The food-health connection cannot be underplayed. Now, in Nigeria there is an uprise in natural/organic food demand.
If you turn on your TV, open a newspaper, or your mobile phone you're bound to get some confusing news about diet and health. Don't let it drive you to distraction.Instead, remember four key facts:
1. Our body is probably the greatest gift from our Maker. It beehoves us to take great care of our body.
2. What you eat affects your appearance, your energy and comfort, and — above all — your health.
3. Nigeria is now running is on the wrong track. There is now a rise in children and adults who are overweight or obese. Diabetes and high blood pressure are on the rise. Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer are distressingly common. Many factors contribute to these complex problems, but the basic reasons are simple: we eat too much, we choose the wrong foods, and we don't get enough exercise.
4. Good eating is not a punishment, but an opportunity. If you know why it's important and what to do, you'll find it enjoyable and satisfying. And if you establish an overall pattern of healthful nutrition, you'll have plenty of room to savor the treats that matter most to you.
Setting Your Goal:
For most people, TLC stands for tender loving care. For doctors, it stands for the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet. The TLC diet provides sound goals for your diet modification
For the TLC Diet, your Total calories are adjusted in conjunction with exercise to attain or maintain a healthy body weight. (Your doctor or a nutritionist can help you figure out how many calories you, personally, should be taking in.)
Total fat :25% - 35% of total calories
Saturated fat :Less than 7% of total calories
Polyunsaturated fat :Up to 10% of total calories
Monounsaturated fat: Up to 20% of total calories
Cholesterol :Less than 200 mg a day
Protein: About 15% of total calories
Fibre :The Institute of Medicine recommends:
• men 50 years and younger get 38 grams per day
• women 50 and younger get 25 grams per day
• men over 50 get 30 grams per day
• women over 50 get 21 grams per day
Making changes
Here are five tips to create a healthy diet that you can enjoy.
• Learn to think about food in a new way. Now we know that vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and fish are best.
• Experiment with new recipes and meal plans. Be creative and take chances. Instead of dreading your new diet, have fun with it.
• Change slowly. By the time you are 40, you'll have eaten some 40,000 meals — and lots of snacks. Give yourself time to change, targeting one item a week.
Start with breakfast.
Switch from eggs, bacon, donuts, white bread to oatmeal or bran cereal and fruit. If you just can't spare 10 minutes for a sit-down breakfast, grab high-fibre cereal bars instead of donuts,etc
Then move to lunch
Next, try out salads, low-fat yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese, tuna or peanut butter sandwiches, and fruit.
Snack on unsalted nuts, trail mix, fruit, raw veggies, or graham crackers. Try eating a few handfuls of a crunchy fibre cereal
Then dinner.
Experiment with fish, skinless poultry, beans, brown rice, local rice,whole-wheat pasta, and, of course, salads and veggies.
Fruit and low-fat frozen desserts are examples of desirable after-dinner treats. And there's nothing wrong with the occasional cake, pie, or chocolates as long as the portions are minimal
• Be relaxed about your diet. You will never find a perfect food. Not everything on your plate needs to have a higher purpose. Take your tastes and preferences into account. If roast beef is your favorite food, it is okay to eat it — but try to make it a Sunday treat instead of a daily staple. The choices are yours — and the better your overall diet, the more "wiggle room" you'll have to indulge your passions.
• Take a long-range view. Don't get too hard on yourself if you "cheat" from time to time. Don't worry about every meal, much less every mouthful. Your nutritional peaks and valleys will balance out if your overall dietary pattern is sound.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!
Dr Dileem
The Likita Bokanturai
Kano Nigeria
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