How to Plan a Healthy Diet

It may not sound complicated to start a healthy diet, but there is more to know than you may think. Properly planned, a healthy diet will provide all of the essential nutrients it needs, assist in keeping you at a healthy weight, defend against illness, and give your body the energy it needs to get through your day. Other than weight loss and maintenance, a healthy diet also helps regulate mood, sleep cycles and general health. Here are a few tips to begin on a new and healthier diet.

First, you should eliminate or severely curtail saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium. This will mean avoiding fried foods and some foods which you may even think of as healthy ones. Some other foods you’ll want to avoid include most cereals, crackers and prepared soups- these tend to be high in sodium. Be sure to read the nutritional information labels on foods before buying. The biggest part of a healthy diet should be fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and small amounts of fat-free dairy and very lean meats. Fresh foods give our bodies the nutrients they need – meaning that you don’t need those synthetic products. A diet rich in fresh, natural foods also has plenty of fiber, which helps in losing weight and regulating cholesterol levels.

High fiber foods also improve the function of the digestive system, can increase metabolism and also make us feel fuller. This means you’ll have less urges for in between meal snacks and eat smaller portions at meal times. Protein rich foods have a similar effect; you should get plenty of fiber and protein at each meal. These tips will give you a good basis for starting a healthy diet.

How to Attack Child Obesity

A shocked silence fell over the attendees at a recent conference of the American Heart Association when it was announced that almost one third of U.S. children are overweight, with about 20% being obese. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) states: “The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years, going from 6.5% in 1980 to 17.0% in 2006. The rate among adolescents aged 12 to 19 more than tripled, increasing from 5% to 17.6%…An estimated 61% of obese young people have at least one additional risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.”

Now, we can all agree why obesity has become such an epidemic among U.S. children – poor diets and lack of exercise. The 2007 YRB Survey indicates that teenagers are also slipping into a dangerous pattern of unhealthy diets and low activity levels:

• About 80% ate fruits and vegetables less than five times per day the week before the survey was administered.
• About 35% drank a can, bottle, or glass of soda (not including diet soda) at least one time per day during that same period.

This unprecedented rise in the prevalence of obesity seems set tocontinue and will likely place our nation’s health care system into crisis as it struggles to cope with a massive increase in heart disease, diabetes and other weight-related illnesses in the coming decades. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is in agreement with all the other medical authorities here – these health problems are directly attributable to obesity.

In the developed world, childhood obesity is already at shocking levels. It is also on the rise in the developing world; unless some changes are made, a global healthcare crisis seems unavoidable.

It is well known that eating breakfast improves academic performance. However, many teenagers think that skipping this meal will help them to stay slim and attractive; which is entirely wrong! When children skip breakfast, they usually more than make up for it by snacking more frequently and eating more at lunch and dinner. Breakfast is the one meal which should not be skipped and this needs to be ingrained in our children from a young age.

Children have plenty of healthy breakfast options open to them – breakfast should include protein, carbohydrates and fruit. Remember, breakfast should make up at least a third of you daily nutrients! Cheese, eggs, yogurt and peanut butter are all good choices which children enjoy.

For carbohydrates, cereal is a good way to go. Give your kids cereal which contains plenty of fiber (2g/serving or more) but is low in sugar (10g/serving or less). Fiber helps you feel full and prevents snacking. Oatmeal or whole wheat cereal are also good choices.

Waffles with fruit or light syrup or toast are also excellent carbohydrate options. Make sure you work in some fruit at breakfast, since it can be hard to get the recommended daily servings otherwise. Even some sliced strawberries or bananas in yogurt or on cereal can fit the bill nicely.

And don’t forget exercise – this is equally important. Encourage your child to get involved in sports or other physical activities, which will help them to increase their metabolism and burn off more calories from their diet.
 

Total Beauty and Health

Welcome to TotalBeautyAndHealth.com. Our site is here to help keep you up-to-date on beauty, health and wellness information, as well as provide you with great offers on health and beauty products. Our goal is to provide information and products that will help enhance your health and overall well-being from the inside out. Categories we cover include weight loss, skin care, nutrition, physical fitness and more.

In this economy, it can be very costly to eat right and take the right supplements for ultimate wellness so many of the products we review and promote are special offers and have discounted pricing.

While we all want to look and feel good, being “healthy” and living a vibrant life should be our number one goal when it comes to our health. The old mantra, “its not how you feel, it’s how you look…” doesn’t carry much real weight any more. So, how’s your intake of non-processed foods? How are your joints feeling? What physical conditions do you need to take action on this year? How much exercise are you really getting? Do you look and feel the way you want to?

Whatever your health plans are this year, we thank you for visiting and hope we can be a factor in helping you reach your goals.

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