5 expert nutritional recommendations for all ages
'20.10.2020'
Source: Jana delphi
Conscious and balanced eating is one of the simplest ways to keep the body in balance, avoid the risks of illness and, most importantly, a way to feel good in your body, regardless of what the scales show, says Jana delphi.
Nutrition therapist Kully Holding recalls five simple basic rules that all people of all ages should remember to balance their diet and support the daily functioning of the body with various nutrients and vitamins.
Plate rule
A common rule of thumb is that half of one meal should come from fruits and vegetables, a quarter from whole grains, and the other quarter from healthy proteins. This rule applies to both dinner, lunch and breakfast. If you follow this rule, the role of healthy whole grains for breakfast can be played, for example, by oatmeal, cooked with milk rich in proteins and supplemented with fresh or frozen berries. In the same way, when serving a homemade dinner, you can take into account the fact that potatoes fill only a quarter of a plate, and vegetables with salad - half a plate. You should definitely serve a lot of greens with rice or pasta and meat.
Focus on nutrition
It's important to remember that all senses are involved in creating a taste experience, Hosting says. Taking into account both physical and psychological health, it is beneficial if we eat slowly, feel different tastes and enjoy them, while eating, we concentrate on only one action. Therefore, if possible, food should be enjoyed at the table, so that posture can also promote slow eating. The enjoyment of food is not complemented by all kinds of electronic devices - be it a smartphone taken at the dining table or the noise from the TV accompanying dinner on the sofa.
Meat only in moderation
According to government dietary guidelines, you should only eat a pound of meat per week. If pork is often on the menu, Holsting recommends trying iron-rich bloodball, skinless chicken, or ground beef instead to get more of the various nutrients your body needs from animal sources.
Plus, according to Holsting, don't forget about fish, which should be on the menu three times a week. However, it is not necessary to choose extremely expensive fish fillets, healthy omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and protein can also be obtained from Baltic herring, herring or frozen white fish.
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Sweets play too much of a role
A very problematic place in the food pyramid of Estonians is too much sweets and salty snacks. Although you can indulge in sweets from time to time, Holsting still advises using fruits, nuts or frozen berries as light snacks. The key, she says, is moderation - you can afford everything, but not in large quantities and not too often.
Food manufacturers themselves are helping to reduce the amount of added sugar and salt, for example, by reducing salt and sugar in ready-made meals or yoghurts. However, the consumer himself must also be smart about the choice of products in stores.
Choose a healthier alternative from similar foods
Oftentimes, grocery shopping is a matter of habit or preference, but sometimes you need to look at the nutritional information on the packaging and compare similar foods - for example, the amount of sugar in different breads, the amount of salt in ham, or the nutritional value of processed cheese. As an example, Holsting gives raw smoked bacon: if you compare English, Italian and American bacon, then they will differ in the amount of fat, calories and salt.
The product information shown on the packaging is intended to provide the consumer with possible nutritional information, which Holsting believes should be taken advantage of and occasionally inspected in-store packaging.
