How to eat healthily and how important is nutrition in an individual’s life? Each of us needs a specific eating style based on several factors, including age. Here are Dr. Mariotti’s advice on nutrition.
“We are also what we eat”: from this famous phrase it is possible to highlight how food and nutrition have a significant impact on overweight, obesity, but also on the onset of diabetes. Reduction of sedentary life, correct eating habits and movement can reduce overweight and obesity, and therefore also cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and metabolic diseases.
Weight gain occurs in a graduated manner when there is a variation in the energy balance, or when the introduction of calories through food constantly exceeds the amount of calories consumed during the day. An important role is played by the amount of energy and nutrients at each introduction. Many times we have been presented with the food pyramid with its nutrients and foods essential for proper nutrition and just as many times the most diverse advice comes from television and newspapers, but about this it should be noted that nutrition and nutrition are a science .
How to eat healthily: the role of prevention
Often opening magazines when waiting at the hairdresser or even when traveling on a train or sitting comfortably on the sofa at home, we read articles in which everyone propagates “that diet” as the best, perhaps marrying it with the face of a well-known character. We must therefore take a few steps back and give back to nutritionists, food scientists, pediatricians and dieticians that role of advice that families and individuals can and must rely on with extreme safety. There are many critical points for each person that tend to hinder proper intake and proper intake. Nutrition plays a central role in all phases of life, starting with the fetus, the child, then passing through the adolescent, the adult and finally the elderly. There are also some particular physiological conditions that push the person to have a marked attention on what he needs for his daily needs, and this is, for example, the case.
Nutrition plays a very important role in the prevention , both of a state of malnutrition and of pathologies and of allergies and intolerances. In this regard, it is good to focus on the promotion of an active life (play, sport) and healthy eating habits in children, young people and adolescents. The changes in eating habits must first of all be gradual in order to obtain a positive response from the subject, and not massive or drastic, otherwise there is a risk of incurring a strictly opposite and therefore negative effect. Physical activity , and at the same time sport, more playful in preschool children and more sporty and competitive in school age children,it must be practiced regularly about 2-3 times a week.
Among the sports that consume the most energy are running, judo, basketball, skiing, swimming and tennis. The diet must be constantly healthy and balanced, for this reason some foods must be used more frequently, such as fruit and vegetables, but also pasta, rice and bread, and others must be used more sporadically, such as fats and sweets, but also dairy products.
Pay particular attention to school-age children : if on the one hand it is important not to demonize snacks that are often “at hand” in vending machines, it is also good not to eat exclusively these foods that are too rich in simple fats and sugars. As substituents you can find foods called fourth range in supermarkets, such as a package of carrots already washed, peeled and ready to eat in disposable portions. A decisive role for the nutrition of children is certainly that of parents , who must pay particular attention to both the behavior of their children and their own, to set a good example and have correct dietary rules for the whole family.
How to eat healthily during adolescence: how to divide your meals
As for every person, it is also important for adolescents to divide the daily energy intake into 5 meals and, from a caloric point of view, the percentages can be divided into: 15% for breakfast, 5% for the mid-morning snack, 40% for lunch, 10% for the afternoon snack, and 30% for dinner.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, therefore the main meals, must consist of foods rich in energy, such as carbohydrates that we find in bread and pasta, possibly wholemeal, and as saturated fats that we find, for example, in extra virgin olive oil. . Another possibility for lunch or dinner is the dish called “single”, consisting of several nutrients. You could replace the various courses of the meal with a “salad” rich in tuna, egg, or cheeses, cooked or raw vegetables, accompanied by a slice of wholemeal bread.
Proteins , the elements of primary importance for the body constitution, can be found both in foods of animal origin such as meat, fish, cheese and eggs, and in those of vegetable origin such as legumes. It is important that they are always present in the diet, but not in excessive quantities, and above all it is essential to alternate the various types during the week (meat 3-4 times a week, eggs and salami once a week, 2-3 times a week fish, cheeses and legumes).
Fruits and vegetables , being rich in vitamins and minerals, should be taken both near and away from meals, at several times during the day, 5 times a day. Being a good source of sugars, it is possible to take a nice seasonal fruit as a snack, especially in children who need energy also for their growth. Much attention should also be given to the method of cooking and preparing the dishes. This in fact plays a very important role in the quality and quantity of nutrients. Fried foods and “excessive or heavy condiments” are not recommended. Use little or almost no salt: sometimes it is possible, to enrich the flavor of dishes, to replace it with spices or soyor alternatively you can use lemon juice or vinegar.
How to eat healthily during adulthood: what to watch out for
As for adults who are often away for travel and for work, it is good to be careful not to introduce too many calories on these occasions : it is in fact advisable in case of breakfast or lunch at the bar to prefer a toast with ham and cheese together with a juice. of orange instead of the classic cappuccino with brioches.
Extremely important is the use of water, a primary element in our body composition and which must almost never be replaced by sweet or carbonated drinks which, in addition to having a thirst-quenching power not equal to that of water, are very rich in sugars. simple. These components – quickly absorbed by the body – can cause weight gain or dental caries.
There are some difficulties for each of us that prevent proper nutrition. It is certainly not easy for a family, for example, to be able to weigh and check every day and several times a day what it takes. It is advisable to do a daily shopping, even if this can cause discomfort, to try to vary the foods to be consumed every day. A little advice is to go to the supermarket “with a full stomach” to avoid making impulsive purchases dictated by the sense of momentary hunger.
It is advisable to use the classic shopping basket instead of the trolley in such a way as to increase physical activity as much as possible and above all avoid spending too much time between the various shelves, especially those that induce temptations that are not really healthy. In addition, an important rule is to increase daily physical activity in any way possible, preferring public transport to cars or simply opting for the stairs rather than the elevator.
Finally, it is very important to remember to avoid skipping meals , not only so as not to arrive at the next meal hungry, but above all because it is not correct from a food point of view…. Let’s undo the myth that makes you lose weight!