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A Healthy Diet For Life
Having established that your body needs a well balanced diet,
with a good supply of carbohydrates, especially high - fiber
foods, water vitamins and minerals, and a certain amount of
protein, fat and bacteria, you need to know how to put it into
practice. Much media attention is focused on foods that one
should not have, yet there has been very little to tell women
how they can use food to enhance their life rather than make it
more difficult. Forget the labels; every figure is relative and
food manufacturers are frequently very selective about what they
tell you, making your task of deciding what is right for you an
impossible one. Instead build your choices on the following
guidelines.
RESPECT YOUR MOUTH AND BODY: GET INTO THE HABIT OF ONLY EATING
THINGS YOU LIKE AND NEED
Before you put anything in your mouth, ask yourself three
questions: Do I want it/ Do I like it/ Do I need it?
If you want it and like it then go ahead and enjoy it, if you
dont why bother wasting the eating experience? Throw all the
boring, unnecessary eating out of your life.
The worst thing you can do with food is to feel guilty about
eating it. If you have eaten something that you know is not the
healthier but you really fancied it or were in a situation where
you didnt have any choice, enjoy it an forget about it. Dont
beat yourself up with guilt. Guilt is a negative emotion, which
is likely to lead you to bingeing on comfort foods. This can
then get you into a negative sugar or salt cycle in which you
eat more of these foods, which in turn makes you feel even more
guilty. You might then decide its not worth continuing with you
healthy eating lifestyle. It is always worth persevering.
Remember that life is for living and food is there to help us,
not hinder us.
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AIM TO EAT FIVE PORTIONS OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES EVERY
DAY
This provides your body with a good source of vitamins, minerals
and fiber, to maintain your body in peak condition to fight
diseases. Fiber helps your food to move effectively through the
body, keeps you feeling pleasantly full and satisfied and in
control of your eating habits, and your energy levels steady.
EAT THREE MEALS A DAY
This is usually made up of one main meal, a smaller snack or
lunch-type meal and breakfast. You may, however, feel that you
need two smaller snacks, such as a piece of fruit, a small
sandwich or a piece of cake, in between two smaller meals. It
all depends on your body rhythms. Meals should be based on
carbohydrates, such as pasta, whole-meal bread, wholegrain
cereals, rice or potatoes, along with fruits and/or vegetables.
The main meal should include a source of lean protein, along
with carbohydrate and plenty of vegetables and fruits.
CHOOSE LEAN SOURCES OF PROTEIN
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Fish, shellfish, lean red meat, game, poultry, eggs or pulses
meet your bodys protein requirements without overloading on
fats.
TRY TO GET INTO THE HABIT OF USING JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF FAT
You can use butter, olive oil, sesame oil or walnut oil to
enhance the flavor of your food or for cooking, but do try to
keep the quantity low.
KEEP YOUR INTAKE OF REFINED SUGAR FOODS LOW
Too much sugar disrupts your natural energy balance, and can
cause headaches; mood swings and if eaten in large quantities
sugar sensitivity problems such as hypoglycemia and diabetes
mellitus. It is much better to get into the habit of using the
natural sugars in fruits to provide sweetness.
INCLUDE SOME DAIRY PRODUCTS OR ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF
CALCIUM IN YOUR DAILY DIET
This has far reaching benefits for all women of all age group .
DRINK TWO THREE LITERS (FOUR TO FIVE PINTS) OF WATER EVERY DAY
Water helps the fiber in your food to swell and perform its
duties. It also helps to metabolize other nutrients from your
food, keep your skin and hair healthy and prevent your body from
becoming dehydrated.
TRY NOT TO DRINK MORE THAN THREE CUPS OF COFFEE, TEA OR COLA .
All such drinks contain caffeine, which inhibit the absorption
of vitamins and minerals from the gut, causes your body to
excrete vital nutrients and interferes with the fluid and energy
balance mechanisms in your body. Caffeine also causes your body
to be stimulated in an artificial way, which in the long run has
the opposite effect of supressing your performance and general
feeling of well
INCLUDES SOME GOOD BACTERIA IN YOUR DAILY DIET, IN THE FORM OF
LIVE YOGURT CONTAINING BIFIDUS AND ACIDOPHILUS
A small pot of bio yogurt a day should help to keep a healthy
balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut. If you dont like
or are unable to eat live yogurt, seek the advice of your
dietician
TRY TO EAT REGULARLY AND IDEALLY NOT LEAVE YOUR STOMACH EMPTY
FOR MORE THAN FOUR TO FIVE HOUR
This helps to keep your gut functioning effectively. Regular
eating helps your gut maintain a steady supply of digestive
enzymes, protects it from excess acid secretion and enables it
to metabolize food in the most efficient way, to keep your
energy level and moods on an even keel
KEEP YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE MODERATE
Some drinks, especially young red wines such as Beaujolais,
contain anti-oxidant vitamins and minerals, which can help to
reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. Beers and
Champagnes can also provide beneficial nutrients. Drinking can
be a very pleasurable part of a healthy lifestyle, but drinking
to excess can cause liver damage, mood and energy-balance
problems. Try not to drink on an empty stomach as this can cause
your blood sugar levels to crash.
FOOD COMBINING/SEPARATING
The issue of whether you should eat proteins and carbohydrates
at the same meal is one that regularly crops up in the media.
Some diet consultants feel strongly that proteins and
carbohydrates should be separated, and advocate that proteins
should be eaten only with vegetables and fruit, not mixed with
carbohydrates. Many people feel that their body functions better
if they out this into practice; it is commonly known as food
combining. From the physiological and nutritional viewpoint,
proteins (meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, pulses)
provide the body with amino acids, used as building blocks
within muscles and other tissues. Carbohydrates provide energy
and fiber. If you eat proteins on their own, without
carbohydrate present, the protein can be broken down into
energy, rather than used for building body tissue. Proteins also
have other important functions to perform in maintaining body
health and carbohydrates protect proteins, enabling them to
fulfill these functions.
The choice is yours, but there is no physiological reasoning
behind food combining. I believe that food is there to be
enjoyed. Women should not have to agonize over whether they are
allowed to eat certain things at certain times.
To know more on how to make healthy choices of food while eating
,log on to www.womenfitness.net,a complete resource for healthy
living .
About the author:
Ms Namita Nayyar is a gold medalist in M Sc (Child
development)and a fitness trainer with a sound knowledge of
normal & therapeutic nutrition . She is the founder of Women
Fitness (www.womenfitness.net)
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