Finally, researchers show that eating healthy foods counts towards our fitness. It is generally known that eating the right foods can make a world of difference to our health and prevent disease, but I’d like to get the message straight.
However, the Huffington Post would go further and say we have ideas about body size all wrong and that taunts fat people to lose weight ignores underlying facts about health. Unlike the way overweight people are portrayed in the media, we can determine someone’s actual health by judging their body size. That said, we are more sedantary than our parents or ancestors and daily inactivity leads to gradual weight gain but this works the other way too.
If you worked from home and then went out each day to work full time, you might only notice you were losing weight a year or so later. Check out this theory yourself if you have spent periods of time commuting out to work and other periods staying mostly at home.
Firstly, what is healthy eating? In my view, as a result of research, trial and error, the answer is both subjective and objective
Objectively speaking, I propose that all humans need essential nutrients each day for optimal health. For example, we need the fat soluble vitamins; A, D, E and K, which we store, but we only absorb them orally if taken with foods containing fatty acids; olives, avocado, sunflower, pumpkin, nuts, seeds, fish, dairy, meat and beans.
Also, objectively speaking, where we live and where our ancestors came from has a bearing on how we access micronutrients, such as Vitamin D. For those in hot, sunny climates, where time is spent outside, we’ll get enough vitamin D each day. This is not the same for people with dark skin, living in colder countries with weak sunlight, who stay indoors and cover their skin when they go outside. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to fatigue, weak bones, depression and, in extreme cases ricketts.
We do not want to be deficient in Vitamin D at the end of the winter, especially when an infectious virus is circulating as our weakened bodies won’t fight it very well. It is important for people to receive facts to make informed choices. In the UK, we don’t get enough sunlight to make vitamin D from October to March each year and ought to take a 10mcg supplement (NHS February 2020). We cannot get enough vitamin D from food and need to eat items containing mono-unsaturated, polyunsaturated or saturated fats to absorb the dietary supplement.
Further, we need enough vitamin D to regulate calcium and phosphorus in our bodies. This information needs to be delivered clearly to the public and healthcare workers to ensure unnecessary vitamin D deficiency doesn’t impact our health.
In terms of water soluble vitamins, C and the Bs (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12), these can be taken at any time in supplement form, however they also come from a range of real foods from vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, dairy and grains.
Then we have the macronutrients we need each day and finally the trace elements, which we need in tiny amounts. Knowing which foods deliver what can leave us with a clear idea of the supplements to take to fill gaps in any diet.
For example, the micronutrients, which vegans miss tend to include vitamin B12 and iron. Both of these are essential nutrients and can be taken each day as a supplement. It is important to note, for vegans, which foods include the dietary fats to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K, such as olives, avocados, sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseeds and nuts.
Vegans can also get complete protein from quinoa, buckwheat and processed soy products such as tempeh or tofu. Soy can vaccuum nutrients from the gut from its own natural pesticide system, so requires fermentation or other processing to do its work and many people are intolerant to soy based products.
The article linked to the top of this post states, without presenting evidence, that everyone ought to eat fruit, vegetables and grains. This brings me to the subjective basis of information, which we eat need to discover for ourselves.
If you know which nutrients we need as a species, then you can choose what foods you need to eat and the supplements to fill gaps left by diet and lifestyle. If you get some sunshine everyday, forest bathe and swim in the sea, perhaps some fat soluble vitamins will be absorbed through your skin. Only trial and error or, if it was available, level testing could define what nutrition you gain from your lifestyle.
Essentially, more of a good thing is not a better thing. We all need a certain amount of essential nutrients, but we vary, like cars using electric, hybrid, petrol, wind, manpower or diesel to run, in what fuel we need. The wrong fuel can be as damaging as too little or too much.
When we get the nutrients we need, this can leave us satisfied and happy. Cravings experienced by pregnant mums is not just a baby thing. We all get cravings. The internet is full of cravings converters telling us what our body is asking for when we crave junk food and how to get the nutrient we need.
If you have ever had tapas, meze or thali, you may notice how much quicker you feel full. Eating a variety of foods is a great way to give your body what it wants with the minimum of calories consumed
Lastly, on the article reporting the recent study on nutritious eating counting for 4,000 steps a day: fruit and vegetables were known as “respiratory” foods in Victorian Times (William Banting and Dr William Harvey) and meat was known as “plastics” before plastic as we know it was invented of course.
Some people might find they get respiratory symptoms after eating carbohydrates such as milk, malt and sugar. These foods deliver minimal nutrient for their calorie load and also cause reactions in some people.
Food intolerance may sound like an unwanted dinner guest, but cutting out foods, which cause a range of uncomfortable, embarrassing or annoying reactions a day or two later can be identified using the Elimination Diet (Dr John Mansfield).
There is so much we can do to be healthy and live our best lives. I believe that facts create choice.
Nutritious Meal Ideas 