Eat Right

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Why does healthy eating matter?

A simple analogy for healthy eating is to think of your body like a car. What would happen to your car if you put water into the fuel tank instead of petrol. Or even diesel instead of unleaded?

Our body is a lot more sophisticated and adaptable than a car engine, and so it somehow manages to convert our often poor excuse of a diet into energy to keep us functioning at some level. But there is a vast difference between chugging along with a clogged up engine, and feeling full of energy, responsive and active.

Poor nutritional intake is the primary cause for being overweight, which in turn is a risk factor for a number of chronic conditions. Developing healthy eating habits, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight will assist in reducing the risk of heart disease, some cancers, obesity, osteoporosis, kidney disease and type 2 Diabetes.

So take a few minutes and have a read of what eating right might look like for you, as the benefits are really worth the effort.

The dietary guidelines for Australian and New Zealand adults are:

• Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods
• Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits
• Eat plenty of cereals (including rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain
• Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives
• Include milks, yoghurts, cheeses and/or alternatives
• Reduced-fat varieties should be chosen, where possible
• Drink plenty of water

Care should be taken to:

• Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake
• Choose foods low in salt
• Limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink
• Consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars
• Prevent weight gain - be physically active and eat according to your energy needs
• Care for your food – prepare and store it safely

Because it is difficult to assess an individual’s exact requirement for a particular nutrient, you might like to aim for the upper figure to maximise the certainty that a sufficient amount of the nutrient is obtained from food.

Iron forms part of haemoglobin, a compound that carries oxygen in the blood. Insufficient iron in the body can lead to tiredness and breathlessness and eventually to anaemia.

A mixed diet of animal and plant foods can help you achieve your iron intake. Absorption of iron is better from animal foods compared to plant sources, the recommended dietary intakes are based on a mixed western diet.

Red meat is the best source of iron as well as also being a good source of protein and zinc. Other meats like chicken and fish also contain iron but not as much as red meat. Iron can also be found in leafy green vegetables, legumes and iron-enriched breakfast cereals.

Adding a glass of fruit juice or other foods rich in vitamin C (such as tomato, broccoli or capsicum) to a meal will increase the amount of iron the body absorbs. Some things that are likely to reduce your body's absorption of iron include very high fibre diets, alcohol and tannic acid in tea.

A note to vegetarians; because absorption of iron is better from animal foods compared to plant sources, it is recommended that women who are strict vegetarians need to consume 80% more iron than non-vegetarians.

Water is essential for good health. All biochemical reactions in the body occur in water and it is required for digestion, absorption, transportation, dissolving nutrients, elimination of waste and temperature regulation. Chronic mild dehydration increases the risk of kidney stones, urinary tract cancers, colon cancer, mitral valve (in the heart) collapse, constipation, as well as diminished physical and mental performance.

Pure water should be everyone’s main drink. Other drinks will also contribute to fluid requirements but caffeine (found in some beverages and soft drinks) and alcohol act as diuretics. This means that the body is actually losing some of the water to get rid of caffeine and alcohol in these drinks through urination.

Healthy eating promotes healthy body weight. Dieting, especially fad diets, can be dangerous to your health. They can lead to poor eating patterns or even develop into an eating disorder. A low body weight in the teenage years and as a young adult increases the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life. Being underweight may also lower your body's ability to fight infections and stay healthy.

A dieting regime where you cut out major food groups, such as breads and grains, or dairy or meat (without alternatives), will increase the risk of malnutrition. In some cases, individuals may have low mineral levels in the blood, such as low potassium, which can cause fatigue and disturbances to heart rhythm.

Sometimes dieting can also lead to the starve-binge cycle. This cycle often starts with a significant reduction in food intake. Because this cannot be sustained for long, it can be followed by bingeing i.e. eating more than usual, because of extreme hunger or feelings of deprivation. Many people then feel guilty for 'breaking' their diet, so they go back and restrict their food intake again. This leads to a cycle of periods of restricting intake and overeating. People who find themselves in this pattern often experience low self-esteem and depression.

Yo-yo dieting is another concern for those individuals who lose weight quickly. When dieting and restricting the intake of kilojoules, the body responds by lowering its metabolic rate in order to survive on the reduced amount of food. When a person goes back to eating their usual intake of kilojoules, a lower metabolic rate persists causing weight to be regained and often more weight than was originally lost. Yo-yo dieting occurs when people lose weight only to regain it (and more) and then have to go on another diet.

For people who are overweight and want to lose some weight, a healthy rate of weight loss is ½ to 1kg per week. If you like to get on the scales to check your weight, ideally you should weigh yourself once a month. Weighing yourself more often than this may not give a true picture about your true body weight as small weight changes from one day to the next can be related to fluid shifts in the body.

Alcohol is high in energy (kilojoules) and can lead to weight gain, obesity, and high blood pressure. Binge drinking should be avoided. Drinking too much alcohol can cause damage to the liver, pancreas and the brain. It also increases the risk of developing some cancers such as cancer of the throat or tongue.

Fruit and vegetables contain many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre essential for good health. People who consume diets high in fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer, obesity and cataracts. Fruit and vegetables also contain antioxidants. A diet high in foods containing antioxidants may reduce the risk of disease, including heart disease and some cancers.

Both fruit and vegetables also contain dietary fibre. Fruit and some vegetables contain soluble fibre which may help lower blood cholesterol levels. Insoluble fibre is found in vegetables and helps to prevent constipation. Fruit and vegetables are also low in fat and therefore have low energy (kilojoule) content.

Here are some suggestions to ensure an adequate intake of fruit and vegetables:

• Always serve main meals with cooked vegetables or a salad
• Make meat go further by adding extra vegetables in a stir-fry or casserole
• Add vegetables in season or legumes (eg dried beans, peas or lentils) to soups for added flavour and taste
• Include fresh fruit at breakfast, either by itself or on top of cereal or porridge
• Have fruit salad or baked fruit for dessert
• Puree stewed fruit as a topping for desserts or swirl into yoghurt
• If there is a lack of time to cook, use frozen fruit and vegetables in meals

High salt diets can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, osteoporosis and stomach cancers. Overweight individuals may be more sensitive to the effect of salt on their blood pressure so it is especially important for them to reduce the salt in their diet. In some cases, reducing dietary salt may reduce the requirements for blood pressure medication, but medical advice must be sought prior to changing medication levels.

Foods high in salt are largely commercial or processed foods. Low amounts of salt are found in natural unprocessed foods. Foods high in salt, or sodium, include; table, sea and vegetable salts; anchovies; monosodium glutamate (MSG); soy sauce; bottled sauces; gravy; stock cubes; deli meats; canned vegetables and packet soups.

Reducing salt in the diet can be easy, it just involves making a few small changes to the foods you choose and the methods you use to cook them.

Try these ideas:

• Leave the salt shaker off the table, this will remove the temptation to add it to your plate
• Use herbs, spices and a variety of foods to flavour meals rather than adding salt
• Choose fresh foods rather than packaged varieties where possible
• Cut down on the salt you are eating gradually. Your taste will slowly adapt to eating less salty foods
• Look at the salt (sodium) levels on product labels and choose salt-reduced products where possible
• As breads and cereals are a major contributor to salt intake in Australia, look for salt-reduced varieties

Smoking is a major risk factor for the three diseases that cause most deaths in Australia. These include heart disease, stroke and cancer. Quitting smoking is one of the most basic ways of reducing your risk of ill health.

Most people that smoke are aware that they are damaging their health. However, many smokers become concerned that they will gain weight if they try to quit smoking. About 80 per cent of smokers put on weight when they quit. Of these, however, most only gain a modest amount of weight. The causes of weight gain may include the effect of nicotine withdrawal on the body and the ex-smoker’s inclination to eat more food.

If you are ready to quit smoking, you can minimise your weight gain by eating a healthy diet and engaging in regular exercise. It may be difficult to attempt to quit smoking and maintain a healthy diet at the same time but if you are a smoker, it is important to concentrate on quitting first. Many people adopt the philosophy that the weight they will gain after they quit will cancel out any health benefits from quitting. However, you would have to gain over 40 kilograms above your recommended weight to equal the risk of heart disease posed by smoking. Stopping smoking should be the first priority in achieving a healthy heart and a healthy body.

Sometimes takeaway food can be a convenient option but fast foods are often high in saturated fat, salt and sugar. By making better choices when eating out, it is possible to have takeaway occasionally without doing damage to your body. However, to avoid putting on weight, you need to balance any excess intake of kilojoules with healthy food choices for the rest of the day. It may also be necessary to plan some extra physical activity to account for any added energy intake from takeaway food.

When getting takeaway, choose a healthier option or order a little less and add your own salad or vegetables at home:

• Hamburgers with only a single meat layer, no cheese or low fat cheese and lots of salad and vegetables
• BBQ chicken with skin removed, with a salad and vegetables
• Kebabs with only a little meat and lots of salad
• Thin crust pizza with more vegetables (ask for less cheese) and make a salad at home to go with it
• For fish and chips ask for grilled fish and order less chips, and add a home-made salad or vegetables
• Some Asian foods are a good choice, e.g. nori or sushi rolls, steamed and braised dishes (not fried)
• Sandwiches with lean meat, fish or chicken and salad
• Avoid foods such as deep fried battered fish, onion rings, calamari rings and scallops; cakes and pastries; creamy sauces, sour cream and mayonnaise