Diet Advice

The healthy eating pyramid has as its basis on two related aspects of life. These are daily exercise and weight control. These two factors have an effect on what a person eats and how the food affects him. These two issues are governed by a basic law of energy balance which states that the weight change is the calories in subtracted by the calories out. If the calories that are input in the body per day are lost by daily exercise, then there is no weight gain.

The items at the base of the pyramid have to be ingested more. Those at the top are to be consumed sparingly. At the base of the pyramid, there is daily exercise and weight control. In the layer above the base are whole grains, healthy fats or oils and vegetables and fruits. Above these are the fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans and tofu. At the top of this layer are the dairy products which have to be taken in one or two servings per day. At the apex of the pyramid are red meat, butter, refined grains, potatoes, salt and sugary drinks.

As in all things, moderation is the key.  Look after your body, eat well and take plenty of exercise.   For extra piece of mind, you might also want to look at the benefits of a health insurance policy from a company like AIG.

Whole grains

Carbohydrates are required by the body for energy. The ideal sources of these are brown rice, whole wheat bread and oatmeal. However, these whole grains that cannot be digested as easily as highly processed carbohydrates like white flour. Due to this, the blood levels and insulin do not rise and fall quickly. As there is good control of insulin and blood sugar, the hunger is controlled. This leads to the control of type 2 diabetes. Also research is in progress that a whole grain rich diet would offer protection from heart disease.

Healthy fats and oils

The healthy eating pyramid places the fats at the base. It has been found from research that one third of the calories in a day are obtained from fats in case of an average American. However, it is specifically mentioned that all types of fats are advisable. Only the healthy fats and oils are recommended. Healthy unsaturated fats have excellent sources like fatty fish like salmon, avocadoes, seeds, nuts, trans fat-free margarines, vegetable oils, peanut, sunflower, corn, soy, canola and olive. These healthy fats enhance the cholesterol levels and protect the heart.

Vegetables and fruits

A diet which has sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables is useful in the following ways. The risk of stroke or heart attack is reduced. There is protection from some types of cancers. The blood pressure is reduced. It is useful to prevent diverticulitis, which is a painful intestinal ailment. There is protection from cataract and macular degeneration.

Tofu, Beans, Seeds and Nuts

The beans comprise of lentils, garbanzos, navy beans and black beans. Nuts comprise of healthy fats and also pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, walnuts and almonds. Such plant foods have a considerable amount of minerals, vitamins, fiber and protein.

Fish, poultry and eggs

These foods are rich in protein. Research has proved that ingestion of fish can decrease the risk of heart disease. The reason is that fish has a large amount of heart healthy omega-3 fats. Turkey and chicken are rich in protein and contain less amount of saturated fat. Those who have a heart disease have to restrict their egg yolk consumption to maximum three per week.