What constitutes a healthy diet? There’s so much conflicting nutritional advice in the media, you can wonder whether picking the wrong tips might do more harm than good to your wellbeing. However, we’ve picked up the Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the Department of Agriculture (I know you’re not American but just go with it) to help you plan your healthy diet – just remember to consult your GP or dietician if your wellness is affected by high blood pressure, heart disease or other conditions, as you may need to adjust a few of these recommendations.
1. Carbohydrates: You need to emphasise natural, nutrient-dense carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, and whole grains, rather than refined grains and desserts. Roughly 45-65% of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates, which are about four calories per gram. This means 225-325g or 900-1,300 calories a day.
2. Fibre: Soluble fibre – found in oats, dried beans, apples and oranges – helps to improve your cholesterol and blood sugar levels, while insoluble fibre – found in vegetables, wheat bran and other whole grains – adds bulk to your stool and can help prevent constipation. Women should aim for 22-28g of fibre a day, and men need roughly 28-34g.
3. Sugar: It’s best to cut back on calories from added sugar and solid fats, which probably means reducing your intake to no more than 5-15% of your total calories. The main culprits to watch out for are table sugar, desserts, pizza, sausage and similar fatty meats, sweetened beverages, sweets, chocolate, stick margarine and butter.
4. Protein: Plant-based sources of protein are higher in health-enhancing nutrients than animal-based foods, so emphasise beans, lentils, soy products and unsalted nuts in your diet. Your meat, poultry or dairy products should always be lean or low-fat, and 10-35% of your overall calorie intake should come from protein which, like carbohydrate, has four calories per gram.
5. Total fat: Fats aren’t necessarily bad for you, and actually help you to absorb essential vitamins, maintain cell membranes and keep your immune system working. The key is to accentuate unsaturated fats from healthier sources, such as lean poultry, fish and healthy oils. Overall, fat should be limited to 20-35% of your daily calories (there’s nine calories per gram).
6. Saturated fat: This is the kind of fat you get in animal products, or foods made with coconut, palm and other tropical oils. Saturated fat may increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes so it’s best to replace it entirely with healthier monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, found in olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oils, lean poultry, and unsalted nuts and seeds.
7. Trans fat: Mostly, trans fat is created during food processing through partial hydrogenation of unsaturated fats, but you do get it naturally too. As it can increase your risk of heart disease, it’s important to avoid trans fat as much as possible by cutting back on commercially prepared desserts and snacks, such as crackers, biscuits, cakes and doughnuts.
8. Cholesterol: Although you need cholesterol to build cells and produce certain hormones, your body makes enough on its own. When you have excessive levels of cholesterol in your diet, you increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, so limit your consumption of animal products to less than 300mg a day.
9. Sodium: The chances are you have way to much salt in your diet, as sodium should be limited less than 2,300 milligrams a day — or 1,500 milligrams if you’re age 51 or older, if you are black, or if you have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.
Comments are closed.