Today’s Lifestyle and our Diet
It doesn’t make any difference if you arrived here because you have decided to make 2014 the year to take control of your weight, or you over indulged during the festive period and just need to get back on track, you’re in the right place. In many parts of the Western World obesity has now almost reached epidemic proportions, but many dietary experts believe that the large numbers of people becoming seriously overweight is directly linked to the ever growing number of convenience fast-food outlets. Dietary experts are now telling us that it’s not just how much we eat, but as much the types of food we are eating, and also our eating patterns, which are causing many of us to gain considerable amounts of unwanted weight. I believe many of the problems stem from the modern fast pace of life, where many of us want everything now, hence the success of the fast-food chains. Another change that has come about, mainly due to the way of life, is how we approach breakfast, as this is the most important meal, as it dictates our energy levels and sets us up for the day. We used to have a well balanced sit down breakfast. In summer it could be cereal, and maybe a boiled egg and toast, with a cup of tea or coffee, and in winter it could be porridge, a nice slow energy releaser. For many these days breakfast has become something we grab on the run, or replace with a cup of coffee, and even worse in some cases missed out altogether. There seems to be a misconception that if we partially starve ourselves by missing out meals it will help us lose weight at an accelerated rate. In reality the complete opposite is true, it sends a signal for our bodies to store more fat. The only way to lose weight and then keep it off is with a properly planned well balanced diet.
Food and Effect,
It is important that we get to know what foods are going to aid us in our weight-loss. The problem is there is no single food that can reduce weight, but when used in the right combination it can make a big difference. As we continue you will see why it is important to have a proper diet plan, to make sure we are getting all the right foods in the proper proportions, and to make sure we are keeping away from anything with high sugar, salt and saturated fats. What we are looking for is a balance, between the amount of energy we take on board in the form of food, and the amount of energy we burn in our daily life, to lose weight our input needs to be less that our output. When we eat the right foods our bodies work properly, we have more energy, we are able to concentrate better, we have better moods, and we can shed those unwanted pounds, but when we eat the wrong foods its like our bodies are full of sludge, we have no energy, and can become moody. So lets take a look at what we need.
Fibre; We need fibre for our digestive system to work properly, but it also has many health benefits, and when we are trying to lose weight it helps to fill us up. Eating plenty of fibre rich foods will help prevent conditions like, constipation, haemorrhoids, and can even help in the prevention of bowl cancer. If you have not had a lot of fibre in your diet it is important that you introduce it gradually so as to prevent any side effects like, excessive wind and bloating. There are recommended daily amounts of fibre which are women 25 grams, and for men 35 – 40 grams if you go above these recommendations you must increase your daily intake of water, which should be around 2 litres per day. I am going to list the top ten sources of fibre, but there is not the scope in this article to go into detail about each one of them. If you want more information about how fibre and particular fruits and vegetables work in our diet, I suggest you Google (Dietary Fibre) and you will find all the information you could possibly require.
The top ten high fibre foods,
#1 Corn Bran, but Wheat Bran and Rice Bran are just as high, there is also Oat Bran but it is no so high.
#2 Cauliflowers and Broccoli, Broccoli is a super vegetable and should be included in every diet, ideally every day.
#3 Cabbages, raw Savoy Cabbage is the best but all cabbage is very good.
#4 Berries, Raspberries are the best followed by Elderberries, Blackberries, Gooseberries, Cranberries, and finally Strawberries.
#5 Leafy Salad Greens, Cos and Romaine Lettuce, also Spinach is very good.
#6 Celery, not only is Celery a good source of fibre but it is also a great dieting vegetable, because it is almost zero calorie rated.
#7 Squash – Butternut, winter and summer all varieties, if you need any tips on how to prepare and cook it try: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/11/08/how-to-cook-squash/
#8 Beans, Kidney beans are the best followed by Navy beans also known as Haricot beans, French beans, Pinto beans, black beans and Chick Peas, are all good.
#9 Mushrooms, cooked White closed cup mushrooms.
#10 Oranges and that covers all of the various varieties. There we have it the top ten best sources for our dietary fibre, but we have only scratched the surface, there is so much more information than we could ever try to cover in this type of article, you just have to look on line if you are interested.
Vitamin B; It’s like a driving force, it breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is our bodies energy provider, it also breaks down fats and proteins, which is essential for a normal functioning and healthy nervous system. Although it is possible to cover our vitamin B needs with a B Complex Vitamin, most doctors and nutritionists agree that the best way to get our daily B vitamins is naturally, through the foods we eat. Now you might be wondering “why do I need to know all this, I only want to lose some weight?”. But if you know how something works, and in this case the way our bodies use the food we eat, then its easier to understand why we need certain foods to stay fit and healthy, and able to lose weight. Vitamin B has actually eight types, B1 Thiamine, B2 Riboflavin, B3 Niacin, B5 Pantothenic Acid, B6 Pyridoxine, B12 Cyanocobalanmi, Folic Acid, and Biotin. Let’s take each one in turn and see how much we need and how we acquire it.
B1 Thiamine; Thiamine is important with several functions, including, working with other B-group vitamins to help break down and release energy from food, and keeping our nerves and muscle tissue healthy. Thiamine is found in many foods, but the best sources are, vegetables, peas, fresh fruit and dried fruits, eggs, wholegrain bread, fortified breakfast serials and liver. There are recommended daily amounts, which are 1mg for men and 0.8mg for women, but the body cannot store thiamine so we need a daily supply through a well balanced diet.
B2 Riboflavin, Riboflavin’s main functions are keeping our skin, eyes, and nervous system healthy, plus it helps the body extract energy from carbohydrates. The best sources of riboflavin are, milk, eggs, fortified breakfast cereals and rice. A problem with riboflavin is it can be destroyed by UV, therefore foods containing riboflavin must be kept out of direct sunlight. The daily amount our bodies need is 1.3mg for men and 1.1mg for women, but as we cannot store it we need to get our daily supply from a balanced diet.
B3 Niacin, Niacin comes in two forms nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, and both of these are found in food, they help to produce energy from what we eat, and work towards keeping our nervous and digestive systems healthy. The best sources are, meat, fish, wheat floor, eggs, milk and maize. We need 17mg per day for men and 13mg for women, again our bodies cannot store niacin so we have to get it daily through our diet. One point worth noting, if you are on a proper well balanced diet including the foods listed above, you don’t want to be taking nicotinic acid supplements, as high doses can cause skin flushes, and high doses over an extended period can even lead to liver damage.
B5 Pantothenic Acid, Pantothenic Acid is a water-soluble vitamin, it’s an antioxidant, and is very important in the breaking-down of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and used in the production of several enzymes, and also helps our nervous system communicate with the brain. This is a multi role vitamin essential for the running of our bodies so preventing any deficiency is extremely important. Small amounts of pantothenic acid are found in nearly every food but large amounts are found in wholegrain cereals, brown rice, chicken, beef, kidney, potatoes, porridge, eggs, broccoli, avocado, tomatoes, and yogurt. With the range of foods containing pantothenic acid it is easy to get your daily supply with a reasonable diet without needing any supplement.
B6 Pyridoxine, Pyridoxine allows the body to store and use energy extracted from protein and carbohydrates, it also helps form haemoglobin which carries oxygen around our bodies. Pyridoxine is found in many foods, the best of these are, pork, turkey, chicken, fish, bread, whole cereals, eggs, vegetables, milk, soya beans, peanuts, and fortified breakfast cereals. Pyridoxine is an essential vitamin and we need 1.4mg per day for men and 1.2mg for women, as it can’t be stored in the body we need our daily supply from our diet, but with the large number of foods carrying this vitamin it should be easy with a healthy planned diet to get enough, without having to resort to any supplements.
B12 Cyanocobalanmi, Cyanocobalanmi is another of the multi roll vitamins and one of the most important, as it is responsible for the production of red blood cells, helping to keep our nervous system healthy, releasing energy from food, and also processing folic acid. Good sources of vitamin B12 are, meat, salmon, cod, milk, cheese, eggs, and some of the fortified breakfast cereals. Men and women only need about 0.0015mg per day, and with a proper diet including some dairy and meat or fish it should be easy to get our daily amount. That said, according to an article by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition2, approximately 6% of people aged 60+ years are vitamin B12 deficient in the United Kingdom and the United States, the common symptoms are, tiredness, lethargy, feeling faint, breathlessness, the less common effects are headaches, palpitations, loss of appetite, tinnitus, and you can also look rather pale.
Folic acid, This is another of the B group vitamins, which works with B12 to form red blood cells, and helps to reduce defects in the central nervous system. Folic acid is found in many foods in small amounts, but good sources include, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, liver, spinach, asparagus, peas, chickpeas, brown rice, and fortified breakfast cereals. Adults require 0.2mg of folic acid per day, as it can’t be stored you need to acquire it from your varied and balanced daily diet.
Biotin, Biotin is another water soluble B group vitamin, which is essential in the formation of fatty acids and glucose. The best sources are, Swiss chard, which is also a very healthy salad choice and provides antioxidants, carrots, almonds, walnuts and most other nuts, eggs, milk cows and goats, raspberries, strawberries, halibut, vegetables, mainly onions, cauliflower, and cucumbers, which are all very healthy options to include in our daily diet. That is the eight group B vitamins, what they do, and what foods we need to get them from, and by now you must be able to see why it is so important that we have a proper well balanced diet including all the food groups, to enable us to stay fit and healthy.
Snacking and weight loss,
When we normally think of a snack, it’s a cup of tea or coffee with a biscuit or a cake or bun, but if you want to lose weight you need to re-think it. You need to be drinking water and at least two litres per day, and a glass before any snack or meal will help reduce your calorie intake and speed your weight loss. The best snack would be celery, as I mentioned earlier it is almost zero calorie rated. On its own it is very bland, but with a low fat dip it becomes more attractive. A vegetable salad or fresh fruit are good to snack on, plus low fat yogurt and cereals without sugar, are also healthy options, One thing you have to watch out for when shopping, just because something says low fat it does not automatically make it healthy, you must check the label for its contents. There are also many food supplements on the market, which work on the principal of thermogenics which makes the body metabolism run faster so as to burn fat faster and more effectively. Such supplements include ephedra, green tea extract, caffeine, guarana and synephrine which stimulate the breakdown of fat cells in the body. There are also some appetite suppressants namely plantago psyllium which gives a feeling of fullness and stops the intake of food, also hoodia which is derived from a prickly plant from South Africa and makes the brain think that the stomach is full, it removes the desire to eat and drink. Whichever way you look at it, nothing beats a proper balanced diet, that covers all the food groups we need to stay healthy, and having read this article to here, you now know how important the right foods are. Another important part to the weight-loss puzzle is EXERCISE, even if its only walking, get out there and get yourself moving. If you want some good information on your healthy diet plan I recommend checking out these sites.
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Goodfoodhome.aspx
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Healthyeating.asp