Why enjoy your double cheeseburger now and pay for it later? Instead, eat healthy today and reap the benefits now.
I'll be lying through my teeth if I told you that I do not enjoy my food. We all love to have our cake and eat it, don't we? For that matter, we all love to have our favorite fried chicken, juicy burgers, and sweet desserts, all the time. Many of tomorrow's health problems like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type II diabetes and certain forms of cancer have in part, their origins in how we eat today. These diseases have been linked to a diet that is high in saturated fat, (mainly from animal sources) sodium and low in fibre. Remember, the next time you feel inclined to stuff your face with your favorite foods, spare a thought for your body, mind and spirit. According to the National Health Survey in Singapore, most Singaporeans consume too much saturated fat (animal fat, coconut-based gravies), way too much sodium (foods that are salty, gravies and sauces) and only half the recommended amount of fibre (whole grains, fruits and vegetables). Reducing our intake of saturated fat, sodium and increasing our fibre intake as a matter of daily habit can help us reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type II diabetes and certain forms of cancer.
Like most of the good things in life, eating well and healthy is all about balance. Too much of a good thing can really be bad, especially when a limited variety of food that may be high in calories but low in nutrients, is consumed as a matter of daily habit over a long period of time. But what are calories and what are nutrients? Let me explain. The foods we eat contain heat energy or calories as well as nutrients. Nutrients are substances that we need to function properly. These include carbohydrate (e.g. rice, noodles, bread, potato, pasta and chapatti), protein (e.g. all meats, tofu and tofu products), and fat (dairy products, oils and fat in meat), vitamins (A, D, E, K, C, B complex, etc) and minerals (e.g. calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, etc) and water. Fruit and vegetables are usually high in water content, vitamins and minerals but low in calories.
In terms of energy content of foods, fat has the most heat energy (1g of fat = 9 kilocalories), followed by alcohol (1g = 7 kilocalories), carbohydrate (1g = 4 kilocalories) and protein (1g = 4 kilocalories). Our bodies require both calories and nutrients for the daily requirements of growth, maturation, repair of the body and also for performing daily tasks of work, rest and play. Consuming too many calories beyond our daily needs as a matter of habit will lead to weight and fat gain while eating below your daily energy requirement as a matter of habit will lead to both weight, fat and muscle loss. The following daily energy requirements for young people and youg adults are summarised in tabular form:
Boys aged between 10 and 18 years - 2200 to 2850 kilocalories
Girls aged between 10 and 18 years - 1800 to 2150 kilocalories
Women aged between 18 and 30 years - 2550 to 3450 kilocalories
Men aged between 18 and 30 years - 2000 to 2350 kilocalories
Boys and men need more energy than girls and women because of their large body sizes. The amount energy required also depends on how physically active the person is on a daily basis. No food groups should be avoided. You can still go for your favorite hawker or fast food but limit such meals to no more than twice a week. If you have to snack, try fresh fruits instead of ice-cream, cakes or potato chips. Have steamed foods more often instead of fried ones. Substitute fried savoury cakes with steamed savoury cakes instead but remember to go easy on the sauces to reduce your sodium intake; instead coconut-based foods, try milk-based foods to reduce your intake of saturated fat. To increase your fibre intake, try to get at least two servings of fruits and two servings of vegetables every day. When eating fast food, make sure you choose a salad to go with your food. Try to drink at least eight glasses of water daily instead of fizzy drinks and bubble tea. Try to dissociate certain eating habits with movie or television watching. If you're at home, try cycling on a stationary exercise bike while you watch your favorite movie. If you feel the need to munch, try a juicy apple or a pear.
Labels: eat healthy, heart disease, high blood pressure, high in saturated fat, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, low in fibre, lung cancer, stroke
