Optimising your health in 2011

Heather Little-White, PhD, Contributor

MANY RESOLUTIONS will include a change to a healthy diet and possible weight loss after lavish eating during the Christmas season. Any desire for good health depends on a healthy diet with the right food selections combined with exercise and other sensible lifestyle choices.

Natropathetic doctor Michael Murray, writing in the Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods, posits key principles of the optimal health diet. He suggests the following:

Eat a 'rainbow' assortment of fruits and vegetables

The rainbow aptly describes the colourful range of fruits and vegetables you should eat each day. Fruits and vegetables are preventative foods in averting almost every chronic disease. Government agencies promoting the prevention of cancer, heart, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, and other medical organisations have long encouraged the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

'Rainbow' means selecting fruits and vegetables from the wide variety to include the colour range from yellow, green, red, orange to blue and white. Why are vegetables and fruits so important to health?

They contain a range of powerful antioxidants, as well as nutrients for maintaining good health. Phytochemicals work in conjunction with antioxidants, particularly vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium. Phytochemicals, particu-larly helpful in cancer prevention and care, include pigments like carotenes, chlorophyll and flavonoids; enzymes; fibre; vitamin-like compounds; and other dietary contributors.

Increasing daily fruit and vegetable intake

1. Keep cleaned fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator - ready to eat;
   
2. Have vegetables with low-fat dip for a snack;
   
3. Add vegetables to casseroles, stews and soups;
   
4. Drink 100 per cent fruit juice instead of fruit-flavoured drinks or soda pop;
   
5. Have fruit for dessert;
   
6. Keep a bowl of apples, bananas and/or oranges on the table;
   
7. Choose a side salad made with a variety of leafy greens;
   
8. Bake with raisin, date or prune purée to reduce fat and increase fibre;
   
9. Add lettuce, onions, peppers and/or tomatoes to sandwiches;
   
10. Order veggie toppings on your pizza;
    
11. Enjoy fruit smoothies for breakfast or snacks;
    
12. Pack fresh or dried fruits for quick snacks (www.ag.ndsu.edu).

Reduce your exposure to pesticides

Agricultural production today is not devoid of lavish uses of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. It has been shown that the intake of pesticides may increase your risk of getting cancer and other diseases through damage to the body's detoxification mechanisms. The body has a difficult time detoxifying and eliminating pesticides, so the result is that they are stored in fat cells. Inside the body, pesticides act like the hormone oestrogen, which would increase the incidence of breast cancer. Pesticides intake is believed to contribute to leukaemia, pancreatic cancers, lymphomas, as well as reducing sperm counts and infertility in men.

Make selections of foods that will reduce the build-up of pesticides in the body.

1.  Do not over-consume foods which are likely to concentrate pesticides like meats, cheese, milk and animal fats;
   
2.  Purchase foods grown without synthetic fertilisers and pesticides (organic);
   
3.  Know your local suppliers and buy foods that are grown without pesticides and are unwaxed for marketing;
   
4.  Buy fresh foods when they are in season.
   
5. Reduce the intake of pesticides by washing and scrubbing fruits and vegetables under running water. Soaking food in a mild solution of additive-free soap, like Ivory, will also help. You may also soak in a solution of hydrogen peroxide. Peeling fruits and vegetables can also reduce dirt, bacteria, and pesticides. Trim and discard outer leaves of leafy vegetables. Trim fat from meat and skin from poultry and fish because some pesticides residues collect (in) fat.

Eat sensibly to regulate blood-sugar levels

Select foods that are not rich in simple sugars and white flour and other sources of simple sugars, as these foods are easily absorbed into the bloodstream, causing a spike in the levels of sugar in the blood. Junk foods and foods high in sugar counteract the ability of insulin to regulate blood sugar and may eventually lead to type two diabetes.

Eat foods with low glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index is a numerical index that ranks foods based on their rate of glycemic response, that is, their conversion to glucose within the human body). GI uses a scale of zero to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. Pure glucose serves as a reference with a GI of 100.

Foods with a high GI are those that are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluc-tuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood-sugar and insulin levels and have proven benefits for health. Watery foods like watermelon and foods high in fibre or air will not cause a steep rise in blood sugar. Vegetables with a low GI include bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, celery, cucumber, lettuce, callaloo, tomatoes and zucchini.

Do not overconsume meat and other animal foods

Animal foods increase the risk of heart disease and lung, breast, prostate and colon cancers. The reason is that meat and animal foods do not have antioxidants and phytochemicals, which are protectants against cancers. Meats are rich in saturated fats and other cancer-forming compounds, such as hyterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed from the grilling, frying and broiling of meat. The more cooked the meat is, the higher the amounts of amines and hydrocarbons. Guidelines for consuming meat and other animal products include:

1. Limiting red-meat consumption to no more than three ounces per day;

2. Avoiding char-broiled, well-done, fat-laden meats;

3. Reducing or eliminating the intake of cured and smoked meats;

4. Eating more free-range meats or wild game.

Eat the right types of fats

A diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol has been linked to cancers, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases. The daily diet should have no more that 30 per cent of its calories from fat. The type of fat is also critical to good health, so it is best to choose monounsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids (nuts, seeds, olive oil, canola oil, fish and flaxseed oil) and reduce the intake of saturated fats, trans-fatty acids and omega-6 fats (oils found in meats and most vegetable oils like soy, sunflower, safflower and corn).

Trans fats

Trans fats come from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. Trans fats are more solid than oil is, making them less likely to spoil. Using trans fats in the manufacturing of foods helps foods stay fresh longer, have a longer shelf life and have a less greasy feel. Trans fatty acids are found in margarine, shortening and other hydrogenated vegetable oils. Trans fats are an unnatural form of fatty acids which interfere with the ability of the body to utilise essential fatty acids resulting in diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Keep salt intake to a minimum low and increase your intake of potassium

Striking a balance between the electrolytes - potassium, sodium, magnesium and chloride - is important for good health. Too much sodium (from salt) in the diet may result in high blood pressure and also increasing the risk of cancer. Sodium occurs naturally in foods so one should be careful in adding table salt to foods in cooking and as a condiment.

• Reducing sodium intake includes:

1. Removing the salt shaker from the dining table;
   
2. Do not use salt in seasoning food but use herbs and spices;
   
3. Use low sodium foods when possible;
   
4. Read labels for ingredients high in sodium, especially in canned foods, prepared sauces and condiments. Salt is sodium chloride. Food labels list sodium rather than salt content. A Nutrition Facts Panel on a food item will list sodium content not salt content;
   
5. Increase potassium intake to at least five times that of sodium and this can be easily achieved by eating fruits ad vegetables, especially bananas, apples, oranges, callaloo, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. Potassium also helps to maintain the body's fluid balance. It helps contract muscles, send nerve impulses and maintain healthy heart function. If you take diuretics (water pills), you might need extra potassium to make up for the amount that's lost in the urine.

Drink sufficient amounts of water each day

Water is necessary to replace what is lost each day through urination, perspiration and breathing. Dehydration results when water balance is not maintained in the body. You should not wait until you are thirsty to drink water but you should develop a routine of drinking water at least every two hours.

Water is important to the functioning of the human body. It is responsible for the functioning of all cells and organs of the body. There are several functions associated with water which:

1. Serves as a lubricant;
   
2. Forms the basis for saliva;
   
3. Forms the fluid that surrounds the joints;
   
4. Regulates body temperatures, cooling and heating as needed;
   
5. Eliminates waste moving food through the intestines and through urine and sweat;
   
6. Regulates metabolism (www.freedrinkingwater.com).

As you start the year, you have to take the first step in taking charge of your health and to change it for the better. Making wise food selections can help you on the path to optimising your health.

Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area. Email comments to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.