Looking for that panacea in our quest to be healthy, Americans seem to be subscribing to a lot of ideas about their health that just may be folklore.
We’ll try high-protein diets that tell us to avoid fruit. We don’t eat after 8 p.m. and we’ll avoid that one sweet indulgence thinking it will be the downfall of our diet.
With March designated as National Nutrition Month, I thought it would be great to take a little advice from dietitians who say “there are no bad foods, no good or bad times to eat and no magic bullet for maintaining a healthy weight. The fact is, it’s your total diet approach that matters in living a healthful lifestyle.” Here’s some more great advice from the American Dietetic Association:
• No single food or meal makes or breaks a healthful diet. Your overall pattern of eating is the most important focus. A wide variety of foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation, in appropriate portions and combined with regular physical activity. No one food or type of food guarantees good health, just as no single food is necessarily detrimental to health.
• It doesn’t matter if you eat after 8 p.m. What’s more important is how many calories you ate the entire day, not when you ate them and splurging on cake and ice cream during a party isn’t going to ruin a healthful eating plan. Pay attention to the portion of your treat and enjoy it in moderation, exercise a little longer the next day or plan ahead to save calories, like skipping your morning latte.
• Develop an eating plan rich with fruits, vegetables and whole-grains for lifelong health. Too often, people adopt the latest food fad rather than focusing on overall health. Get back to basics consult a registered dietitian and use the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid as your guide to healthy eating.
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Looking for that panacea in our quest to be healthy, Americans seem to be subscribing to a lot of ideas about their health that just may be folklore.
We’ll try high-protein diets that tell us to avoid fruit. We don’t eat after 8 p.m. and we’ll avoid that one sweet indulgence thinking it will be the downfall of our diet.
With March designated as National Nutrition Month, I thought it would be great to take a little advice from dietitians who say “there are no bad foods, no good or bad times to eat and no magic bullet for maintaining a healthy weight. The fact is, it’s your total diet approach that matters in living a healthful lifestyle.” Here’s some more great advice from the American Dietetic Association:
• No single food or meal makes or breaks a healthful diet. Your overall pattern of eating is the most important focus. A wide variety of foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation, in appropriate portions and combined with regular physical activity. No one food or type of food guarantees good health, just as no single food is necessarily detrimental to health.
• It doesn’t matter if you eat after 8 p.m. What’s more important is how many calories you ate the entire day, not when you ate them and splurging on cake and ice cream during a party isn’t going to ruin a healthful eating plan. Pay attention to the portion of your treat and enjoy it in moderation, exercise a little longer the next day or plan ahead to save calories, like skipping your morning latte.
• Develop an eating plan rich with fruits, vegetables and whole-grains for lifelong health. Too often, people adopt the latest food fad rather than focusing on overall health. Get back to basics consult a registered dietitian and use the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid as your guide to healthy eating.
Check out www.eatright.org for more details.
March 6, 2008 - 7:58amThis Comment
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