This is the second article in the series Eating Better for the New Millennium. This article is about evaluating your diet. In the first article Getting Started I gave you some web sites dealing with making resolutions and eating better. I also pointed out that there are stages to change and that it is important to know where you are and work from there. I explained that there are two parts to eating. The first the nutrients you need in large quantities fat, protein and carbohydrates. The second the nutrients you need in small quantities vitamins and minerals. In addition to these nutrients water and fiber are very important components of you diet. Recently phytonutrients have been grabbing the headlines. Phytonutients simply means chemicals or nutrients found in plants. These are the compounds that protect plants from bacteria, viruses and other natural enemies, but as luck should have it these seem to protect us too. Hopefully if you are making good choices in eating fat, protein and carbohydrates the rest will taken care of. In the last article I asked you to take some time, keep tract of what you eat and look at your diet. The last thing I want you to have to do is to weigh everything you it. However, in the beginning it helps to know what you are eating. So take a look at your diet and answer the following questions.
Are you getting enough water? You probably don't get enough. Chronic low fluid intake is common. You need to get at least six to eight glasses every day. Try filling a container with eight glasses of water and drinking a glass every couple hours. Not only will it help with every aspect of your health but it will curb your appetite also. If you don't like the taste try different types of bottle water. The different minerals in water make it taste different. You can also try adding some lemon or lime to it.
Are you getting enough fiber? Dietary fiber is the tough parts of fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains that we can't digest. There are two types of fiber soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in your intestines to form a sticky gel that acts as a protective coating trapping harmful substances like cholesterol and chemicals in the environment and passes them out of the body. It also helps you feel more full so you eat less. Insoluble fiber is incredible absorbent and soaks up much more than its weight in water this fiber helps with constipation and other digestive complaints. The Daily Value is 25 grams of total fiber, but some experts recommend 35 grams a day. To get this amount of fiber you need to get lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. One half cup of beans provides 7 grams of fiber. One cup of oatmeal has 4 grams of fiber. An added benefit to all these fruits and vegetable is a healthy serving of phytonutrients. For a list of some high fiber fruits and vegetables http://www.dole5aday.com/menu/nutrition/...
