| The best source of carbohydrates are whole grains. These are high in fiber, which is not digested. High fiber diets have a low risk for heart disease and colon cancer because the fiber regulates the intestinal tract and fills your stomach up without adding calories. Half, if not all, of the grains people eat should come from whole grains such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal and brown rice. When buying whole grain products, look for a whole grain as the first ingredient and/or make sure it has at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. |
| Sugar in any form is the worst carbohydrate. White sugar, brown sugar, honey, syrup - they all have high levels of simple sugars. Too much sugar can increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, candida, weight gain, and depression. However, it is not necessary to cut all sugar out of the diet. If you have a sweet tooth, try to limit your sugar to one leveled-off handful of a sugary food a day. |
|
Fruits and vegetables are also high in fiber. At least 4 cups of fruits and vegetables should be
eaten every day, with no limit. The best source is whole, fresh produce. Juice is not quite as
good, since the fiber in the skins has been stripped away. Avoid sweetened fruits. Fruits and
vegetables are valuable also for their high vitamin content. Vitamins are crucial for a healthy
body, and getting enough can reduce stress and depression.
Look for easy ways to add more vegetables to your diet. Frozen and canned vegetables are convenient choices, and can taste good too. Bags of prewashed lettuce can be found in most supermarkets now. Good canned vegetables include pumpkin and beets. Canned tomatoes are even more flavorful than fresh ones from the produce section, because the canned ones were picked ripe, while the "fresh" ones were picked green. There is a wide variety of frozen vegetables and fruits to choose from. Potatoes should not be considered a vegetable. They are mostly starch, and should be treated the same as grains. The skin is the only part with fiber. Here's some ways to add them to your diet: + Make a large fruit salad once a week and store it in the fridge. + Use prewashed lettuce to throw together a quick salad every day. + Add frozen vegetables to other dishes, like peas in macaroni and cheese. + Munch on finger foods, like baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and grapes as snacks. |
| Your body needs fat to function and to make you feel satisfied after a meal. Instead of focusing on cutting back on all fat, replace bad fats with good ones. Up to 35% of your healthy diet can be fat. |
|
Complete your daily fat requirement with as much omega-3 fat as possible. This is found in
fatty fish like salmon and tuna, omega-3 enriched eggs, flax seeds and oil, walnuts, almonds,
canola oil, and olive oil. Omega-3 fats both decrease bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol.
A note on fish: Some fish can have high levels of mercury and PCBs and although there have been no reports of poisoning from eating normal amounts of fish, they should be avoided by children and pregnant and nursing women. Shark and swordfish should not be eaten at all, both because of their mercury content and because their populations are under severe pressure from fishing. Tuna should only be eaten once a month, and salmon once a week by at-risk people. Herring and sardines are both high in omega-3 fats and low in contaminants, so are good choices if other fish must be avoided. Shellfish have low levels of omega-3 fats. |
| Unsaturated fats are a good alternative when omega-3 fats can't be used. Most plant oils are unsaturated. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. They decrease bad cholesterol. |
| Keep saturated fats at less than 10% of total calories. Saturated fats are mostly fund in animal products, so choose low- or non-fat milk, cheese, and meat. They increase bad cholesterol. |
|
Avoid trans fat as much as possible. Trans fat is the worst fat because it both raises bad
cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol. It can be found in many processed foods
like cakes, cookies, potato chips and corn chips. Look for hydrogenated oils in the ingredient
list. Soon, it will be listed on nutrition labels.
Trans fat has become prevalent in our modern foods because margarine is the main source. Margarine was originally touted as a healthier alternative to butter because it was made from vegetable oil. But the process used to make it turned the healthy unsaturated fats into trans fats. Now you can buy margarine without trans fats, and these are good alternatives to butter. |
| Not much protein is needed for a healthy diet, and in fact most Americans eat far too much. Too much protein contributes to osteoperosis and kidney problems. Only 10% of your calories need to come from protein, and no more than 20%. Protein sources include animal products, beans, grains, and nuts. Be sure to buy low-fat choices if you choose animal products. If you eat enough grains and get enough calcium, you won't have to worry about your protein intake - you will already be getting enough. |
| Dairy is a special group of protein-providing food, because it is also a rich source of calcium. Be sure to eat at least your daily requirement of calcium by drinking, for instance, 3 cups of milk, yogurt, soymilk, or calcium-fortified juice a day. Yogurt is a particularly good choice as it supports a healthy digestive tract. |
Meat and crop production are the second and third leading causes of environmental degradation in the US, just under car use. Meat, especially red meat, causes an extraordinary amount of environmental degradation, including water pollution and habitat destruction. Also, it wastes land and vegetables that could be used to feed starving people. We are already producing more than enough food for everyone on the planet, but we are using it wastefully. Up to 80% of grains grown in the US go to feeding livestock, not humans. Even seafood is not free of problems. Today marine creatures are the last wildlife commercially hunted on a large scale. Fishing has many impacts including population depletion, habitat destruction, and pollution.
Links:
Facts: