Back to Basics: The What, How and Why of Nutrition

Keeping up with the latest nutrition news can fell impossible – why are the top tips always changing? Still, although wellness experts seem to always change their minds about the nitty-gritty of nutrition, there are some basic principles that you can take to the bank. In fact, having this basic knowledge in place will help you to sift through the latest research and advice more effectively – happy days!

 

In order to master the nutrition basics, you mainly need to get your head around food groups, calories and the roles that specific nutrients play in your health and wellbeing. If the basics aren’t enough for you, and you want to become a wellness expert in your own right (or near enough), talk to your GP or a dietician. While the internet is great and there’s a wealth of information out there, a doctor or dietician can give you personalised advice that takes into account your health status, lifestyle, and food likes and dislikes – much easier than doing it all yourself.

 

Still, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. In order to adopt a healthy diet, you need to set off on the right foot. A lot of diet plans that are outlined in magazines and cookbooks are similar, but you need to make sure you follow one that’s healthy. Firstly, your diet plan needs to include a variety of foods from the major food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean protein, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. It also needs to provide you with guidelines for how much food to choose from each group.

 

Moreover, your eating plan has to be practical; there’s no point following a programme that includes a load of weird, specialist foods, as you’re just not going to find them in your local shops. The foods on your eating plan need to fit your tastes, lifestyle and budget, or you’ll never keep up with it. Also, take a look at your personal health risks and needs. If you have cholesterol or high blood pressure, for example, you may need to make sure your diet is low in salt, saturated fat and cholesterol, and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats. Again, speaking to your doctor or a dietician can help you out a lot.

 

Once you’ve sorted out what to include in your diet, it’s time to take a look at your cooking techniques. There aren’t many pleasures in life that can beat good food; meals are at the heart of family life, fellowship and celebrations. This is why, on a personal level, it’s so important to make sure you’re making good food that’s good for you. Everyone wants to protect their family from heart disease and other health problems, so move away from calorie-laden, fatty and salty convenience items. Get creative and start experimenting with healthier, but still quick, cooking techniques, like baking, grilling and sautéing.

 

While you’re learning about clever and healthy ways to cook your food, make sure you get the skinny on food safety tips – after all, there’s no point eating your veggies if they’re laden with bacteria! Still, while giving your old recipes a health and safety makeover is a great way to get you and your family eating more healthfully, why not go the whole hog and try something new and adventurous? Get your juices flowing to plan healthy menus by browsing healthy recipes online and in cookbooks. Kids are less likely to be turned off to new meals than changes to their old favourites, especially if you make them part of the cooking process.

Categories: Cooking methods, cooking techniques, diet, Food, Food Groups, Food Safety, fruits vegetables, health, Healthy, Healthy Fats, nbsp

How to Keep Going All Day with a Fatigue-Free Diet!

Is there anything more precious than a good night’s sleep? Perhaps it’s all the more precious because, let’s be honest, you rarely get one. Once you reach a certain age, you can’t even remember a day in which you weren’t tired but does that make the daytime drag inevitable, or is there something you can do to guard your wellbeing against tiredness? Aside from getting those blessed seven to nine hours a night, you can actually support your sleep wellness through your diet – who knew?

 

The first thing to remember when eating to beat tiredness is to have a healthy, balanced diet that contains foods from the four main food groups in the right proportions. If you can’t think back to when you did the four food groups at school, here’s a little refresher:

 

1. Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods

2. Fruit and vegetables

3. Dairy foods

4. Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein

 

However, not only do you need to keep regularity within your meals, but within the times you eat them. Although it’s not always possible to eat at the same time every day, eating regular meals allows your body to work out when the next meal is coming and prepare for it. This helps you to manage your feelings of hunger (which is good for weight loss as well as banishing tiredness) and you also sustain your energy levels more effectively. The best method is to eat three meals a day and limit your intake of in-between meal snacks, especially if they’re high in fat.

 

Speaking of meals, it’s important not to neglect the most important one of the day; that’s right, breakfast. You need breakfast if you want any chance of getting the energy you need to face the day. Still, according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA), up to a third of us a regularly skipping breakfast – no wonder we’re all so knackered! The best breakfasts contain healthy options (obviously) so stick to porridge with fruit, a nice vegetable omelette or wholemeal toast with low-fat spread or jam. If you really can’t face food first thing in the morning, it’s far better to take a high-fibre snack to eat on the run, rather than snacking on high-sugar or high-fat foods when the mid-morning hunger pangs strike.

 

A good snack to choose would be fruit and vegetables, as these are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre, which are essential nutrients that your body needs in order to work properly. It doesn’t matter if you get your five-a-day through juices, or if the produce is fresh, frozen, tinned or dried; it all counts. Similarly, starchy foods or carbohydrates are also vital for helping you maintain a range of nutrients in your diet. Moreover, potatoes, bread, cereals, pasta and the like are a good source of energy, and so if you want to stave of tiredness starchy foods should make up about a third of everything you eat. However, not all starches are created equal; you need to go for slow-burning whole grain or wholemeal varieties, as they provide energy in a gradual way.

 

Finally, there are a few foods that you simply need to avoid to stay alert throughout the day. You’re probably good at telling your kids to go easy on the sugar, but do you take that advice yourself? Sugar steals your stamina, as well as rotting your teeth and ruining your waistline. It’s impossible to eliminate sugar from your diet, but cutting down on foods with lots of added sugar, such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, non-diet fizzy drinks and chocolates, is always advisable.

Categories: breakfast, diet, Food Groups, foods, high, nbsp, potatoes bread, Regular Meals, starchy foods, Sugar, tiredness

How to Adjust Your Diet According to Your Female Cycles

As a woman, you need different things from your diet as your body goes through certain changes. Changes like menstruation, pregnancy, breast feeding and menopause – basically anything to do with your reproductive wellness – can have an impact on other areas of your wellbeing, and so, during these times, you need to take special measures to ensure you’re getting the right vitamins and minerals in your diet.

 

1. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

As you’re probably all too aware, the hormone fluctuations that go on during your cycle affect your body and state of mind. As your period approaches, you generally have higher energy intakes and food cravings, but you can temper or stop these cravings by eating high-protein foods every few hours. During this time, it’s also common to experience fluid retention, as the hormones encourage your body to hold salt, so reducing your intake of salty foods can help you to bloat less. To combat the moodiness, tiredness and constipation that often accompanies PMS, it may help to take B vitamins, especially vitamin B6.

 

2. Iron and anaemia

Iron is a mineral your body needs to create haemoglobin, which carries oxygen in your blood. Although blokes only need 8mg of iron a day, and they metabolise the mineral at the same rate as women, you need up to 18mg or 27mg if you’re pregnant. This is because you lose a lot of iron when you’re on your period, amounting to a loss of 1mg for every day of bleeding. Without iron, you can become anaemic, so you need to consume more red meat, chicken, fish, fortified cereals, legumes, nuts and leafy green vegetables. Also, you may want to avoid alcohol, tea, high-fibre foods and calcium supplements when on your period, as this can mess with your body’s absorption of iron.

 

3. Pregnancy

The concept of “eating for two” can be confusing; it’s not about how much you eat, but the quality of what you’re eating that’s more important than ever now you’re pregnant. You need to meet your baby’s nutritional needs as well as your own, which involves eating a variety of foods from each of the key food groups. You should pay special attention to calcium, folic acid (folate), iron, zinc, iodine and vitamin C. Extra folic acid, for example, is vital for the development and growth of new cells, as it can reduce your baby’s risk of neural tube defects. Iodine is needed for normal mental development of the baby, while vitamin C is important for normal gum, tooth, bone and tissue formation.

 

4. Breastfeeding

You need a healthy diet during this time as you need to provide adequate nutrition to produce breast milk, with particular regard to protein, calcium, iron, vitamins and fluids. The best thing to do is to eat a variety of foods from each of the key food groups each day, but if you were anaemic during pregnancy, you should pay special attention to iron-rich foods so that you can replace your iron stores.

 

5. Menopause

As you start to go through menopause, you’re at an increased risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, which can lead to fractures. This is because bone strength largely depends on oestrogen, which dramatically reduces during menopause. However, even though it happens later in life, you need to start consuming the right amount of calcium now, as bone strength in later life depends on the development of bones earlier in life. In order to boost your calcium consumption, you may need to limit the amount of alcohol and caffeine you consume, get regular exercise and ensure you get enough vitamin D.

Categories: body, bone strength, diet, folic acid, Food Groups, foods, iron, key food, Menopause, pay special, PMS, pregnancy, special attention