Eating Smart
Why is a healthy diet important?
Having a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to help your overall health. Along with physical activity, your diet is the key factor that affects your weight. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, breathing problems, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea (breathing problems while sleeping), osteoarthritis, and some cancers. You can find out if you’re overweight or obese by figuring out your body mass index (BMI). People with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight, whereas those with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. Your doctor can help you figure out your BMI.
How can I start planning a healthy diet?
You can use the pyramid as a starting point. Choose the recommended number of daily servings from each of the five major food groups.
Important elements in a healthy diet
No matter which specific diet you choose, it should:
- Help you either lose weight or keep your BMI in the “healthy” range
- Be balanced overall, with foods from all groups
- Be low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat intake (less than 10 percent of your daily calories should come from saturated fat, and less than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from total fat)
- Include a variety of grains daily
- Include enough fruits and vegetables
- Have a small number of calories from added sugars (like in candy, cookies and cakes)
- Have foods prepared with less sodium or salt (aim for no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day, or about one teaspoon of salt per day for a healthy heart)
- Not include more than one drink per day (two drinks per day for men) if you can drink alcoholic beverages
A healthy diet means fat intake should be controlled. There are different kinds of fats in our food. Some can hurt our health while others aren’t so bad – some are even good for you! Here’s what you need to know:
- Monosaturated fats (canola, olive and peanut oils, and avocados) and polyunsaturated fats (safflower, sesame, sunflower seeds, and many other nuts and seeds) don’t raise your LDL (”bad”)
cholesterol levels but can raise your HDL (”good”) cholesterol levels. To keep healthy, it is best to choose foods with these fats. - Saturated fat, trans fatty acids and dietary cholesterol raise your LDL (”bad”) blood cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease. Saturated fat is found mostly in food from animals like beef, lamb, pork, lard, butter, cream, cheeses, and from some plants, such as tropical oils. Tropical oils include coconut, palm kernel and palm oils.
How to eat smart?
Eating a heart-healthy diet is key to help reduce your risk factors for heart disease, like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight, and obesity. It will also help you control these conditions if you already have them.
- Choose foods low in saturated fats. These include fruits, vegetables, whole grain foods, and low-fat or nonfat dairy products. Avoid commercially fried and baked goods such as crackers and cookies.
- Choose a diet moderate in total fat. This will give you enough calories to satisfy your hunger, which can help you to eat fewer calories, stay at a healthy weight, and lower your blood cholesterol level. To keep your total fat intake moderate, try to substitute unsaturated fat for saturated fat.
- Choose foods low in cholesterol. Eat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low fat or nonfat dairy products, and moderate amounts of lean meats, skinless poultry, and fish. Eat plenty of soluble fiber, which may help lower your LDL (”bad”) cholesterol. Good sources are oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, and strawberries. Insoluble fiber will not help your blood cholesterol level but is still good for healthy bowel function. Good sources of insoluble fiber are whole wheat breads, kidney beans, almonds, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and apple skin.
- The American Heart Association also recommends that you try at least two servings of fish per week (especially fatty fish like salmon and lake trout) because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which may help lower blood cholesterol.
- You can also eat omega-3 fatty acids from plant sources, such as from tofu, soybeans, canola, walnuts, and flaxseed (these contain alpha-linolenic acid, a less potent form of omega-3 fatty acid.)
- Cut down on sodium, especially if you have high blood pressure. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, try to have no more than 2,400 milligrams (1 teaspoon of salt) of sodium each day. You can also choose low sodium foods, which will also help lower your cholesterol, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or nonfat diary products, and moderate amounts of lean meat. To flavour your food, reach for herbs and spices rather than high-sodium table salt. Be sure to read the labels of seasoning mixes because some contain salt.
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