Healthy eating to stay healthy
I want to lose weight so I don’t take sugar...
Weight loss nutrition or eating to lose weight is more complex than just taking sugar out of a diet.
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It is true sugar enhances weight gain when it is present in excessive amounts in the human body but stopping sugar intake can be likened to stopping the consumption of carbohydrate foods such as koko, kenkey, yam, banku, kokonte, fufu and the like which are also sugar-laden.
This is really impossible. What can be accepted for anyone who intends to lose weight is a reduction in the amounts of refined sugars such as the amount of table sugar consumed.
Start adding a cube or two of sugar to breakfast beverages instead of adding six to 10 cubes. It takes training of the taste buds to achieve such feat.
It also means that one has to reduce the frequency at which one consumes foods processed with sugar. For example, cakes, ice creams, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, doughnuts among others.
I want to lose weight so I don’t add milk to my beverages...
Any attempt at weight loss that is not assisted by qualified health personnel will not only lead to weight loss with problems but a possible loss of life.
A diet for weight loss is far more complex than the removal of milk from a breakfast beverage. Any attempt at removing milk from beverages for breakfast can only result in the consumption of unbalanced breakfast.
It is rather advisable not to add so much full cream milk to breakfast beverages as an adult. Choose milk that is low in animal fat and cholesterol.
Read the label on milk to ascertain the fat content prior to its purchase.
When reading a label, look for issues on; “Filled milk” or “Low cholesterol milk”. Adding just enough milk to change the colour of a beverage is recommended.
For someone who is sick and needs to be placed on a low fat diet, it is recommended only two teaspoonfuls of milk is added to his beverage.
People say that brown bread is better than white bread...
Bread is a product of flour which can be derived from cassava, wheat and other cereals. Normally in our part of the world, bread is taken with beverages such as koko, milo, oats, tea and the likes.
In other parts of the world such as Francophone Africa, bread is often served as starters to major meals. What qualifies bread to be white or brown is the manner in which the cereal is processed before it is milled into the flour for bread baking.
Bread from whole grain cereals is what is popularly referred to as brown bread. When the whole grain cereal is fully processed, white bread is the result. White bread predominantly gives carbohydrates and sugars.
Brown bread, however, gives a little more nutritional value than white bread. In addition to the carbohydrates and sugars, brown bread gives some protein, minerals and fibre.
This makes brown bread or whole grain cereal bread a more-preferred choice for anyone who wants to have more nutritional value from bread.
The richer the bread, the more dangerous it is...
All components of a meal serve a purpose of supplementing it in nutrients and energy. For instance, adding a slice or two of bread to a cup of tea releases enough energy at the end.
It is advised that when planning a meal, care is taken so as to include all necessary nutrients and thus, make the meal a balanced one.
It is not out of place to enhance your piece of bread with supplements such as bread spreads and salad.
In fact, they really enhance taste and appeal and thus, increase appetite for breakfast. The unfortunate thing, however, is that we abuse these enhancements.
It is very common to see an individual adding two fried eggs to their bread every morning. This is a very bad habit which brings about the taking of too much cholesterol from the eggs.
It is advised one exercises a great sense of control when preparing that sandwich for breakfast.
Apply the rules governing healthy eating and stay healthy.
• To be continued
The writer of this article is a dietician at the Trust Hospital & Clinics. He is also the Author of “Your Diet & Your Health Magazine”.