Chapter One
Food Choices: A Fit You!
Your life is filled with choices! Every day you make thousands of choices, many related to food. Some seem trivial. Others are important. A few may even set the course of your life. But as insignificant as a single choice may seem, made over and over, it can have a major impact on your health-and your life!
This book is about choices-those you, your family, and your friends make every day about food, nutrition, and health. Within its pages, you''ll find reliable nutrition information and sound advice, based on scientific evidence. It offers you practical ways to make healthful food choices in almost any situation and at every phase of life. And it encourages you to enjoy the pleasures of food. After all, taste is the number one reason most people choose one food over another.
Most important, the practical tips and flexible guidelines on its pages help you choose nutritious, flavorful foods to match your own needs, preferences, and lifestyle-even as your life and family situation change. Eating for health is one of the wisest decisions you''ll ever make!
Fitness: Your Overall Health!
What does being fit mean to you? Perhaps being free of disease and other health problems? Or having plenty of energy, a trim or muscular body, or the ability to finish a 10K run or fitness walk? Actually, "fitness" is far broader and more personal. It refers to your own optimal health and overall well-being. Fitness, or wellness, is your good health-at its very best.
Being fit defines every aspect of your health-not only your physical health but also your emotional and mental well-being. In fact, they''re interconnected. Smart eating and active living are fundamental to all three. When you''re fit, you have:
Energy to do what''s important to you and to be more productive
Stamina and a positive outlook to handle the mental challenges and emotional ups and downs of everyday life, and to deal with stress
Reduced risk for many health problems, including serious, often life-changing diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis
The chance to look and feel your best
Physical strength and endurance to protect yourself in case of an emergency
A better chance for a higher quality of life, and perhaps a longer one, too
Fit Is Ageless
Fitness at every age and stage in life depends on healthful eating and active living. The sooner you make them your priorities, the better your health.
That, too, is what this book is all about-how to eat for health and stay physically active throughout the cycle of life, and enjoy great-tasting food along the way!
Good nutrition and regular physical activity are two lifestyle habits that promote fitness. But they are certainly not the only ones. To stay fit, make other lifestyle choices for good health, too: get adequate sleep, avoid smoking, manage stress, drink alcoholic beverages only in moderation (if you drink), wear your seat belt, observe good hygiene, get regular medical checkups, obtain adequate health care-to name a few.
Smart Eating: Fuel for Fitness
What does it take to be and to stay fit? You don''t need special or costly foods, or fancy exercise equipment or a health club membership. You don''t need to give up your favorite foods, or set up a tedious system of eating rules or calorie counting. And you don''t need to hit a specific weight on the bathroom scale.
You''ve heard the term "nutrition" all your life. The food-fitness connection is what it''s all about. In a nutshell, nutrition is how food nourishes your body. And being well nourished depends on getting enough of the nutrients your body needs-but not too much-and on keeping your weight within a healthy range.
At every stage in life, healthful eating fuels fitness. Well-nourished infants, children, and teens grow, develop, and learn better. Good nutrition helps ensure a healthy pregnancy and successful breast-feeding. Healthful eating and active living help people at any age feel their best, work productively, lower their risks for some diseases-and may even slow aging!
Today, our understanding of nutrition is based on years of scientific study. Interest in food and health actually has a long history and was even recorded by the ancient Greeks. But it wasn''t until the nineteenth century that the mysteries of nutrition began to be solved. Since then, scientists have answered many nutrition questions. And research continues as they explore emerging questions about food, nutrients, and phytonutrients, and the roles they play in health.
Today we know that healthful eating along with active living are key to your healthy weight. They''re essentials for dramatically lowering the risk for the main causes of disability and death in the United States: heart disease, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and osteoporosis. Good nutrition and regular physical activity also can lower risks for obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol-all risk factors for serious disease.
Nutrition advice, with the consensus of today''s nutrition experts, is supported by solid scientific evidence. So unlike the ancients, you have a valid basis for choosing food for health. It''s up to you to apply nutrition principles and advice for your own well-being.
Smart Eating: Pleasure, Too!
Why do you choose one food over another? Besides the nutrition benefits, food is a source of pleasure, adventure, and great taste! It''s no surprise that people entertain and celebrate with food, or look forward to a special dish.
Your own food choices reflect you and what''s important to you: your culture, your surroundings, the people around you, your view of yourself, the foods available to you, your emotions, and certainly what you know about food and nutrition. To eat for health, you don''t need to give up your food favorites. Simply learn how to fit them in. Good nutrition adds pleasure to eating-especially as you eat a greater variety of vegetables, fruits, whole-grain foods, and other nutrient-rich foods.
Throughout this book, you''ll get plenty of guidance to do just that! You''ll learn more about nutrition and wellness-and how you can eat foods you like, even try new foods, for eating promotes your personal fitness.
Smart Eating, Active Living: Guidelines for Americans
Healthful eating and active living: they''re among your best personal investments! While your genes, age, surroundings, lifestyle, health care, and culture strongly influence your health, what and how much you eat and how much you move are key to your fitness equation.
What''s the secret? It''s no secret at all, just solid advice. In a nutshell, most people need to eat fewer calories, be more active, and make wiser food choices.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans reflect up-to-date scientific knowledge and advice for choosing a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough physical activity, and keeping food safe to avoid foodborne illness. By following the guidelines, you may reduce risk factors that lead to many chronic diseases.
Developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USHHS), the Dietary Guidelines present recommendations for all healthy Americans ages two and over. Updated every five years, these 2005 Dietary Guidelines offer the most current, science-based advice, reflecting what we know now. Will the guidelines be updated again? Certainly, as science answers even more food, nutrition, and health questions. Nutrition is, after all, a dynamic science: we''re always learning more.
The Dietary Guidelines are based on strong scientific evidence that relates nutrition to promoting health and to lowering chronic disease risks. And they can help you meet the recommendations of the most recent Dietary Reference Intakes, discussed later in this chapter. An important premise: most nutrients should come from food! For the 2005 Dietary Guidelines'' key recommendations for the general population, refer to the Appendices.
The Dietary Guidelines provide the scientific basis that underlies many nutrition initiatives: for example, for setting nutrition policies; for designing nutrition programs for infants and mothers, school food service providers, those receiving food stamps, older adults, and more; for teaching children about nutrition; and for communicating with consumers like you about sound nutrition and active living.
So, if you''re not following the Dietary Guidelines'' advice already, why not? And why not start now? Let''s explore the nine key areas of advice from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines-and consider what they mean for your food and lifestyle choices! You''ll find the Dietary Guidelines'' basics in this chapter, with much more about them throughout the book.
Enough, but Not Too Much!
Adequate Nutrients within Calorie Needs
It''s common knowledge: many Americans fall short on their nutrition report card!
Many consume more calories than they need-and too much saturated fat, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, and salt. On the flip side, both kids and adults often shortchange themselves on calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin E. Many adults don''t consume enough vitamins A (as carotenoids) and C, either. And others, too little vitamin [B.sub.12], folate, vitamin D, and iron.
To improve one''s nutrient profile, the Dietary Guidelines advise: (1) eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the food groups(including more dark-green vegetables, orange vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat milk and milk products) and (2) limit foods with saturated fat, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol. Two tools can help you do that: MyPyramid from USDA and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. Both focus on what to eat-and how much.
Why variety? Different food groups-and the nutrients and other substances their foods provide-help keep you healthy in different ways. No one nutrient, food, or food group has all you need, and none works alone. Health benefits come when your overall eating plan is varied and healthful, without excessive calories.
Healthful eating is about balance, too: balancing the calories you take in with the calories you use. Get the most nutrition from your calories. Choose nutrient-dense foods (foods with substantial amounts of nutrients, yet relatively few calories). And keep calories under control as you follow nutrient and food group advice.
For more about vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, refer to chapter 4, with specific nutrient information for infants, children, and teens in chapters 15 and 16, and women and older adults in chapters 17 and 18. Explore MyPyramid in chapter 10 and the DASH eating plan in chapter 22.
"Weight" for Health
Weight Management
Despite known risks, overweight and obesity have become national and global epidemics, and not just for adults. Overweight among children and teens has risen dramatically within the past two decades. Key reasons? In the United States, typical eating and lifestyle patterns provide more calories (energy) than many people need: too many consumed, too few burned in physical activity.
That said, some people don''t need to lose weight. Instead they need to strive to keep their healthy weight over the years or gain some if they''re underweight.
Are you at your healthy weight? Appearance or fitting into a clothes size are commonly cited reasons to maintain a healthy weight. Yet, even a few pounds of excess weight may be riskier than you think. Research shows that too much body fat increases risks for high blood pressure and unhealthy blood lipid (fats) levels as well as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, breathing problems, gout, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers. Did you know that excess body weight is linked to premature death, too?
No matter what your age, pay attention to your weight. Two measures can help you judge your body fat: body mass index (BMI) and waist size. Abdominal fat has more potential health risk than body fat in other spots. (Strenuous workouts build muscle; extra weight from muscle isn''t a problem.) What''s your "measure" of fitness? Check chapter 2 to learn how to find out.
As an adult, set your goal on achieving or keeping a weight that''s healthy for you. Your calorie needs decrease gradually over time. To combat "weight creep" over time, slowly cut back on your food and beverage calories and move more. If you are overweight and need to drop a few pounds, aim for slow, steady weight loss. Cut your calories, but keep your nutrient intake adequate-and move! And if you have a health problem or take medication, check with your healthcare provider before starting.
The chance of becoming overweight or obese as adults declines when children and teens keep their healthy weight as they grow. The advice for kids who are mild to moderately overweight: help them slow or prevent continued weight gain so they can grow and develop normally. More active play, fewer sit-down activities (TV, video and computer games), and healthful eating are their best strategies.
At any age, a healthy weight is key to a long, healthy, and productive life. The smart way to a healthy weight range is all about balance: calories from food and drinks balanced with calories used. To eat fewer calories, go easy on added sugars, fats, and alcoholic drinks, and choose sensible portions. Keep physically active, too.
For more about weight management, refer to chapter 2. For specific Dietary Guidelines'' advice on healthy weight for children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and those with chronic disease, check chapters 16, 17, and 22.
Move It!
Physical Activity
Wellness takes more than healthful eating! Regular physical activity promotes health, a sense of well-being, and healthy weight. Yet most Americans don''t get enough.
For adults, at least 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity on most days reduces chronic disease risks. If you move longer or with more vigor, you get even more benefits. Sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous activity on most days helps prevent gradual, unhealthy weight gain that may come with adulthood. Need to lose weight during your adult years? You may need 60 to 90 minutes of moderate activity daily. Children and teens need at least 60 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week. Refer to "Moderate Activity: What Is It?" in this chapter.
Get active ... stay active ... become more active. Spread out your activity, or do it all at once; either way you get benefits. If you have been inactive, start gradually. Work up to longer, more intense activities.
For overall fitness, fit in a variety of activities:
For flexibility, try stretching, yoga, and dancing.
For strength, try weight-bearing activities (walking, tennis) for bone strength, and resistance exercise, such as carrying groceries or weight lifting, to build muscles.
For cardiovascular fitness, try aerobic activities (running, distance biking) that increase your heart rate and breathing.
Unless you have a health problem, you probably can start moving more now! Talk to your healthcare provider first if you have an ongoing health problem-including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, or obesity-or if you''re at high risk for heart disease. Men over age forty and women over age fifty need to check with their doctor, too, if they plan vigorous physical activity, have risk factors for chronic disease, or have health problems. For Dietary Guidelines'' advice on physical activity for pregnant and breast-feeding women and for older adults, refer to chapters 17 and 18.
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Excerpted from American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, Revised and Updatedby Roberta Larson Duyff Copyright © 2006 by Roberta Larson Duyff. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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