Index

Nutrition: Diet, Sanitation, and Menu Ideas

Diet
The main objectives of a good diet are to 1) maintain optimal bodily functions, 2) avoid nutritional deficiencies and excesses, and 3) make eating tasty and enjoyable. Our diet must incorporate the proper proportions of food components in the right quantities so that the amount of energy (measured in Calories) obtained from the food is appropriate for our level of activity and our age, since as we mature our bodies require fewer Calories. The diet must provide essential vitamins and minerals, avoid harmful substances that degrade health, and take into consideration individual allergies and intolerances to specific foods.

The human body does not function in isolation from its environment. The mouth and intestines harbor many types of bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum that have adapted to live within our body. These probiotic bacteria prevent harmful bacteria from becoming established, help to digest some foods, and produce some necessary vitamins and nutrients. Yogurt, kefirs, cheese, sour cream and other foods have these beneficial bacteria.

Sanitation. Since many diseases are caused by environmental contaminants and disease-causing organisms, one of the most important things that we can do for our health is to reduce our exposure to them. Here are some helpful sanitation tips:

• Wash your hands before cooking or eating.
• Wash your hands after shaking hands, handling money, touching door handles, elevator buttons, light switches, and handrails in public places and after using the bathroom. Do not touch your eyes, nose, mouth, or any food after touching any contaminated surfaces until you have washed your hands.
• Brush and floss your teeth every day before going to bed to prevent gum diseases and dental decay.
• Vegetables that are eaten raw, such as carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, etc., should be washed thoroughly. It is a good idea to wash fruits that are cut, such as melons, to avoid transferring any dirt or contamination from the outside of the fruit to the inside during cutting.
• Cook meats and seafood. Cooking will kill bacteria, protozoa, and parasites. However, some bacteria produce toxins that are not destroyed by heat.
• Keep food refrigerated to avoid spoilage.
• Do not eat spoiled or rancid food, or any food that has an unpleasant smell or taste.
• Breathe clean air. Do not smoke. (Click here to learn how to QUIT SMOKING) Avoid smoky, dusty, musty environments, or confined places where people are coughing or sneezing. Also, avoid fumes from paints, solvents, stoves, motor vehicles, and burning candles.
• Avoid environmental toxins and avoid coming in contact with organic solvents, fuels, and pesticides that may be absorbed through the skin such as turpentine, gasoline, kerosene, paint thinners, dry-cleaning agents, and insecticide sprays. These substances can damage the liver, the kidneys, and the nervous system.
• Avoid contact or ingestion of toxic heavy metals such as lead or mercury. Ingestion of heavy metals is often unintentional and is caused by being unaware of the chemicals in the environment or in household items.
  
  • Lead contamination can occur by handling ammunition, solder, or lead weights used for fishing, by chewing on painted objects, by handling or using hair colors such as Grecian Formula which contain lead acetate, by drinking liquids stored in lead crystal decanters, or by eating foods from lead crystal or ornamental ceramic dishes.
  • Mercury contamination may be caused by leaching of silver amalgams used to fill dental cavities or from exposure to mercury from broken thermometers. The dental amalgam issue is controversial. Dentists claim that they are quite safe, whereas some scientific studies show that there may be renal, neurological, and other complications from the mercury released by amalgams.
  • Cadmium and other toxic metals are found in artists' colors.
  • Arsenic and chromium are present in many pressure-treated woods used for outdoor decks and furniture. The metals may be absorbed by direct contact of the skin with the wood or by breathing dust from the wood. Carpenters who handle treated wood and young children crawling on wooden decks or using playground equipment made from treated wood are specially at risk.
  
  Heavy metal poisoning is difficult to diagnose because it may cause dizziness, anemia, confusion, loss of weight, neurological problems, and other symptoms that can be attributed to other more common diseases.

Eating Right. There are two main reasons why a large percentage of the population is overweight. First of all, eating gives us pleasure and we frequently overeat. Secondly, we tend to have sedentary life styles. We start by sitting in a car or a bus to go to work or school, then we sit at a desk all day and, when we come home, we sit on the couch to watch television while we snack. The combination of too much food, the wrong balance of nutritional components, and lack of exercise often results in obesity and poor health.

Ancient Greek statues portray ideal proportions of the human body. Today, we still admire those old statues and the muscular structure of body builders. What do modern body builders eat to achieve such spectacular form? Without counting the water, 75% of our body weight is protein. So it is not surprising that along with a strenuous exercise schedule, body builders enhance muscle growth with diets that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat. They eat five or six small meals per day to constantly nourish the muscles and to prevent the stomach from stretching. Even if improving our physical appearance is not our main goal in life, we can take the idea of a protein-enriched diet that is low in carbohydrates and contains the right fats as a basis for our menus. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of protein for both men and women is 0.8 grams of good quality protein per kilogram (0.35g/lb) of body weight per day. This is the minimum to prevent protein deficiency for low levels of activity, but for active people it should be increased to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight. Professional body builders consume about 4.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (2.0g/lb). The quantities of carbohydrates and essential fatty acids should be proportioned to promote health and sustain an adequate level of activity. A typical high-protein diet would derive 30% of the Calories from protein, 40% from carbohydrates, and 30% from fat. There are many factors that contribute to the development of a trim and muscular body, but a diet rich in protein is a fundamental requirement.

How much should you eat? The following form calculates daily energy requirements in Calories based on sex and height for persons whose Body Mass Index is in the normal range. The minimum applies to persons who are relatively sedentary and the maximum applies to persons who are physically very active. World class athletes, like the Tour de France bicycle riders, consume about 6,000 Calories per day during competition and their diets are established by sports nutritionists. To measure the Calories that you consume, you will need a diet scale and a list of Calories per gram or per ounce for the foods that you eat. Eating fewer Calories than required for your level of activity will result in weight loss, whereas eating more Calories than required will result in weight gain because the extra Calories are stored as muscle or as fat, depending on the composition of your diet. Research in the biology of aging indicates that caloric restriction, that is, eating somewhat less than you would eat to feel full, and spacing your meals so that you only eat when you are really hungry helps to extend life. Calorie restricted diets must be carefully balanced to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

Menu ideas.

• Breakfast. Start the day with a bowl of granola (1/2 cup), with two tablespoons of plain yogurt, and milk. The granola should contain oats, nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds), seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower), and no hydrogenated fats. Sprinkle blueberries, or add slices of fresh fruits such as strawberry, banana, or peach. Add a tablespoon of soy or whey protein powder. This is a very satisfying breakfast with whole grains that contain complex carbohydrates, healthful fats, fiber, and beneficial bacteria. If you eat it at 8 AM you will not feel hungry until 1 or 2 PM. This makes it possible to have a light meal for lunch.
  
  
• Lunch. Light meal suggestions:
  • a medium salad and one leg of baked chicken.
  • a sandwich made of whole wheat bread with two or three slices of turkey, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. As a condiment, use mustard, ketchup, or hot salsa.
  • a milk shake with one cup of milk and four tablespoons of whey protein powder and a fresh fruit.
  
  
• Dinner. A reasonable meal with vegetables and dessert. It is a good idea to put all the food that you are going to eat on your plate before starting to eat. In this way, you will see how much you actually eat. When you have multiple-course dinners, second helpings, or snack before eating, you lose perspective of the amount that you eat. Dinner Suggestions:
  
  • Beef stew with mushrooms, peas, and carrots accompanied with one slice of whole grain bread.
  • Baked chicken and steamed peas, lima beans, and cabbage.
  • Salmon steak with asparagus and three bean salad.
  • A bowl of chili with beans and a fresh garden salad.
  
  For dessert: flavored gelatin, fresh fruit cocktail, or one small scoop of frozen yogurt.

What happens if you are still hungry after eating a meal? Wait twenty minutes and then, if you are still hungry, eat an apple, a pear or an orange. When you wait, you give your body time to digest the food that you just ate and your hunger will diminish. A high-protein snack fills you up longer than a high carbohydrate snack. A sardine on a cracker, hummus on a pita bread chip, or a dab of peanut butter on a celery stick will satisfy your hunger longer than the equivalent weight of carbohydrate snacks.

General dietary suggestions:

• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Raw fruits and vegetables contain many healthful antioxidants and nutrients, although they are high in carbohydrates.
• Drink purified water. Metropolitan water systems use chlorination to kill bacteria that might be harmful, but the organic chlorine compounds created by this process may not be safe.
• Use olive oil for cooking. This oil has been used for thousands of years and has some beneficial health effects.
• Trim fat from meat before cooking, and drain fat after cooking ground meats to reduce your intake of excess calories.
• Restrict the amount of candy, sugar, sodas, cakes, white bread, pasta, white rice, and potatoes. These foods are mostly carbohydrates which are good sources of energy, but don't have much nutritional value. Regular consumption of high-fructose corn syrup used for sweetening soft drinks and other products may promote obesity.
• Analyze your nutrition and take vitamin or mineral supplements to make up for deficiencies. CRON-o-meter is a free nutritional analysis program.
• Don't eat hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils and the foods that contain them. Hydrogenated oils generally contain Trans fatty acids with unnatural shapes that cannot be metabolized properly and cause cardiovascular diseases. Manufacturers use hydrogenated oils because they do not turn rancid as fast as natural oils and the products using them have a longer shelf life. Hydrogenated fats are far worse for your health than the saturated fats found in lard or butter, and unfortunately, they occur in high proportions in commercially prepared fried foods, margarines, pastries, and baked products.
• Don't eat charred or burned food. Cooking carbohydrate-rich foods at high temperatures creates acrylamides which are known to cause cancer. Restrict consumption of grilled or smoked meats and cheeses because they contain many toxic chemicals from the smoke and the chemical breakdown of the food components. High temperature cooking also binds sugars to amino groups in proteins and nucleic acids to create advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that can have harmful effects over time. Restrict consumption of roasted nuts, toasted breads, crispy fried foods, and sauces and glazes made from roast pan drippings.
• Avoid or restrict consumption of meats cured with sodium nitrite because such meats almost always contain detectable levels of carcinogenic nitrosamines.
• Avoid potato chips, corn chips, and French fries or deep-fried potatoes. They are mostly carbohydrates and fat.
• Avoid caffeine; it is addictive. Caffeine occurs naturally in coffee, cola nuts, and tea, but soft drink manufacturers add it to soft drinks like Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Mountain Dew because it increases repeat sales. Caffeine is a central stimulant and people who regularly consume caffeinated drinks get an initial energy boost from caffeine, but later may suffer headaches, restlessness, and other withdrawal symptoms when they stop consuming the products.
• Avoid hard liquor. Alcohol is toxic to the liver, disrupts the functions of the nervous system, and slows your reflexes. If you drink, do not drink more than one glass of wine or beer per day, and always drink with a meal. Do not drive or operate mechanical equipment after drinking to avoid accidents.
• Do not store food in aluminum containers. Metallic aluminum reacts with acid foods to create soluble aluminum compounds that may be unhealthy. Avoid using baking powder and self-rising flour that contain aluminum.
• Read food product labels carefully to know what you are eating. Pay particular attention to the list of ingredients. Many products claiming to be "fat free" or with "no trans-fats" achieve that status by mathematical rounding and by using unrealistically small serving sizes.

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When evaluating diet advertisements, keep in mind that the Federal Trade Commission has determined that any product claims are false if they state that you can lose more than two pounds per week for more than four weeks without diet and exercise.

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