« Exercise Safety and Injury Prevention (Oct 6, 2008) | Main | Exercise of the Week: Bird Dog »
Nutritional Essentials: Five Important Factors (October 14, 2008)
By Inshape | October 14, 2008
It’s hard to put a finger on exactly how one should manage all of the variables involved in healthy nutrition. There’s so much data out there, so many tips, recipes, fad-diets, internet blogs, etc. In addition, everyone is different - no two nutritional profiles match because no two people are exactly alike. However, on a broad level, five common threads emerge among the vast array of information about healthy nutrition:
1. Awareness/Knowledge
2. Enjoyment
3. Variety
4. Timing
5. Moderation/Control
Awareness/Knowledge
Whether it’s keeping a journal of every single thing that you put in your mouth, reading about the latest study on the benefits of a particular food, or simply paying attention to labels at the market, you can’t claim ignorance when it comes to what your body needs for health and energy. Information is readily available about all types of foods, how they affect different body types, and what is best for a particular lifestyle, so take responsibility for your health. And remember that regardless of how old you are or how knowledgeable you are, there’s always more to learn when it comes to doing the best for your body.
Enjoyment
Let’s face it, life is WAY too short to live in a perpetual state of unsatisfying diet restrictions. Cultures that honor food and take pride in the mealtime experience understand this factor best. Food is not only meant to fuel the body, but it also serves as the centerpiece of enjoyment in daily life. In the U.S., however, we are often in a huge hurry and more often than not, that means that we eat too quickly and not very healthily. Sitting down for a meal, chewing slowly, and savoring each bite may seem impractical, but it makes a difference in how our bodies digest food and thus in our body’s overall health.
Variety
They say that “variety is the spice of life,” but when it comes to nutrition, variety is more like the “water of life.” You have to have it in order to benefit from the wide array of nutrients that active bodies need. Vibrant color is an excellent indicator of variety, though unfortunately, most adult diets are brown (like bread, potatoes, cooked meats, etc) or muted in color due to excessive cooking or dressing. An easy way to introduce or increase the variety to your diet is to add just one additional color to your plate at any meal. Having a salad for lunch? Instead of romaine lettuce, add raddicio or endive. Planning steamed broccoli as a side for dinner? Toss some red pepper or carrots into the steamer with it. Making a turkey sandwich? Add a layer of something crunchy other than lettuce…like cucumber slices or apple.
Timing
Subtle starvation and nighttime feasting are two of the most powerful forces at work against the modern adult. So many people skip breakfast and many more, eat dinner 6-8 hours after lunch without a snack to hold them over. What they don’t realize is that after several hours (reported estimates vary but it’s somewhere between 3-5 hours), the body shifts into a subtle starvation mode, which means that metabolism slows in order to conserve calories. This is why it is critical that you eat something for breakfast and have small nutritional snacks (around 100-250 calories) EVERY SINGLE DAY!
A second challenge exists relative to nutritional timing - dinners are simply too big, too fattening, and eaten too late. And if you’re out to dinner, you’ve probably consumed enough calories for a whole day, upwards of 3000 in one sitting. Few people exert themselves to such a degree that they can afford to eat this way, so if your work demands you eat out, or if you tend to cook gourmet meals at home, it’s time to take a look at what you’re eating, pare it down, and rethink your choices.
Moderation and Control
Everyone should have an “i” day each week, a day of indulgence, a day when it’s okay to have that huge steak or plate of pasta three times the size of reasonable portion. However, moderation and control are extremely important factors in the balance between enjoyment and health.
You only have one body, and though sometimes you have to choose something that’s more healthy than that which you traditionally deem tasty, by controlling your diet and choosing smaller portions or healthier options, you choose health. And in the long run, you choose a better life.
Topics: Nutrition |
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.