The best magazine
Knowing what we do about the ingredients in many food items, it seems almost suicidal that we eat the way we do and it's not only what we eat, but the amount of food that we ingest.
Most people, at least in America, eat far greater quantities of food than their bodies require, and that excess doesn't just evaporate - it ends up accumulating on our stomachs, hips and other assorted body parts (inside and outside).
The formula for eating correctly is simple, you figure out for your height and body type (small, medium or large frame) how much weight that your body should ideally carry.
Next, you find out how many calories it will take on a daily basis to arrive at and sustain that weight.
That's not rocket science, but you'd think it was judging by how difficult most people find sticking to this formula.
We American's love food.
It comforts us.
There isn't anything especially wrong with that, but we should also love life and want to enjoy it for as long as possible.
That means that we need to adopt a way of eating that incorporates foods that will not only fuel, but also benefit our bodies.
Almost everyone knows what the food pyramid is and the theory of how it works.
The foods that will be most beneficial to us and that we need to consume in greater quantities are found in the widest section of the triangle.
These would include grains such as wheat, rice, oats, barley, etc.
The grains are divided into two groups; whole grain which is the much more nutritionally sound of the two groups, and refined which includes anything processed.
Processed foods lose much of their nutritional value and should be eaten with discretion.
The next step on the pyramid is the vegetable group and this is one that definitely gets a "bad wrap" being considered by many people (including most children ) to be dull and tasteless.
Not so.
Not only are vegetables great to eat raw, they can be prepared in various ways that render them completely delicious and satisfying.
Besides that, they improve our eye sight and strengthen our bones among other benefits.
It is widely believed that the darkest, brightest colored veggies are the healthiest.
Purple is a great color choice when it comes to veggies and fruits as well.
Fruits are the next step up on the pyramid and because they contain more natural sugar than vegetables it is recommended that they not be eaten quite as liberally.
Having said that, understand that they are necessary to good health and well being and any diet completely devoid of fruit could not be considered a good diet.
Very few food choices contain more antioxidants (which fight to neutralize the dangerous free radicals in our bodies) than does fruit.
The next group, dairy products, are also to be eaten more sparingly but also give great health benefits such as building and maintaining bone mass.
The older one gets, the more vital this benefit is.
Most of us know elderly people who suffer broken hips (among other things) because of their fragile bone structure.
Scientists are learning more all the time about the enormous benefits we derive from Vitamin D which is a fat soluble vitamin supplement found in almost all of the milk sold in the United States.
Meat and beans make up the next group and are rich sources of the protein necessary as building blocks for bone, cartilage, skin, muscle and blood.
Because many of these foods also contain high levels of saturated fat as well as being high calorie, they should be eaten more sparingly.
The last group, the oils, are also necessary for good health but should be consumed in limited amounts due the fact that they are also high in saturated fat and in calories as well.
The healthiest foods are those with the highest levels of essential nutrients and the following foods (along with many others) would be included in such a list; apricots, avacados, raspberries, cantelopes, cranberries, tomatoes, raisins, figs, lemons/limes, onions, artichokes, ginger, broccoli, spinach, bok choy, squash, arugula and garlic.
There is another old saying the most of us are familiar with that states, "moderation in all things".
This holds true for eating habits as well as most other things in life.
It would be great if we could all stick to a strict regiment of healthy eating, not allowing for anything unhealthy to pass our lips, but let's face it, high calorie foods and sweet foods and fried foods taste good and chances are that we're likely to eat a certain amount of these foods.
Maybe the secret to success is to educated ourselves about our food choices and commit to try to maintain a better balance in the foods we eat which will help to insure good health and proper weight management.
Source: ...