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Healthy Diet - Guidelines For a Healthy Diet

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Let food be your medicine, and let medicine be your food. A good diet is essential for our health and well-being. Poor nutrition combined with excessive stress, drugs, pollution and a lack of exercise will inevitably lead to a compromised level of health and ultimately to serious disease.

Often individuals are completely unaware that they are operating below par because they have never experienced what it is like to feel healthy. They are accustomed to accepting their three colds every year, mysterious 'viruses', monthly, weekly or even daily headaches, irregular bowel movements, aching muscles and stiff, painful creaking joints. They expect to get extreme fatigue as a result of coping with the stresses and strains of modern life. Such individuals are opening up their bodies to the likelihood of more serious illnesses. Often it is only after the appearance of serious disease that an individual can be persuaded to change his or her diet. Eating habits are formed early in life and it is always so much easier to continue with old patterns of nutrition than it is to change. However, once a person has made the initial effort the benefits of the new nutritional regime rapidly become apparent.

A healthy balanced diet helps you to repair the damage to your body which may be the result of years of abuse. Regard it as an 'insurance policy' to promote good health. Prevention is always preferable to cure.

Guidelines for a healthy diet

For most people the ideal diet should consist of 70-80 per cent alkaline forming foods and only 20-30 per cent acid forming foods. The principal alkaline forming foods are fresh fruits and vegetables. Acid forming foods include all meat, grams, cheese, eggs, fish, coffee and tea.

Too much acid causes disease - the overproduction of mucus, tension in the nervous system, arthritis, rheumatism, respiratory problems, digestive disorders an so on. A high intake of alkaline forming foods can improve your health enormously.

If you do decide to change your diet, don't try to do it all at once. Change slowly. Dietary changes should never be drastic, otherwise too many toxins are released into the bloodstream making you feel uncomfortable and ill. Tackle one problem at a time - take one item, such as sugar, and eliminate it. Do not become too fanatical about what you eat. Try to follow these recommendations.

Increase your intake of fresh fruit. Fruit is a major source of vitamin C and contains many other vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is also low in fat and low in calories. Fruits are alkaline and excellent cleansers, especially apples, pears and grapes.

Increase your daily intake of fresh vegetables especially green leafy vegetables. Vegetables are low in fat and calories, provide us with fibre and are rich in vitamins and minerals. Raw or lightly cooked green vegetables or salads are particularly nutritious. Cooking destroys some of the nutrients, especially vitamin C. You should aim to have at least five portions of fruit and/or vegetables daily.

Eat more fibre - beans, pulses, cereals, such as wheat, oats, barley, corn, rice and rye (especially wholegrain) and fruits and vegetables. A diet high in fibre reduces constipation and other bowel problems and certain forms of cancer.

Reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates and sugar. These are 'empty calories' containing little or no nutrition. Avoid sweets, cakes, biscuits, jams, marmalades, chocolates and fizzy drinks or squashes. Always check the label ingredients for sugar content.

Moderate your fat intake, especially saturated fat, which is associated with heart disease. If you eat meat buy only lean meat, and try to eat more fish. Cut down on high fat foods such as pastries, pies, sausages, preserved and tinned meats. Take dairy foods sparingly. Grill foods rather than frying them. When cooking choose an oil high in unsaturates such as vegetable and seed oils.

Reduce your salt intake in cooking and in foods. High intake are associated with high blood pressure.

Moderate your alcohol consumption.

Avoid chemical additives, such as preservatives and colouring. Eat fresh foods whenever possible.

Reduce your caffeine intake in coffee, tea and cola.

Take care with food combinations - try not to have protein and starch together at the same meal. Starch requires alkaline conditions for digestion whereas protein requires acid conditions. Both cannot be produced at the same time. Acid and alkaline neutralize each other, so if you eat both protein and starch together neither will be properly digested. This system of eating is known as 'food combining' or the 'Hay Diet'.

When cooking use only pottery, stainless steel, iron or glass. Never use bare aluminium, which is toxic to the nervous system. One pre senile dementia (Alzheimer's disease) has been linked with a high level of aluminium in the brain. Aluminium can also accumulate in the liver and affect the kidneys.

Avoid smoking, which has many harmful effects.

Take medical drugs only if essential.

Take regular physical exercise which is vital to good health. Try to have a brisk walk daily. Think positively! Positive emotions such as love, hope and laughter can block out the negative emotions such as fear and panic. Emotional nutrients such as love are vital for optimum health.

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