Some Useful Food Based Guidelines For Planning Meals

A consideration of what we eat on a daily basis has become extremely important in a world that is seeing an explosion in statistical data of people who are becoming obese, overweight and suffering from chronic diseases. Most of the life long diseases that the western world is suffering from such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure have their high risk factors in what people eat. Adjusting our diets to make them healthier will in a great way impact positively on our medium to long term health. There are certain guidelines that have been devised to help every person and household eat healthy. These guidelines take into account the importance of eating in a balanced way. When followed as much as possible almost immediate results will begin to be experienced by the individual. These guidelines ave been adopted from the South African approach and are very useful for replication in developing countries especially. Eat a variety of foods Eating a whole range of foods means that we gain from a variety of nutrients and minerals found in these foods. This means we do not emphasize only starchy foods, or nuts. We consume foods that will supply us and our kids with calcium, iron, protein, vitamin B, omega fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin D, folate and zinc. These are essential elements especially for toddlers and will provide them with optimum growth. A variety of foods that provides these minerals and nutrients include carrots, fish, eggs, milk, chicken liver for folate, mushrooms for zinc, fruits and so on. Drink lots of clean and safe water Water is important. It plays the role of flashing out our bodies and keeping us in balance. It is a good idea to opt for water instead of a soda each time you eat out. In fact it is encouraged to drink enough water on a daily basis. The best water is bottled water without chlorine and other harmful substances. Eat plenty vegetables and fruit daily Fruits and vegetables are important sources of minerals and nutrition. It is important to ensure that each meal has a serving of vegetables in salad form or otherwise. Eating lots of fruits is also important. Fruits can act as very good all day snacks which both kids and adults can use to replace the usually unhealthy sugary snacks. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of natural remedies for hypertension recommended by doctors. Eating them on a regular basis will help keep blood pressure under control. Use salt sparingly Salt is behind the problem of high blood pressure. Most people eat more salt that they ought to and than they actually need on a daily basis. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) an adult individual needs only 1500mg of sodium each day. Most adults eat as much as 5300mg per day. Sodium which is found in most salts has been lined to high blood pressure over time. It is particularly a problem for individuals who are already suffering from hypertension. Be active Being active is one of the most important things to do in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Children are encouraged to be active with the help of their parents. This means engaging in a lot of active play at school and after school even at home. Lack of regular exercise is another reason for high blood pressure, poor heart health as well as ailments such as diabetes.