Good Nutrition Is Important
1. Eating a variety of foods is best for body, so try new foods!
2. Rather than frying meat, bake, grill or broil it. Take the skin off before eating chicken or turkey. Eat fish at least once a week.
3. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables both with your meals and as snacks. Look at a food nutrition chart or pyramid to get find out your exact daily needs.
4. Balanced nutrition and regular exercise are good for your health, even if your weight never changes. Try to set goals that you have a good chance of reaching, such as making one of the small changes listed above or walking more in your daily life.
5. Choose skim milk or low-fat buttermilk. Substitute evaporated skim milk for cream in recipes for soups, sauces and coffee.
6. Try low-fat cheeses. Skim ricotta can replace cream cheese on a bagel or in a vegetable dip. Use part-skim cheeses in recipes. Use 1% cottage cheese for salads and cooking. String cheese is a low-fat, high-calcium snack option.
7. Most seafood is high in healthy polyunsaturated fat. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in some fatty fish, such as salmon and cold water trout. They may help lower the risk of heart disease in some people.
8. When eating away from home, watch out for "hidden" fats (such as those in salad dressing and desserts) and larger portion sizes.
9. Stories from people who have used a diet program or product, especially in commercials and infomercials, are advertisements. These people are usually paid to endorse what the advertisement is selling. Remember, regained weight or other problems that develop after someone has completed the program are never talked about in those ads.
10. Read the nutrition labels on foods before you buy them. If you need help reading the labels, ask your doctor or your dietitian.
Understanding nutrition today is very important to stay in the best health. Read an article or two a week to keep up to date.