2011 Rabbit Year Top 10 Diet and Health Guidelines
The UK Food Standards Agency released ten dietary recommendations at the end of last year to help people develop healthy eating habits and strengthen their bodies in the new year, turning over a new leaf for 2011. Are these recommendations worth our reference?
First, Moderate Dieting
For many people, losing weight is the first step towards better health. This is because obesity can easily lead to health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. However, a crucial point to note is that dieting must adhere to the principle of moderation. Many dieters, in an effort to achieve weight loss results in the shortest time possible, strictly control their food intake and the types of food they consume. These are unhealthy dieting methods. This not only deprives the pleasure of eating but can also easily lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients for the body.
The correct approach is to change poor eating habits and gradually reduce the total food intake. Eat more starchy foods, such as steamed buns, bread, noodles, potatoes, etc., and try to eat foods containing whole wheat components as much as possible; eat less high-fat foods, such as ham, pastries, cream, etc.; eat more fruits and vegetables because they are not only low in fat but can also increase satiety and reduce the feeling of hunger; when drinking milk, choose skim milk or low-fat yogurt as much as possible; eat meat without the skin, as the fat content in the skin is much higher than in the meat. Of course, the most important thing is to strengthen physical exercise.
Second, Increase Exercise
Physical exercise is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle and the best way to help us lose weight and maintain a perfect figure. Let's think back, how many people made great fitness plans for themselves at the beginning of the year? How many people can stick to their fitness plans? And how much time is spent on the sofa every day? Therefore, turning exercise into a part of life and treating fitness as a form of enjoyment is a concept that many people currently need to change. Whether it's swimming, walking, cycling, or joining a fitness club, all are good forms of exercise. The form of exercise is not important; what matters is persistence.
Third, Eat Less Fat
We do not recommend completely avoiding fat, as a healthy body cannot do without it. However, we must control the types of fat we consume.
1. Saturated fat increases blood cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Biscuits, cakes, meat patties, ham, cream, cheese, and foods containing lard, coconut oil, or palm oil all contain large amounts of saturated fat.
2. Hydrogenated fat, also known as hydrogenated vegetable oil, is mainly used in the production of some biscuits, cakes, margarine, etc. Foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil (which will be listed in the ingredient list) usually contain large amounts of trans fat. Trans fats also increase blood cholesterol levels and the risk of coronary heart disease and heart disease. Some research results show that trans fats have a greater adverse effect on human health than saturated fats.
Therefore, we must replace foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil and saturated fat with foods containing unsaturated fat. Because unsaturated fat can help the body lower cholesterol levels. Fish, avocados, nuts, sunflower seeds, rapeseed, and olive oil all contain large amounts of unsaturated fat. Of course, it's not a case of the more unsaturated fat the better; we also need to reduce the total fat intake. Only in this way can we reduce energy intake and avoid obesity.
The best method is to pay attention to reading labels when buying food. A food containing 20 grams of fat per 100 grams is considered high-fat, while one containing 3 grams or less of fat per 100 grams is considered low-fat. A food containing more than 5 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams is considered high in saturated fat, while one containing 1.5 grams of saturated fat or less is considered low in saturated fat.
Fourth, Eat Less Sugar
Reducing sugar intake is a very difficult task for many people. Many foods contain sugar, such as fruits and vegetables. The sugar in fruits and vegetables is naturally present and does not need to be deliberately avoided. However, sugary foods and drinks, such as biscuits, jam, carbonated beverages, etc., contain large amounts of artificially added sugar. The intake of such foods must be limited.
Carbonated beverages contain very few nutrients, and the artificially added sugar can easily cause cavities, increase the feeling of fullness in the body, affect normal eating, and long-term consumption can easily lead to malnutrition.
The method to reduce sugar intake is simple. People who are used to adding sugar to hot drinks can gradually reduce the amount of sugar until they can do without it completely. People who are used to spreading jam on bread can use sliced bananas, peanut butter, or low-fat cheese as substitutes. In addition, pay attention to reading labels when buying food. The ingredients in food are usually listed in descending order of content. Therefore, if sugar is listed at the beginning, it indicates that the food has a high sugar content.
Fifth, Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
As we all know, we need to consume a large amount of fruits and vegetables every day. They can provide a large amount of vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Fruits and vegetables should account for more than 1/3 of the daily food intake, but the vast majority of people cannot achieve this. Experts suggest that we should eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables every day. Regardless of the form of fruits and vegetables chosen, such as fresh, refrigerated, dried, fruit and vegetable juices, or canned fruits and vegetables, all are acceptable. But be careful not to count potatoes as a vegetable, as they belong to the starchy food category.
At this point, many people might have this question: How do I know if I'm eating enough fruits and vegetables? An apple, banana, pear, or orange, two plums, half a grapefruit, a slice of melon or pineapple, and other fruits of similar size all weigh about 80 grams. In addition, there is 150 ml of juice, a handful of grapes or cherries, or a serving of salad. If you pay attention to supplementing with vegetables during your main meals, you can basically ensure an intake of about 160 grams. If you appropriately add some fruits with your meals, you can easily reach the 400-gram intake of fruits and vegetables. Experts suggest that for breakfast, you can add a handful of dried fruit to your porridge, eat half a bunch of grapes or an apple, or drink a glass of juice; for lunch, eat a salad or a banana sandwich; for dinner, eat more vegetables, especially when eating fish, chicken, and pork, be sure to eat at least two or more types of vegetables at the same time. In addition, when reading a book, watching TV, or browsing the internet, you can have an apple, which not only adds to the fun but also increases nutrition.
Sixth, Eat More Fish
Both white fish (such as haddock, flounder, halibut) and oily fish (such as sardines, salmon, trout, and mackerel) can provide the human body with high-quality protein, vitamins, and a large amount of minerals. Experts recommend that we should consider eating fish as an important part of our daily diet, and we should eat fish at least twice a week, especially oily fish, which contain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids help prevent coronary heart disease. However, shark and swordfish are not suitable for children and pregnant women, and other adults should not eat them more than once a week.
The content of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in canned oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and trout is not significantly different from that in fresh fish. This is different for tuna. Although tuna is a good source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, once it is processed into canned food, the content of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids will be significantly reduced.
Seventh, Eat Less Salt
In daily diet, it is very necessary to control the intake of salt. As we all know, because the component of salt is sodium chloride, which contains sodium ions, excessive intake of sodium can lead to high blood pressure. Although not actively adding salt can reduce the intake of salt in the diet, 3/4 of the salt in the diet is actually contained in the food itself. Therefore, we must also carefully read food labels when buying food. The best method is to compare the salt content of various foods in order to buy the food with the lowest salt content. Foods with a salt content of 1.5 grams or more per 100 grams of food are considered high-salt foods, while those with a content of 0.3 grams or less per 100 grams of food are considered low-salt foods. In addition, try to eat less of these high-salt foods such as bacon, cheese, pickles, and smoked fish.
Eighth, Never Skip Breakfast
This is a very valuable piece of advice because a nutritious breakfast can provide the energy, vitamins, and minerals needed for the day, helping us to welcome a full day of hard work with abundant energy.
Many people think that skipping breakfast helps with weight loss, which is actually very wrong. Skipping breakfast not only fails to help with weight loss, but also has an adverse impact on health due to the lack of timely replenishment of basic nutrients. A large number of studies have shown that, on the contrary, sticking to eating breakfast helps maintain a healthy weight.
Of course, the selection of healthy breakfast ingredients is also very crucial. Starchy foods (such as bread) can provide the energy the body needs, especially whole wheat bread, which is rich in dietary fiber and nutrients. However, some cereals contain large amounts of fat, sugar, and salt, which are not suitable for breakfast. In addition, milk should also be chosen as sugar-free skim milk or low-fat yogurt as much as possible.
Ninth, Pay Attention to Vitamin Supplementation
If you can get enough vitamins from your daily diet, there is no need to take vitamin effervescent tablets. Moreover, the nutrients obtained from the daily diet are something that cannot be obtained from effervescent tablets. We should eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables every day. Research has found that fruits and vegetables are beneficial to human health not only because they are rich in various vitamins and minerals, but also because these vitamins and minerals can produce a large number of beneficial compounds for human health. Therefore, the nutrition obtained from fruits and vegetables is incomparable to that from vitamin effervescent tablets. In addition, excessive intake of some nutrients can have the opposite effect and be detrimental to health, such as vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Pregnant women who eat liver weekly and the elderly who are prone to osteoporosis should not take effervescent tablets and fish oil containing large amounts of vitamin A.
Of course, there are also some special groups of people who need to strengthen the supplementation of specific nutrients. For example, anemia patients need to supplement iron appropriately, and women planning pregnancy need to supplement 400 micrograms of folic acid daily until the 12th week of pregnancy. In addition, pregnant women also need to supplement 10 micrograms of vitamin D daily.
Tenth, Office Workers Should Pack Their Own Lunch
Many office workers, due to their busy work, often eat Western fast food for lunch to save time. In fact, eating Western fast food is not only expensive but also unhealthy. Most Western fast foods are high in energy and fat content, low in dietary fiber, and also low in minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc. Taking a McDonald's fast food meal (hamburger, french fries, apple pie, and milkshake) as an example, it provides 1185 to 1466 kilocalories of energy, of which 40% to 59% of the energy is provided by fat. The content of vitamin A and vitamin C in it is less than 10% of the recommended dietary standard, and the content of vitamin B1 and B2 is less than 20% of the recommended dietary standard. Moreover, the calcium and iron content in the vast majority of Western fast foods is less than 20% of the recommended dietary standard. So, why not consider packing your own lunch? This not only saves money and is hygienic, but you can also decide what you eat for lunch, effectively control your intake of sugar, salt, and fat, and be more beneficial to your health. Of course, it would be even better to bring some fruit or salad.