Ways to stay healthy

**حسام III** · 20-06-2009, 11:21 AM

Ways to Stay Healthy
by Mariam Alireza,
JEDDAH, 30 June 2004 — Omar is a healthy 88-year-old father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who is active in sports and at work as president of a large corporation. When asked how he maintains health and energy he replied, “Moderation, moderation, moderation.” He practices moderation in all his lifestyle habits. He explained that when he felt he ate too much of one type of food or nutrient at one meal he would reduce its consumption the next meal.
Omar starts his day with a good breakfast that includes a fresh fruit shake, a cup of yogurt with a spoon of honey, a small triangle of whole pita bread with his favorite hard cheese, Edam, and a couple of olives. His lunch, at the office, is composed of all nutrients in the food triangle. Fish is his favorite protein. He loves to concoct his own recipes. His afternoon snack consists of nuts, a salty biscuit, and a cup of green tea with ginger. His dinner is a light meal starting with a cup of soup, a nibble here and there, and a tablespoon of pure olive oil. So that is his method of check and balance in his nutrition: He uses plain common sense. I think we should try to do the same.
Whether you decide to lose weight or maintain good health and ideal weight you should first consider moderation in the quantity of your calorie intake and balance in your choice of nutrition. If this is too confusing I’ll try to expand on this area with more specificity.
Plan your meals in such a way that they include all four food nutrients in their ideal proportions and portions. Eat moderate amounts of good fats (olive, nut, seed, soybean). Proteins (lean meat, skinless poultry, fish, low-fat milk products, eggs, legumes, seeds, whole grains) should be in reasonable quantities. For those who want to limit animal proteins, mixing whole grains and legumes (soups and whole rice dishes with lentils or beans) enhances the quality of their amino acids. They also make a filling tasty meal along with a vegetable dish. Fish, the poor man’s meat, is a good protein very much used in the healthy Mediterranean and Japanese diets. The Red Sea and the Gulf offer us a wide variety of fish and crustaceans; the markets are abundant with all kinds of seafood.
Eat your carbohydrates in their natural unprocessed, unrefined form. Whole grains (wheat and “burgul”), rice, barley, millet, corn, rye, and vegetables (all beans, “foul”, lentils, peas, especially soybeans) are slow digesting carbohydrates and low on the glycemic index. I also recommend them for their phytosterols and good fibers that protect the heart, and vascular and digestive systems. Combine carbohydrates with protein and fat to make them less glycemic. Did you know that white kidney beans have a protein, which acts as a starch blocker in your body reducing starch absorption? Make sure you include them in your diet.
As for simple sugars in sweets, desserts, soft drinks, ice-creams, and milk shakes, I strongly advise you to limit their consumption. They have high glycemic effects on the blood and they are extremely fattening. Go easy on all refined carbohydrates; excessive amounts convert to fat in the body leading to obesity, diabetes and other diseases.
The choicest group of nutrients is in the plant family: fruit and vegetables. This class of food is not only rich in essential nutrients, but also quite low in calories and high in fibers and phytosterols. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds can help prevent and even reverse heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. These immune-enhancing “superfoods” provide you with the antioxidants, vitamins C (citrus and other fresh fruits and vegetables), Bs (folic acid in leafy greens), E (nuts and seeds) and A (carotenoids: lycopene in cooked tomatoes, alpha-and-beta-carotenes in carrots, and lutein in dark leafy greens). Antioxidants are also available in minerals (selenium). Glutathione is found in garlic; resveratrol in red grape skin and seeds; fiber in whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, omega-3 fatty acids in fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, dark greens; polyphenols in green tea. If you include them in your diet in sufficient amounts, you will enhance your immune defenses and improve your health, thereby warding off viral and bacterial infections, inflammations, cancer, and chronic diseases.
You have a wide variety of plants, which offer you a big selection of ingredients for soups, appetizers, salads, vegetable dishes, stews, and accompaniments. The Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean, and Arabic cuisines offer the most delectable recipes with this group of nutritional plants whether served fresh, steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted, sautéed, or baked. Treat yourself to an assortment of dishes everyday by teasing your palate and satisfying your appetite and fantasy with healthy tasty gourmet food.
Your daily diet should consist of three main balanced meals with a light snack or two in between or even better five smaller meals if you find the time to prepare them. But do not skip meals. Skipping meals slows down your ability to burn calories. Hunger also encourages you to eat much more the following meal.
The next time you feel hungry, drink water to test if it is genuine hunger or thirst instead. And when you start your meal eat slowly and chew well. Try to wait a few minutes in between dishes. Give your stomach time to send your brain messages of satiation. If you eat too fast your stomach will be too full before you realize it. This way you end up overeating in a matter of a few minutes just like gulping a super-sized hamburger and milkshake.
My strategy, which I passed on to my children, is to eat a meal in this sequence. I start with the salad or soup. The vegetables or legumes come second, then the proteins and carbohydrates. In this manner, I am not too hungry to over-indulge in the last two dishes. I find this regimen suitable to my health and energy, limiting overindulgence. My evening meals are usually light with a cup of soup and a salad consisting of greens, assorted vegetables, or legumes, sometimes mixed with whole grains. You are probably wondering where fruit fits in my diet. I take a variety of fruits for breakfast, an orange or a slice of papaya after lunch and none after dinner if it is late.
I have a few suggestions to improve your digestion. Avoid eating when angry or upset. Such emotions can interfere with normal digestion and your absorption of nutrients. You may have experienced or heard of indigestion, stomach cramps, or diarrhea when receiving disturbing news while eating.
Try not to be not distracted (television, movie) or get into heated discussion during meals. Be very aware of your food and try to appreciate it. Eat slowly and chew well. This attitude promotes the efficiency of your food assimilation.
Keep your meals varied with a variation of foodstuffs. Tasty colorful dishes are appetizing and satisfying to the palate; they minimize overindulgence. From my experience, I tend to overeat when my meal is not tasty or appetizing. I continue eating searching for pleasure in other dishes. I end up overstuffed and unsatisfied with the meal.
Make an effort to balance your meals with all four nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals) emphasizing fresh fruit and raw or cooked fresh vegetables; they are especially rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibers, and phytosterols. Reduce the processed and refined forms ; they contain excessive salt, sugar, fat, or preservatives and additives.
If you are able to apply these recommendations and maintain a balanced nutrition with moderation, you would not experience nutritional deficiencies or excessive behaviors that lead to obesity and chronic ailments. Avicenna said one thousand years ago, “Balance in humans has a field that has two extremes.” Between the two stand health and harmony. Remember your health balance today is your health credit tomorrow.