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Are you really eating healthy or do you just think you are?
Do you know the facts about the meals you prepare? Do you know how many calories and how much fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar is in the meals you prepare? If you are like most of the people today, No you really don't know. That does not make you a bad person just uninformed. Let us say for example you decide to prepare fried chicken, green beans, salad, and mashed potatoes for supper, Do you think that is a healthy well balanced meal? You are probably saying well other than the fried chicken it would be healthy. Not necessarily. Fried chicken is high in calories, cholesterol and sodium true. Calories 150-600 per piece, cholesterol 400-700 mg per piece, sodium 200-800 mg per piece. Now that doesn't really surprise you but did you know your green beens, salad and mashed potatoes aren't really any healthier if they are not prepared correctly.
Your foods calories, cholesterol, fat and sodium are much higher than recommended daily standards if improperly prepared. So how do you know if your preparing your food right so that it gives you the healthiest meal? First Do not fry foods. Second buy fresh fruits and vegetables never canned as canned foods contain high levels of sodium. Third When you cook do not add butter, salt or sugar. Cholesterol and saturated fat, found in butter, contribute to increased levels of cholesterol in your body. By using a butter alternative, you lower your amount of cholesterol consumed. While unsaturated fat is found in margarine, trans fats are found in stick margarine. Unsaturated fat is healthier for your heart than trans fats. When shopping for a butter substitute, a soft, spreadable margarine that contains cholesterol-lowering plant sterols and no trans fats is recommended. This information is based on research done by The Harvard School of Public Health.
How you cook your meals is also important to how much nutritional value your foods contain. For example boiling vegetables cooks away most vitamins and nutrients that are contained naturally in your vegetables. However if you serve them raw or steam them they will retain the high levels of vitamins and minerals making your meal much healthier. The choices we make at the supermarket are also just as important. Read your package labels and become an informed shopper and you will probably be surprised how your health will improve by making better choices. Reading the package labels will allow you to make better educated and more informed food choices that will directly impact the health of yourself and your family in a positive manner. The Paleo cookbooks on healthy eating contain hundreds of healthy recipes to help you begin preparing more nutritious and well balanced meals.
Before making any drastic changes to your diet or exercise regimen you should consult your physician.
Cynthia in answer to your question " Are the vitamins and nutrients that fragile?" All vegetables contain enzymes that synthesize and degrade vitamins. Once a vegetable has been picked, vitamin synthesis ceases, however degradation will continue. If you want to slow the degradation of vitamins, vegetables should be kept refrigerated until ready to be used. A number of vitamins and minerals are easily destroyed by oxygen, so when dealing with cut vegetables or juiced vegetables you should store them in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Your water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and the B-complexes, are your most vulnerable of the nutrients, both vitamins and minerals can be lost when dissolved in water.The top 3 recommended ways to prepare vegetables so that you retain the majority of their nutrients are first Pressure Cooking, second Microwaving and third is steaming. I hope this has been helpful.
Good article. I did know about frying. I didn't know about boiling! Hmm. Are the vitamins and nutrients that fragile?
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