Fruit Photo: From Reader's Digest 1. Start the day well by eating a fibre-rich breakfast of porridge or natural muesli topped with fruit. Eating breakfast keeps you mentally and physically alert.
2. Keep coffee and caffeinated soft drinks to a minimum – they give only a short burst of caffeine-fuelled energy.Try one or two cups daily of black or green tea.Tea contains anti-oxidants which are associated with lower rates of cancer and heart disease.A cup of black or green tea has about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
3. Slowly reduce the amount of sugar you take in tea or coffee. It's better to retrain your palate than to use artificial sweeteners, so that you lower your desire for sweet foods and drinks overall.
4. When baking cakes or biscuits, substitute half wholemeal flour for white flour, gradually increasing it as your taste changes. Eat wholegrain bread more often than white – it has more B vitamins and twice as much fibre. Experiment with different types made from a variety of grains.
5. Buy brown rice and wholemeal or spelt pasta rather than white to boost fibre and B vitamin intake. Introduce it gradually as part of a mixed dish if the family resists.
6. Gradually increase the variety of fruit and vegetables you eat to seven servings a day. For example, including a piece of fruit with your breakfast and one as a snack, having a salad with lunch and two cups of cooked vegetables for dinner would give you your daily requirement.
7. Replace sugar- and fat-filled snacks such as biscuits, pastries and chocolate with fruit. It doesn't have to be dull – try dried fruit or a tropical fruit salad for variety.
8. Try to do without deep-fried takeaway foods to reduce your saturated fat intake.Also, try to use just a scrape of butter, polyunsatu- rated or mono-unsaturated margarine. Or experiment with a nut butter or mashed avocado on bread.Try cold-pressed macadamia or canola oil for cooking.9. Drink enough water. Moderately active adults need about 2 litres per day. Check your hydration by looking at the colour of your urine. It should be pale yellow or clear. Use less salt, or cut it out altogether. Excess salt over time can result in a rise in blood pressure. It's easy to avoid too much salt if you eat mainly fresh food because most of the salt in our diet comes from processed food. Instead of reaching for the salt shaker, use herbs, spices and other natural flavourings such as fresh lemon or lime juice.
11. Eat dairy products in moderation. Low-fat or no-fat milks, yoghurts and ice-creams help keep saturated fat intake down.
12. Learn to love soy. It's an excellent source of plant protein and appears to reduce the risk of heart disease by helping lower cholesterol levels. It's also been shown to protect against breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Aim for at least one serving a day of soy milk or soy yoghurt, tofu or tempeh.13. Choose lean cuts of red meat and minimise your intake of processed meats such as salami, bacon and sausages. Lean meat is a good source of iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and high-quality protein whereas high intakes of processed meats have been associated with
a greater risk of bowel cancer.
14. Eat more fish to increase your intake of beneficial omega-3 essential fatty acids.Aim for two to four meals a week and choose oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and mullet.
15. Prepare vegetarian meals occasionally. Include legumes, such as kidney beans, soy beans, chick peas or lentils.These have a low glycaemic index (GI) so you'll feel fuller for longer.Their high fibre content also helps prevent constipation.
0 comments:
Post a Comment