04:15 PM
Wednesday 27 May 2020
–
I wrote- Amira Helmy
A healthy and balanced diet will have many benefits for you, because what we eat and drink can affect our bodies ’ability to combat infections, including the rampant Corona virus, and the possibility of us being exposed to health problems at a later age, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer of various kinds. Its types.
The exact components of any healthy diet depend on various factors, such as age and degree of activity, as well as the types of foods available in the societies in which we live, but there are some common nutritional advice across cultures that helps us to enjoy a healthy life and long life.
The World Health Organization recommended a healthy diet through its website, providing the following most important advice:
Eat a variety of foods
Our bodies are surprisingly complex, and no single food (except for breast milk for infants) contains all the nutrients we need for our bodies to function optimally. Therefore, our diets must contain a variety of fresh and nutritious foods in order to remain strong.
Some tips for ensuring a balanced diet:
Keep an eye on eating in your daily diet a mixture of essential nutrients such as wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes with legumes such as lentils and beans, as well as lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and foods with animal sources (such as meat, fish, eggs, and milk).
Choose wholegrain foods such as unprocessed corn, millet, oats, wheat and brown rice whenever you can; It is rich in valuable fibers and can help you feel full for a longer period.
Choose lean or lean meats wherever possible, or remove visible fats from them.
Choose steaming or boiling, instead of frying.
For snacks, choose raw vegetables, unsalted nuts and fresh fruits, rather than foods with a high sugar, fat or salt content.
Reducing the amount of salt
Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Most people around the world overeat too much salt: we consume, on average, twice the 5-gram maximum limit recommended by the World Health Organization (equivalent to one teaspoon) per day.
Even if we do not add excess salt to our food, we must realize that it is common to put it in what we eat in food or drinks, often in high quantities.
Some tips for reducing your salt intake:
When cooking and preparing foods, you should consider using salt and reduce the use of sauces and spices, such as soy sauce, chicken / meat broth or fish sauce.
Avoid snacks with a high salt content, and try to choose fresh, healthy snacks and compare them to processed foods.
When using canned or dried vegetables, nuts, and fruits, choose foods that are free of added salts and sugars.
Do not put salt and salt spices on the table, and try to avoid adding them as usual. Our tasting dreams can adapt quickly, and once that happens you will probably enjoy food with less salt, even if it has a better flavor!
Check food labels and choose products with less sodium content.
Reducing the use of certain types of fats and oils
We all need some fat in our diet, but excessive intake – especially the wrong types of it – increases the risk of obesity, heart disease and stroke.
Industrially produced trans-fats are the most dangerous to health. Diets with a high content of this type of fat have been found to increase the risk of heart disease by almost 30%.
Reducing fat consumption:
Replace butter, pork and ghee with healthy oils such as soybeans, canola (rapeseed), corn, safflower, and sunflower.
Choose white meats such as poultry and fish that are usually lower in fat content compared to red meat, and reduce the consumption of processed meats.
Check the cards and keep all processed, fast, and fried foods that contain industrially produced trans-fats. These are often found in margarine and margarine, as well as snacks, baked and fried foods.
Reducing sugar intake
Excessive intake of sugar does not only harm our teeth, but it increases the risk of unhealthy weight gain and obesity, which may lead to serious chronic health problems.
As with salt, it is important to note the amount of “hidden” sugars that may be found in processed foods and drinks. For example, a can of soda can contain up to 10 teaspoons of added sugar!
Some tips for reducing sugar intake:
Reducing the intake of sweets and sugary drinks such as soft drinks, fruit juices, juice drinks, liquid and dissolved concentrates, flavored water, sports and energy drinks, tea and coffee products ready to drink, and flavored milk drinks.
Choose healthy fresh snacks instead of processed foods.
Avoid giving sugary foods to children. Salt and sugars should not be added to complementary foods given to children under two years of age, and they should be reduced after that age.
– .
