· It seems so complicated. Is there an easy way to make sure I get all the nutrients I need?
· Okay. I understand the four food groups. But what’s a serving?
· Why are vegetables and fruits so important?
· What about coffee, tea and alcohol?
· What about salt?
· Are organic foods better for my health?
· Where does exercise fit?
Healthy eating is important as a way to make sure you get all the nutrients you need, without any extra calories or extra weight gain. And if what you eat does not give you quite enough nutrition, you can take a multivitamin/mineral and/or other supplements to help
Healthy eating is balanced eating, where you consume a variety of foods. It includes protein, carbohydrates (especially fiber), fats and fluids.
The best sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, legumes (such as dried peas, beans and lentils), nuts, seeds and soy products (such as tofu or soy beverages).Whole grains, vegetables and fruit can also provide small amounts of protein. Here’s how you can easily get the protein you body needs in one day along with many other good nutrients, such as iron, calcium and vitamin B12:
· At breakfast, have few egg whites, one slice of whole wheat toast and a banana. Or try oatmeal made with few egg whites and milk or unsweetened, fortified soy beverage, or cold cereal make with low-fat buttermilk.
· At lunch, have a chunk of low fat cheese and a bowl of lentil soup. Or try steamed brown rice with cut-up chicken pieces and vegetables, such as green beans or bok choy.
· For an afternoon snack, have a handful of nuts with three-quarters of a cup of low-fat yogurt, or a small glass of milk or unsweetened, fortified soy beverage.
· For dinner, have fish (or tofu) with half a cup of brown or basmati rice, and half a cup of broccoli or other vegetable and one cup of mixed salad.
Try to have one good source of protein at each meal, such as lean meat, chicken, turkey, eggs, low-fat cheese, fish, beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, nuts or natural almond butter.
TRY:· Adding a slice of low fat cheese to your favorite sandwich · Cutting up a hard-boiled egg into your salad,
· Eating a handful of unsalted soy nuts
· Sprinkling nuts and seeds on your cereal, salad or stir fry · Spreading natural almond butter on a slice of whole wheat toast
· Adding chickpeas or beans to a stir fry or pasta sauce.
If you still just can’t get enough protein through your nutrition, take a protein shake during the day.
Healthy carbohydrates – such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains and low-fat dairy products – provide your body with the fuel your heart, lungs and other organs need to function properly. They deliver essential vitamins and minerals and help give you the energy you need to run another block, swim a few more laps or to do another set of weight lifting. Many are also important source of fiber.
A few carbohydrates, however, are unhealthy- particularly the ones that are easily digested and that quickly raise your blood sugar. These include white bread, white rice, cookies and cakes.
Some weight loss programs say to cut down on or cut out all carbohydrates because they make you gain weight. But that severely limits what you can eat and you miss out on many important nutrients. This is why the Express Fat Loss (www.ExpressFatLoss.com) Program do not recommended cutting to low your carbohydrates.
Permanent weight loss or weight management requires a permanent change in lifestyle and eating habits.Fiber is a nutrient found in plants. You need fiber to keep your bowels regular and healthy. Eating a lot of high-fiber foods can also help lower blood cholesterol levels, control blood sugar levels and help prevent high blood pressure. Because fiber makes you feel full for longer, it can also help with weight control.
Grains and grain products are products are particularly high in fiber. In fact, a high-fiber cereal for breakfast (one with four grams or more of fiber) will help keep your hunger under control for the whole day. Follow up throughout the day with other high-fiber foods, such as whole wheat toast of pasta with vegetable sauce, a spicy bowl of chili, or low-fat yogurt with fruit and bran added on top.
Fruits and vegetables, beans, lentils and chickpeas are also great sources or fiber.Everyone needs to eat some fat to stay healthy. Fat supplies your body with energy and helps build a protective coat around your cells – but it’s got to be healthy fat and in the right amount.
Unhealthy fats are saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are mostly found in food that come from animals. Trans fats come mostly from vegetable oils that have been made solid through a process called hydrogenation.
Unhealthy fats are found in:· Whole or full – fat milk
· Cream, sour cream and ice cream
· Butter and clarified butter
· Cheese
· Fatty red meat (sausage, pork bacon, Chinese preserved
meats)
· Chicken, duck and turkey skin of fat
· Hard margarines and vegetable shortening
· Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
· Deep-fried foods
· Baked items (including cookies, cakes, pies and pastries)
· Oily or fatty fish*, such as salmon, anchovies, rainbow trout, sardines, mackerel, char and herring
· Nuts and seeds, such as cashews, almonds, walnuts*, peanuts, and ground flaxseeds*
· Vegetable oils, including olive, peanut, canola*, soybean*, and sesame oil
· Flaxseed and walnut oils* (do not heat these oils; use them cold)
· Wheat germ
· Avocadoes
· Foods fortified with omega 3, including eggs, yogurt and soy beverage*.
* These items are all particularly high in omega 3 fatty acids.
To make sure you are eating the right amount of fat, start by choosing foods that are naturally low in fat, and then add no more than two to three tablespoons (30 to 45 grams) of healthy, unsaturated fats to what you eat every day. This includes oil used for cooking, salad dressings, margarine and mayonnaise.
Also try to substitute healthy fat for unhealthy fat where you can, and remember to read food labels carefully.” Low fat” means that the food has less than three grams of fat per serving.” Fat free” means that the food has less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.
In addition:
· Choose lean meats, then trim off any fat you can see. · Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
· Grill, broil or roast your meat, chicken or turkey to allow the fat
to drain off.
· Eat fish at least twice a week.
· Choose legumes instead of meat at least once a week. Prepare
· Cook with low-fat dairy products made with skim or 1% milk of yogurt.
· Use low-fat milk in your coffee and tea.
· Use some mustard, ketchup, relish, cranberry sauce, or natural almond butter instead of butter or margarine.
· Choose a healthy, low-fat salad dressing or make your own.
You may not know when you’re thirsty. And by the time you feel thirsty, you could already be dehydrated, which means you’ve lost too much water and may soon start feeling tired, confused, hot, flushed and even nauseous.
Try to drink in between eight to twelve 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day.Before, during and after you exercise.
Fresh vs. canned or frozen fruits and vegetables
You receive the same health benefits from canned, frozen or dried vegetables and fruit as you do from fresh – and they are often cheaper!
Canned and frozen vegetables and fruits are packed at the height of thief nutritional value, when they are ripe. Just make sure that canned fruit is packed in water or juice, rather than syrup, and that canned vegetables are packed with little or no salt (sodium)