There is no question that we are what we eat. Good nutrition
is the key to general fitness and health. Two recent surveys in Britain and
Europe have agreed on what constitutes a healthy and protective diet. Primarily
they suggest cutting down on fat. Fat gives us concentrated energy and any we do
not use gets stored in our bodies, making us overweight. Fat is linked to heart
disease because it raises levels of cholesterol in the blood, clogging the
arteries, leading to heart attracts.
Sugar and salt are the other two problems. Sugar provides
only empty calories, which give energy but nothing else. It also promotes tooth
decay. As sugar provides no nutrients, it should be easy to cut it out, but
many of us are hooked on the stuff because we have developed a sweet tooth,
either in childhood or from eating commercial savoury foods, which have sugar
in them to make them more appealing. Fructose, glucose, and dextrose are all
forms of sugar and are not necessary to our diets.
Salt is added to most commercial foods and most cooks add it
in varying amounts when cooking. We do need salt to help maintain fluid levels
in our bodies but nothing like the amount we consume. Some people will suffer
high blood pressure because they eat too much salt but there is no way of
knowing which people, so it’s best to be spare with salt when cooking, and to
avoid putting mountains of it on the
side of your plate while eating. Sea salt crystals have some minerals which
iodized salt does not have, but it is still salt.
Even armed with basic information, many women find it
difficult to change their eating habits, because it means a change of
lifestyle. However, poor diet affects women more than men because of changes in
hormone levels throughout life. For example, extra calcium is needed
post-menopause since the reduction of oestrogen weakens bones.
Nutrition plan
The way to start is to familiarize yourself with the right
foods and choose a programme you can cope with. Like dieting, if the plan is
unrealistic from the start, willpower may not be enough. Accept your
personality; some people love food and eating, others cannot be bothered, but
they are expected to prepare food daily and enjoy the acclamation when family
of friends comment on it. You do not have to do everything at once: choose one
or two points and start with them so that you ease yourself into the new
programme.
Do not:
·
Eat lots of meat
·
Use salty commercially prepared food
·
Add salt when you’re cooking
·
Buy sugar and sugar-laden foods
·
Fry your food
·
Use cream except for treats
Do:
·
Start to read the labels on prepared foods
·
Look out for additives such as salt, sugar etc.
·
Choose and prepare whole-wheat products - bread,
pasta, cakes
·
Eat potatoes in their skins
·
Cook with brown rice
·
Learn to cook with pulses and whole grains
·
Make sure
your diet contains a lot of fresh food that requires no cooking or
preparation
Snacks
Many
of us do not eat the three square meals a day any longer and snack instead.
Look at your snacks, are they biscuits, and prepared food? If they are,
substitute with fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fruit, grilled food, salads,
low fat cheese, yoghurt, and wholemeal bread without lashings of butter.
Additives
These
are put into food to increase its attractiveness, taste, and shelf life. Do not
get obsessive about additives; there is no evidence to suggest that you should
eat none at all. Avoid products where excessive additives are used only to
enhance low standard raw materials. Nutrients may be added to food. For
example, margarine has added Vitamin A and D. This is good news since Vitamin D
helps in the absorption of calcium. Added calcium to milk and the availability
of milk with lower fat content means that there is now no reason for calcium
deficiency.
Main constituents of our diet
Proteins
are the structural material of our bodies. We need protein throughout our
lives; children need protein for growth and adults need it for repair and
replacement. Few people in the western world eat too little protein, and as any
excess is used as energy or converted into fat, this can lead to an increase in
weight.
Carbohydrates
are divided into two groups: the sugars and the starches. Foods containing
unrefined carbohydrate, such as potatoes and whole-wheat products, are rich in
essential nutrients, including fibre, and give us energy at the same time.
Sugars and refined carbohydrate, such as cream cakes, give us only energy, so
overeating these and a sedentary lifestyle will cause obesity.
Fats
are essential to a healthy body as fuel but again we eat too much. They are
divided into two groups. Saturated fats are the ones we need to cut down on.
These are contained in animal fat - meat, cream, butter and cheese - and in
some vegetable products such as coconut oil and, of course, any dishes made
with these ingredients. Saturated fats tend to increase the level of
cholesterol in our blood and this is a factor in heart disease. The other group
is the polyunsaturated fats, which are necessary for the repair of body cells.
This group reduces cholesterol levels slightly. These are contained in
vegetable oils, nuts, and oily fish. A good way of differentiating is to avoid
those fats that turn solid when cold.
Vitamins
are chemicals that help to regulate our body’s internal chemical system. Most
of us obtain sufficient amounts in our daily diet. Deficiencies tend to occur
only during times of ill health or changes in our metabolism, such as during
pregnancy. Claims are made about using vitamins for treatment, such as reducing
the severity of the symptoms of premenstrual tension syndrome and the common
cold. Although none of these has received wholehearted backing from the medical
profession, folic acid, one of the complex B vitamins, is given in higher doses
to women who have previously had a baby with brain or neural tube defects such
as spina bifida.
Minerals
are essential to our metabolism in quite small amounts. Most of us get quite
enough from a balanced diet. Any deficiencies are usually only a problem if,
because of some intestinal disorder, we fail to absorb the mineral properly.
Many
women are unaware of the basics of good nutrition, or they may follow the
correct road with their children, but ignore guidelines themselves, making them
vulnerable to illnesses such as diverticular disease (caused by lack of fibre),
and anaemia (caused by lack of iron).
