Food is very important. FOOD AND NUTRITION, a hand book that discusses the importance of having a proper diet states that “a good diet is the most basic human need… without sufficient food we would die.”
That’s a fundamental truth we can easily appreciate when we take a look at those emaciated figures of starving men, women, and children who are denied this “most basic human need.”
There are still others who are able to meet this need to a considerable degree but who are still seriously undernourished.
On the other hand, there are many others who could eat well but who end up eating wrongly—consuming large doses of junk food that provide very little nourishment.
This is why it has often been said that food is one of the most abused of our possessions.
What constitutes a healthful diet? And what kind of adjustments can we make in our diet to ensure we are eating right? How can we take responsibility for our health and eat in a way that is likely to improve it?
The Essence of a Healthful Diet is basically about making good choices from the group of foods that are available where we live. For help in making healthy choices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends the use of a four-tiered food guide pyramid.
At the base of this pyramid are complex carbohydrates, made up of grain foods, such as bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. These foods form the foundation of what we can call a healthful diet.
Following that (tiers two and three) are two equal sections, i.e. vegetables and fruits and protein sources. These groups also include forms of complex carbohydrates. Most of your daily diet should be selected from these three food groups.
Finally, at the very top of the food pyramid is a small area that includes fats, oils, and sweets. These are categories of foods that provide very few nutrients, and so should be eaten sparingly.
The recommendation is that most of your foods should be chosen from the bottom part of the pyramid, and that you choose fewer from the top.
But rather than sticking to the same food items from each section of the pyramid, it is far better to experiment with a variety of foods within those sections.
This is because each food has a different combination of nutrients and fiber. Some vegetables and fruits, for example, are good sources of vitamins A and C, while others are high in folic acid, calcium, and iron. A combination of these the various types will do your body a lot of good.
Health experts advise that it is best to keep dietary-fat intake below 30 percent of total calories and saturated fat below 10 percent. You can do this without necessarily becoming a vegetarian and without having to totally abandon ALL the things you enjoy eating. How?
Substitution is the key. Yes, Substitute foods low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol for foods high in these types of fats.
Opt for vegetable oil and soft margarine in place of animal fat, solid shortening, or ghee (a type of clarified butter popularly used in India).
Also, avoid the use of such vegetable oils as palm oil and coconut oil, since they’re unusually high in saturated fats. And most importantly, you should drastically limit your consumption of commercially made bakery products, such as doughnuts, cakes, cookies, and pies, since these commonly contain saturated fats.
Meat is a very important source of protein. And no one intends to suggest that you stay off meat altogether. Meat is actually listed in the same section of the Food Pyramid as poultry and fish.
But note that fish, chicken, and turkey often contain less fat per serving than such meats as beef, lamb, and pork, depending on the cuts used and the method of preparation.
In addition, hamburgers, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages are usually especially high in saturated fat. Many experts recommend limiting the amount of lean meat, fish, and poultry consumed per day to no more than six ounces.
And although organ meats, such as liver, may have dietary benefits, they should however be consumed with discretion since they’re known to be high in cholesterol.
Between regular meals many people delight in snacks, which often consist of potato chips, peanuts, cashews, cookies, candy bars, and the like.
If you appreciate the value of a healthful diet, then you’d do well to replace these with low-fat snacks that include homemade popcorn (that has no added butter or salt), as well as fresh fruit, and raw vegetables like carrots, celery, and broccoli.
Indeed, the efforts we put into taking good care of our body is one of the best investments we can ever make. A healthy diet is very important in this regard. It could mean the difference between either living healthily or battling one health problem after another, either now or later in life.
As a Entrepreneur sometimes in our busy schedule we forget the importance of a healthy diet. So remember to eat balanced meals and exercise daily. If you would like more information on how you can prepare Healthy Meals visit 2yourgoodhealthrecipebook.com.
Article Source: http://www.bharatbhasha.net
Article Url: http://www.bharatbhasha.net/food-and-drink.php/226036
Article Added on Friday, March 19, 2010
| Other Articles by SANDRA ESSEX | |
•Ways to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
How does one maintain a healthy lifestyle? At first glance, the question seems simple enough. But try asking up to 20 persons that question, and chances are the answers you’ll get will depend on who you ask, especially what part of the world the person comes from.
Sure, everybody wants to enjoy good health. But good health means different things to different persons. Some think that good health simply means the absence of illness. But others believe it goes deeper than that.
So really,...
•Why Baby Boomers Influence Health and Wellness Sector
Why do baby boomers have such a strong influence on the MLM industry, especially the health and wellness sector? Two reasons: their financial clout, and their numbers.
In the United States and Canada alone, their population is in excess of 90 million. And according to a CBS news report, this generation accounts for some one trillion dollars in annual income.
Understandably the market—every market segment really responds to their every whim. When they were younger,
the baby boomer...
•A Healthy Diet Can Be Your Preventive Healthcare Let Your Food Be Your Medicine
Do you have a Healthy Diet? “A Stitch in time saves nine.” “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Sayings such as these may well be applied to the matter of our keeping in good health.
Why wait until you are sick before giving thought to your health? Absence of distressing symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person is in good health.
The best way to stay healthy—and to reduce healthcare spending too—is to practice preventive healthcare.
A Chinese proverb puts matters...
•What Constitutes A Healthy Diet And Why Should You Care
Having a healthy diet is very important to the level of your daily performance. Your good health is your most important asset.
One of the greatest challenges we all face today is deciding what meals will have the greatest impact on our health.
The media are not helping matters: They have flooded the marketplace with information on dieting, exercise, nutritional supplements, and numerous other matters relating to our health.
The unfortunate thing is that most of this information are...
•Good Health Is Your Wealth Your Health Is Your Business
Good Health is your Wealth, believe me, it is even more important than your business. After all, when your health is in bad shape, how motivated are you to implement business plans or pursue personal goals?
We both know the answer, don't we? And what happens to your business if you neglect your health and die? Let's not even go there.
Meanwhile, as obvious as the reasoning above is, most business people carry on as if health is a secondary consideration-like something they would only...
•Network Marketing Join The Health And Wellness Field
Driven by the health and wellness sector, network marketing or Multi-Level Marketing has expanded by over $300 billion in the past seven years, while nearly all other industries have been mired in massive contraction.
Meanwhile every index of measurement suggests that the industry is now poised for even greater growth! It is no wonder that the legendary Robert Kiyosaki has described network marketing as the business of the future. If you haven't already done so, I suggest you position...
•Baby Boomers Drive the MLM Industry
There’s no denying the influence that the baby-boomer generation is having on the MLM industry. This generation, generally taken to be people born between the years 1946—1964 now number over 90 million in the United States and Canada.
By their sheer numerical and economic strength, they constitute the strongest segment of the North American economy. Expectedly the boomers have continued to have a strong influence on every facet of life in the U.S. Indeed, this group has always dominated the...
•Reliv International And You a Company Overview
The Company:
It was started by Robert L. Montgomery. He became Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Reliv International Inc. on February 15, 1985, and Its President on July 1, 1985
This 24-year-old company was founded with a fundamental goal: to Nourish Our Would. It is a food supplement and wellness company that endeavors to make complex nutrition simple, by integrating latest nutrition research into products that are scientifically advanced, nutritionally complete, and balanced in...
•Shaklee MLM Corporation Can You Still Make Money An MLM Overview Of Shaklee International
Shaklee International is a major MLM corporation it is one company that seems to have taken it upon itself to match innovative products with eco-friendly practices. While doing my research for this Shaklee overview I found that Fifty years ago the Kyoto accord and similar environment-related agreements were yet to be born.
But around that same time, 1960 to be precise, Shaklee had already manufactured a range of biodegradable household cleaners, the first of its kind. It came as no surprise...
•Nutritional Cleansing 12 Wonder Foods That Cleanse Your Body
What is Nutritional Cleansing? Many would agree with the age-old dictum: “you are what you eat.” As a result, worldwide,
there are thousands of health-food shops and the so-called bio-shops (these are stores that sell biologically grown foods produced without the use of chemicals or chemical fertilizers).
Germany alone is reputed to have no less that 4000 health-food shops and 2000 bio-shops. Many individuals everywhere also believe that vitamin pills are important to their health....
| | Click here to see More Articles by Sandra Essex
|
| |
