Ground rules of balanced diet, continue...

Hello dear all again,


Today I will continue my subject regarding balanced diet.

There are two types of food we consume:
The food which feed us and the food which eat us...

Depends on our daily choices we create happy, relaxing and healthy environment for our bodies or we helping our governess to save some money on our pensions...


I would like to refer to my previous post and remind you again:
THERE IS NO PERFECT DIET WHICH SUITS EVERYONE


We all are different, live different life styles and most of all we like different things to eat, so to create a perfect diet plan we need to remember not only what is healthy but also what we like to eat, as those rules I am talking about are „in plans” to be life changing permanent behaviors.

So for example, if you are vegetarian as you don't like killing animals, so be it, in my blog you will definitely find something for yourself.

On the other hand, if you are a person who cannot imagine life (meal) without a meat, you can also find lots of useful things for yourself in here.


Going back to my main thought, I was recently ask by one of my colleagues:

„So what exactly I should eat? Are there basic rules for everyone?” - Yes and Yes.


There are even numbers which might help you to decide about variety of food you choose to eat everyday:

On everage (ones who don't exercise or do moderate sports) our daily plan should contain of 50-60% of carbs, 10-15% proteins and 30% of healthy fats



But where to find them?

CARBS:

The main source of carbs should be a selection of whole grain bread, brown rice, groat, cereals, durum pasta,legumes (beans, peas, lentils), also vegetables and fruits, for those last ones please remember that some of them will rise your sugar level very high and we all know what happens then (if you forgot, please go back to my previous posts).

Proteins:

You can find them in products like:
Eggs, poultry, fish (salmon, makarel, herring, tuna, sardine), eggs, yoghurts, cottage cheese.
For vegetarians: avocado, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, cuscus,flax seeds, all kind of nuts( specially walnuts, pistachios), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sezam...) and last but not least soy, but I deliberately put it as a last one on the list, as this (any) poor soy been genetically modified which makes her last in our list.

Fats:

When we talk about them we always use a fraze healthy fats, but what does exactly mean?

"...Our bodies need some fat from our food. It's a major source of energy. It helps us absorb some vitamins and minerals.

 Fat is needed to build cell membranes, the vital exterior of each cell, and the sheaths surrounding nerves. It is essential for blood clotting, muscle movement, and inflammation.
 For long-term health, some fats are better than others:

1. Bad ones include industrial-made trans fats
2. Saturated fats fall somewhere in the middle
3. Good fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats

1. Bad fats:


The worst type of dietary fat is the kind known as trans fat.They are made in a process of vegetable oil been heated in the presence of hydrogen and a heavy-metal catalyst such as palladium.
This turns oils into solids. It also makes healthy vegetable oils more like not-so-healthy saturated fats. On food label ingredient lists, this manufactured substance is typically listed as "partially hydrogenated oil."

Eating foods rich in trans fats increases the amount of harmful LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream and reduces the amount of beneficial HDL cholesterol. Trans fats create inflammation, which is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. 

They also contribute to insulin resistance, which increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

 Even small amounts of trans fats can harm health: for every 2% of calories from trans fat consumed daily, the risk of heart disease rises by 23%!!!!!
Trans fats have no known health benefits and that there is no safe level of consumption. 

2. Saturated fats:

Saturated fats are common in the American diet. They are solid at room temperature — think cooled bacon grease, but what is saturated fat? Common sources of saturated fat include red meat, whole milk and other whole-milk dairy foods, cheese, coconut oil, and many commercially prepared baked goods and other foods.
The word "saturated" here refers to the number of hydrogen atoms surrounding each carbon atom.
Are saturated fats bad for us?
 A diet rich in saturated fats can drive up total cholesterol, and tip the balance toward more harmful LDL cholesterol, which prompts blockages to form in arteries in the heart and elsewhere in the body. For that reason, most nutrition experts recommend limiting saturated fat to under 10% of calories a day.
A handful of recent reports have muddied the link between saturated fat and heart disease. One meta-analysis of 21 studies said that there was not enough evidence to conclude that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease, but that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat may indeed reduce risk of heart disease.


3. Good fats:

They come mainly from vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fish. They differ from saturated fats by having fewer hydrogen atoms bonded to their carbon chains. Healthy fats are liquid at room temperature, not solid. There are two broad categories of beneficial fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated fats: 
When you dip your bread in olive oil at an Italian restaurant, you're getting mostly monounsaturated fat. 
Good sources of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, and most nuts, as well as high-oleic safflower and sunflower oils.

Although there's no recommended daily intake of monounsaturated fats, the Institute of Medicine recommends using them as much as possible along with polyunsaturated fats to replace saturated and trans fats.

Polyunsaturated fats:
 When you pour liquid cooking oil into a pan, there's a good chance you're using polyunsaturated fat. Corn oil, sunflower oil, and safflower oil are common examples.
 Polyunsaturated fats are essential fats. That means they're required for normal body functions but your body can't make them. So you must get them from food. Polyunsaturated fats are used to build cell membranes and the covering of nerves. They are needed for blood clotting, muscle movement, and inflammation.

Eating polyunsaturated fats in place of saturated fats reduces harmful LDL cholesterol. It also lowers triglycerides.

Omega-3 fatty acids: may help prevent and even treat heart disease and stroke. In addition to reducing blood pressure, raising HDL, and lowering triglycerides, polyunsaturated fats may help prevent lethal heart rhythms from arising. 
Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil, and unhydrogenated soybean oil.

Omega-6 fatty acids: have also been linked to protection against heart disease.
 Foods rich in linoleic acid and other omega-6 fatty acids include vegetable oils such as safflower, soybean, sunflower, walnut, and corn oils..."

For more information, please feel free to pop into this page:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-truth-about-fats-bad-and-good

As you can see eating healthy requires to invest some time and preparation.

Once you understand the basic rules of dieting, you will be able to choose food for your benefits instead of waiting others to do it for you.



Below as always some helpful tips for you:


TIP:

• Please in your diet reduce white flower, sugar, salt and hardened fats!!!!
• If you are a meat lower go to a good butcher, so you can be "more" sure that meat contains NO harmful preservatives
• Plan your shopping in advance
• Focus on quality not quantity of food
• Always read the label as it is the law that all ingredients must be written in there.
• If you cannot read the name of ingredient DON't eat it
• No TV while eating, as then we tend to eat more
• Drink around 2 liters of liquids per day
• Eat your last meal at least 3 h. before sleep time
• Leave at less 3 h. between meals

I was recently told by one of my friends, that sometimes my posts are very long - well, like I once said I love to learn and even more love sharing my knowledge, so enjoy it.


In my next post i will start focusing on reasons of "Why do we eat?"


Wish you all a pleasant evening and see you soon.