Buying, Preparing, and Storing Food

When you go to the grocery store, keep a few tips in mind to help you make the healthiest food choices. First, remember the Food Guide Pyramid and buy your groceries accordingly. That means filling your shopping cart with a wide variety of grain foods (such as breads, pasta, rice, and cereals), vegetables, and fruits. Choose whole-grain varieties of breads and pastas more often than those containing refined white flour. Buy only lean meats. Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Limit foods containing high amounts of fats or sugar, such as doughnuts, pastries, chips, and cookies. Second, select mostly fresh foods; processed and prepared foods can contain high amounts of fat, sodium, and added preservatives. Choose the freshest foods possible. Check the expiration date on food packages, especially on perishable foods such as milk and other dairy products, eggs, and frozen vegetables. Put perishable items in your cart last to help prevent them from spoiling by limiting the time they remain out of the refrigerator. Avoid buying food in cans with
bulging tops or dents; they could cause food poisoning. When you get home, put your perishable groceries in the refrigerator or freezer right away so harmful bacteria cannot multiply. Proper food storage can guarantee that your foods will stay fresher longer and will also minimize the chances of contamination with bacteria. The temperature inside your refrigerator should be below 40 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. Avoid opening the refrigerator door unnecessarily, and don’t leave the door open for long periods. Keeping fresh fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator will prolong their shelf life (tomatoes and bananas should be stored outside of the refrigerator, however). Bread will keep longer if you store it in the freezer, but don’t put it in the refrigerator or it will dry out. You should use up milk within 1 week after opening it and keep eggs, stored
in their carton, no longer than 3 weeks. Consume fresh fruit stored in the refrigerator within 3 to 7 days, depending on the fruit. Keep uncooked meat, fish, and poultry in the refrigerator no longer than 2 days. Note that if you defrost meat, fish, or poultry, you cannot refreeze it. Bread, however, can be thawed and
refrozen. Canned foods can be stored for up to 2 years in a cool, dry place. It’s a good idea to keep a stock of food staples, such as canned and frozen vegetables and fruits, rice, and pasta, along with seasonings and condiments, so you can put together a quick meal in a hurry. For example, heating up a can of black beans mixed with a can of diced and seasoned tomatoes and a chopped onion, served over rice, can be an easy and nutritious meal to make after a long day at work. Safe food handling is essential to prevent food contamination and food poisoning. Always wash your hands thoroughly before you start preparing food. It is
very easy to contaminate foods in your kitchen with other foods, such as raw meat, poultry, or eggs, that can have high bacterial counts. In particular, uncooked or under cooked poultry is a leading source of bacterial contamination. Always wash any knives, cutting boards, and counter tops that have come into contact with raw poultry, meat, or eggs using hot, soapy water, and wash your hands again after handling them. Never put cooked food onto a plate that had raw food on it. And be sure to cook all meat, poultry, and eggs thoroughly (to 140 degrees Fahrenheit) to kill any bacteria. Another common cause of food poisoning is food that has been left out at room temperature when it should have been refrigerated, especially in hot weather. It is best to thaw frozen food in the refrigerator or the microwave, not on the counter top. At a picnic or backyard barbecue, make sure that you keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. And be sure to refrigerate any leftover food promptly. As a general rule, do not keep leftovers for more than 3 days.

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Changing Nutritional Needs throughout Life

Age affects our nutritional needs. Sometimes the differences are obvious. It is easy to see the difference in the amount and types of food an infant, school-age child, teenager, and adult need. Other differences are more subtle. You may not realize that, as you get older, your calorie needs decrease, especially if you become less active. Being aware of such changes can help you to plan your meals more carefully, so you eat foods that provide plenty of nutrients for their calorie count. If you have children, there are a number of things you should know about their nutritional needs. For example, doctors now recommend that infants breast-feed for the first 12 months of their lives. Breast milk supplies better nutrition than commercial formula, promotes brain development, and provides infection-fighting antibodies to help the infant stay healthy. Provide your partner with lots of support and encouragement while she breast-feeds your infant. Note that infants should not begin to drink cow’s milk until they are 1 year old because it can cause an allergic reaction and is too concentrated for an infant. Toddlers and preschoolers sometimes become picky eaters as their new found independence propels them into a variety of activities that seem much more interesting than eating. The best solution is to keep offering your young child a variety of foods while not forcing him or her to eat any one food in particular. A good rule of thumb to use when portioning out food is 1 tablespoon of food for every year of age, so, for example, a 3-year-old would get 3 tablespoons of each food at mealtime. Children under 2 years should not yet follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans because they need fat in their diet for brain development. As your child enters school, he or she will continue to need plenty of calories for proper growth, but be sure to encourage your child to engage in physical activity to balance his or her calorie intake. More and more American children are becoming overweight, a problem that can cause health problems such as obesity and diabetes in adulthood. Getting more exercise is generally a better solution for an overweight child than dieting. Of course, you should limit high-calorie snacks. Encourage your child to snack on cut-up fruits and vegetables such as apple slices and carrot sticks. The rapid body changes that occur in adolescence are sustained by good nutrition. Teenage boys between ages 15 and 19 can require up to 4,000 calories per day. But many teenagers get most of their calories from fast food and junk food. Even though your teenager may be more readily influenced by his or her friends than by you when it comes to food choices, you should do all you can to make nutritious food available in your home. Keep healthy snacks—cut-up vegetables, whole-grain crackers and pretzels, fresh fruit, cheese—in your kitchen. Resist the temptation to buy high-fat, high-calorie foods. Stress the importance of having a good breakfast to your teenage children. Once you reach about 25 years of age, your nutritional needs stabilize and stay about the same until your senior years. Eating a low-fat, high-fiber diet that is rich in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits remains the most sensible dietary advice you can follow. The average man should consume about 2,500 calories per day—less if you are sedentary, and more if you are very active. Watch for weight gain as you age. Doctors no longer think that a moderate amount of weight gain is acceptable in the middle years of life. It is now known that any excess weight over the range recommended for your height is unhealthy and can increase your risk for common chronic health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Regular exercise is an excellent way to help maintain a desirable weight at any age. If you are very athletic, your calorie needs are higher than those of less active men. Athletes who compete in endurance events such as a marathon or a triathlon may require 5,000 calories per day or more. Some endurance athletes can become anemic because vigorous exercise causes a lower concentration of iron in the blood. Eating a balanced diet containing iron-rich foods such as beef, pork, the dark meat of poultry, dried beans, and enriched breads and cereals is usually enough to prevent sports anemia. Athletes do not need more protein than the average man, so protein supplements are usually unnecessary. Many runners practice “carbohydrate loading” before an event, believing that the extra carbohydrate intake will better fuel performance, but this popular practice is probably not helpful unless you are training at an extreme level. The most important thing to remember when working out or competing in any athletic event is to drink enough fluids. Water loss from breathing and perspiration can quickly dehydrate you, especially in hot or humid weather. It is critical to drink a lot of fluids before exercising, about every 15 minutes during the workout, and for about 2 hours afterward. Water is the best thirst-quenching liquid, although sports drinks can replace the electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and other minerals) that you can lose during vigorous exercise in hot weather. However, sports drinks also contain a lot of sugar. As you get older, your metabolism (the chemical processes that take place in your body) slows down and your calorie needs drop. But you still require the same amount of vitamins and minerals. Eating healthfully can be difficult when you are dealing with aging-related physical problems from chronic conditions such as arthritis, deteriorating eyesight, and gum disease. Emotional problems also can affect your diet. For example, depression, bereavement over the loss of a loved one, and loneliness can significantly diminish your interest in cooking or eating. Also, living on a fixed income often limits the type and the amount of food you can buy, and medications you are taking can sometimes affect your appetite. To make sure you continue to get all of the nutrients you need, take advantage of community programs for senior citizens. Ask your local senior citizens’ center whether they offer inexpensive meals. Talk to your doctor or a social worker at a local hospital to find out what other kinds of programs, such as food stamps, home-delivered meals, or church-sponsored meal programs, are available in your community.

Food Allergies and In tolerances

Do you suspect that something you eat is causing those unusual symptoms you get from time to time? Food allergies are relatively rare in adults. They most commonly occur in children, who usually outgrow them over time. Foods that most often cause a true allergic reaction in children include egg whites, shellfish, nuts, and milk. Dairy products can produce stomach cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea in adults, but these symptoms most often indicate lactose intolerance, an inability to digest lactose, the sugar that is found in milk and other dairy products. Lactose intolerance is much more common than you may think. Most people (except those of northern European descent) develop lactose intolerance in adulthood because their bodies gradually stop producing lactate, an intestinal enzyme that helps to digest lactose. If you think you may have lactose intolerance, switch to the many low-lactose or lactose- free dairy products that are now available. Lactate also is available over the counter in pill form. Some people are sensitive to certain foods but are not actually allergic to them because the food does not trigger an allergic reaction. Food preservatives called sulfates and flavor enhancers such as mono sodium glutamate (MSG) can produce headaches and other symptoms. Some people get migraine headaches after consuming red wine, cheese, or chocolate. Talk to your doctor about any symptoms you may be experiencing that you think may be food-related.

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Healthy Diet Guidelines

What is the best diet to follow to ensure good health? Doctors advise that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid are the best general guidelines for healthy people. You can adapt these guidelines to meet your individual needs by working with your doctor to find out your personal health risks. As part of a thorough physical examination, your doctor will check your cholesterol and blood sugar levels and your blood pressure. He or she also will ask you a series of questions to find out your family health history. You can also calculate your body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio yourself to find out the distribution of fat on your body. By using this information you and your doctor can tailor your diet to lower your personal risk of disease.
For example, if you have a high cholesterol level and a family history of heart disease, your doctor probably will recommend that you lower your intake of high-fat foods. On the other hand, if you have a family history of diabetes and are overweight, your doctor probably will advise that you go on a weight-loss diet. A family history of colon cancer might prompt your doctor to advise you to reduce your consumption of red meat.
But for most men, both the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid recommend consuming a diet that is low in fat and high in fib enrich whole grains, vegetables, and fruits—at least five servings of vegetables and fruits and at least six servings of grain products per day. Eating too much fat, especially saturated fat, elevates your blood cholesterol level and raises your risk for heart disease and stroke. Whole-grain foods that are high in fiber can help improve cholesterol levels and maintain a healthy digestive system. Grains, vegetables, and fruits contain an abundance of nutrients, such as essential vitamins and minerals, many of which have disease-preventing properties. It is important to eat a wide variety of foods to make sure that you are consuming as many of these nutrients as possible. Eating a healthful diet does not mean that you have to eliminate your favorite high-fat foods altogether. If you occasionally indulge in a cheeseburger or a hot fudge sundae, just make sure that you make up for it by eating low-fat foods at
your next few meals, a concept known as “fat budgeting.” Again, you should look at your diet over several days, not meal by meal, when applying the principles recommended by the Food Guide Pyramid. Choose lower-fat foods more often—for example, broiled rather than fried chicken and reduced-fat mayonnaise or mustard on sandwiches instead of full-fat spreads. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid both stress moderation when it comes to the consumption of sugar, sodium, and alcohol. Sugar not only causes tooth decay, but sugary foods such as soda, candy, doughnuts, and pastries contain mostly “empty calories,” meaning that they have many calories but few nutrients. You can easily fill up on such foods, leaving no room for more nutritious food choices. Many foods that are high in sugar are also high in fat, which doctors recommend you keep to a minimum. Eating a lot of salt and foods containing sodium
can raise blood pressure in salt-sensitive people. Salt-sensitive means that your blood pressure goes up when you take in too much salt (sodium). Not everyone is salt-sensitive, but unless you have been tested by your doctor, it is probably wise to limit your salt intake. Many processed and commercially packaged foods—such as canned soups, hot dogs, the flavor packets in rice and noodle packages, and crackers and pretzels—contain very high amounts of sodium. Look for reduced-salt or low-sodium versions of such foods in the supermarket. Like sugar, alcohol provides plenty of calories, but not much nutrition. Again, moderation is the key. Men should consume no more than two alcoholic drinks (two cans or bottles of beer, two glasses of wine, or two mixed drinks) per day. In addition to the many health risks that over consumption of alcohol can cause , it also can lead to nutrient deficiencies and even malnutrition. In addition, alcohol can adversely affect how your body absorbs nutrients from the food you eat.

Ask the Doctor

Q. Are vegetarian diets healthy?

A. Yes, a vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients you need. In fact, some research has shown that vegetarians are less likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity than meat-eaters. There are three types of vegetarians. Ovulation vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products along with plant foods. Lactovegetarians consume dairy products and plant foods but not eggs. A vegan diet is the strictest vegetarian diet of all. Vegans avoid all foods of animal origin, such as eggs and dairy foods, and consume
only plant foods. A vegan diet can be deficient in vitamin B12, iron, calcium, and vitamin D, so vegans probably should take supplements of these nutrients. Also, vegetarians who eat dairy products have to be
just as careful about the amount of fat in their diet as nonvegetarians, because full-fat dairy products have as much fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol as fatty meats. If you are considering becoming a vegetarian, plan
your meals carefully to make sure your diet is balanced. You may want to discuss your diet with a dietitian. Ask your doctor for a referral.

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The Basics of Nutrition

The foods that you eat come in a vast array of colors, textures, and sizes, but they are all made up primarily of three components: carbohydrates, protein, and fats. All three of these components contain calories, meaning that they produce energy in your body. In addition to carbohydrates, protein, and fats, your body needs other nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and water. Together these categories of nutrients are known as the building blocks of nutrition.


Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates supply the main source of energy for your body, so many nutritionists recommend that they should make up the majority—50 or 60 percent— of your intake of calories. Carbohydrates consist of the starches, sugars, and fiber found in foods that come from plants. There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates, also known as simple sugars, taste sweet and are quickly absorbed and digested. Examples of simple carbohydrates are table sugar, honey, corn syrup, and the type of sugar found in fruit. Complex carbohydrates refer to the starches or fiber found in rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, beans, and some fruits (such as bananas).
Complex carbohydrates are better for you than simple carbohydrates because complex carbohydrates are absorbed by your digestive system more slowly, giving your body a more sustained source of energy and preventing steep rises and falls in blood sugar levels. They also contain many nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, while the simple carbohydrates in foods such as candy, pastries, and other sugary desserts provide only calories. By far, most of the carbohydrates you consume should be the complex carbohydrates found in grains (preferably whole grains), vegetables, and fruits. The problem with sugar and foods containing high amounts of sugar is that they supply “empty calories”—that is, they contain many calories but no nutrients.
For example, one 12-ounce can of soda contains about 9 teaspoons of sugar. Sugary desserts taste good, but when you fill up on simple sugars, you leave no room for more nutrient-rich foods. Sweet desserts often also contain large amounts of fat; the high consumption of fat has been shown to have health risks. Overindulgence in these foods also leads to excess weight gain. Fiber is a special type of carbohydrate that is found in foods such as whole bran and other grains, vegetables, and fruits. Fiber is the part of the plant that is not digestible and provides no nutrients, but it has many beneficial health functions. It comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber, present in oat bran and oatmeal, barley, dried beans, vegetables, and fruits, can improve your blood cholesterol levels, especially when consumed as part of a
low-fat diet. Insoluble fiber is found in whole bran cereals, whole-wheat bread, and fruit and vegetable skins. Its main function is to increase the bulk in your stools, thereby preventing constipation and protecting against certain other digestive disorders, such as colon cancer. Eating according to the Food Guide Pyramid will easily provide the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day. If you want to begin increasing your intake of fiber, do it gradually, because a sudden increase can cause abdominal bloating and excess intestinal gas. Drink plenty of water to minimize these effects. Your body will eventually adapt to the higher levels of fiber. Doctors do not usually recommend fiber supplements because they lack the vital nutrients found in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.


Protein
The primary function of protein-rich foods is to form muscle, bone, and skin and to repair body tissue. Certain proteins also carry hormones and other essential elements throughout your body by way of the bloodstream. Protein-rich foods include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried beans, nuts, and dairy products. Grain foods such as breads and cereals are a secondary source of protein. Proteins are made up of combinations of 21 different chemicals called amino acids. Nine of these chemicals, called essential amino acids, cannot be manufactured by your body and must be obtained from the food you eat. Others, known as nonessential amino acids, are made from the essential type. Proteins from animal sources are called complete proteins because they are rich in essential amino acids. Because proteins in plant foods such as beans or nuts have fewer of the essential amino acids, they are referred to as incomplete proteins. In the past doctors and nutrition experts recommended combining plant proteins such as rice and beans at a given meal to ensure getting enough essential amino acids. But unless you have a protein deficiency, which is rare in the United
States, or are a vegetarian, the experts now know that combining proteins is unnecessary as long as your total diet is balanced. Many men believe that they need to consume an abundance of protein to eat healthfully, but the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council is actually quite low. The RDA for protein is 63 grams per day for an adult male, which is about 10 to 15 percent of your total calorie intake. Consuming this amount of protein
each day is not difficult. Simply eat 6 to 8 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish and drink a couple of glasses of milk and you have met your RDA. Most Americans eat more protein than that each day—more than they need.


Fat
Fat enhances the flavor and texture of food, which helps explain why high-fat foods usually taste good. Fat has important functions in the body, including helping to make the male hormone testosterone. But most people in developed countries consume too much fat, which leads to the development of heart disease, some types of cancer, and other chronic diseases. This explains why the Dietary Guidelines for Americans advises deriving no more than 30 percent of your total calorie intake from fat, and no more than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat (see below). There are three main types of fat in the foods you eat: saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. Cholesterol is also a type of fat found in foods of animal origin. Don’t be confused by the difference between the cholesterol found in food and the cholesterol that circulates in your blood. Your liver manufactures most of the cholesterol in your blood from the saturated fat you consume; a smaller percentage comes from the cholesterol in the food you eat. Some men’s blood cholesterol levels are affected more than other men’s by the amount of cholesterol they eat. Having a high cholesterol level increases your risk of heart disease. Another category of fat, known as trans fatty acids, also is present in certain foods. Trans fatty acids are synthetic fats made during food processing. The following table describes the differences in the various types of fats.

Water

Water is an essential nutrient, just like the nutrients in food. Your body is made up primarily of water, which accounts for 50 to 80 percent of your body weight. Your requirement for water varies, depending on such factors as the temperature and humidity or your activity level. Water loss through perspiration during physical exertion can increase your body’s need for water dramatically. Having diarrhea also can cause excess water loss from your intestines, so it’s important to drink plenty of fluids when you have a bout of diarrhea.

In general, thirst is the best indicator that you need water. Don’t quench your thirst with caffeinated soda or alcoholic beverages because caffeine and alcohol will only dehydrate you further. Older people may find that their thirst sensation has become dulled. If you are an older man, remember to drink at least eight glasses of water and other fluids, 8 ounces each, every day, regardless of whether you are thirsty, and especially in hot weather. It’s easy to become dangerously dehydrated without realizing it when the weather is hot and humid.

The federal government sets standards for the safety and purity of drinking water, and most municipalities meet these guidelines. Occasionally, however, contaminants enter public drinking water supplies. If you are told that your local water facility is having problems with high bacteria counts or other contamination, boil your tap water before you drink it or use it for cooking. The plumbing in older homes sometimes leeches lead into tap water. If you suspect that your plumbing might have lead-containing solder, run your tap water for several minutes every morning before drinking it. Always use cold water when cooking because hot water can cause lead to leech from pipes even faster. Fluoride is an element that occurs naturally in the water found in some parts of the United States. In other regions, local municipalities add fluoride to public water supplies to help prevent tooth decay. Fluoridation of water is safe and is largely responsible for a substantial nationwide decrease in tooth decay.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are compounds that your body needs but cannot manufacture on its own (with the exception of vitamin D, which is produced by your skin when exposed to sunlight). As noted in part one, “The Healthy Man,” there are two types of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K—can be stored by your body in the fat inside your cells. Taking large doses of these vitamins can be risky because they can build up in your body and cause unwanted effects. Water-soluble vitamins, composed of the eight B vitamins and vitamin C, are not stored by your body and need to be replaced every day in the food you eat. The antioxidants vitamin C, beta carotene (which your body converts into vitamin A), and vitamin E have been getting a lot of publicity because of their supposed disease-preventing qualities, prompting some people to take large—in some cases massive—doses of antioxidant supplements. However, much of the scientific research that has been done on antioxidants remains conflicting, so doctors still recommend getting most of your antioxidant vitamins from the foods you eat, rather than from supplements. Minerals are chemicals that plants absorb from soil and water. Small amounts of many of these minerals are essential for normal body function. When you eat fruits, vegetables, and grains, you receive the benefit of the minerals they contain. Two important minerals are calcium and iron. Calcium is important for

building strong bones and preventing the bone-thinning disease known as osteoporosis. Too much calcium can cause health problems such as constipation and kidney stones. Men between ages 25 and 65 should take in about 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day. Men over 65 should take in about 1,500 milligrams

of calcium per day. Low-fat and nonfat dairy products are excellent sources of calcium. Adequate iron intake ensures that your red blood cells have enough hemoglobin, a compound needed to transport oxygen throughout the body. However, too much iron has been linked to an increased risk of heart and liver disease in men. You need only about 10 milligrams of iron per day. Good sources of iron include red meat, raisins, nuts, and enriched breads, cereals, rice, and pasta. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are rare in the United States. Although many men take vitamin and mineral supplements, the best way to get your daily allowances of these nutrients is from the food you eat. This is another reason why it is so important to consume a wide variety of foods—to ensure a balanced diet.

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Diet and Nutrition

Eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits can help you maintain or reduce your weight, be more productive at work, and perform better in sports—as we have seen in part one, “The Healthy Man.” But the most important benefit of a nutritious diet is that it can dramatically reduce
your risk of getting the most common chronic diseases affecting American men, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. Diet has a profound role in preventive medicine and a direct effect on the development of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. To lower your risk of heart disease, doctors recommend consuming a diet with less than 30 percent of its total calories from fat and less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat. You also need to watch your consumption of cholesterol, consuming no more than an average of 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day. On the other hand, foods containing high amounts of soluble fiber, such as oat bran and whole barley, can actually lower your blood levels of LDL cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol, without reducing the levels of HDL cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol. Sodium, as found in table salt, may raise blood pressure in certain people, but the individual response to a low-salt diet varies. You should check with your doctor to see if you have this type of salt sensitivity. Reducing your intake of fatty foods is important in preventing heart disease, but eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables also is heart-healthy. Vegetables and fruits are rich in antioxidant vitamins and other nutrients that help protect your body from disease. One antioxidant in particular, vitamin E, has been singled out for its benefits to the heart. Vitamin E seems to prevent freeradical damage to LDL cholesterol, a process that has been implicated in the fatty buildup known as atherosclerosis on the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Be cautious when considering taking high doses of vitamin E, however, because it is a fat-soluble vitamin. This means that it can be stored in your body’s cells, leading to a potentially dangerous accumulation over time. Doctors agree that the best way to get your vitamin E—and any other vitamin or mineral—is by consuming a variety of foods as part of a balanced, nutritious diet. Being overweight is a major health problem for many American men. Maintaining your weight within a healthful range is an important way to lower your risk of developing diabetes, because obesity is a major contributor to this disease. If you already have diabetes, the proper diet can help you regulate your blood sugar level. For example, soluble fiber has been shown to slow down the digestion of starches, thus helping people with diabetes to avoid the elevation in blood sugar level that often occurs after meals. But you need to work with your doctor to plan an individualized diet that works best for you because some people with diabetes have better results on a diet that is a bit higher in fat and lower in carbohydrates than the diet recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Medical research shows that eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, as recommended in the Food Guide Pyramid, can actually help to prevent the development of cancers of the stomach, prostate, and lung. Cancer of the colon in particular has a strong link to dietary factors. A high consumption of fiber-rich foods, such as whole-grain breads and dried beans, combined with a limited consumption of meat (especially high-fat meats), has a strong protective effect against this form of cancer. A high-fat diet also has been implicated in the development of rectal and prostate cancer. Moderate alcohol consumption (two drinks per day or less) has been linked to a reduction in death from heart disease, but this does not mean that doctors advise that you drink alcohol to reduce your risk of the disease. Alcohol has too many negative effects on health—the potential for addiction, liver damage and
disease, an increase in the likelihood of injury or death from accidents—to be recommended as a preventive measure. The best advice is, if you don’t drink alcohol, don’t start drinking now. If you do choose to consume alcoholic beverages, do so only in moderation, defined in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
as two drinks a day or less for men. Don’t underestimate the health benefits of a nutritious breakfast. The first meal of the day not only provides the nutrients and energy that your body needs to move and think but also makes you less hungry later in the day. Men who don’t eat breakfast tend to eat more at lunch and dinner, resulting in an overall increase in calorie intake when compared with breakfast eaters. If you are pressed for time, breakfast need not be elaborate; a bagel and piece of fruit, a bowl of cereal, or last night’s leftovers can be enough to fuel your body adequately as you begin your day.

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What is a well balanced diet and How Do I Get One ?

Following the food pyramid is a good place to start and maybe it’s
a good place to end for some people. If you take all the food
somebody eats at the end of the week and then add them all up
and how much variety there was, you will find that there really
wasn’t that much variety.
People generally have a dozen foods they like to eat and they will
end up eating the same foods day after day for most of their life
and that is where you run into problems. You get stuck in a rut
and fail to incorporate a vast variety into your diet and fail to get
the nutritional balance that you should be getting.
If you know nothing about food but incorporate a lot of variety of
fresh fruit and vegetables, cereals, dairy, protein sources, small
amount of “good” fats, and legumes and nuts into your diet the
chances of your missing out on the right nutrients essential for
good health are lowered.
When it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, some people like to
use a diet out there called the Rainbow diet. It’s based on all the
different colors of fruits and vegetables. So I will take purple
grapes and onions and garlic and sprinkle some lettuce and if we
have fresh strawberries I will add those to cantaloupe and really
your imagination is your only limitation. Just basically add all
your favorite fruits and vegetables and season it to taste. Mix it
all up and you have an incorporation of all of that variety. You
get all of the vitamins and the nutrients and the minerals that
you need in just one meal instead of just ingesting one kind of
food.
My point is the more variety you can get in your diet the greater
the possibility that if you are lacking in something that you are
going to get it. I am an advocate of getting variety in your diet. It
all comes down to looking at your budget and having some
knowledge of getting what you need and looking at the food
labels.
With just a little bit of knowledge of how to read food labels and
what you need you can make the right choices with the money
that you have to work with.
Even the restaurants and the fast food chains are starting to offer
more nutritious choices, likes salads. Subway is one that has
really jumped on the bandwagon. You know the one with Jared
standing there saying this deep fat fried sandwich contains 45
plus grams of fat and compare it to the subway sandwich.
I saw an interview where they were talking with the producer of
Sesame Street and they were talking about the Cookie Monster
and how it was presented inadvertently to get kids to eat more
junk food and more cookies. Now they have repositioned that
whole program to where they are starting to teach kids more
about nutrition. I am hoping that one of the things that is
happening is that there is increased awareness about nutrition
and the obesity epidemic. Some people are just succumbing to
obesity and the things that come with it like cancer and heart
disease and diabetes. It’s good to see some positive changes
taking place.

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What about alcohol? First they say that one drink is okay or two drinks are okay and now they say it’s just red wine.

Red wine may be preferred because of the antioxidants that you
get and the other chemicals that come along with the wine.
Obviously there is something in the red wine as opposed to the
white that makes it more beneficial.
Alcohol is the second highest source of calories, behind fat. The
higher the level of alcohol in the beverage the higher the caloric
intake is. One gram of alcohol supplies 29 kcal’s. It isn’t as high
as fat but not as low as protein and carbohydrates.
There are other aspects of that to think about, if you are trying to
lose weight you need to question whether you need the extra
calories. There are many other beverages that would provide
many more nutrients. If you are trying to lose weight you need to
question whether or not you need those extra calories from
something that basically has no nutritional value. I would tend to
be more negative about consuming alcohol because, besides the
dangers of alcoholism, there is the obvious danger of drinking too
much and consuming way too many calories.
So I am not an advocate of drinking alcohol because it has no
nutritional value or health value, particularly because any
nutritional benefit that you can get from alcohol, can also be
found elsewhere in our food.

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Then what should we be counting? Should we be counting calories, carbohydrates or fat?

If you look at carbohydrates and fat, it is the same scenario.
Each gram of carbohydrates contains 16 kcal of energy, while fat
contains 37 kcal of energy. This is why watching how much fat
you’re eating is so important. It is almost twice that of protein
and carbohydrates.
Much of the research on low carb diets such as the Atkins diet
found that people lost more weight initially and that the diet was
more effective than the other diets. Research has also found
that people who are on high protein diets also experience higher
satiety levels, that is, they are not as hungry. One of the main
reasons that low carb diets induce weight loss is because of the
simple fact that they are just consuming less calories, but more
protein and fat than carbohydrates.
What it seems to boil down to is that some low carb diets restrict
your intake to mainly fat and protein, by eliminating
carbohydrates from the diet. This has the effect of taking away
so many of the food choices that are available, as well as vital
nutrients that your body needs.
You know, even lovers of protein and fat, find that the variety
and choices are taken away and what you are actually doing is
actually limiting your caloric intake. So it works initially and that
is one of the reasons why people are so attracted to it.
The fact is however that 95% of diets fail and what it really
comes down to is if you want to lose weight, lifestyle change is
the only way. A diet is only temporary, you go on it and you lose
weight.
But what are you going to do eventually? You are going to go
off it.
In my definition, that is not a lifestyle change that is a temporary
fix. That is human nature. You go on the diet and eventually you
are going to go off it and revert back to your old eating habits
and gain the weight back.
It all comes down to understanding a little bit more about the
foods that you are eating and a choice to make a lifestyle change.
Also almost all of these diet plans introduce a new way of eating,
a way that is abnormal to the way that you are used to eating
and we are creatures of habit and we like the foods that we are
used to.
Because we are creatures of habit we don’t adapt very well to
changes like that. We can go on it for a while and because it is
so abnormal it just doesn’t fit. It all comes down to the fact that
you have to make a decision that you are going to change the
way you eat.
One of the things that I have noticed is that if you do something
as simple as go out and walk 15 minutes a day, it will be easier
for you not to be tempted by unhealthy food. The healthier your
lifestyle choices, the easier it will be to stick to your healthy food
choices.
It’s almost like the unhealthy choices don’t fit anymore. They are
incompatible with the healthy choices. You know, I have quoted
that adage that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Well
it’s almost the same applied to health and nutrition.
As I kick around health and nutrition with people that are into it
like I am, I find that if you do exercise and have more muscle
mass you burn more calories when you are at rest. Lean muscle
mass has a higher metabolic requirement. When you are just
sitting around doing nothing and your body has more lean muscle
mass you are going to burn more calories than if your body
contains fatty tissue.
It’s kind of a cruel injustice but the fitter you get even at rest,
you are burning more calories.

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Tell me are there any specific foods that burn fat?

No. Basically, if you want to burn fat or lose or maintain your
weight everything comes down to energy balance.
Researchers are constantly looking for foods that could burn fat.
Some of them concentrate on milk and dairy products that have
been theorized to burn fat through increasing inadequate calcium
intake. Some concentrate on finding a specific diet that will burn
fat like a high protein diet. While there is evidence for and
against – it has never been proven beyond a doubt that there is
any one type of food or type of eating that can burn fat.
When it comes down to it, it is a marketing myth that just got so
large that everyone started to talk about it, and pretty soon,
people started to believe that food could burn fat.
In reality food provides energy and nutrients, but cannot burn
fat.

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Is it true that you can eat more and lose weight by combining different foods?

No. People say that there are certain foods that take more

calories to burn than they provide or that certain food items are

going to cause more calories to be burned. It is a misconception

and I can fully understand why people think the way they do.

People don’t want to put the time and the energy or the money

into losing weight. It is a lot of work. People want to lose weight

and they know that some of the food they eat is unhealthy and

they don’t want to put the time and energy into changing things.

It takes planning and time. Instead of visiting the fast food

restaurant on the corner on the way home you go to the produce

aisle in the grocery store. It might take you a little more time and

cost you a little more money but it’s worth it.

You know the fast food restaurants super size everything. The

artists and executives that design the ads know that our

mentality is that the more food we can get for our buck, the

better we are going to like it. It wasn’t so long ago that you

would go in and order a pop and you would get 8 oz or 12 oz and

now it’s not uncommon to get 24 or 36oz because they super size

everything.

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What are fats and protein?

A fat is a waxy, oily substance and is essential for good health.

Fat has double the amount of calories and so poses a problem to

individuals who find it difficult to exercise.

If you break down a fat you break it down into something called a

fatty acid and glycerol.

Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids and are necessary

for your body to build enzymes, antibodies and haemoglobin.

When you eat protein, your body breaks the protein down into

amino acids and then tries to re-assemble them into other

configurations to make other needed proteins for use around the

body.

Carbohydrates, fats and protein can all be broken down into

smaller units.

Each one of those macronutrients can be sub-divided. In the case

of proteins, proteins are made up of amino acids. Not all proteins

have the eight essential amino acids that the body needs. If you

are consuming protein and you miss out the essential ones for

long periods of time, you are putting yourself at risk of becoming

malnourished. In some cultures around the world where food

isn’t so plentiful, children can become malnourished and develop

diseases such as Kwashiorkor. The children have the distended

tummies, however the rest of their bodies are fine, this

unfortunately is caused by a protein deficiency.

Scientists can actually measure the quality of nutrients that

people are getting. People will volunteer to be involved in a

clinical feeding trial and they will hook these people up to all

kinds of measuring devices to measure everything from body

temperature to how much moisture they exhale.

They weigh and eliminate brine in their feces and record

everything they can about these patients. They will feed these

people a controlled diet – controlling the amount of protein

consumed. They can measure how much is excreted, how much

weight a person gains and basically they can determine how

much of that protein is utilized by the body.

When they do that they can determine the quality of the protein

and the amino acids that makes up the protein. They can

determine how well the body absorbs protein and assign a

number value to the protein as to how well it is absorbed.

Some proteins are absorbed extremely well, an example would be

egg albumin, which is a protein found in the white of an egg

rather than the yolk. The egg white protein has an extremely

high biological availability and all of the essential amino acids in

the right balance.

Gelatin though has many of the essential amino acids however

does not have an amino acid called tryptophan and because it is

lacking - it isn’t considered a complete form of protein. If it is

combined with other sources of protein it is okay.

The bottom line is if you are looking at carbohydrates, fat or

protein, it is important to look at the composition of them. You

can read the declarations of the food labels. Often snack foods

will contain inefficient protein, or protein that does not contain all

the essential amino acids.

It is important to know that all carbohydrates, fat and proteins

are made up of these building blocks and it is important to know

to have a balance of all of these building blocks for good health.

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Diet and Nutrition

So what is a calorie (cal)? What is a

kilocalorie(Kcal) ?

I will keep it pretty simple. A calorie is the amount of heat that is

required to raise one cubic centimeter of water one degree.

A kilocalorie is the amount of heat that is required to raise one

kilogram of water one degree.

How about a carbohydrate, what is a

carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates are made up of carbon and water. Atoms of

carbon, hydrogen and oxygen form carbohydrate compounds

such as sugar and starch. There are five types of carbohydrate

sugars, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose and lactose.

Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy and in

fact your brain needs a constant supply of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose by the body and as

you may know, is absorbed into the blood stream. It can also be

stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen.

You need about 40 – 50 per cent of your diet to be made up of

carbohydrates for good health.

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Are much of our lifestyle habits linked to emotions?

Sure. Emotions and stress - all those things get factored into it.

Everybody has times of emotional need.

I know from watching myself. When I get depressed and

overworked, I lose sleep because I’m trying to get work done, or

something has happened that I feel bad about. When I get into

these situations, I definitely end up simply eating more than I

would have normally, partly to try and make myself feel better

and partly because I’m so tired, that my body is craving more

energy (food).

The way to avoid allowing yourself to be controlled by emotional

eating is knowing what to eat, how much to eat, what is healthy

and maintaining enough down time and sleep. These all factor

into just having a healthy lifestyle.

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Why do you think overweight children come from families with parents who are also overweight?

In a way it is endorsement to the children that their eating habits

and lifestyle habits are acceptable. Just like any of us what better

role models than your parents. If they snack and eat unhealthily

then the children will as well.

However having said this, there are other considerations to take

into account. For example there is some tentative evidence that

people who are obese are genetically pre-disposed to it. So if

this were the case, these families may have an underlying reason

for their weight problems. This does not necessarily mean that

there is nothing that they can do to lose weight. Families who

may have these genes who eat eat wisely and exercise will be

showing their children how to eat, how much fun it is to exercise,

and can maintain normal weights. So while genes don’t excuse

bad lifestyle choices, it may be a reason why they are more likely

to become overweight.

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The Best Way To Change Bad Eating Habits

The best way to change your bad eating habits is to do it very

slowly. If you try to change everything all at once, it will seem

too hard to maintain. Try changing one thing at a time. For

example, perhaps you like a morning cappuccino. Decide to stop

drinking your morning cappuccino and drink bottled water

instead. Don’t change anything else about your eating habits

until you feel totally comfortable about that dietary change.

Then move on to something else, like healthy snacks. Instead of

that chocolate energy bar, pack a piece of fruit and a small tub of

yogurt. Essentially fruit is natures snack food, it’s also cheaper.

Once you’re comfortable with this change, then move onto

something else. You get the picture. When you’ve got your diet

sorted out, then you can move on to getting some exercise into

your lifestyle.

So it doesn’t have to be an abrupt change you just need to

understand more about what you are eating and what the energy

value is and the nutrient value of the foods you are consuming,

and make slow but sure changes to your lifestyle.

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How does one go about breaking years and years of bad eating habits? What is the starting point for someone who wants to start eating healthier?

If there were an easy answer to the question we wouldn’t have the problems we have today like obesity. Right now in the US 60% of the population has a weight problem. “Morbidly Obese” is

clinically defined as being 100 pounds or more overweight. In our population, the number of people being morbidly obese is increasing year after year. Changing a person’s perception of food starts at an early age. You can show a person in black and white what foods are good for them and what isn’t and it pretty much comes down to a conscious decision to consume healthy foods or not. It certainly helps to have a mentor or life coach or fitness trainer or just a friend where there is some kind of relationship when it comes to dealing with eating healthily. The fact is that you need support and one of the reasons there are so many weight loss programs is that they do something a little different, they have meetings and people get together and support each other. When you gauge how much weight people lose on weight loss programs like Opt fast or Atkins and whether they keep it off, all of those people probably within a 5 year period have gained all that weight back because they have lost their support group. It speaks volumes to me that if people are going to lose weight and keep it off they need a support group. You should not be on a diet to lose weight, you need to be making a lifestyle change. It means finding new ways of eating and develop new habits even for your everyday activities so that the new way you are eating becomes your new lifestyle.

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What is the difference between nutrients and food stuffs?

In the big picture, there is no difference between the two. You

can look at anything that provides nutrients to the body like

carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Food in general is just a carrier

for nutrients. For example, take a loaf of bread – it has starch in

it and protein and non-fat dry milk, the non-fat dry milk also

contains lactose. It will also contain a high amount of minerals.

The non-fat dry milk will contain casein, which is a non-fat milk

protein. When you eat food, you break down the food to get

nutrients for the body.

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