My tips for a healthier you

The most difficult means to becoming healthy is having an appropriate diet from which the body benefits. For those who need the “not so complicated” nutritional advice, here are some tips to keep in mind and most importantly, to practice:

• You don’t need to deprive yourself of foods you love. Weight being an immediate parameter of wellness can be managed well if we just take in what we need and burn out whatever excess we may have taken in. At the very least, do not take for granted counting calories. Once you know your caloric needs, keep focused and do not exceed. If you exceed, the best thing to do is to increase physical activity.

• Keep watch of your caloric intake and note where most of the food calorie is coming from. Do not forget that fat has double the calories from protein or carbohydrates. So when you have two foods to choose from, choose one with much less calories from fats.

• As calorie counting is not the only means to achieve a healthier you when it comes to dieting, remember to eat foods with good amounts of fiber as it helps in heart and digestive health and blood sugar control. Dietary fiber is not only found in fruits and vegetables but also in other common Filipino foods like suman, bibingka, palitaw, puto, sapin-sapin, noodles (bihon, miswa and spaghetti), espasol and tupig.

• Speaking of heart health, emerging studies have shown that a supplementation of citrus extract and vitamin E may reduce levels of a marker of inflammation and promotes a healthy heart. Experts in the medical community view chronic inflammation as an equally or even more important marker of cardiovascular status than cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

• When it comes to eating patterns, many people who want to reduce weight/body fat has the mistaken notion that the longer gap between food intake, the better. This is wrong. Especially during waking hours, when our body has higher consumption for energy, we should appropriately space our food intake, so as not to create a state of temporary deficiency, a state which can even lead the body to produce more cholesterol than at any other time.

• When eating, small mouthfuls of food eaten slowly taste the best and gives the greatest pleasure. Remember not to use food as a means to handle any emotional ups and down. This will surely lead you to taking much more than you need.