of the food or drink you consume, so you can compare the calorie content of different products. This help you make necessary adjustments and informed decisions. Calorie information on nutritional label helps you make choices that monitor and control your weight.
- Also, you could get calorie counters online for your phones and computers.
- Activities and regular exercises will help you lose weight and get rid of excess fat. Visit the gym and vary you diet. Your depth or intensity of activity determines your dissipation of energy or calories. So, there must be a balance between the energy gained and energy lost or consumed.
- Gluttony or eating more than your body requires or can accommodate will increase your body weight. The excess food is stored as excess fat and will create health problems. If you eat or drink less than your body needs you create problems too. So, we must strike a balance.
Balanced Diet
You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you're getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs. Expert recommendation is 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 calories for women daily. This might differ with regional demands.
Expert Suggestions:
- over 30% of your meals should be carbohydrate with lots of fibers. Foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals. Consume higher fiber or wholegrain varieties like whole-wheat pasta, brown rice or potatoes with their skins on. Whole grains contain more fibers than refined and processed ones. Fibers acts as roughages that help bowel movements. With each meal, include one portion of starchy food. People think starchy foods are fattening, but you need their calories and fibers.
- watch the oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta you add to your cooking, food dressing or serving. They increase fat and calories.
- with each meal take a lot of vegetables and fruits. Experts recommend 5 parts or portions daily. Instead of snacks a portion of fruits and vegetables over your breakfast will do. Weigh the sugar content too.
****
- Eat lots of fish preferably oily fish for your protein, vitamins and minerals. Oily fish have rich omega-3 fats, which may help prevent heart disease. Salmon, trout, herring, sardines, pilchards, mackerel are oily fish.
****
Non-oily fish include haddock, plaice, coley, cod, etc. Whether fresh, frozen, smoked or canned, fish is okay but most processed ones are high in salt and fats additives. Fresh they say is better. But with the help of your health worker find out what works best for you.
- Lower your consumption of sugar and saturated fats. Fat is made of glycerol and fatty acids. Eating foods that contain saturated fats raises the level of cholesterol in your blood. High levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association recommends aiming for a dietary pattern that achieves 5% to 6% of calories from saturated fat. For example, if you need about 2,000 calories a day, no more than 120 of them should come from saturated fat. Thats about 13 grams of saturated fat per day. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature.
- How does saturated fats affect your health?
Foods or drinks high in saturated fat increase your cholesterol level. Substituting such with healthier options can lower blood cholesterol levels and improve lipid profiles
- What foods contain saturated fat?
These include meat and dairy products such as fatty beef, lamb, pig meat or swine flesh, hard animal fat called tallow, poultry skin, cheese, cream, butter and dairy from milk. Also, high saturated fats are found in palm oil, palm kernel oil, baked and fried foods and coconut oil.
Remedies and possible substitute for saturated fat:
- eat portions with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy food like poultry, fish and nuts.
- Reduce red meat and sugary foods and drinks. Go for poultry without skin because most fat hide under the skin.
- Also, lean meat prepared without fat containing dressings.
- Go also for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like liquid vegetable oil, fish and nuts, beans or legumes.
- The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats found in butter, cheese, red meat and other animal-based foods. This can trigger increase of bad cholesterol. Hence lead to higher risk for heart disease. Control is the key but generally speaking you cant go wrong eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fewer calories.
- Though you need some fats in your diet, but it's important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you're eating. There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood. On the average, men should have not more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have not more than 20g of saturated fat a day. Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5. Saturated fat is found in fatty meats, hard cheese, butter, cream, cakes, biscuits and pies. Choose foods that contain unsaturated fats like vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish and avocados. For a healthier choice, use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee (type of clarified butter).
- To much sugar in food or drink could lead to obesity and tooth decay. Free sugars are sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices, sugary fizzy drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, cakes, etc. Cut down on free sugars rather than sugars found in fruit and milk. Many packaged foods and drinks contain high amounts of free sugars.
- Reduce your salt intake (6g a day for adults). Much salt intake can raise your blood pressure. This can lead to a heart condition or stroke. Watch your canned foods, breakfast cereals, soups, breads, sauces, and sodium glutamate containing foods. Most of them contain enough salt. So read labels on your canned and packed foods.
- Exercise regularly to reduce your weight. It can be a burden. In addition to healthy eating exercise regularly. Take a long walk in the evenings. Visit the gym if you can. Exercise is good for your general wellbeing and health. Obesity or overweight, having a body mass index over 30 kg/m2 can be a problem. Overweight can result into health conditions like diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart problems, etc.
- Check your weight. Lose weight by eating low calories. Balanced diet is the solution. Consult your doctor or dietician if you are not sure on how to go about this.
- Avoid getting dehydrated. Drink plenty water when thirsty. Some experts suggest alkaline water. Regular sipping of water at intervals is recommended. Government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day. Fluid you get from food, non-alcoholic drinks inclusive. However, water, lower fat and lower sugar drinks, are better. As much as you can, avoid carbonated, sugary and fizzy drinks. They are not only high in calories but can increase the acidic content of your stomach. High acidic stomach content is likely to cause health problems. Drink more fluids during exercises and hot weather conditions so you remain hydrated.
- Have a healthy breakfast, high in fiber, low fat, low sugar and low salt from wholegrain cereal, fruits, vegetable with semi-skimmed milk.
- Reduce your salt intake (6g a day for adults). Much salt intake can raise your blood pressure. This can lead to a heart condition or stroke. Watch your canned foods, breakfast cereals, soups, breads, sauces, and sodium glutamate containing foods. Most of them contain enough salt. So read labels on your canned and packed foods.
- Exercise regularly. Reduce your weight. It can be a burden. In addition to healthy eating, exercise regularly. Take a long walk in the evenings. Visit the gym if you can. Exercise is good for your general wellbeing and health. Obesity or overweight, having a body mass index over 30 kg/m2 can be a problem. Overweight can result into health conditions, such as diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart problems, etc. Check your weight. Lose weight by eating low calories. Balanced diet is the solution. Consult your doctor or dietician if you are not sure on how to go about this.
- Avoid getting dehydrated. Drink plenty water when thirsty. Some experts suggest alkaline water. Regular sipping of water at intervals is recommended. Government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses every day. Fluid you get from the food, non-alcoholic drinks inclusive. However, water, lower fat and lower sugar drinks, are better. As much as you can avoid carbonated, sugary and fizzy drinks. They are not only high in calories but can increase the acidic content of your stomach. Drink more fluids during exercises and hot weather conditions so you remain hydrated.
- Culled from the book From Healthy Eating to Healthy Living(Eat well and Live well) by William Douglas
Healthy Eating
What do you eat? Why do you eat it? How do you eat it? When do you eat it? Answering these questions and others sincerely, adequately and correctly will save us a lot of health risks, heartbreak and headaches. So, whatever you do eat, eat well so you live well as we look at the basics of healthy eating choices and diets. The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right number of calories or the right quantity of foods and drinks.
- A healthy diet preserves and improves our general health and wellbeing. Healthy diet offers proper and adequate fluid, micronutrients, macronutrients and adequate calories to the body. Healthy diet consists of mainly vegetables, fruits, whole grains with little or no processed food and sweeteners in beverages. Medical and governmental institutions publish dietary guides to educate the populace on what to eat and what not to eat. Nutritional values labels must be placed on food packages to help consumers make quality choices. A healthy lifestyle involves daily exercises coupled with eating healthy diet. This will lower risk of heart diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high bad cholesterol and cancer. Medical nutrition therapies are specialized diet for people with different health challenges. The World Health Organization made five recommendations on healthy diet:
1.Maintain a healthy weight by eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using.
2. You must limit intake of fats such that fat contribute not more than 30% of your total calories need. Go for unsaturated fats. Avoid trans fats.
3. Eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables daily. A healthy diet also contains legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), whole grains and nuts.
4. You should limit the intake of simple sugars to less than 10% of calorie (below 5% of calories or 25 grams may be even better).
5. Limit salt / sodium from all sources and ensure that salt is iodized. Less than 5 grams of salt per day can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Energy we derive from food we eat or drinks we take is measured as calories. The more we eat and drink the more the calories, the more fat we acquire. Hence the increase in our weight because the excess is stored up as fat. True is also the opposite. The less we eat or drink the less calories we use up.
- When we eat and drink more calories than we use up, our bodies store the excess as body fat. If this continues, over time we put on weight. We need energy to contain and survive our day to day activities and for a good functional body system. So, we must balance our energy intake and energy consumption or energy used up. An important part of a healthy diet is balancing the energy you put into your body with the energy you use up. The more physical work we do or activities, the more the energy we use up.
- Check the nutritional label on your food containers to get the calorie value of what you eat. Like how many calories are contained in 100 grams or 100 milliliters of the food or drink you consume, so you can compare the calorie content of different products. This help you make necessary adjustments and informed decisions. Calorie information on nutritional label helps you make choices that monitor and control your weight.
- Also, you could get calorie counters online for your phones and computers.
- Activities and regular exercises will help you lose weight and get rid of excess fat. Visit the gym and vary you diet. Your depth or intensity of activity determines your dissipation of energy or calories. So, there must be a balance between the energy gained and energy lost or consumed.
- Gluttony or eating more than your body requires or can accommodate will increase your body weight. The excess food is stored as excess fat and will create health problems. If you eat or drink less than your body needs you create problems too. So, we must strike a balance.
Balanced Diet
You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you're getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs. Expert recommendation is 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 calories for women daily. This might differ with regional demands.
Expert Suggestions:
- over 30% of your meals should be carbohydrate with lots of fibers. Foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals. Consume higher fiber or wholegrain varieties like whole-wheat pasta, brown rice or potatoes with their skins on. Whole grains contain more fibers than refined and processed ones. Fibers acts as roughages that help bowel movements. With each meal, include one portion of starchy food. People think starchy foods are fattening, but you need their calories and fibers.
- watch the oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta you add to your cooking, food dressing or serving. They increase fat and calories.
- with each meal take a lot of vegetables and fruits. Experts recommend 5 parts or portions daily. Instead of snacks a portion of fruits and vegetables over your breakfast will do. Weigh the sugar content too.
****
- Eat lots of fish preferably oily fish for your protein, vitamins and minerals. Oily fish have rich omega-3 fats, which may help prevent heart disease. Salmon, trout, herring, sardines, pilchards, mackerel are oily fish.
****
Non-oily fish include haddock, plaice, coley, cod, etc. Whether fresh, frozen, smoked or canned, fish is okay but most processed ones are high in salt and fats additives. Fresh they say is better. But with the help of your health worker find out what works best for you.
- Lower your consumption of sugar and saturated fats. Fat is made of glycerol and fatty acids. Eating foods that contain saturated fats raises the level of cholesterol in your blood. High levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association recommends aiming for a dietary pattern that achieves 5% to 6% of calories from saturated fat. For example, if you need about 2,000 calories a day, no more than 120 of them should come from saturated fat. Thats about 13 grams of saturated fat per day. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature.
- How does saturated fats affect your health?
Foods or drinks high in saturated fat increase your cholesterol level. Substituting such with healthier options can lower blood cholesterol levels and improve lipid profiles
- What foods contain saturated fat?
These include meat and dairy products such as fatty beef, lamb, pig meat or swine flesh, hard animal fat called tallow, poultry skin, cheese, cream, butter and dairy from milk. Also, high saturated fats are found in palm oil, palm kernel oil, baked and fried foods and coconut oil.
Remedies and possible substitute for saturated fat:
- eat portions with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy food like poultry, fish and nuts.
- Reduce red meat and sugary foods and drinks. Go for poultry without skin because most fat hide under the skin.
- Also, lean meat prepared without fat containing dressings.
- Go also for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like liquid vegetable oil, fish and nuts, beans or legumes.
- The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats found in butter, cheese, red meat and other animal-based foods. This can trigger increase of bad cholesterol. Hence lead to higher risk for heart disease. Control is the key but generally speaking you cant go wrong eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fewer calories.
- Though you need some fats in your diet, but it's important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you're eating. There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood. On the average, men should have not more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have not more than 20g of saturated fat a day. Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5. Saturated fat is found in fatty meats, hard cheese, butter, cream, cakes, biscuits and pies. Choose foods that contain unsaturated fats like vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish and avocados. For a healthier choice, use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee (type of clarified butter).
- To much sugar in food or drink could lead to obesity and tooth decay. Free sugars are sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices, sugary fizzy drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, cakes, etc. Cut down on free sugars rather than sugars found in fruit and milk. Many packaged foods and drinks contain high amounts of free sugars.
- Reduce your salt intake (6g a day for adults). Much salt intake can raise your blood pressure. This can lead to a heart condition or stroke. Watch your canned foods, breakfast cereals, soups, breads, sauces, and sodium glutamate containing foods. Most of them contain enough salt. So read labels on your canned and packed foods.
- Exercise regularly to reduce your weight. It can be a burden. In addition to healthy eating exercise regularly. Take a long walk in the evenings. Visit the gym if you can. Exercise is good for your general wellbeing and health. Obesity or overweight, having a body mass index over 30 kg/m2 can be a problem. Overweight can result into health conditions like diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart problems, etc.
- Check your weight. Lose weight by eating low calories. Balanced diet is the solution. Consult your doctor or dietician if you are not sure on how to go about this.
- Avoid getting dehydrated. Drink plenty water when thirsty. Some experts suggest alkaline water. Regular sipping of water at intervals is recommended. Government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day. Fluid you get from food, non-alcoholic drinks inclusive. However, water, lower fat and lower sugar drinks, are better. As much as you can, avoid carbonated, sugary and fizzy drinks. They are not only high in calories but can increase the acidic content of your stomach. High acidic stomach content is likely to cause health problems. Drink more fluids during exercises and hot weather conditions so you remain hydrated.
- Have a healthy breakfast, high in fiber, low fat, low sugar and low salt from wholegrain cereal, fruits, vegetable with semi-skimmed milk.
- Reduce your salt intake (6g a day for adults). Much salt intake can raise your blood pressure. This can lead to a heart condition or stroke. Watch your canned foods, breakfast cereals, soups, breads, sauces, and sodium glutamate containing foods. Most of them contain enough salt. So read labels on your canned and packed foods.
- Exercise regularly. Reduce your weight. It can be a burden. In addition to healthy eating, exercise regularly. Take a long walk in the evenings. Visit the gym if you can. Exercise is good for your general wellbeing and health. Obesity or overweight, having a body mass index over 30 kg/m2 can be a problem. Overweight can result into health conditions, such as diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart problems, etc. Check your weight. Lose weight by eating low calories. Balanced diet is the solution. Consult your doctor or dietician if you are not sure on how to go about this.
- Avoid getting dehydrated. Drink plenty water when thirsty. Some experts suggest alkaline water. Regular sipping of water at intervals is recommended. Government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses every day. Fluid you get from the food, non-alcoholic drinks inclusive. However, water, lower fat and lower sugar drinks, are better. As much as you can avoid carbonated, sugary and fizzy drinks. They are not only high in calories but can increase the acidic content of your stomach. Drink more fluids during exercises and hot weather conditions so you remain hydrated.
- Culled from the book From Healthy Eating to Healthy Living(Eat well and Live well) by William Douglas
