The U.S. government, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services and the Agriculture Department, has come out with new guildelines about what we should, and should not be eating. Their primary goal is to help Americans lose weight.
This is increasing becoming a more critical public health concern. One third of all children are either overweight or obese. And two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. Those numbers translate into a whole host of physical and mental problems, many of which are costly to the individual and society as a whole, not only in dollars, but in lives.
Obesity has been proven to shorten lives due to increased risk for heart disease and cancer and a long list of other ailments.
So here are the new guildelines in simple, easy-to-understand language that everyone can understand and implement.
- Enjoy your food, but eats less of it.
- Avoid oversized portions.
- Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables.
- Switch to fat free or one percent milk.
- Drink water instead of sugary drinks
- Compre sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals and choose the foods with the lower number.
Regarding that last suggestion, about sodium, that's just a broad suggestion. The specific recommendations are for most people to eat no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. That is one teaspoon of salt!
Now staying under a teaspoon of salt a day is actually pretty easy if you are eating home-cooked food. The amount of salt that we add to our food in cooking is relatively small. A few shakes from the salt shaker really doesn't amount to much. So when you make your eggs in the morning it's okay to salt them. And when you steam your veggies in the evening, it's okay to salt them.
The real problem comes from processed food you buy at the store and from restaurant food. Those sources are sky high in sodium. Ridiculously high. So, really, try to limit the amount of processed foods or restaurant food if you are serious about reducing sodium. On those occasions when you do eat out or buy processed foods, such as the ones listed above, check the labels for low sodium. Or if you are at a restaurant, ask the chef to omit the salt.
But hang onto your hat. The salt situation gets a little more serious. The recommended amount of sodium per day is a mere 1,500 milligrams for people with hypertension, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, people over the age of 51 and African-Americans. That's about half of the entire U.S. population! 1,500 milligrams! Once again, this is do-able, minus the processed foods and the restaurant foods.
The new guidelines also zero-in on fats. I love the part where they recommend less than one percent. Yes, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT of our dietary intake should consist of trans fats. That gives you an idea of how dangerous these fats are. They are blamed for so many health problems, not the least of which include cancer, heart disease, and obesity.
What are trans fats? They were invented in a lab somewhere with the purpose of extending a food product's shelf life. They are mostly found in processed baked goods. So that means at the grocery store, just about everything in the cookie, chip, and cracker aisle.
Here's a quick and easy way to recognize trans fats: if the ingredients contain the word "hydrogenated" because trans fats are oils that have been infused with hydrogen. Margarine and shortening are trans fats. Butter is not.
Speaking of fats, the guidelines emphasize eating good fats, such as omega-3s which are found in fish, especially salmon, nuts (especially almonds and walnuts), flaxseed (make sure it's ground because the whole seeds don't digest well), and olive oil.
These guildelines are updated every five years. They can be a bit overwhelming. But just remember, nobody is perfect! Just try to make gradual changes and don't beat yourself up when you blow it. Just try to do better tomorrow. The Bible says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So it's well worth the effort to make difficult changes to get healthy!