1. THE MENU CHANGES TOGETHER WITH THE PERSON
At the level of intuition and common sense, it is clear that nutrition should be commensurate with how much energy a person spends: you cannot eat a lot when sedentary work and, conversely, starve under heavy loads. If we focus on numbers, then an average person needs 2,000 kilocalories per day:
- For example, during a period of rapid growth, a 15-16-year-old teenage boy can eat a large amount of food: it is easily digested and does not leave any unpleasant consequences in the form of body fat. But already at the age of 18-20, nutrition should become more moderate. Otherwise, by the age of 25, a man may develop visceral (internal) fat deposits in the abdominal cavity, omentum, mesentery, in the liver, in other words, a small tummy will appear, and by 35-40, abdominal obesity will appear (excess fat in the upper half of the torso and abdomen), and the risk of cardiovascular disease will increase. Unfortunately, this is how the stereotypical portrait looks today. At the age of 30-60, our men, on average, consume 3500-4000 kilocalories. To balance their food, they can safely cut the amount of food in half.
2. SET AN ALARM FOR LUNCH
A person should have 3 meals and 2 snacks daily, experts say. Moreover, meals do not mean desserts and snacks, but full meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner (cereals, soups, meat, chicken, vegetables, fruits). Dinner should be at least two hours before bedtime. The main snacks are fruits and vegetables, for sweets - dried fruits, candied fruits, fruit chips.
3. TO HANG THE CASTLE FOR A SWEET LIFE
The daily menu should contain as little sugar and sweets as possible. According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the daily intake of sugar for a healthy person should not exceed 50 grams (about 10 teaspoons). In the presence or predisposition to chronic diseases - for example, obesity, hypertension, disorders of carbohydrate metabolism, this amount is reduced to 30 grams, and in the case of kidney disease, diabetes mellitus - up to 15-20 grams.
Today sugar is used mainly as a flavor enhancer, the "sugar boom" began in the mid-20th century, and it is with the excess consumption of sugar and sugar-containing foods that scientists associate the surge in obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases in developed countries. Sugar-soaked food adversely changes the digestion, incites the sped-up arrangement of atherosclerotic plaques. Also, excessive consumption of sugar contributes to the accumulation of excess intracellular fluid in the tissues, puffiness.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that we not only add sugar to food and drinks ourselves but also use the so-called "additional sugar" in the composition of purchased products. Even mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup contain sugar, not to mention sugary drinks, juices, syrups, soda, milk chocolate, flour, and pastries. This additional sugar has essentially no nutritional value, only increasing the energy value of the meal. "Hidden" sugar must be taken into account when calculating the daily rate.
How to do it? According to Russian law, manufacturers are required to indicate on the label the amount of sugar in the product. For example, yogurts with various fruit additives, even with low-fat content, contain about 10 grams of sugar, a total of 3 cups of yogurt a day is already 30 grams of sugar. A tablespoon of honey contains one-third of the daily value of all sugar intake.
4. REMOVE THE SALT CONTRACTOR FROM THE TABLE
It is important to consume less salt in its pure form and to minimize excessively salty foods (hard cheeses, sausages, pickles, herring, smoked meats, canned food, mayonnaise, ketchup, soy sauce) as much as possible, experts advise. As with sugar, the WHO limits the daily intake of salt for a healthy person to no more than 7 grams per day (one tablespoon). With the risk or presence of chronic diseases - 4 - 5 g.
"Salt restriction is one of the main factors in the prevention of arterial hypertension, and low-salt diets have an excellent antihypertensive effect!" - Elena Dorodneva, the chief freelance nutritionist of the Tyumen Region Healthcare Department, assures me.
Salt retains fluid, so when salt is consumed excessively, fluid builds up in the body. And this is the reason for the increase in diastolic ("lower") blood pressure at a young age. Also, a person becomes insensitive to many drugs - there is a so-called resistance. In addition, there is "looseness", lethargy. Swelling of the face, especially the eyelids, in the evenings - the legs.
“According to the epidemiological studies of the Federal Statistical Service of 2012, approximately 60% of the adult population exceeds the permissible salt standards by almost 2 times - they consume 11 g of salt per day. And this statistics is without taking into account additional salting, which is one of the main mechanisms of excess salt intake, ”notes Sergei Boytsov, chief freelance specialist for preventive medicine at the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
To control salt consumption, experts recommend not adding additional salt after cooking at the table. Use more spices - various mixtures of herbs and sea salt, pepper, sea, rock, iodized salt (5-6 g of iodized salt per day is a good prevention of iodine deficiency). Treat pickles, smoked meats, canned food, hard cheeses as snacks - eat 1 - 2 pieces.
5. SUPPLY FAT CROSS ON FAT
The fifth rule is less fat. It is advisable to reduce or abandon fatty meat products (chicken, turkey, rabbit, and low-fat beef are allowed), fatty dairy products (yogurts no more than 5%, sour cream no more than 10%), products with a high content of trans-isomeric fatty acids (almost all confectionery products: cakes, sweets, waffles, chips and anything that crunches).
“Today we spend much less energy than our ancestors to eat a lot of fatty foods,” explains Elena Dorodneva. - In order to eat 20% sour cream and whole dairy products, you need to live at the beginning of the 20th century - walking, not using the elevator, working on the ground, and doing manual labor! "
Eating habits are developed from childhood. But you can change the approach to the choice of products, you can balance your diet at any age. And at the same time, it is absolutely not necessary to wait for illnesses - start now!