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Nutrition
Being overweight increases your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Know your Body Mass Index to find out if you are at risk.
People decide to change their eating habits for different reasons. Some people want to lose weight, some are hoping to improve their health, and others want to feel better. For those wanting to eat healthy, there is a great deal of literature about what foods should and should not be eaten. Unfortunately, some information is conflicting, which may make it hard to know what to eat. Before committing to a diet change, think about whether it is healthy eating or a fad diet that is unlikely to work.
- What IS a healthy diet?
- Encourage Your Children to Eat Healthy.
- Assess your diet.
- Good news about eating healthy!
- The TRUTH about weight loss
- Be a fat detective.
- Do carbs really make you fat?
What is a Healthy Diet?
According to medical research, a healthy diet is low in fat, high in fiber and high in vitamins and minerals. For the average American, a healthy diet will have about 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day and no more than 60 grams of fat. The best way to get to this goal is to eat a variety of foods.
You should try to eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Filling your diet with fruits and vegetables will bring down the number of calories and fat, and increase the fiber and nutrient content of your diet.
Choose food made with whole grain over food made with refined flour. These foods have more fiber and nutrients.
Before eating any food, read the label.
If a food is very high in fat, eat a small amount. If you can find a similar product with less fat, for example frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, eat that.
Lastly, it's not only what you eat, it's how much. Make a habit of measuring your food; you'd be surprised how much you are eating!!!
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Encourage Your Children to Eat Healthy
With all the fast food and high calorie snacks out there, it may not be easy to encourage your child or children to eat healthy, but it’s key for good health.
Did you know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the number of obese children and adolescents has more than doubled over the past three decades? In 2006, more than nine million children over the age of six met the criteria for obesity.* In fact, many experts believe childhood obesity is nearing epidemic numbers. With obesity comes a larger risk for heart disease. Statistics show that by 2015, we may see more 20 to 30-year-olds with heart attacks.
Good nutritional habits can help keep your child healthy and at a healthy weight. Setting an example by eating nutritious foods yourself is important, and enjoying healthy meals together can help your child learn healthy eating habits for a lifetime.
Below is printable information that can help you make smart choices about planning for healthy meals and snacks for your family.
- What’s In Your Child’s Glass flyer about the nutritional benefits of milk.
- Pledge to Be Fit flyer for your child to sign. It can help your child practice healthy eating habits.
- My Shopping List brochure that lists healthy foods you can buy at the grocery store to restock your kitchen.
- The following tip sheets are from the Department of Health:
- Also, if you would like a “50 Healthy Snacks for Kids” refrigerator magnet along with a Pledge to Be Fit flyer, please send an e-mail of your request, including your mailing address information, to hhellman@emblemhealth.com. You will receive them in the mail in about 2-3 weeks. We recommend using the magnet to place your childs's Pledge prominentely on the refrigerator!
* Data from NHANES surveys (1976 - 1980 and 2003 - 2006) and Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in Balance, 2005 Institute of Internal Medicine.
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Good News About Eating Healthy!
Eating a healthy diet does not mean eliminating all of your favorite foods. Although the majority of your foods should be low in calories and fat, you can eat treats if you only eat a small amount. Below are some tips for treating yourself to your favorite foods.
Eat high calorie, high fat treats after a healthy meal. You will be less hungry, and less likely to eat large amounts of the food.
Watch your portion sizes. When eating anything, it is important to watch your portion sizes. This is especially true for treats. For packaged foods, read the label on the back of the package. For foods that do not have a label, eat a small portion to make sure you do not consume too many calories.
Plan treats into your day. If you know that you will be splurging on dinner or dessert one day, try to eat less that the day. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF! Eat smaller portions or eliminate snacks throughout the day.
Think before you eat. Before eating, think about why you want to eat the treat. If you are eating out of boredom or due to sadness, think twice about eating it. Mindless or emotional eating is largely responsible for weight gain. Don't fall into that trap!
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The TRUTH About Weight Loss
Everywhere you turn you see a new diet book, diet pill or diet food. These products promise quick fixes to weight problems. Although it would be great if you could take a pill or eat a certain food that would melt all the pounds away, this is not realistic.
Many fad diets eliminate healthy foods that your body needs. If you stay on the diet for a long period of time, you may become sick because you are missing nutrients. If you stay on the diet for a short period of time, you may regain lost weight when you stop. Diet pills can also be harmful. For this reason, fad diets and diet pills aren't a good way to lose weight.
The best way to lose weight is to replace high calorie foods with fruits and vegetables, reduce portion sizes and increase activity. Many people get frustrated with this method because they feel like they do not lose weight quickly enough. However, healthy weight loss is the loss of 1-2 pounds per week. Anything more than that is unhealthy.
In order to lose 1 pound per week, you need to cut out 500 calories each day. In order to lose 2 pounds per week, you need to cut out 1,000 calories each day. Keep a food log and identify high calorie foods that can be eliminated. See the list below for examples of foods that may seem harmless, but add a lot of extra calories.
| Food & Drink | Calories |
| 1 can of soda | 150 calories |
| 8oz of juice | 120 calories |
| 1 oz of alcohol | 60 calories |
| bagel with cream cheese | 400 calories |
| 1 plain bagel | 250 calories |
| 1 muffin | 250 calories |
| 3 cups of dry rice | 540 calories |
| 3 cups of dry pasta | 360 calories |
| 1 slice of pizza | 400 calories |
| 1 piece of corn bread | 190 calories |
| 1 cup of whole milk | 150 calories |
| 1 cup ice cream | 350 calories |
| 1 cup of creamy soup | 250 calories |
| 1 slice or oz of cheese | 115 calories |
| 1 tablespoon of mayo | 55 calories |
| 1 tablespoon salad dressing | 75 calories |
| 1 piece dark meat chicken | 200 calories |
| 1 hamburger (w/ condiments) | 415 calories |
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A Healthy Amount of Fat
Many years ago, it was thought that all fat was bad and a very low fat diet was the key to losing weight and staying healthy. Health professionals now know that fat is an important part of the diet. Your body can't use certain vitamins without fat. That means if your diet is too low in fat, you may be at risk for vitamin deficiency. Recent research shows that fats act differently in the body. Some fats lead to health problems, like heart disease, while others decrease the risk of many diseases, like heart disease and cancer. Be a fat detective-know the different types of fats. Eat a small amount of healthy fat and avoid unhealthy fat.
Monounsaturated Fat: Monounsaturated fat is found in olive oil, canola oil, olives, peanuts, NATURAL peanut butter, and avocados. This is a good fat and should be eaten in place of bad fats.
Omega-3 Fat: Omega-3 fats are found in fatty fish, walnuts, dark green leafy vegetables, certain vegetable oils, and flax seed (oils). This is a good fat and should be eaten in place of bad fats.
Saturated Fat: Saturated fat is found in fatty animal products like meat and dairy. This fat is good in small amounts, but bad if too much is eaten.
Trans Fat: Trans fat is found in margarine, baked goods, and fried foods. This fat is extremely bad for your health and should be avoided.
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Do Carbs Really Make You Fat?
Many well known diets suggest that carbohydrates (carbs) make you fat, and that eliminating carbohydrates will guarantee weight loss. Based on the popularity of these diets, "no carb" diets seem like an easy fix to a weight problem. However, consumers should know all the facts before beginning a diet.
Firstly, it is important to know what a carbohydrate is. "Carbs" are a group of food, including bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and some fruits and vegetables, that have a high carbohydrate content. A carbohydrate is a component of food that is broken down to sugar in the body and used as fuel. Since carbohydrates are your body's major source of energy, your body stores carbohydrate to use when food intake, specifically carbohydrate intake, is low. Each molecule of carbohydrate is surrounded by water. When that carbohydrate is used, your body excretes the water. The loss of water makes it look like you have lost weight. But once you start eating carbohydrates again, your body will store carbohydrates the same way, and it will look like you have gained the weight back. If you maintain a low carbohydrate diet, you will deplete your energy stores and become dehydrated, which has the potential to be a health hazard. In addition, foods containing carbohydrates contain nutrients your body needs to function properly. If you eliminate them, you'll be missing out on necessary vitamins and minerals.
This is not to say that eating a large amount of carbohydrates is a healthy choice. Eating too much of any food is unhealthy and will cause weight gain. Without measuring your food, it is very easy to over eat carbohydrates. This means that it is easy to gain weight when your diet contains carbohydrates. The key is to measure your food and count your servings. If you have more questions about weight loss, talk to your doctor.
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Health information in this article was obtained from the following sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Heart Association, National Institute of Health, and Food and Nutrition Information Center.
Last updated August 2006. HIP reviews this article, as all articles in MyHealth, on a quarterly basis.
