Nutrition Part III

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Healthy eating tip 5: Enjoy healthy fats & avoid unhealthy fats

Good sources of healthy fat are needed to nourish your brain, heart and cells, as well as your hair, skin, and nails. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA are particularly important and can reduce cardiovascular disease, improve your mood and help prevent dementia.

Add to your healthy diet:

• Monounsaturated fats, from plant oils like canola oil, peanut oil, and olive oil, as well as avocados, nuts (like almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans), and seeds (such as pumpkin, sesame).
  
• Polyunsaturated fats, including Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, found in fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and some cold water fish oil supplements.Other sources of polyunsaturated fats are unheated sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed oils, and walnuts.

Reduce or eliminate from your diet:

• Saturated fats, found primarily in animal sources including red meat and whole milk dairy products.
  
• Trans fats, found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

How to Avoid too much fat, saturated fat and cholesterol:

• Choose lean meat, fish, chicken
  
• Use low-fat or fat-free milk
  
• Moderate your use of egg yolks and organ meats
  
• Limit your intake of fats and oils, especially those high in saturated fat, such as butter, cream, lard, heavily hydrogenated fats, shortenings, and foods containing palm or coconut oils
  
• Trim fat off meats
  
• Broil, bake, or boil rather than fry
  
• Moderate your use of foods that cointain fat, such as breaded and deep-fried foods
  
• Read labels carefully to determine both amount and type of fat present in foods

Healthy eating tip 6: Put protein in perspective

Protein gives us the energy to get up and go—and keep going. A lack of protein in our diet can slow growth, reduce muscle mass, lower immunity, and weaken the heart and respiratory system. Protein is particularly important for children, whose bodies are growing and changing daily.

Here are some guidelines for including protein in your healthy diet:

Try different types of protein. Whether or not you are a vegetarian, trying different protein sources—such as beans, nuts, seeds, peas, tofu and soy products—will open up new options for healthy mealtimes.

• Beans: Black beans, navy beans, garbanzos, and lentils are good options.
  
• Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are great choices.
  
• Soy products: Try tofu, soy milk, tempeh, and veggie burgers for a change.
  
• Avoid salted or sugary nuts and refried beans.

Downsize your portions of protein. Most people in the U.S. eat too much protein. Try to move away from protein being the center of your meal. Focus on equal servings of protein, whole grains, and vegetables.

Focus on quality sources of protein, like fresh fish, chicken or turkey, tofu, eggs, beans or nuts. When you are having meat, chicken, or turkey, buy meat that is free of hormones and antibiotics.

Healthy eating tip 7: Add calcium for strong bones

Calcium is one of the key nutrients that your body needs in order to stay strong and healthy. It is an essential building block for lifelong bone health in both men and women, among many other important functions.

You and your bones will benefit from eating plenty of calcium-rich foods, limiting foods that deplete your body’s calcium stores, and getting your daily dose of magnesium and vitamins D and K—nutrients that help calcium do its job.

Recommended calcium levels are 1000 mg per day, 1200 mg if you are over 50 years old. Take a vitamin D and calcium supplement if you don’t get enough of these nutrients from your diet.

Good sources of calcium include:

• Dairy: Dairy products are rich in calcium in a form that is easily digested and absorbed by the body. Sources include milk, yogurt, and cheese.
  
• Vegetables and greens: Many vegetables, especially leafy green ones, are rich sources of calcium. Try turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, summer squash, green beans, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and crimini mushrooms.
  
• Beans: For another rich source of calcium, try black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, black-eyed peas, or baked beans.

Healthy eating tip 8: Limit sugar and salt

If you succeed in planning your diet around fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and good fats, you may find yourself naturally cutting back on foods that can get in the way of your healthy diet—sugar and salt.

Sugar

Often you may not even be aware of the amount of sugar you’re consuming each day. Large amounts of added sugar can be hidden in foods such as bread, canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce, margarine, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, fast food, soy sauce, and ketchup. Here are some tips:

• Avoid sugary drinks. One 12-oz soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, more than the daily recommended limit! Try sparkling water with lemon or a splash of fruit juice.
  
• Eat naturally sweet food such as fruit, peppers, or natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth.

How sugar is hidden on food labels

Check food labels carefully. Sugar is often disguised using terms such as:

• cane sugar or maple syrup
  
• corn sweetener or corn syrup
  
• honey or molasses
  
• brown rice syrup
  
• crystallized or evaporated cane juice
  
• fruit juice concentrates, such as apple or pear
  
• maltodextrin (or dextrin)
  
• Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, or Sucrose

Salt

Most of us consume too much salt in our diets. Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to other health problems. Try to limit sodium intake to 1,500 to 2,300 mg per day, the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt.

• Avoid processed or pre-packaged foods. Processed foods like canned soups or frozen dinners contain hidden sodium that quickly surpasses the recommended limit.
  
• Be careful when eating out. Most restaurant and fast food meals are loaded with sodium.
  
• Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables.
  
• Cut back on salty snacks such as potato chips, nuts, and pretzels.
  
• Choose low-salt or reduced-sodium products.
  
• Try slowly reducing the salt in your diet to give your taste buds time to adjust.

Take Away Points:

• Eat a variety of foods
  
• Maintain a desirable weight
  
• Avoid too much fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol
  
• Eat foods with adequate starch and fiber
  
• Avoid too much sugar
  
• Avoid too much sodium
  
• Don't smoke!

Servings of food we should have each day:

Dairy products (2 servings):

• 1 cups of milk or yogurt
  
• 2 cups of cottage cheese
  
• 1 1/2 cups of ice cream of frozen yogurt

Fish, chicken, meat, and eggs (2-3 servings):

• 1 egg
  
• 2-3 ounces of lean, cooked meat, fish, or poultry (about the size of a deck of cards)
  
• 1 can of tuna TOTAL because it's 7 ounces

Fruits (2-4 servings):

• 1 medium apple, banana, orange
  
• Anything that measures up to the size of an apple (i.e., ~20 grapes)

Vegetables (3-5 servings):

• 1 cup raw leafy vegetables
  
• 1/2 cup of other fresh, frozen, or canned vegetable

Bread and cereals (6-11 servings):

• 1 slice of bread or medium dinner roll
  
• 1/2 hamburger bun, hot dog bun, bagel, or English muffin
  
• 1 ounce cereal
  
• 3 cups of popcorn
  
• 1 torilla, pancake or waffle

**Fat and sugar isn't even on the list!