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Definition of a Healthy Diet: Power, Information, and Control
Power, information and control are key elements in defining the ability to master a healthy diet.
Power
The definition of a healthy diet is a diet with the power to:1) reduce your odds of illness, disease, and death and
2) maximize your capacity to stay healthy, energetic, and strong.
What kind of diet has this power? The basics are well established now.
• Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, not from a can and preferably organic. The definition of a healthy diet does not include canned foods. Canned items are improving but most lack fiber, are loaded with salt or sugar, and simply don’t stack up to items in the produce section. Widely used pesticides and unsanitary conditions in the global marketplace make organics the best bet.
• Eat fish or lean meats and go organic if you can afford it. The definition of a healthy diet does not include meat from animals who are raised in spaces too confined to move, pumped full of hormones for growth, fed antibiotics to offset unsanitary conditions, and slaughtered in ways few have the courage to learn about. It all adds up to unhealthy animals and unhealthy food.
• Get adequate fiber. It helps keep your pipes clean on a daily basis and takes toxins right along with it. If you eat five half-cup servings of fruits and vegetables, you are already more fiber-healthy than most Americans. If you cannot get enough fiber from fruits and vegetables, get more from other foods like whole grains. Once you are accustomed to the substance of whole grain foods, you may never return to the lifeless texture of no-fiber bread, cereal, rice, and pasta.
• Cut back or cut out sugar, transfats, artificial flavors, colors, and other additives. They have nothing positive to contribute to your health and eventually may prove quite harmful.
Information
The definition of a healthy diet, customized to your needs, is a diet based on several types of information.• Know your genetic risks and personal medical profile. We are all unique and your genetic predispositions may suggest that you need more of some foods and nutrients than others.
• Learn current guidelines and strategies for eating healthy, as reflected in the new food pyramid. You will find a wealth of both on the web.
• Carefully read and learn from the nutrition labels of all packaged food before tossing them in your grocery cart.
Control
The definition of a healthy diet is not complete without the word control.If you control quality by eating the health-promoting foods already listed, you have accomplished something huge — but you also must control quantity. No matter how much attention you give to quality, weight gain lurks just a mouthful away.
Weight gain, even from healthy foods, poses risks. Excessive weight is linked to heart disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer, and other illness. Face it: whether we are talking about possessions or our bodies, we all might feel better if we could just lighten up.
Remember: Power, Information, Control
• Eat power-foods that promote health and prevent disease.
• Stay informed with fundamental facts about diet, nutrition, and health.
• Use portion control to prevent the first steps that eventually lead to obesity.