There is no question that we are what we eat. Good nutritionis the key to general fitness and health. Two recent surveys in Britain andEurope have agreed on what constitutes a healthy and protective diet. Primarilythey suggest cutting down on fat. Fat gives us concentrated energy and any we donot use gets stored in our bodies, making us overweight. Fat is linked to heartdisease because it raises levels of cholesterol in the blood, clogging thearteries, leading to heart attracts.
Sugar and salt are the other two problems. Sugar providesonly empty calories, which give energy but nothing else. It also promotes toothdecay. As sugar provides no nutrients, it should be easy to cut it out, butmany 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 sugarin them to make them more appealing. Fructose, glucose, and dextrose are allforms of sugar and are not necessary to our diets.
Salt is added to most commercial foods and most cooks add itin varying amounts when cooking. We do need salt to help maintain fluid levelsin our bodies but nothing like the amount we consume. Some people will sufferhigh blood pressure because they eat too much salt but there is no way ofknowing which people, so it’s best to be spare with salt when cooking, and toavoid putting mountains of it on theside of your plate while eating. Sea salt crystals have some minerals whichiodized salt does not have, but it is still salt.
Even armed with basic information, many women find itdifficult to change their eating habits, because it means a change oflifestyle. However, poor diet affects women more than men because of changes inhormone levels throughout life. For example, extra calcium is neededpost-menopause since the reduction of oestrogen weakens bones.
Nutrition plan
The way to start is to familiarize yourself with the rightfoods and choose a programme you can cope with. Like dieting, if the plan isunrealistic from the start, willpower may not be enough. Accept yourpersonality; some people love food and eating, others cannot be bothered, butthey are expected to prepare food daily and enjoy the acclamation when familyof friends comment on it. You do not have to do everything at once: choose oneor two points and start with them so that you ease yourself into the newprogramme.
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 orpreparation
Snacks
Manyof 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
Theseare put into food to increase its attractiveness, taste, and shelf life. Do notget obsessive about additives; there is no evidence to suggest that you shouldeat none at all. Avoid products where excessive additives are used only toenhance low standard raw materials. Nutrients may be added to food. Forexample, margarine has added Vitamin A and D. This is good news since Vitamin Dhelps in the absorption of calcium. Added calcium to milk and the availabilityof milk with lower fat content means that there is now no reason for calciumdeficiency.
Main constituents of our diet
Proteinsare the structural material of our bodies. We need protein throughout ourlives; children need protein for growth and adults need it for repair andreplacement. Few people in the western world eat too little protein, and as anyexcess is used as energy or converted into fat, this can lead to an increase inweight.
Carbohydratesare divided into two groups: the sugars and the starches. Foods containingunrefined carbohydrate, such as potatoes and whole-wheat products, are rich inessential nutrients, including fibre, and give us energy at the same time.Sugars and refined carbohydrate, such as cream cakes, give us only energy, soovereating these and a sedentary lifestyle will cause obesity.
Fatsare essential to a healthy body as fuel but again we eat too much. They aredivided 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 insome vegetable products such as coconut oil and, of course, any dishes madewith these ingredients. Saturated fats tend to increase the level ofcholesterol in our blood and this is a factor in heart disease. The other groupis the polyunsaturated fats, which are necessary for the repair of body cells.This group reduces cholesterol levels slightly. These are contained invegetable oils, nuts, and oily fish. A good way of differentiating is to avoidthose fats that turn solid when cold.
Vitaminsare chemicals that help to regulate our body’s internal chemical system. Mostof us obtain sufficient amounts in our daily diet. Deficiencies tend to occuronly during times of ill health or changes in our metabolism, such as duringpregnancy. Claims are made about using vitamins for treatment, such as reducingthe severity of the symptoms of premenstrual tension syndrome and the commoncold. Although none of these has received wholehearted backing from the medicalprofession, folic acid, one of the complex B vitamins, is given in higher dosesto women who have previously had a baby with brain or neural tube defects suchas spina bifida.
Mineralsare essential to our metabolism in quite small amounts. Most of us get quiteenough from a balanced diet. Any deficiencies are usually only a problem if,because of some intestinal disorder, we fail to absorb the mineral properly.
Manywomen are unaware of the basics of good nutrition, or they may follow thecorrect road with their children, but ignore guidelines themselves, making themvulnerable to illnesses such as diverticular disease (caused by lack of fibre),and anaemia (caused by lack of iron).
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