My Take on Nutrition
There is a wealth of information on nutrition and healthy eating out there today, and it can be pretty confusing. Some of it is just plain crazy. Eat nothing but juices. Eat nothing but meat. Eat grapefruit at every meal then eat whatever you want. Some of it even contradicts each other. Don’t eat eggs. They’re high in cholesterol. Eat eggs. They’re a good source of protein. Give the eggs to your dog to make his coat shiny. Don’t know what happens to the dog’s cholesterol. Some of it is actually useful. You just have to plow through the “stuff” to get to it. So how in the world are you supposed to know what is best for you? Well, it’s difficult to know, but since we all seem to have some health issue or other going on, I’ve done a little research and have come up with what I think is a sensible take on nutrition.
Healthy eating is our first line of defense against many diseases and has even been shown in some instances to reverse disease. Thus, to have a healthy life, we must give first priority to a healthy diet. Now don’t panic at the word “diet.” I know for some of you that conjures up images of subsisting on lettuce and carrot sticks until you can’t stand the thought of another fresh vegetable. We are not talking here about a weight loss diet. We are talking about what you eat to keep your body healthy. We recognize that when we talk about other creatures. We know that when the TV documentary says that the panda’s diet consists primarily of bamboo, that it means what the panda eats, not that he is trying to lose weight. We humans, however, have been so ingrained with the idea of dieting to lose weight that that is what we think of when we hear the word “diet.” Try to put that image aside for now as we discuss what a healthy diet looks like.
One of the first principles of my take on nutrition is that the good Lord put us on this earth with everything we needed to survive and be healthy. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains were all available for the picking. Fish and birds, if they could be caught, were also available. The nearer your food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. Fresh produce is the backbone of a healthy diet. Food that has been through a factory basically just for packaging is usually good for you. For example, dried beans, frozen vegetables and fruits, milk, and whole grains. Food that has been through a factory and made into something completely unrecognizable from its original form is probably not so good for you. You just can’t go out into nature and pick Ding-Dongs and Twinkies. They are not at all good for you. Are you never going to eat something that is not good for you? Probably not. So…
The second principle of my take on nutrition is to eat more of the foods that are best for your body, less of those that are not as good, and very little of those that are not at all good for us. Various agencies, including the government, have endeavored to make this easier for us by providing a host of pyramids, plates, and other diagrams that help us visualize what a healthy diet should be. Some of these are helpful and some just confuse the issue. Two that I have found to be pretty much right on the money as far as having the foods in the proper order in which they should have priority in your diet are the Healing Foods Pyramid devised by the University of Michigan Department of Integrative Medicine, and Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid.
Both of these offer rather extensive information on each of the food groups represented. Each may be printed and hung on your refrigerator for reference if desired. Please remember that a pyramid is read from the bottom to the top. Those foods that are most important in the diet are the ones that are represented in the bigger areas at the bottom and working your way up to those that are least important.
Another source I have found extremely helpful is the list of healthy foods provided by The World’s Healthiest Foods website. It has a list of 127 of the world’s healthiest foods with links to more information about each food than you will likely ever need. Still, better more than not enough.
Please note that the one thing your body needs more of than anything is water. Water is essential for virtually every function of the body. You can live for several days without food if necessary, but you won’t last long without water. Most sources recommend 6-8 glasses a day of water.
The third principle of my take on nutrition is that meals don’t have to be boring or repetitious. There is an unending array of ways that healthy foods may be combined to create nutritious and pleasing meals. Sometimes, simple food is best. For example– a grilled chicken breast alongside a scoop of brown rice and some steamed green beans. Simple, healthy and enjoyable. But don’t let yourself get into a rut of serving only simple meals. There are untold numbers of ways that vegetables, grains and meats may be combined to create gratins, casseroles, soups and salads. Variety is indeed the spice of life. Variety in your meals will help to keep you eating healthily rather than straying into the processed foods arena in search of something “different.”
Along that same line of making meals enjoyable is my fourth principle of my take on nutrition. Make your meals look good. As any professional chef will tell you, presentation is everything. If it looks good, it is more likely to be enjoyed by the diner. That is not to say that a sandwich on a paper plate isn’t good. It’s just that there’s a difference between eating and dining. An individual salad arranged attractively on a salad plate is dining. Chopped lettuce and tomato chunks on the dinner plate with other foods is eating. Both are healthy. Both nourish the body. Nothing wrong with having all your food on one plate. But dining also nourishes the soul. It pleases not only the palate, but the eye. And makes your meals more pleasant all around.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but this post is getting pretty long and you probably have better things to do so… here’s my take on what you should eat to stay healthy.
Vegetables — 5 or more each day
Dark green vegetables — daily
Orange vegetables for Vitamin A — daily
Tomatoes (so good for you in so many ways) — daily
Other vegetables (eat a rainbow of colors) — 2 or more daily
Fruits — 2-4 daily
Citrus (for Vitamin C) — daily
Other fruits — 1 or more daily
Whole grains –6 or more daily
Protein Foods — 2 or more daily
Beans, Legumes, Nuts — daily
Eggs and cheese — 5 or more per week, an average of 1 daily
Seafood (especially those high in omega-3) — 2-4 weekly
Chicken or turkey — 2 or more weekly
Other meats — 1 or more weekly
Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) — 1 or more daily
Water — 6-8 glasses daily, more if desired
Fats, sugars, salt — limited to the minimum to keep meals pleasing
Do I manage to get all these into my diet every day? No. Do I never eat junk food or fast food? No. But this is the goal that I strive for. And we do eat much healthier than we did several years ago. And that’s my take on nutrition.
