Being Healthy

I recently read a couple of articles, one from the Oprah website, and the other from the AHA (American Heart Association), about acquiring and mantaining a healthy lifestyle..

- trans-fat are hydrogenated oil (hardened oil). All the hype these days is about avoiding it because it's very bad for you. They are found in commercially baked and fried foods, including crackers, French fries, cakes, pies, bread, and cookies. They are now required to be shown on the Nutrition Facts label of packaged foods.

- good oils are olive oil, sesame oil, flaxseed oil (زيت بذرالكتان), grapeseed oil, and canola oil. They should be kept in a dark bottle in the fridge.

- try as much as possible not to heat up the oil. If you're using it for cooking and u don't have much choice, mix it with food then heat both as little as is needed, as opposed to heating up the oil on its own then adding the food (which all the "old" cookbooks tell you to do!)

- for a very healthy side dish: heat up spinach with olive oil and garlic. sounds yummy but i didn't try it yet!

- healthy snacks: almonds, pomegranates.

- when you buy food, look at the list of contents, they are usually arranged from the highest to lowest in %. If sugar (in any form!) is one of the top 5, chances are that it's not healthy!

- avoid high fructose syrup, try to use cane or beet instead.

Now the new AHA recommendations for 2006:
(a few were way too obvious -and long-, so i omitted them! Ofcourse, they include the avoidance of tobacco in all its forms) <--- bss 3shan al dameer!

- Set a goal of at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. (could be divided throughout the day. ofcourse, more is better)

- Consume a diet rich in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (not fruit juices), especially those that are deeply colored (spinach, carrots, peaches, and berries).

-Prepare fruits and vegetables with little added saturated or trans fat, salt, and sugar.

- Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods.

- Consume 2 servings of fish, especially those relatively high in omega-3 fatty-acids (eg, salmon, trout, and herring) at least twice weekly.

- Children and pregnant women should avoid mercury-contaminated fish (eg, shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish).

- Limit intake of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol by choosing lean meats, vegetable alternatives, and fat-free (skim) and low-fat (1% fat) dairy products and minimize intake of partially hydrogenated fats.

- Minimize intake of beverages and foods with added sugars.

- To consume no more than 2300 mg of sodium daily, choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Middle-aged and older adults, African Americans, and those with hypertension should consume no more than 1500 mg of sodium daily.

- Limit alcohol intake to not more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men (1 drink = 12 oz of beer, 4 oz of wine, 1.5 oz of 80-proof distilled spirits, or 1 oz of 100-proof spirits).

- When eating out, be aware of portion size; select vegetables and fruits; and avoid foods prepared with added saturated or trans fat, salt, and sugar.

as you can see, a lot of emphasis is placed on "trans-fat", and fat in general; actually the updated dietary recommendations set a lower goal for saturated fat (less than 7% vs less than 10% in the 2000 guidelines) and a goal for trans fatty acids of less than 1% of total calories.

Saturated fatty acids occur naturally in meat, dairy products, and tropical oils, including coconut and palm oil.

This last piece of info is dedicated to all the people out there who just *love* to pop pills..

"Dietary supplements, Vitamin E, other antioxidant supplements, folate and B vitamin supplements have unproven or uncertain effects on cardiovascular disease (diseases of the heart and blood vessels). However, dietary antioxidant nutrients should be obtained from fruits, vegetables, and vegetable oils rich in antioxidants."

sorry guys, turns out there are no shortcuts!! :)