21 | Nutrition Magazine October 20 1 5
If you?re a vegetarian, you can still have a
healthy eating plan, even if you avoid some
foods.
Healthy eating also means there?s a balance
between the number of calories you eat and
the number of calories you burn. Your body
burns calories two ways:
Through daily routine activities and body
functions, such as sitting, moving around,
breathing, and digesting.
Physical activity, such as walking, biking, or
other forms of exercise
10 Tips t o Heal t hy Eat ing
1.
Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You
need more than 40 different nutrients for
good health, and no single food supplies
them all. Your daily food selection should
include bread and other whole-grain
products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products;
and meat, poultry, fish and other protein
foods. How much you should eat depends on
your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide
Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on
food labels as handy references.
2. Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and
vegetables. Surveys show most Americans
don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat
6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and
pasta group, 3 of which should be whole
grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and
3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't
enjoy some of these at first, give them
another chance. Look through cookbooks for
tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.
3.
Maintain a healthy weight. The
weight that's right for you depends on
many factors including your sex, height,
age and heredity. Excess body fat
increases your chances for high blood
pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
some types of cancer and other illnesses.
But being too thin can increase your risk
for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities
and other health problems. If you're
constantly losing and regaining weight, a
registered dietitian can help you develop
sensible eating habits for successful
weight management. Regular exercise is
also important to maintaining a healthy
weight.
4.
Eat moderate portions. If you keep
portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat
the foods you want and stay healthy. Did
you know the recommended serving of
cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to
a deck of playing cards? A medium piece
of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta
equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream
contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food
Guide Pyramid for information on
recommended serving sizes.
5.
Eat regular meals. Skipping meals
can lead to out-of-control hunger, often
resulting in overeating. When you're very
hungry, it's also tempting to forget about
good nutrition. Snacking between meals
can help curb hunger, but don't eat so
much that your snack becomes an entire
meal.